Plan of the Field of Battle of the Moskwa

Near contemporary plan of the Battle of Borodino.

Fought about 70 miles west of Moscow on September 7, 1812, the Battle of Borodino was one of Napoleon’s bloodiest victories during his invasion of Russia. The costly win allowed the Grand Armee to enter and ultimately burn the capital city, but the defeated Russian army was able to regroup and ultimately drive Napoleon into one of the costliest military retreats of all time.

This battle plan shows an outline of troop disposition, fortifications, and geographic features as they developed over the course of the engagement. It was created by Eugene Labuame for inclusion in the scholarly work titled A Circumstantial Narrative of the Campaign in Russia, first published in Paris in 1814. This example comes from a later English edition.