Battle of Smolensk (1812) 1812
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1812 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | Russia | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | French invasion of Russia | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | First French Empire, Russian Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 54.7833, 32.0500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Smolensk was the first major battle of the French invasion of Russia. It took place on 16–18 August 1812 and involved about 45,000 men of the Grande Armée under Emperor Napoleon I against about 30,000 Russian troops under General Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon occupied Smolensk by driving out Prince Pyotr Bagration's Second Army. The French artillery bombardment burned the city to the ground. Of 2,250 buildings, 84% were destroyed, leaving only 350 intact. Of the city's 15,000 inhabitants, about 1,000 were left at the end of the battle inside the smoking ruins. With over 15,000 casualties, it was one of the bloodiest battles of the invasion.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Smolensk (1812) (revision 1379861945), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Smolensk (1502) 1502 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1613–1617) 1613 · 0 km
- Smolensk operation 1943 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1609–1611) 1609 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1654) 1654 · 0 km
- Siege of Smolensk (1632–1633) 1632 · 0 km
Other battles of the French invasion of Russia
- Battle of Berezina 1812
- Battle of Borodino 1812
- Battle of Chashniki 1812
- Battle of Klyastitsy 1812
- Battle of Krasnoi 1812
- Battle of Liaskowa 1812
- Battle of Maloyaroslavets 1812
- Battle of Mir (1812) 1812
- Battle of Ostrovno 1812
- Battle of Saltanovka 1812
All 20 battles of the French invasion of Russia →
Browse more: battles in Russia · Europe · 19th century battles