Historedia
Episode 6 of 6

Battle of Krasnoi

When
15–18 November 1812
Where
Krasnoi
Part of
French invasion of Russia: Moscow, the great fire, and the destruction of the Grande Armée

From 15 to 18 November 1812 Kutuzov attacked the remnants of the Grande Armée at Krasnoi, defeating Napoleon's retreating army in a series of skirmishes.

The Battle of Krasnoi (at Krasny or Krasnoe) unfolded from 15 to 18 November 1812, marking a critical episode in Napoleon's arduous retreat from Moscow. Kutuzov's attack against the remnants of the Grande Armée began on 15 November 1812, three weeks after Maloyaroslavets. Napoleon's retreating army was again defeated in a series of skirmishes. Kutuzov, however, preferred giving his enemy a golden bridge to receiving a desperate blow, telling the British liaison officer Robert Wilson that he was by no means sure the destruction of Napoleon and his army would benefit the world. Alexander I subsequently awarded Kutuzov the victory title of His Serene Highness Knyaz Golenischev-Kutuzov-Smolensky on 18 December 1812 for his victory at Krasnoi at Smolensk.

Sources

  1. Battle of Krasnoi Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16
  2. Battle of Maloyaroslavets Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-20
  3. Mikhail Kutuzov Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-16

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.