French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 1/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 1/20

French invasion of Russ ia(Patriotic War of 1812)Part of Napoleonic Wars

Napoleon's wi thdrawal from Russia , a painting byAdolph Northen.

Date 24 June – 14 Decem ber 1812

Location Russian Empire

Result Decisive Russian victory[1]

Destruction of French Allied ArmyStart of the War of the Sixth Coalition

BelligerentsFrench Empire

Duchy of Warsaw

NapoleonicItaly

NaplesConfederation

of the RhineBadenBavariaBerg

Saxony

Westphalia

R ussian Empire

French invasion of RussiaFrom Wikipedia, the freeencyclopedia(Redirected from Na poleon's invasion of Russia)

TheFrench Invasion of Russia in 1812, also k nown asthe Russian Campaign inFrance[6](French:Campagnede Russie ) and thePatri otic War of 1812 in Russia(Russian: Отечественная война 1812 года), was aturning point during the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced theFrench and allied invasion forces (the Grande Armée) to atiny f ractionof their initialstrength and trigger ed a major shiftin European politics as it dramatically weakenedFrench hegemony in Europe. The reputation of Napoleonas an undefeated militarygenius was severelyshaken, whilethe French Empire's former allies, at first Prussia and thenthe Austrian Empire, broke their alliance withFrance andswitched camps, which triggered the War of the SixthCoalition.[7]

The campaign began on 24 June 1812, when Napoleon'sforces crossed the Neman River. Napoleon aimed tocompel Emperor of Russia Alexander I to remain in theContinental Blockade of the United Kingdom; an officialaim was to remove the threat of a Russian invasion of Poland. Napoleon named the campaign a Second PolishWar (inreference tothe "First Polish War"); the Russiangovernment proclaimed a Patriotic War.

At nearly half a million strong, theGrande Armée marchedthrough Western Russia, winning a number of relativelyminor engagements and a major battle at Smolensk onAugust 16–18. However, on that same day, the right wingof theRussian Army, under the command of General Peter Wittgenstein, stopped part of the Fr enchArmy, led byMarshal Nicolas Oudinot, in the Battle of Polotsk. This prevented the French marching on the Russian capital atSaint Petersburg; the fate of the war had to be decided onthe Moscow front, where Napoleon himself led his forces.While the Russians used scorched-earth tactics, and oftenraided the enemy with light Cossack cavalry, their mainarmy retreated for almost three months. This constantretreat undermined confidence in Field Marshal MichaelAndreas Barclay de Tolly, leading Alexander I to appointan old veteran, Prince Mikhail Kutuzov, the newCommander-in-Chief. Finally, on 7 September, the twoarmies met near Moscow in the Battle of Borodino. The

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 2/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 2/20

NapoleonicSpain

SwissConfederation

Allies:AustriaPrussia

Commanders and leaders Napoleon I

Louis AlexandreBerthier

Louis-NicolasDavout

Michel Ney

Jacques MacDonaldNicolas OudinotJerome IJózef PoniatowskiJoachim IEugène de

BeauharnaisKarl PhilippJohann Yorck

Alexander I

Mikhail KutuzovMichael Andreas

Barclay de Tolly Pyotr Bagration †Peter Wittgenstein

Alexander TormasoPavel Chichagov

Strength

Grande Armée:

~685,000[2]Imperial Russian

Army:

regulars: 198,250 June20th[2]

Casualties and losses

Deaths: 380,000[3]

Survivors: 120,000 men(excluding earlydeserters).

Of these, 50,000 wereAustrians and Prussians,20,000 Poles and 35,000Frenchmen.[4]

Deaths: 210,000[5]

battle was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars; it involved more than 250,000 soldiersand resulted in at least 70,000 casualties. The Frenchcaptured the battlefield, but failed to destroy the Russianarmy. Moreover, the French could not replace their losseswhereas the Russians could replace theirs.

Napoleon entered Moscow on September 14, after theRussian Army had again retreated. But by then theRussians had largely evacuated the city and even releasedcriminals from the prisons to inconvenience the French;furthermore, the governor, Count Fyodor Rostopchin,ordered the city to be burnt.[8]Alexander I refused tocapitulate and the peace talks that Napoleon initiated failed.In October, with no clear sign of victory in sight, Napoleon began his disastrous Great Retreat from Moscow, duringthe usual autumn Russian mud season.

