five o'clock
The woods were so thick that it was some time before these reached him , the guns of one of the columns being obliged to go a mile and a half through a wood before they could turn , so dense was the growth of the trees . Ney now pressed forward with such vigour that Touchkoff was driven from his position in advance , upon the village itself , where he was again reinforced by four infantry battalions , two regiments of cavalry , and heavy guns . Murat with his cavalry endeavoured to turn the Russian left , but the two Russian cavalry regiments , supported by their artillery , maintained their ground . Soon after five o'clock the French had received such large reinforcements that the Russians were forced to give way , and were in full retreat when Barclay himself arrived upon the scene , and rallied them . The battle was renewed , and the last effort of the French was repulsed by a charge with the bayonet by the Russian grenadiers . In the charge , however , General Touchkoff , by whose valour the Russian army had been saved , was carried too far in advance of his men , and was taken prisoner . It was not until midnight that the rear of Barclay 's column emerged from the cross road , in which it had been involved for twenty-four hours .