{"id":776181,"date":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/?page_id=776181"},"modified":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","slug":"history-of-the-war-overview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/welcome-to-the-archives-of-belarus-website\/subject-guides-to-archival-records\/historical-events\/archival-documents-and-materials-7\/history-of-the-war-overview","title":{"rendered":"History of the war (overview)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\nOn the eve of the war
\r\nMilitary operations<\/a>
\r\nSituation in the regions occupied by Napoleon’s troops<\/a>
\r\nRussia’s actions in Belarusian territory after the expulsion of Napoleon’s\r\narmy<\/a>
\r\nWar aftermath<\/a>
\r\nRemembering the war in Belarus<\/a> \r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n

In European history the late 18th and early 19th centuries were marked by significant\r\npolitical upheaval, numerous wars and territorial revisions. In the late 18th century, one\r\nof the largest states of that time \u2013 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (from the Polish\r\nword Rzeczpospolita \u2013\u00a0republic, commonwealth, common thing, which in turn derives\r\nfrom the Latin term Res Publica \u2013 public matter, commonwealth) disappeared from the map\r\nof Europe. This federation was formed by a union of the Kingdom of Poland <\/b>(the\r\nCrown) and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania<\/b> (Duchy or Litva), which had a common\r\ngovernment and pursued a common foreign policy, but remained autonomous in matters of\r\nadministration, legislature, finance, courts, had a separate army, etc. The Grand Duchy of\r\nLithuania had a code of feudal laws, in particular the constitutional law, the Statute of\r\n1588, which is regarded the first constitution in Europe.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The head of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, who had a title of the Polish king and\r\nthe Grand Duke of Lithuania, Russia and Samogitia, was an elected figure and had limited\r\npower. More authority was given to the representative body of the magnates and the\r\nnobility, the Diet (Parliament), whose deputies were by large elected at the provincial\r\ndietins (local assemblies). The Diet, in particular, confirmed the candidate to the\r\nthrone. The privileged class, the nobility, had considerable rights, and their dispute\r\noften led to the anarchy in management of state affairs. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth has often been associated exclusively with Poland,\r\nbut it is a mistaken view, since the State was composed of lands now not only in Poland\r\nbut also in Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and nearly a half of Latvian territory. Both\r\nparts, the Crown (lands of Poland and Ukraine) and historical Litva (lands of present-day\r\nBelarus, over three-fourth of its territory, and lands of present-day Lithuania) were\r\nformally equal in rights. The elite of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the magnates and the\r\nnobility, though conscious of their Litvin origin, spoke in their circle in Polish, which\r\nwas the official language of record keeping, and the Polish culture was dominant in the\r\nState. These obviously were the reasons why both in Europe and in Russia the inhabitants\r\nof the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were often called Poles. However the majority of the\r\npopulation, the serfs and townfolk, spoke their native language and kept their popular and\r\ncultural traditions. But because of their subjugated social status theses classes almost\r\ndid not participate in the public life. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

As a result of internal disorders caused by the struggle of the magnate groups and the\r\nanarchy among the nobility, as well as the external expansion (for example, the Russian\r\ntroops were present in its territory for years), the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth\r\nincreasingly weakened as the State and at the end of the 18th century ceased to exist\r\nafter the three partitions<\/strong> made by Russia, Prussia and Austria in\r\n1772, 1793 and 1795<\/strong>. Russia annexed the lands of Belarus, Lithuania, Right-Bank\r\nUkraine, and Latgalia and Courland in Latvia. Prussia acquired central Poland. Austria\r\nreceived lands in Galicia and in southern Poland. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Nevertheless, after the partitioning of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the idea of\r\nits resurrection continued to live and the hopes flared to\r\nrestore the statehood with the support of a strong ally. This could be at that time the\r\nEmperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France, who waged numerous wars in attempt for European and\r\nworld dominance. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The quest for hegemony\u00a0 inevitably led to the conflict of interests between France\r\nand other European states, often turned into military hostilities and wars in Europe. One\r\nof the participants in these wars was the Russian Empire. The French victory in the\r\nFranco-Prussian-Russian war of 1806-1807 resulted in the conclusion of a number of\r\ninternational treaties known as the Peace of Tilsit of 1807<\/strong>. Under the\r\ntreaty’s terms, a new Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw<\/strong>, was created by\r\nNapoleon in the lands ceased by Prussia after the partitioning of the Commonwealth and now\r\noccupied by Napoleonic troops. The Duchy was under control of the\u00a0 French emperor and\r\nwas governed by France’s ally, the king of Saxony. Russia, according to the Tilsit treaty,\r\nacquired the district of Bialystok, and consequently all ethnic Belarusian lands became\r\npart of imperial Russia. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Later, the area of the Duchy of Warsaw became a bastion in the war against Russia. In\r\nJanuary 1812, the Duchy put forward 65,000 men to support the French army, in August\r\nanother 97,000. However, the expectations for Napoleon as a politician who would assist in\r\nrestoring the Polish state in corpore were not realised. He was hesitant about the\r\nrecreation of its former statehood, though he refused to ratify the agreement concluded in\r\nPetersburg in 1810 that banned the restoration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This\r\nfact caused a considerable deterioration of Franco-Russian relations. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Amidst the polonized Belarusian nobility the very fact of the existence of the Duchy of\r\nWarsaw inspired hopes for the resurrection of\u00a0the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.\r\nHowever, the other part of the nobility and especially the magnates showed discretion\r\nabout the transformations introduced here by\u00a0Napoleon, in particular the emancipation\r\nof the serfs. They believed the former statehood could be restored under the protection of\r\nRussia. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

