The battle around the Shevardinsky Redoubt took place on the eve of the Battle of Borodino and is considered its prologue. The battle for control of an important fortification began because Napoleon needed a more advantageous position for the subsequent offensive, and Kutuzov wanted to delay the time needed to reorganize his army.
The day before
In the morning of August 24 (September 5), 1812, the French for the first time approached the Russian positions. The earliest battle began near the Kolotsk Monastery. The main forces of the Russian army were located 8 kilometers from there. The rearguard of Pyotr Konovnitsyn was the first to be hit. After many hours of fighting, he and his detachment crossed the Kolocha River and stopped near the village of Shevardino.
Kutuzov needed to buy time to complete the preparatory engineering work for the construction of fortifications. Therefore, he chose the village of Shevardino as a place to delay the French. The day before, a pentagonal redoubt had been built there. At first it was considered part of the left flank. When the Russian positions were pushed back, the Shevardinsky redoubt becameindependent forward position.
Seeing the fortification, Napoleon immediately ordered to capture it. The point was that it prevented the French forces from deploying. The three best divisions that were part of Davout's corps, as well as the Polish cavalry of Jozef Poniatowski, went on the attack. Interestingly, the main French forces initially deployed on the field to the northwest and west of Borodino. Kutuzov wanted exactly this. However, Napoleon guessed the opponent's plan and did not accept his rules of the game. That is why the French sources described the forces attacking the redoubt as the right flank of Bonaparte's army.
Russian army
Shevardinsky Redoubt was defended under the command of Lieutenant General Andrei Gorchakov. This was Suvorov's nephew, who had already distinguished himself in the Swiss and Italian campaigns. He became a general at the age of 21. Gorchakov was subordinate to the 27th division of Dmitry Neverovsky, several regiments of cavalry, as well as a detachment of militia. The battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt turned out to be a high point for the general. He had 11 thousand soldiers at his disposal, while Napoleon sent 35 thousand to attack.
Gorchakov's forces were arranged as follows. On the redoubt were 12 guns from the 12th battery company, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Winsper. Behind them was the 27th Infantry Division. The Simbirsk and Odessa regiments were in the first line. In the second - Tarnopol and Vilensky. Chasseur regiments (6 in total) were located near Aleksinka on the right bank of the Kolocha River. There were many ravinesand bushes. The same units occupied the Doroninskaya grove on the outskirts of the town of Doronino.
To the north of the village of Shevardino, from which the Shevardinsky redoubt got its name, the Chernigov and Kharkov dragoon regiments took up their positions. To the south of the fortification, on a hill, there was an eight-gun battery of the 9th cavalry company. She was covered by two squadrons that were part of the Akhtyrsky Hussar Regiment. To the right of the redoubt, the guns of the 23rd Light Company, as well as the artillery of the 9th Cavalry Company and the 21st Light Company, took up positions.
The 2nd cuirassier division ended up in the Russian rear. It was commanded by Major General Ilya Duka. The 2nd Grenadier Division of Charles of Mecklenburg was located near Kamenka. Another 4 battalions stood near the village of Semenovskaya. In total, when the battle for the Shevardinsky Redoubt began, Gorchakov had 46 guns, 38 cavalry squadrons and 36 infantry battalions. To his left was a forest, and to his right was the village of the same name.
French offensive
An important factor in the security of the Russian troops was the cover of the neighboring Old Smolensk road. The Cossack regiments of Major General Akim Karpov came to her defense. Poniatowski's corps moved along this road.
The battle for the Shevardino redoubt began with the attack of the Napoleonic divisions. They were advancing from another, New Smolensk road. Initially, the brunt of the blow fell on the 5th division of Jean-Dominique Compan. His soldiers had an outstanding reputation. There are many legends about Kompan's regiments. One of them, the 57th line, after the Italiancampaign bore the nickname Terrible. It included experienced French veteran soldiers. The fifth division consisted of four regiments of line infantry, two artillery companies and a combined voltigeur regiment. It included 30 guns and nearly 10,000 infantry.
