- Battle of Klyastitsy
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Klyastitsy
partof=French invasion of Russia (1812)
caption="Battle of Klyastitsy", by Piter von Hess
date=July 30 –August 1 ,1812
place=Klyastitsy ,Belarus
result=Russian victory
combatant1=
combatant2=
commander1=PrincePeter Wittgenstein
commander2=Nicolas Oudinot
strength1=17,000–22,000
strength2=23,000–28,000
casualties1=3,500–4,500
casualties2=5,500 dead,
1,000 capturedThe Battle of Klyastitsy is a relatively minor engagement which took place near the village of Klyastitsy ( _ru. Клястицы) (Drissa
uyezd ,Vitebsk guberniya ) on the road betweenPolotsk andSebezh . In this battle the Russiancorps under the command ofPeter Wittgenstein , ordered to defendSt. Petersburg , defeated the French corps under the command of MarshalNicolas Oudinot The battle
On
July 28 , twelve Frenchcavalry squadron s were surprised and attacked by eight Russianhussard andCossack squadrons under GeneralYakov Kulnev . In spite of their numerical superiority, the French squadrons lost the skirmish and retreated.At that time Oudinot occupied the village of Klyastitsy on his advance towards St. Petersburg. There were 28,000 French troops while the Russian Corps numbered 17,000. In spite of being outnumbered, Wittgenstein decided to fight. The battle started on
July 30 at 2 pm. The Russian vanguard led by Kulnev (ca 4,000 men) fought with the French vanguard for the whole day near the village of Yakubov. Kulnev managed to press the French but they kept the village under their control. On the next day, after several attacks and counterattacks, the Russian advance forced Oudinot to retreat to Klyastitsy. In order to continue their advance the Russian troops had to cross the river Nishcha. Oudinot ordered his troops to set fire to the only bridge. While the Russian cavalry was wading across the Nishcha, the 2nd battalion of the PavlovskGrenadier regiment rushed the burning bridge. This instance was depicted by Peter Hess in his painting, illustrated to the right.Kulnev continued to chase the French Corps with several cavalry regiments and one infantry battalion. After crossing the Drissa river on
August 1 his unit ran into an ambush and suffered heavy casualties under the fire of French artillery. Kulnev was badly wounded (he had both his legs severed by a cannon-ball) and died the same day.Finally Oudinot retreated to Polotsk and the French advance on St. Petersburg failed.
Aftermath
Wittgenstein was awarded the
Order of St. George of the Second Degree. Alexander I is reported to have called him "the saviour of St. Petersburg". Captain Krylov, whose unit was the first to cross the river over the burning bridge, received the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree.Online references
*ru icon [http://www.kulichki.com/gusary/istoriya/taktika/battles/klyasticy/ Battle of Klyastitsy]
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