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1. ValeOfShadows (valeofshadows@poa.st)'s status on Sunday, 17-Nov-2024 15:49:00 JST ValeOfShadows
   September 7th, 1812, Borodino, Russia.
   
   On June 24th 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte crossed the Niemen River and invaded Russia with a 500k strong multi-national army one of the largest ever assembled in Europe to that point. Initially the Imperial Russian Army did not fight Napoleon, but relied on a "scorched earth" strategy, where they destroyed food and supplies and withdrew further into Russia. This aggravated Napoleon as he had hoped to defeat the Russian Army in a quick and decisive battle. On August 16th Napoleon conquered the city of Smolensk and was faced with a predicament set up winter quarters at Smolensk and wait till spring or continue on to Moscow and risk fighting during the winter months. Napoleon's ambition got the better of him and he decided to advance on Moscow. Czar Alexander I of Russia had replaced Prince Mikhail Barclay with Prince Mikhail Kutuzov as Commander of the Russian Army after Smolensk. Kutuzov planned to fight Napoleon in a pitched battle as the Russian Army's constant retreating seemed to be demoralizing the Russian people. Napoleon would get his battle after all.
   
   On September 5th both armies met close to a Russian village known as Borodino. Napoleon's La Grande Armée(The Great Army) had around 140k men and was multi-ethnic consisting of French, German, Polish and Italian soldiers. Opposing him was General Kutuzov's Russian Army of around 160k men. Napoleon began the battle when French and Polish troops advanced on the village of Shevardino and captured the Russian gun batteries located there. The next day both armies spent the day preparing for the fighting on September 7th. On the morning of September 7th Russian Orthodox priests brought out the icon of Our Lady of Smolensk as a means of bolstering the moral of the Russian soldiers. Napoleon began the battle with an artillery barrage, followed by the IV Corps advancing on Borodino village and capturing it. IV Corps then advanced on to a Russian redoubt, but were driven back to Borodino. Napoleons center, then right flank advanced on Russian positions. The Polish on the right flank captured the village of Utitsa, But as the center forces advanced on the Russian redoubt(nicknamed "The Arrow" by the French) outside of the village of Semenovskaya, they ran into heavy resistance. Napoleon's IV Corps on the left flank attempted once again to break through the Russian redoubt, but were driven back again. Napoleon's center managed to finally breakthrough the center after Russian General Pyotr Bagration commanding the Russian center was badly wounded in the fighting and had to be dragged off of the field. The center pressed on and captured Semenovskaya.
   
   Russian Cossacks attacked the French and Italian troops in Borodino hoping to make a breakthrough there, but were eventually driven back. Napoleon sent up his reserves to join the IV Corps on the left flank and this time managed to breakthrough the Russian redoubt. By the end of the day both armies were exhausted and had suffered heavy losses. The Russians lost 50k men, Napoleon's army lost 35k men. The next day Kutuzov ordered a retreat from Borodino and abandoned Moscow. Napoleons victory at Borodino became a pyrrhic victory as after the battle he advanced on Moscow and captured the city but several days later the Russians set it on fire forcing Napoleon to retreat from Russian in what became known as the infamous and deadly Winter Retreat.