228-478: 103,000–135,000 125,000–160,000 The Battle of Borodino ( French : bataille de la Moskova - "Battle of Moscow"; Russian pronunciation: [bərədʲɪˈno] ) took place near the village of Borodino on 7 September [ O.S. 26 August] 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia . The Grande Armée won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army , but failed to gain
456-679: A decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon fought against General Mikhail Kutuzov , whom the Emperor Alexander I of Russia had appointed to replace Barclay de Tolly on 29 August [ O.S. 17 August] 1812 after the Battle of Smolensk . After the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon remained on the battlefield with his army; the Imperial Russian forces retreated in an orderly fashion southwards. Because
684-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
912-469: A Russian surrender that would never come. Kutuzov would proclaim over the course of several days that the Russian Army would fight again before the walls of Moscow. In fact, a site was chosen near Poklonnaya Gora within a few miles of Moscow as a battle site. However, the Russian Army had not received enough reinforcements, and it was too risky to cling to Moscow at all costs. Kutuzov understood that
1140-657: A captain and transferred to the Kiev Cavalry Regiment that year as a second Major, transferring as a full first Major to the Sofiiskii Carabineers on 15 May 1794. He served in the military campaign to suppress the Polish Kościuszko Uprising of 1794. He received successive promotions to Lieutenant-Colonel (26 October 1794), to Colonel (1798) and to Major-General (1799). His merits were recognized by Suvorov , whom he accompanied in
1368-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
1596-410: A distance of 150 paces. The "Manual" demanded that officers demonstrate constant care for their soldiers, to remind them of their duties and their oath, to explain what was required from them during military actions. Special attention was addressed to the maintenance of trust in the virtue of "Russian bayonets", a spirit of boldness, courage and persistence in the fight. "Persistence and courage," declared
1824-580: A distance of 200 km and capture three cities in just eight days and securing the way to the Gulf of Bothnia. His manoeuvre split the Swedish forces in two, a northern and southern group, providing the Russians with the possibility to strike each group one after another. Bagration correctly assessed the situation that the main Swedish force was in the north and intended to turn his division for an attack. But
2052-599: A false armistice claim to position themselves near the Danube at Vienna. When the guards were distracted they rushed over the bridge to secure the town. Kutuzov was in hurry to unite his army with the Russian troops commanded by Buxhoeveden , so he needed a diversion to delay the French advance. Bagration then took command of the Russian army's rearguard to do so. His combined Russo-Austrian force numbered less than 7,500 men facing
2280-553: A feint. Uvarov and Platov thus set off, having just around 8,000 cavalrymen and 12 guns in total, and no infantry support. As Uvarov moved southwest and south and Platov moved west, they eventually arrived in the undefended rear of Viceroy Eugène 's IV Corps. This was towards midday, just as the Viceroy was getting his orders to conduct another assault on the Raevski redoubt. The sudden appearance of masses of enemy cavalry so close to
2508-520: A foe more than five times the size. Bagration took up a position 6 km north of Hollabrunn , on the hill north above the small town of Schöngrabern, and formed a huge line to trick the French into believing the entire Russian army stood before them. In fact, Marshal Murat hesitated to attack and later even agreed to an offer from Bagration to negotiate an armistice, halting the entire French advance without informing Napoleon. This delay gave Kutuzov enough time to save his army. When word reached Napoleon he
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#17327652876872736-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
2964-496: A hasty retreat to the depths of Finland and were pursued relentlessly. Bagration's men had to endure worst weather conditions, severe frost, snowstorms and forest debris. Also, the retreating Swedes were constructing obstacles and destroyed any possible food source as well as roads. Nevertheless, Bagration's division overcame those obstacles and took all objectives, Hämeenlinna on 22 February (6 March), Tampere on 1 March (13) and Pori on 6 (18) March 1808. Bagration managed to advance over
3192-457: A large army in Finland, The Russian Empire took initiative and decided to take action. On the night of 9 (21) September (February 1808) Russian troops crossed the border to Finland and launched an offensive. Bagration's 21st division was forming the Russian centre and moving ahead to quickly seize Hämeenlinna , Tampere and Pori . Under the pressure of the swift advance, the Swedish forces began
3420-440: A large portion of his troops to skirmishes, bad weather condition and diseases, Marshal Davout was reluctant to fight Bagration without Jerome first reinforcing him. The French cavalry was defeated twice by General Platov so that they were kept in the dark. Bagration wasn't better informed with both sides overestimating the other's strength. Davout thought Bagration had some 60,000 men and Bagration thought Davout had 70,000. Bagration
3648-476: A massive cannonade against the Russian center, Davout sent two divisions against the flèches at about 6 am. His force of 25,000 men supported by 102 guns faced 8,000 Russian defenders with 50 guns. While advancing, Davout's divisions were hit hard by massed Russian artillery, which was deployed on the other side of the Kolcha to support Bagration's lines and also by Russian jaeger units that were deployed in front of
3876-431: A mile in front of the town, facing Marshal Soult's IV Corps and Marshal Murat's cavalry. The combined French forces assaulted the plateau, but Bagration's heavily outnumbered troops repulsed them. The general demanded bitter resistance from his men to gain time for Bennigsen's heavy artillery to pass through Eylau and join the main Russian force. During the afternoon the French were reinforced by Marshal Augereau 's corps and
4104-463: A military machine that had dominated Europe by 1799. Each corps of the French army was in fact its own mini-army capable of independent action. Despite being the finest army of its day in 1812, the French military was in decline since the Battle of Austerlitz due to spending military resources in the Peninsular War , and losing the many French veterans in battles such as the Battle of Eylau ,
4332-424: A minute to form either a column closed on all sides, or a battalion in a 'carré'." With the purpose of increasing the enthusiasm of armies, all attacks were to be made with a shout, and during the approach the drums were to be beaten and music to be played. Similar insights are reflected in a number of Bagration's other orders, instructions and letters. In particular, as the characteristic of his tactical perspective,
4560-460: A mound near the village of Shevardino. The Russian generals soon realized that their left wing was too exposed and vulnerable, so the Russian line was moved back from this position, but the Redoubt remained manned, Kutuzov stating that the fortification was manned simply to delay the advance of the French forces. Historian Dmitry Buturlin reports that it was used as an observation point to determine
4788-404: A part of concerted action, without dividing into small bodies. Squadrons must support each other in the attack, not forgetting to provide for reserves and flanks. The cavalry should be located under the chess order. Attacks were to be conducted with troops formed in columns: Commanders of Corps must try to turn all attention to attacking the enemy with bayonets, using columns, and to attack until
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#17327652876875016-652: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
5244-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
5472-436: A safe place away from the fight while trying to conceal what had happened, but Bagration's absence was soon noticed. Rumours of him being killed spread and the morale of his troops began to increasingly waver. Bagration, now unable to control the situation, insisted on not being moved from the field until the battle was decided, hoping for the success of the 2nd Cuirassier Division of General Duka. The Cuirassiers managed to defeat
5700-587: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and
5928-526: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only
6156-941: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as
6384-754: A sergeant in the Kavsansk Rifles of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment. His younger brother Roman joined the Chuguev Cossack regiment as a uryadnik (a Cossack NCO ) at the age of thirteen in 1791. Both would go on to become generals of the Imperial Russian Army . Bagration served for some years in the Russian-Circassian War . He participated in the Siege of Ochakov (1788) . In 1792 he was commissioned as
6612-472: A shortage of engineer officers, were poorly-built. During the battle, he received a mortal wound and later died from gangrene on 24 September, in the village of Simi, where his aunt resided. It is said that, while wounded, Bagration kept giving orders to the troops without knowing that the Russian army was abandoning Moscow . When he finally heard the truth, Bagration was so shocked that he rapidly stood up, totally forgetting about his grave wound. Such an act
