Battle of Krasnoi

Overview

The Battle of Krasnoi unfolded from 15 to 18 November 1812 marking a critical episode in Napoleon's arduous retreat from Moscow. Over the course of six skirmishes the Russian forces under Field Marshal Kutuzov inflicted significant blows from a prepared ambush upon the remnants of the Grande Armée, already severely weakened by attrition warfare. These confrontations, though not escalated into full-scale battles, led to substantial losses for the French due to their depleted weapons and horses.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Krasnoi, fought from 15 to 18 November 1812, represented a critical episode in Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. Across six separate skirmishes, Russian forces under Kutuzov struck the remnants of the Grande Armée from prepared positions, inflicting approximately 5,000 French casualties against a Russian loss of around 2,000. The French force of roughly 41,500 faced 50,000 Russian troops at a moment when the Grande Armée had already been severely degraded by attrition. The engagements demonstrated the vulnerability of a retreating army stripped of effective cavalry and adequate supplies: depleted horses and weapons left French columns unable to respond to coordinated Russian pressure. Though none of the six confrontations escalated into a set-piece battle, their cumulative effect compounded the losses the Grande Armée was sustaining throughout the withdrawal, further eroding the force Napoleon would have available to reconstitute in the west.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (47)