Battle of Smolensk

Date and place

• August 16th and 17th (August 4th and 5th in the Julian calendar, used in Russia)

Involved forces

• French army: 50,000 men of the Grande Armée under the command of Emperor Napoleon I. 
• 30,000 of the Russian army under the command of Generals Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration. 

Casualties and losses

• Grande Armée: 7,000 to 10,000 dead and wounded, 2,000 missing. 
• Russian army: 10,000 to 12,000 dead and wounded, 2,000 prisoners, 12 cannons. 

The Battle of Smolensk [Смоленск] was the first major engagement of the French invasion of Russia. The Grande Armée captured the city after fierce fighting but could not halt the Russian army's retreat. Despite the victory, Napoleon I had still not achieved the decisive success he had been pursuing for over six weeks.

The General Situation

Since setting foot on Russian soil on June 25, 1812, Napoleon and the Grande Armée had been exhausting themselves in a relentless pursuit of the retreating Russian army.

No maneuver could force the commander-in-chief of the latter, Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly (Михаи́л Богда́нович Баркла́й-де-То́лли), to gamble the fate of the war in a major battle. This caution earned him the hostility of most of his subordinates and of General Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (Пётр Иванович Багратионv), who also challenged his authority.

By pushing much deeper into enemy territory than anticipated, the French eventually approached Smolensk, a strategic fortified position controlling the road to Moscow. The 1st and 2nd Russian Armies of the West, respectively commanded by Barclay de Tolly and Bagration, concentrated there, with Napoleon's blessing, who hoped that, thus united, they would accept the confrontation. The Russians were positioned in front of the city, on the north bank of the Dnieper. They expected the French to advance directly from Vitebsk [Віцебск] [55.19269, 30.20619].

The Emperor, on the contrary, devised a maneuver intended to surprise his adversaries. The bulk of his forces joined up with those of Louis-Nicolas Davout, and the combined force crossed to the left bank of the Dnieper on August 13 at Rasasna [Расасна] [54.64760, 30.87402], 80 kilometers downstream from Smolensk. The Grande Armée then marched on the city to attack the Russians in their rear.

But the next day, it encountered the garrison left by Barclay in the city of Krasnoye [Красный] [54.56663, 31.43651]. General Dmitri Petrovich Neverovsky's  division was indeed dislodged, but it managed to retreat. The element of surprise was lost.

On the 16th, the French vanguard appeared before the city.

Strengths

Napoleon had assembled approximately 180,000 men, including Joachim Murat's cavalry and the corps of Michel Ney, Davout, and Prince Eugène de Beauharnais.

The Russians had 140,000 combatants, divided between the 1st and 2nd armies.

However, the belligerents would only commit a fraction of their respective forces to the battle.

Topography

The city of Smolensk [54.789796, 32.05042] had approximately 20,000 inhabitants. It stood on the left (southern) bank of the Dnieper River [Дняпро]. Its fortified walls, five meters high and about twelve meters thick, included twenty-nine towers. These walls had a breach, known as the Nicholas Breach, defended by an earthwork, the King's Bastion, equipped with artillery. Outside the ramparts, several suburbs surrounded the city. These were, from west to east, the suburbs of Krasnoy, Mstislav, Roslavl, Nikolskoy, and Raczenska. The last, the suburb of Saint Petersburg, was located on the right (northern) bank of the river. It was connected to the city by a bridge whose approach was protected on this side by a hornwork.

The terrain was quite rugged, and plateaus overlooked the city on both banks.

Weather Conditions

The weather remained fine for two days.

Initial Positions on August 16

Upon the arrival of the French, the city was defended by the corps of Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky  and Neverovsky's division. The southern suburbs, the King's Bastion, and the bridge were garrisoned with troops. Part of the Russian cavalry was positioned on the left bank upstream from Smolensk.

On the French side, Murat's cavalry, of little use in the situation, arrived shortly before Ney, who appeared at 8:00 a.m. before the Krasnoy suburb, west of the city. He was joined at 4:00 PM by Charles Étienne Gudin's division, which positioned itself on his right.

Fighting of August 16th

Barely arrived, Ney attacked. The III Corps deployed: François Roch Ledru des Essarts' division in the lead, Louis Nicolas' (sometimes called Jean Nicolas) Razout's  division in support, and the Corps' cavalry brigade between the two. Their right flank was positioned along the Krasnoy road. The Württemberg division held its position behind and on the left.

The entire force numbered only 18,000 men. The chances of them succeeding in capturing a well-guarded city were slim. It was more of a raid intended to prepare for the attack the following day.

Ney did, however, manage to temporarily dislodge the Russians from the Krasnoy suburb. But he was soon forced to retreat in the face of a sortie by the garrison, just as he failed to capture the king's stronghold.

The fighting continued in vain until 5:00 PM. The arrival of Gudin an hour earlier had not significantly altered the situation.

Battles of August 17

New Russian dispositions

Barclay wanted to prevent the Grande Armée from interposing itself between him and Moscow at all costs. If it succeeded, a general battle would become inevitable, unless the Russian armies retreat towards Saint Petersburg. But this last option could only be a last resort because of its foreseeable consequences: a fall in morale, loss of any ability to maneuver jointly with the armies of Alexander Petrovich Tormasov (Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Торма́сов) and Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov (Па́вел Васи́льевич Чича́гов), both operating in the south. The Russian commander-in-chief therefore decided that the 1st Army would occupy Smolensk and the right bank of the Dnieper River while the 2nd Army withdrew to Dorogobuzh Дорогобуж]. Once the 2nd Army had crossed to the other side of the Dnieper, the 1st Army would follow suit.

