First Battle of Krasnoi

First Battle of Krasnoi
Part of the French invasion of Russia
The crossing of the Dniepr by Christian Wilhelm von Faber du Faur
Date 14 August 1812 Location Krasnoi, southwest of Smolensk, Russian Empire 54°33′22″N 31°25′29″E Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire	Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Michel Ney Joachim Murat	Dmitry Neverovsky Pyotr Bagration
Strength
approx. 20,000  • 15,000 cavalry  • 5,000 infantry	6,000–7,000  • up to 5,500 infantry  • up to 1,500 cavalry 14 cannon
Casualties and losses
500	700 killed or wounded 800 captured 7 cannon

French invasion of Russia

330km
205miles

Krasnoi

15

Pultusk

14

Gorodeczno

13

Drohiczyn

12

Tauroggen

11

Riga

10

Tilsit

9

Warsaw

8

Berezina

7

Maloyaro-
slavets

6

Moscow

5

Borodino

4

4

3

Vitebsk

2

Vilna

1

Kowno

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Battle of Krasnoi on 14 August 1812; painting by Peter von Hess

The First Battle of Krasnoi was fought on 14 August [O.S. 2 August] 1812 at Krasny between Ney and Murat's French troops and Neverovsky's Russian division, which consisted largely of fresh conscript soldiers. It was part of the French invasion of Russia.

It ended with a victory for the French, but the Russians retreated in good order to Smolensk, having managed to close the city gates before the upcoming battle, when reinforcements would arrive for Neverovsky and a decisive French success would be prevented.