page_title: Battle of Borodino
section_title: Napoleon's invasion of Russia
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Borodino / Background / Napoleon's invasion of Russia
caption_attribution_description: English: Napoléon Before The Battle Of Moscow By Joseph Franque
context_page_description: The Battle of Borodino was a battle fought on 7 September 1812 in the Napoleonic Wars during the French invasion of Russia.
  The fighting involved around 250,000 troops and left at least 68,000 dead, making Borodino the deadliest day of the Napoleonic Wars and the bloodiest single day in the history of warfare until the First Battle of the Marne in 1914. Napoleon's Grande Armée launched an attack against the Imperial Russian Army, driving it back from its initial positions but failing to gain a decisive victory. Both armies were exhausted after the battle and the Russians withdrew from the field the following day. Borodino represented the last Russian effort at stopping the French advance on Moscow, which fell a week later. However, the French had no clear way of forcing Tsar Alexander to capitulate because the Russian army was not decisively defeated, resulting in the ultimate defeat of the French invasion following the retreat from Moscow in October.
  After a series of Russian retreats at the beginning of the campaign, the nobility grew alarmed about the advancing French troops and forced the Tsar to dismiss the army's commander, Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly.
context_section_description: The French Grande Armée began its invasion of Russia on 16 June 1812. In response, Emperor Alexander I proclaimed a "Patriotic War" and prepared to face the French. According to the plan of German general Karl Ludwig von Phull, the Russian troops under the command of Count Michael Barclay de Tolly had to face the Grande Armée in the Vilnius region; the remaining troops under general Pyotr Bagration would launch an attack to the French southern flank and rear. However, Phull's plan soon proved to be a serious mistake, as the enormous Grande Armée was more than large enough to separate and crush both Russian armies at the same time. Furthermore, the participation of Tsar Alexander I as commander caused more chaos in the Russian army. The Russian forces which were massed along the Polish frontier were obliged to fall back in the face of the swift French advance.
  Napoleon advanced from Vitebsk, hoping to catch the Russian army in the open where he could annihilate it. The French army was not positioned well for an extended overland campaign; it was 925 km (575 mi) from its nearest supply base at Kovno (Kaunas). French supply lines were vulnerable and Cossacks, light cavalry, guerrilla forces and even French deserters attacked and seriously depleted French supply columns. The central French force under Napoleon's direct command had crossed the Niemen with 286,000 men but by the time of the battle was reduced to 161,475, mostly through starvation and disease. Nonetheless, the prospect of a decisive battle lured Napoleon deeper into Russia and further stretched his supply lines.
  Infighting between Barclay's subordinates repeatedly prevented the Russian commander from committing his forces to battle. Barclay's fellow generals and the Russian court viewed the constant retreat as a reluctance to fight; consequently, he was removed from command and replaced by Prince Mikhail Kutuzov on 29 August 1812. Although the 67-year-old General Kutuzov was not seen by his contemporaries as an equal of Napoleon, he possessed the ability to muster a good defence. He was favoured over Barclay because he was Russian whereas Barclay was of Scottish descent and officers subordinate to Barclay could accept Kutuzov, thereby uniting the army. On 18 August Kutuzov arrived at Tsaryovo-Zaymishche to greet the army.
  After taking over the army, Kutuzov organized a strong rearguard under the command of General Konovnytsyn and then ordered the army to prepare for battle. Kutuzov understood that Barclay's decision to retreat was correct, but the Russian troops could not accept further retreat. A battle had to occur in order to preserve the morale of the soldiers. The new commander had still not managed to establish a defensive position when the armies were within 125 kilometres (78 mi) of Moscow. He then ordered another retreat to Gzhatsk (Gagarin) on 30 August, by which time the ratio of French to Russian forces had shrunk from 3:1 to 5:4. The time to fight had arrived.
  Napoleon's Grande Armée made its final approach to Moscow from the WSW along the Smolensk Roads with the Moscow River on its left flank. A defensive line was established in the best available position along this path before Moscow near the village of Borodino. Although the Borodino field was too open and had too few natural obstacles to protect the Russian center and the left flank, it was chosen due to the protection provided by the Kolocha river, because it blocked both Smolensk–Moscow roads and because there were simply no better locations. Starting on 3 September, Kutuzov strengthened the line with earthworks, including the Raevski Redoubt in the center-right of the line and three open, arrow-shaped "Bagration flèches" (named after Pyotr Bagration) on the left.
caption: Napoléon Before The Battle Of Borodino By Joseph Franque, 1812
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