Initial Dispositions

Dawn on August 7th found the French three miles West of Liozno, from which the Russians had evicted them the previous day. The corps of Oudinot (II- Paul Piluso), Ney (III- Brent Coulthard) and Montbrun (II Cavalry) stood astride the Vitebsk-Smolensk road and Nansouty (I Cavalry) was known to be approaching from the North and would arrive on the field by 7 a.m. Already mauled in earlier actions, the three corps comprised some 50,000 men, and Nansouty would add another 6,000.

Holding Liozno, and lying on the North-South road at this point was Barclay de Tolly. Baggavout's II Corps (Doug Ferguson) held a one-and-a-half mile sector South of the town, and Tutchkow's reinforced III Corps (Pete Ebare) held a similar front to the North. These formations were supported by no less than six cavalry divisions (Barclay abandoned the cavalry corps structure early in the campaign, so each division operated independently). Further back, some six miles toward Rudnya, lay the Russian Imperial Guard (Constantine's V Corps), the artillery reserve and another grenadier division. These all amounted to some 75,000 Russians, with over 400 cannon (to the French 200) and included the finest formations of Holy Mother Russia.

Meanwhile, about 10 miles South of this field, Raevski's VII Corps was dug in at Mogilna, a village set in a narrow defile between thick woods. Any attempt to move directly up the main road toward Liozno would have to go through this position, and Raevski was not about to let this happen. Prince Bagration (Jim Stathes), commanding in this southern sector, was with Borozdin's grenadiers (VIII Corps) some five miles further East at Gaponki. Finally, Wittgenstein's I Corps, largely out of communication while operating South of the Dnieper earlier in the campaign, was understood to be over the river and hurrying northwest toward Ordovka. They might yet play a part in the events of August 7th.

As for Napoleon, he was approaching Lyubavitchi from Khomino and was fully 20 miles away from the main battlefield. He commanded Davout's I Corps and the Imperial Guard, and early on the 7th he ordered Reynier's VII Corps (Saxons) to join him from Khomino where they had been left to watch for a Russian threat from the South. Other than the forces to the immediate front of Ney and Oudinot, Napoleon was unaware of the location of a single Russian soldier. He commended these marshals for their performance on the 6th and urged them to hold their positions and pin the enemy while he completed the destruction of the Russian forces.

The Battle of Liozno: Background
The Battle of Liozno: Initial Dispositions
The Battle of Liozno: Opening Gambit
The Battle of Liozno: Meanwhile, to the South...
The Battle of Liozno: The Crisis of the Day
The Battle of Liozno: Decision Time
The Battle of Liozno: Order of Battle

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