Battle of Borodino

:Another Battle of Borodino took place in October 1941.

The opposing armies

Earlier estimates placed the size of Kutuzov's army at 112,000, but this figure later grew to 125,000. Most recently, however, historians believe {{fact}} the true figure was much higher — in fact somewhere between 154,800 and 157,000. The reason for the disparity between the original figures and the modern ones is the presence of 30,000 Russian militia or opolcheniye as well as around 10,000 irregular Cossacks. Most of these never took part in the combat operations and so are discounted. However if this is to be done, then the all 25,000 men of the French Imperial Guard should also be discounted as it never fired a shot all day. Either way the Russians had a numerical advantage (there were approximately 134,000 men). Furthermore their fortified position and their artillery superiority — 640 pieces to 584 — further accentuated this advantage. All in all Kutuzov can be praised for setting himself up very effectively prior to the battle.

Related Topics:
Irregular - Cossacks - French Imperial Guard

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