Action at Borkowo
24 December 1806
The Situation
by Robert Goetz, USA
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While the actions of the French 3rd corps at Czarnowo and Nasielsk and the 7th
Corps at Kolozomb and Sochocin are thoroughly covered, Petre fails even to
mention the activity of the French cavalry
operating between these larger forces and
their encounter with a Russian detachment
at the town of Borkowo. Aside from being
an interesting story, the action at Borkowo
forms an important part in the overall
understanding of the operations leading up
to the battles of Golymin and Pultusk.
On the morning of 24 December 1806,
the Russian troops of Major General Ivan
Semenovich Dorokhov waited at Borkowo
for the expected French attack. Word had
arrived that morning that the French had
attacked the strong Russian position at
Czarnowo, about 10 kilometers southeast of
Borkowo. Forcing a bridgehead across the
river line during the night, the French had
driven the Russian forces of Lieutenant
General Alexander Ivanovich graf
Ostermann-Tolstoi from their positions.
Ostermann’s forces had begun retiring on
Nasielsk, about 9 kilometers east of
Borkowo under cover of their rearguard
around 4:00 that morning. The task of
covering Ostermann’s right fell to
Dorokhov’s command, which had been
detached from Ostermann’s 2nd Division.
Dorokhov commanded one of a
number of small detachments positioned at
key points along the line of the Narew and
Wkra rivers, part of the defensive
arrangements set up by Lieutenant General
Levin Bennigsen about ten days earlier.
Other detachments covered the main river
crossings at Zegrze, Debe, Czarnowo,
Kolozab and Sochocin. The Russian light
cavalry -- hussars and uhlans -- were
distributed among the detachments along
with Cossack regiments, which performed
their traditional scouting roles by patrolling
the river line between the posts.
This first line of defense was intended as a "tripwire"
to alert the Russian command to the
direction of any French offensive and to
slow any French advance, buying time for
the Russians to concentrate their forces to
counter the French movements.
Dorokhov’s position at Borkowo was
not a particularly strong one, lacking any
commanding terrain aside from the river
itself. The town of Borkowo lies on the
right (west) bank of the Wkra river as it
makes a broad curve to the south, almost
exactly midway between Pomiechowo and
Kolozab -- approximately 10 kilometers from
either town and roughly 9 kilometers from
Nasielsk.
Immediately to the west of
Borkowo there is a substantial rise, referred
to in French reports as the "heights of
Wola" that forces the course of the Wkra to
turn eastward before again resuming its
southeasterly course. The Wkra passes
below these heights on two sides with Wola
(Dobra-Wola) standing below the heights to
the north and Borkowo below the heights to
the east. South of Borkowo, the ground on
the right bank levels out for a considerable
distance from the river as it winds its way
to the Narew. The opposite bank of the
Wkra appears to be generally level with
gentle undulations. Directly opposite Wola
and a short distance from the river was the
town of Cieksyn. A short distance to the
south of Borkowo on the left bank stands the
village of Lelewo. Below Lelewo, the Wkra
makes another broad curve to the west,
curling around a rise similar to the heights of
Wola on the left bank and some 4 kilometers
to the southeast of Borkowo. The Wkra river
is fairly wide and deep this area, but is
fordable at a number of points, including just
below Lelewo and at several points to the
north between Borkowo and Kolozab.
The entire area around the Wkra and
Narew rivers was in general heavily wooded
and the area in the immediate vicinity of
Borkowo was no exception. Detailed period
maps of the area are hard to come by, but
19th and early 20th Century maps show
extensive forests on the right bank of the
Wkra opposite Borkowo and stretching south
to Pomiechowo, although it seems that the
area immediately adjacent to Borkowo was
clear. On the left bank, open fields or
meadows stretched from Cieksyn on the
north to Lelewo on the south and continued
eastwards nearly as far as Nasielsk. Forests
blanketed the country to the south and
northwest of this area.
The bridge over the Wkra at Borkowo
gave the town its strategic significance.
