R. Volkov "Portrait of M.I. Kutuzov"

You will not see such battles! ..
Worn banners like shadows
Fire gleamed in the smoke
Damask steel sounded, buckshot screeched,
The hand of the fighters is tired of stabbing,
And prevented the nuclei from flying
A mountain of bloody bodies ... (M.Yu. Lermontov "Borodino")

background

After the invasion of the French army under the command of Napoleon into the territory of the Russian Empire (June 1812), Russian troops regularly retreated. The numerical superiority of the French contributed to the rapid advance into the depths of Russia, which deprived the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Infantry General Barclay de Tolly, of the opportunity to prepare troops for battle. The long retreat of the troops caused public indignation, in connection with this, Emperor Alexander I appointed General of Infantry Kutuzov as commander-in-chief. However, Kutuzov continued to retreat. Kutuzov's strategy was aimed at 1) exhausting the enemy, 2) waiting for reinforcements for a decisive battle with the Napoleonic army.

On September 5, the battle took place at the Shevardino redoubt, which delayed the French troops and made it possible for the Russians to build fortifications on the main positions.

V.V. Vereshchagin "Napoleon on the Borodino Heights"

The battle of Borodino began on September 7, 1812 at 5:30 and ended at 18:00. Fighting during the day took place in different parts of the position of the Russian troops: from the village of Maloye in the north to the village of Utitsy in the south. The most difficult battles took place for Bagration's flashes and on the Raevsky battery.

On the morning of September 3, 1812, having begun to concentrate in the area of ​​​​the village of Borodina, M.I. Kutuzov carefully examined the surrounding area and ordered the construction of fortifications to begin. concluded that this area was most suitable for a decisive battle - it was impossible to postpone it further, since Alexander I demanded that Kutuzov stop the French advance towards Moscow.

The village of Borodino was located 12 kilometers west of Mozhaisk, the terrain here was hilly and crossed by small rivers and streams that formed deep ravines. The eastern part of the field is elevated more than the western one. The Koloch River, which flowed through the village, had a high steep bank, which was a good cover for the right flank of the Russian army. The left flank, approaching the swampy forest, overgrown with bushes, was poorly accessible to cavalry and infantry. This position of the Russian army made it possible to cover the road to Moscow, and the wooded area made it possible to shelter reserves. It was impossible to find a better place for the decisive battle. Although Kutuzov himself was aware that the left flank was a weak point, he hoped to “correct the situation with art”.

Start of the fight

Kutuzov's idea was that, as a result of the active defense of the Russian troops, the French troops would suffer as many losses as possible in order to change the balance of forces and further defeat the French army. In accordance with this, the battle formation of the Russian troops was built.

In the village of Borodino there was one battalion of Russian guards rangers with four guns. To the west of the village there was a combat outpost of rangers of army regiments. East of Borodino, 30 sailors guarded the bridge over the Kolocha River. After the withdrawal of Russian troops to the eastern coast, they were supposed to destroy it.

The corps under the command of E. Beauharnais, Viceroy of Spain, sent one division from the north and another from the west to the battle near Borodino.

The French imperceptibly, under the cover of the morning fog, approached Borodino at 5 am, and at 5-30 they were noticed by the Russians, who opened artillery fire. The guards moved on the French with bayonets, but the forces were not equal - many of them died on the spot. The rest retreated behind Kolocha, but the French broke through the bridge and approached the village of Gorki, where Kutuzov's command post was.

But Barclay de Tolly, having sent three regiments of chasseurs, drove the French away, the bridge over the Kolocha was dismantled.

The French who survived and retreated to Borodino established an artillery battery here, from which they fired at the Raevsky battery and at the battery near the village of Gorki.

Battle for Bagration's flashes

J.Dow "Portrait of P.I. Bagration"

Bagration had at his disposal about 8,000 soldiers and 50 guns (the 27th infantry division of General Neverovsky and the consolidated grenadier division of General Vorontsov) to protect the flashes.

