Battle of Vyazma The Battle of Vyazma ( November 3 , 1812 ) , occurred at the beginning of Napoleon ' s retreat from Moscow . In this encounter , the rear guard of the Grande Armée was defeated by the Russians commanded by General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich . Although the French repelled Miloradovich ' s attempt to encircle and destroy the corps of Louis Nicolas Davout , they withdrew in a partial state of disorder after suffering heavy casualties from continued Russian attacks . The French reversal at Vyazma was indecisive , but it was noteworthy because of its disruptive impact on the Grande Armée ' s retreat . Background . Two weeks before the Battle of Vyazma , Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow because this city was isolated deep in enemy territory , and was thus unsuitable as the Grande Armée ' s winter quarters . Napoleon ' s objective at this stage of the retreat was to lead the Grande Armée to his closest major supply depot , Smolensk , which was west of Moscow . The campaign was then to be recommenced in the following spring . The French departed Moscow on October 18 , and after having a southern route to Smolensk denied them as a result of the Battle of Maloyaroslavets ( October 24 ) , they were compelled to backtrack and retreat along the same road used in their earlier advance on Moscow . Because the territory alongside this road had been economically ravaged by earlier campaigning , the retreat imposed on the Grande Armée extreme conditions of privation and attrition . Lack of foodstuffs soon led to demoralization and disorder in the French ranks . By November 3 , the day of the action at Vyazma , the retreating Grande Armée was stretched out in a column long . The helm of the column , Junot ' s VIII Corps , was at Dorogobuzh , with Davout ' s I Corps , serving as the army ' s rearguard , located at the tail of the army just east of Vyazma . Between these two endpoints were , running west to east , the Imperial Guard , Joachim Murat ' s troops , Michel Ney ' s III Corps , Poniatowski ' s V Corps , and Eugène ' s IV Corps . At this point , the French retreat was harassed by Cossack attacks at every juncture , Davout ' s corps in particular being beleaguered by Russian attacks . By November 2 , Napoleon had grown dissatisfied with Davout ' s management of rearguard activities , and ordered Ney to remain in Vyazma , to allow Eugene , Poniatowski and Davout to bypass him , and to assume rearguard duties himself . The Russians , meanwhile , organized themselves into three groups while pursuing the French . First , following Davout closely were 5 , 000 Cossacks commanded by Ataman Platov . This group was supported by General Ivan Paskevich ' s 26th Division , with 4 , 000 troops . Marching slightly to the south was General Miloradovich with the II and IV Infantry Corps , some 14 , 000 troops in all , and the II and III Cavalry Corps , which amounted to 3 , 500 soldiers . Miloradovich coordinated the activity of all of these troops , including those of Platov and Paskevich . The main Russian army led by Mikhail Kutuzov , some 70 , 000 troops in all , marched further to the south . On the evening of November 2 , while conducting reconnaissance south of the Smolensk - Moscow road , Miloradovich , together with his cavalry commanders General Korff and General Sievers , noticed a gap between Davout ' s troops , situated to the east at Fedorovskoye , and the troops of Eugene and Poniatowski , located to the west just outside of Vyazma . Recognizing an opportunity to isolate and destroy Davout ' s corps , the aggressive Miloradovich decided to attack early the next morning . Action . The Russian cavalry attacks . At 8 AM on the morning of November 3 , Miloradovich ' s cavalry attacked the disorganized French column holding the length of road which separated Davout from Eugene and Poniatowski . Miloradovich also ordered his artillery , positioned on nearby heights , to begin a cannonade . The attack was a complete success , as it captured the French IV Corps baggage train and sent the French troops fleeing in disarray . Miloradovich then placed infantrymen and horse batteries astraddle the road , thereby severing Davout ' s connection with the rest of the French army . Simultaneous to Miloradovich ' s attack to the west of Davout , Platov ' s Cossacks attacked Davout from the east , supported by Paskevich ' s troops . Davout ' s infantrymen formed squares to meet the attack from Platov and Paskevich , and his artillerymen set - up their pieces to return Miloradovich ' s fire . The 14 , 000 exhausted , hunger - weakened soldiers of Davout ' s Corps were now at risk of being overwhelmed and destroyed by the Russians . Eugene ' s counterattack . Fortunately for Davout , there was a weakness in the Russian plan of attack , in that the Russian cavalry had attacked the Vyazma - Fedorovskoye road that morning without the full support of the II and IV Infantry Corps ( led by Eugene of Württemberg and General Ostermann - Tolstoy respectively ) , which were located to the south and would not be able to reach the battlefield until 10 am , two hours after the action commenced . Miloradovich , fearing that the gap between Davout and the rest of the French army would close before he could exploit it , felt it expedient to launch his cavalry attack without having the balance of his infantry on hand . Lacking sufficient numbers of infantrymen to consolidate their hold on the Vyazma - Fedorovskoye road , Miloradovich ' s cavalry was vulnerable to a determined French counterattack . At this juncture , Davout ' s fortunes changed for the better . His infantrymen to the east repulsed Platov and Paskevich with steady , disciplined musketfire . More importantly , Eugene heard the cannon fire engulfing Davout ' s position to the rear , and immediately ordered his troops to counterattack Miloradovich and regain possession of the Vyazma - Fedorovskoye road . Eugene ' s counterattack fell on the rear of the troops Miloradovich had positioned on the road facing Davout . This counterattack was conducted by two of Eugene ' s Italian divisions , one division of Poles from Poniatowski ' s V Corps , and a single regiment of troops sent to the scene by Ney , whose III Corps was positioned in the heights near Vyazma . Davout , upon seeing these troops advancing to rescue him , sent his infantrymen to attack as well . Miloradovich ' s cavalry and his small body of infantrymen were now attacked from the east and the west , including being enveloped in French artillery shot , and were compelled to retreat from the road . Thanks to Eugene ' s counterattack , a passageway had been created on the Vyazma - Fedorovskoye road for Davout to continue his retreat . Miloradovich repositions his troops . The Russians at this point had been repulsed at all points , but they were hardly finished with the battle . Having pulled back from Eugene ' s attack , Miloradovich ordered his troops to reposition themselves parallel to the road . A heavy cannonade was then commenced against Davout ' s troops as they retreated toward Vyazma . Davout ' s artillery was unable to respond effectively to the Russian fire , and panic broke out among his troops . Louis Philippe , comte de Ségur , an observer of the action on the French side , describes this moment in the battle thus : … disorder reigned in the I Corps – the one commanded by Davout . The sudden maneuver , the surprise , and particularly the tragic example of the crowd of unhorsed , unarmed cavalrymen running up and down in blind fright , threw this corps into utter confusion . This spectacle encouraged the enemy , who credited themselves with a victory . Their artillery , superior in strength , galloped into position and , opening an oblique fire on our lines , began mowing our men down , while our own guns were coming back to us at a snail ' s pace from Vyazma . The damage wrought by the Russian artillery on Davout ' s troops was such that many of them were compelled to abandon the road , and to retreat across an open field in their desperation to reach safety behind Eugene ' s position . By 10 am , when the rest of Miloradovich ' s infantry arrived , Davout ' s battered corps had taken shelter behind Eugene . Eugene ' s troops , too , came under pressure from the Russians and were obliged to fall back . General Sir Robert Wilson , an Englishman who observed the action from the Russian side , describes the combat at this moment as follows : On the remainder of the Russian infantry coming up ( Eugene of Württemberg and Ostermann - Tolstoy ) , Miloradovich renewed the attack under protection of a superior and admirably served artillery . The enemy fell back on a second position , between Rjavets and the farm of Rieaupiere , and thence , when menaced on both flanks , to some heights in front of Vyazma , where they were reinforced by the two Italian divisions , the Italian guards , and the corps of Ney . According to Segur , the Russian cannonshot and musketry at this point were " " frighteningly effective " . " At 2 : 00 PM , Davout , Eugene , and Poniatowski conferred , and they concluded that victory was not possible given the disorganization in the French units caused by the Russian aggression . Soon , the three French corps had retreated into Vyazma . At some point prior to the three French corps falling back to a position on the heights protected by Ney , Miloradovich urgently requested reinforcements from Kutusov , as he recognized that the French were vulnerable and the opportunity for a great victory may have presented itself . Kutusov , who was now within earshot of the battle with his main army ( just away ) , sent only the 3000 cuirassiers of General Uvarov and nothing more . Final Russian assault on Vyazma . At 4 pm , the fighting spread into the town of Vyazma itself , which at this point was consumed by flames . By now the infantry of General Choglokov ( from Ostermann - Tolstoy ' s corps ) , as well as detachments of Platov ' s Cossacks were engaging the French in torrid , close quarters combat on the streets of Vyazma . The French were hard pressed , and had to fight desperately to hold the Russians off while evacuating the town . By 8 pm , the fighting was over . The corps of Davout , Eugene , and Poniatowski had retreated west of Vyazma , bruised but safe . Ney ' s rearguard was last to withdraw from the town , suffering heavy losses in a final bayonet fight with a force of Russian grenadiers . In order to cover their retreat , the French had set large sections of Vyazma on fire , resulting in many wounded from both sides burning to death . Worse yet , the French are reported to have locked civilians and Russian prisoners in buildings before setting them aflame . Russian troops pouring into the town were able to save some of these victims . That evening , Ney ' s corps remained on the western outskirts of Vyazma to block the Russians . However , given the Russians ' aggression , great danger remained , and according to Caulaincourt , even Ney had to " " continue his retreating movement before dawn in order not to risk the loss of his troops " . " The next day , withdrawing along a road heaped for miles with burning , overturned wagons , and blown - up ammunition caches , Ney dispatched an entire series of grim reports to Napoleon detailing the lost battle . The consequences . The Battle of Vyazma represented a defeat of the Grande Armée ' s rearguard , as French losses in this battle , 6 , 000 to 8 , 000 casualties , including 4 , 000 lost as prisoners to the Russians , were prohibitive . The shock of the Russian attack reduced many French units to a state of disarray , and owing to the speed with which their retreat had to be resumed , order was never restored within them . These disorganized units became easy targets for Cossack raids in the following days . General Armand de Caulaincourt , the famed memoirist who participated in the events of 1812 from the French side , perhaps best summarized the effects of Vyazma on his army with the following rueful words : Until then – as long , that is , as it had to withstand alone the attacks of the enemy – the First Corps had maintained its honor and reputation , although it was fiercely attacked and its formation broken by the artillery . This momentary disorder was conspicuous because it was the first time that these gallant infantry broke ranks and compelled their dogged commander to give ground . I have related these painful details because from this incident must be dated our disorganization and misfortunes . The First Corps , which on taking the field was the largest and finest , a rival to the Guard , was thenceforward the hardest hit ; and the evil spread . Russian casualties at Vyazma were no more than 1 , 800 killed and wounded , out of 26 , 500 troops involved .