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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. Bagration's corps occupied the town of Smolensk, which Napoleon attacked, carrying two of the suburbs. During the night the Russians set fire to the place and evacuated it, having lost in the action about 11,000 killed and wounded. The French lost 9,000. Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ...
Combatants First French Empire Russian Empire Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov Strength 134,000 155,000 Casualties 30,000 45,000 {{{notes}}} The Battle of Borodino (Russian: Бородино) (September 7, 1812, or August 26 in the Julian calendar then used in Russia), also called the Battle of the Moskva, was...
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. ...
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. ...
August 17 is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français...
Petr Ivanovich Bagration Prince Petr Ivanovich Bagration (Пётр Иванович Багратион) (1765 - September 12, 1812), a descendant of the Georgian Royal family of the Bagratids, served as a Russian general. ...
A view of Smolensk in 1912 Smolensk (Russian: ) is a city in western Russia, located on the Dnieper River at 54. ...
Prelude
Since almost the beginning of the Russian campaign Napoleon and the Grande Armee were engaged in fight and fade battles with the Russians. Whenever encountered, the Russians would put up a defence for a short time before withdrawing. In an attempt to confront the enemy, Napoleon devised the Smolensk Manoeuvre in an attempt to sweep behind the enemy and defeat them once and for all. On August 14, 1812 forces under the command of Joachim Murat, Marshal Davout, and Michel Ney crossed the river Dnieper at Rassna on bridges constructed in the middle of the night. The plan was to rush toward the city of Smolensk, take it without a fight, and march north to the rear of the main Russian forces which were under the overall command of General Barclay. This would have been the case, but conflicting orders and a breakdown in communication led the Russian General Bagration to disobey his orders to march west, instead he went south to Smolensk. When the French forces arrived at the city on the August 16, they found it heavily garrisoned with Russian troops. These were further reinforced with the arrival of Barclay and the main Russian army. Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français...
La Grande Armér (in English, the Big, Great or Grand Army) is the French military term for the main force in a military campaign. ...
Joachim Murat, King of Naples, Marshal of France Murat portrait, by François Pascal Simon, Baron Gérard, c. ...
Davout, Marshal of France Louis Nicolas dAvout (May 10, 1770 – June 1, 1823), better known as Davout, duc dAuerstädt, prince dEckmühl, and a marshal of France. ...
Michel Ney (January 10, 1769 - December 7, 1815) called Le Rougeaud (the ruddy) and le Brave des Braves (the bravest of the brave) was a marshal of the French army who had fought in the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. ...
Prince Pyotr Bagration (Пётр Иванович Багратион) (1765 - September 12, 1812), a descendant of the Georgian Royal family of the Bagrations, served as a Russian general. ...
Battle Smolensk was a city of 12,600 inhabitants, and had no strategic value other then it being in the way of the French. It was enforced by bastion towers and a thick stone wall, and occupied both sides of the river Dnieper, which prevented encirclement. The best way for the French to fight the battle would have been to cross the Dnieper further east, and come in from behind the city. This could have forced surrender from the Russians, and saved Napoleon countless men. However Napoleon believed that the Russians would come out to protect their city as it housed a religious icon, and that they would not allow their holy city to be reduced to rubble. As it happened the Russians did not come out to fight, but Napoleon had by that time committed to taking the city by force. The Savior (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) For other senses of this word, see icon (disambiguation). ...
The main battle began on August 16. An initial probing force carried two of the suburbs, but failed to bring the Russians out of the city, and Napoleon ordered a general assault with three corps of the Grande Armée, supported by two hundred artillery pieces. This was successful for a time, but when the French forces reached the city walls, they had no ladders or climbing apparatus to scale them. They tried in vain to climb onto each others shoulders, all the time taking fire from Russian artillery. Throughout the day the French still failed to make any progress. Predictably the intense artillery bombardment set the city on fire, and most of it was burning by nightfall. At the end of August 16, the French had made no ground, and had lost about 7,000 men, while the Russians had lost about 11,000. Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ...
At this point Barclay de Tolly made the decision to abandon the city in order to save the army. Before he did, he set fire to all ammunition stores and destroyed the bridges. He also left a small force to hold out for two more days to ensure his retreat. Knyaz de Tolly Knyaz Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, called by the Russians as Mikhail Bogdanovich Barklay de Tolly (МихаиÌл БогдаÌнович БарклаÌй-де-ТоÌлли) (born December 21, 1761 in Riga, [then] Imperial Russia; died May 26, 1818 in Insterburg, [then] Prussia), was a Russian field marshal and Minister of War. ...
Conclusion Around dawn of August the 17th Polish forces within the Grande Armée successfully breached the walls, and in a few hours the main French forces entered the city. Barclay retained forces on the other side of the river preventing a crossing until the night of August the 18th. The city of Smolensk was almost completely destroyed.
Ramifications Technically the battle of Smolensk was a victory for Napoleon. He captured the city, and did not incur as many casualties as his enemy. However the manner in which the battle was fought was to have dire consequences. Due to a failling supply chain his soldiers were already running short on food. Smolensk would have been a useful supply base if it had been captured intact.
See also Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ...
The eastern front at the time of the Battle of Smolensk. ...
References 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow, Adam Zamoyski, HarperCollins, 644 Pages. ISBN 0027123752 |
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