Napoleon's Invasion of Russia

by George F Nafziger

  The Russian artillery fire forced Legrand's skirmishers back, exposing the French columns to their fire. The French began to withdraw and were pursued into the suburbs of Polotsk. General Hamen continued to push Legrand with success and was reinforced by a second battalion of the Toula Infantry Regiment. He was able to seize the scrubby terrain before Polotsk, but night fell, ending the battle.

  The Russian right had remained inactive after repulsing the earlier French attacks. It was supported by the battalions placed on the left bank of the Dvina River. Colonel Sievers, charged with the construction of a bridge over the Dvina, was disturbed by the presence and fire from French troops on the far bank. The two battalions with him formed a line along the edge of the river and drove the French back, out of musket range, with a rolling fire. The French were unable to further hinder the construction of the bridge after that.

  That evening Wittgenstein wished to extend his lines and was obliged to establish his headquarters in the Pressemenitza farm, the only remaining habitable buildings in the area. During the night of 17-18 August the Russians were reorganized and redeployed. They were now, from right to left, 23rd, 25th, and 26th Jager Regiments, Toula, Estonia, the depot of the 18th Jager Regiment, a battalion of the Navajinsk Infantry Regiment, Perm, Mohilev, Sievesk, and Kalouga Infantry Regiments, the converged infantry, the 24th Jager Regiment, and the converged grenadiers of the 5th Division.

  The artillery was positioned, right to left, six guns from Position Battery #28, Horse Battery #1, six guns from Position Battery #27, six guns from Position Battery #5, Light Battery #9, six guns from Position Battery #28, Light Battery #26, six guns from Horse Battery #3, and six guns from Position Battery #5. The cavalry, the remainder of the infantry, and the artillery were posted in the second line behind the main line.

  The right wing was in the same position it had occupied the day before the battle, but the left wing was supported on its right by Pressemenitza and on the left by the Pelota. Its advanced positions were strung along the Pelota River near the Spass convent. The Russian losses after the first day of battle totaled approximately 2,500 dead and wounded, though they claimed to have inflicted 4,000 casualties and taken 1,000 prisoners.

  The Russian 1st Corps reserve had left Ropno during the night and advanced along the road to Nevel, where it took up positions to support the Russian left. Colonel Sievers received orders to raise another bridge on the Pelota River near Lozovka. The topography of the left bank was more favorable to an attack than that of the right, but Wittgenstein hoped to cross the bulk of his forces over Sievers' new bridge and strike the French in the rear if they were to cross the Dvina in force.

  During the morning of the next day, St. Cyr encouraged these hopes and directed his baggage, under escort of Valentin's infantry and his cavalry, to file behind the Dvina in view of the Russians. At the same time he entered into negotiations with the Russians for the removal of the wounded.

  St. Cyr redeployed his forces for the coming battle. A Bavarian thirty-one-gun battery was formed from the 1st, 5th, and 6th Bavarian 6pdr Foot Batteries, and the 2nd and 3rd Bavarian Light Batteries. It was established on the rise near the Spass convent, where the Bavarian batteries of Gotthard and Gravenreuth had been posted the day before. Merle's division was posted as a reserve, with Candras' brigade (1st and 2nd Swiss Regiments), to the north of the city to the east of the Pelota, and Coutard's brigade (123rd Line and 3rd Swiss) was posted in the city and on its walls.

  At 3:30 A.M. Verdier's division, now commanded by General Valentin, passed over the Dvina, followed by Merle's division. Legrand's division used the valley of the Pelota to cover its movement and supported its right on the village of Spass. They were followed by all of the II Corps artillery (under General Aubry, who had replaced General Dulau-loy), Doumerc's cuirassiers, and Corbineau's light cavalry. Doumerc followed and positioned his cuirassiers on Merle's right, behind the bulk of the army.

  Legrand redeployed his division behind the Spass convent. Valentin was positioned some distance behind him, while Merle formed the French army's left, resting on the Dvina.

  At 4:30 A.M. St. Cyr had the 6th Bavarian Artillery Battery give the signal for the attack. The Bavarian 20th Division was designated to attack the Gromeower forest, and Deroy's 19th Division was to attack Spass. This force was masked from the Russians' view by the Pelota's valley and the convent.

