Battle of Tarutino

The Battle of Tarutino (Russian: Тарутинское сражение) was a part of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In the battle Russian troops under the general command of Bennigsen as part of Kutuzov's army under his instructions launched an attack and defeated French troops under the command of Joachim Murat.[10][4] The battle is sometimes called the Battle of Vinkovo (French: Bataille de Winkowo) or the Battle of the Chernishnya (Russian: Сражение у реки Чернишни) after the local river. Many historians claim that the latter name is more fitting because the village of Tarutino was 8 km from the described events.

Battle of Tarutino
Part of the French invasion of Russia

Battle of Tarutino, by Peter von Hess
Date18 October 1812
Location
Tarutino, Russian Empire
55°10′38″N 37°00′10″E
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russian Empire Russian Empire First French Empire French Empire
Kingdom of Naples Naples
Commanders and leaders
Russian Empire Mikhail Kutuzov
Russian Empire L. A. von Bennigsen
Russian Empire V. Orlov-Denisov
Russian Empire C. G. Baggehufvudt †		 Kingdom of Naples Joachim Murat
Strength
90,000 in total[1]
36,000 engaged[2]		 20,000[3]–26,000[4]
Casualties and losses
1,200–1,500[5][2][6] killed, wounded, captured or missing 2,000–4,500[7][8][9][5][3] killed, wounded, captured or missing
36–38 guns[2][5]
French invasion of Russia
🌍
  current battle
  Prussian corps
  Napoleon
  Austrian corps

Preceding events

After the battle of Borodino, Kutuzov realized that the Russian army would not survive one more large engagement and ordered his soldiers to retreat to the south of Moscow to reinforce his army. At first it retreated in the south-east direction along the Ryazan road. When the army reached the Moskva River it crossed it and turned to the west to the Old Kaluga road. The army pitched camp in a village of Tarutino near Kaluga. At the same time small units of Cossacks continued moving along the Ryazan road misleading French troops under the command of Murat. When he discovered his error he did not retreat but made camp not far from Tarutino in order to keep his eye on the Russian camp, while Napoleon occupied Moscow. [11]

Battle

On 18 October 1812 Kutuzov ordered Bennigsen and Miloradovich to attack Murat's corps (20,000 men)[3] with two columns stealthily crossing the forest in the dead of night. Bennigsen's main force included three columns led by Vasily Orlov-Denisov, Karl Gustav von Baggehufwudt and Alexander Osterman-Tolstoy respectively. The other column was supposed to play an auxiliary role. In the darkness most of the troops got lost. By the morning only Cossack troops under the command of General Vasily Orlov-Denisov reached the original destination, suddenly attacked the French troops and captured the French camp with transports and cannons. Since other Russian units came late the French were able to recover. When the Russians emerged from the forest they came under French fire and suffered casualties. Murat was forced to retreat to escape being surrounded, but the Russian general Baggehufwudt was killed. The French forces suffered more than 3,000 dead and wounded, 12 cannons, 20 caissons, 30 train-waggons had been taken, two generals killed,[7][8][12] the Russians lost about 500 dead.[13]

Aftermath

Kutuzov had attacked Napoleon's army and won a victory. One day later Napoleon started his own retreat from Moscow on the 19 October 1812 southwards in direction of Kaluga.[14] The next major battle was the Battle of Maloyaroslavets.

The battle is depicted in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. In the novel, Tolstoy claims that while the battle did not achieve any of its goals, it was exactly what the Russian army needed at the time, in that it exposed the weakness of the French army and gave Napoleon the push needed to begin his retreat.[15]

See also

Notes
  1. Wilson 1860, p. 208.
  2. Bodart 1908, p. 440.
  3. Clausewitz 1906, p. 67.
  4. Тарутино // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. Vol. 64 (1901): "Тай — Термиты", p. 658
  5. "ТАРУТИНСКОЕ СРАЖЕНИЕ 1812 • Great Russian Encyclopedia – Electronic version". old.bigenc.ru. 2017. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  6. V. M. Bezotosny. Россия в наполеоновских войнах 1805–1815 гг. Moscow: Political Encyclopedia, 2014. – p. 361. ISBN 978-5-8243-1856-2
  7. George 1899, p. 236.
  8. Ségur 1826, p. 89.
  9. Riehn 1990, p. 305.
  10. Wilson 1860, p. 209.
  11. Wilson 1860, p. 177.
  12. Chambray 1823, p. 12.
  13. Wilson 1860, p. 305.
  14. Wilson 1860, p. 213.
  15. Tolstoy 1949, p. 78-88.

References

Sources
  • Bourgogne, Adrien Jean Baptiste François, Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne, 1812-1813 Bourgogne, Adrien Jean Baptiste François, Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne, 1812-1813 access-date=7 March 2021
  • Chandler, David, The Campaigns of Napoleon New York, Macmillan, 1966 Chandler, David G., The Campaigns of Napoleon Access-date=7 March 2021
  • Weider, Ben and Franceschi, Michel, The Wars Against Napoleon: Debunking the Myth of the Napoleonic Wars, 2007 Weider, Ben and Franceschi, The Wars Against Napoleon: Debunking the Myth of the Napoleonic Wars access-date=7 March 2021
  • Zamoyski, Adam, Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March, 1980 Zamoyski, Adam, Moscow 1812, Napoleon's Fatal March access-date=7 March 2021
  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  • "Тарутино". Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: In 86 Volumes (82 Volumes and 4 Additional Volumes). St. Petersburg. 1890–1907.
Preceded by
Siege of Burgos		 Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Tarutino		 Succeeded by
Second Battle of Polotsk
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