6840-405: A third time, Napoleon became furious and now also added Marshal Murat to the operation, launching a fourth assault at 9 am. This time Napoleon's forces were not only able to drive Bagration's forces out of the flèches but also captured Semyenovskoe. By this time however, the 2nd and 5th corps sent earlier by Kutuzov for Bagration's aid finally arrived and Bagration threw all available forces against
7068-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
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7296-579: A very limited number of troops to be provided for such operations. Davydov gave his word that he would take full care and responsibility for the supplies and action of his troops, only dissatisfied about the resources he considered very insufficient, asking Bagration to give him at least 1,000 Cossacks. Bagration, much as he wanted to meet his officer's request and carry out that operation himself, did not want to disobey Kutuzov, and replied: "I would give you 3000 of them to start with, for I do not like to act superficially, but I can not even speak about it; Knyaz (ie
7524-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
7752-779: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French
7980-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
8208-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
8436-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including
8664-462: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share
8892-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
9120-503: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
9348-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
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9576-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
9804-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
10032-402: Is said to have retorted: "I will most definitely not; I do not want to have it blown up. I am certain of winning the battle without its intervention." Determined not to commit this valuable final reserve so far away from France, Napoleon rejected another such request, this time from Marshal Ney . Instead, he called the commander of the " Young Guard ", Marshal Mortier and instructed him to guard
10260-576: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
10488-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
10716-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
10944-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
11172-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
11400-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
11628-462: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as
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#173276528768711856-488: The Bagrationi dynasty , Colonel Prince Ivane Bagrationi , who was the eldest son of Prince Alexander , an illegitimate son of King Jesse of Kartli , which is now central Georgia . He studied Russian and German and was taught Persian, Turkish, Armenian, and Georgian by his father. However, unlike many other Russian aristocrats, he did not know French. Pyotr joined the Imperial Russian Army in 1782, enlisting as
12084-541: The Battle of Aspern , and the Battle of Wagram French forces included 214 battalions of infantry, 317 squadrons of cavalry and 587 artillery pieces totaling 128,000 troops. However, the French Imperial Guard , which consisted of 30 infantry battalions, 27 cavalry squadrons and 109 artillery pieces – a total of 18,500 troops – never committed to action. According to Carl von Clausewitz , although
12312-529: The Battle of Borodino (7 September [ O.S. 26 August] 1812) near Moscow . Bagration commanded the left wing around what became known as the Bagration flèches at Borodino, where he was mortally wounded; he died a couple of weeks later. Originally buried at a local church, in 1839 he was reburied on the battlefield of Borodino. Pyotr was born in 1765 to a prince of the Mukhrani branch of
12540-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
12768-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
12996-559: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
13224-683: The Imperial Russian Army , in which Bagration also enlisted in 1782. Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration began his military career serving in the Russo-Circassian War of 1763–1864 for a couple of years. Afterwards he participated in a war against the Ottomans and the capture of Ochakov in 1788. Later he helped suppress the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 in Poland and capture Warsaw. During Russia's Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799 against
13452-877: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
13680-766: The Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799, winning particular distinction by the capture of the towns of Brescia and Bergamo and having fought well along the Adda River and in the Klön Valley . From 1798 to 1799, he commanded the 6th Chasseurs; from 1801 to 1802, he commanded the Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard; then from 1802 to 1805, he served as GOC Jager Brigade. He was the alleged lover of Emperor Paul 's daughter Catherine . In 1800 Paul recognized
13908-420: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
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#173276528768714136-520: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
14364-413: The embrasures open to the ground, making them easy to enter, and that they were much too wide, exposing infantry inside them. The flèches were supported by artillery from the village of Semyanovskaya, whose elevation dominated the other side of the Kolocha. The battle began at 06:00 with the opening of the 102-gun French grand battery against the Russian center. Davout sent Compans's Division against
14592-409: The "Manual for Infantry Officers on the Day of Battle" may serve as an example. This document was prepared on the basis of the "Manual to Officers of the Narva infantry Regiment," authored by M.S. Vorontsov in 1812. According to military historian P. Simansky, Vorontsov's manual "was strongly influenced by Suvarov's precepts, and was appraised by the most favorite disciple of Suvarov, Prince Bagration; it
14820-423: The "Manual", "have won more battles than all other military talents taken altogether." Dissemination of all rumors of disaster and panic, such as "We are cut off!", were categorically forbidden, under the threat of severe punishments. It was specified in the "Manual" that: "Brave people are never cut off; wherever the enemy goes, turn your breast to follow and defeat him." Thus, in the field of tactics, as well as in
15048-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
15276-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
15504-450: The 2nd Army of the West. A few days before Napoleon's invasion on 24 June, he suggested to Alexander I a pre-emptive strike into the Duchy of Warsaw. Defeated at Mogilev (23 July), Bagration led his forces to join the 1st Army at Smolensk under Barclay de Tolly , to whom he ceded overall command of both armies on 2 August. Bagration led the left wing at the Battle of Borodino (7 September) where he constructed many flèches which, due to
15732-500: The 2nd Russian Army deployed close to Vileyka , Belarus. The French march on Vilnius intended to split Bagration's forces from Barclay de Tolly's, who assumed overall command. Napoleon would then destroy Bagration's 2nd army with a combined hammer and anvil operation conducted by the Marshals Jerome, Davout and Eugene after he falsely assumed they ran into Bagration's army when it were only elements of General Dokturov's cavalry. Confusion, false assumptions and lack of information prevented
15960-689: The 57th forward again. Rapp then led the 61st Line Regiment forward when he was wounded (for the 22nd time in his career). By 07:30, Davout had gained control of the three flèches . Prince Bagration quickly led a counterattack that threw the French out of the positions, only to have Marshal Michel Ney lead a charge by the 24th Regiment that retook them. Although not enamoured of Barclay, Bagration turned to him for aid, ignoring Kutuzov altogether; Barclay, to his credit, responded quickly, sending three guard regiments, eight grenadier battalions and twenty-four 12-pounder cannon at their best pace to bolster Semyаnovskaya. Colonel Toll and Kutuzov moved
16188-456: The 60,000 French soldiers who participated in the operation, about 30,000 were killed or wounded. Russian casualties were also high, but fewer. The battle, however, ended inconclusively, with both sides returning to their initial deployment zones. The battle drained from Napoleon his last fighting capabilities and resources and finally forced him to abandon his plan of forcing Russia into a second Tilsit when he entered an empty Moscow. Bagration
16416-518: The 637 Russian artillery pieces, 300 were held in reserve and many of these were never committed to the battle. According to historian Alexander Mikaberidze, the French army remained the finest army of its day by a good margin. The vast French military resources in manpower, horsepower, and firepower along with fusion of the legacy of the Ancien Régime with the formations of the French revolution and Napoleon's reforms had transformed it into
16644-500: The Battle of Shevardino became a delaying effort to shield the redeployment of the Russian left. The construction of the redoubt and its purpose is disputed by historians to this day. The conflict began on September 5 when Marshal Joachim Murat 's French forces met Konovnitsyn's Russians in a massive cavalry clash, the Russians eventually retreating to the Kolorzkoi Cloister when their flank was threatened. Fighting resumed
