Second Battle of Polotsk
| Second Battle of Polotsk | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French invasion of Russia | |||||||
Battle of Polotsk, by Peter von Hess | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Russian Empire |
French Empire Kingdom of Bavaria | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Peter Wittgenstein Fabian Steinheil | Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr (WIA) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 40,000 regular troops; 9,000 militia | 23,000 to 27,000 troops | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8,000–12,000 | 6,000–8,000 | ||||||
330km
205miles
205miles
Polotsk
15
Pultusk
14
Gorodeczno
13
Drohiczyn
12
Tauroggen
11
Riga
10
Tilsit
9
Warsaw
8
Berezina
7
Maloyaro-
slavets
slavets
6
Moscow
5
Borodino
4
Smolensk
3
Vitebsk
2
Vilna
1
Kowno
current battle
Prussian corps
Napoleon in command
Austrian corps
The Second Battle of Polotsk (18–20 October 1812) took place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In this encounter the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein attacked and defeated a Franco-Bavarian force under Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In the aftermath of this success, the Russians took Polotsk and dismantled Napoleon's operations in Belarus. Wittgenstein's victory set the stage for the Battle of Berezina in November, in which three Russian armies converged on Napoleon from separate directions.