Editing Pyotr Bagration (section)

==French invasion of Russia==

During the early stage of Napoleon's incursion into Russia, Bagration commanded the 2nd Russian Army deployed close to [[Vileyka]], Belarus. The French march on Vilnius intended to split Bagration's forces from Barclay de Tolly's, who assumed overall command. Napoleon would then destroy Bagration's 2nd army with a combined hammer and anvil operation conducted by the Marshals Jerome, [[Louis-Nicolas Davout|Davout]] and Eugene after he falsely assumed they ran into Bagration's army when it were only elements of General Dokturov's cavalry. Confusion, false assumptions and lack of information prevented the French from having a clear picture of the situation. On the other side it was not much better. Conflicting orders and lack of information had almost placed Bagration in a blind march straight into Davout's forces. Mud tracks, supply problems, weather and command dispute among the French gave Bagration enough time to join with Docturov and assume command over a 45.000 men strong force. Having already lost a large portion of his troops to skirmishes, bad weather condition and diseases, Marshal Davout was reluctant to fight Bagration without Jerome first reinforcing him. The French cavalry was defeated twice by General Platov so that they were kept in the dark. Bagration wasn't better informed with both sides overestimating the other's strength. Davout thought Bagration had some 60,000 men and Bagration thought Davout had 70,000. Bagration was getting orders from both Alexander's staff and Barclay (which Barclay didn't know) and left Bagration without a clear picture of what was expected of him and the general situation. This stream of confused orders to Bagration had him upset with Barclay which would have repercussions later. Even though Barclay de Tolly was given overall command as minister of war, Bagration was not subordinate under him since he was the older general. This is a reason why he constantly received orders from Tsar Alexander and Barclay at the same time.

Despite massive losses among the French, their rapid advance by force march towards Moscow repeatedly prevented de Tolly from establishing a defensive position and was forced to retreat every time he intended to. The commander in chief refused to put up a fight despite Bagration's numerous urging. De Tolly's continuing resistance to give battle would later lead to his removal from his position.

===Battle of Mogilev===

[[File:Raevsky saltanovka.jpg|thumb|General Raevsky personally leading his men into Davout's line]]
The battle of Mogilev, better known as [[Battle of Saltanovka]], was the result of Bagration's unsuccessful attempt to unite with the Russian main army after he had suggested a pre-emptive strike on the French to tsar Alexander. His [[Second Western Army|2nd army]] got intercepted when trying to reach Barclay de Tolly's 1st army and clashed with Marshal Davout's forces at the Dnieper river. In order to break through the French lines at Mogilev, Bagration deployed the 20,000 men strong 7th corps led by General [[Nikolay Raevsky]]. On the opposing side marshal [[Davout]]'s corps consisting of five divisions with a total strength of 28,000 men had formed defensive lines around Saltanovka. Davout waited for the approaching Russians and set them under massive musket volleys and artillery fire. Raevsky continued the advance personally leading his men in the assault. Despite great determination of the Russian troops, the French managed to repel the attack along the entire line. Davout then mounted a counter assault which threw the 7th corps back, although Raevsky was able to fend them off repeatedly until Bagration decided to order a general retreat when his army got also struck by other French forces at the flanks and rear. In order to avoid complete envelopement he quickly withdrew to Smolensk. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but Bagration misjudged the situation, believing he fought Napoleon's main army when it was only Davout's forces and some reinforcement. This highlighted the poor communication between the Russian armies. However at the same time Bagration's decision to withdraw thwarted Napoleon's plan to destroy the Second Western Army and he was eventually forced to fight a unified Russian force at [[Smolensk]], which is what happened because Bagration fearing another attack, retreated to Smolensk and waited for Barclay to reinforce him.

===Battle of Smolensk===
{{main|Battle of Smolensk (1812)}}

On 14 August 1812, the three Marshals Murat, Davout and Ney crossed the [[Dnieper River]] on quickly constructed pontoon bridges. The plan was to race toward the city of Smolensk, taking it without a fight. Napoleon saw Smolensk as a vital supply and replenishment base from where he would march to the north to attack the rear of the Russian main forces under Barclay de Tolly. The town had also symbolic, religious importance for the Russian side. Unfortunately for the French, conflicting orders and a breakdown in communication had already led Bagration to disobey orders and instead of marching west, he occupied Smolensk to the south. By 16 August, French forces found the city heavily garrisoned by Bagration's troops. He got further reinforced with the arrival of de Tolly's army. Napoleon, however, assumed the Russians would fight outside the city to avoid the destruction of historical monuments, which did not happen. The fight for Smolensk started on 16 August 1812 with Napoleon's forces of three corps capturing parts of the town's suburbs but being repelled soon after. Continuous artillery shelling set the town, which consisted of mostly wooden buildings, ablaze, but the French didn't manage to get past the suburbs and to the walls as they lacked ladders and other equipment. Inflicting heavy losses on the attackers, the Russian garrison was able to hold its positions. However, the widespread fire forced Bagration and de Tolly to abandon burning Smolensk on 18 August 1812. The battle ended inconclusively, with the Russian armies retreating and Napoleon conquering but as quickly leaving what was left of the city as it was of no use anymore.

