In which battle in 1812 did Napoleon fight the largest single-day engagement of the Russian campaign?

The Battle of Borodino was Napoleon’s largest single-day engagement of the 1812 Russian campaign.

Fought on 7 September 1812 near the village of Borodino, west of Moscow, it brought Napoleon’s Grande Armée against the Russian army commanded by Mikhail Kutuzov. About a quarter of a million troops took part, making the battle one of the bloodiest one-day clashes of the Napoleonic Wars.

The French captured important Russian defensive positions, including the Great Redoubt and the flèches, but the Russian army was not destroyed. Kutuzov withdrew in good order, leaving Napoleon with a costly tactical victory rather than the decisive result he wanted. Napoleon then entered Moscow, only to find the city largely abandoned and burning.

Borodino is sometimes called the Battle of Moscow. It should not be confused with Smolensk, which preceded it, or Berezina, which occurred during the retreat. The battle’s heavy losses and the failure to force Russia into peace made it a turning point in the campaign.