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Vyazma (Вязьма in Russian) is a city in the Smolensk Oblast in Russia, located on the Vyazma River. It is a major railroad junction, connecting trains from Moscow, St.Petersburg, Kaluga and Bryansk. Population: 44,000 (1970).
It is believed that the settlement of Vyazma was founded in the 9th or 10th century. It was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1239. In 1403, the town was seized by the Lithuanian feudals. In 1494, Vyazma was finally annexed by the Muscovy. During the Patriotic War, there was a battle between the retreating French army (up to 37,000 troops) and the Russian army (25,000 men) near Vyazma on October 22, 1812. The vanguard of the Russian army under the command of Lieutenant General Mikhail Miloradovich and a Cossack unit of General Matvei Platov attacked the rearguard corps of Marshal Louis Nicolas Davout east of Vyazma and cut off his retreat route. Owing to the armies of Eugène de Beauharnais and Józef Antoni Poniatowski, Davout managed to break the ranks of the Russian army. The French army's attempts, however, to hold the heights near Vyazma and the city itself were unsuccessful. By the evening of October 22, the Russians seized Vyazma, which had been set on fire by the French. The French lost 6,000 men during the battle; 2,500 soldiers were taken prisoners. The Russians lost around 2,000 men.
During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Vyazma once again became the battlefield between the Soviet army and the Germans during the Battle of Moscow. Vyazma was occupied by the German army between October 7, 1941 and March 12, 1943. The city was mostly destroyed and then rebuilt after the war.
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