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Battle of Borodino

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The Battle of Borodino is a historical battle in Napoleon: Total War.

Description[]

The Battle of Borodino (7 September, 1812) saw Napoleon force a close defeat upon the determined Russian defenders. Borodino would be the bloodiest battle of the Russian campaign for both sides, paving the way for Napoleon's subsequent march on Moscow.

Narration[]

If you want an Englishman to see sense, take his money! The Russian continued trading. Do they think I wanted to invade? To march on Moscow? And now Kutuzov makes a stand, at Borodino, some speck on the map! No matter, I will dine in Moscow yet!

Pre-Battle Text[]

September 7th, 1812. Mikhail Kutuzov finally made his stand on the east bank of the Kolocha River between the new and old Moscow to Smolensk roads just south of Borodino.

To fortify the northern section of his right flank, Kutuzov's troops have constructed the Raevski redoubt. This stretches down to Semenovskaia village.

To the south he has constructed the three Vee-shaped Bagration Fleches.

Taking the Redoubt and Bagration Fleches will be the stiffest of challenges!

Victory Text[]

Russian soldiers - I pity them. They are brave men, but they fight for fools. On to Moscow!

Defeat Text[]

Russian soldiers! Amazing! Even when they are lead [sic] by fools, they have the heart to win! But my Grand Armée will fight again!

General Information[]

Singleplayer[]

Screen Shot 2017-05-13 at 12.42

Initial deployment. French forces are light blue, while Russian forces are red.

Winning the Battle of Austerlitz or the Battle of Trafalgar is required for unlocking this battle.

The Battle of Borodino sees the French army attacking a Russian army holding a dominant defensive position on the battlefield.

The map consists of many rolling hills, as well as several small but largely impassable rivers. The river that runs through the center of the map means that a frontal attack on the Russian position is near suicidal as it forces the French troops to cross through painfully small choke-points. Other rivers can be forded, however; there is a point directly north of the northernmost French cavalry that allows them to cross and engage in flanking attacks, and the river may also be crossed a small distance behind the Russian general.

The Russian army has four artillery pieces, including two of the powerful unicorn artillery positioned on hills in a way that allow them to rain accurate fire on the initial French position with practically no fear of return fire. In addition, the two northernmost pieces are surrounded on three sides by cliffs, making a frontal charge the only way to approach them. All the artillery pieces are guarded by infantry, a variety of musketeers and grenadiers. These infantry only chase enemy units a short distance before retreating back to their artillery, though they can be lured away through careful positioning and hit-and-run tactics.

Complementing Russia's artillery and line infantry dominated center are relatively small groups of cavalry on either flank. Russia has some more unique troops in the northern flank, with their only regiment of light infantry and the indomitable Pavlovsk Grenadiers holding the river crossing there. Should the Pavlovsk Grenadiers take too many casualties, they retreat into the house next to them (the northern house); taking the building may prove difficult due to their superb melee statistics. Should the Russian army lose too many regiments on the northern flank, it continually sends infantry regiments to reinforce it, so the more successful the attack to the north is, the weaker the rest of the Russian positions become. 

The French army have a number of foot artillery, but these are unfortunately poorly positioned as the majority of Russian troops are well protected by cover. In addition, the Russian artillery focuses on the French artillery early on, usually routing the gun crews or at least making French artillery fire even more ineffectual. The 12-lber artillery on the northern (left) flank, in particular, is in a dip in the terrain, making it very difficult to hit anything in any angle. The artillery aren't useless, however, as they provide a distracting target for most of the Russian artillery until they are routed--a process which could take dozens of minutes.

The French army has superior infantry, particularly their large number of light infantry. While the Russian army has a roughly equal number of infantry, much of their forces are tied down to defending the artillery. This allows the more mobile French army to catch and destroy isolated Russian troops.

Winning the Battle of Borodino unlocks the Battle of Dresden.

Units[]

French Army:

Russian Army: 

Multiplayer[]

Screen Shot 2017-05-06 at 9.37

Initial deployment. Napoleon's forces are light blue, Murat's forces are the blue dots south of him, Eugene's forces are the blue dots to the north. Kutuzov's forces are the red dots in the north, Barclay de Tolly's forces are the red dots in the center, and Pyotr Bagration's forces are the red dots in the south.

The Battle of Borodino is available for 3 v 3 multiplayer battles, with the French attacking and the Russians defending. The map is largely the same, though given the greatly increased number of troops on both sides, players have less room to maneuver.

