First Battle of Polotsk

First Battle of Polotsk
	Part of the French invasion of Russia
	; Jean-Charles Langlois. Battle of Polotsk on August 18, 1812
Date	17–18 August 1812
Location	Polotsk, Russian Empire55°29′N 28°48′E / 55.483°N 28.800°E
Result	See § Aftermath
Belligerents
French Empire; Kingdom of Bavaria	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr; Nicolas Oudinot (WIA)	Peter Wittgenstein
Strength
18,000–19,000 men involved; 150 guns; 44,000 men total available	17,000–22,000 men; 98 guns
Casualties and losses
2,500–6,000 casualties	1,800–5,500 killed and wounded; 1,200–1,500 men captured; 14 guns

French invasion of Russia

330km
205miles

Polotsk

15

Pultusk

14

Gorodeczno

13

Drohiczyn

12

Tauroggen

11

Riga

10

Tilsit

9

Warsaw

8

Berezina

7

Maloyaro-
slavets

6

Moscow

5

Borodino

4

Smolensk

3

Vitebsk

2

Vilna

1

Kowno

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current battle

Prussian corps

Napoleon

Austrian corps

In the First Battle of Polotsk, which took place on 17–18 August 1812, Russian troops under the command of Peter Wittgenstein fought French and Bavarian troops led by Nicolas Oudinot near the city of Polotsk, halting Oudinot's advance toward Saint Petersburg once more as at the Battle of Klyastitsy. It was a strategic Russian success, but tactically the battle ended in a draw. The First Battle of Polotsk should be distinguished from the Second Battle of Polotsk which took place during the same campaign two months later.