Battle of Ostrovno
| Battle of Ostrovno | |
|---|---|
| Part of the 55°08′20″N 29°51′19″E / 55.1390°N 29.8554°E | |
| Result | French victory |
Russian Empire
Kingdom of Naples
French Empire A. Ostermann-Tolstoy Joachim Murat Étienne de Nansouty2 infantry divisions
1 cavalry
66 guns
1 infantry division
2 battalions
32 squadrons
300miles
slavets
The Battle of Ostrovno (
Context
With the beginning of the
Battle
Early on the morning of 25 July, General Nansouty set two of his divisions in motion, from the village of Boudilova and towards Ostrovno, in accordance with the orders he had received from the Emperor. Meanwhile, Murat, commanding the French forces in this sector, departed from the village of Beshankovichy with two battalions of the 8th Light infantry regiment, and headed towards Nansouty's position. Following Murat was the entire IV Army Corps of Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais, spearheaded by the division of General Delzons, which was followed at some distance by that of General Broussier.[3]
With Murat not yet on the field of battle, Nansouty's men encountered the vanguard of the Russian IV Corps, namely the 11th division under General Choglokov, the 23rd division of General Bakhmetiev, some cavalry and an artillery support of 66 pieces. Nansouty had under his command the
Murat then arrived on the battlefield with reinforcements, deploying his two battalions of
Result
The Russians opted to withdraw from the field of battle. Despite Murat's bombastic report, claiming that the enemy lost 4,000-5,000 men dead or wounded and 700 to 800 prisoners, the Russian IV Corps probably lost 2,500 men, dead and wounded.[1] French total losses are estimated at 3,000;[1] the 2nd cuirassiers regiment registered high losses (187 horses lost), after enduring six hours of artillery fire. Additionally, during this engagement, which Napoleon labeled as "a vanguard action", French General Roussel was killed by a French sentry, who took him for a Russian soldier.[3]
Cultural references
Leo Tolstoy uses the battle in his War and Peace.[4]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Clodfelter 2008, p. 164.
- ^ a b Tulard 1999, p. 439.
- ^ a b c d e Pigeard 2004, pp. 631–632.
- ^ Tolstoy 1949, pp. 392–396.
References
- Clodfelter, Micheal (2008). Warfare and armed conflicts : a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1494-2007. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 9780786433193. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- Pigeard, Alain (2004). Dictionnaire des batailles de Napoléon. Tallandier, Bibliothèque Napoléonienne. ISBN 2-84734-073-4.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Tolstoy, Leo (1949). War and Peace. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
- ISBN 2-213-60485-1.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
External links
Media related to Battle of Ostrovno at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Battle of Saltanovka |
Napoleonic Wars Battle of Ostrovno |
Succeeded by Battle of Vitebsk (1812) |