The village was now French, but both the Russian Jagers and the Infantry of Delsonne had heavy losses, The heaviest combat began at 5am on the left wing of the Russian army, at the Semenovsky ravine, where Bagration commanded. Napoleon sent Marshals Davout, Murat and Ney, under whose command was the Corps of General Junot. The first attacks were beaten back by the Russian artillery and heavy rifle fire. Marshal Davout received a head injury, and a horse under him was killed.
A fragment of The Borodino Panorama
by Rubaud
(Astrakhan cuirassiers and Akhtirsky hussars attacking. In front of them in a green uniform there is General Borozdin)
Many French Generals and regiment commanders were killed in the first French attacks on Bagration's positions. The fortifications at the Semenovsky ravine, so-called "Bagration's arrows" were made in a hurry and were technically incomplete, but the defense was so furious that all the desperate attempts of the French to capture them from 5am to 11:30am were crushed with terrible losses. At about 7am Napoleon ordered to push almost 150 guns forwards and to smash Bagration's "arrows" with artillery fire. After long artillery bombardment, Marshals Ney and Davout with huge forces (including three Cavalry Corps) attacked the Semenovsky ravine, and Murat attacked the "arrows".
The large French force rushed at General Vorontsov's Division, overran it, crushed it, and attacked the Division of General Neverovsky, crushed it too. The Division of Vorontsov was almost totally annihilated and General Vorontsov, himself, was wounded and forced to quit his command.
"The Division has not disappeared from the field of Battle, it has disappeared on it!" So reported the Division commander. Neverovsky resisted furiously; his battalions rushing to the bayonet attack many times against the pressing huge mass of the French.
Marshals Murat, Ney, Davout asked Napoleon for reinforcements. But he refused and said he was very displeased that the arrows had not yet been captured.
Then a heated battle developed. Bagration and the French Marshals each recaptured the Semenovskie "arrows", covered with the bodies of dead men and horses, several times. The people who saw these terrible sights, knew Prince Bagration and his nature and remembered his career, were surprised he was able to live to the age of forty seven. They say they were sure this time the "arrows" would be held by Bargation or he himself would be seriously wounded or die.
Napoleon saw that all his attempts to overrun the left flank of the Russian army were paralysed by Kutuzov sending more and more reinforcements to Bagration, taking the troops from the right flank. So he attacked the center of the Russian army to keep the Russian forces there. But the first attack of the Kurgannaya battery against General Raevsky's corps was unsuccessful. The Divisions of Brussie and Morand had to fall back with heavy losses.
Napoleon attacked the "arrows" for the fifth time. And although the French were able to dislodge the Russians from there at first, the enormous counter-attack forced the French to retreat to the cover of the forest. Then Eugene de Beauharnais attacked the battery of Raevsky again, and this was more successful. The French managed to break into the battery, but a short time later, the Russians dislodges them once more.
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"The battery now is ours!" reported General Ermolov, commander of the counter-attack. "The hill is covered with dead bodies!" Although Napoleon saw his best infantry Divisions being "ground up", he continued to attack the left flank and center of the Russian army.
The sixth attack petered out, though Napoleon flung yet another Corps on the "arrows" (Junot's corps).
The seventh attack was unsuccessful too. At the same time Marshal Poniatowsky's Corps tried to make a deep turning manoeuvre along the Old Smolensk road, but it also failed.
Seven times the French troops attacked the "arrows", but every time these attacks crashed against the bravery and fortitude of the Russian soldiers. In the final, eighth, attack, Napoleon hurled in more than 45 thousand men supported by the fire of 400 guns , it was more than two thirds of his artillery. It was a massacre.
Napoleon ordered the new storm of the arrows. Bargation decided to forestall the enemy and counter-attack. "At just that moment a very important event took place" wrote a participant of the battle, Fedor Glinka.
Bagration realized the purpose of the French Marshals and saw the formidable movement of the huge mass of French troops, and made a great decision. The orders were given, and the whole of our left wing (the full length) moved from its position and attacked quickly with bayonets.The Russian attack was thrown back, and Marshal Davout counter-attacked. The French grenadiers of the 57th regiment rushed thearrows with arms atilt without firing a single shot. They did not to loose time firing, but the Russian bullets mowed them down.
"Bravo, bravo!" - shouted Bagration delighted with the courage of the French grenadiers. At this moment a shell-splinter hit him and shattered his shin-bone. He tried to hide his wound from the troops, to avoid confusing them. But it bled heavily and he silently slumped from his horse. His men caught him and laid him on the ground. Then they carried him away. But the thing he was most afraid of - why he bore the terrible pain, had happened:
"The rumor of his death flashed through the troops. There was confusion; we had one common feeling - despair!" said a participant of this battle, General Ermolov. "About midday, after the disappearance of Bagration, the 2nd Army (i.e.the whole left wing, that was under Bagration's command) was in such a confused condition that some detachments could only be put in order by moving them far from the front"(1). After the attack of the 2nd army that was thrown back by the French counter-attack, Fedor Glinka saw the wounded general at the foot of the hill. His clothes were covered with blood, his uniform was unbuttoned, one high boot was taken off, his head was splashed with blood and he had a big bloody wound above his knee. "His face, stained with powder, was pale but calm". Somebody behind held him, Glinka recognized the wounded at once. It was the "second Commander-in-Chief", the mortally wounded Bagration. People around him saw he was listening attentively to the sounds of the battle. "He wanted to know the results, but they were becoming more and more doubtful".
The terrible rumor of the death of the second Commander-in-Chief had spread through the line of troops, and soldiers "lost heart" (2) . Bagration was taken away at the most critical moment of the battle. It was not only that the soldiers loved their commander, they also believed in his invincibility.
- Ermolov A.P. "Memoirs", p.195
- Glinka F. "The Memoirs Of 1812", Volume 2, p.73