An attempt to realize these hopes was the so-called Oginski plan <\/strong>for\r\nthe establishment of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as part of the Russian Empire, proposed\r\nto Emperor Alexander I by Senator Michal Kleofas Oginski in 1811. The plan was to create a\r\nseparate province, called the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, composed of eight western\r\ngubernias of Vilna, Vitebsk, Grodno, Minsk, Mogilev, Volhynia, Kiev and Podolia and the\r\ndistricts of Bialystok and Tarnopol. The province would be governed by imperial\r\ncommissioner, and Vilna was announced its capital. There were plans to create a special\r\nLithuanian chancellery under the emperor, to recognize the 1588 Statute of the Grand Duchy\r\nof Lithuania as the main law in the province, to arrange the government exclusively from\r\nlocal residents, to institute the Supreme Tribunal in Vilna, and more. On the orders of\r\nEmperor Alexander the plan was designed to organize a separate Lithuanian army as part of\r\nRussian troops. The discussion of these plans aroused a strong discontent among the\r\nRussian power elite. At the beginning of 1812, the Tsar in effect rejected the idea held\r\nin the Oginski plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Russo-French contradictions worsened. The Russian nobility suffered economic losses\r\nfrom the enforced accession to the Continental Blockade of England under the Treaty of\r\nTilsit. A national mood of taking a revenge for the wars lost by Russia in 1805-1807\r\nprevailed. As for the French, they were discontented because in December 1810 Russia\r\nsignificantly increased import duties on merchandise, including that imported from France.\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Aware of the imminent war, Russia made great exertions to build up. New corps and\r\ndivisions were formed. The total number of the armed forces of the Russian Empire\r\nincreased in 1810-1812 by more than a half, making up nearly a million men. These also\r\nincluded thousands of recruits from Belarusian lands. As an example, in 1811 their number\r\nwas 14,750. The work proceeded on cartography and military engineering in the areas along\r\nthe Western Dvina, Dnieper and Berezina rivers, the future possible theatre of military\r\nactions. Under construction were the new fortresses at Dinaburg (now Daugavpils) and\r\nBobruisk, a military camp at Drissa (now Verkhnedvinsk), the bridges across the Berezina\r\nat Borisov, fortifications at Rogachev and other localities. Large stocks of provisions\r\nwere gathered in magazines in Belarusian territory.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Various strategic plans were designed with view to different methods of future warfare,\r\nboth an offensive, in the area of the Duchy of Warsaw, and a defensive, in the territory\r\nof the Western provinces. Nearly two dozens of them were submitted to Emperor Alexander I\r\nfor consideration, but none was officially approved. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Napoleon examined several strategic plans of warfare, too. In late 1811, he came to the\r\nconclusion about the necessity of advancing his troops into territory of the Duchy of\r\nWarsaw under the threat of its invasion by Russia, and about the possible attack on the\r\nRussian Empire aiming to force her strictly obey the terms of Tilsit in the continental\r\nblockade of England and to reduce the duties on French merchandise. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

At the beginning of 1812, France succeeded to sign the treaties of alliance with\r\nPrussia and Austria, who could now not act as Russia’s allies. The Russian Empire\r\nconcluded an agreement with Sweden and more importantly a peace treaty with Turkey, which\r\nmade possible in future to use the Army of the Danube against Napoleon.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>* * *<\/font><\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 10 June (22 June New Style) 1812, France declared war on Russia. On the night of 12\r\n(24) June, Napoleon’s troops began to cross the river Niemen in the area of Kovno (now\r\nKaunas). The offensive of Napoleon’s army<\/strong> was started by the main group\r\nof troops marching on Vilna (now Vilnius). This consisted of two armies: the northern army\r\nunder the personal command of Napoleon Bonaparte (about 220,000 men, 527 guns) and the\r\ncentral army under Eugene de Beauharnais (about 85,000 men, 208 guns). The southern army\r\nunder Jerome Bonaparte (about 80,000 men, 159 guns) was tasked to advance in the area of\r\nGrodno to prevent the junction of Russian troops and their joint resistance to Napoleon’s\r\nmain forces. On the left wing was J. MacDonald’s Corps; on the right, K. Schwarzenberg’s\r\nCorps. Napoleon’s multinational army was composed of the French, Saxons, Bavarians,\r\nSpaniards, Poles, Italians, Portuguese and other nations. There were 297 battalions of the\r\nFrench infantry, as opposed to 307 “non-French” battalions. 38,000 troops of\r\nFrench cavalry were supplemented by 42,000 cavalrymen from other European countries. In\r\nRussia, this multinational army would be called “an invasion of twelve\r\nlanguages”. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Opposing Napoleon’s army was the Russian First Western Army under the command of M.B.\r\nBarclay de Tolly (some 120,000 men, 580 guns, headquarters in Vilna) and the Second\r\nWestern Army under P.I. Bagration (about 49,000 men, 168 guns, headquarters in the area of\r\nVolkovysk). Communication between the armies was effected by the Cossack Corps under M.I.\r\nPlatov (about 6,000 men) stationed in the area of Grodno. The Third Reserve Army under\r\nA.P. Tormasov was deployed in Volhynia in north-western Ukraine. The supreme commander in\r\nchief of the Russian armies was Emperor Alexander I, who in May arrived to the position of\r\nthe First Western Army. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