Napoleon had 43,000 men and more than 200 guns (seven infantry and eight cavalry divisions under the command of marshals Davout, Murat, Ney and General Junot) to strike at the flushes. But even these troops were not enough, additional reinforcements came, as a result, the Napoleonic army fought for the Bagration Flushes, consisting of 50 thousand soldiers and 400 guns. During the battle, the Russians also brought up reinforcements - 30 thousand soldiers and 300 guns made up the number of Russian troops.

For 6 hours of battle, the French made eight attacks: the first two were repulsed, then the French managed to temporarily capture three flushes, but they could not gain a foothold there and were driven back by Bagration. This defeat worried Napoleon and his marshals, as the French were clearly outnumbered. The French troops were losing confidence. And so the eighth attack of the flushes began, which ended with the capture of it by the French, then Bagration advanced all his available forces for a counterattack, but he himself was seriously wounded - Lieutenant General Konovnitsyn took command. He raised the spirit of the army, broken by the wound of Bagration, withdrew the troops from the fleches to the eastern bank of the Semenovsky ravine, quickly installed artillery, built infantry and cavalry, and delayed the further advance of the French.

Semenov position

10 thousand soldiers and artillery were concentrated here. The task of the Russians in this position was to delay the further advance of the French army and block the breakthrough, which was formed after the French occupied the Bagration fleches. This was a difficult task, since the bulk of the Russian troops were those who had already fought for several hours for Bagration's flushes, and only three guards regiments (Moscow, Izmailovsky and Finland) arrived from the reserve. They lined up in a square.

But the French did not have reinforcements, so the Napoleonic marshals decided to attack in such a way as to hit the Russians on both sides in the crossfire of artillery. The French attacked fiercely, but were constantly repulsed, most of them died from Russian bayonets. Nevertheless, the Russians were forced to retreat east of the village of Semenovskoye, but soon Kutuzov gave the order to attack the cavalry of the Cossack regiments of Platov and Uvarov, which diverted part of the French troops from the center. While Napoleon was regrouping his troops on the left wing, Kutuzov gained time and pulled his forces to the center of the position.

Raevsky battery

J. Dow "Portrait of General Raevsky"

The battery of Lieutenant General Raevsky had a strong position: it was located on a hill, where 18 guns were installed, there were 8 infantry battalions and three regiments of chasseurs in reserve. The French tried twice to attack the battery, but failed, but there were heavy losses on both sides. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the French again began to attack Raevsky's battery and two regiments managed to go around it from the north side and break in. A fierce hand-to-hand fight began, Raevsky's battery was finally taken by the French. Russian troops retreated in battle and organized defenses 1-1.5 kilometers east of the Raevsky battery.

Fights on the Old Smolensk road

After a long break, the battle began again on the Old Smolensk road. The regiments of the 17th division, the Vilmanstrad and Minsk regiments of the 4th division and 500 people of the Moscow militia participated in it. The French could not withstand the attacking actions of the Russian troops and retreated, but then Poniatowski's infantry and cavalry forces struck from the left flank and from the rear. Russian troops at first successfully resisted, but then retreated along the Old Smolensk road and settled east of the Utitsky mound, in the upper reaches of the Semenovsky stream, adjoining the left flank of the 2nd army.

End of the Battle of Borodino

V.V. Vereshchagin "The End of the Battle of Borodino"

For 15 hours the French army fought with the Russian forces, but could not achieve success. Its physical and moral resources were undermined, and with the onset of darkness, the Napoleonic troops retreated to their starting line, leaving the Bagrationov flashes and the Rayevsky battery, for which there was a stubborn struggle. Only the forward detachments of the French remained on the right bank of the Kolocha, while the main forces retreated to the left bank of the river.

The Russian army firmly occupied positions. Despite significant losses, her morale did not drop. The soldiers were eager to fight and burned with the desire to finally defeat the enemy. Kutuzov was also preparing for the upcoming battle, but the information collected at night showed that half of the Russian army was defeated - it was impossible to continue the battle. And he decides to retreat and surrender Moscow to the French.

