Part 10-The fight for Smolensk, phase one
By mid October, the French position in Russian was grim, and now the noose began to tighten. As Chichagov moved on the main road into Russia, Smolensk had its lines of communication cut on October 15th. Bessiéres and Ney were already on the move, and their 50,000 men were rested and decently fed, arriving in Minsk on the 22nd after a 12 day forced march. Here he met up with the exhausted but relatively intact Austrian corps, Schwarzenberg having fallen back due to being outnumbered.
Chichagov and his 60,000 men were now outnumbered, but for once the French had intelligence on their side. While Bessiéres had been hounded by Cossacks all the way, these reported to Kutuzov, and so Chichagov was often out of the loop on reports. He believed that Poniatowski was still in Smolensk, and so didn't expect as large a force. This, combined with an overestimation of French attrition, meant he marched into the fight overconfident and clueless. Bessiéres was little better, while he'd marched the men hard and managed to maintain discipline and morale, his shortcomings as an army commander were made more clear. As Berthier wrote to the emperor "He's about as skilled at commanding your army as I was, I see my faults plainly in him. He's reactive, indecisive, and his orders are more unclear than your majesties.
After a pause to rest and reorganize, the French army moved to confront Chichagov. At the village of Ozero, the two armies met for battle on the morning of the 26th. (Author's note: Wanted to include a google earth shot of the otl location, but it said the file was too big. Just look up Ozero, Belarus) The ground was flat and barren, the land deserted and picked over. Chichagov formed up his line west of the village, anchoring his left flank on the river Zhest, and his right on a pond next to Ozero. Bessiéres positioned his army on some light hills and villages to the North
The battle began around 10am, as Chichagov began his attack on what he still believed was a smaller French force. The attack was pooly coordinated, as he gave each corps individual orders to attack, leading to delay. Worse still, his orders on where to attack were muddled and subjective, causing 2nd and 4th Corps to essentially march into eachother, right as they entered the French artillery range. Despite this setback, the Russians soon began a fierce attack against the French line.
Bessiéres wasn't doing much better, despite his numbers and position. He wanted to smash the Russians decisively, but went about it shoddily. His orders resulted in Ney and Schwarzenberg advancing off the high ground, right into the range of the Russians. Casualties were high on boths sides, as both commanders seemed to freeze up, letting their subordinates take charge. As the fighting progressed, by noon the French were advancing, but at a high cost. Ironically despite being a cavalryman himself Bessiéres made no initial attempt to use his cavalry, and Grouchy was left in the read for much of the day.
Finally, without waiting for orders, Grouchy led a charge with Nansouty's Corps on the Russian left. Chichagov's men were some if the most experienced in Russia, but even they began to waver. Chichagov ordered a general retreat, but again the orders led to disaster. With no proper rearguard, Langeron's corps was rolled up and all but destroyed by Ney. Bessiéres ordered a persuit with his remaining cavalry, and managed to inflict many more casualties on the fleeing enemy.
The battle of Ozero had been a confused, messy battle, with incompetance on both sides. The French lost around 20,000 casualties in the battle, to around 30,000 Russians (Of which 10,000 were prisoners). The fighting was as savage as Borodino, and the soldiers were not happy with their generals. "The battle of the blunderers" as it became known to soldiers on both sides, was as Ney said "The most asinine display of soldiering I ever saw.". Bessiéres would remain in Minsk, while to the East, more battles raged.
Chichagov and his 60,000 men were now outnumbered, but for once the French had intelligence on their side. While Bessiéres had been hounded by Cossacks all the way, these reported to Kutuzov, and so Chichagov was often out of the loop on reports. He believed that Poniatowski was still in Smolensk, and so didn't expect as large a force. This, combined with an overestimation of French attrition, meant he marched into the fight overconfident and clueless. Bessiéres was little better, while he'd marched the men hard and managed to maintain discipline and morale, his shortcomings as an army commander were made more clear. As Berthier wrote to the emperor "He's about as skilled at commanding your army as I was, I see my faults plainly in him. He's reactive, indecisive, and his orders are more unclear than your majesties.
After a pause to rest and reorganize, the French army moved to confront Chichagov. At the village of Ozero, the two armies met for battle on the morning of the 26th. (Author's note: Wanted to include a google earth shot of the otl location, but it said the file was too big. Just look up Ozero, Belarus) The ground was flat and barren, the land deserted and picked over. Chichagov formed up his line west of the village, anchoring his left flank on the river Zhest, and his right on a pond next to Ozero. Bessiéres positioned his army on some light hills and villages to the North
Battle of Ozero order of battle, West to East
Army of the Danube: Adm Chichagov
2nd Corps: Gen Esssen
4th Corps: Gen Bulatov
1st Corps: Gen Langeron
3rd Corps: Gen Voinov
200 Guns
Grande Armée: MdE Bessiéres
V Corps: Gen Poniatowski
Austrian Corps: Gen Schwarzenberg
III Corps: MdE Ney
Cavalry: Gen Grouchy
II Cav Corps: Gen Nansouty
I Cav Corps: Gen Montbrun
269 Guns
The battle began around 10am, as Chichagov began his attack on what he still believed was a smaller French force. The attack was pooly coordinated, as he gave each corps individual orders to attack, leading to delay. Worse still, his orders on where to attack were muddled and subjective, causing 2nd and 4th Corps to essentially march into eachother, right as they entered the French artillery range. Despite this setback, the Russians soon began a fierce attack against the French line.
Bessiéres wasn't doing much better, despite his numbers and position. He wanted to smash the Russians decisively, but went about it shoddily. His orders resulted in Ney and Schwarzenberg advancing off the high ground, right into the range of the Russians. Casualties were high on boths sides, as both commanders seemed to freeze up, letting their subordinates take charge. As the fighting progressed, by noon the French were advancing, but at a high cost. Ironically despite being a cavalryman himself Bessiéres made no initial attempt to use his cavalry, and Grouchy was left in the read for much of the day.
Finally, without waiting for orders, Grouchy led a charge with Nansouty's Corps on the Russian left. Chichagov's men were some if the most experienced in Russia, but even they began to waver. Chichagov ordered a general retreat, but again the orders led to disaster. With no proper rearguard, Langeron's corps was rolled up and all but destroyed by Ney. Bessiéres ordered a persuit with his remaining cavalry, and managed to inflict many more casualties on the fleeing enemy.
The battle of Ozero had been a confused, messy battle, with incompetance on both sides. The French lost around 20,000 casualties in the battle, to around 30,000 Russians (Of which 10,000 were prisoners). The fighting was as savage as Borodino, and the soldiers were not happy with their generals. "The battle of the blunderers" as it became known to soldiers on both sides, was as Ney said "The most asinine display of soldiering I ever saw.". Bessiéres would remain in Minsk, while to the East, more battles raged.
