On the 27th the French advance-guard moved upon Vitebsk, and there was some brisk fighting between Pahlen’s detachment and Broussier’s and Bruyère’s divisions. The Cossacks of the Russian Guard overthrew the 16th Chasseurs-à-cheval, who endeavoured to stop them with carbine fire, and made a mad dash right among Broussier’s infantry squares, while some Voltigeurs of the 9th French Regiment, pushed across the Luchizza, defended themselves brilliantly against a cloud of Russian horsemen. Pahlen steadily retired as the French advanced, and Napoleon did not wish to press, since his concentration would not be complete until the evening. Ney was still on the march from Ostrovno, and Montbrun on the other bank of the Düna opposite Vitebsk. In the afternoon Barclay received Bagration’s despatch announcing that he was marching for Smolensk. Barclay at once issued orders for a retreat. In the night the whole army, leaving its camp-fires burning, evacuated its position and moved silently away in three columns, General Dokhturov, with the 5th and 6th Corps, marching directly on Smolensk by way of Rudnia, the rest of the army taking the more circuitous routes by Surazh and Poriechie. Dokhturov’s march was covered by a rear-guard, under Major-General Shevich, that of the other two columns by Pahlen with 14 battalions and 32 squadrons. The withdrawal from the position was a triumph of good management and discipline. Scarce a single straggler was left behind, and the retiring columns were well on their way before the fact of their departure was ascertained. The diverging lines of retreat confused the French cavalry, and not until the 30th was Murat definitely able to report that Barclay had retreated on Smolensk. Except for some not very serious skirmishing between the advanced guards of the French and the rear-guards of the Russians there was no fighting. The Russians moved at a pace which set pursuit at defiance. On July 31st Dokhturov was outside Smolensk, having marched 80 miles in four days. On August 1st Barclay arrived from Poriechie. Bagration, hurrying from Novi Bykhov by Propoïsk and Mstistavl, came up two days later. His troops had covered 150 miles through sands, bogs and forests in eight days. The pedestrian feats of the Russians are remarkable. Since June 28 the Second Army had marched over 540 miles, giving an average of 15 miles a day. As there were some days of rest or battle the actual pace was much more rapid. The Russian losses in the fighting round Vitebsk may be estimated at about 4000, with 6 (or 8) guns. Those of the French may have been a little less.