Russian army commander who repelled Napoleon's invasion of Russia.
In June 1812 Napoleon's army entered Russia, and the Russians fell back before him. Under pressure of public opinion, Alexander on August 9 appointed Kutuzov commander in chief of all the Russian forces and, on the following day, made him a prince. Napoleon sought a general engagement, but Kutuzov's strategy was to wear down the French by incessant minor engagements while retreating and preserving his army. Under public pressure and against his better judgment, however, he fought a major battle at Borodino on 7 September. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, Kutuzov lost almost half his troops and afterward withdrew to the southeast, allowing the French forces to enter Moscow.
Napoleon, having failed to make peace with the Russians and being unwilling to spend the winter in Moscow, left the city in October. He tried to move southwestward, but Kutuzov blocked his attempt to proceed along the fertile, southern route by giving battle at Maloyaroslavets (October 19). By forcing the disintegrating French army to leave Russia by the path it had devastated when it entered the country, Kutuzov destroyed his opponent without fighting another major battle. Kutuzov's troops harried the retreating French, engaging them at Vyazma and Krasnoye, and the remnants of Napoleon's army narrowly escaped annihilation at the crossing of the Berezina River in late November. In January 1813 Kutuzov pursued the French into Poland and Prussia, where he died of disease. [1]
