ON THE FIELD OF BORODINO
By Carl Willner
Carl Willner's Borodino Photos on Picasa
A visit to the actual battlefield is one of the most enjoyable parts of
designing a historical game. Texas Glory took me to the Alamo, Goliad
and the battlefield of San Jacinto. But Columbia's newest release,
Borodino, called for a much longer journey, all the way to Mother
Russia.
The field of Borodino lies some 70 miles west of Moscow. Though today
it can be reached by train and modern road, much of it still looks
little changed from 1812. There are just a few paved roads, and dirt
tracks leading to villages of small wooden houses, a few distinguished
by onion-domed churches, lying amid scattered forests and small hills,
on either side of the winding Kolocha river. Many of the villages that
marked the events of the battle -- Borodino, Semyonovskoye, Shevardino,
Utitsa, Fomkino, Gorki, and others -- are still there, though others
have disappeared over the years. There are, of course, monuments
everywhere, as on Civil War battlefields here, with inscriptions in the
Russian Cyrillic alphabet, naming the generals, regiments and divisions
that fought there 200 years ago. Remains of the principal redoubts
defended by General Kutuzov's Russian army can still be seen -- on the
hill of Shevardino, at the Fleches (now marked by the beautiful 19th
century monastery of the Savior of Borodino, with one of the three
fleche redoubts right inside its walls), and most famously, at the Great
Redoubt so bravely defended by Lt. General Rayevski's corps, where the
highest ranking Russian officer who fell at Borodino, General Pyotr
Bagration, is now laid to rest. And in the village of Borodino itself
still stands the one original building left from the battle, the Church
of the Nativity, where from the steeples the Russian artillery observers
could see the approach of Napoleon's Grande Armee on September 5,
1812. About 130,000 French and allied troops from across Europe --
Italians, Germans, Poles and others -- now faced off against close to
150,000 Russians, including some 110,000 regulars, 10,000 Cossacks, and
masses of ill-equipped militia from Moscow and Smolensk.
Exploring the battlefield, it is not hard to trace the course of the
fighting, since all the key locales are readily accessible (though it
helps to have a car if you want to see them all in a day, with several
miles of ground to cover both north-south and east-west). I have had
the opportunity to visit it twice, in 2008 and again in 2012 for the
anniversary year. After the French crossed the Kolocha around Fomkino,
Shevardino fell to a preliminary French attack on the Russian left flank
on September 5. Following a pause the next day allowing the rest of
Napoleon's army to arrive, the main battle commenced at dawn on
September 7, with the fall of Borodino village. Napoleon and Kutuzov
both observed the ever-growing slaughter throughout the day from their
headquarters, by the hills of Shevardino and Gorki. In turn the French
took the Fleches, Semyonovskoye village, and the Great Redoubt in the
Russian center, in gigantic clashes of infantry and charging cavalry,
with both sides suffering horrendous losses. Meanwhile the Russians
launched a large but ultimately unsuccessful cavalry raid on the French
left north of the Kolocha, and in the south Napoleon's Polish and
Westphalian German allies took Utitsa village and the Kurgan hill behind
it, but could not break through the Russian defenses to cut their
supply roads. With the French suffering about 30,000 losses and the
Russians close to 50,000, at last Kutuzov chose to retreat and sacrifice
Moscow.
Each year, Russia hosts a reenactment of the Borodino battle near the
day of the actual battle, with thousands of participants coming from
European countries and even the United States. Napoleon himself has
regularly been played by an American who closely resembles the
Emperor! For anyone seriously interested in seeing the historical
battlefield as well as the reenactment, I recommend making two trips
from Moscow, one on the reenactment day and another a couple of days
before when the reenactors are just starting to arrive, adding some
color to the visit, but the crowds are not overwhelming. The
reenactment takes place on part of the original battlefield, near
the banks of the Kolocha, between the villages of Borodino and
Valuyevo. In most years, it is possible to get close enough to the
action to see it, and take good pictures, but for the 200th anniversary
the crowds were immense. There were probably as many visitors on the
battlefield that day as there were troops in the combined armies of
Napoleon and Kutuzov in 1812!
For Americans used to seeing merely troops in blue and grey at our Civil
War reenactments, the colorful nature of Napoleonic armies is amazing,
especially in the many gorgeously uniformed cavalry formations, with
cuirassiers, hussars, dragoons and Cossacks all riding about. Along
with the well-disciplined regular infantry in blue and green, bodies of
scruffy Russian opolcheniye, the hastily raised militia, are also
marching on the fringes and skulking in the brush. The fighting
typically begins with some cavalry and light infantry skirmishing as the
main bodies of troops move into position and artillery is emplaced,
while the Russians prepare to defend a redoubt in the center of the
field. Troops are reviewed, and the armies start moving into action.
Then the artillery commences its bombardment, with dramatic effect. The
Russian fire marshals evidently are not as strict as their American
counterparts, or lawsuits are not such a concern, for the Russians have
no problem with preplanted charges exploding all over the battlefield to
mark hits as artillery is fired, or setting buildings aflame as mock
villages are fought over. Cavalry race back and forth, sabers clashing
with each other, and infantry facing cavalry charges form into actual
squares while the horsemen ride around them. French infantry assault
the Russian-held redoubt, and as the smoke of battle becomes ever
thicker, it is not hard to appreciate the need for the colorful
uniforms, or the huge flags both sides are carrying to rally the
troops. Meanwhile, Russian announcers describe the events of the
battle, blow by blow, to the crowds lining the field.
At last the action dies down, and the armies assemble for review by
their commanders. Old Kutuzov in his cap rides along, accompanied by
Barclay de Tolly and other generals. On the French side, Napoleon
appears in his trademark hat and grey coat on a white horse, followed by
the magnificent Marshal Murat, King of Naples, in fantastic plumed
white fur headgear. Soldiers pose for pictures, ladies in historical
costume stroll about, and one almost expects to see Pierre from War and
Peace wandering onto the field. All are at peace again, and the troops
disperse to their camps around the battlefield, looking forward to
another year.
Carl Willner
October 2012
Footage of the 2012 re-enactment courtesy of the Telegraph.co.uk