Unit composition is significantly different; the French have access to guard infantry and far more units of Polish Legion and Swiss Foot. The French also have most of their artillery replaced with howitzers, largely eliminating their terrain disadvantage (although the Russian artillery still have the natural benefit of defending). The French may find these howitzers particularly crucial for forcing the Russian forces off the hills in the center of the map, as the only other way to do so is to frontally charge up the only entry point.

The Russian armies are similar to their singleplayer versions for the most part, with the exception of having a much larger amount of light infantry but lacking the Lifeguard Foot it enjoyed deploying in the singleplayer version. As with the singleplayer version of the map, guarding the numerous and highly exposed choke-points are key to establishing control of the battlefield.

There is not much space for each player to work with due to the sheer number of units in the battlefield. This, in conjunction with the artillery, which may play a crucial role on both sides, mean that there's not much time for units to be shuffled around behind the line of battle before casualties from both sides begin to mount.

The northernmost forces of both sides can expect to fight in the northern town, either at the river crossing or from the north. While the Russians have the advantage of potentially defending a few choke points the French would have to filter through, the northern Russian army has no artillery, and the French can use their local artillery advantage to soften positions before advancing. The northern Russian army is a versatile mix of close and long range troops, with an advantage in light infantry but poorer cavalry and no artillery. 

The middle positions pit Napoleon Bonaparte's very strong guard-based army against Barclay de Tolly's nominally weaker force. de Tolly's infantry are much worse than Napoleon's infantry, consisting of inferior militia and inexperienced musketeers. However, de Tolly's artillery occupy extremely good positions, and Napoleon's troops are hampered by the fact that they need to ford a river in order to reach the Russian position. Napoleon's best hope is to weaken the Russian position with his artillery and to charge across without taking too many casualties. His cavalry may be better used assisting the other armies.

The southernmost armies fight on a much more open battlefield. The French army here has no artillery, but it has twice as many cavalry regiments, and much better infantry. The Russians have the terrain advantage and the advantage of defending, though the French can minimize losses by spreading out and finding cover in the forest and town in the south. 

French Army 

Player 1:

Player 2: 

  • Joachim Murat's General's Staff: 24 men, 5 experience
  • 2x Cuirassiers: 60 men each, 3 experience each
  • 2x Chevau-Légers Lancers: 60 men each, 3 experience each
  • 3x Grenadiers of the Line: 120 men each, 1 experience each
  • 2x Chasseurs: 160 men and 1 experience for one, 120 men and no experience for the other
  • 4x Polish Legion: 160 men each

Player 3:

  • Prince Eugene's General's Staff: 24 men, 2 experience
  • 2x Dragoons: 60 men each
  • Cuirassiers: 60 men
  • Chasseurs à Cheval: 60 men
  • 3x Swiss Foot: 160 men each, 2 experience each, 1 experience for another
  • 2x Chasseurs: 160 men each, 1 experience each
  • 2x Grenadiers: 160 men for one, 120 men for the other, 1 experience each
  • 6-In Howitzers: 32 men, 1 experience
  • 6-lber Foot Artillery: 32 men, 1 experience

Russian Army

Player 1:

Player 2:

  • Barclay de Tolly's General's Staff: 24 men, 3 experience
  • 2x Dragoons: 60 men each, 3 experience each
  • 2x Cossack Cavalry: 60 men each, 3 experience each
  • 2x Russian Jägers: 160 men each, 1 experience each
  • Opelchenie: 160 men
  • Musketeers: 160 men
  • 3x Grenadiers: 120 men each, 1 experience for two, no experience for another
  • 20-lber Unicorn: 24 men, 1 experience
  • 12-lber Foot Artillery: 32 men

Player 3:

  • Prince Pyotr Bagration's General's Staff: 24 men, 3 experience
  • 2x Cuirassiers: 60 men each, 3 experience each
  • 2x Grenadiers: 120 men each
  • 4x Musketeers: 160 men each, 1 experience for three, no experience for another
  • 3x Opelchenie: 160 men each, 1 experience each
  • 10-lber Unicorn: 24 men
  • 6-lber Horse Artillery: 24 men, 1 experience

Notes[]

While it is possible to change unit sizes in the menu, the unit sizes in the Battle of Borodino (as well as all other multiplayer historical battles) are always set to ultra when the battle is loaded, no matter what the player picked.

Napoleon: Total War Historical Battles
Land Battles Battle of Lodi • Battle of Arcole • Battle of the Pyramids • Battle of Austerlitz • Battle of Borodino • Battle of Dresden • Battle of Ligny • Battle of Waterloo • Battle of Friedland*
Sea Battles Battle of the Nile • Battle of Trafalgar
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