The enemy went to where the Shevardinsky redoubt is located, and captured the fortification from the south and north. The French broke through twice, but each time they were beaten out by Neverovsky's infantry.
Company Actions
The enemy was moving along the high road. Three enemy columns kept at the same height. At two o'clock in the afternoon they crossed the Kolocha and headed for the Shevardinsky redoubt. Briefly, the battle of that day was described by many eyewitnesses, including Alexander Mikhailovsky-Danilevsky. He noted that Konovitsyn was forced to retreat to Borodino. After that, the rearguard regiments began to be part of the corps. Arranged in battle order, the Russian army appeared before the eyes of the enemy. Access to it was blocked by the Shevardinsky redoubt. The story of that battle has attracted the attention of many historians…
Compan skillfully took advantage of the peculiarities of the local terrain. For what purpose was the Shevardinsky redoubt built? To prevent the French from rebuilding and attacking the main Russian army. In order to facilitate the capture of the fortification, Kompan took advantage of the occupied hill as a platform for his cannons. The guns did a lot of damage, shooting at the redoubt and infantry shelter.
Fight
The first shootout lasted about an hour. Having held out for an unexpectedly long time, the Russian flankers and rangersretreated. Just at this time, the enemy forces under the personal command of Napoleon went straight to the fortifications in columns. They were preceded by the fire of numerous enemy artillery.
There was an excessive numerical superiority of the French. It forced Gorchakov to immediately bring reserve grenadiers into action. However, it took them a while to get there. While they were approaching, cannonballs, buckshot, grenades and bullets bombarded the defending troops and the Shevardino redoubt. “What is this if not victory?!” - thought the French, but their triumph was short-lived. As soon as they began to take possession of the redoubt, the reserve grenadiers entered the battle. Their approach was truly impressive. In front of the grenadiers were priests dressed in robes. With crosses in their hands, they strengthened the morale of the soldiers and inspired them to go on the attack.
The regiments that arrived in time to help the redoubt caught up with the battery. The enemy was driven back. In the heat of battle, hand-to-hand combat began. The opponents in turn overturned each other and seized the initiative, but neither side could seize the advantage necessary for the final victory. It was getting dark, and Shevardino, the redoubt and the forest located on the left wing remained behind the Russians.
Climax
The day passed, followed by evening, and the defenders of the field fortification continued to hold their position. The enemy fire stopped briefly. But with the onset of darkness, cuirassiers arrived to help Poniatowski. All together they rushed into a new attack. At the redoubt they heard the approach of French troops. ATin the dark it was impossible to determine their number. But when the haystacks caught fire in the French position, the light illuminated the dense column of the enemy advancing on the offensive. She was moving towards the Russian right flank.
By this moment, Gorchakov had only one division and one battalion left. Then the general went to the trick. He ordered the battalion to beat the drums and shout “Hurrah!!!” but not move. Hearing the music, the French were confused and lost their original pace. Meanwhile, Russian cuirassiers from the 2nd Cuirassier Division at full gallop entered the battle and repelled the attack.
The French division of Kompan with a new attempt broke into the Shevardinsky redoubt only closer to midnight. A terrible massacre ensued. The soldiers fought hand to hand. Visibility was almost zero. It was not only darkness that interfered, but also thick smoke. Opponents mingled with each other. Finally, the French f altered and retreated again, leaving 5 guns. Three guns remained in place, the other two were taken out by cuirassiers. The battle has stopped. Around midnight, the French column reappeared on the horizon.
It was then, on the orders of Kutuzov, that Gorchakov finally retreated. It was now pointless to hold a redoubt remote from other positions. The military genius got his way, as he got enough time to enable the main Russian army to take the positions it needed and prepare additional fortifications.
Napoleon's sleepless night
The next day after the battle, Bonaparte held a review of one of the Compan regiments. The emperor asked in surprise where the third battalion, which was part of it, had gone. The colonel replied to the sovereign that he had remained at the redoubt. The nearby forest continued to teem with Russian soldiers. The shooters constantly staged sorties and continued small attacks. Only when Murat's cavalry fully took up the matter did they manage to clear the plain. Thus ended the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt (the date of the battle is indicated at the beginning of the article).
