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The Second Battle of Polotsk (18–20 October 1812) took place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In this encounter the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein attacked and defeated a Franco-Bavarian force under Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In the aftermath of this success, the Russians took Polotsk and dismantled Napoleon's operations in Belarus. Wittgenstein's victory set the stage for the Battle of Berezina in November, in which three Russian armies converged on Napoleon from separate directions. ==Background== While advancing on Moscow, Napoleon left a contingent of French and German troops at Polotsk to guard his northern flank against Wittgenstein. The French defensive bastion at Polotsk, alternately commanded by St. Cyr and Oudinot and located about east of the Polish border and about northwest of Smolensk, was extremely important to Napoleon for several reasons. By establishing a firm front at Polotsk, Napoleon kept Wittgenstein's command at bay. It was critical to French interests that Wittgenstein not be allowed to march south, because such an advance by the Russians would lead to Napoleon's Grande Armée, hundreds of miles to the east, being exposed to an attack in its rear while it was engaging the main Russian army near Moscow. Such a development would sever the Grande Armée's communications with Europe and it would be at risk of being encircled. Furthermore, the French position at Polotsk was important because it served to protect Vitebsk, which was one of three massive supply depots Napoleon had established in western part of Russian Empire (nowadays Belarus). These three supply depots—the other two being Minsk and Smolensk—were to fuel Napoleon's war effort in the winter should the Grande Armée need to continue the campaign longer than originally anticipated. Throughout the summer and early fall of 1812, Russians and French were stalemated at Polotsk, which meant that St. Cyr's troops were accomplishing their objective of holding the "Dwina Line". The first battle of Polotsk, an inconclusive engagement fought in August, had the effect of keeping Wittgenstein's army at bay and was therefore considered a success by Napoleon. By mid-October, however, the strategic balance of power at Polotsk had shifted dramatically. Wittgenstein's force had been massively reinforced and was now numerically superior to the French force it confronted. Wittgestein at this point was in command of close to 50,000 troops. This force was composed of 31,000 regular troops and 9,000 militiamen at Polotsk itself, and a second force of 9,000 troops under General Steingal operating in the rear and flank of Polotsk. Against this Russian juggernaut, the French under St. Cyr had no more than 23,000 to 27,000 troops. On 18 October, Wittgestein opened his offensive against the French "Dwina Line". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Second Battle of Polotsk」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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