On the 10th June 1812 the French army crossed the Niemen unopposed, and five days later occupied Vilna, where Napoleon expected attack, but, unmolested for eighteen days, moved on towards Vitebsk. The Russian army, commanded by Barclay de Tolly, did nothing more than cause the invaders to manoeuvre unceasingly, and advance further into the country. On the banks of the Dvina Napoleon thought to end the campaign of 1812; recuperate his army and march against Moscow the following spring; but as yet no action had been fought, so he again hurried on after the Russians, this time towards Smolensk. It is held that the withdrawal of the Russians disconcerted Napoleon; but he had already met other armies than the English, so to him this retreat of his enemy was not new. He expected to come up with the Russians at Smolensk, but Barclay de Tolly, although assuring the inhabitants of their safety, sent away the treasure and had determined to abandon the town. It was garrisoned by but one regiment when Neverovski fell back upon it after his engagement with the French at Krasnoe. Raevski, sent to his aid, entrenched his troops and determined to hold the town until the two armies under Tolly and Bagrateon, then encamped on the left bank of the Dnieper, should arrive. But they fell further back instead of advancing, and after one day's fighting, with terrible loss, the Russians evacuated after setting fire to the town. Napoleon remained there four days, then followed the Russians towards Moscow. Notwithstanding his proclamations of amity towards the peasants, his promises of freedom for the serfs, the people began to realise that the march of the _Grande Armée_ was as disastrous as an incursion of the Tartar Horde. The country was devastated; the houses were pillaged; the owners shot; churches deserted; horses stabled in the sacred places; holy ikons burnt; matrons and maidens ravished by these heroes of the "twenty nations" of the west. Resistance there must be and the villagers took up arms; Kutuzov took chief command of the army, but Barclay de Tolly still gave his advice, and General Sir Robert Wilson remained tactical counsellor. On August 24th (old style) the Russians gave battle on the banks of the Moskva, near Borodino. In this "battle of the generals" about 120,000 men were engaged on each side, and 80,000 were killed, among them 18 generals and 15 other officers of high rank in the French army; and 22 commanding officers on the Russian side. Over 50,000 corpses and 30,000 dead horses were found in the field of battle, and though the Russians retreated, the French halted five days, then they moved forward upon Moscow, being nearly starved and quite tired of the war. Kutuzov had then to decide whether or not to risk another battle in an attempt to save Moscow.