Thread by @2econd_crossing

#OTD 23 November, 1812, Oudinot drove Chichagov’s army out of Borisov at the Battle of of Loschniza, but failed to prevent the enemy from burning the only bridge across the Berezina.
Napoleon’s only hope became Studienka, another ford discovered by Corbineau.
#Voicesfrom1812

On the 22nd, Napoleon had bivouacked at Tolochine, on an “unquestionably one of the finest” road unfortunately inundated by mud. Upon hearing the news of Dombrowski’s defeat at Borisov, he realized that “every disaster which [he] could anticipate had occurred.” (Labaume, Segur)

In the morning, his first words to Caulaincourt were, "This is beginning to be very serious"-an unparalled understatement of his plight.
It is on this day he ordered the mass burning of his correspondences, decrees, and wartime portfolios. (Caulaincourt)

He sent an instruction for Oudinot to find another “proper point of passage over the Berezina, construct two bridges at it, and cover them by the redoubts.” Berthier emphasized that the new ford “must be secured by tomorrow the 23rd, or at latest by the 24th.” (Wilson)

To prepare for the crossing, Napoleon ordered Berthier to discard excess baggages and convoys. However, many of the soldiers and even officers had already lost a lot of their belongings, due theft or their frostbitten fingers no longer being capable of holding them. (Corr.)

Oudinot received Napoleon’s letter around daybreak on the 23rd, when he was in a hurry to rally the fragments of Dombrowski and Bronikowski’s army back to Borisov, “through a region completely devastated and destroyed by the Grand Armée.” (Austin, Ludwik Szczaniecki, Marbot)

He integrated the Polish cavalry, the best-preserved of all, into Castex’s advanced guard. It was spearheaded by five regiments of light cavalry in the commander’s brigade, 7th, 20th, 23rd, and 24th Chasseurs à Cheval and the 8th Chevau-Léger.
(Szczaniecki, Marbot, Mikaberidze)

They were joined by 2nd and 7th regiments of Polish lancers and two battalions of the 26th Léger. Next in line was Defrance’s 4th Cuirassier Division “who, having had very little fighting…had begged for the honor of being placed in the first line.” (Marbot, Mikaberidze)

Behind the cavalry were Sierawski’s 6th Polish Line Infantry, joined later from the left bank of the Berezina, and Kossakowski’s 1st regiment of Lithuanian chasseurs à pied. (Ibid, Ilya Kudriashov)
Castex commanded these 3,600 men to reconnoiter the fording points.

Around 5 a.m., based on the the Polish officers’ eyewitness reports of the enemy at Borisov, Oudinot delivered to Berthier a rather frank assessment of his situation:
“Monseigneur. Unless ordered to the contrary, I shall attack the enemy at Borisov tomorrow...

Yet I must draw Your Excellency’s attention to the fact that, even if I should manage to drive him out of the town, it’s probable he’ll burn the bridge, whose re-establishment would be absolutely impracticable…”
(Austin, Mikaberidze)

Not expecting to find the bridge to remain intact by the time of his arrival, Oudinot had already set on finding the alternative points.
Therefore, around 5:30 a.m., he dispatched Corbineau to the imperial headquarter to announce his discovery of Studienka on the 21st. (Austin)

Oudinot pledged to Napoleon in the letter:
“I have 20,000 men in front of me which will no doubt move to the point where I try to make my crossing. So I do not dare guarantee the success of this enterprise, though thoroughly resolved to try everything to make it succeed.” (Ib.)

Meanwhile, at the Russian camp in Borisov, Chichagov ordered Pahlen’s advanced guard encamped at Loshnitsa to start marching on Bobr at 6 a.m. The remainder of his army was to follow at 10 a.m.
(Rochechouart, Silvestr Malinovskii).

According to Silvestr Malinovskii, a staff officer under Pahlen, Chichagov still "had no intelligence on the movement of the enemy forces or their whereabouts."
In the context of his threat perception, his actions on the 23rd are full of contradictions.

Since the day before, Chichagov had been seized with fear of an imminent standoff with Napoleon's main army from Bobr. Therefore, he breached Kutuzov's order and concentrated his forces at Borisov, on the right bank of the Berezina.
But that was all!

The admiral did not reinforce his threat perception with due measures. According to Langeron and Malinovskii, he neither defended nor burned the bridge in advance, and no active reconnaisances were performed on either side of the Berezina.

Malinovskii stated that between the night of the 22nd and the 23rd, everybody was fast asleep, and "no light cavalry detachments were sent out along the determined routes towards Orsha to determine the enemy's whereabouts."

His own behavior is even more questionable, for he confined himself to a lavish manor and "cluttered up this small town" with heaps of "baggage, the ambulance, the mobile church, the offices of the general staff, the engineers, and the artillery." (Langeron)

Then, it becomes puzzling why, in the absence of any information, Chichagov suddenly decided on mobilization. As soon as Pahlen's vanguard began moving, it captured two prisoners "who revealed that Napoleon's entire army was just one march away from the village."
(Malinovskii)

When Pahlen dispatched Malinovskii to request infantry from Chichagov, the admiral replied that the enemy ahead are "probably some partisans." He then ordered the vanguard to keep on marching while "instruct[ing] the infantry to start preparing porridge" for lunch!
(Ibid, Mika.)

