The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Against Kutuzov

by Alexander Mikaberidze

  Bolgovsky was the first to provide a specific number of troops (23,000) that Napoleon allegedly had to divert to reinforce Eugène. Later, Soviet historians came up with the even higher number of 28,000 men. Neither calculation had any factual basis, but these figures were utilized by historians to portray the raid in a favourable light.

  Southern Sector – The Fight for Semeyonovskoe

  We left the southern sector shortly after Bagration was wounded, Dokhturov was sent to shore up the left flank and the survivors of the 2nd Western Army began taking up a new position along the Semeyonovskii ridge around 11am. The Bagration flèches were occupied by the French for the final time and preparations were made for a further advance. The village of Semeyonovskoye was the next target, as it was located immediately behind the flèches, protected by a relatively steep ravine. Its fall would have led to the collapse of the Russian left wing and exposed the centre, allowing the French either to break through and split the enemy army in two or drive the entire Russian host into a tight space between the Kolocha and Moscow rivers. The village initially came under attack early in the morning, when some troops from Razout’s division tried to cross the Semeyonovskii Brook and enter the village but were driven out by the Russian grenadiers and the cavalry. Now, with the flèches secured and the Russians driven back, it became obvious that Davout and Ney would require reinforcements for the attack on Semeyonovskoe to succeed.

  The circumstances leading to, and surrounding, the fighting at Semeyonovskoe are confusing, so the precise course of events is difficult to determine. For example, it is unclear when the French charged the village and how many times they did so. Chambray, Kukiel, Pelet and Cate argued that the village was, in fact, briefly seized by troops from Razout’s division early in the morning. Buturlin described the fighting taking place around 10am, Bogdanovich thought it occurred after 11am, while according to Thiers, the village fell around noon. So lets examine what happened.

  We know that, after the flèches were secured, French forces were significantly weakened. Napoleon’s I and III Corps became intermingled in the fighting, while VIII corps was diverted south from its original goal (Semeyonovskoye) to assist Poniatowski’s Poles. To help Davout and Ney, Napoleon gradually moved forward additional infantry and heavy cavalry, while hundreds of French guns (some sources claim as many as 400) had begun bombarding this sector by noon. According to Pelet, ‘Napoleon kept the divisions of Friant and Claparède at hand in reserve. He wanted to preserve reserves for the army and conserved his forces to act as the battle developed.’ After 9am the Polish Vistula Legion was ordered to advance and assume positions near the Kamenka stream. Brandt recalled as his troops

  advanced, in two columns […] and came to a halt in a slight depression. Cannon-balls were striking the lip of the depression and ricocheting over our heads. Chlopicki, as impassive as he had always been in Spain, moved as far forward as possible to get a view of the enemy’s position. Claparède came over to us and gathered the officers of the 2nd Regiment of the Vistula around him in a circle and impressed upon them the need to uphold the good reputation of the regiment […] We could hear the relentless whistle of cannon-balls and yet not one man was hit, as the General had deliberately chosen this position to shield his men from needless casualties.

  Around 10am, the Vistula Legion was ordered to advance further and, ‘moving obliquely, heading to the left, and marching over meadows’, it began to suffer from the Russian fire.437 Dedem, who commanded a brigade in General Friant’s 2nd Division, recalled seeing Napoleon

  approach the troops of my brigade [in the morning] and the soldiers began to ask him to send them into the battle; the left flank and centre were already in the heat of the action. However, he replied, ‘regiments like this are not committed in battle unless to decide the victory’.438

  Between 10am and 11am, Napoleon ordered the 2nd Division to move forward and, as the Journal of Friant’s division informs us, its main goal was Semeyonovskoye.

  Besides the 2nd Division, Napoleon also allowed Murat to move the II and IV Reserve Cavalry Corps to the front line. Colonel Seruzier’s battery was deployed on the bank of the Kamenka brook, with the 2nd Light Cavalry Division of Pajol behind it. To their right, II Cavalry Corps was deployed in two lines, with the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division of Wathier in the first and the 4th Heavy Cavalry Division of Defrance in the second. Further south, the position was occupied by Latour-Maubourg’s IV Cavalry Corps. The I Cavalry Corps of Nansouty was regrouping around the southern flèches.