===Guerrilla warfare===

From the very beginning of the invasion, Bagration had understood that the invasion was not an ordinary one, but rather a nationwide war. Local citizenry displayed great bravery where they could against small French units, particularly around Smolensk but also in other parts of Russia. Sporadic attacks from small diversionary groups of lightly-armed peasants had already caught Bagration's attention earlier and he was fascinated by their determination and effectiveness. From then on he was convinced that a smart cooperation between irregular forces and the regular Russian armies would be the only method to stop Napoleon's advance. His aide-de-camp, vice Colonel [[Denis Davydov|D.V. Davydov]], commander of a Hussar regiment, shared Bagration's views on a [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla movement]] and proposed a possible course of action. Bagration approved the proposal but, when he presented the plans to Kutuzov, the commander in chief only allowed a very limited number of troops to be provided for such operations. Davydov gave his word that he would take full care and responsibility for the supplies and action of his troops, only dissatisfied about the resources he considered very insufficient, asking Bagration to give him at least 1,000 Cossacks. Bagration, much as he wanted to meet his officer's request and carry out that operation himself, did not want to disobey Kutuzov, and replied: "I would give you 3000 of them to start with, for I do not like to act superficially, but I can not even speak about it; Knyaz (ie the Prince) has defined the composition of the group himself; it is necessary to obey."<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvp|Mikaberidze|2009|loc=[http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/bagration/c_bagration11.html Ch. XI: Withdrawal from Smolensk & a Change of High Command]}}.</ref> Afterwards Bagration wrote the following instruction to Davydov:

{{blockquote|To Vice-Colonel of Akhtyrka Hussar Regiment Davydov.

After reception of this, take hundred fifty Cossacks from Major-General Karpov and fifty Hussars of the Akhtyrka Hussar Regiment.

I order you to take all measures to disturb the enemy and to endeavor to deprive him of supplies, not only on the flanks, but in the middle and in the rear, to upset transport and parks, to break ferries and to take away all remedies. In a word, I am sure that, having made to you such an important allowance, you will prove your quickness and diligence and that will justify my choice. You can send official reports to me at every convenient chance you have. Nobody should know about your movements; try to keep them shrouded in the most impenetrable secrecy. As to the foodstuffs of your command, you should take responsibility upon yourself...<ref name="ReferenceA"/>}}

Bagration then also wrote letters to General Vassilichikov and General Karpov regarding the allocations and general information about the best Cossack and Hussar units available. On the request of Davydov he provided the vice colonel a copy of his map of the Smolensk province and when parting wished the young officer the best of luck, and also hoped for his success. His confidence would soon be emphasized when the guerrilla movement developed wide scope. Soon, besides Davydov's movement, other groups emerged: those of General Dorokhov, Captain Fisher, Captain Seslavin, Colonel Kudashev and many others. These groups successfully strove against the French, combining their activities with those of peasant guerrilla groups. Bagration became the author of the first real tactical instructions for such activities and one of the founders of the Russian guerrilla movement against Napoleon.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Battle of Borodino===
[[File:Battle of Borodino 1812 map.jpg|thumb|The Bagration flèches were at the center of the [[Battle of Borodino]]. There, the most brutal fighting took place.]]
[[File:Roubaud fleshes.jpg|thumb|The Bagration flèches seen on the far right. Painting by Franz Roubaud.]]
[[File:Peter von Hess 002.jpg|thumb|Bagration giving orders during the Battle of Borodino while being wounded. Painting by Peter von Hess.]]

{{main|Battle of Borodino}}

Fearing that Napoleon might take the Smolensk Road to Moscow, Kutuzov ordered Bagration and his 2nd Army to the left while Barclay de Tolly was guarding the right with the 1st Army. Other than the 1st Army, which was deployed on positions which were strong and virtually unassailable by the French, Bagration's army had no terrain advantage at all and his request to change to a more advantageous position was denied by Kutuzov. So he decided to create one himself by ordering his sappers to construct four big [[Redan]]s, also known as the [[Bagration flèches]], four arrow-head shaped, open-backed earthworks which arced out to the left en echelon in front of the Kolocha stream. When the battle started on 7 September 1812 with a massive cannonade against the Russian center, Davout sent two divisions against the flèches at about 6 am. His force of 25,000 men supported by 102 guns faced 8,000 Russian defenders with 50 guns.

