Memory of Russia: Battle of Valutino reconstructed in Smolensk Oblast

9 August 2010
Source: IA «Regnum»

Reconstruction of the Battle of Valutino of 1812 kicked off on August 8 in Valutino – Lubino, villages of Smolensk Oblast. The event brought together about one hundred members of military-historical clubs of Russia, Belorussia and Lithuania. It was for the first time that horse cavalry participated in the reconstruction. Reconstructions used to take place in Smolensk district, on the Valutino Mountain, one kilometer away from the present site.

On August 8 1812 batteries of General Tuchkov fought a delaying action on the army of Napoleon, who just conquered Smolensk and moved to Moscow. Gained time enabled Russian Armies to unite in order to prepare for a decisive battle of Borodino. About 5,000 Russian soldiers and around 8,000 soldiers of the enemy were killed in the battle on the Valutino Mountain. The French Army managed to take the height, General Tuchkov was killed. Believing that the Battle of Valutino was a decisive battle, Napoleon allowed to decorate banners of its regiments, which took part in the battle, with “Valutino” labeled ribbons.

Despite the fact that all the sites of major 1812 battles were detected by the first 100th anniversary, the Battle of Valutino turned out to be “forgotten”. It was only in 2008 that the first monument on the Valutino Mountain (a cross and an obelisk) was erected. In 2009 the remains of a Russian soldier, found not far from the site, were re-buried there.