Battle of Klyastitsy
Part of French invasion of Russia (1812)
Battle of Klyastitsy, by Piter von Hess
Date July 30 –­ August 1, 1812 Location Klyastitsy, Belarus Result Russian victory
Combatants
Russian Empire	First French Empire
Commanders
Prince Peter Wittgenstein	Nicolas Oudinot
Strength
17,000–22,000	23,000–28,000
Casualties
3,500–4,500	5,500 dead, 1000 prisoners

The Battle of Klyastitsy is a relatively minor engagement which took place near the village of Klyastitsy (Russian: Клястицы) (Drissa uyezd, Vitebsk guberniya) on the road between Polotsk and Sebezh. In this battle the Russian corps under the command of Peter Wittgenstein, ordered to defend St. Petersburg, defeated the French corps under the command of Marshal Nicolas Oudinot 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... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 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. ... Nicolas Charles Oudinot (April 25, 1767 - September 13, 1847), duke of Reggio, was a marshal of France. ... 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 Prince Peter Wittgenstein Marshal Victor Strength 30,000, of whom 11,000 were involved 36,000, of whom 10,000 to 18,000 were involved Casualties 400 1200 The Battle of Czasniki was fought during Napoleons invasion of Russia, on 31 October... 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. ... Uyezd or uezd (Russian: ) was an admistrative subdivision of Rus, Muscovy, and Russia used from the 13th century, originally describing groups of several volosts formed around the most important cities. ... Categories: Belarus-related stubs | Towns in Belarus ... Guberniya (Russian: ) (also gubernia, guberniia, gubernya) was a major administrative subdivision of the Imperial Russia, usually translated as governorate or province. ... Polatsk (Belarusian: По́лацак, По́лацк; Polish: Połock, also spelt as Polacak; Russian: По́лоцк, also transliterated as Polotsk, Polotzk, Polock) is the most historic city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina... Holy Trinity Church (1648) is probably the oldest baroque structure in Russia. ... A corps (a word that migrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Prince Peter Khristianovich Wittgenstein (1769-1843) was a Russian Field Marshal distinguished for his services in the Napoleonic wars. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... The Marshal of France (maréchal de France) was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France. ... Nicolas Charles Oudinot (April 25, 1767 - September 13, 1847), duke of Reggio, was a marshal of France. ...

On July 28 twelve French cavalry squadrons were surprised and attacked by eight Russian hussard and Cossack squadrons under General Yakov Kulnev. In spite of their numerical superiority, the French squadrons lost the skirmish and retreated. July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining. ... Soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat are commonly known as cavalry (from French cavalerie). ... A Squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, aircraft (including balloons), or naval vessels. ... Polish Hussar Hussar (original Hungarian spelling: huszár, plural huszárok; vie the French hussard) refers to a number of types of cavalry used throughout Europe since the 15th century. ... Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of Ottoman Empire. ... Portrait from the Military Gallery of Winter Palace. ...

At that time Oudinot occupied the village of Klyastitsy on his advance towards St. Petersburg. There were 28000 French troops while the Russian Corps numbered 17000. In spite of being outnumbered, Wittgenstein decided to fight. The battle started on July 30 at 2 pm. The Russian vanguard led by Kulnev (ca 4000 men) fought with the French vanguard for the whole day near the village of Yakubov. Kulnev managed to press the French but they kept the village under their control. On the next day, after several attacks and counterattacks, the Russian advance forced Oudinot to retreat to Klyastitsy. In order to continue their advance the Russian troops had to cross the river Nishcha. Oudinot ordered his troops to set fire to the only bridge. While the Russian cavalry was wading across the Nishcha, the 2nd battalion of the Pavlovsk Grenadier regiment rushed the burning bridge. This instance was depicted by Peter Hess in his painting, illustrated to the right. July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... Vanguard can mean: A vanguard is the forward division in an army. ... A Grenadier was originally a specialized assault trooper for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the early 17th century. ...

Kulnev continued to chase the French Corps with several cavalry regiments and one infantry battalion. After crossing the Drissa river on August 1 his unit ran into an ambush and suffered heavy casualties under the fire of French artillery. Kulnev was badly wounded (he had both his legs severed by a cannon-ball) and died the same day. August 1 is the 213th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (214th in leap years), with 152 days remaining. ...

Finally Oudinot retreated to Polotsk and the French advance on St. Petersburg failed.

Wittgenstein was awarded the Order of St. George of the Second Degree. Alexander I is reported to have called him "the saviour of St. Petersburg". Captain Krylov, whose unit was the first to cross the river over the burning bridge, received the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree. The Order of St. ... Aleksander I Pavlovich Romanov (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), was Emperor of Russia from March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825 and King of Poland from 1815–1825, as well as the first Grand Duke of Finland. ...

Online references

• (Russian) Battle of Klyastitsy