At the beginning of the 1812 campaign, Miloradovich was tasked with assembling and training volunteer militia troops in the hinterland; he returned to action on the eve of the Battle of Borodino with 14,600 militiamen.
Kutuzov appointed Miloradovich commander of front-line forces of the right (northern) flank, comprising Baggovut's Second Infantry Corps and  Ostermann-Tolstoy's Fourth Infantry Corps.
The battle plan required Miloradovich to protect the old Smolensk-Moscow road.
On the day of the battle, September 7 [O.S. August 26], Kutuzov realised that enemy action was concentrated against his center and left flank and, at about 9 a.m., he ordered Miloradovich to march to the south and attack the French left flank.
Riding in advance of his troops, Miloradovich was caught up in the heat of the battle for Semyonovskoe and, together with Barclay de Tolly, Yermolov and Rayevsky, sought refuge in the defences of the Fourth Division.
Between 10 a.m. and 12 noon his troops took a stand in the center of the Russian line and held off French attacks, with Baggovut's corps seeing critical action around noon, and Ostermann's corps around 4 p.m. By the end of the battle, the French succeeded in forcing the Russians from their defences, and Miloradovich's troops fell back to the same Smolensk road from where they had started.
Baggovut took a stand there and held the road until nightfall against ferocious attacks by Polish cavalry.

After the battle, Miloradovich took command of the rearguard, sheltering Kutuzov's army from the advancing French.
Enemy pressure prevented him from attending the Council in Fili that decided to surrender Moscow.
Miloradovich, acting on behalf of Kutuzov, made a deal with Murat: if the French wanted Moscow intact, they had to allow Miloradovich free passage to the east, or face stubborn urban warfare.
Hereford George wrote that "Murat apparently deemed it beneath his dignity to confer with a mere general" and that he left the talks to Sébastiani.
According to Fyodor Glinka, however, Murat and Miloradovich negotiated directly with each other prior to the surrender of Moscow; Miloradovich contacted Sébastiani only after the French took Moscow and their cavalry engaged the Russian rear.
Sébastiani honored the accord, called back the cavalry and allowed the safe retreat of two Russian regiments trapped between advancing French columns.
Temporary loss of contact between Murat and the Russian rearguard allowed Kutuzov to make a westward turn: Murat kept on advancing south-east towards Bronnitsy while Kutuzov marched in the opposite direction.

On September 20 [O.S. September 8], Kutuzov took defensive positions at Podolsk and dispatched Miloradovich to take position in front of the advancing French, 12 kilometers to the east.
Four days later, Murat engaged Miloradovich and forced him to fall back to Krasnaya Pakhra (deliberately setting a trap, according to Glinka).
Miloradovich barely escaped death or captivity when his headquarters were raided by French cavalry scouts on September 27 [O.S. September 15].
On September 29 [O.S. September 17], Miloradovich successfully counterattacked Murat's corps at Chirikovo, taking one general de brigade prisoner.
At this point, Kutuzov preferred to retreat further south; the main army marched to Tarutino, while Miloradovich, now having Ostermann-Tolstoy's corps under his command, retreated to a fallback position on the Chernishnya River, 8 kilometers north of Tarutino.
Glinka wrote that from September 9 [O.S. August 28] to October 5 [O.S. September 23] Miloradovich was continuously fighting the French, including four significant battles, and lamented that few of his deeds reached the public eye: "He is not a hero of the Vedomosti, but a hero of history and of the future."
During the standoff on the Chernishnya, Miloradovich had another person-to-person negotiation with Murat, while his own camp was filled with masses of French stragglers taken prisoner.
Modern Russian historians criticized as indecisive his actions in the Battle of Tarutino (October 18 [O.S. October 6]), when
At the beginning of the 1812 campaign, Miloradovich was tasked with assembling and training volunteer militia troops in the hinterland; he returned to action on the eve of the Battle of Borodino with 14,600 militiamen. Kutuzov appointed Miloradovich commander of front-line forces of the right (northern) flank, comprising Baggovut's Second Infantry Corps and  Ostermann-Tolstoy's Fourth Infantry Corps. The battle plan required Miloradovich to protect the old Smolensk-Moscow road. On the day of the battle, September 7 [O.S. August 26], Kutuzov realised that enemy action was concentrated against his center and left flank and, at about 9 a.m., he ordered Miloradovich to march to the south and attack the French left flank. Riding in advance of his troops, Miloradovich was caught up in the heat of the battle for Semyonovskoe and, together with Barclay de Tolly, Yermolov and Rayevsky, sought refuge in the defences of the Fourth Division. Between 10 a.m. and 12 noon his troops took a stand in the center of the Russian line and held off French attacks, with Baggovut's corps seeing critical action around noon, and Ostermann's corps around 4 p.m. By the end of the battle, the French succeeded in forcing the Russians from their defences, and Miloradovich's troops fell back to the same Smolensk road from where they had started. Baggovut took a stand there and held the road until nightfall against ferocious attacks by Polish cavalry.
After the battle, Miloradovich took command of the rearguard, sheltering Kutuzov's army from the advancing French. Enemy pressure prevented him from attending the Council in Fili that decided to surrender Moscow. Miloradovich, acting on behalf of Kutuzov, made a deal with Murat: if the French wanted Moscow intact, they had to allow Miloradovich free passage to the east, or face stubborn urban warfare. Hereford George wrote that "Murat apparently deemed it beneath his dignity to confer with a mere general" and that he left the talks to Sébastiani. According to Fyodor Glinka, however, Murat and Miloradovich negotiated directly with each other prior to the surrender of Moscow; Miloradovich contacted Sébastiani only after the French took Moscow and their cavalry engaged the Russian rear. Sébastiani honored the accord, called back the cavalry and allowed the safe retreat of two Russian regiments trapped between advancing French columns. Temporary loss of contact between Murat and the Russian rearguard allowed Kutuzov to make a westward turn: Murat kept on advancing south-east towards Bronnitsy while Kutuzov marched in the opposite direction.
On September 20 [O.S. September 8], Kutuzov took defensive positions at Podolsk and dispatched Miloradovich to take position in front of the advancing French, 12 kilometers to the east. Four days later, Murat engaged Miloradovich and forced him to fall back to Krasnaya Pakhra (deliberately setting a trap, according to Glinka). Miloradovich barely escaped death or captivity when his headquarters were raided by French cavalry scouts on September 27 [O.S. September 15]. On September 29 [O.S. September 17], Miloradovich successfully counterattacked Murat's corps at Chirikovo, taking one general de brigade prisoner. At this point, Kutuzov preferred to retreat further south; the main army marched to Tarutino, while Miloradovich, now having Ostermann-Tolstoy's corps under his command, retreated to a fallback position on the Chernishnya River, 8 kilometers north of Tarutino. Glinka wrote that from September 9 [O.S. August 28] to October 5 [O.S. September 23] Miloradovich was continuously fighting the French, including four significant battles, and lamented that few of his deeds reached the public eye: "He is not a hero of the Vedomosti, but a hero of history and of the future." During the standoff on the Chernishnya, Miloradovich had another person-to-person negotiation with Murat, while his own camp was filled with masses of French stragglers taken prisoner. Modern Russian historians criticized as indecisive his actions in the Battle of Tarutino (October 18 [O.S. October 6]), when
Mikhail Miloradovich