Napoleon was uncharacteristically cautious that day he didn’t try to outflank the Russians, and he declined to send much-needed reinforcements into the fray. The Russians built fortifications, and on September 7 the Grande Armée attacked. Finally, Kutuzov agreed to halt at the town of Borodino, about 70 miles west of Moscow, and engage the French. Under public pressure, Alexander named General Mikhail Kutuzov supreme commander in August, but the veteran of earlier defeats against Napoleon continued the retreat. Many in the czarist government were critical of the Russian army’s refusal to engage Napoleon in a direct confrontation.
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