16872-574: The British, has been widely criticised by historians as a large blunder, as it allowed the Imperial Russian army to continue its retreat into territory increasingly hostile to the French. Approximately a quarter of a million soldiers were involved in the battle, and it was the bloodiest single day of the Napoleonic Wars . Napoleon himself summed up the battle and its ambiguous outcome, writing, "The French showed themselves worthy of victory and
17100-766: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
17328-917: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
17556-520: The Emperor that everyone thought the time had come for the Guard to be committed to battle. Given the ferocity of the Russian defense, everyone was aware that such a move would cost the lives of thousands of Guardsmen, but it was thought that the presence of this prestigious unit would bolster the morale of the entire army for a final decisive push. A notable exception was Marshal Bessières , commander of
17784-538: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
18012-561: The French forces from mound and village by 08:00, and was mortally wounded while leading this counter-attack. General Jean-Andoche Junot led the Westphalians to join the attack and again captured Utitsa village, which was set on fire by the departing Russians. After the village's capture, Russians and Poles continued to skirmish and cannonade for the rest of the day without much progress. The heavy undergrowth greatly hindered Poniatowski's efforts but eventually he came near to cutting off
18240-469: The French forces, made errors similar to those of his Russian adversary, deploying his forces inefficiently and failing to exploit the weaknesses in the Russian line. Despite Marshal Davout's suggestion of a maneuver to outflank the weak Russian left, the Emperor instead ordered Davout's First Corps to move directly forward into the teeth of the defense, while the flanking maneuver was left to the weak Fifth Corps of Prince Poniatowski. The initial French attack
18468-411: The French from having a clear picture of the situation. On the other side it was not much better. Conflicting orders and lack of information had almost placed Bagration in a blind march straight into Davout's forces. Mud tracks, supply problems, weather and command dispute among the French gave Bagration enough time to join with Docturov and assume command over a 45.000 men strong force. Having already lost
18696-473: The French were struck on their flank and thrown back for the second time. Napoleon already held Bagration in high esteem, calling him the best the Russians could possibly throw against him, but was surprised by the stiff resistance he offered. While Napoleon reinforced Davout with Marshal Ney and officer Junot for a third attack, Bagration repositioned his troops and deployed his reserves, the 2nd Grenadier and 2nd Cuirassier divisions. The 3rd Infantry Division
18924-494: The French, Bagration's army had no terrain advantage at all and his request to change to a more advantageous position was denied by Kutuzov. So he decided to create one himself by ordering his sappers to construct four big Redans , also known as the Bagration flèches , four arrow-head shaped, open-backed earthworks which arced out to the left en echelon in front of the Kolocha stream. When the battle started on 7 September 1812 with
19152-523: The French, he served with distinction under Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov . In 1805 Russia joined the coalition against Napoleon . After the collapse of the Austrians at Ulm in October 1805, Bagration won praise for his successful defense in the Battle of Schöngrabern (November 1805) that allowed Russian forces to withdraw and unite with the main Russian army of Mikhail Kutuzov . In December 1805
19380-429: The French, repulsing them completely from all occupied positions and inflicting heavy losses. After that, three more French attacks were repelled in a row, General Tuchkov being killed in the fifth assault. Despite the mounting casualties, Napoleon continued to assault Bagration's position. His troops were hit not only by musket fire but also canister shot from artillery at close range. Heaps of corpses and wounded prevented
19608-484: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
19836-504: The Guard Reserve units forward as early as 09:00 hours. During the confused fighting, French and Russian units moved forward into impenetrable smoke and were smashed by artillery and musketry fire that was horrendous even by Napoleonic standards. Infantry and cavalrymen had difficulty maneuvering over the heaps of corpses and masses of wounded. Murat advanced with his cavalry around the flèches to attack Bagration's infantry, but
20064-462: The Guard cavalry, who was one of the very few senior generals to strongly advise against the intervention of the Guard. As the general staff were discussing the matter, General Rapp , a senior aide-de-camp to the Emperor, was being brought from the field of battle, having been wounded in action. Rapp immediately recommended to the Emperor that the Guard be deployed for action at which the Emperor
20292-467: The Imperial Guard, making up about 45,000 soldiers in all. Under pressure from greatly superior numbers, Bagration finally conducted an orderly retreat to join the main Russian army. Russian forces under General Barclay de Tolly covered the retreat. Despite a clear numerical advantage, the French were not able to achieve a greater victory than eventually driving Bagration's small force off the plateau. Bagration's delaying action and skilful withdrawal enabled
20520-518: The Imperial Russian army had weakened the Grande Armée , they allowed the French occupation of Moscow , using scorched earth tactics on their own population to trap Napoleon and his men with their own largest city. The failure of the Grande Armée to completely destroy the Imperial Russian army, and in particular Napoleon's reluctance to deploy his Imperial Guard due to Napoleon's wishes to negotiate with Alexander to make him join against
20748-583: The Prince) has defined the composition of the group himself; it is necessary to obey." Afterwards Bagration wrote the following instruction to Davydov: To Vice-Colonel of Akhtyrka Hussar Regiment Davydov. After reception of this, take hundred fifty Cossacks from Major-General Karpov and fifty Hussars of the Akhtyrka Hussar Regiment. I order you to take all measures to disturb the enemy and to endeavor to deprive him of supplies, not only on
20976-579: The Raevsky redoubt. Broussier and Morand's divisions then advanced together with furious artillery support. The redoubt changed hands as Barclay was forced to personally rally Paskevitch's routed regiment. Kutuzov ordered Yermolov to take action; the general brought forward three horse artillery batteries that began to blast the open-ended redoubt, while the 3rd Battalion of the Ufa Regiment and two Jäger regiments brought up by Barclay rushed in with
21204-500: The Russian Guard to hold the line and so it did. All of the artillery that the French army had was not enough to move it. Those compact squares made good artillery targets and the Russian Guard stood in place from 4 pm to 6 pm unmoving under its fire, resulting in huge casualties. All he could see were masses of troops in the distance and thus nothing more was attempted. Neither the attack, which relied on brute force, nor
21432-404: The Russian army still intact, lead its recovery, and force the weakened French forces to move even further from their bases of supply. The dénouement became a textbook example of what a hold logistics placed upon an army far from its center of supply. On September 8, the Russian army moved away from the battlefield in twin columns, allowing Napoleon to occupy Moscow and await for five weeks
21660-401: The Russian army strategic objects and tactical manoeuvers, always going for the quick confrontation, where speed and accuracy were most important, to deny the enemy any chance to react, respond or even organize. This led to much tension and rivalry between him and general Barclay de Tolly, who was given overall command and relied mostly on the search for adequate positions to entrench and wait for
21888-466: The Russian army to escape destruction and consolidate for a decisive battle. In 1946, Soviet authorities renamed the town of Preußisch Eylau Bagrationovsk in honour of Pyotr Bagration and of his remarkable skills as a tactician. During the Finnish War from 1808 to 1809 Bagration commanded the 21st division of the Russian forces under Buxhoeveden. Not wanting to wait until Sweden had concentrated
22116-416: The Russian forces and carried out a successful surprise attack on the French left-wing against Marshal Ney and further against Marshal Bernadotte . Bernadotte managed to evade destruction by winning the Battle of Mohrungen (25 January 1807) and by retreating. Napoleon saw an opportunity to envelop Bennigsen's unprotected left-wing by instructing Bernadotte to keep retreating and allowing his army to cut off
22344-545: The Russian formation into disarray. Since the left flank of their defensive position had collapsed, Russian forces withdrew to the east, constructing a makeshift position centered around the village of Utitsa. The left flank of the Russian position was thus ripe for a flanking attack. A series of reforms to the Russian army had begun in 1802, creating regiments of three battalions, each battalion having four companies. The defeats of Austerlitz , Eylau and Friedland led to important additional reforms, though continuous fighting in
