Napoleon intended to move southwest through the Russian countryside. During his advance the countryside had been ravaged, both by the Russian army and the Russian people trying to prevent the French from finding succor and by the French foraging for supplies. A southerly path would be both warmer and better provisioned.
The advance guard of the French was Eugène's corps under the command of General Delzons with about 15,000 to 20,000 troops. Kutuzov mistook this force for a foraging party and sent General Docturov with 12,000 men, 3,000 cavalry and 84 guns to meet the French.
At Maloyaroslavets the French gained a bridgehead on the steep banks of the Lutza river, but found the city defended by Docturov's army. The river crossing and the town on the bank were bitterly contested and the town changed hands several times. Reinforcements on both sides kept the fighting fierce. When Kutuzov arrived, he decided against a pitched battle against the Grand Armée and withdrew to the village of Kaluga.
French: 5,000, including Delzons and a mortally wounded Eugène; Russian: 6,000.
While tactically a French victory, strategically the battle favored the Russians because it forced the French northwest, back into the devastated route of the French advance.
The French system of logistics had totally collapsed. Overstrained by the great distances and the depredations of the Russians, the French commissariat utterly failed, leaving the men and horses starving and woefully ill-prepared for the coming winter.
The main forces of the Russian army consisted of 110,000-120,000 men. Tshitshagov's army had about 60,000 troops and Wittgenstein's army had some 50,000. The Russian regulars, Cossack regiments, and partisan groups constantly harassed the Russians from both flanks and the rear. Reduced provisions weakened the horses, forcing the French to abandon artillery pieces.
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Last Updated Saturday, October 4, 1997.