The Battle of Borodino

Revisiting Napoleon's Bloodiest Day

Opposing Plans

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

The Russians deployed in depth, but expected that a substantial French attack might develop on their right flank held by Barclay de Tolly's 1st Army of the West. The Russian left, defended by Prince Bagration's 2nd Army of the West, would prove insufficient to hold that flank. During the battle, reinforcements (namely Baggovout's 2nd and Tolstoy's 4th Corps), would have to race from the far right to bolster the Russian left and center.

In conducting the battle, Kutuzov left the fighting to his subordinates, issuing few orders from his remote headquarters behind Gorki. As a consequence of his inattention, Russian command and control was often chaotic, relying on the personal initiative of commanders on the spot to improvise their own solutions to the series of near disasters which confronted them throughout the day.

Kutuzov had no real plan other than to defend his ground, and he spent the day mostly at his headquarters, surrounded by sycophants, who all were evidently enjoying various delectables as the battle raged on.

After spending the day of the 6th in deployment and reconnoitering, Napoleon chose to mass his forces to attack the weaker Russian left. The Emperor has been criticized for dismissing Marshal Davout's pleas for a wide flanking movement with his 1st Corps and Prince Poniatowski's 5th (Polish) Corps around the Russian left. However, Napoleon, having seen previous attempts at sweeping flanking movements come to naught in the past three months of this campaign, was content to settle for a fairly straightforward attack.

The resulting battle would be a rather inelegant pounding match, a battle of attrition and will rather than maneuver, and may be regarded as one of the Emperor's worst efforts as a field commander.

Napoleon's defenders point out that he was suffering from a severe cold during the battle as well as an acute bladder infection that made it difficult to for him to ride. (He also apparently suffered from acute piles - hemorrhoids.) Napoleon's ill health certainly impaired his performance, probably more so than a general "war weariness" which some analysts ascribe to him. In spite of the battle's importance, it is an ironic fact that neither commanding general took an active part once the action began.

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