BORODINO BATTLE: ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS IN HISTORY

BIJELJINA, SEPTEMBER 6 /SRNA/ — The famous Battle of Borodino between the French and Russian armies took place on September 7, 1812, on the Borodino battlefield, 124 kilometers west of Moscow.

NAPOLEON: FRENCH WORTHY - RUSSIANS INVINCIBLE

The Russian army of 117,000 men was led by Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, while the French army of 133,000 soldiers was commanded by Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte.

Some 50,000 French soldiers, including 23 generals, were killed, while Russian losses amounted to 44,000.

The battle ended without a clear victor and marked the end of Napoleon's hopes of conquering Russia. Although he subsequently entered Moscow, he was soon forced to begin a difficult retreat.

After the battle, Napoleon reportedly said: "At Borodino, the French proved themselves worthy of victory, while the Russians were invincible."

NO CLEAR WINNER

Both armies showed great courage, while Napoleon and Kutuzov demonstrated considerable military skill.

The Battle of Borodino produced no clear victor, although both Napoleon and Kutuzov claimed victory in their official reports.

Despite withdrawing after suffering heavy losses, the Russian army later managed to recover, while Moscow became a trap for Napoleon.

By December of the same year, his army had been driven beyond Russia's borders, while the Russians had regained control of Moscow.

SERBIAN GENERALS IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY

Serbian generals also fought in the Russian army at Borodino. A monument stands there to Đorđe Arsenijević Emanuel, who was born in Vršac.

One of them was also Major General Count Petar Ivanov Ivelić, born in Risan, while many others were second or third-generation descendants of Serbian immigrants to Russia who had settled there in the 18th century during the reigns of Emperor Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth.

Among the generals, Mihail Andrejević Miloradović, a descendant of the prominent Herzegovinian Hrabrenović family, became particularly renowned. He commanded the central positions during the Battle of Borodino.

Miloradović managed to stop the advance of the French vanguard, led by Marshal Murat, which had reached the Kremlin, threatening to set the city on fire immediately.

This secured seven hours of truce, which he used to evacuate the army and the remaining population, while his guard, through swift and decisive attacks on the enemy, enabled the manoeuvre to be completed.

Also taking part in the battle were Lieutenant General Jovan Jegorović Šević, Major General Jovan Stepanović Adamović, Lieutenant General Nikola Vasiljević Vujić, General Baron Ilija Mihajlović Duka, Adjutant General Nikola Ivanović de Preradović, Lieutenant General Nikola Bogdanović Bogdanov and Major General Abram Petrović Ratkov.

The Battle of Borodino was also described by great Russian literary classic Leo Tolstoy in his novel War and Peace.