  On the Russian side, Dokhturov deployed the remnants of the 2nd Grenadier Division in the ruins of Semeyonovskoe. He arranged Konovnitsyn’s 3rd Division southeast of the village, while the Life Guard Izmailovskii, Litovskii and Finlyandskii Regiments were organized in squares on its left flank. Dokhturov placed the survivors of the Combined Grenadier Brigade, and the 12th and 27th Divisions in-between them, to protect and help operate the batteries. Borozdin’s cavalry brigade stood behind the Guard regiments, while the 2nd Cuirassier Division was rallied behind the 3rd Division. Neverovsky spread a chain of skirmishers in front of the Guard regiments and assumed command of the combined grenadier battalions and the Don Cossack Horse Artillery Company. The Russian IV Cavalry Corps was deployed nearby, with some units further to the south to maintain communications with Shakhovsky. Some 300 cannon defended the village and its vicinity. The new Russian position had both its advantages and disadvantages. Bogdanovich noted that the

  Russian troops, deployed to the right of Semeyonovskoye, were partly protected by a slight crest on which the village was located but, after retreating behind it, they were unable to maintain effective fire in the area in front of them which helped the enemy to cross the ravine. Meantime, the Russian troops to the left of the Semeyonovskoye were completely exposed and suffered from the fire of enemy batteries …

  The French cavalry assault began around noon, when the Saxon and Westphalian cuirassiers from IV Cavalry Corps charged from the north, while Nansouty’s cavalrymen attacked south of Semeyonovskoye. Lieutenant von Meerheim could see

  the whole extent of the battle in the central sector […] though everything was shrouded in a dense cloud of smoke and all we could make out were the thick masses of our troops, who were swaying backwards and forwards in front of the enemy held ridge.

  The Allied cavalry advanced in columns of half squadrons, and faced the daunting challenge of ascending a slope

  so steep that some riders, who did not appreciate the advantage of climbing obliquely, tumbled over backwards and were trampled by the horses behind. On the top of the hill, about sixty yards from the edge, we saw the burnt out village of Semeyonovskoye, whose side was marked only by glowing logs.439

  Latour-Maubourg’s corps moved in two columns, with Lorge’s cuirassier division in the right column and Rozniecki’s Lancer division in the left. The crossing over the Semeynovskii stream proved marshy, which delayed their passage, but the Allied troops were concealed from Russian batteries and thus escaped their murderous fire. The Saxon cavalrymen were the first to reach the ridge, where, a few hundred paces away on the edge of the village, Thielemann saw a Russian battery protected by grenadiers. He immediately sent the leading squadrons of the Saxon Gardes du Corps against it, while the remaining squadrons were formed in echelon to the left. The Saxons rode over the grenadiers and drove back the Russian dragoons that rushed to their aid. Lieutenant Stolypin, of the 2nd Light Company of the Life Guard Artillery Brigade, tried to stop the Saxon charge but his fire proved futile as the enemy troopers pushed forward. General Lepel, however, had his hand torn off by a Russian round.

  Thielemann’s man pressed beyond the village, where they threatened the rear of Russian Guard regiments fighting off the charges of Nansouty’s corps. As the Saxons thundered onto the plain behind the village, they were attacked by Borozdin’s cavalry brigade (the Astrakhanskii, His Majesty’s and Her Majesty’s Cuirassier Regiments), supported by the Akhtyrskii Hussars (some of them arm
ed with lances) struck the Saxons in the flank. Borozdin’s report provides numerous details of individual exploits in these attacks before succinctly noting: ‘In one word, the enemy cavalry was routed and suffered heavy losses.’440 Indeed, Lorge’s division was forced to retreat from the crest back into the ravine. Rozniecki’s Polish Lancers, who advanced to the left of the Saxons, had become involved in the fighting with Duke Eugène of Wurttemberg’s 4th Division south of the Grand Redoubt, and were of little help to the Saxons.