While roads in this part of Poland in 1806
were never particularly good, the main
east-west road through Borkowo shows on
maps as a substantial route, connecting
Nasielsk to the main north-south road
running from Zakrocym on the Vistula to
Plonsk. Other minor roads crisscrossed the
countryside, the most significant being the
roads running along either bank of the Wkra
and a road approaching Borkowo from the
southwest, which was the route used by the
advancing French. The road from Borkowo
to Nasielsk ran nearly due east, rising
gradually from the river to Nasielsk. The
route from Borkowo to Nowemiasto
followed the left bank of the river to
Cieksyn and from there up the left bank of
the Sona.
The Opponents
Dorokhov’s command was composed
of elements drawn from Ostermann’s 2nd
division and Major General Mikhail
Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly’s Advance
Guard (Part of 4th division). The infantry
consisted of one Jäger battalion from either
3rd or 1st Jäger Regiment. Supporting the
infantry were 3-5 squadrons of Isoum
Hussars, Ilowaisky-IX Cossacks, and a half
battery of horse artillery (6 guns).
As of 23 December, Dorokhov had his main force
positioned on the high ground in front of
Borkowo with detachments at Gadowo
(cavalry) and Bledowo (infantry, cavalry
and artillery) anchoring the right and left of
the position. In all, Dorokhov’s force
included approximately 5-600 infantry and
1,000 hussars and Cossacks. [1]
French cavalry conducting a
reconnaissance of the Russian positions on
the 23rd alerted Dorokhov to a probable
French attack on the 24th. Dorokhov
recalled the detachments of infantry,
artillery and hussars from Gadowo and
Bledowo to concentrate them at Borkowo
early on 24 December, either as a result of
the French presence at Wola-Bledowska or
reports of the action at Czarnowo and
Ostermann’s retreat. By mid-morning on
the 24th Dorokhov had deployed the bulk of
his forces on the left bank of the Wkra,
concentrating the artillery in a battery
covering the bridge and supported by the
battalion of jäger.
At least 3 squadrons of
hussars were positioned in reserve while the
Cossacks remained somewhat scattered in
posts along the Wkra. Skirmishers
remained on the high ground west of
Borkowo to harass the French advance.
Opposing Dorokhov were the 1st
Dragoon Division of Général de Division
Dominique Louis Antoine Klein and the
Light Cavalry Brigade of Général de
Brigade Antoine Charles Louis Lasalle.
Klein’s division was composed of 6
regiments of dragoons -- the 1st, 2nd, 4th,
14th, 20th and 26th -- a total of some 2,300
officers and men.
Lasalle’s brigade
consisted of two regiments of hussars, the
5th and 7th, with roughly 1,000 officers and
men. A half battery of horse artillery, the
2nd Company of the 2nd Regiment Horse
Artillery, was attached to Klein’s division.
Lasalle’s hussars, who had conducted
the reconnaissance of the Russian positions
on the 23rd, had assembled at Wola-Bledowska
by that evening and were joined
there by the 1st and 2nd Brigades of Klein’s
division. Klein’s 3rd Brigade stood at
Janowo.
Their orders, issued from
headquarters at 4 AM on the 24th just as the
Russian force at Czarnowo was beginning
its retreat, directed them to advance on
Borkowo. The French cavalry was to force a
crossing of the Wkra either by way of the
bridge at Borkowo or by a ford, after which
they were to operate on the left bank of the
Wkra to support the general offensive
operations in the direction of Nasielsk.
From this central position they would form
a link between the victorious 3rd Corps
advancing from Czarnowo and 7th Corps,
which had been ordered to advance on
Nowemiasto by way of the Wkra crossings
at Kolozab and Sochocin.
Action at Borkowo 24 December 1806
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The French assault on the Russian
positions on the Wkra and Narew rivers on 23-4 December 1806 is
described in a number of English language sources and in particular detail in F. Loraine
Petre’s Napoleon’s Campaign in Poland, 1806-7.