Battle of Krasnoi
| date | November 15-18, 1812 |
|---|---|
| place | Krasnoi on the Mereja and Swina rivers (tributaries of the Dnepr ), 45 km southwest of Smolensk |
| output | Russian advantage |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
|
|
| Troop strength | |
| 36,000 to 50,000 men | 70,000 men |
| losses | |
|
5,000 to 6,000 dead and wounded, |
5,000 dead and wounded |
Mir - Mogilev - Ostrovno - Kobrin - Klyastitsy - Gorodeczno - Smolensk - Polotsk I - Walutino - Borodino - Tschirikovo - Tarutino - Maloyaroslavets - Polotsk II - Vyazma - Lyachovo - Chaschniki - Smoljany - Krasnoi - Beresina
The Battle of Krasnoi ( Russian actually Красный , therefore also as Krasny , Krasnyj or Krasnij , but often also transcribed as Krasnoi , Krasno or Krasnoye ) took place during Napoleon's Russian campaign from November 15 to 18, 1812. The Russian army did not succeed in cutting off the path of the French withdrawing from Smolensk , but could inflict heavy losses on them.
First battle at Krasnoi
Already on August 14, 1812 there had been a first battle near Krasnoi between the French under Marshals Michel Ney and Joachim Murat and the Russians under Generals Nikolai Rajewski and Dmitri Newerowski. The French had then triumphed, then occupied Smolensk and were initially able to advance further on Moscow.
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Second battle near Krasnoye
While retreating from Moscow and after the Battle of Vyazma , Napoleon arrived back in Smolensk on November 9, 1812, where he initially hoped to be able to hibernate in order to continue the fight in the spring. In Smolensk, however, he learned that a Russian army under Prince Wittgenstein had already occupied Vitebsk , while another Russian army under Pavel Chichagow was advancing from the south to Minsk .
prehistory
Napoleon decided to leave Smolensk and retreat behind the Berezina before the Russian armies could unite and cut off his retreat. Meanwhile, the corps of Marshals St. Cyr , Oudinot and Victor were supposed to stop Wittgenstein, and Polish formations under Generals Poniatowski , Dombrowski and Bronikowski were supposed to keep Minsk against Chichagov.
According to various statements, the remains of the Grande Armée with Napoleon when he left Smolensk still counted a maximum of 40,000 to 50,000 or 36,000 soldiers capable of fighting or carrying weapons, followed by an unknown number of displaced persons, sick and wounded, who had already thrown their weapons away. The French withdrawal from Smolensk began on November 13; 10,000 sick, wounded and stragglers were left behind in the city. They were followed by 70,000 men from the main Russian army under Mikhail Kutuzov .
course
Since there were intervals of one day's march between each of the individual corps (first Napoleon's Guards Infantry, then the IV Corps under Beauharnais , then the I. Corps under Davout and finally the III Corps under Ney as rearguard), the Russian military command under Kutuzov hoped to beat the French associations individually.
November 15, 1812
On November 15, Miloradovich attacked Napoleon and his guards on the road between Smolensk and Orsha and captured 2,000 French from the end of the column. Napoleon then stopped in Krasnoye, and the Young Guard under Mortier counterattacked south of Krasnoy to cover the retreat of the other corps. About half of the 6,000 men in the Young Guard should have fallen by the day after next.
November 16, 1812
On November 16, the Russians attacked the Beauharnais corps, but the French and Italian troops made their way to Krasnoye with great losses.
In the meantime, however, the Poles had not been able to hold Minsk, Chichagov occupied the city and captured large amounts of supplies that Napoleon had hoped for.
November 17, 1812
While Kutuzov believed that Napoleon had meanwhile withdrawn and therefore planned to cut off the Davout that followed him at Dobroje (west of Krasnoi), on November 17th all of Napoleon's and Beauharnais' troops still in Krasnoi went over to a counterattack. Napoleon or Mortier advanced southeast on Uwarowo, Davout east on Eskowo. The exhausted French were beaten back, but with heavy losses (7,000 out of 10,000 men) Davout was able to make his way through to Napoleon's column.
November 18, 1812
With a renewed attack at Dobroje, however, Kutuzov's General Tormassow succeeded on November 18 in cutting off Ney's corps, which numbered only 6,000 to 7,000, and encircled it on all sides. But the Russian troops were also exhausted, and so Ney managed to break out with 3,000 men and make his way to the Dnieper .
