Did you know that the Battle of Borodino was the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars?
The battle took place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. 120,000 Russians faced 130,000 French troops and their allies.

The Russians were led by General Kutuzov, who had halted the Russian retreat at the town of Borodino and hastily built fortifications to block the French advance on Moscow. Fearing that an attempt to outflank the Russians would fail and allow them to escape, Napoleon launched a crude frontal attack.

Fierce fighting ebbed and flowed along the three-mile front. By midday the French artillery was beginning to tip the scales, but the successive French attacks were not strong enough to overwhelm the Russian resistance.

By the afternoon, both sides were exhausted and the battle degenerated into a cannonade that lasted until nightfall. Kutuzov withdrew during the night and a week later Napoleon occupied Moscow unopposed.

The Russians suffered around 45,000 casualties, while the French lost around 30,000 men. About a quarter of a million soldiers were involved in the battle, and it was the bloodiest single day of the Napoleonic Wars.

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