The 1812 Campaign up to Borodino

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.

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.

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 on-

ly 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.

The Saviour of Borodino Monastery

as it stands today on the battlefield

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 de-

cisive battle, but it was not on ground chosen by Barclay so he wisely abandoned the city in a fighting retreat.