Battle of Vitebsk
{'<entity_0>': 'French invasion of Russia', '<entity_1>': 'Battle of Vitebsk', '<entity_2>': '26 July 1812', '<entity_3>': '27 July 1812', '<entity_4>': 'Russian Empire', '<entity_5>': 'Vitebsk', '<entity_6>': 'battle'}
[['Battle of Vitebsk', 'end time', '27 July 1812'], ['Battle of Vitebsk', 'start time', '26 July 1812'], ['Battle of Vitebsk', 'part of', 'French invasion of Russia'], ['Battle of Vitebsk', 'point in time', '27 July 1812'], ['Battle of Vitebsk', 'location', 'Vitebsk'], ['Battle of Vitebsk', 'instance of', 'battle'], ['Battle of Vitebsk', 'location', 'Russian Empire']]
The <entity_1>, sometimes spelled Witepsk, was a military engagement that took place on <entity_2> and <entity_3> during the <entity_0>. The <entity_6> put a French force, under the command of Emperor Napoleon I, in combat with <entity_4> rearguard forces under General Petr Konovnitsyn (on <entity_2>) and Peter von der Pahlen (on <entity_3>) and ended with the <entity_4> forces making a strategic retreat from the battlefield. The <entity_6> occurred as Napoleon was trying to envelop the <entity_4> First Army at <entity_5> and force them to accept <entity_6>. The commander of the <entity_4> First Army, General Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, was himself aiming to fight and thus massed the bulk of his forces at <entity_5>, even though he was aware that his chances to win against Napoleon were not good. The fighting on <entity_2> had General Konovnitsyn's rearguard division fighting elements of the French IV Corps and ended with the Russians managing to delay the enemy for the entire day, allowing the bulk of the army to mass at <entity_5>. Unbeknownst to Napoleon, the <entity_4> army retreated during the afternoon and night, which meant that the Emperor's plans for a major <entity_6> collapsed. During the early stages of the <entity_0>, Emperor Napoleon I sought to force the <entity_4> army to commit the bulk of its forces to a major <entity_6>, in order to defeat it and thus avoid a protracted campaign. The French were thus unable to make contact with the bulk of the <entity_4> forces on <entity_2>. Despite these considerations, Barclay still wanted to give <entity_6> the next day and was only dissuaded from doing so by his advisers, late on <entity_2>. The <entity_6> is often seen by French historians as a missed opportunity for Napoleon, who failed to press Pahlen hard and thus render the <entity_4> retreat difficult.
['battle']