While advancing, Davout's divisions were hit hard by massed Russian artillery, which was deployed on the other side of the Kolcha to support Bagration's lines and also by Russian jaeger units that were deployed in front of the fortifications. The French troops suffered heavy casualties before they could reach their objective and the undertaking was about to fall apart when Davout saw his troops retreating and rushed forward to personally lead the charge. With the second attempt he managed to take the southernmost flèche at 7 am. But in response Bagration ordered Raevsky and his 7th Corps once more to confront Davout, only this time the French were struck on their flank and thrown back for the second time. Napoleon already held Bagration in high esteem, calling him the best the Russians could possibly throw against him, but was surprised by the stiff resistance he offered. While Napoleon reinforced Davout with Marshal [[Michel Ney|Ney]] and officer [[Jean-Andoche Junot|Junot]] for a third attack, Bagration repositioned his troops and deployed his reserves, the 2nd Grenadier and 2nd Cuirassier divisions.

The 3rd Infantry Division was still held in reserve at Semyenovskoe for the possibility that the French might try to outflank him. Kutuzov, who observed the heavy fighting at the flèches, was sending the 2nd and parts of the 5th Infantry Corps with 100 guns from his artillery reserve, but their arrival would take one to two hours, which meant that Bagration was on his own. Napoleon demanded that the flèches be taken at all costs, and opened the third offensive with a massive artillery bombardment, followed by a simultaneous infantry and cavalry assault. At first the French managed to occupy the right and far left flèche but were again driven out by Bagration's troops. Marshal [[Józef Poniatowski|Poniatowski]], who had the task of enveloping the Russians and striking Bagration's rear with his cavalry corps, was also defeated by Tuchkov's 3rd Infantry Corps. The defenders restored their positions at 9 am. Failing for a third time, Napoleon became furious and now also added Marshal Murat to the operation, launching a fourth assault at 9 am. This time Napoleon's forces were not only able to drive Bagration's forces out of the flèches but also captured Semyenovskoe.

By this time however, the 2nd and 5th corps sent earlier by Kutuzov for Bagration's aid finally arrived and Bagration threw all available forces against the French, repulsing them completely from all occupied positions and inflicting heavy losses. After that, three more French attacks were repelled in a row, General Tuchkov being killed in the fifth assault. Despite the mounting casualties, Napoleon continued to assault Bagration's position. His troops were hit not only by musket fire but also canister shot from artillery at close range. Heaps of corpses and wounded prevented the cavalry and infantry from manoeuvring properly on the battlefield. Napoleon considered sending his elite [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] to bolster the morale of his troops but hesitated, not willing to risk it being torn apart as well. At noon, the French launched their eighth assault, with around 45,000 men supported by 400 guns against the defending 18,000 Russians and their 300 guns. Bagration decided to meet the attackers boldly in what led to a long and brutal melee, probably the bloodiest scene during the entire battle, described by the historian Buturlin as follows:

{{blockquote|An awful combat took place in which, on both sides, miracles of almost supernatural bravery were displayed. The infantry, cavalrymen, and gunners of both sides, having got mixed up together, presented an awful spectacle of the great bulk of soldiers struggling in private, furious despair.<ref name=mika12/>}}

Bagration ordered his entire force to counterattack, but was seriously outnumbered and slowly driven back. The French [[57th Line Infantry Regiment]] kept attacking the flèches, even though it was almost completely torn to pieces by musket fire from all directions. Their courageous behaviour earned two "Bravo" shouts from Bagration, and it was then that the 2nd commander-in chief was struck by shell splinters in his leg.<ref name=mika12>{{harvp|Mikaberidze|2009|loc=[http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/bagration/c_bagration12.html Ch. XII: Borodino – The Final Glory]}}.</ref>{{sfnp|Danilewsky & al.|1840|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GBxCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA201 201]}} His subordinates quickly carried him to a safe place away from the fight while trying to conceal what had happened, but Bagration's absence was soon noticed. Rumours of him being killed spread and the morale of his troops began to increasingly waver. Bagration, now unable to control the situation, insisted on not being moved from the field until the battle was decided, hoping for the success of the 2nd Cuirassier Division of General Duka. The Cuirassiers managed to defeat the forces of Marshal Ney but the news of Bagration being hit quickly spread and brought confusion and morale collapse within the 2nd Army. Its management broke down so that the Russian forces were starting to abandon their positions in the chaos and to retreat from the overwhelming French assault. The Bagration flèches were abandoned and left to the French, but it had cost them a huge price. From the 60,000 French soldiers who participated in the operation, about 30,000 were killed or wounded. Russian casualties were also high, but fewer. The battle, however, ended inconclusively, with both sides returning to their initial deployment zones. The battle drained from Napoleon his last fighting capabilities and resources and finally forced him to abandon his plan of forcing Russia into a second [[Treaties of Tilsit|Tilsit]] when he entered an empty Moscow.<ref>{{harvp|Mikaberidze|2009|loc=[http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/bagration/c_bagration1.html Ch. I: The Early Years]}}.</ref>

Bagration was evacuated to Simy, a village in the Vladimir province and died there of his wound on 24 September 1812 at the age of 47.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Peter Bagration|url=https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/biographies/bagration/c_bagration12.html|access-date=2021-08-16|website=www.napoleon-series.org}}</ref>