  At 5:00 A.M. the French began a concentric attack under a heavy artillery cross fire from Bavarian and II Corps batteries. This fire was directed primarily against Pressemenitza and quickly threw General Berg's 5th Division and Vlastov's detachment into disorder. The fire on Position Battery #27 and Light Battery #9 shattered many of their guns and killed or wounded most of the batteries' horses.

  The five guns of Light Battery #27, positioned by Colonel Diebitsch, had not been observed by the Bavarians. It took one of the Bavarian batteries in the flank and forced it to withdraw, lessening the fire on the Russians. Despite this, all thirty-one guns fired fifty rounds each,consuming most, if not all, of their artillery. This was of little matter at that point, for as the battle developed they were masked by their own infantry and had no opportunity to engage the enemy in any significant manner until later.

  The Russian infantry was attacked by the Bavarians under Wrede and Deroy on their left. Legrand's 6th Division, supported by Doumerc's cuirassiers, struck them in their center, near the convent. Verdier advanced on Legrand's left. He left a single brigade to watch the Russian right. Merle was to the left of Polotsk.

  On the left a Bavarian battalion under Laroche, with a single gun, moved on Hamernia, leading the 1st and 3rd Brigades. It encountered a Russian grenadier company covering the construction of a bridge, and five miles further it encountered a squadron of the Grodno Hussars. Both of these Russian units were quickly chased off.

  The attack by the Bavarian 20th Division on Spass was led by the 2nd Brigade, with the 3rd Regiment leading the 7th Regiment. They broke into files and extended along the ravine formed by a tributary of the Pelota. This movement was not observed by the Russians.

  The progress of the attack of the Bavarian 19th Division depended on the success of the 20th Division's attack. The 20th Division advanced in the following order: Raglovich's 2nd Brigade—3rd Jàger Battalion, 10th Line and 4th Line; the 3rd Brigade—8th Line and 4th Jàgers; 1st Brigade—9th Regiment and 1st Line. The 4th Light Battery of Captain Gravenreuth followed only after the infantry had advanced out of the city.

  Three companies of the 3rd Bavarian Jàgers occupied the convent which the infantry left, and the entire battalion moved in a column by peloton with General Raglovich at its head. As the jàgers arrived at the village of Spass, its skirmishers deployed to cover the deployment of the brigade. They were immediately followed by the 10th Regiment, which posted itself on their left. This movement was supported by the Bavarian 4th Light Battery posted to the left of Spass.

  The Bavarian 4th Battery had chosen an advantageous position where it could engage a Russian battery placed before Pressemenitza. The Russian battery was posted where it could fire into the rear of Raglovich's advancing brigade.

  Legrand's division advanced slowly to permit the Russians time to deploy their entire forces against the Bavarians. However, he advanced too slowly and allowed the Russians to be struck by the head of Deroy's column before he was in position. Deroy was only able to deploy slowly. Because of this and Wrede's position, the Russians concentrated their efforts on Becker's brigade until Raglovich's brigade arrived, punishing it severely.

  The Russian artillery fire switched from its counterbattery effort and turned its fire on Raglovich. It stopped the first impulse of the main attacks. The 4th Bavarian Light Battery was taken under heavy fire and forced to withdraw to its original position. Vlastov, three squadrons of the Grodno Hussars, and the 5th Division moved forward into a furious melee. However, the numerical strength of the French and their heavy artillery fire forced the Russian 5th Division back, behind
Presse-menitza. The 10th Regiment and the rest of the Bavarian right wing recoiled. At that moment the 4th Bavarian Line advanced. General Deroy had concealed it in a small depression. The Russian column received a heavy fusillade from them for a half hour. Recovering the initiative, the entire division of Deroy formed in line and advanced.

  Raglovich's brigade recoiled, leaving Becker's brigade in a dire situation. His left flank was now exposed. The Russians tried to turn the right of the 2nd Brigade of the 19th Division. The Russians pushed into the gap, against the exposed flank of the 2nd Brigade of the 20th Division.

  The Russians penetrated the gap between the two brigades and were engaged by the 2/7th Bavarian Line and cut it off from the rest of the brigade. A lively battle ensued and the Bavarians were forced to withdraw.

  Becker's and Raglovich's brigades reformed and placed themselves in line. A part of the 4th Light Battery was posted with Raglovich's brigade and prepared to attack.

