The losses on both sides had been very heavy. Wrede gave the Bavarian loss as 118 officers and 1161 men killed and wounded. That of the 2nd Corps, which had 190 officers _hors de combat_, can hardly have been less than 3500. The Russians admitted a loss of 5000 killed and wounded. St. Cyr claimed 1000 prisoners; and 14 Russian guns were captured. On the French side General Deroy was mortally wounded. Oudinot, St. Cyr, Verdier and Wrede were wounded. Of the brigade leaders the Bavarian Sieben was killed, and two French and two Bavarians wounded. The Russians had Generals Berg, Kozakovski and Hamen wounded. Polotsk was hardly a very glorious victory, St. Cyr having some 35,000 men on the field against Wittgenstein’s 23,000 or 24,000 at most, but it had important results in freeing Napoleon from anxiety for his left flank. He showed his satisfaction by at last giving St. Cyr his Marshal’s bâton. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 3: Klengel gives his whole strength as only 1985; but he had obvious motives for minimising the disaster. The figures given in the text are confirmed by the muster-rolls of the 7th Corps.] [Footnote 4: For Plan see Appendix.] CHAPTER VII SMOLENSK TO BORODINO The battle of Lubino concluded the bloody fighting about Smolensk; and, though there was practically no pause in the operations, it marked the term of another stage in the campaign, as poor in results as the preceding ones. At Vilna the Russians had deliberately refused to fight, and had withdrawn out of reach. At Vitebsk they had almost accepted the chance of battle, but then, on better information, had slipped out of their great opponent’s closing grasp in the nick of time. At Smolensk it seemed that the desired great battle would at last be delivered and elusive victory crown the eagles of Napoleon. Whatever be thought of the wisdom of the Emperor’s manoeuvres, they had been admirably carried out, and his troops had fought splendidly. Yet the results of the great effort had been completely negative. The Russian army had wrought its way out of the great conqueror’s clutches, and had inflicted decidedly more damage that it had itself received. A few guns, a few prisoners and a ruined and nearly deserted city--these constituted the poor reward of so much skill and courage.