This day became alarming for Napoleon. He slept little and badly. Finally, General Caulaincourt came to him, who reported that not a single prisoner fell into the hands of the French. Surprised, Napoleon began to ask him severe questions. Didn't the French cavalry attack the enemy in time? What did the Russians want: win or die? The general replied that the encircled enemy soldiers preferred to commit suicide. Caulaincourt explained this behavior by the fact that the Russians were used to fighting the Turks, and they rarely take prisoners. Moreover, Napoleon's interlocutor persisted, Gorchakov's soldiers were clearly driven by him to fanaticism. The emperor was deeply amazed and lost in thought.
Importance of the redoubt
Although the descriptions of the battle for the redoubt differ from each other in detail, they all confirm that the emperor appreciated the significance of the fortification. Therefore, instead of going to the Borodino field north of the New Smolensk road, he attacked Shevardino. At the same time, the French, with the help of the Beauharnais corps, covered themselves from a possible attack on the left flank. As a result of this strategy, the RussianI had to break combat contact and withdraw my forces to the Semyonov Heights, closer to the flushes. During the retreat, sound signals for the attack were used. They were needed to misinform the enemy.
The importance of the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt was briefly mentioned by all French sources. Captain Labom recalled that the murderous fire that was fired from this fortification brought terror to the ranks of the Napoleonic army.
Follow-up maneuvers
So, the battle for the Shevardino Redoubt became the prologue of the entire Battle of Borodino. In some ways, it resembled a duel of heroes, which traditionally began the medieval battles of the Eastern Slavs. Each side has achieved its goal in a certain sense. Kutuzov managed to prepare for the general battle, and Napoleon clearly demonstrated the power of his army. At the same time, the Russian commander-in-chief determined the most probable direction of the enemy strike. He began to prepare for battle on the basis that the French were to attack him from the left.
Winning the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt, Bonaparte got the opportunity to deploy his own army in front of the enemy formation. The bridgehead, which he took to attack the Russian left flank, turned out to be extremely advantageous. Napoleon's maneuver forced Kutuzov to arrange a regrouping of his own forces on the night before the general battle. From the fortified heights one could see how the French moved more and more to the right, and more and more of their shooters gathered in the forests. From the redoubt, the artillery of the Grand Army was transported by various paths to the surrounding hills and hills.
Nevertheless, Gorchakov immediatelyproved that the Russians would fight fiercely, which did not promise Napoleon an easy victory, to which he was accustomed during the wars in Europe. Kutuzov, after the battle for the redoubt, moved the grenadier battalion of Count Vorontsov closer to the fortification near Semenovsky. He separated Tuchkov's corps from the reserve and moved it to the Old Smolensk road. Other regiments from the militia were left behind the lines, they were supposed to help the wounded. Due to the maneuver of the French army, Kutuzov changed his headquarters. From Tatarinov, she moved to Gorki. In addition, 4 regiments of chasseurs were sent to the forest to guard communications between the 2nd Army and Tuchkov's corps.
Results
As a result of the actions of the French, Semyonov's flushes (they are also called Bagrationov's) came to the fore, while Maslovskys turned out to be useless. The importance of the Old Smolensk road has sharply increased. Now, with the help of this path, the French were able to carry out an enveloping maneuver. The center of gravity of the upcoming Borodino events shifted further south. In the hands of Napoleon was the dominant height, which he received thanks to his risky attack. The French emperor no longer needed to break through the Russian fortified line, which rested on Kolocha and was distinguished by natural barriers in the form of inaccessible river banks. Thus, Napoleon leveled his positions and, in a certain sense, outplayed Kutuzov. The further fate of the Battle of Borodino depended on the skill of the commanders on the battlefield.
It is believed that when takingShevardinsky redoubt, the French lost about 4-5 thousand people killed and wounded, while the Russian losses amounted to 6-7 thousand. Such a large damage is explained by the significant predominance of enemy artillery and the numerical superiority of the enemy. Russian troops suffered significant losses due to flanking and crossfire.