  The 3rd Brigade of the 19th Division was followed by the 2nd in the following order: 8th Line and 4th Jàgers formed the line between the 2nd Brigade and Legrand. The 8th Regiment had problems deploying and the 4th Jàgers immediately responded, covering its movement.

  The forces of Colonel Vlastov and the two battalions of converged grenadiers of the 14th Division, which were sent to support him, were placed before the woods on the road to Nevel.

  At 5:00 P.M. three battalions under Siebein passed over the bridge on the Pelota: 1/ and 2/9th Regiment and the 1/1 st Regiment. The 2/1st Regiment and the 1st Jàgers remained provisionally in this position as a reserve. Two heavy French columns, four times as strong as the Bavarians, advanced alongside of the Bavarians, leading the way. The French commenced a heavy cannonade on the Russian left flank, which was responded to by Position Battery #27 and Light Battery #9, posted before the farm. The French fire shot them to pieces, scattering their men and equipment.

  The Bavarian division deployed to the left under heavy Russian artillery fire. It struck a country manor house occupied by the Russians, who were attacked by three French battalions. The French attack failed and was thrown back on the 9th Bavarian Line. The 9th advanced at the pas de charge against the Russians. They attacked the building with great courage and the Russians were driven back.

  The three battalions under Siebein moved across the bridge and assumed positions in the city. The 2/1st Regiment was ordered forward to rejoin the 1st Battalion, and the part of the 4th Light Battery that had remained behind also crossed to rejoin that portion that had been engaged against the Russians all morning.

  The 1/lst Bavarian Line and Gravenreuth's Battery (4th Light) were ordered to fall on the Russian left flank. The infantry arrived in time to protect the battery from a cavalry attack. The 2/1st Line arrived shortly thereafter and both formed square. After the cavalry charge was repulsed, one battalion moved to the left to recapture a battery of four French 12pdrs. Cossacks had taken it and killed or captured the crews. The rapid Bavarian advance retook the battery and freed many of the prisoners.

  The Bavarian attack recommenced, but Deroy was quickly mortally wounded. Wrede was himself wounded, and the Bavarian attack stopped. To compound the situation, Legrand's attack on Pressemenitza was checked. St. Cyr moved to the center and ordered Siebein to support Legrand's resumption of the offensive. Wrede took command of the entire Bavarian corps and, judging that the time for the offensive was right, placed himself at the head of Deroy's division. His presence reassured the division, and the battle resumed.

  Vlastov menaced the Bavarian left flank and forced them to withdraw. Vlastov then placed himself on the road to Nevel, forming a line along its right. The Russian left continued to battle in this position until the battle ended.

  In the center, General Hamen profited from the fire of the six guns of Light Battery #27 and reformed his shattered forces. As he fought the advancing regiments of Legrand's division, other French forces turned the Pressemenitza position, which was weakly defended by a single battalion of the Sievesk Infantry Regiment. The French threw this battalion back and advanced on the Russian batteries near the Pressemenitza farm. The French advanced into a shower of cannister three times, eventually overrunning Battery #9 and part of Battery #28. The gunners defended themselves, but were forced to withdraw, abandoning seven guns to the French. General Hamen held his position and counterattacked in an effort to recover the captured guns.

  Seeing that the Russian center had developed a gap between it and the 5th Division, General Hamen gathered the Toula and Estonia Infantry Regiments with a battalion from the Navajinsk Infantry, Tenguinsk Infantry, and 11th Jagers. These seven battalions formed themselves and began a counterattack as the French columns moved past the farm. The 8th Division was taken in the flank. The most advanced French unit, the 26th Line Regiment, recoiled in front of the attack of two squadrons of the Guard Cuirassiers under the command of Colonel Protasso v. The 6th Division under Maison fell back in disorder. With the exception of one single regiment whose senior officers were hors de combat and whose troops were quite inexperienced, the withdrawal was not significant.

  Legrand's division was struck again by two battalions of the Navajinsk and Tenguinsk Infantry Regiments. General Hamen's counterattack stabilized the Russian center and took up a strong defensive position. He fought back several less vigorous attacks by Legrand's division, the last attack being stopped by a notable effort by Colonel Harpe and a battalion of the Navajinsk Infantry Regiment.