22572-467: The Russian left from the rest of the Russian forces. General Barclay sent help in the form of Karl Gustav von Baggovut with Konovnitsyn in support. Baggovut took command of the Russian left flank in place of the wounded Tuchkov. Any hope of real progress by the Poles was lost. Towards 15:00, after hours of resistance, the Russian army was in dire straits, but the French forces were exhausted and had neither
22800-494: The Russian left was on marginally higher ground, this was but a superficial matter and did not provide much of a defensive advantage. The positioning of the Russian right was such that for the French the left seemed an obvious choice. The Russian position at Borodino consisted of a series of disconnected earthworks running in an arc from the Moskva River on the right, along its tributary, the Kolocha (whose steep banks added to
23028-521: The Russian people never wanted to abandon Moscow, the city which was regarded as Russia's "second capital" (after Saint Petersburg , where Tsar and the Russian government resided); however he also believed that the Russian Army did not have enough forces to protect that city. Kutuzov called for a council of war in the afternoon of 13 September at Fili village. In a heated debate that split the council five to four in favour of giving battle, Kutuzov, after listening to each General, endorsed retreat. Thus passed
23256-416: The Russian side. Unfortunately for the French, conflicting orders and a breakdown in communication had already led Bagration to disobey orders and instead of marching west, he occupied Smolensk to the south. By 16 August, French forces found the city heavily garrisoned by Bagration's troops. He got further reinforced with the arrival of de Tolly's army. Napoleon, however, assumed the Russians would fight outside
23484-432: The Russians from their own retreat. By a stroke of luck, a group of Cossacks intercepted a French messenger carrying Napoleon's orders to Bernadotte and quickly reported to General Bagration. Bagration then informed Bennigsen, who immediately halted his offensive and retreated. The French pursued, and after several engagements finally confronted the entire Russian army at Eylau on 7 February 1807. Bagration occupied high ground
23712-543: The Russians of being invincible." Napoleon with the French Grande Armée began his invasion of Russia on 24 June 1812 by crossing the Niemen . As his Russian army was outnumbered by far, Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly successfully used a "delaying operation", defined as an operation in which a force under pressure trades space for time by slowing down the enemy's momentum and inflicting maximum damage on
23940-468: The Russians. On the morning of the battle at around 07:30, Don Cossack patrols from Matvei Platov 's pulk had discovered a ford across the Kolocha river, on the extreme Russian right (northern) flank. Seeing that the ground in front of them was clear of enemy forces, Platov saw an opportunity to go around the French left flank and into the enemy's rear. He at once sent one of his aides to ask for permission from Kutuzov for such an operation. Platov's aide
24168-521: The Swedes to their own shores. Kulnev managed to take the Swedish town of Grisslehamn , which was just 70 km away from Stockholm. This unexpected turn of events brought shock and confusion to the Swedish leadership and population, who were surprised to hear of Russian troops on Swedish soil. Stockholm was fortified and an army quickly put together and sent to intercept an enemy that was not actually there. The plan worked beyond Bagration's expectations as
24396-534: The Tsar, the Russian troops and Russia could not accept further retreat. A battle had to occur in order to preserve the morale of the soldiers and the nation. He then ordered not another retreat eastwards but a search for a battleground eastwards to Gzhatsk on 30 August, thus using Barclay's delaying operation again, by which time the ratio of French to Russian forces had shrunk from 3:1 to 5:4. The main part of Napoleon's army had entered Russia with 286,000 men, but by
24624-565: The action was perceived as a failure by both Kutuzov and the Russian General Staff (chief –9 Bennigsen ). As it turned out, the action had the utmost importance in the outcome of the battle, as it delayed the attack of the IV Corps on the Raevski redoubt for a critical two hours. During these two hours, the Russians were able to reassess the situation, realize the terrible state of Bagration 's 2nd Army and send reinforcements to
24852-543: The advance guard of the Prince Liechtenstein 's column and defended the allied right against Lannes while the left attacked Napoleon's deliberately undefended right flank. He was promoted to Lieutenant-General in 1805, and in 1807 fought bravely and obstinately at the battles of Eylau (7 February), Heilsberg (11 June), and Friedland (14 June). He was successful as commander of both Russia's Finnish Campaign in 1808 and Turkish Campaign in 1809. In
25080-595: The area and unite with the rest of the Coalition army at Brunn on 18 November 1805. His actions prevented the Russian army from being cut off and destroyed. Just two weeks later, on 2 December 1805, the opposing armies would meet at Austerlitz . This time Bagration assumed command over the Coalition army's 13,000 men strong right-wing, opposing Lannes' equally strong French left-wing. When the coalition army started to rout, Bagration too ordered his men to retreat after not achieving any progress against Marshal Lannes, who had
25308-582: The area of Finland completely cleared of them. Despite those setbacks, the Kingdom of Sweden was not ready to give up the fight. In 1809, the Russian command had decided to take the war to the territory of Sweden to finally crush her army. The Russian army was divided into three operational groups commanded by Bagration, Barclay de Tolly and Pavel Shuvalov [ ru ] . Bagration's 17,000-strong corps consisted of 30 infantry battalions, four cavalry squadrons, 600 Cossacks and 20 guns. The main assault
25536-469: The assault against the redoubt, as Broussier's, Morand's and Gérard 's divisions launched a massive frontal attack, with Chastel 's light cavalry division on their left and the II ;Reserve Cavalry Corps on their right. The Russians sent Likhachov's 24th Division into the battle, who fought bravely under Likhachov's motto: "Brothers, behind us is Moscow !" But the French troops approached too close for
25764-416: The attack along the entire line. Davout then mounted a counter assault which threw the 7th corps back, although Raevsky was able to fend them off repeatedly until Bagration decided to order a general retreat when his army got also struck by other French forces at the flanks and rear. In order to avoid complete envelopement he quickly withdrew to Smolensk. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but Bagration misjudged
25992-514: The attackers boldly in what led to a long and brutal melee, probably the bloodiest scene during the entire battle, described by the historian Buturlin as follows: An awful combat took place in which, on both sides, miracles of almost supernatural bravery were displayed. The infantry, cavalrymen, and gunners of both sides, having got mixed up together, presented an awful spectacle of the great bulk of soldiers struggling in private, furious despair. Bagration ordered his entire force to counterattack, but
26220-416: The attackers, the Russian garrison was able to hold its positions. However, the widespread fire forced Bagration and de Tolly to abandon burning Smolensk on 18 August 1812. The battle ended inconclusively, with the Russian armies retreating and Napoleon conquering but as quickly leaving what was left of the city as it was of no use anymore. From the very beginning of the invasion, Bagration had understood that
26448-499: The author of the first real tactical instructions for such activities and one of the founders of the Russian guerrilla movement against Napoleon. Fearing that Napoleon might take the Smolensk Road to Moscow, Kutuzov ordered Bagration and his 2nd Army to the left while Barclay de Tolly was guarding the right with the 1st Army. Other than the 1st Army, which was deployed on positions which were strong and virtually unassailable by
26676-558: The banks of the Kolocha stream. Kutuzov was very concerned that the French might take the New Smolensk Road around his positions and on to Moscow so placed the more powerful 1st Army under Barclay on the right, in positions which were already strong and virtually unassailable by the French. The 2nd Army under Bagration was expected to hold the left. The fall of Shevardino unanchored the Russian left flank but Kutuzov did nothing to change these initial dispositions despite
26904-443: The battle included 180 infantry battalions, 164 cavalry squadrons, 20 Cossack regiments and 55 artillery batteries (637 artillery pieces). In total, the Russians fielded 155,200 troops. There were 10,000 Cossacks as well as 33,000 Russian militiamen in the area who did not participate in the battle. After the battle the militia units were broken up to provide reinforcements to depleted regular infantry battalions. Of
27132-546: The bayonet to eliminate Bonami's Brigade. The Russian reinforcements' assault returned the redoubt to Russian control. Eugène's artillery continued to pound Russian support columns, while Marshals Ney and Davout set up a crossfire with artillery positioned on the Semyonovskaya heights. Barclay countered by moving the Prussian General Eugen over to the right to support Miloradovich in his defense of
