Battle
Early on, in the morning of 25 July, General Nansouty set two of his divisions in motion, from the village of Boudilova and towards Ostrovno, in accordance with the orders he had received from the Emperor. Meanwhile, Joachim Murat, commanding the French forces in this sector, departed from the village of Bechenkowitschy with two battalions of the 8th Light infantry regiment, and headed towards Nansouty's position. Following Murat was the entire IV Army Corps of Viceroy Eugène, spearheaded by the division of General Delzons, which was followed at some distance by that of General Broussier.
With Murat not yet on the field of battle, Nansouty's men encountered the vanguard of the Russian IV Corps, namely the 11th division under General Choglokov, the 23rd division of General Bakhmetiev, some cavalry and an artillery support of 66 pieces. Nansouty had under his command the light cavalry division of Bruyères (brigades Jacquinot, Piré and Nienwiewski) and the heavy cavalry division of Saint-Germain. In a bid to pin down the enemy and despite the disproportion in forces, Nansouty sent forward Piré's brigade (16th Chasseurs à cheval and 9th Chevau-légers lanciers) in a successful charge that dislodged the Russian vanguard and took 150 prisoners of war and 8 artillery pieces.
Murat then arrived on the battlefield with reinforcements, deploying his two battalions of light infantry, and assuming personal command of Saint-Germain's cuirassier division. With the cuirassiers successfully countercharging and repulsing a Russian Dragoon regiment that had come up to attack the right wing of the French forces, Murat realised that he was in a dangerous position and sent word to General Delzons to hasten his march towards the field of battle. Several attacks ensued, with the French committing Jacquinot's cavalry brigade and the infantry, but with the Russians holding ground. Realising his numeric superiority, the Russian commander, General Ostermann-Tolstoy, launched an attack against both French wings, in an attempt to catch them in double envelopment. However, with the arrival of a fresh French division, Delzon's 13th division, the Russian commander decided to call off his attack and pull back. Murat opted against a pursuit, given his inferior forces and knowing that Broussier's division was too far off behind Delzons to be counted on.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Ostrovno
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