Napoleon’s Eagles:
Russia 1812

Battle of Saltanovka

by Kevin Birkett, FINS, Eire

23rd July 1812

At dawn on the 23rd July Bagration, the commander of the Second Army of the West, led forward the green clad infantry of Raevski’s Seventh Corps with orders to slice open the French entrenchments around Saltanovka and march on the strategically important town of Mohilev. By nightfall the Russian attack lay in ruins, utterly defeated by the numerically inferior French.

Marshal Davout, commanding the French troops in the area, had arrived in Mohilev on the 20th July having spent the past four weeks shadowing Bagration. The following day, while probing to the south of the Russian town, the light cavalry brigade of General Bourdessoulle clashed with Platov’s Cossacks in the vicinity of the village of Saltanovka, which lies on the west bank of the River Dnieper some twelve miles south of Mohilev.

At break of day on the 22nd Davout, together with his chief of engineers, General Haxo, set out to study the scene of the previous nights skirmish. The road from Mohilev to Saltanovka is in fact the main Mohilev/ Bobruisk highway which, having run directly from the Berezina to the Dnieper, follows the right bank of the river from Staroi-Bychow to Mohilev.

On leaving Mohilev with his colleague Davout passed down the road with the Dnieper on his left and a stream, the Mischowska, on his right. Having travelled some 12 miles he observed the stream turning left and running at a right angle into the Dnieper. At the point where the stream turned was situated the Fatova mill and its attendant pond, while downstream, at the point where the Mischowska met the road, stood a large building known as the Saltanovka Inn. It was here that the marshal decided to make his stand.

Placing Dessaix’s division in the mill and the inn, Davout moved upstream about three miles to the village of Seletz where a bridge allowed passage over the Mischowska. Here he placed a regiment of Compans’ division with the remainder of the division, Valance’s cuirassiers and Bourdessoulle’s light cavalry to the rear.

As a final precaution he placed Claparede’s Poles in an intermediate position between Compans and Mohilev while Pajol’s light cavalry division watched the road to Minsk. Thus secured against attack from the front or the flank Davout’s 22,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry spent a fretful night awaiting the Russian onslaught.

At 7 a.m. on the 23rd July Bagration, having left Borozdin’s Eighth Corps in Staroi-By-chow to cover his rear, accompanied Raevski’s Seventh Corps as it advanced on the French positions. Initially the Russian divisions, Kolubakin’s 12th and Paskevitch’s 26th contented themselves with sniping at the inn and the mill respectively from the safety of the woods that bordered the French positions.

Answering this fire the well positioned French light infantry and artillery soon gained the upper hand, goading the Russians into mounting a more serious assault. Issuing forth from the woods the 12th Division advanced rapidly across the open ground that separated it from the inn, however such was the fire of musketry and grape it received that it was soon forced to retire.

Undaunted, the 12th returned to the fray accompanied by the 26th Division, which advanced on the mill. Once again the 12th was forced to retire however the 26th, finding the stream a less insurmountable obstacle, advance steadily on the mill and attempted to cross the pond by the dyke that contained it. Seeing this a French battalion bravely charged the Russians throwing them back in disorder. Unfortunately they were in their turn overthrown in attempting to pursue the defeated enemy.

At that moment Davout arrived on the scene. Quickly appraising the situation he rallied the defeated battalion and, concentrating his artillery at this one spot, drove the Russians back into the woods.

Although thwarted in their attempt to take the inn and the mill, the Russians resolved to launch another assault. Moving to its left under cover of the woods the 26th Division debouched on Seletz. Again however they were driven back by the well-placed French infantry. Prevented from advancing, and attacked in the rear by elements of Dessaix’s division that had crossed the stream between the inn and the mill, the 26th was forced to relinquish the field of battle to the French.

Compans’ relatively fresh troops pursued the defeated Russians for about three miles before, perceiving Bagration’s remaining troops drawn up in a favourable position, they retired to their own lines.

This action, the first of the campaign, was extremely creditable to French arms. Bagration, who had approximately 60,000 men under arms although only 20,000 Russians had actually been engaged compared to 9,000 Frenchmen, lost 4,000 killed and wounded while Davout had only to mourn the loss of 1,000 men.

Napoleon's Eagles (Part 1) Invasion of Russia 1812

Napoleon's Eagles (Part 2) Invasion of Russia 1812 by Kevin Birkett

Napoleon's Eagles (Part 3) Invasion of Russia 1812

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