27360-806: The brutal Battle of Eylau which took place in East Prussia on 7 and 8 February 1807 during the War of the Fourth Coalition . After destroying the Prussian army at Jena-Auerstedt (October 1806), Napoleon was pursuing Russian forces under Marshal Kamensky . In a series of inconclusive clashes, the French did not reach their ultimate goal of destroying the enemy, while the Russians successfully continued retreating. However, on 7 January 1807 General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen assumed overall command of
27588-440: The campaign, told him that the Russian line had been breached, that the road to Mozhaysk , behind the Russian line, was visible through the gaping hole the French attack had pierced, that an enormous crowd of runaways and vehicles were hastily retreating, and that a final push would be enough to decide the fate of the Russian army and of the war. Generals Daru , Dumas and Marshal Louis Alexandre Berthier also joined in and told
27816-436: The cannons to fire, and the cannoneers fought a pitched close-order defence against the attackers. General Caulaincourt ordered Watier 's cuirassier division to lead the assault. Barclay saw Eugène's preparations for the assault and attempted to counter it, moving his forces against it. The French artillery, however, began bombarding the assembling force even as it gathered. Caulaincourt led Watier's cuirassiers in an assault on
28044-405: The cavalry and infantry from manoeuvring properly on the battlefield. Napoleon considered sending his elite Imperial Guard to bolster the morale of his troops but hesitated, not willing to risk it being torn apart as well. At noon, the French launched their eighth assault, with around 45,000 men supported by 400 guns against the defending 18,000 Russians and their 300 guns. Bagration decided to meet
28272-473: The city to avoid the destruction of historical monuments, which did not happen. The fight for Smolensk started on 16 August 1812 with Napoleon's forces of three corps capturing parts of the town's suburbs but being repelled soon after. Continuous artillery shelling set the town, which consisted of mostly wooden buildings, ablaze, but the French didn't manage to get past the suburbs and to the walls as they lacked ladders and other equipment. Inflicting heavy losses on
28500-499: The combined Russo-Austrian army suffered defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz , where Bagration commanded the allied right wing against the French under Jean Lannes . Later he commanded Russian troops in the Finnish War (1808–1809) against Sweden and in another war against the Turks (1806–1812) on the Danube. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Bagration commanded one of two large Russian armies ( Barclay de Tolly commanded
28728-471: The commander in chief Buxhoveden foiled that plan by miscalculating the situation and assaulting the southern Swedish group, which had itself fortified in numerous fortifications, with his superior force, including the 21st division of Bagration. This allowed the main Swedish force to retreat unharmed to Oulu . Despite that Bagration, himself still achieved success by capturing the strategically important Turku province. In September 1808 Bagration became ill and
28956-403: The commander was found a half-hour away on the road to Moscow, encamped with an entourage of young nobles and grandly pronouncing he would drive Napoleon off the next day. Despite his bluster, Kutuzov knew from dispatches that his army had been too badly hurt to fight a continuing action the following day. He knew exactly what he was doing: by fighting the pitched battle, he could now retreat with
29184-716: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Pyotr Bagration Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (10 July 1765 – 24 September 1812) was a Russian general and prince of Georgian origin, prominent during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars . Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty , was born in Kizlyar . His father, Ivan (Ivane) , served as an officer in
29412-471: The course of the French advance. Historians Witner and Ratch, and many others, reported it was used as a fortification to threaten the French right flank, despite being beyond the effective reach of guns of the period. The Chief of Staff of the Russian 1st Army , Aleksey Yermolov , related in his memoirs that the Russian left was shifting position when the French Army arrived sooner than expected; thus,
29640-500: The course of three wars with France, two with Sweden and two with the Ottoman Empire had not allowed time for these to be fully implemented and absorbed. A divisional system was introduced in 1806, and corps were established in 1812. Prussian influence may be seen in the organizational setup. By the time of Borodino the Russian army had changed greatly from the force which met the French in 1805–1807. Russian forces present at
29868-529: The defense), and towards the village of Utitsa on the left. Thick woods interspersed along the Russian left and center (on the French side of the Kolocha) made the deployment and control of French forces difficult, aiding the defenders. The Russian center was defended by the Raevsky Redoubt, a massive open-backed earthwork mounting nineteen 12-pounder cannons which had a clear field of fire all the way to
30096-519: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
30324-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
30552-594: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
30780-467: The enemy retreats. The horse artillery should operate energetically, as should cavalry, but harmoniously and without the slightest confusion. It is especially necessary when the enemy has strong reserves and may frustrate our attacking forces; for that we must try to have our forces in columns and in readiness, and as soon as everyone is driven into flight, then the Cossacks must prick and harass them, with
31008-456: The enemy without, in principle, becoming decisively engaged, using a Fabian strategy as a defence in depth by retreating further eastwards into Russia without giving battle. After the Battle of Smolensk , the Tsar replaced the unpopular Barclay de Tolly with Kutuzov, who on 18 August took over the army at Tsaryovo-Zaymishche and ordered his men to prepare for battle. Kutuzov understood that Barclay's decision to retreat had been correct, but
31236-418: The enemy. Bagration's applied doctrines were ahead of time solid concepts for both offensive and defensive warfare, as even his retreats were conducted in equally good and impressive fashion, given the sometimes impossible odds he was facing. Bagration's strategic views defined also his insights about the character of tactical military action. It is possible to discern these insights, for example, by considering
31464-496: The famous order to the forces of the 2nd Western Army, dated 25 June 1812. In the order, written by Bagration with his own hand, instructions were given concerning actions to be taken against the French armies if they invaded Russian territory. He wrote: For us, it is necessary to attack them bravely, quickly, not to become engaged in shooting matches; artillery must fire precisely, irregular armies must try to surround their flanks and rear.... The regular cavalry attacks quickly, but as
31692-412: The field (Davout, Ney and Murat) from comprehending that all the Russians before them had fallen back, were in confusion, and ripe for the taking. The 2nd Army's command structure fell apart as Bagration was removed from the battlefield and the report of his being hit quickly spread and caused morale to collapse. Napoleon, who had been sick with a cold and was too far from the action to really observe what
31920-439: The field of battle without moving forward or backward, while at the same time unleashing a massive cannonade with his 400 guns. Napoleon went forward to see the situation from the former Russian front lines shortly after the redoubts had been taken. The Russians had moved to the next ridge-line in much disarray; however, that disarray was not clear to the French, with dust and haze obscuring the Russian dispositions. Kutuzov ordered
32148-519: The field of strategy, Bagration acted as an innovator, a convinced supporter of decisive offensive action. He doggedly introduced advanced tactics; he dispensed with obsolete positional tactics and applied tactics of columns in a combination with separate lines. Paying great attention to the value of offensive combat, Bagration at the same time did not reject the opportunity to conduct defensive operations. He creatively approached planning for his assigned tasks, applying such forms of combat as provided exactly
32376-408: The field to observe Duka's decisive cavalry attack. This counter-punch drove Murat to seek the cover of allied Württemberger infantry. Barclay's reinforcements, however, were sent into the fray only to be torn to pieces by French artillery, leaving Friant 's Division in control of the Russian forward position at 11:30. Dust, smoke, confusion and exhaustion all combined to keep the French commanders on
32604-516: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
32832-437: The flank of a counter-attacking enemy. Attacks by enemy cavalry acting in separate lines were to be met by fire, having permitted the enemy to advance to within 150 paces; after that it would be necessary to divide into small groups of ten and to repulse the enemy by fire and bayonets until the approach of reinforcements. Upon approaching, reinforcements were to be redeployed from a column into square, firing on enemy cavalry from
