 After the afternoon 's initial <unk> with the French , <unk> held a council of war on the evening of 10 November at <unk> , at the great <unk> there . He knew several things . First , he knew the positions of the French from prisoners his Cossacks had captured . He also knew that <unk> had crossed at <unk> and was well ahead of any French reinforcements : <unk> had crossed at <unk> and , by 10 November , stood at <unk> , 50 kilometers ( 31 mi ) upstream , and <unk> was another 7 kilometers ( 4 mi ) further behind him . <unk> knew the size of the French <unk> division <unk> its positions , and he knew that most of the <unk> were not covering the French flank but had turned north . He also knew , or had made a good <unk> , about Napoleon 's orders , so he knew what to offer <unk> and <unk> as bait . 