By 15 (27) June, the whole northern group of French troops had crossed the Niemen.\r\nAware of the superior strength of the enemy, the command of the First Western Army began a\r\nretreat. On 13 (25) June, the army set out towards Sventsyany and Braslav. Barclay de\r\nTolly’s troops were pursued by Napoleon’s vanguard under the command of Joachim Murat. On 16 (28) June, Napoleon’s troops took Vilna\r\nwithout fighting. For political reasons, the right to be the first to enter the city was\r\ngiven by the French emperor to the Regiment of Polish Lancers under the command of Dominik\r\nRadziwill, Lord of the Nesvizh entail.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 15 (27) June, Jerome Bonaparte’s troops entered into combat and the next day they took Grodno. Platov drew back his corps to\r\nIvye. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 17-20 June (29 June-2 July), E. Beauharnais’s troops crossed the Niemen and joined\r\nthe main army. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

“The experience of the past battles and the situation on our\r\nfrontiers urges us to prefer a defensive war against an offensive in view of the great\r\nresources built up by the enemy on the banks of the Vistula… These factors make us avoid\r\nthe major battle until Prince Bagration joins the First Army…”, \u2013 this tactics\r\nbased on the plan by Barclay de Tolly, according to the statement of the Russian Army HQs,\r\nhad been adopted already in the first days of the hostilities.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 18 (30) June 1812, the command of the Second Western Army received a rescript by\r\nEmperor Alexander I ordering to march on Novogrudok and Vileika to effect the junction\r\nwith the First Army.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Napoleon delayed his troops in the vicinity of Vilna assuming the Russian Second\r\nWestern Army would attempt to join the First Army in the shortest time not moving far from\r\nthe frontier, and it is here they would give them a battle, cutting off the way for\r\njunction. On 19 June (1 July), the French Corps under Louis-Nicolas\r\nDavout captured Oshmyany and then Volozhin. On 26 June (8 July), they occupied\r\nMinsk. Bagration directed his troops on Slonim and Novogrudok with the purpose to march\r\ntowards Minsk. Davout however managed to rally considerable forces in this area. Bagration\r\nand Platov did not dare to attack and marched off towards Korelichi and Mir. The pursuing\r\nmain forces under Jerome Bonaparte were left far behind.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The First Western Army abandoned Sventsyany and marched on Drissa (now Verkhnedvinsk),\r\nwhere an entrenched camp was arranged shortly before the war. Thus, the Russian troops\r\nabandoned the whole of Vilna and Grodno provinces almost without fighting but totally\r\npreserved their combat strength. They proceeded eastward, engaging mainly in rearguard\r\nclashes. Napoleon failed to take advantage of his much superior numeric strength and his\r\nstrategic initiative and did not crush the Russian troops piecemeal in the battles near\r\nthe frontier. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 27-28 June (9-10 July) 1812, the Cossack Corps under Platov, who covered the\r\nwithdrawal of the Second Western Army, clashed with the Division of Polish Lancers under\r\nGeneral Rozniecki in the battle of Mir<\/strong>. The\r\nCossacks ambuscaded, crushed the enemy (some 600 killed) and pursued them for long\r\ndistance, nearly two hundred men were taken prisoner. This was the\r\nfirst Russian victory in the war. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On the southern flank the hostilities were initially not connected with the situation\r\nin the central direction. On 22 June (4 July) 1812, the Austrian Corps under Karl\r\nSchwarzenberg, left here by Napoleon to protect the Duchy of Warsaw, seized Brest-Litovsk\r\nand was further to march by Slonim and Nesvizh to join the main army. To cover it from the possible actions of the Third Reserve Army, the Saxon\r\nCorps under Jean Reynier was dispatched from Nesvizh to Pruzhany.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

For several days the First Western Army stayed in the camp at Drissa<\/strong>.\r\nIt is in this vicinity that the Russian army was initially expected to stop Napoleon. Yet,\r\nthe Council of War held here with the participation of Emperor Alexander I was forced to\r\nmake a different decision in view of the critical analysis of the camp’s position, errors\r\nin its construction, and the estimate of the enemy’s strength. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Having left behind in the area of Drissa\u2013Polotsk for the protection of the strategic\r\ndirection on Petersburg the Corps commanded by Wittgenstein (some 25,000 men), from this\r\ntime to late November effecting as a separate army, on 2 (14) July Barclay de Tolly\r\ndirected his forces towards Vitebsk. Emperor Alexander I departed for Petersburg.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 6-8 (18-20) July, the Second Western Army was present in Bobruisk, abandoned here\r\nthe wounded and sick, replenished their provisions. Bagration attempted to reach Mogilev\r\nahead of the French army in order to cross there the Dnieper and march further for the\r\njunction with the First Army in the vicinity of Vitebsk. But Davout’s Corps was first to\r\nenter Mogilev on 8 (20) July. South of the town, on 9-11 (21-23) July the Corps under N.N.\r\nRayevsky and Davout’s forces engaged in a battle near the village of Soltanovka\r\nand the township of Dashkovka<\/strong>. In the fierce fighting\r\nthe Russians lost over 2,500 men, the French casualties were between 3,000 and 5,000.\r\nThough outnumbered, Rayevsky managed to delay the enemy, making possible for the Second\r\nWestern Army to cross the Dnieper near the village of Novy Bykhov and to move further\r\ntowards Smolensk. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 14 (26) July 1812, Platov’s Cossack Corps, effecting as a rearguard of the 2nd Army,\r\nconducted another successful action against the troops of J. Bonaparte and J. Poniatowski at\r\nthe township of Romanovo<\/strong> (now the village of Lenino, Slutsk district), having\r\ncrushed the two regiments.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 3 (15) July, the Third Army under A.P. Tormasov entered into combat. Shcherbatov’s\r\nsquadron pushed Napoleon’s troops out of Brest-Litovsk. From Volhynia\u00a0the army moved\r\nfurther on Kobrin. On 15 (27) July, in the town and its environs the battle of\r\nKobrin <\/strong>was fought between the Russian divisions under K.O. Lambert and E.I.\r\nChaplits and the Saxon Corps under J. Reynier. The Russian troops took Kobrin, having lost\r\nless than 100 men, while the Saxon casualties were around 2,000.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 13-14 (25-26) July 1812, a bitter fighting took place\r\nnot far from Vitebsk near the villages of Ostrovno and Kukovyachino<\/strong>,\r\nSenno district, Mogilev province (now in Beshenkovichi district, Vitebsk region) between\r\nMurat’s advanced guard and the Russian corps under A.I. Ostermann-Tolstoy. The Russians\r\nlost nearly 4,000 men, the French losses were over 3,000. On the second day of the battle\r\narrived Napoleon and personally led the pursuit of the retreating elements. Napoleon’s\r\ntroops were nonetheless held back for a day, making possible for Barclay de Tolly’s main\r\nforces to withdraw to Vitebsk and march off to Smolensk. On 16 (28) July, Napoleon’s\r\ntroops captured Vitebsk. For some time in the city stayed the French emperor, who told his\r\ngenerals of his intention to finish here the campaign of 1812. But soon afterward he\r\nchanged his resolution. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

