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This map from the West Point Atlas depicts
the situation in theater on 2 November and in the small box the situation
around Moscow on 24 October as Napoleon is shifting his line of retreat.
Details of the actions in the box are shown in the maps for Maloyaroslavetsk
and Tarutino. In the main map we see that Napoleon's main army retreating along
the Smolensk highway has reached Vyasma and is strung out in the order of
Junot, Guard, Ney, Ponyatovski, Eugene, Davout. The Russians of Miloradovich
are following Davout and Kutuzov is moving west on a parallel route south of
the main road. Meanwhile Victor is attempting to garrison multiple towns and
supply bases from Vitebsk to Smolensk since his arrival at Smolensk on 24 Sept.
and simultaneously fend off Wittgenstein, who has been fighting St Cyr at
Polotsk. Of interest is that the garrison commander of the allied force in the
key town, Vilna, at this point is Jomini (future author on military theory). On
20 October St Cyr defeated Wittgenstein at Polotsk and then withdrew. Victor
went to St Cyr's aid, joining the depleted II Corps on 29 Oct. There he
skirmished with Wittgenstein before withdrawing south. Wittgenstein is now
dangerously close to the key river crossing at Borisov.
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