The Battle of Borodino

Revisiting Napoleon's Bloodiest Day

Introduction

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

It was an epic battle in an age of grand confrontation. The battle of Borodino on 7 September 1812 saw Emperor Napoleon's multi-national Grande Armee set against the Russian Imperial Army under Prince Mikhail Kutuzov.

Mark Churms' new painting "The Survivors: The Saxon Garde du Corps Regrouping after the taking of the Great Redoubt." The taking of the Raevsky Redoubt by the Saxon heavy cavalry is considered one of the greatest accomplishments of battle cavalry in the history of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon was reluctant to grant the Saxons credit, preferring to honor his aide Auguste Caulaincourt who was killed leading the French 5th Cuirassiers against the position.

It was the largest single-day battle of the Napoleonic Wars, involving nearly 250,000 soldiers for both sides. When it was over, almost one third of them were casualties. The decisive victory Napoleon hoped for in the 1812 campaign would elude him. The Russians, although badly mauled and forced to retreat, still had the resolve to continue the fight.

More Battle of Borodino

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