From Dinaburg (now Daugavpils, Latvia) through Braslav and Miory advanced the\r\nNapoleonic Corps under Nicolas Oudinot. The commander of the Russian Corps, Wittgenstein\r\ninitially put against him a single squadron under Ya.P. Kulnev. On 14 (26) July, Oudinot’s\r\ntroops captured Polotsk. His further plan was to march on Sebezh to cut off Wittgenstein\r\nfrom withdrawal towards Petersburg. The Russian troops attempted to break through at any\r\ncost. The fights at the village of Klyastitsy<\/strong> took place on 18-20 July\r\n(30 July-1 August) 1812. Kulnev was mortally wounded. The losses on both sides were\r\nbetween 4,000 and 5,000 men. The Russian troops nevertheless won the\r\nfirst and only one victory over the superior forces of the\r\nenemy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

After the victory at Klyastitsy Wittgenstein commanded his troops towards Polotsk,\r\ndespite the fact that Oudinot’s Corps was reinforced with the Bavarian Corps under Gouvion\r\nSaint-Cyr. On 30 July (11 August), the advance guards of Wittgenstein and Oudinot clashed\r\nin battle near the township of Svolna at the bank of the river of the same name, resulting\r\nin the withdrawal of Napoleon’s troops, who lost 1,500 men killed and wounded. The Russian\r\nlosses were between 500 and 700 men. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Russian First and Second Western Armies united on 22 July (3 August) at Smolensk,\r\nand on 26 July (7 August) conducted an offensive operation in the direction of Vitebsk.\r\nWhile the Russians were advancing on Vitebsk, the French emperor determined to take\r\nadvantage of the situation, adandoned this town on 31 July (12 August) and advanced his\r\ntroops on Smolensk. The battle of Smolensk<\/strong> took place on 4-6 (16-18)\r\nAugust. Napoleon saw it as a general battle, but Barclay de Tolly, aiming to preserve the\r\narmy intact as possible, commanded to abandon Smolensk. By different estimates, the French\r\narmy lost between 14,000 and 20,000 men. The Russian losses were some 10,000\r\nmen.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 31 July (12 August), at the villages of Gorodechno and Poddubno (now in Pruzhany\r\ndistrict) the battle of Gorodechno<\/strong> took place between Tormasov’s Third\r\nArmy and Napoleon’s Austrian Corps under Schwarzenberg and the Saxon Corps under Reynier.\r\nThe Russian army suffered a defeat and was forced to abandon the area of Grodno province.\r\nOn 1 (13) August, the Napoleon troops entered Kobrin, on 4 (16) August they recaptured\r\nBrest-Litovsk, on 6 (18) August, Malorita. Yet, the actions of the Russian Third Army\r\nforced Napoleon to hold the sizeable forces on the southern flank. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The fights in Belarusian territory proceeded on 5-6 (17-18) August at the first\r\nbattle of Polotsk<\/strong>. Wittgenstein’s troops assaulting Polotsk were again opposed by\r\nthe corps of Saint-Cyr and Oudinot. The battle lasted for 14 hours with no decisive\r\nvictory on either side. The both sides had considerable losses, the Russians suffered some\r\n5,500 men, as opposed to 8,000 French and Bavarians. Wittgenstein failed to recapture\r\nPolotsk and drew back his troops to Drissa. Yet, in the issue of the battle the French\r\nwere forced to reject the idea of advancing towards\u00a0Petersburg. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 23 August (4 September), the French division under J. Dombrowski began a siege of the Bobruisk fortress. The fortress garrison led\r\nby the military governor G.A. Ignatyev and commandant A.F. Berg comprised about 5,000\r\ntroops and 330 guns. The defense of Bobruisk<\/strong> lasted until 30 September\r\n(12 October); the fortress was never taken but drew to itself the enemy’s elements and\r\nprovided protection to F. Ertel’s Corps, who covered Rechitsa where the civil\r\nadministration of Minsk province was seated. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Russian troops abandoned Smolensk and marched off towards Moscow. On 8 (20) August,\r\nM.I. Kutuzov was appointed the commander in chief of the Russian army, on 17 (29) August\r\nhe arrived to the army. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The major battle of Borodino was fought on 26 August (7 September) 1812. The both sides\r\nsuffered great losses. The Russians stroke a heavy blow to the enemy but were forced to\r\nabandon Moscow on 2 (14) September. After a month, the exhausted Napoleon’s forces\r\nabandoned Moscow, too. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 7 (19) September 1812, Tormasov’s Third Army joined Chichagov’s Danube Army.\r\nChichagov was appointed the commander of the united Third Western Army (about 60,000\r\ntroops), which took Brest on 30 September (12 October). <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 28-29 September (10-11 October), Wittgenstein’s forces were reinforced by the Corps\r\nunder F.D. Steinheil and the squadron under I.M. Bergichev. The total strength reached\r\n55,000 men. On 5 (17) October, they approached Polotsk, which garrisoned 30,000 to 32,000\r\nFrench troops. On 6-8 (18-20) October, in the bloody fights at the second battle\r\nof Polotsk<\/strong>, the Russian troops took Polotsk. The Russians lost 8,000 men in\r\nkilled and wounded, the French casualties were 4,000 killed and wounded and over 2,000\r\nprisoners. The victors received large depots of provisions and ammunition. \u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