  In the south, Nansouty’s cavalrymen suffered from the Russian batteries but maintained order as they charged. Their attack, however, proved unsuccessful as they faced the Russian élite regiments. The Life Guard Izmailovskii and Litovskii Regiment were deployed south of the village and suffered from artillery bombardment. As Colonel Kutuzov of the Izmailovskii Regiment reported, ‘although the enemy artillery fire devastated our ranks, it failed to produce any disorder among the men. The ranks were simply closed up again and soldiers maintained their discipline as coolly as if they had been on a musketry exercise.’ Konovnitsyn, who was in one of the squares, recalled:

  The clouds of dust ascending from the ground to the heavens showed me the advance of the enemy cavalry. I arranged the Izmailovskii Regiment in squares in chess [i.e. chequerboard] order and awaited thus the enemy cavalry that attacked like a tempest. I could not comment on how many paces separated the enemy from the squares but rather note that the enemy was so near that practically every bullet toppled over a horseman. The terrible cross-fire from the lateral faces of the squares sped thousands [sic] of men to their deaths and filled the rest with terror …

  Despite the sight of the terrifying hommes de fer, the Russian Guard regiments proved resilient as they withstood several charges. Furthermore, they even counter-attacked in places. Konovnitsyn described how

  The Izmailovskii grenadiers, without any disorder, charged the giant armoured cavalrymen and brought them down with their bayonets […] The Litovskii Regiment, which was to the left of me, showed incredible resilience and courage as well.

  Colonel Kutuzov provides further details on the exploits of his regiment: ‘The enemy cuirassiers made a vigorous attack but quickly paid a heavy price for their audacity. All squares, acting with remarkable firmness, opened ire and waged battalion volleys from the lateral faces.’ The Russian infantry was supported by the 1st Light and two Guard batteries, whose artillery crews often found themselves fighting off the French cuirassiers with their ramrods.

  Colonel Udom of the Life Guard Litovskii Regiment deployed his battalions in squares against the cavalry. He later reported that:

  despite being surrounded by a superior enemy, they met him gallantly and courageously, allowing him to approach to close range before opening a battalion volley, and, yelling ‘Hurrah!’, disordered and drove the enemy back to the heights, inflicting heavy losses both in killed and wounded; our soldiers were so incensed that no prisoners were taken.

  The Russians repelled two cavalry charges in this manner and Lieutenant Colonel Timofeyev, commanding the 2nd Battalion of the Litovskii Regiment, described as

  a column of enemy cuirassiers charged directly at us […] I ordered the battalion, which was in a square, ‘ready’ and prohibited firing without my orders. Instead I instructed my men to move their muskets from side to side, knowing from own experience that horses would never charge [a wall of] sparkling bayonets; if any cuirassiers forced their horses close to the front, I ordered my men to thrust into the animals’ faces […] The cuirassiers surrounded the square from all sides and, unable to disorganize it, they formed a column some 30 steps in front of us with the obvious intention of charging en masse. To prevent this, I took advantage of their commotion as each horseman was seeking his place, and, shouting ‘Hurrah!’, my battalion charged with bayonets. The front ranks of cuirassiers still had not organized a firm front and, upon being attacked with bayonets, they could not hold ground but the rear ranks prevented them from escaping. They suffered heavy casualties and only after hearing their desperate shouts did the rest of the cavalry column flee.

  The French regrouped and attacked again but, as Colonel Kutuzov noted, they were ‘dealt in a similar manner, routed and forced back ashamed. Some enemy horsemen still dared to reach the squares but our bayonets punished them for their boldness …’441

  According to A. Marin of the Life Guard Finlyandskii Regiment, his battalion also allowed the cuirassiers to approach before firing and engaging them. Many of the attackers remained on the field while ‘the few survivors were captured, disarmed and placed in the middle of the square’. Lieutenant General Lavrov reported that the Finlyandskii Regiment advanced ‘with drums beating and meeting the enemy cavalry with bayonets’. Glinka described the

  enormous enemy cavalry spread out as a sea while our squares floated like islands that were washed by the copper and steel waves of enemy cuirassiers […] [However,] the Russian wind of lead met and repelled these bommes de fer …

  Russian sources describe three major French cavalry charges that were repelled by the Guard units. Nansouty’s men were then attacked by the Yekaterinoslavskii and Voyennogo Ordena (Military Order) Cuirassier Regiments, which pursued them across the Semeyonovskii ravine.

