nine o'clock
On the French left , where the Viceroy Beauharnois commanded , the advance was stubbornly opposed , and the French artillery was several times silenced by the guns on the eminence . At last , however , the Russians were driven across the rivulet , and the French occupied Borodino . Leaving a division of infantry to protect his rear , the Viceroy crossed the stream and advanced against a great battery in front of the village of Gorki . Davoust and Ney remained motionless until nine o'clock , as Napoleon would not forward the reinforcements they had asked for until he learned that Poniatowski had come into action , and that the Viceroy had crossed the stream and was moving to the attack of the Russian centre . Now , reinforced by the division of Friant , they moved forward . For an hour the Russians held their advanced works , and then were forced to fall back ; and the French , following up their advantage , crossed a ravine and occupied the village of Semianotsky , which had been partially destroyed on the previous day by the Russians , so that if captured it would afford no cover to the French . It was but for a short time that the latter held it .