The result was a complete rout of the Russian vanguard at Loschniza. In the narrow road surrounded by defiles, Pahlen's men were "taken unaware and allowed no respite to form and make an attempt to stand, and was trundled back in extreme confusion." (Wilson)

Around 4 p.m., the Russians conducted a disorderly retreat toward Borisov.
"Then our [4th Division] cuirassiers with a furious charge overthrew them, killing or capturing a thousand men," Marbot proudly captured the moment in his memoir.

But this was not the end, for Oudinot's mission was to recapture the whole town of Borisov and the bridgehead.
Unaware of the fate of his vanguard, Chichagov was enjoying his dinner with Rochecouart and Madame Rakhamanova, the wife of the chief commissary of the stores.(Roche.)

All of a sudden, their merrymaking was interrupted by the yells of "Frantzouzi, Frantzouzi!"
It was the hussars from Pahlen's units, who had barely made their escape via the northwestern route across Staroi-Borisov to Brill. (Ibid, Wilson)
(TB Continued in the replies)

In half an hour, "bullets were already whistling through the street."
Amidst the pandemonium, reminiscent of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, Chichagov, the officers, and the soldiers grabbed their baggages in vain.
(Rochecouart, Langeron)

Unsurprisingly, most of those 1,500 baggages and horses, which Chichagov had wasted the previous day carrying across the river, were abandoned. Among them were the army church, "all the most valuable plans from the war against the Turks," and Chichagov's own portmanteau.
(Ibid)

"This hindrance," to a certain degree, benefited the Russians. The French and the Poles, in a race to reach the bridge, struggled to clear the mounds of "baggage and draught horses, among which were streaming the Russian soldiers, who had thrown away their arms..." (Marbot)

The allies, then, encountered an unforeseen problem: Where was the bridge that they were supposed to take hold of?
At that time, the only enemy defending the bridge was a division under Sherbatov, now on the other side of the Berezina. (Marbot, Mikaberidze)

"This obstacle made us lose precious minutes wondering what to do, just when the least instant was so precious!" Lorencez recounted his exasperation.
When the II Corps, now joined by Oudinot, finally reached their bridgehead, they saw only a handful of skirmishers to beat off.

Upon Oudinot's order, Castex commenced "a perilous undertaking" of having his carabiniers à cheval dismounted and "formed into a little battalion armed with carbines" without bayonets.
They were about to cross the bridge. (Marbot)

But at the very moment, "the guns of the fort began to thunder, and the bridge was swept by a storm of grape which threw our feeble battalion into disorder , and forced it for a moment to recoil."
Simultaneously, the bridge caught alight from three sides. (Ibid)

"Thenceforth the French had to renounce all hope of crossing the Beresina by that bridge, and their retreat was cut off. This terrible calamity decided our fate and aided vastly to shake down Napoleon's throne and change the face of Europe," wrote Marbot.

Thus, the Russians had scored another strategical victory at the expense of tactical loss, making Chichagov's inaction "so inconsequential and pardonable." (Chaplitz)
But Oudinot would not withdraw his pledge to Napoleon, for he still had another card left.

In fact, Napoleon was more than certain about the loss of the bridge, and even considered crossing the frozen river like Ney and Eugene had. At 11 a.m., he ordered Berthier to write to Oudinot:
"Try to make yourself master of the ford of Veselevo as soon as possible.." (Wilson)

Veselevo, one of the alternative fords tentatively proposed by Oudinot, lay about 12 miles north of Borisov.
Victor, whose Division Partouneaux was skirmishing with Platov during the retroactive movement from Chereia to Kholopeniczi, was ordered to cover to road to Veselevo.

By coincidence, at 1 p.m., Corbineau entered the imperial headquarter to elaborate on his discovery of Studienka. This point, as he had crossed himself, was sufficiently secluded, located closer to Borisov, and noticeably shallower than other points. (Austin)

Undecided between Veselevo and Studienka, he continued the march from Tolochine to Bobr.
At the Bobr River, he garnered what remained of his cavalry and announced the formation of the Sacred Sqadron, consisting entirely of officers. (Segur)

These 500 officers, under the joint command of Grouchy and Sebastiani, were to guide him through whichever of the two fords. (Segur)
"I would rather eat with my fingers for the rest of the campaign than leave the Russians a fork with my crest on it," he said to Caulaincourt.

Accompanied by Murat and Eugene, he drew his sword and rallied his Old Guard:
"Let us all swear to die fighting rather than not see our country again!"
At this, "bearskins and caps were waved at the points of bayonets," followed by roars of Vive l'Empereur!
(Bourgogne)

Corbineau's arrival, according to Thiers, exuded a "ray of hope."
As the Emperor passed the bivouacs of the half-dying, Caulaincourt noted:
"How generous those Frenchmen were in their misfurtune! They cursed the elements, but had not a word of reproach for La Gloire."

@threadreaderapp Unroll, 40 tweets. Ahh I need to upload earlier.