After the fights at Tarutino on 6 (18) October and at Maloyaroslavets on 12 (24)\r\nOctober not far from Moscow, the strategic initiative in the war totally passed to the\r\nRussians. The Russian army began an offensive<\/strong>. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On abandoning Polotsk, the French Oudinot’s Corps pursued by Wittgenstein’s forces drew\r\nback to Chashniki, where it joined Victor’s Corps. On 17 (29) October 1812, near the town\r\nof Lepel,\u00a0 Wittgenstein’s Corps merged with Steinheil’s Corps that followed it. On 19\r\n(31) October, the battle was raged in the vicinity of Chashniki<\/strong>. As a\r\nconsequence, the French troops drew back to the village of Chereya aiming to cover\r\nNapoleon’s troops on the retreat from Orsha to Borisov. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

According to Kutuzov’s general plan, the Third Army was to march on Minsk and then\r\njointly with Wittgenstein’s Corps to encircle Napoleon’s forces and cut off their retreat\r\ntowards Vilna. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The squadron commanded by E.I. Chaplits of the Third Army was dispatched to raid the\r\nenemy’s rear. On 8 (20) October, the battle of Slonim<\/strong> was fought between\r\nChaplits’ squadron and\u00a0one of the best regiments of Napoleon’s Lithuanian army\r\ncommanded by J. Konopka. The Russians took Slonim, Konopka’s regiment was defeated, and\r\nits commander was taken prisoner.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 18 (30) October, Chichagov’s Third Army marched off to Slonim by Pruzhany.\r\nOsten-Sacken’s troops were left behind in Brest. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

During the advance of the Third Army towards Minsk the battle of Koidanovo<\/strong>\r\ntook place on the road Nesvizh-Minsk between the Third Army’s vanguard commanded by K.\r\nLambert and the French-Polish detachment commanded by F. Kossecki.\r\nOn 1 (13) November 1812, the Russians took Novy Sverzhen, and on 3 (15) Koidanovo (now\r\nDzerzhinsk). On 4 (16) November, the Third Army took Minsk, having captured the large\r\nstores of provisions and ammunition. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

