Battle of Valutino
| Battle of Valutino | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French invasion of Russia | |||||||
French infantry at the Battle of Valutino, by Christian Wilhelm von Faber du Faur | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| French Empire | Russian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Michel Ney Jean-Andoche Junot Charles Gudin † |
Barclay de Tolly Nikolay Tuchkov Aleksey Yermolov | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 35,000 | 25,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 7,000–9,000 | 6,000 | ||||||
205miles
slavets
The Battle of Valutino (also called the battle of Lubino) took place on 19 August 1812 near Valutino[ru] and Lubino[ru], between a corps of French and allied troops led by Marshal Ney, about 35,000 strong, and a strong rear-guard of General Barclay de Tolly's Russian army of about 25,000, commanded by the general himself. The Russians were strongly posted in marshy ground, protected by a small stream, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Smolensk. The French, attacking resolutely, captured the Russian position in the face of considerable physical obstacles; the Russian army, however, did not intend to decisively defend this position, because at the time of the battle it was in a general retreat deep into the territory as part of a scorched earth strategy.