Battle of Borodino After the French army capture of the Russian town of Smolensk on August 18th 1812, Napoleon advanced his army deeper into Russia. On the 5th of September the cavalry under the command of Marshal Joachim Murat came across the Russian army under its commander Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov in and around the village of Borodino. The Russian army had been busy fortifying the town in readiness to face the French army.
On the 6th of September Napoleon deployed his army of 86,000 infantry and 28,000 cavalry and a total of 587 artillery pieces against the Russian force of 72,000 infantry, 18,000 cavalry and 640 artillery pieces. The Russian force also had at its disposal a total of over 17,000 Cossacks and Militia. The French started their assault the following day, the 7th of September.
The French right wing started the attack under the command of Marshal Louis Davout and the other flank, the left was commanded by Napoleon's stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais. They too entered the battle by attacking the town of Borodino. During the afternoon of the fighting the Russian commander withdrew his troops to the second ridge due to the thousands of casualties he was sustaining under the relentless bombardment of the French artillery which seemed to be dominating the battle. Amongst the dead was the Russian commander of the 2nd army Prince Petr Bagration who had been mortally wounded. But due to their own losses the French were in no position to pursue the Russians and continue the fighting.
The Russian army had lost some 45,000 men killed or wounded and the French casualties were 29,500. The Russian army retreated 70 miles outside Moscow but abandoned the city. Some French units entered Moscow on the 14th. Within 24 hours large fires had broken out across Moscow and over the following three days most of the Russian capital had been destroyed. Napoleon stayed in Moscow for 5 weeks, but decided to plan his retreat, leaving Moscow on the 19th October 1812. The Battle of Borodino had been the bloodiest battle of the 19th century.
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