The meaning of the battle of Borodino

Under Borodino, the Russian army under the command of Kutuzov dealt a severe blow to the French army. Its losses were enormous: 58 thousand soldiers, 1600 officers and 47 generals. Napoleon called the battle of Borodino the most bloody and terrible of all the battles he had given (a total of 50). His troops, which won brilliant victories in Europe, were forced to retreat under the pressure of Russian soldiers. The French officer Laugier wrote in his diary: “What a sad sight the battlefield presented. No disaster, no lost battle can equal the horrors of the Borodino field. . . Everyone is shocked and crushed."

The Russian army also suffered heavy losses: 38 thousand soldiers, 1500 officers and 29 generals.

The battle of Borodino is an example of the military genius of M.I. Kutuzov. He took everything into account: he successfully chose positions, skillfully deployed troops, provided strong reserves, which gave him the opportunity to maneuver. The French army, on the other hand, conducted a mainly frontal offensive with limited maneuvers. In addition, Kutuzov always relied on the courage and stamina of Russian soldiers, soldiers and officers.

The battle of Borodino was a turning point in the Patriotic War of 1812, it was of great international importance, which influenced the fate of European countries. Defeated near Borodino, Napoleon was never able to recover from the defeat in Russia, and later he was defeated in Europe.

V.V. Vereshchagin "On the high road - the retreat of the French"

Other assessments of the Battle of Borodino

Emperor Alexander I announced the battle of Borodino as victory.

A number of Russian historians insist that the outcome of the Battle of Borodino was indefinite, but the Russian army won a "moral victory" in it.

F. Roubaud "Borodino. Attack on the Raevsky Battery"

Foreign historians, as well as a number of Russian ones, consider Borodino as an undoubted Napoleon's victory.

However, everyone agrees that Napoleon failed crush the Russian army. French failed destroy the Russian army, force Russia to capitulate and dictate peace terms.

Russian troops inflicted significant damage on Napoleon's army and were able to save forces for future battles in Europe.

Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1747-1813)

Most Serene Prince,field marshal general.

Commander-in-Chief during the Patriotic War of 1812.

First Full Knight of the Order of St. George

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, M.I. Kutuzov took part in the battles at the Ryabaya Mogila tract, the Larga and Cahul rivers, where he proved himself to be a brave, energetic and enterprising officer.

In July 1774, in a battle near the village of Shumy (now Upper Kutuzovka) north of Alushta, Kutuzov was seriously wounded in the left temple by a bullet that came out near the right eye. For courage Kutuzov was awarded the Order of St. George IV class

In 1788, during the siege of Ochakov, repelling a sortie by the Turks, he was seriously wounded in the head for the second time: a bullet pierced his cheek and flew into the back of the head.

In December 1790, during the assault on Izmail, commanding the 6th column, Kutuzov showed high-willed qualities, fearlessness and perseverance. A.V. Suvorov highly appreciated the actions of Kutuzov. After the capture of Izmail, Kutuzov was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed commandant of this fortress.

In August 1805, during the Russo-Austrian-French War, Kutuzov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army.

The plan of action proposed by Kutuzov against Napoleon was not accepted by Alexander I and his Austrian military advisers. This led to the fact that the battle of Austerlitz was won by the French.

At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Mikhail Kutuzov was elected head of the St. Petersburg, and then the Moscow militia. After the Russian troops abandoned Smolensk in August, Kutuzov was appointed commander in chief.

In the battle of Borodino, Kutuzov opposed Napoleon on equal terms. But the losses were too great, and in an effort to save the army, Kutuzov surrendered Moscow to Napoleon. After that, having made a bold flank march from the Ryazan road to the Kaluga road, he stopped at the Tarutinsky camp, where he replenished the troops and organized partisan actions.

On October 18 (6, old style) Kutuzov, near the village of Tarutino, defeated the French corps of Murat and forced Napoleon to hasten the abandonment of Moscow. Having blocked the path of the French army to the southern Russian provinces near Maloyaroslavets, he forced it to retreat west along the devastated Smolensk road and, vigorously pursuing the enemy, finally defeated his main forces on the Berezina River.

In December 1812, Kutuzov received the title of Prince of Smolensky and was awarded the highest military order of St. George, I degree, becoming the first in the history of the order to be a full Knight of St. George.

