Main monument to Russian soldiers, the heroes of the Battle of Borodino

The Battle of Borodino took place near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's French invasion of Russia. The Grande Armée won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army with casualties in a ratio 2:3, but failed to gain a decisive victory. Napoleon fought against General Mikhail Kutuzov, whom the Emperor Alexander I of Russia had appointed to replace Barclay de Tolly on 29 August 1812 after the Battle of Smolensk. After the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon remained on the battlefield with his army; the Russian forces retreated in an orderly fashion to the south of Moscow.