33060-419: The flanks, but in the middle and in the rear, to upset transport and parks, to break ferries and to take away all remedies. In a word, I am sure that, having made to you such an important allowance, you will prove your quickness and diligence and that will justify my choice. You can send official reports to me at every convenient chance you have. Nobody should know about your movements; try to keep them shrouded in
33288-400: The forces of Marshal Ney but the news of Bagration being hit quickly spread and brought confusion and morale collapse within the 2nd Army. Its management broke down so that the Russian forces were starting to abandon their positions in the chaos and to retreat from the overwhelming French assault. The Bagration flèches were abandoned and left to the French, but it had cost them a huge price. From
33516-577: The forest against Jaeger opposition so had to reverse to Yelnya and then move eastward. Tuchkov had deployed his 1st Grenadier Division in line backing it with the 3rd division in battalion columns. Some four regiments were called away to help defend the redoubts that were under attack and another two Jäger regiments were deployed in the Utitsa woods, weakening the position. The Polish contingent contested control of Utitsa village and Utitsa mound , capturing them with their first attempt. Tuchkov later ejected
33744-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
33972-446: The former, he captured the Åland Islands by a daring march across the frozen Gulf of Finland . His rapid transfer to the distant Moldavian front against the Ottoman Empire has been seen as a reprimand for an alleged affair with the tsarevna Catherine , who was married off shortly thereafter. While there, he led the Russian army at Rassowa and Tataritza and was promoted to full General of Infantry. In 1812, Bagration commanded
34200-416: The fortifications. The French troops suffered heavy casualties before they could reach their objective and the undertaking was about to fall apart when Davout saw his troops retreating and rushed forward to personally lead the charge. With the second attempt he managed to take the southernmost flèche at 7 am. But in response Bagration ordered Raevsky and his 7th Corps once more to confront Davout, only this time
34428-498: The front line. Meanwhile, the retreat of Viceroy Eugène's Corps had left Montbrun 's II French Cavalry Corps to fill the gap under the most murderous fire, which used up and demoralized these cavalrymen, greatly reducing their combat effectiveness. The delay contradicted a military principle the Emperor had stated many times: "Ground I may recover, time never". The Cossack raid contributed to Napoleon's later decision not to commit his Imperial Guard to battle. At 14:00, Napoleon renewed
34656-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
34884-417: The general was able to successfully resist the repeated attacks of forces five times his own numbers under Murat and Lannes at Schöngrabern (16 November) near Hollabrunn . Though Bagration lost half of the men under his command, their stand protected the retreat of the main army under Kutuzov to Olmütz . When Kutuzov was overruled and forced into battle at Austerlitz (2 December), Bagration commanded
35112-425: The height of the battle, Kutuzov's subordinates were making all of the tactical decisions for him; according to Colonel Carl von Clausewitz, famous for his work On War , the Russian commander "seemed to be in a trance". With the death of General Kutaisov, Chief of Artillery, most of the Russian cannon sat useless on the heights to the rear and were never ordered into battle, while the French artillery wreaked havoc on
35340-418: The invasion was not an ordinary one, but rather a nationwide war. Local citizenry displayed great bravery where they could against small French units, particularly around Smolensk but also in other parts of Russia. Sporadic attacks from small diversionary groups of lightly-armed peasants had already caught Bagration's attention earlier and he was fascinated by their determination and effectiveness. From then on he
35568-471: The issue. Indeed, Clausewitz also complained about Toll's dispositions being so narrow and deep that needless losses were incurred from artillery fire. The Russian position therefore was just about 8 kilometres (5 mi) long with about 80,000 of the 1st Army on the right and 34,000 of the 2nd Army on the left. The first area of operations was on the Bagration flèches , as had been predicted by both Barclay de Tolly and Bagration. Napoleon, in command of
35796-454: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
36024-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
36252-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
36480-523: The last chance of battle before Moscow was taken. It is not unusual for a pivotal battle of this era to be difficult to document. Similar difficulties exist with the Battle of Waterloo or battles of the War of 1812 in North America, while the Battle of Borodino offers its own particular challenges to accuracy. It has been repeatedly subjected to overtly political uses. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
36708-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
36936-407: The line with earthworks, including the Raevski redoubt (named after Nikolay Raevsky ) in the center-right of the line and three open, arrow-shaped " Bagration flèches " (named after Pyotr Bagration ) on the left. The initial Russian position, which stretched south of the new Smolensk Highway (Napoleon's expected route of advance), was anchored on its left by a pentagonal earthwork redoubt erected on
37164-475: The most impenetrable secrecy. As to the foodstuffs of your command, you should take responsibility upon yourself... Bagration then also wrote letters to General Vassilichikov and General Karpov regarding the allocations and general information about the best Cossack and Hussar units available. On the request of Davydov he provided the vice colonel a copy of his map of the Smolensk province and when parting wished
37392-530: The necessary stamina nor will to carry out another assault. Both armies were exhausted after the battle and the Russians withdrew from the field the following day. Borodino represented the last Russian effort at stopping the French advance on Moscow, which fell a week later. At this crucial juncture, Murat's chief of staff , General Augustin Daniel Belliard rode straight to the Emperor's Headquarters and, according to General Ségur who wrote an account of
37620-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
37848-532: The next day but Konovnitsyn again retreated when Viceroy Eugène de Beauharnais ' Fourth Corps arrived, threatening his flank. The Russians withdrew to the Shevardino Redoubt, where a pitched battle ensued. Murat led Nansouty 's First Cavalry Corps and Montbrun 's Second Cavalry Corps, supported by Compans 's Division of Louis-Nicolas Davout 's First Infantry Corps against the redoubt. Simultaneously, Prince Józef Poniatowski 's Polish infantry attacked
38076-452: The next day. The offensive against the Åland was carried out in five attack columns: four engaged in a frontal assault while the fifth bypassed Åland from the south. The Swedish troops did not put up much resistance, preferring to retreat to the major Åland island, from where they intended to stop Bagration's advance. To do so, the Swedish commander-general Carl von Döbeln proposed negotiations for an armistice. Bagration refused, convinced that
38304-589: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;
38532-418: The opening at the back of the redoubt; he was killed as the charge was beaten off by fierce Russian musketry. General Thielmann then led eight Saxon and two Polish cavalry squadrons against the back of the redoubt, while officers and sergeants of his command actually forced their horses through the redoubt's embrasures, sowing confusion amongst the defenders and allowing the French cavalry and infantry to take
38760-414: The operation. On 14 (26) September a Swedish vanguard of 5,000 men was landing on Turku. Bagration was carefully monitoring the enemy's activities and allowed the Swedish troops to set foot on shore before he commenced a full assault which destroyed the entire enemy force, leaving only a few who could escape with boats. By the end of 1808, suffering heavy casualties, the Swedish troops were in full retreat and
38988-410: The opposing side marshal Davout 's corps consisting of five divisions with a total strength of 28,000 men had formed defensive lines around Saltanovka. Davout waited for the approaching Russians and set them under massive musket volleys and artillery fire. Raevsky continued the advance personally leading his men in the assault. Despite great determination of the Russian troops, the French managed to repel
39216-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
39444-405: The other) fighting a series of rear-guard actions. The Russians failed to stop the French advance at the Battle of Smolensk in August 1812. Barclay had proposed a scorched-earth retreat that the Emperor Alexander I of Russia had approved, although Bagration preferred to confront the French in a major battle. Mikhail Kutuzov succeeded Barclay as Commander-in-Chief but continued his policy until
39672-483: The position from the south. Fighting was heavy and very fierce, as the Russians refused to retreat until Kutuzov personally ordered them to do so. The French captured the redoubt, at a cost of 4,000–5,000 French and 6,000 Russian casualties. The small redoubt was destroyed and covered by the dead and dying of both sides. The unexpected French advance from the west and the fall of the Shevardino redoubt threw
