Battle of Klyastitsy

Battle of Klyastitsy

Part of: Napoléon's Russian campaign

Battle of Kljastizy (1812/13) by Peter von Hess (The 2nd battalion of the «Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment» crosses the burning bridge.)

date	29./30. July to August 1, 1812
place	Klyastitsy
output	Strategic Russian victory

Parties to the conflict
France Bavaria	Russia
Commander
Charles Nicolas Oudinot	Peter Graf zu Wittgenstein Jakow Petrowitsch Kulnew
Troop strength
23,000-28,000	17,000-22,000
losses
3500-4500	General Jakow Petrovich Kulnew † 5500 killed 1000 captured

The Battle of Klyastitsy , also known as the Battle of Jakubowo , is one of a series of military clashes that took place in 1812 near Klyastitsy ( Клястицы ) on the Drissa in Vitebsk Oblast . The main combat activities was on the road between Polotsk and Sebezh . In the battle that followed, the Russian 1st Corps under Count von Wittgenstein and the French II Army Corps under Marshal Charles Nicolas Oudinot faced each other.

The result was unsatisfactory for both sides; after heavy losses, the parties withdrew into defensive positions.

prehistory

The Russian 1st Corps under Count von Wittgenstein had orders to advance from the Saint Petersburg area to Pokajowsky and Drissa in order to strengthen the 1st Western Army. The Russian 1st Western Army under General Barclay de Tolly had already begun to leave the fortified camp of Drissa on July 18th. The French II Corps under Oudinot destroyed the abandoned camp, left a division under General Merle and a brigade of light riders in Disna and began the crossing of the Daugava without hindrance . At the same time, the X Army Corps under Marshal MacDonald was operating on the left against Riga , which was secured by the Russian General Essen . While Napoleon marched off with the main force of the Grande Armée on Vitebsk in order to gain the great road to Moscow via Smolensk , Oudinot had Polotsk occupied on July 26th . While Oudinot's troops occupied the village of Klyastitsy on July 29th on his way to St. Petersburg, his vanguard with twelve cavalry squadrons near Klyastitsy was suddenly attacked by eight Russian hussar and Cossack squads under General Kulnev and held up for a day.

The battle

Although the Count of Wittgenstein knew of the opposing majority, he decided to attack on July 30th. The French troops were 28,000 strong, faced with about 17,000 Russians. At 2:00 p.m. the Russian vanguard under General Kulnev, about 4,000 men, began to attack the French vanguard. The fighting near the village of Jakubowo continued throughout the following day. Oudinot had brought the Verdier infantry division, which had meanwhile arrived, and the Cuirassier division under Doumerc into battle as the second and third meeting behind the Legrand division . The Russian division under Gregor von Berg tried to push back the French, but they were able to bring Jakubowo under their control.

On July 31, after several attacks and counter-attacks, the Russians succeeded in pushing Oudinot back on Klyastitsy, even the marshal's car fell into the hands of the Russians. In the course of the pursuit of the retreating French, the Russians had received orders to cross the Nishcha Bach. Realizing this, Oudinot ordered the only bridge to be destroyed by fire. While Russian cavalry waded across the Nishcha Brook, the 2nd Battalion of the Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment managed to cross the burning bridge. On August 1, Kulnev continued to pursue the French with a few cavalry regiments and an infantry battalion. After crossing the Drissa, he and his soldiers were ambushed near the village of Boyarshina and suffered heavy losses from the French artillery. General Kulnev was badly wounded (he lost both legs to a cannonball) and died the same day. Ultimately, Oudinot withdrew to Klyastitsy, which meant the failure of the French advance to St. Petersburg.

Effects

Wittgenstein was awarded the Second Class Order of St. George . Tsar Alexander I is said to have called him the "savior of St. Petersburg". Kapitan Krylov, whose unit was the first to cross the burning bridge, was awarded the Order of St. George, fourth class.

• Coordinate: 55 ° 53 ′ 14 ″  N , 28 ° 36 ′ 24 ″  E

Web links

• Battle of Klyastitsy (ru)

literature

• Curtis Cates: The War of the Two Emperors. The duel between Napoleon and Alexander, Russia 1812 . Random House, New York 1985, ISBN 0-394-53670-3 .
• David G. Chandler : The Campaigns of Napoleon . MacMillan, New York 1978, ISBN 0-02-523660-1 (EA New York 1966)
• Thomas E. Griess (Ed.): Atlas for the Wars of Napoleon (The West Point Military History Series). Avery Publ., Wayne, NJ 1986.
• Richard K. Riehn: 1812 Napoleon's Russian Campaign . John Wiley, New York 1991, ISBN 0-471-54302-0 .
• Digby Smith : The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Source . Greenhill Books, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9 .
• Digby Smith: Napoleon against Russia. A Concise History of 1812 . Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley 2004, ISBN 1-84415-089-5 .
• Yevgeny Viktorovich Tarle : Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812 . Octagon Press, New York 1971, ISBN 0-374-97758-5 (EA New York 1942)
• Adam Zamoyski : Moscow 1812. Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow . Harper Collins, New York 2004, ISBN 0-06-107558-2 .
  • German: 1812. Napoleon's campaign in Russia . 10th edition Beck, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-406-63170-2 (EA Munich 2012).