At the Battle of Maloyaroslavets the French tried to reachKaluga, where they could find food and forage supplies.But the replenished Russian Army blocked the road, and Napoleon was forced to retreat the same way he had cometo Moscow, through the heavily ravaged areas along theSmolensk road. In the following weeks, theGrande

rmée underwent catastrophic blows from the onset of theRussian Winter, the lack of supplies and constant guerillawarfare by Russian peasants and irregular troops. Whenthe remnants of Napoleon's army crossed the BerezinaRiver in November, only 27,000 fit soldiers remained; theGrand Armée had lost some 380,000 men dead and100,000 captured.[9]Napoleon then abandoned his menand returned to Paris to protect his position as Emperor and to prepare to resist the advancing Russians. Thecampaign effectively ended on 14 December 1812, whenthe last French troops left Russia.

An event of epic proportions and momentous importancefor European history, the French invasion of Russia has been the subject of much discussion among historians. Thecampaign's sustained role in Russian culture may be seen inTolstoy'sWar and Peace , Tchaikovsky's1812 Overture ,and the identification of it with the German invasion of 1941–45, which became known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union.

Contents

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 3/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 3/20

1 Alternative names2 Causes3 Logistics4 Opposing forces

4.1 Grande Armée4.2 Russian Imperial Army

5 Invasion

5.1 Crossing the Niemen5.2 March on Vilnius5.3 March on Moscow

6 The Battle of Borodino6.1 Capture of Moscow

7 Retreat and rebuilding7.1 Fire of Moscow

8 Retreat and losses9 Weather as a factor 10 Historical assessment11 See also12 Notes13 References

13.1 Books13.2 Journals13.3 Articles

14 Further reading14.1 Non-fiction14.2 Fiction

15 External links

Alternative names

Napoleon's invasion is better known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (Russian Отечественная война1812 года,Otechestvennaya Vojna 1812 goda ), not to be confused with theGreat Patriotic War (ВеликаяОтечественная война,Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna ) which refers to Hitler's, rather than Napoleon'invasion of Russia. The Patriotic War of 1812 is also occasionally referred to as the "War of 1812", whi be confused with the conflict of the same name between the United Kingdom and the United States. It wtermed the "Fatherland War", and later the "First Fatherland War", with both World Wars later being ter"Second Fatherland War".[10]In pre-revolutionary Russian literature, the war was occasionally described a"aninvasion of twelve languages" (Russian: нашествие двунадесяти языков). In an attempt to gain increasupport from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon in his own words termed this war the "Second P(the first Polish war being the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw from parts of the Prussian and Austrian p because one of the stated goals of the war was the resurrection of the Polish state on the territories of thPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern territories of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine).

Causes

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 4/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 4/20

Patriotic War of 1812. Advance of Napoleon's a(June 24 - October 2, 1812)

Although the Napoleonic Empire seemed to be at its height in 1810 and 1811,[11] it had in fact already declinedsomewhat from its apogee in 1806-1809. While most of Western and Central Europe lay under his contdirectly or indirectly through various protectorates, allies, and countries defeated by his empire and undefavorable for France - Napoleon had embroiled his armies in the costly and drawn-out Peninsular War iPortugal. France's economy, army morale, and political support at home had noticeably declined. But mimportantly, Napoleon himself was not in the same physical and mental state as in years past. He had beoverweight and increasingly prone to various maladies.[12]Nevertheless, despite his troubles in Spain, with th

exception of British expeditionary forces to that country, no European power dared move against him.[13]

The Treaty of Schönbrunn, which ended the 1809 war between Austria and France, had a clause removWestern Galicia from Austria and annexing it to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Russia viewed this as agaiinterests and as a potential launching-point for an invasion of Russia.[14]In 1811 Russian staff developed a planoffensive war, assuming a Russian assault on Warsaw and on Danzig.[15]

In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon in his own wordthis war theSecond Polish War:

Soldiers, the second war of Poland is started; the first finished in Tilsit. In Tilsit, Russia sworeeternal alliance in France and war in England. It violates its oaths today. Russia is pulled by its

fate; its destinies must be achieved! Does it thus believe us degenerated? Thus let us go ahead;let us pass Neman River, carry the war on its territory. The second war of Poland will be

glorious with the French Armies like the first one. [16]

Napoleon's "first" Polish war, the War of the Fourth Coalition to liberate Poland (from Russia, Prussia ahe saw as such because one of the official declared goals of this war was the resurrection of the Polish sterritories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Tsar Alexander found Russia in an economic bind as his country had little in the way of manufacturing yein raw materials and relied heavily on trade with Napoleon's continental system for both money and mangoods. Russia's withdrawal from the system was a further incentive to Napoleon to force a decision.[17]