At the beginning of 1813, Kutuzov led military operations against the remnants of the Napoleonic army in Poland and Prussia, but the commander's health was undermined, and death prevented him from seeing the final victory of the Russian army.

On April 28 (16 according to the old style) April 1813, the Most Serene Prince died in the small Silesian town of Bunzlau (now the city of Bolesławiec in Poland). His body was transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the Kazan Cathedral.

Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly (1757-1818)

Field Marshal General (since 1814), Minister of War, Prince (since 1815)

Full Knight of the Order of St. George.

In the battle of Borodino, he commanded the right wing and the center of the Russian troops. He showed great courage and skill in command and control.

Eyewitnesses claim that Barclay deliberately exposed to enemy fire, unable to endure the silent condemnation of the army and society, who considered him the main culprit of the defeats . Five horses were killed and wounded under him.

After Battle of Borodinocontinued to defend the need for a strategic retreat, at the military council in Fili spoke in favor of leaving Moscow.

Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (1765-1812)

Born in 1765 in a Georgian aristocratic family descended from the royal dynasty of Bagrations.

P.I.Bagration belonged to the commanders of the Suvorov school. He showed special concern for the soldiers, their health and life. He was extremely popular in the army and in Russian society.

In the battle of Borodino, P.I.Bagration led the left flank, which fell on the main blow of the French, and heroically defended the Semyonov flushes; led a counterattack by the 2nd Grenadier Division against the French-occupied North Flesh and was mortally wounded.

On September 12 (24) he died in the village. Sim of the Vladimir province in the estate of his friend Prince B.A. Golitsyn; buried in the wall of the local church. In July 1839, he was reburied at the Kurgan height of the Borodino field.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky (1771-1829)

General from the cavalry, the pride of the Russian army and friend of A. S. Pushkin.

Raevsky battery of 18 guns was installed at Kurgan height on the night before the Battle of Borodino. The battery was intended for the defense of the center of the battle order of the Russian army.It was surrounded by a parapet more than two meters high, surrounded by a wide moat two meters deep.

Raevsky battery - key point of the battle of Borodino. Artillerymen of the infantry corps of General Raevsky showed miracles of courage here. The fortifications on Kurgan height, where the battery was located, were called by the French "the grave of the French cavalry."

Raevsky's battery served as the main stronghold of the entire Borodino position. Together with the Bagration flashes, the battery was the object of repeated attacks by the Napoleonic infantry and cavalry. All the slopes of the Kurgan Heights were littered with the corpses of the invaders. The French army lost over 3,000 soldiers and 5 generals here.

After the Patriotic War, Raevsky was the commander of an army corps. In 1824 he retired, and a year later there was an uprising of the Decembrists. Sons Alexander Nikolaevich and Nikolai Nikolaevich, both colonels, were accused of sympathizing with the rebels. Beloved daughter Maria Nikolaevna was married to General Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky , also a hero of 1812, one of the leaders of the Decembrist uprising. The death penalty was commuted to Volkonsky by twenty years of settlement. Maria Nikolaevna went to her husband in Siberia. Raevsky was very worried about separation from his daughter. He died in 1829.

Alexei Petrovich Ermolov (1772-1861)

Russian military leader and statesman, participant in many wars from the 1790s to the 1820s. General of infantry, 1818. General of artillery, 1837. Commander-in-Chief at the first stage of the Caucasian War ( 1816-1826 ).

In the battle of Borodino, Yermolov actually served as the chief of staff of M.I. Kutuzov. He organized and led a counterattack against the French, who captured the Raevsky battery, and repulsed it. He was appointed by Kutuzov to replace the wounded Prince Bagration.

At the military council in Fili, Yermolov opposed the abandonment of Moscow and offered to give Napoleon a new battle.

The largest event of the Patriotic War of 1812 took place on August 26, 125 kilometers from Moscow. The battle on the Borodino field is one of the bloodiest battles of the 19th century. Its significance in Russian history is colossal, the loss of Borodino threatened the complete capitulation of the Russian Empire.