  The Russian 5th Division and reserve profited from this stabilization to begin their withdrawal towards Ropno, which Wittgenstein had designated as the rallying point for his battered army.

  On the right flank, several columns of Valentin's division had advanced against the Russian right at the beginning of the battle, but the cross fire from Battery #1 and the six guns of Battery #26 had forced the French back to their original positions. One French column crossed the Pelota at a ford and moved against the rear of the Russian left flank, cutting off one of the Russian escape routes. The depot battalion of the Pavlov Grenadier Regiment pushed it back and then proceeded to fight its way through the French Hnes, making good its escape.

  At the moment the principal French attacks began to slacken, the French reestablished the thirty-one-gun battery with the II Corps artillery and directed it against the Russian center. It supported the advance of several infantry columns and a large cavalry force that moved against the Russians. General Balk advanced his cavalry to meet that of General Corbineau, a detachment of the 24th Chasseurs à Cheval, which defended the II Corps battery. He struck the French cavalry frontally with the converged cuirassier regiment (depot squadrons of the Emperor and Empress Cuirassier Regiments), while a squadron of the Grodno Hussars under Major Semeka struck them in the flank.

  The French cavalry fell back, directly over the battery. The Russian cuirassiers pursued them vigorously and so closely that the French gunners were unable to fire on them for fear of striking their own cavalry. The Russians continued their pursuit hot on the heels of the fleeing French cavalry, overrunning the battery and sabering many gunners. However, they were unable to maintain possession of the captured battery because the teams had been taken away by the fleeing French.

  The 1st and 2nd Swiss Regiments formed square and stood like rocks, bayonets lowered, menacing friend and enemy alike, causing the Russian cavalry to swerve away.

  The Russians continued forward, overrunning St. Cyr and his staff. St. Cyr was forced to throw himself into a ditch to escape them. The Russians continued towards Polotsk, entering into the middle of the French army, which surrounded them on all sides. The 9th Bavarian Line continued to advance, but Siebein formed the 1st Bavarian Line Regiment into a square on the left flank by the cuirassiers. It was supported by the 4th Light Bavarian Battery. The 1st Bavarian Line broke its square and advanced, recapturing the 12pdr battery that had been overrun by the Russians.

  One hundred men of the 3rd Swiss Regiment had been placed in a cemete
ry surrounded by walls. It formed a veritable fortress. Their fire raked the charging Russians and stopped their advance.

  A prompt and skillful attack by Berkheim's 4th Cuirassier Regiment and the 3rd Swiss Infantry Regiment led by Colonel de Lorencez struck the Russian right flank and drove them back in disorder. The Russians then withdrew to their lines.

  The French stopped their attacks as the Russians accelerated their withdrawal. The Russian advanced guard of General Helfreich was the last to leave the battlefield, following the main body closely. It was night and fatigue ended the battle, neither side having decisively beaten the other.

  The pursuit by the French was limited to Candras' Swiss brigade. The four battalions from Candras' brigade moved down the road to Bieloe without much enthusiasm for the pursuit. They were fatigued from a long day of battle.

  The Russians had left a company of grenadiers to cover the bridge they'd raised two miles below Polotsk, and a squadron of Grodno Hussars guarded a ford two miles further down the road. The French pursuit caught up with the Pavlov Grenadiers. Their cavalry teased the battalion in an effort to break it, but it held fast. Shortly afterward, four French battalions and a column of cuirassiers passed the first bridge, driving the defenders back and seizing the ford as well. The Pavlov Grenadiers were cut off, but they continued to withdraw, taking 100 French prisoners with them.

  On the Russian extreme right, the 23rd Jagers and three squadrons of the Grodno Hussars covered the road to Dissna. The infantry brigade of General Amey and the light cavalry of General Castex attacked them. The French drove them back until they were taken under fire by Horse Battery #1. A timely charge by the Grodno Hussars stopped what remained of the pursuit.

  The French retained Merle's division as a reserve. It was on the right of the army. Doumerc's cuirassiers were totally available as well, to support the attack of the four divisions. The Russian Converged Guard Cavalry Regiment attacked and drove back Corbineau, only to be driven back and suffer heavy casualties at the hands of Berkheim's 4th Cuirassiers, who put the Russians in flight.