The Battle of Borodino

Revisiting Napoleon's Bloodiest Day

2: Borodino Village

by LTC Villahermosa and Matt DeLaMater
artwork by Mark Churms and Steven Palatka

The first action of the battle on 7 September occurred around the village of Borodino and along the banks of the Kalatsha. The Russian Finland Guard Jaegers, an elite unit of light infantry, had been placed forward in an exposed position, evidently at the insistence of General Bennigsen, Kutuzov's chief of staff.

The deployment of the Guard Jaegers can be described as criminally negligent, and Barclay de Tolly, commander of the 1st Army of the West, evidently sent the jaegers orders to retire that, tragically, arrived too late.

Prince Eugene de Beauharnais, Napoleon's step-son and Viceroy of Italy, commanded the 4th Corps composed of French and Italian forces on the left flank of the French army. Bolstered by two infantry divisions from Davout and two reserve cavalry corps, Eugene's ultimate mission was to attack and seize the Great Redoubt. To accomplish this, Eugene needed to clear the village of Borodino first, and seize as many of the three bridges over the Kalatsha as he could.

Leading the attack, Delzon's division quickly stormed the village of Borodino forcing the Russian jaegers back. As the badly outnumbered Russians attempted to cross the bridge to relative safety, a bottleneck ensued, and French skirmishers poured fire into the dense mob coagulating at the mouth of the narrow bridge. This debacle cost the Russian jaegers well over 50% of their regiment. Barclay was furious that such splendid troops were so stupidly sacrificed. To make matters worse, the French pursued, capturing the bridge before the demolitions could be set off. However, instead of holding the bridge, the French 106th Regiment then stormed across. As with many such enthusiastic but ill-advised pursuits, the French infantry paid dearly for their impetuosity, and were thrown back over the river with significant loss, thus enabling the Russians to recover and destroy the bridge.

The opening phase of the battle of Borodino could be described as a draw, but Eugene's success in securing the village, and thereby shielding his left flank, enabled his command to proceed with their attacks against the Great Redoubt, while the failure to seize the bridge curtailed his operations only marginally.

More Battle of Borodino

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