Russia, Federation 5 Rubles 2012

History

5 Rubles 2012, Y# 1410, Russia, Federation, 200th Anniversary of Patriotic War Victory (1812), Battles: Battle of Tarutino

Obverse. Photo © Bank of Russia

Description

The French invasion of Russia, known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 and in France as the Russian Campaign, began on 24 June 1812 when Napoleon's Grande Armée crossed the Neman River. Through a series of long marches Napoleon pushed the army rapidly through Western Russia, winning a battle at Smolensk in August. Napoleon hoped the battle would mean an end of the march into Russia, but the Russian army slipped away from the engagement and continued to retreat into Russia while leaving Smolensk to burn.

On 7 September, the French caught up with the Russian army which had dug itself in on hillsides before a small town called Borodino, seventy miles west of Moscow. The battle that followed was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 soldiers and resulting in 70,000 casualties. The French gained a tactical victory, but at the cost of 49 general officers and thousands of men. The Russian army was able to extricate itself and withdrew the following day, leaving the French without the decisive victory Napoleon sought.

Napoleon entered Moscow a week later. The loss of Moscow did not compel Alexander I to sue for peace. The French advance toward Kaluga where Napoleon tried once more to engage the Russian army for a decisive action at the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Despite holding a superior position, the Russians retreated following a sharp engagement, confirming that the Russians would not commit themselves to a pitched battle. Napoleon was forced to retreat. Lack of food and fodder for the horses, hypothermia from the bitter cold and persistent attacks upon isolated troops from Russian peasants and Cossacks led to great losses in men, and a general loss of discipline and cohesion in the army. When the remnants of Napoleon's army crossed the Berezina River in November, only 27,000 effective soldiers remained; the Grand Armée had lost some 380,000 men dead and 100,000 captured. The campaign effectively ended on 14 December 1812 with the last French troops leaving Russian soil.

Date of issue: 02.07.2012

Obverse	Denomination 5 RUBLES in two lines, lower the inscription BANK OF RUSSIA and the issue year, to the left and to the right a stylized twig of a plant, to the right at the rim the Moscow Mint's trademark (MMD). Artist: E. V. Kramskaya 5 ММД РУБЛЕЙ БАНК РОССИИ 2012
Reverse	Art (sculpture, painting etc.) War memorial Military Patriotic War 1812 Symbol, amulet, talisman Double-headed eagle The relief image of the monument to heroes to heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 in Tarutino, along the rim the circular inscription, divided by two dots, above BATTLE OF TARUTINO, below THE PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1812. The Battle of Tarutino was a part of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. On 18 October 1812 Kutuzov ordered Bennigsen and Miloradovich to attack Joachim Murat's corps (26,000 men) with two columns stealthily crossing the forest in the dead of night. Bennigsen's main column included three columns led by Vasily Orlov-Denisov, Karl Gustav von Baggehufwudt and Alexander Osterman-Tolstoy respectively. The other column was supposed to play an auxiliary role. In the darkness most of the troops got lost. By the morning only Cossack troops under the command of General Vasily Orlov-Denisov reached the original destination, suddenly attacked the French troops and captured the French camp with transports and cannons. Since other Russian units came late the French were able to recover. When the Russians emerged from the forest they came under French fire and suffered casualties (among others the commander of the 2nd Corps, General Baggehufwudt, was killed). Murat was forced to retreat to escape being surrounded. The French forces suffered 2,500 dead and 2,000 prisoners, the Russians lost 1,200 dead. The total number of cannon captured by the Russians at Tarutino—38 pieces in all—was noteworthy because until this point in the war, neither side had lost nearly as many guns in a single encounter. This was regarded by the Russian rank-and-file as a sign that the tide of the war was finally turning in their favor. The Battle of Tarutino is depicted in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Tolstoy, who frequently argued throughout the novel that an individual cannot change history or manage historical processes, described the battle as nothing but a chain of accidents and coincidences. Artist: L.A. Evdokimova Sculptor: E. A. Tolzyn • ТАРУТИНСКОЕ СРАЖЕНИЕ • ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННАЯ ВОЙНА 1812 ГОДА
Edge	Interrupted reeded 12 sections by 5 corrugations