The Battle of Czasniki was fought during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, on 31 October 1812, between Russian forces under General Wittgenstein, and the French army, commanded by Marshal Victor. This battle was a failed effort by the French to reestablish their northern “Dwina Line”, which had crumbled as a result of Wittgestein’s victory at the Second battle of Polotsk just two weeks earlier. Combatants First French Empire Russian Empire Commanders Napoleon Eugène de Beauharnais Jérôme Bonaparte Jaques MacDonald Karl Philipp Alexander I of Russia Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Pyotr Bagration Strength 771,500 troops 900,000 troops Casualties 300,000 French 70,000 Poles 50,000 Italians 80,000... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire or the Napoleonic Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. ... Prince Peter Khristianovich Wittgenstein (1769-1843) was a Russian Field Marshal distinguished for his services in the Napoleonic wars. ... Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno (7 December 1764 – 1 March 1841) was a marshal of France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. ... Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ... The First Battle of Smolensk took place on August 17, 1812, between 175,000 French under Napoleon Bonaparte and 130,000 Russians under Prince Bagration, of whom about 50,000 and 60,000 respectively were actually engaged. ... The Battle of Valutino took place on August 9, 1812, between Marshal Neys corps, about 30,000 strong, and a strong rear-guard of General Barclay de Tollys army of about 40,000, commanded by the General himself. ... Combatants First French Empire Russian Empire Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov Strength 130,000 600 cannon[1] 154,000 624 cannon[1] Casualties 35,000[1] 44,000[1] The Battle of Borodino (Russian: , French: ) (September 7, 1812, or August 26 in the Julian calendar then used in Russia... The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on October 24, 1812, between the Russians, under Marshal Kutuzov, and part of the corps of Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleons son_in_law, under General Delzons with numbered about 20,000 strong. ... Combatants Russian Empire First French Empire Commanders Prince Peter Wittgenstein Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr Strength 31,000 regular troops, 9,000 militia, 9,000 regular troops operating independently; total of 49,000 23,000 to 27,000 Casualties 8,000-12,500 8,000 At the Second Battle of Polotsk... Combatants Russian Empire First French Empire Commanders General Mikhail Miloradovich Louis Nicolas Davout, Eugene de Beauharnais, Józef Antoni Poniatowski, and Michel Ney Strength 26,500 troops, 37,000, of whom 24,000 took part in the battle Casualties 1,800 killed and wounded 8,000, including 4,000 taken... The Battle of Krasnoi was fought during Napoleons invasion of Russia on November 16 and November 17 of 1812 at Krasnoi, 67 km south-west of Smolensk. ... Battle of Berezina was held on November 26-29, 1812 between the French army of Napoleon retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina, and Russian army under Kutuzov. ... Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Prince Peter Khristianovich Wittgenstein (1769-1843) was a Russian Field Marshal distinguished for his services in the Napoleonic wars. ... Claude Victor-Perrin, duc de Belluno (7 December 1764 – 1 March 1841) was a marshal of France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. ... Combatants Russian Empire First French Empire Commanders Prince Peter Wittgenstein Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr Strength 31,000 regular troops, 9,000 militia, 9,000 regular troops operating independently; total of 49,000 23,000 to 27,000 Casualties 8,000-12,500 8,000 At the Second Battle of Polotsk...

Background

Upon learning of the French defeat at Polotsk, Victor, the commander of the French IX corps which Napoleon had kept in reserveat Smolensk, marched northeast with 22,000 troops to restore the Dwina Line. At Czasniki he united with elements of the II Corps, which was retreating from Polotsk. The combined II and IX corps. put 36,000 troops at Victor’s disposal.^[1] A view of Smolensk in 1912. ...

Wittgenstein, after leaving 9,000 soldiers to garrison territory captured as a result of his victory at Polotsk, marched south to Czasniki with 30,000 troops to deal with Victor.^[2]

Action

The combat at Czasniki was conducted chiefly by the Wittgenstein’s advance guard, 11,000 troops led by General Jaschwill, and by the II Corps on the French side.^[3]

The battle began with the Russians attacking the II Corps, which occupied a position in advance of the rest of Victor’s troops. In the ensuing combat the Russians drove the French back toward Victor’s rearward line.^[4]

Upon encountering Victor’s main position, Wittgenstein ordered Jaschwill to halt, and then commenced an artillery bombardment against the French.^[5]

Victor, apparently unnerved by Jaschwill’s successful advance, decided against continuing the battle, and retreated to Senno, 25 miles to the east.^[6] The Russians did not pursue.

French casualties in this battle were 1200 troops, as opposed to 400 lost by the Russians.^[7]

Consequences

Although the Russian victory at Czasniki was indecisive, its outcome was highly unfavorable to Napoleon for several reasons. For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

First, Victor’s defeat amounted to a failure to reestablish the Dwina Line, which was his overriding objective. Second, Victor’s new position at Senno was only 30 miles from the Napoleon’s intended line of retreat from Moscow, thus putting the Grande Armee within Wittgenstein’s attacking range.^[8] Further, Wittgenstein’s success increased the possibility that he could unite his command with the armies of Pavel Chichagov and Kutusov, thus trapping the Grande Armee between three separate Russian forces . Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2005)    - Density 10,415,400   8537. ... La Grande Armée (in English, the Big or Grand Army) is the French military term for the main force in a military campaign. ... Admiral Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov (1767-1849) was the son of Admiral Vasili Chichagov and his English wife. ...

Also, as a result of his victories at Polotsk and Czasniki, Wittgenstein dispatched a force under General Harpe to capture the massive French supply depot at Vitebsk. On November 7th, after a short combat, the French garrison at Vitebsk of surrendered to Harpe, and huge caches of foodstuffs and war material fell into Russian hands.^[9] Categories: Belarus-related stubs | Towns in Belarus ...

The fall of Vitebsk was a severe blow to Napoleon because he had planned to quarter his battered Grande Armee there for the winter. Napoleon’s plan to combine his main army was with Victor's force at Vitebsk, where they would reequip themselves before beginning the campaign anew the following spring, was now broken.^[10]

Upon learning of the Russian victory at Czasniki, Napoleon ordered Victor to immediately attack Wittgenstein again and recapture Polotsk.^[11] This led to yet another French defeat, the Battle of Smoliani, on November 14th, 1812.

Notes

References

• The War of the Two Emperors, Curtis Cate, Random House, New York, ISBN 0394536703
• The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Source, 1998, Digby Smith, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1853672769
• 1812 Napoleon’s Russian Campaign, Richard K. Riehn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., ISBN 0471543020
• Smith, Digby. "Napoleon Against Russia: A Concise History of 1812", Pen & Sword Military, 2004. ISBN 1-84415-089-5