The Battle of Borodino

‘Every nation has critical moments when the strength and nobility of its spirit can be measured,’ wrote prominent Russian writer Vissarion Belinsky. For Russia , one such moment was at Borodino on 7 September 1812. The battle – with over 280,000 men present on both sides and between 75,000 and 80,000 casualties – proved to be one of the largest battles of the 19th century and one of the bloodiest battles in military history. Its importance in military, political, social or cultural terms can hardly be overestimated.

This web-page is designed to be complementary to my book "The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon versus Kutuzov." Its creation was prompted by the strict guidelines I received from the publisher with respect to the book's length and content; the length – only 60,000 words – alone proved to be a very contentious issue and, although the publisher graciously increased it eventually, some of the material had to be revised or completely removed. These details, and much more, will be gradually made available at this web-page. The goal is to provide necessary documents for further exploration of the battle of Borodino and I hope this material will prove useful to scholars in their future endeavours.

Articles
- Russian Artillery on the Eve of the Battle of Borodino: 7 September 1812
Orders of Battle

Placed on the Napoleon Series: July 2007 - June 2008