39900-487: The position. The battle had all but ended, with both sides so exhausted that only the artillery was still at work. At 15:30, the Raevsky redoubt fell with most of the 24th Division's troops. General Likhachov was captured by the French. However, the French attempts to break through further were thwarted by the Russian Guard Cavalry , which charged and repelled the French assault. The third area of operations
40128-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
40356-461: The psychological impact of Kulnev's incursion into Sweden was decisive for the course of the entire war. Simultaneously the other Russian corps also reached their goals so that the Swedish side found itself forced into peace talks after losing all its claims in Finland. Bagration was highly praised for his conduct of the campaign and was promoted to full general of infantry. During the early stage of Napoleon's incursion into Russia, Bagration commanded
40584-459: The question of action in separate lines and in columns and about conducting aimed fire. The necessity of maintenance by skirmishers of a close communication with their columns was specified; movement forward was to be determined only by an order of the chief of division or battalion. If it was necessary to operate on separate lines in forests, it was suggested to hold a reserve behind one of the flanks in order to have an opportunity to suddenly envelope
40812-691: The redoubt. The French responded to this move by sending forward General Sorbier , commander of the Imperial Guard artillery. Sorbier brought forth 36 artillery pieces from the Imperial Guard Artillery Park and also took command of 49 horse artillery pieces from Nansouty 's Ist Cavalry Corps and La Tour Maubourg 's IV Cavalry Corps, as well as of Viceroy Eugène's own artillery, opening up a massive artillery barrage. When Barclay brought up troops against an attacking French brigade, he described it as "a walk into Hell ". During
41040-452: The refusal to use the Guard to finish the day's work, showed any brilliance on Napoleon's part. Carl von Clausewitz , the Prussian historian and future author of On War , and Alexander I of Russia both noted that the poor positioning of the Russian troops had particularly hobbled the defense. Barclay communicated with Kutuzov in order to receive further instructions. According to Ludwig von Wolzogen (in an account dripping with sarcasm),
41268-412: The regular forces in close and harmonious support. Bagration recommended deployment of the forces in a battle array that was not too closely packed, but sufficiently so to permit soldiers to feel each other's presence with their elbows. In case of counter-attacks by enemy cavalry, Bagration advised the use of battalion masses and squares, or "carrés". "When the enemy cavalry attacks infantry, it takes only
41496-476: The repeated pleas of his generals to redeploy their forces. Thus, when the action began and became a defensive rather than an offensive battle for the Russians, their heavy preponderance in artillery was wasted on a right wing that would never be attacked, while the French artillery did much to help win the battle. Colonel Karl Wilhelm von Toll and others would make attempts to cover up their mistakes in this deployment and later attempts by historians would compound
41724-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
41952-413: The right answers to particular circumstances. His practical legacy offers experience rich in the conduct of offensive battles as well as the development and practice of waging both advance and rear guard fights. Bagration was the unsurpassed master of organization of these extremely complex kinds of action. It was not by chance that, at the most crucial moments of the wars of 1799–1807, it was Bagration who
42180-595: The situation, believing he fought Napoleon's main army when it was only Davout's forces and some reinforcement. This highlighted the poor communication between the Russian armies. However at the same time Bagration's decision to withdraw thwarted Napoleon's plan to destroy the Second Western Army and he was eventually forced to fight a unified Russian force at Smolensk , which is what happened because Bagration fearing another attack, retreated to Smolensk and waited for Barclay to reinforce him. On 14 August 1812,
42408-468: The sole purpose of von Döbeln's offer was to delay his movements. After completing negotiations, he ordered his troops to advance at an even faster pace. Fearing an encirclement, General von Döbeln abandoned Åland. Pursued by Bagration's troops, the retreat quickly turned into a devastating rout, leaving ammunition, weapons and equipment behind. To intimidate the Swedes, Bagration ordered a 400-man cavalry detachment under Major General Yakov Kulnev to pursue
42636-456: The southern part of the west coast of Finland. A 2,500 men strong advance guard arrived in Åland and from there departed for the Turku coast. Bagration made a timely response and quickly threw the Swedes back to the sea. The Swedish leadership decided to take Turku at all cost to be able to create a bridgehead for reinforcements. King Gustav IV arrived at the Åland Islands to personally supervise
42864-615: The southernmost of the flèches , with Dessaix 's Division echeloned out to the left. They were opposed by Vorontsov 's and Neverovsky 's divisions. When Compans exited the woods on the far bank of the Kolocha, he was hit by massed Russian cannon fire; both Compans and Dessaix were wounded, but the French continued their assault. Davout, seeing the confusion, personally led the 57th Line Regiment ( Le Terrible ) forward until he had his horse shot from under him; he fell so hard that General Sorbier reported him as dead. General Rapp arrived to replace him, only to find Davout alive and leading
43092-494: The supply train and the Emperor's headquarters caused panic and consternation, prompting Eugène to immediately cancel his attack and pull back his entire Corps westwards to deal with the alarming situation. Meanwhile, the two Russian cavalry commanders tried to break what French infantry they could find in the vicinity. Having no infantry of their own, the poorly coordinated Russian attacks came to nothing. Unable to achieve much else, Platov and Uvarov moved back to their own lines and
43320-409: The support of elements of Marshal Murat's forces, even though his men fought bravely and fiercely. The battle was lost at that point. While Bagration saw no other option but to commence a strategic withdrawal, Marshal Murat refused Lannes' suggestion to further pursue him so that his corps wouldn't suffer further losses. General Bagration demonstrated his skills as military commander particularly during
43548-463: The third offensive with a massive artillery bombardment, followed by a simultaneous infantry and cavalry assault. At first the French managed to occupy the right and far left flèche but were again driven out by Bagration's troops. Marshal Poniatowski , who had the task of enveloping the Russians and striking Bagration's rear with his cavalry corps, was also defeated by Tuchkov's 3rd Infantry Corps. The defenders restored their positions at 9 am. Failing for
43776-472: The three Marshals Murat, Davout and Ney crossed the Dnieper River on quickly constructed pontoon bridges. The plan was to race toward the city of Smolensk, taking it without a fight. Napoleon saw Smolensk as a vital supply and replenishment base from where he would march to the north to attack the rear of the Russian main forces under Barclay de Tolly. The town had also symbolic, religious importance for
44004-489: The time of the battle was reduced mostly through starvation and disease. Kutuzov's army established a defensive line near the village of Borodino . Although the Borodino field was too open and had too few natural obstacles to protect the Russian center and the left flank, it was chosen because it blocked both Smolensk–Moscow roads and because there were simply no better locations. Starting on 3 September, Kutuzov strengthened
44232-787: The title of "Prince ( Knyaz ) Bagration" for Pyotr in Russia, and unexpectedly married him off to Countess Catherine Pavlovna Skavronskaya , the favourite niece of Grigory Potemkin and one of the Empress Maria 's ladies-in-waiting. Bagration and Catherine had been casually involved, but the marriage was a failure. The young and lovely Catherine soon preferred travelling and, in 1805, fled to Vienna , where her salon and running affair with Prince Clemens von Metternich —who called her "the Naked Angel"—permitted her to serve as an important agent of Russian intelligence and diplomacy. Bagration
44460-414: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
44688-619: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
44916-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
45144-425: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
45372-408: The village. General Delzons was posted to Borodino to prevent the Russians retaking it. Morand 's division then crossed to the north side of the Semyenovka stream, while the remainder of Eugène's forces traversed three bridges across the Kolocha to the south, placing them on the same side of the stream as the Russians. He then deployed most of his artillery and began to push the Russians back toward
45600-481: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
45828-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