Logistics

The invasion of Russia clearly and dramaticallydemonstrates the importance of logistics in military planning,especially when the land will not provide for the number of troops deployed in an area of operations far exceeding the

experience of the invading army.[18]

Napoleon and theGrande Armée had developed a proclivity for living off theland that had served it well in the densely populated andagriculturally rich central Europe with its dense network of roads.[19]Rapid forced marches had dazed and confusedold order Austrian and Prussian armies and much had beenmade of the use of foraging.[19] In Russia many of theGrande Armée's methods of operation worked against itand they were additionally seriously handicapped by thelack of winter horse shoes which made it impossible for the

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 5/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 5/20

horses to obtain traction on snow.[20]Forced marches often made troops do without supplies as the supplystruggled to keep up.[19]Lack of food and water in thinly populated, much less agriculturally dense regionthe death of troops and their mounts by exposing them to waterborne diseases from drinking from mud eating rotten food and forage. The front of the army would receive whatever could be provided while thformations behind starved.[21]

Napoleon had in fact made extensive preparations providing for the provisioning of his army. Seventeen

battalions, comprising 6000 vehicles, were to provide a 40-day supply for the Grande Armée and its opand a large system of magazines was established in towns and cities in Poland and East Prussia.[22]At the start othe campaign, no march on Moscow was envisioned and so the preparations would have sufficed. HowRussian armies could not stand singularly against the main battle group of 285,000 men and would contiretreat and attempt to join one another. This demanded an advance by the Grande Armée over a networoads that would dissolve into deep mires, where ruts in the mud would freeze solid, killing already exhahorses and breaking wagons.[23]As the graph of Charles Joseph Minard, given below, shows, the Grande incurred the majority of its losses during the march to Moscow during the summer and autumn. Starvatiodesertion, typhus and suicide would cost the French Army more men than all the battles of the Russian icombined.[24]

Opposing forces

Main article: Order of battle of the French invasion of Russia

Grande Armée

On 24 June 1812, the 450,000 men of theGrande Armée , the largest army assembled up to that point inEuropean history, crossed the river Neman and headed towards Moscow. Anthony Joes in Journal of C

Studies wrote that:Figures on how many men Napoleon took into Russia and how many eventually came out vary ratwidely.

[Georges] Lefebvre says that Napoleon crossed the Neman with over 600,000 soldiers, onlhalf of whom were from France, the others being mainly Poles and Germans.Felix Markham thinks that 450,000 crossed the Neman on 25 June 1812, of whom fewer th40,000 recrossed in anything like a recognizable military formation.James Marshall-Cornwall says 510,000 Imperial troops entered Russia.

Eugene Tarle believes that 420,000 crossed with Napoleon and 150,000 eventually followefor a grand total of 570,000.Richard K. Riehn provides the following figures: 685,000 men marched into Russia in 1812whom around 355,000 were French; 31,000 soldiers marched out again in some sort of military formation, with perhaps another 35,000 stragglers, for a total of fewer than 70,000known survivors.Adam Zamoyski estimated that between 550,000 and 600,000 French and allied troops(including reinforcements) operated beyond the Niemen, of which as many as 400,000 troodied.[25]

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 6/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 6/20

Monument to Kutuzov in front of Kazan Cathedral in Saint PetersburThe Kazan Cathedral and theCathedral of Christ the Saviour inMoscow were built to commemor

the Russian victory against Napole

As irregular cavalry, the Cossack horsemen of the Russian steppeswere best suited to reconnaissance,scouting and harassing the enemy'sflanks and supply lines.

"Whatever the accurate number, it is generally accepted that the overwhelming majority of this graarmy, French and allied, remained, in one condition or another, inside Russia."

—Anthony Joes[26]

M. Minard's famous infographic (see below) depicts the march ingeniously by showing the size of the adarmy, overlaid on a rough map, as well as the retreating soldiers together with temperatures recorded (as30 below zero on the Réaumur scale) on their return. The numbers on this chart have 422,000 crossing twith Napoleon, 22,000 taking a side trip early on in the campaign, 100,000 surviving the battles en routMoscow and returning from there; only 4,000 survive the march back, to be joined by 6,000 that survivthat initial 22,000 in the feint attack northward; in the end, only 10,000 crossed the Neman back out of t422,000.[27]

Russian Imperial Army

The forces immediately facing Napoleon consisted of three armiescomprising 175,250 Russians and 15,000 Cossacks, with 938 guns asfollows:

Main article: List of Russian commanders in the Patriotic War of 1812

General of Infantry Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly served as theCommander in Chief of the Russian Armies, a field commander of theFirst Western Army and Minister of War until replaced by MikhailIllarionovich Kutuzov who assumed the role of Commander-in-chief during the retreat after the Battle of Smolensk.