Although Ney left his cannons behind, most of the soldiers he had left collapsed while crossing the river, which was only superficially frozen. At least 2,000 French drowned, Ney was only able to save himself to the other bank with a few hundred. With 900 or 500 men he reached Orsha, where Napoleon finally retreated on November 20th.
Despite the dangerous and desperate strategic situation, Napoleon is said to have perceived the rescue of Ney as good news or great relief and praised it as a victory. Ney has been called "the bravest of the brave".
As commander of the Young Guard, Marshal Mortier saved the retreat.
Marshal Ney, victor of the first battle of Krasnoye and main hero of the second
General Tormasov destroyed Ney's corps, but couldn't get him to surrender.
Marshal Kutuzov received the title "Prince of Smolensk" for his services to Krasnoye.
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Losses and consequences
According to the Soviet historian and Napoleon biographer Tarlé, the French lost about 14,000 men on November 16 and 17, 1812 alone, 5,000 of them dead and wounded, while the rest were taken prisoner. By November 18, Ney lost 4,000 men in his corps and then 2,000 more.
The GDR military historians Helmert and Usczeck reckoned 6,000 dead and wounded and 26,000 prisoners on the French side for every four days from November 15 to 18. In addition, the French had lost 116 artillery pieces, and Napoleon had hardly any artillery left. Afterwards only the guard was able to fight, but through the union with the remnants of the Corps St. Cyr and Victor, which had meanwhile been defeated by Wittgenstein, Napoleon again had 40,000 men. More than 30,000 stragglers dragged themselves behind them, the British historian and Napoleon expert Chandler even suspected up to 80,000 stragglers.
In 1861, the Frenchman Charles Minard had given in a much-noticed infographic the number of Napoleon's troops reaching Smolensk (capable of fighting) as only 37,000 men and troops leaving Smolensk as only 24,000 men. According to Orscha, they reached 20,000 men, so Napoleon, Beauharnais, Davout and Ney lost a total of only 4,000 men at Krasnoye. At Botr then 30,000 St. Cyrs and Victors joined, so that the army is said to have been reinforced to 50,000 men.
In the back of Napoleon, however, Chichagov defeated Dombrowski on November 21, 1812, occupied Borissov on November 22 and united with Wittgenstein there. With that Napoleon was actually cut off the way back. Oudinot, who had taken over from the wounded St. Cyr's corps in place of the wounded St. Cyr, quickly marched on Borissov and fought back Chichagov on November 23. The way back was free again for a short time, but Chichagov had the bridges over the Berezina destroyed in Borisov, which is why Napoleon's army had to cross the river at another point further north. The battle of the Beresina that developed there on November 26th ended for the French with the loss of another 30,000 men and the final fall of the army.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia gives only 2,000 dead and wounded for the Russian side. According to Chandler, Kutuzov's army still had 65,000 men after the battle of Krasnoye, but as a result the Russian losses increased enormously: After the battles at Krasnoye, Borissow and the Berezina in mid-December 1812, only 27,500 and 40,000 combatants were able to fight in Vilna on. However, Kutuzov's army was supplemented by the Chitschagow remaining 25,000 men and the Wittgenstein remaining 35,000 men.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Tarlé, p. 389 f.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Helmert / Usczeck, p. 176 ff.
- ↑ a b c d e Chandler, p. 128 f.
- ↑ "a few thousand" (Tarlé) or "thousands" (Helmert / Usczeck).
- ↑ According to Ludwig Renn , only 30,000 to 35,000 weapons capable of leaving Smolensk, followed by 30,000 sick people. Pierer gave 40,000 arms and 30,000 stragglers.
- ↑ Holland, p. 270.
- ↑ Article Krasny in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
- ↑ Tarlé, p. 394.
- ↑ Helmert / Usczeck, p. 184.
literature
- Eugen Tarlé : Napoleon . Rütten and Loening, Berlin 1963.
- Heinz Helmert, Hansjürgen Usczek: European Wars of Liberation 1808 to 1815 . Military publishing house of the GDR, Berlin 1986.
- Ludwig Renn , Helmut Schnitter: Warriors, Landsknecht and Soldier , page 126. Children's book publisher Berlin 1976.
- John Holland Rose: Napoleon . Greiner & Pfeiffer, Stuttgart 1906.
- David G. Chandler: Napoleon . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1978.
Web links
- Pierer's Universal Lexikon , Volume 14, Page 567: Russo-German War against France 1812–1815 . Altenburg 1857–1862