46056-445: The young officer the best of luck, and also hoped for his success. His confidence would soon be emphasized when the guerrilla movement developed wide scope. Soon, besides Davydov's movement, other groups emerged: those of General Dorokhov, Captain Fisher, Captain Seslavin, Colonel Kudashev and many others. These groups successfully strove against the French, combining their activities with those of peasant guerrilla groups. Bagration became
46284-429: Was aimed at seizing the three Russian positions collectively known as the Bagration flèches , three arrowhead-shaped, open-backed earthworks which arced out to the left en échelon in front of the Kolocha stream. These positions helped support the Russian left, which had no terrain advantages. There was much to be desired in the construction of the flèches, one officer noting that the ditches were much too shallow,
46512-417: Was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French
46740-400: Was appointed to command the rear guards and advance guards of the Russian Army. The engagements conducted by Russian armies under Bagration's leadership during the Italian campaign of 1799, and also the advance and rear guard combats during the Swiss Campaign of 1799 and war between of Russia and France in 1805–1807, belong among the finest accomplishments in Russian military art. Bagration built
46968-412: Was around the village of Utitsa. The village was at the southern end of the Russian positions and lay along the old Smolensk road. It was rightly perceived as a potential weak point in the defense as a march along the road could turn the entire position at Borodino. Despite such concerns the area was a tangle of rough country thickly covered in heavy brush well suited for deploying light infantry. The forest
47196-448: Was confronted by General Duka's 2nd Cuirassier Division supported by Neverovsky's infantry. The French carried out seven assaults against the flèches and each time were beaten back in fierce close combat. Bagration in some instances was personally leading counterattacks, and in a final attempt to push the French completely back he got hit in the leg by cannonball splinters somewhere around 11:00 hours. He insisted on staying on
47424-432: Was convinced that a smart cooperation between irregular forces and the regular Russian armies would be the only method to stop Napoleon's advance. His aide-de-camp, vice Colonel D.V. Davydov , commander of a Hussar regiment, shared Bagration's views on a guerrilla movement and proposed a possible course of action. Bagration approved the proposal but, when he presented the plans to Kutuzov, the commander in chief only allowed
47652-435: Was dense, the ground marshy, and Russian Jaegers were deployed there in some numbers. Russian General Nikolay Tuchkov had some 23,000 troops but half were untrained Opolchenye (militia) armed only with pikes and axes and not ready for deployment. Poniatowski had about 10,000 men, all trained and eager to fight, but his first attempt did not go well. It was at once realized the massed troops and artillery could not move through
47880-531: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
48108-524: Was enraged at Murat's obstinate behaviour and ordered him to resume the attack immediately, ending the armistice on 16 November. The vanguard of Lannes's and Murat's 45,000 men attacked Bagration's position repeatedly but were repelled each time, unable to take the hill for some six hours. General Bagration personally led some of the counter-attacks, which drove the French back. Even though his force suffered heavy casualties and destruction seemed inevitable, Bagration managed to manoeuver his remaining troops out of
48336-425: Was evacuated to Simy, a village in the Vladimir province and died there of his wound on 24 September 1812 at the age of 47. Bagration, heavily influenced by Alexander Suvorov , was an innovative tactician who favoured mobile offensive warfare even though many of the battles he was engaged in with the French were of a defensive nature. He refused what he perceived as obsolete positioning tactics and instead would give
48564-427: Was forced to leave the theatre of operation. He was keenly interested in the events and hastily returned as soon as he became fit for service again. Upon arrival he was appointed commander of the Russian forces defending the west coast of Finland. In September 1808 the Swedish command decided to land troops on Turku to distract attention from the northern Russian Front that threatened the Swedish main army and to secure
48792-417: Was getting orders from both Alexander's staff and Barclay (which Barclay didn't know) and left Bagration without a clear picture of what was expected of him and the general situation. This stream of confused orders to Bagration had him upset with Barclay which would have repercussions later. Even though Barclay de Tolly was given overall command as minister of war, Bagration was not subordinate under him since he
49020-441: Was going on, refused to send his subordinates reinforcements. He was hesitant to release his last reserve, the Imperial Guard, so far from France. Prince Eugène de Beauharnais advanced his corps against Borodino, rushing the village and capturing it from the Russian Guard Jägers . However, the advancing columns rapidly lost their cohesion; shortly after clearing Borodino, they faced fresh Russian assault columns and retreated back to
49248-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
49476-469: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
49704-446: Was lucky enough to encounter Colonel von Toll, an enterprising member of Kutuzov's staff, who suggested that General Uvarov's 1st Cavalry Corps be added to the operation and at once volunteered to present the plan to the commander-in-chief. Together, they went to see Kutuzov, who nonchalantly gave his permission. There was no clear plan and no objectives had been drawn up, the whole manoeuvre being interpreted by both Kutuzov and Uvarov as
49932-443: Was obliged by the emperor to claim their daughter, Marie-Clementine , as his own and to subsidize thousands of rubles of Catherine's debts. He had a reputation as a heavy gambler, as well, and was forced to sell estates to cover losses that rose as high as 80,000 roubles. In the wars of 1805 Bagration's achievements appeared even more brilliant. When Napoleon ordered Murat to break an armistice he had just signed with Bagration,
50160-407: Was seriously outnumbered and slowly driven back. The French 57th Line Infantry Regiment kept attacking the flèches, even though it was almost completely torn to pieces by musket fire from all directions. Their courageous behaviour earned two "Bravo" shouts from Bagration, and it was then that the 2nd commander-in chief was struck by shell splinters in his leg. His subordinates quickly carried him to
50388-411: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
50616-439: Was slightly corrected by him, as in some places it concerned only Narva infantry Regiment, and then in July 1812 it was dispatched to all units of the 2nd Army." The "Manual to Infantry Officers on the Day of Battle" recognized the offensive as the fundamental form of combat. The principal manifestation of offensive combat was the bayonet attack, concluded with a vigorous pursuit of the defeated enemy. This manual considered in detail
50844-418: Was still held in reserve at Semyenovskoe for the possibility that the French might try to outflank him. Kutuzov, who observed the heavy fighting at the flèches, was sending the 2nd and parts of the 5th Infantry Corps with 100 guns from his artillery reserve, but their arrival would take one to two hours, which meant that Bagration was on his own. Napoleon demanded that the flèches be taken at all costs, and opened
51072-437: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
51300-586: Was the older general. This is a reason why he constantly received orders from Tsar Alexander and Barclay at the same time. Despite massive losses among the French, their rapid advance by force march towards Moscow repeatedly prevented de Tolly from establishing a defensive position and was forced to retreat every time he intended to. The commander in chief refused to put up a fight despite Bagration's numerous urging. De Tolly's continuing resistance to give battle would later lead to his removal from his position. The battle of Mogilev, better known as Battle of Saltanovka
51528-449: Was the result of Bagration's unsuccessful attempt to unite with the Russian main army after he had suggested a pre-emptive strike on the French to tsar Alexander. His 2nd army got intercepted when trying to reach Barclay de Tolly's 1st army and clashed with Marshal Davout's forces at the Dnieper river. In order to break through the French lines at Mogilev, Bagration deployed the 20,000 men strong 7th corps led by General Nikolay Raevsky . On
51756-447: Was to be carried out by a daring march across the frozen Gulf of Bothnia from Turku , reaching and capturing the heavily fortified Åland , which were garrisoned by about 10,000 Swedish troops, before continuing on the frozen Sea towards Stockholm. Bagration carefully planned his campaign and managed to supply his troops with fresh food, warm clothes, ammunition and weapons. The expedition was ready on 26 February (10 March) 1809 and began
51984-470: Was too much for his severely wounded body and it quickly cost Bagration his life. In the course of the War of the Third Coalition , Napoleon's defeat of General Mack 's Austrian army at Ulm on 19 October 1805 led Kutuzov to consider withdrawing and uniting his forces with reinforcements arriving at Brünn . Kutuzov ordered Bagration to guard Vienna with just a single regiment to stall a possible French assault. The French marshals Murat and Lannes made
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