Battle of Maloyaroslavets | |||||||
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Part of the French invasion of Russia | |||||||
Battle of Maloyaroslavets, by Peter von Hess | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
French Empire Kingdom of Italy | Russian Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Napoleon Bonaparte Louis-Nicolas Davout E. de Beauharnais Domenico Pino |
Mikhail Kutuzov Dmitry Dokhturov Nikolay Raevsky | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
24,000[1] | 24,000[1][2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
6,000–8,000 killed and wounded[2][1] | 8,000 killed and wounded[1][2] | ||||||
The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812 as part of the French invasion of Russia. It was Kutuzov's decisive battle to force Napoleon to retreat northwest over Mozhaisk to Smolensk on the devastated route of his advance with a higher probability of starvation.[3] Kutuzov's next attack against the remnants of the Grande Armée, the Battle of Krasnoi, began on 15 November 1812, three weeks later.