the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

army. 144 Bagration unquestionably played a vital role at Borodino. The major assaults of
Bagration, they misdiagnosed him and underestimated the seriousness of his injury. With
proper care, Bagration would have survived and returned to the active service in the
the Grand Army were launched against his flank. The Russian army was saved due to his
skilled command and courageous leadership as well as titanic efforts and bravery of his
troops. Despite his failings as a strategic commander, Bagration was at his best in this
desperate tactical struggle. He opposed some of Napoleon’s best commanders, Davout,
Ney, Murat, Poniatowski, Junot, and withstood their initial assaults. Due to his
determined resistance, the fléches were contested for almost six hours resulting in
appalling casualties on the French side. Bagration demonstrated excellent command
skills and exceptional bravery and perseverance; he personally led the counterattacks and
cheered his soldiers forward. He was successful in rallying his troops and repulsing
superior French forces prior to the arrival of his reinforcements. For two hours he was
outnumbered by two to one and yet managed to hold his positions and even
counterattack. Nevertheless, his wound was one of the major factors in the collapse of the
Russian left flank and retreat of the Russian army. Bagration’s injury was indeed a great
loss for the Russian military. His fiery energy, tactical skills and leadership would have
been invaluable for the Russian armies during the later stages of the campaign.
143 General Aleksey Bakhmetyev also was seriously wounded at Borodino when a cannonball
cut off his leg, but he survived due to prompt and relevant medical treatment.
144 Malisheva, A., Loginova E. “Ranenie i smert generala P.I. Bagrationa” [The Injury and
Death of General P. I. Bagration], Sovetskaya Medicina, 1954, No.6, 43; Petrov, B. “Ranenie i
smert Bagrationa” [The Injury and Death of Bagration], Ogonyek, 1962, No.40, 21; Rzhevskii,
B., “Mozhno li bilo spasti Bagrationa?” [Was it Possible to Save Bagration], Nauka i zhizn, 1962,
No.9, 45; Popov, M., “Ranenie i smert Bagrationa” [The Injury and Death of Bagration], Voprosi
Istorii, 1975, No.3, 211.
830