5 Roubles Battle of Maloyaroslavets

Maloyaroslavets, fought on 24 October 1812, was the engagement that effectively decided Napoleon's retreat route. After a day of brutal fighting that left the town changing hands eight times, Napoleon chose not to force another engagement and withdrew along the devastated Smolensk road rather than the more southerly route — condemning the Grande Armée to march through territory it had already stripped bare. The battle itself was tactically inconclusive; strategically, it was decisive.

This piece belongs to the long-running "Borodino" commemorative series issued for the bicentennial of the 1812 campaign.