The Battle of Tarutino (russian: Тарутинo) was a part of
Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In the battle
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
n troops under the command of
Bennigsen
Bennigsen is a village near Springe in the district of Hanover in Lower Saxony, Germany. Since 1974 it has been administered by the municipality of Springe.
The Hanover–Altenbeken railway runs through the village with the local railstation ...
defeated
French troops under the command of
Joachim Murat.
The battle is sometimes called the Battle of Vinkovo or the Battle of Chernishnya 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.
Preceding events
After the
battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...
,
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
The Moskva (russian: река Москва, Москва-река, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river running through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through centra ...
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
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
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.
Battle
On 18 October 1812 Kutuzov ordered Bennigsen and
Miloradovich to attack
Murat Murat may refer to:
Places Australia
* Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia
* Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area
France
* Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier
* Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal
Elsewhe ...
's corps (20,000 men) with two columns stealthily crossing the forest in the dead of night. Bennigsen's main column included three columns led by
Vasily Orlov-Denisov,
Karl Gustav von Baggehufwudt
Karl Gustav von Baggehufwudt (russian: Карл Фёдорович Багговут, tr. ; sv, Carl Gustaf Baggehufvudt; 27( J:16) September 1761 in Perila, Estonia18 ( J:06) October 1812) was a lieutenant general of the Russian Empire who ...
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. The French forces suffered more than 3,000 dead and wounded, 12 cannons, 20 caissons, 30 train-waggons had been taken, two generals killed, the Russians lost about 500 dead.
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.
The next major battle was the
Battle of Maloyaroslavets.
In popular culture
The battle is depicted in
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
'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.
See also
*
List of battles of the French invasion of Russia
__NOTOC__
This is a list of sieges, land and naval battles of the French invasion of Russia (24 June – 14 December 1812).
See also
* Attrition warfare against Napoleon
* Lists of battles of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic War ...
Notes
References
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Sources
* Bourgogne, Adrien Jean Baptiste François, Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne, 1812-18
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, 19
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, 20
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, 19
Zamoyski, Adam, Moscow 1812, Napoleon's Fatal March access-date=7 March 2021
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarutino
Battles of the French invasion of Russia
Battles of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles involving France
Battles involving Russia
Conflicts in 1812
October 1812 events
1812 in the Russian Empire
Kaluga Oblast