This Day in Military History · November 3

1812 Napoleon's armies are defeated at the Battle of Vyazma.

The Battle of Vyazma (3 November 1812; 22 October by OS), occurred at the beginning of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. In this encounter, a Russian force commanded by General of the Infantry Miloradovich pressed and inflicted heavy losses on the rear guard of the Grande Armée. The Grande Armée was retreating back along the already devastated road, experiencing a shortage of food, a consequence of the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Although the French thwarted Miloradovich's goal of encircling and destroying the corps of Marshal Davout, they withdrew in a partial state of disorder due to ongoing Russian harassment and heavy artillery bombardments, and the town of Vyazma itself was captured in heavy fighting by Miloradovich's troops, namely the 11th Infantry Division under the command of Major General P. Choglokov (from Ostermann-Tolstoy's IV Infantry Corps) and the Cossacks of Ataman Platov.

Read more: Battle of Vyazma Text and image from Wikipedia