The 1812 Campaign up to Borodino

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The 1812 Campaign up to Borodino Although the Russian campaign was suc- cessful in denying Napoleon’s initial plan to destroy the Russian army in a decisive battle, Barclay was being severely criti- cised for abandoning so much of Russia to the enemy. Thus the Russians undertook to attack the French before the latter attacked the major city of Smolensk. In a time of no satellites nor aerial reconnaissance, armies were often unaware of their opponents (or indeed allies) only a few miles away and the Russians were marching and countermarching when news that Napoleon was approaching the city from the south. Fortunately for the Russians, General Neverovskii’s 27th Infantry Division (which we will come across again defend- ing the Fleches) held the French up long enough for the two Russian Armies to rally in and around Smolensk. On the 17th Au- gust the French simply attacked and a bloody battle ensued with over 13,000 casualties. This could have been Napoleon’s decisive battle, but it was not on ground chosen by Barclay so he wisely abandoned the city in a fighting retreat. The Russian Army was still intact. However, the continuing retreat in- variably led to even more criticism of Barclay. Alexander then replaced Barclay de Tolly with the 66 year old General Mikhail Kutuzov, who took supreme command of the armies on 20th August. This was certainly a boost to Russian morale. Kutuzov was 100% Russian unlike the German history of Barclay and he was popular with the largely peasant Russian solidary as well as much of Russian socie- ty, but not favoured by Alexander. However, his military record was not impressive although he had just defeated the Turks thus freeing up ad- ditional soldiers for this war. Wounded many times in the head and only able to ride a horse with difficulty, his conduct at Borodino would be found wanting. He continued to command the Russians until the French were expelled from Russia and so as a figurehead he certainly met the needs of the day. Kutuzov was in accord with the strategy of weakening the French but politically and socially the need to defend Moscow was absolute. 130 kilometres west of Moscow, around the small village of Borodino, he decided to stand with his army. The Saviour of Borodino Monastery as it stands today on the battlefield .

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