K. Schwarzenberg attempted to organize the pursuit of Chichagov’s troops. However, the effective maneuvers of Osten-Sacken’s\r\ngroup ruined his plans. In late October (early\r\nNovember), Napoleon’s forces unsuccessfully attempted to neutralize the Russian army in\r\nthe clashes with Reynier’s Corps near Vysokoe, Rudnya and Gornostaevichi. On 3-4 (15-16)\r\nNovember, Osten-Sacken’s group in a rash attack took the town of Volkovysk, attempted to\r\nhold it but was forced to withdraw. The casualties on both sides at the battle of\r\nVolkovysk<\/strong> were between 2,000 and 3,000 men. On 13 (25) November, Osten-Sacken’s\r\ntroops were crushed at Brest and retreated to Volhynia. Yet, Schwarzenberg was forced to\r\nreject the pursuit of Chichagov’s army and the latter was capable to reach Minsk and\r\nBorisov and take part in the Berezina operation. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On abandoning Moscow, Napoleon’s troops followed by the Russians began to withdraw to\r\nSmolensk along the road devastated by the war. They lost almost all horses, starvation and\r\nmass disease thrived,\u00a0the severe frosts increased the mortality. About 50,000\r\nsoldiers under arms and almost the same number of stragglers reached Smolensk. At the\r\nbattle of Krasnoe<\/strong> on 4-6 (16-18) November Napoleon’s troops lost almost half of\r\neffective soldiers more. Yet, they managed to force through into Belarusian territory in\r\nthe direction of Dubrovno and Orsha. On 7 (19) November, Napoleon’s advanced guard entered\r\nOrsha.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Kutuzov’s plan was to encircle and destroy Napoleon’s army from several directions.\r\nKutuzov’s army marched from the east, Chichagov from the southwest, and Wittgenstein from\r\nthe north. Chichagov’s army took Minsk and cut off Napoleon’s retreat through this town.\r\nIt was further to join Wittgenstein’s Corps near Dokshitsy and wait there for the arrival\r\nof Napoleon’s troops. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In November 1812, the Russian army undertook the offensive operation of\r\nBerezina<\/strong>, as a result of which Napoleon’s forces greatly reduced in their\r\nstrength. The main forces of Napoleon (over 30,000 men and nearly the same number of\r\nnon-combatants) were against Kutuzov’s troops (some 50,000 men). Chichagov’s army (about\r\n35,000 men) was opposed mainly by the Polish troops (about 9,000 men, in particular\r\nDombrowski’s squadron). Wittgenstein’s reinforced corps (some 40,000 men) fought against\r\nVictor’s and Oudinot’s corps (in all, some 25,000 men). <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 9-11 (21-23) November, Chichagov’s Third Western Army had a battle with Napoleon’s\r\ntroops composed of the local garrison reinforced by the garrison of Minsk and Dombrovski’s\r\nsquadron for the possession of the town of Borisov<\/strong>, the largest water\r\nbarrier on the route of retreating Napoleon’s army. In the fierce fighting on 10 (22)\r\nNovember Chichagov’s troops captured the town but the next day were forced to withdraw\r\npressured by upcoming Oudinot’s corps. Borisov was burned and destroyed. The Russian army\r\nlost some 3,000 men, while the Polish and French casualties were some 5,000 men.\r\nWittgenstein’s corps did not provide sufficient support to the troops of the Third Army. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On the first day of the battle of Borisov, Napoleon’s main army departed from Orsha and\r\nmarched on Tolochin and further on Borisov. The French emperor arrived in Borisov on 13\r\n(25) November. Victor’s corps joined the main forces. Napoleon’s army was tasked to cross\r\nthe river Berezina. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Only on 12-14 (24-26) November, Kutuzov’s army\u00a0 crossed in the area of Kopys to\r\nthe right bank of the Dnieper. Wittgenstein’s Corps moved slowly and\u00a0approached the\r\nenemy’s rearguard only on 14 (26) November, too. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On the Berezina above Borisov at the village of Studenka<\/strong> the French\r\nbegan to prepare to cross the river. They undertook efforts to misinform the Russian\r\ncommand about the place of their future crossing. Napoleon’s troops constructed two\r\nbridges from the peasant huts demolished in Studenka and organized\u00a0the crossing of\r\nthe Berezina on 14-16 (26-28) November. In the second half of the day of 15 (27) November\r\nand on 16 (28) November, the fierce fighting was raged on the both sides of the river.\r\nFrom the Russian side \u2013 Chaplits’s squadron and other elements of the Third Western\r\nArmy, Wittgenstein’s vanguard, and a partisan cavalry squadron commanded by A.N. Seslavin.\r\nFrom the French side \u2013 the division under L. Partouneaux and\r\nthe corps under Victor, Oudinot and Ney. The French managed to pass their most effective\r\nunits, Napoleon’s Guard, to the right bank in the vicinity of the village of Brili \u00a0\r\nand on 15 (27) November Napoleon himself passed the river. In the morning of 17 (29)\r\nNovember, his soldiers set the bridges on fire and fell back towards Zembin, Pleshchenitsy\r\nand Molodechno. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Despite the exertions, Chichagov’s army could not essentially prevent the crossing. The\r\nRussians lost between 6,000 and 9,000 men. Napoleon’s losses were 40,000 to 50,000 men,\r\nincluding 10,000 killed in combat. On the left bank of the river remained a great number\r\nof stragglers and civilians who followed the army, many\u00a0drowned during the crossing.\r\nThe Berezina operation ultimately determined the victory of the Russian army in the war. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The remainder of Napoleon’s troops (no more than 10,000 men) withdrew towards\r\nMolodechno and Smorgon. On 21 November (3 December), Napoleon arrived in Molodechno and on\r\n23 November (5 December) was present in Smorgon, where he assigned the command of the army\r\nto Marshal J. Murat and departed for Paris. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 22-23 November (4-5 December) 1812,\u00a0in the actions near the township of\r\nMolodechno<\/strong> the Russian troops under Platov and Chaplits defeated Napoleon’s\r\ntroops, having captured about 500 prisoners. The forces of Chichagov’s army and Ermolov’s\r\nsquadron further assisted them. On 23 November (5 December), the Russians forced into\r\nMolodechno. Some 2,5000 men were taken prisoner. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 28 November (10 December) 1812, Chaplits’s advanced corps of the Third Western Army\r\npushed the remnants of Napoleon’s troops out of Vilna. The main\u00a0 headquarters of\r\nKutuzov’s army was set up in the city. On 10 (22) December, Emperor Alexander I arrived\r\nhere. The War of 1812 was over. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>* * *<\/font><\/p>\r\n\r\n