The corps of Dmitri Sergeyevich Dokhturov , reinforced by two divisions taken from the corps of Raevsky and Nikolai Alekseyevich Tuchkov , established three divisions in the southern suburbs of Smolensk and the King's Bastion. A final division was held in reserve behind the Malakhov Gate (southeast).

French dispositions

Napoleon still intended to force the Russians into battle on the right bank of the river. The idea of crossing upstream from the city was considered and rejected. He therefore had to take Smolensk very quickly, cross the river, and prevent Barclay from escaping. Furthermore, control of the city was essential to secure French communications.

The French units were deployed as follows:

1. on the left, Ney's Corps, with Ledru's Division and the Württemberg Division in the first line, and Razout's Division in the second;
2. in the center, Davout's Corps, with the divisions of Gudin, Charles Antoine Louis Alexis Morand , and Louis Friant  in the lead, followed by the divisions of Jean-Dominique Compans  and Joseph Marie Dessaix ;
3. on the right, Józef Antoni Poniatowski's Corps, composed of the divisions of Józef Zajączek  and Ludwik Kamieniecki;
4. on the far right, Murat's cavalry reserve served only to extend the line of defense to the Dnieper River;
5. in the rear, Prince Eugene's corps guarded the lines of communication and observed both banks of the river.

The Fighting

The morning was spent in inconclusive skirmishes. A few skirmishes to the west yielded no results. In the center, a reconnaissance ordered by Gudin, followed by the engagement of several regiments, ended in a retreat.

Around 1 p.m., the confrontation took on a new dimension.

On the left, the Württemberg brigades of Ernst Eugen von Hügel and Ludwig Friedrich von Stockmayer entered the Krasnoy suburb under fire from Russian artillery. They established themselves in the cemetery, from which no one could dislodge them. At the same time, Ledru's division cautiously attacked the King's Bastion, which had resisted them the previous day.

In the center, the divisions of Gudin (including Davout), Morand, and Friant launched a frontal assault on the suburbs of Mstislaw and Roslavl. Dessaix's division formed a second line of defense behind them, while Compans's division remained in reserve on the plateau. Gudin, Morand, and Friant all reached the city walls but failed to breach them. Despite the Emperor's order to concentrate the fire of 36 twelve-pounder cannons on the ramparts, it proved impossible to breach the fortifications.

On the right, after an artillery duel, Poniatowski attacked the suburb of Nikolskoy and the Malakhov Gate. The divisions of Zayonchek and Kamienicki, with a 60-gun battery operating between them, dislodged the Russians from the suburb and drove them back into the city. Part of the regiments then advanced on the Malakhov Gate and the King's Bastion, while the other seized the Raczenska suburb. But on this side as well, the wall's strength thwarted any attempts to breach the ramparts. The Polish artillerymen were forced to retreat under Russian fire.

On the far right, the Russian cavalry had to take refuge in the fortress under pressure from Emmanuel de Grouchy's cavalry. He was monitoring the Dnieper River upstream while his corps' artillery bombarded the enemy cannons on the right bank of the Dnieper.

Several districts of the city experienced fires during the afternoon. Whether caused by bombardments from French batteries or deliberately set by the Russians, they engulfed Smolensk in smoke, making the defenders' task easier.

At the end of the day, the Russians still held Smolensk, despite some very close calls, particularly at the Malakhov Gate. An additional division had to be brought in to reinforce Dokthurov's position at the most critical points.

Losses were very high in the Polish Corps, as well as in the Gudin and Württemberg divisions.

Bataille de Smolensk, nuit du 17 août 1812 (detail). Painted in 1839 by Jean-Charles Langlois known as "Le Colonel"

Russian Evacuation

During the night of August 17-18, the defenders of Smolensk abandoned the city, setting fire to several districts to cover their retreat, crossed the Dnieper River, and destroyed the bridge behind them.

Meanwhile, the Russian army retreated eastward.

Bataille de Smolensk le 18 août 1812, vue du nord (detail). Painted circa 1825 by Albrecht Adam

The French occupied the city on the morning of the 18th, but found only ashes and ruins. The expected resources were lacking.

Toll

The number of casualties varies depending on the source.

It seems certain, however, that it exceeded 10,000 men on each side, if we include the killed, wounded, missing, and prisoners.

Consequences

Tactically, the victory went to the French. Strategically, however, they did not achieve their objective of forcing the Russians into a large-scale battle. The Russians withdrew in good order, and their forces were undamaged. It was therefore a failure for Napoleon.

Especially since, on the 19th, at Valutino-Gora, the Grande Armée once again missed the opportunity to inflict a serious, even decisive, defeat on the enemy, and settled for a victory that would lead nowhere.

General Barclay de Tolly, already facing criticism before these events, saw the censure intensify after the loss of Smolensk and the near-rout at Valutina-Gora. On the 20th, he relinquished his position to Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (Михаил Илларионович Голенищев-Кутузов).

Russian order of battle

French Order of battle

Only units that took an active part in the fighting are listed.

Map of the battle of Smolensk

Picture - The Battle of Smolensk on August 5 (17) 1812 by Peter von Hess (1792–1871)