  While the Allied cavalry was charging around the village, Friant’s 2nd Division attacked Semeyonovskoye proper. General Dufour led the charge with the 15th Light and his immediate goal was to seize the Russian earthworks on the north-eastern corner of the village, from where the Russian artillery continued to fire. Dufour was assisted by the 48th Line, followed by two battalions of the Spanish Joseph Napoleon Regiment. The 33rd Line was kept in reserve. The French infantry crossed the ravine and climbed uphill only to be repelled by the Russians. Lejeune, sent by Napoleon with a message for Davout to attack, recalled that the Marshal, upset about having to assault this position, commented angrily: ‘It is a confounded shame to make me take the bull by the horns.’ Meanwhile Ney, ‘admirable to see, quietly standing on the parapet of one of the redoubts and directing the combatants, was also unsatisfied with the situation and repeatedly requested reinforcements’. According to Roth von Schreckenstein, after the first attack, the French rolled back, regrouped and attacked again, targeting the earthworks. This assault proved more successful as the French seized the earthworks and then carried the village as well. It remains unclear if the Russians managed to save their guns, which apparently continued operating until the very last moment. As Friant’s troops entered the smouldering ruins of Semeyonovskoye, Chambray observed that:

  the Russian army quickly regrouped behind the village. Its right flank was anchored on the [Grand] Redoubt, the left was adjacent to the woods behind the [Bagration] redans [flèches]. Enemy batteries, deployed on the plateau that dominated above Semeyonovskoye, maintained heavy fire.442

  Friant, awaiting the Russian counter-attack, placed the 15th Light to the left of the village and moved the 48th Line on the hill behind it. The 33rd Line was deployed amidst the village ruins; the location of the Spanish Joseph Napoleon Regiment is unclear, since its regimental history describes it protecting the Pernetty battery, while Jean François Friant – the General’s son and adjutant – recalled that some Spanish troops were with the 48th Line near Semeyonovskoye.443 On the Russian side, the men of the 2nd Combined Grenadier and the 27th Infantry Divisions were supported by several battalions of the Life Guard Litovskii Regiment.444

  Colonel Udom described how, after the Allied cavalry pulled back, he noticed that the French skirmishers began appearing on nearby heights. He dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Timofeyev with the 2nd Battalion of the Litovskii Regiment to drive them back and recapture the heights. He later reported that:

  although this was accomplished with considerable success, the enemy was reinforced with several columns in this direction and supported the skirmishers, which made it impossible for my regiment to capture the heights.

  Furthermore, Timofeyev and Udom were both wounded and Lieutenant Colo
nel Schwartz took over command of the Life Guard Litovskii Regiment. Schwartz charged with the 1st Battalion and seized the hillock, although he suffered a mortal wound in the fighting.

  Colonel Kutuzov of the Izmailovskii Regiment also described the fierce fighting that developed for a hillock on his left lank. On Konovnitsyn’s order, Colonel Musin Pushkin dispatched the 2nd Battalion (of the Izmailovskii Regiment), under Captain Martinov, to seize the heights, which it quickly accomplished. Kutuzov described that:

  sending forth its skirmishers, the battalion held ground there until Staff Captain Katenin, who replaced the wounded Captain Martinov, received an order and made an oblique forward movement, marching to protect the batteries that were some 200 paces away on the battalion’s right flank. The fire of enemy artillery, directed against this battery, did not prevent our column from accomplishing its task in complete order.

  Although Russian reports are silent on cavalry involvement, according to General Dufour, the 15th Light repelled several Russian cavalry charges, while the 33rd Line repulsed a few more, each celebrated with shouts of ‘Vive l’Empereur!’ Murat himself took shelter in the square of the 33rd Line on several occasions and encouraged the troops to fight. According to Ségur, at one moment Friant’s men began to give way under musket and canister ire and one officer even gave order to retreat:

  At that critical moment, Murat ran up to him, and seizing him by the collar, exclaimed, ‘What are you about?’ The Colonel [most probably Groisne of the 48th], pointing to the ground, covered with half his troops, answered, ‘You see well enough that it is impossible to stand here.’ – ‘Very well, I will remain!’ exclaimed the King. These words stopped the officer: he looked at Murat steadily in the face, and turning round, coolly said, ‘You are right! Soldiers, face to the enemy! Let us go and be killed!’