With Napoleon’s troops approaching, Russian officials and some landlords left their\r\nhomes for safer places. As an example, the administrative officials of Minsk province\r\nmoved into the district center of Mozyr, which eventually remained untouched by the wave\r\nof hostilities. The institutional archives and the State treasury were evacuated wherever\r\npossible. Thousands of carts were requisitioned from the inhabitants for military needs.\r\nThe sick and wounded were transported into the interior of the country. A large military\r\nhospital was arranged in Bobruisk. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In the regions occupied by Napoleon’s troops <\/b>a considerable part of the\r\ninhabitants \u2013 many magnates, the middle nobility, townsfolk \u2013 met the Napoleonic\r\ntroops as their liberators, powerful to restore the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as part of\r\nthe Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Emperor’s Order dated 19 June (1 July) 1812 decreed the establishment in Vilna of\r\nthe supreme body of civil administration under French control – the Provisional\r\nGovernment of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania<\/strong> (also termed the Provisional\r\nGovernment Commission of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or the Lithuanian Provisional\r\nGoverning Commission, etc.). This body was in charge of the provinces of Vilna, Grodno,\r\nMinsk and Bialystok, renamed into departments and subdivided into districts. Its power did\r\nnot extend over the provinces of Vitebsk and Mogilev, which were governed by separate\r\nadministrative commissions within the Vitebsk and Mogilev departments. Napoleon foresaw\r\nthe possibility of ceding the Vitebsk and Mogilev regions to Emperor Alexander I in the\r\nfuture political trade in exchange for a truncated Grand Duchy of Lithuania.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Provisional Government was composed of seven committees: provisions and magazines,\r\nfinances, police, military, legal, internal affairs, and educational and religious\r\naffairs, in addition to a general secretary. The Government was headed by S. Soltan, but\r\nbecause of his illness his duties were for long time executed by the military governor\r\ngeneral of Lithuania, D. van Hogendorp. The imperial commissioner at the Provisional\r\nGovernment was L. Bignon, whose functions included the political administration in the\r\nregion. The Provisional Government exerted control over the central and local\r\nadministrative agencies in the four departments. The language of record keeping was\r\nPolish. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

On 2 (14) July 1812, the Provisional Government announced the joining to the General\r\nConfederation of 1812, a political union of the magnates and the nobility in the Duchy of\r\nWarsaw, aiming to awaken the national liberation movement and mobilize the material\r\nresources in the event of war between France and Russia. The Confederation’s Act\r\nproclaimed the restoration of the Polish kingdom and those who served Russia were urged to\r\nabandon it. However, Napoleon did not support the unification of the Grand Duchy of\r\nLithuania with the Duchy of Warsaw. The Provisional Government for both objective and\r\nsubjective reasons failed to launch a full-scale activity for the resurrection of the\r\nformer statehood. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The main functions of the Provisional Government included the formation of the armed\r\nforces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the supply of provisions, forages and transport\r\nfor Napoleon’s troops, the organization of legal procedure and public education in the\r\ncontrolled territories etc. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Napoleon was in demand of soldiers. The Emperor’s order directed the Provisional\r\nGovernment to organize <\/b>the army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania<\/strong>\r\n\u2013 the troops composed of five infantry regiments and four cavalry regiments. 500,000\r\nfrancs were allocated for these purposes. Each department was tasked to supply a fixed\r\nnumber of recruits. Four Lancer regiments, a Light Horse Regiment, a Tartar Squadron, and\r\nthree Chasseur battalions were formed. The noblemen joined the troops voluntarily. The\r\nNational Guard was announced to be formed in the department centers and in the towns based\r\non Magdeburg Law. The decree of the Provisional Government obliged all inhabitants to pay the so-called personal one time offering for the formation\r\nof the army. Separate army units were raised at the own expenses of some magnates and\r\nnoblemen. By October, the fully manned units had totaled around 20,000 men, and additional\r\nunits were still in the process of formation. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

With the beginning of the Russian offensive, the army of the Provisional Government of\r\nthe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was mainly engaged in the actions against the Russian Third\r\nWestern Army. After several unsuccessful clashes with the Russian troops, in order to\r\navoid the destruction of separate units piecemeal, all the troops\u00a0 located in the\r\ndepartments of Bialystok, Vilna and Grodno were massed in the area of Vilna. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Minsk formations of the Grand Duchy’s army took part in the battle of Studenka and\r\nthe crossing of the Berezina, ending in heavy losses. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

After the battles for Vilna, the remnants of the Duchy’s army proceeded westward\r\ntogether with the retreating French. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Another important task assigned by Napoleon on the Provisional Government was procuring\r\nsupplies for the army. Napoleon’s troops rapidly ran out of their personal provisions and\r\nthe soldiers began to resort to plundering. In attempt to resist a widely spread\r\nmarauding, Napoleon as early as 8 (20) July issued an order directing the trial and\r\nexecution of criminals. The pillaging however did not stop.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

According to the official requisitions, the population had to supply 3 mln poods of\r\nrye, 2.5 mln poods of hay, 53,000 heads of cattle, hundred barrels of cereals, vodka and\r\nsalt for the army’s needs. To fill the treasury, the Provisional Government obliged the\r\ninhabitants to pay not only newly established taxes but also the arrears formed during the\r\nRussian rule.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Over time the hostile attitude to the new administration and Napoleon’s troops\r\nintensified. Many enormous requisitions and pillaging kindled the discontent and\r\nresistance. The inhabitants hid their provisions and escaped to the woods. Plunders and\r\nmarauding especially intensified during the retreat of Napoleon’s army. The hungry,\r\nfrost-bitten and sick soldiers seized everything they came across, demolished the peasant\r\nhuts for firewood, and thus flared the resistance of the local populace.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

