Kutuzov planned to completely surround the Napoleonic army and strike the final blow there at the Berezina. His plan was to block the river crossing by moving Chichagov's army to the town of Borisov, and prevent the enemy from going northward by the Corps of General Wittgenstein. The main Russian forces would make a turning movement from the South, and press the enemy to the river, crushing it.
But during the time when the general Russian forces bore the main, heavy burden of the struggle with the enemy in very difficult conditions, the troops of Chichagov spent a month riveted on the Austrian Corps of Schwarzenberg. The passivity of Chichagov, his indecision and failure to execute the orders of the Commander-in-Chief had serious negative consequences. Both Chichagov and Wittgenstein acted timidly, not attacking the Napoleon's army.
At last, on November 22nd, the 30 thousand man army of Chichagov came to Borisov and there developed a heated fight between his vanguard and the Polish detachment of Dombrowsky that guarded the bridge-head fortification. The Russians defeated the enemy, captured about 2 thousand men and seized the river crossing.
Chichagov's army then occupied the town of Borisov and the right bank of the Berezina river from Zembino to Usha. This cut off the French paths of retreat to the West and South-West.
The Berezina
(the picture by Hess)
After the troops of Chichagov and Wittgenstein came to the area of Borisov, a "sack" was formed by the Russian troops and partisans that would enclose the French army, pressing it from the East.
When Napoleon learned of the capture of Borisov village by Chicagov's troops, he ordered Marshal Oudinot to dislodge the Russians and take back the river crossing. He also ordered Marshal Victor to throw back Wittgenstein, while the Guard and the rest of the troops crossed the river.
The Russian plan was for Chichagov to join with the troops of Wittgenstein, and on the morning of the 23rd, he sent a detachment of 3 thousand men, under the command of General P.P.Pahlen to Loshnitsy village. At the same time, the vanguard of Marshal Oudinot under Napoleon's order to retake the river crossing, marched from Loshnitsy towards Borisov. There was a sudden, unexpected meeting of the two vanguards.
The troops of General Pahlen, moving carelessly, were attacked by the French vanguard and thrown back to Borisov. This surprise appearance of the large French force so near Borisov and their swift attack confused Admiral Chichagov, and he withdrew his men hurriedly from the right bank of the river.
The Russian loss of Berezina and Chicagov's troops withdrawal from the right bank gave Napoleon the opportunity to break out of the encirclement and cross the Berezina. Marshal Oudinot was ordered to hold Borisov and begin building the bridges northwards near the town of Studenka. The engineers and sappers were sent to construct the crossing. Marshals Murat and Mortier went to observe the works, and on November 26th, Napoleon with the Guard moved to Studenka village.
The French, hoping to further confuse Chichagov, faked preparations to build a crossing downstream near the village of Ukholody, They moved troops, transports and materials in that direction while working day and night on the real bridges upstream near Studenka.
Napoleon watched the operations of the 3rd Russian Western army very closely. He had a nagging question: Would he be able to mislead Chichagov or would Chichagov see through his maneuver to the South? Would his army stay at Borisov or go to Ukholody?
The fate of French army depended on this.
At last, after stalling near Borisov for three days, Chichagov with his main forces moved to the village of Zabashevichi, 25 kilometers from Borisov on November 25th (to the delight of Napoleon). Chichagov left only the small detachment of General Chaplits in Borisov, and two infantry battalions and three cossack regiments under the command of General Kornilov, near Studenka. This error of Chichagov greatly relieved the danger to the French army. Napoleon succeeded in building two bridges over the Berezina and began the crossing. But he did not have time to put across all the army, transports and the numerous unarmed crowd that followed. The Russian troops of Platov, Ermolov, Wittgenstein and the partisans of Seslavin that came to the Berezina at almost the same time on the 27th, seized Borisov. After stubborn fighting, Wittgenstein captured the French Division of Partunot (about 7 thousand men).
The advanced forces of Kutuzov were involved too as were The troops of Chichagov, having returned to Borisov. Violent combat broke out on the both banks of the Berezina.
On November 28th, on the right bank of the river, Chichagov, Ermolov's detachment and the cossacks of Platov attacked the troops of Marshals Ney and Oudinot (12 thousand men) that had just crossed the river. On the left bank the Corps of Wittgenstein attacked the French Corps of Marshal Victor; The stubborn fighting lasting until the late evening, and it was only then that Victor's Corps could cross the river to the right bank.
The Russian army was in serious condition by this time. The soldiers were starving as were the men of the French army. The fighting was in the area previously plundered and destroyed. There just wasn't any food.
Although the Russian soldiers had not enough food, it was a dream for many starving French soldiers to be captured by the regular Russian forces.
Here is one episode described by a witness:
Wittgenstein allowed his men a short rest. They had begun eating when they saw a group of captured French soldiers - very hungry and half-frozen. The witness wrote, "they fixed their half-dead eyes on food. Some of the Russian soldiers stood up and said to their comrades: "Men - It will not hurt us to give up one meal. Let us give our food to the French." They all stood up, and the captured French rushed for the food, not hiding their wonder".Many similar cases are described in the memoirs of soldiers, officers and doctors of Napoleon's army.
Napoleon and his army managed to cross the Berezina before three Russian generals who had planned to "Knot his army in a sack" could even reach the place of the proposed action. But he left behind, on the other bank, a lot of unarmed people: wounded soldiers, women and children, and he ordered the bridges burned because he was afraid the Russians would follow him across the river.
On November 29th, at 9 a.m. amid loud cries and entreaties of the thousands of unarmed wounded and others following the transports, General Eblae ordered the firing of the bridges. Cossacks rushed at this enormous, disordered crowd of abandoned people and began a terrible massacre. But Napoleon had gone.
All eyes were fixed on the picture of the final agony of the remains of the huge army. And this agony spread beyond the Berezina...