The commander-in-chief of the Russian troops, M.I. Kutuzov, planned to make further French offensives impossible, while the enemy wanted to completely defeat the Russian army and capture Moscow. The forces of the parties were practically equal to one hundred and thirty-two thousand Russians against one hundred and thirty-five thousand French, the number of guns was 640 against 587, respectively.

At 6 o'clock in the morning the French began their offensive. In order to clear the road to Moscow, they tried to break through the center of the Russian troops to bypass their left flank, the attempt ended in failure. The most terrible battles took place on the flashes of Bagration and the battery of General Raevsky. Soldiers were dying at the rate of 100 per minute. By six o'clock in the evening, the French captured only the central battery. Later, Bonaparte ordered the withdrawal of forces, but Mikhail Illarionovich also decided to retreat to Moscow.

In fact, the battle did not give victory to anyone. The losses were huge for both sides, Russia mourned the death of 44 thousand soldiers, France and its allies 60 thousand soldiers.

The king demanded to give another decisive battle, so the entire general staff was convened in Fili near Moscow. This council decided the fate of Moscow. Kutuzov opposed the battle, the army was not ready, he believed. Moscow was surrendered without a fight - this decision became the most correct in the last.

Patriotic War.

Battle of Borodino 1812 (about the Battle of Borodino) for children

The Battle of Borodino in 1812 is one of the major battles of the Patriotic War of 1812. It went down in history as one of the bloodiest events in the nineteenth century. The battle took place between the Russians and the French. It began on September 7, 1812 near the village of Borodino. This date is the personification of the victory of the Russian people over the French. The significance of the Battle of Borodino is enormous, since if the Russian Empire were defeated, this would result in complete surrender.

On September 7, Napoleon with his army attacked the Russian Empire without declaring war. Due to the unpreparedness for battle, the Russian troops were forced to retreat inland. This action caused complete misunderstanding and indignation on the part of the people, and Alexander was the first to appoint M.I. Kutuzov.

At first, Kutuzov also had to retreat in order to gain time. By this time, the Napoleonic army had already experienced significant losses and the number of its soldiers had decreased. Taking advantage of this moment, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, the soldier, decides to give the final battle near the village of Borodino. On September 7, 1812, in the early morning, a grandiose battle began. Russian soldiers held the enemy's blow for six hours. Losses were colossal on both sides. The Russians were forced to retreat, but still managed to retain the ability to continue the battle. Napoleon did not achieve his main goal, he could not defeat the army.

Kutuzov decided to use small partisan detachments in the battle. Thus, by the end of December, Napoleon's army was practically destroyed, and the rest of it was put to flight. However, the result of this battle is controversial to this day. It was not clear who to consider the winner, since both Kutuzov and Napoleon officially declared their victory. But still, the French army was expelled from the Russian Empire, without capturing the desired land. Later, Bonaparte will remember the Battle of Borodino as one of the most nightmarish in his life. The consequences of the battle turned out to be much harder for Napoleon than for the Russians. The morale of the soldiers was finally broken. The huge losses of people were irreplaceable. The French lost fifty-nine thousand men, forty-seven of whom were generals. The Russian army lost only thirty-nine thousand people, twenty-nine of whom were generals.

Currently, the day of the battle of Borodino is widely celebrated in Russia. On the battlefield, reconstructions of these military events are regularly held.

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  Russian literature of the 20th century includes many famous representatives of the creative intelligentsia, among which the name of Mikhail Bulgakov, an outstanding prose writer and playwright, occupies a special place.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky - General of the cavalry, the pride of the Russian army and friend of A. S. Pushkin.
Unusual heroism was shown by General Raevsky in the Battle of Borodino. A battery of 18 guns stood at Kurgan height on the right flank. It was surrounded by a parapet more than two meters high, surrounded by a wide moat two meters deep. The infantry corps of General Raevsky defended the height, and therefore the battery was called the “Raevsky battery”.
There were many heroes on Raevsky's battery. Sergeant Major of the Jaeger Regiment Zolotov I saw that the French General Bonami was trying to gather soldiers for a new fight. Zolotov, like a cat, jumped on the general's back, knocked him down and dragged him from the mound height. The soldiers of Bonami, left without a commander, were confused and fled. Zolotov delivered the captive Bonami to the command post, and Kutuzov immediately promoted the sergeant major to an officer.