On the French-controlled territory there operated the guerrilla groups of Belarusian\r\npeasants, who rebelled most often not only against the French foragers, but also against\r\ntheir own masters and the hard exploitation that had not ceased in the wartime. After all,\r\nNapoleon did not dare to abolish the serfdom, as he did in the Duchy of Warsaw. In the\r\ntime the peasant disturbances also occurred in Belarusian territory not occupied by\r\nNapoleon’s troops. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>* * *<\/font><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Immediately after the expulsion of Napoleon’s troops<\/b> in Belarusian\r\nterritory<\/strong> the measures were taken to restore the order of the Russian Empire and\r\nto liquidate the consequences of the war. Kutuzov proposed to Emperor Alexander I to\r\nconfiscate the estates of Napoleon’s collaborators and pass them over to the Russian\r\ngenerals. Alexander however did not agree. By an imperial manifesto dated 12 (24) December\r\n1812, the Russian tsar granted amnesty to the inhabitants of Western provinces who\r\nparticipated in the war on Napoleon’s side, under the condition they would return home\r\nwithin the two months. The property of those who remained abroad was subject to\r\nconfiscation. These people numbered over 200. The sequestration commissions were formed.\r\nThe further manifesto dated 30 August (11 September) 1814 announced a complete and\r\nunconditional amnesty. The property of the estates that had already been confiscated or\r\nsequestered was returned to their owners.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The provinces of Belarus remained in the state of martial law. The war continued beyond\r\nthe borders of the Russian Empire and across their territory incessantly marched the great\r\nmasses of troops which had to be procured with provisions, forages, horses, carts etc. The\r\nburden fell on both the local peasants and the landlords. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

As early as December 1812, the provisional executive commission began to function, and\r\nin January 1813 the inventory commissions. Their purpose was to estimate the damage\r\ninflicted by the war on landowners and taking this into account to adjust the extent of\r\nsupplies for the Russian army. Yet, the tax burden on the inhabitants did not weaken. Only\r\nin late 1813, on orders of Emperor Alexander I, the size of the war damage was finally\r\nfixed and the measures were administered to restore the welfare of the population \u2013\r\nfirst of all, it was proposed to exempt from taxes or to reduce their size. Consequently,\r\npeasants were exempted from tax arrears for 1812 and 1813, and landlords were excused from\r\nprofit arrears for 1812-1814. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>* * *<\/font><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The war of 1812 had extremely damaging social and\r\neconomic consequences for Belarus<\/strong>. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

As a result of the 1812 war, the population of Belarus suffered great losses. According\r\nto some estimates, the number of casualties was about one million, that is nearly\r\none-fourth of the population. In some districts the losses were more considerable: in\r\nMogilev district – approx. 32%, in Oshmyany, 27%. People also died of the disease here\r\nunknown before the war. For example, one-fourth of the inhabitants died in Rogachev\r\ndistrict. A great number of corpses were still to be buried and burned until the spring of\r\n1813. The number of the population returned to the prewar figures only 20 years after the\r\nwar. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The financial damage to Belarusian provinces attributable to the war is estimated at\r\n152,975,594 roubles 79 copecks. This sum includes the cost of the destructed and plundered\r\nproperty, losses from requisition supplies, loss of cattle, harvest destruction\u00a0etc. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Plundering and requisitions especially damaged the agriculture. In the spring of 1813\r\nmany farmers had no seeds to plant crops. The sown areas dwindled almost by half. The\r\ncommerce sharply reduced, many merchants lost their property. The living standards sharply\r\nfell down.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Many towns and villages were destructed or burned down. The most devastated were\r\nOshmyany and Braslav districts in Vilna province, Vitebsk and Polotsk in Vitebsk province,\r\nBrest and Kobrin in Grodno province, Borisov, Vileika and Disna in Minsk province,\r\nBabinovichi, Kopys and Orsha in Mogilev province. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The massive numbers of prisoners of war were held at the expense of local funds in each\r\nprovince. Some were captured in combat but many weak and sick soldiers were abandoned in\r\nvillages and townships under the care of the inhabitants. Many prisoners died, some were\r\nsent to the provinces in central Russia, but a great number remained in Belarusian\r\nterritory. They had to be procured with food. Clothes and footwear for each prisoner cost\r\nabout 50 roubles, and there were thousands of them. As early as 1813, prisoners began\r\ngradually to return home. But many entered the service of Russia and adopted Russian\r\ncitizenship. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>* * *<\/font><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The memory of the war of 1812 remains alive in Belarus. To mark the 200th anniversary\r\nof the war a committee was set out under the aegis of the Council of Ministers of the\r\nRepublic of Belarus to prepare and execute memorable events and projects. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

This war is commemorated in nearly thirty memorial objects\u00a0most often located at\r\nthe sites of battles. Many monuments to Russian soldiers were erected on the 100th\r\nanniversary of military operations and some on the 150th anniversary. Jubilee medals were\r\ncoined to honour the centenary of the war. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The war of 1812 is under research by Belarusian scholars. In Belarus this topic is\r\naddressed in many scholarly and popular editions and discussed at various conferences and\r\nreadings, including on international scale. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The war of 1812 has been portrayed in fiction works by Belarusian authors and\r\ndramatical plays staged at Belarusian theatres. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

After the two centuries the Franco-Russian confrontation acquired a different look in\r\nthe eyes of descendants. In the 1990s and 2000s, at the site of the crossing of the\r\nBerezina the monuments were erected to commemorate the fallen soldiers and officers of\r\nNapoleon’s army. The participants at memorable events have included the Embassy of France,\r\nmembers of historical clubs from Belarus, France, Russia and other countries etc.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

A notable fact is that in 2002 on the left bank of the Berezina at the village of\r\nStudenka, Borisov district the monument was erected to commemorate all victims of the war\r\nof 1812 (sculptor A. Artimovich, architect I. Morozov). <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the eve of the war Military operations Situation in the regions occupied by Napoleon’s troops Russia’s actions in Belarusian territory after the expulsion of Napoleon’s army War aftermath Remembering…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":865116,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-776181","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/776181"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/776181\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/865116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.gov.by\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}