BORODINO AND THE BLITZ

Kutuzov

Napoleon 1

Nearly 200 years ago the Battle of Borodino was fought on the 7^th September, 1812. It was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties. The French Grande Armée under Emperor Napoleon attacked the Imperial Russian Army of General Mikhail Kutuzov near the village of Borodino, west of the town of Mozhaysk, and eventually captured the main positions on the battlefield, but failed to destroy the Russian army. About a third of Napoleon's soldiers were killed or wounded.

The battle itself ended with the Russian Army out of position. The state of exhaustion of the French forces and lack of information on the Russian Army's condition led Napoleon to remain on the battlefield with his army instead of the forced pursuit that had marked other campaigns that he had conducted in the past. The entirety of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, however, was still available to his disposition and in refusing to implement it he lost his singular chance to destroy the Russian army. The battle at Borodino was a pivotal point in the campaign, as it was the last offensive action fought by Napoleon in Russia. By withdrawing, the Russian army preserved its combat strength, eventually allowing it to force Napoleon out of the country.

Historical reports of the battle differed markedly depending on whether they originated from supporters of the French or Russian sides. Factional fighting between senior officers within each army also led to conflicting accounts and disagreements over the roles of particular individuals.

The fictional account in Tolstoy's War and Peace (Война и мир) is represented with some style by Sergei Bondarchuk in his film version of 1967. Here are a few clips:

It was also on the 7th September 1940, 128 years after Borodino that the Luftwaffe began its bombing campaign on London. It was the first on 57 consecutive nights of bombing.