After the Patriotic War, Raevsky was listed as the commander of an army corps. In 1824 he retired. The last years of Nikolai Nikolaevich were sad. The Decembrist uprising took place. Sons Alexander Nikolaevich and Nikolai Nikolaevich, both colonels, were accused of sympathizing with the rebels. Beloved daughter Maria Nikolaevna was married to General Prince Volkonsky Sergei Grigoryevich, also a hero of 1812, one of the leaders of the Decembrist uprising. The death penalty was commuted to Volkonsky by twenty years of settlement. Maria Nikolaevna went to her husband, a convict in Siberia. Raevsky was very worried about separation from his daughter. Died in 1829.

Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly - Russian commander, field marshal general (since 1814), minister of war, prince (since 1815), hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, full cavalier of the Order of St. George.
In the Battle of Borodino, he commanded the right wing and the center of the Russian troops, showed great courage and skill in command and control. Eyewitnesses claim that General Barclay in this battle deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire, unable to endure the silent condemnation of the army and society. Before Borodino, his troops refused to welcome Barclay, considering him the main culprit in the defeats. It is said that five horses were killed and wounded under it on the day of the battle. Nevertheless, he continued to stubbornly defend the need for a strategic retreat; at the military council in Fili, he spoke in favor of leaving Moscow

BAGRATION, PETER IVANOVICH (1765-1812), prince, Russian commander, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812. Born in 1765 in Kizlyar (Terek region) in a Georgian aristocratic family descended from the royal dynasty of Bagrations.
P.I.Bagration belonged to the commanders of the Suvorov school. As a military leader, he was distinguished by the ability to quickly navigate in a difficult combat situation, courage and unexpectedness of decisions, and perseverance in their implementation. He showed special concern for the soldiers, their health and life. He was extremely popular in the army and in Russian society.

In the battle of Borodino, P.I.Bagration led the left flank, which fell on the main blow of the French, and heroically defended the Semyonov flushes; led a counterattack by the 2nd Grenadier Division against the French-occupied North Flesh and was mortally wounded.
On September 12 (24) he died in the village. Sim of the Vladimir province in the estate of his friend Prince B.A. Golitsyn; buried in the wall of the local church. In July 1839 he was reburied at the Kurgan height of the Borodino field. The 104th Ustyug Infantry Regiment was named after him.

Each of us still remembers the lines of this beautiful poem by Lermontov, memorized at school: “It is not for nothing that all of Russia remembers the day of Borodin!” But what was that day? What happened that day near the village of Borodino, which is located 125 kilometers from Moscow? And most importantly, who ultimately won the Battle of Borodino? Find out about this and more right now.

Prologue of the Battle of Borodino

Napoleon invaded Russia with large forces - 600,000 troops. The commander-in-chief of our army, Barclay, avoided decisive battles, since he believed that the Russian forces were still not enough. Under the pressure of the patriotic mood in society, the tsar removed Barclay and installed Kutuzov, who, however, was forced to continue the strategy of his predecessor.

But the pressure of society increased, and Kutuzov finally decided to give the French a battle. He himself determined the place of the battle with Napoleon - the Borodino field.

The location was strategically advantageous:

1. The most important road to Moscow passed through the Borodino field.
2. On the field was Kurgan height (Raevsky's battery was located on it).
3. A hill towered above the field near the village of Shevardino (the Shevardinsky redoubt was located on it) and the Utitsky mound.
4. The field was crossed by the river Kolocha.

Preparation for the Battle of Borodino

On August 24, 1812, Napoleon approached the Russian troops with an army and immediately identified the weak points of their position. There were no fortifications behind the Shevardinsky redoubt, this was fraught with the danger of a breakthrough to the left flank and general defeat. Two days later, this redoubt was attacked by 35,000 French, and defended by 12,000 Russian soldiers under the command of Gorchakov.

