Re-enactment of 1812 battle of Lubino to be staged in Smolensk

All is prepared for a military historical festival for the re-enactment of the battle of Lubino during the Battle of Smolensk, which is one of the most important battles in the 1812 Patriotic War, head of the authorities in the Kardymovo district of the Smolensk region Oleg Ivanov told Itar-Tass. “The field, on which a festival will be staged, features the necessary infrastructure, security measures are provided for the guests and participants in the re-enactment,” he said. Ivanov believes that “the work done by the organizers will allow holding an absolutely picturesque and action-packed event of high level.” The Battle of Lubino (Valutino) was a final stage of the Battle of Smolensk, when Napoleon’s strategic plan was foiled to divide and destroy separately the Russian armies of Barclay de Tolly and Bagration. Finally, the Russian forces united on the Dnieper River in the area of the Solovyeva ford. The Battle of Lubino (Valutino) was one of ten most large-scale battles of the 1812 Patriotic War. Representatives of military historical clubs from Russia, Belarus and Latvia will re-enact its fragments on the historical field. Hundreds of re-enactors, tens of horses and the copies of cannons or their mock-up models will participate in the re-enactment of the battle. This re-enactment will allow showing brightly the work of artillerists in 1812. “For the first time the cuirassiers and the grenadiers will appear on the battlefield,” the organizers noted. The guests will also watch demonstrative performances of cavalrymen and the training of the troops, and will learn about the life in the military camps of the warriors in the first quarter of the 19th century. A charity art auction “Lubino’s Miracle” will be also held. The name is taken from a beautiful birch, the branches of which have shaped a natural Orthodox cross on this battlefield. On Saturday evening, a hussar ball and fireworks are planned. The festival is arranged by the foundation of assistance to reconciliation of the peoples, which participated in the military conflicts with the participation of the authorities of the Smolensk region and the Kardymovo district. “Representatives of over 35 military historical clubs already arrived and this is not final figures,” chairman of the board of the foundation Vladimir Shargayev told Itar-Tass. “The geography of Russian clubs is impressive from Kaliningrad to Yekaterinburg,” he said. According to the inscription on the 9th wall of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral the Russian troops lost 5,000 people in the fighting at Gedeonovo and Lubino. According to the historians, the French troops lost over 8,000 people. “The remains of a Russian warrior, who participated in this battle, will be reburied on the Field of Memory today,” Shargayev said. “The search team, which is working at the places of combat actions in 1941, has found his remains,” he noted. The remains of over 50 Russian fighters and soldiers of Napoleon’s multinational army are already reburied on this field.