Battle of Smolensk (1812)

Battle of Smolensk (1812)
Part of the French invasion of Russia
The Battle of Smolensk by Jean-Charles Langlois, 1839
Date 16–18 August 1812 Location Smolensk, Russian Empire 54°46′N 32°02′E / 54.767°N 32.033°E / 54.767; 32.033 Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire Duchy of Warsaw	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte Józef Poniatowski	Barclay de Tolly Pyotr Bagration Nikolay Raevsky Dmitry Dokhturov
Strength
180,000[1] 45,000 engaged	120,000[1] 30,000 engaged
Casualties and losses
9,000–10,000 killed, wounded or captured[2][1][3]	6,000–14,000 killed, wounded or captured[1][3]
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe

French invasion of Russia

330km
205miles

15

Pultusk

14

Gorodeczno

13

Drohiczyn

12

Tauroggen

11

Riga

10

Tilsit

9

Warsaw

8

Berezina

7

Maloyaroslavets

6

Moscow

5

Borodino

4

Smolensk

3

Vitebsk

2

Vilna

1

Kowno

   

  current battle

  Prussian corps

  Napoleon

  Austrian corps

The Battle of Smolensk was the first major battle of the French invasion of Russia. It took place on 16–18 August 1812 and involved about 45,000 men of the Grande Armée under Emperor Napoleon I against about 30,000 Russian troops under General Barclay de Tolly.^[1][4] Napoleon occupied Smolensk by driving out Prince Pyotr Bagration's Second Army. The French artillery bombardment burned the city to the ground. Of 2,250 buildings, 84% were destroyed with only 350 surviving intact. Of the city's 15,000 inhabitants, about 1,000 were left at the end of the battle inside the smoking ruins. With over 15,000 casualties, it was one of the bloodiest battles of the invasion.^[5]