About 200 guns fired at the fortifications, the French constantly attacked, but they could not take the redoubts. Napoleon chose the following battle plan: attack the left flank - the Semenov flushes (lined up behind the Shevardino redoubts at the last moment), break through them, push the Russians to the river and defeat them.

All this was to be accompanied by additional attacks on the Kurgan Height and the advance of Poniatowski's troops on the Utitskaya Height.

Experienced Kutuzov foresaw this enemy plan. On the right, he placed Barclay's army. At Kurgan Height he placed Raevsky's corps. The defense of the left flank was in charge of Bagration's army. Tuchkov's corps was placed near the Utitsky Kurgan to cover the road to Mozhaisk and Moscow. However, the most important thing: Kutuzov left a huge reserve in reserve in case of unexpected changes in the situation.

The beginning of the battle of Borodino

On August 26, the battle began. At first, the opponents spoke to each other in the language of cannons. Later, the Beauharnais corps invaded Borodino with an unexpected blow and from its location organized a massive shelling of the right flank. But the Russians were able to set fire to the bridge across the Kolocha, which prevented the French advance.

At the same time, the troops of Marshal Davout attacked the fleches of Bagration. However, even here the Russian artillery was accurate and stopped the enemy. Davout gathered his strength and attacked a second time. And this attack was repulsed by the infantrymen of General Neverovsky.

In this case, enraged by the failure, Napoleon threw the main striking power into the suppression of the Bagration flushes: the corps of Ney and Zhenya with the support of Murat's cavalry. Such a force managed to push through the Bagration flushes.

Concerned about this fact, Kutuzov sent reserves there and the original situation was restored. At the same time, the French units of Poniatovsky came out and hit the Russian troops near the Utitsky Kurgan in order to go behind Kutuzov.

Poniatowski succeeded in accomplishing this task. Kutuzov had to weaken the right flank, transferring parts of Baggovut from it to the Old Smolensk road, which stopped Poniatowski's troops.

At the same time, Raevsky's battery changed hands. At the cost of enormous efforts, the battery was defended. Around noon, seven French attacks were repulsed. Napoleon concentrated large forces at the flushes and threw them into the eighth attack. Unexpectedly, Bagration was wounded, and his units began to retreat.

Kutuzov sent reinforcements to the flashes - Platov's Cossacks and Uvarov's cavalry, which appeared on the French flank. The French attacks stopped because of the beginning of the panic. Until the evening, the French attacked, captured all Russian positions, but the cost of losses was so high that Napoleon ordered to stop further offensive operations.

Who won the Battle of Borodino?

There is a question with the winner. Napoleon declared himself as such. Yes, he seems to have captured all the Russian fortifications on the Borodino field. But he did not achieve his main goal - he did not defeat the Russian army. Although she suffered heavy losses, she still remained very combat-ready. And Kutuzov's reserve generally remained unused and intact. Cautious and experienced commander Kutuzov ordered to retreat.

Napoleonic troops suffered terrible losses - about 60,000 people. And there could be no talk of a further offensive. Napoleonic armies needed time to recover. In a report to Alexander I, Kutuzov noted the unparalleled courage of the Russian troops, who on that day won a moral victory over the French.

Outcome of the Battle of Borodino

Reflections on who won and who lost that day - September 7, 1812 do not stop to this day. For us, the main thing is that this day has entered the history of our state forever as the Day of Russia's Military Glory. And literally in a week we will celebrate another anniversary - 204 years since the battle of Borodino.

P.S. Friends, as you probably noticed, I did not set myself the task of describing this great battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 as fully as possible. On the contrary, I tried to compress it as much as possible in order to tell you briefly about that day, which, it seems to me, lasted an eternity for the participants in the battle itself. And now I need your help.

Please give me feedback in the comments to the article on the format in which it is better to describe other Days of Russian Military Glory in the future: briefly or in full, as I did with the battle at Cape Tendra? I look forward to your comments under the article.

All the peaceful sky above your head,

reserve sergeant Suvernev.