These forces, however, couldcount on reinforcements fromthe second line, which totaled129,000 men and 8,000Cossacks, with 434 guns and433 rounds of ammunition.

Of these about 105,000 menwere actually available for thedefense against the invasion. Inthe third line were the 36recruit depots and militias,which came to the total of approximately 161,000 men of various and highly disparate militavalues, of which about 133,000 actually took part in the defense.

Thus, the grand total of all the forces was 488,000 men, of which about 428,000 gradually came into acthe Grand Army. This bottom line, however, includes more than 80,000 Cossacks and militiamen, as we20,000 men who garrisoned the fortresses in the operational area.

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 7/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 7/20

Sweden, Russia's only ally, did not send supporting troops. But the alliance made it possible to withdraw45,000-man Russian corps Steinheil from Finland and use it in the later battles (20,000 men were sent to[28

Invasion

Crossing the Niemen

The invasion commenced on 24 June 1812. Napoleon had sent a final offer of peace to Saint Petersburg before commencing operations. He never received a reply, so he gave the order to proceed into RussianHe initially met little resistance and moved quickly into the enemy's territory. The French coalition of forcamounted to 449,000 men and 1,146 cannons being opposed by the Russian armies combining to mustRussians, 938 cannons, and 15,000 Cossacks.[29]The center of mass of French forces focused on Kaunas acrossings were made by the French Guard, I, II and III corps amounting to some 120,000 at this point oalone.[30]The actual crossings were made in the area of Alexioten where three pontoon bridges were coThe sites had been selected by Napoleon in person.[31]Napoleon had a tent raised and he watched and revitroops as they crossed the Niemen.[32]Roads in this area of Lithuania hardly qualified as such, actually bein

dirt tracks through areas of dense forest.[33]

Supply lines simply could not keep up with the forced marches corps and rear formations always suffered the worst privations.[34]

March on Vilnius

The 25th of June found Napoleon's group past the bridge head with Ney's command approaching the excrossings at Alexioten. Murat's reserve cavalry provided the vanguard with Napoleon the guard and Dacorp following behind. Eugene's command would cross the Niemen further north at Piloy, and MacDonthe same day. Jerome command wouldn't complete its crossing at Grodno until the 28th. Napoleon rushVilnius pushing the infantry forward in columns that suffered from heavy rain then stifling heat. The centra

would cross 70 miles (110 km) in two days.[35]Ney's III corps would march down the road to Sudervė witOudinot marching on the other side of the Neris River in an operation attempting to catch General Wittgcommand between Ney, Oudinout and Macdonald's commands, but Macdonald's command was late inan objective too far away and the opportunity vanished. Jerome was tasked with tackling Bagration by mGrodno and Reynier's VII corps sent to Białystok in support.[36]

The Russian headquarters was in fact centered in Vilnius on June 24 and couriers rushed news about thethe Niemen to Barclay de Tolley. Before the night had passed orders were sent out to Bagration and Plathe offensive. Alexander left Vilnius on June 26 and Barclay assumed overall command. Although Barclato give battle he assessed it as a hopeless situation and ordered Vilnius's magazines burned and its bridg

dismantled. Wittgenstein moved his command to Perkele passing beyond Macdonald and Oudinot's opewith Wittgenstein's rear guard clashing with Oudinout's forward elements.[36]Doctorov on the Russian Left fouhis command threatened by Phalen's III cavalry corp. Bagration was ordered to Vileyka which moved hBarclay though the order's intent is still something of a mystery to this day.[37]

On June the 28th Napoleon entered Vilnius with only light skirmishing. The foraging in Lithuania proved land was mostly barren and forested. The supplies of forage were less than that of Poland and two daysmarching made a bad supply situation worse.[37]Central to the problem were the expanding distances to supmagazines and the fact that no supply wagon could keep up with a forced marched infantry column.[38]Theweather itself became an issue where according to historian Richard K. Riehn:

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 8/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 8/20

General Raevsky leading adetachment of the Russian ImperiaGuard at the Battle of Saltanovka.

Eagles monument in Smolensk,commemorating the centenary the Russian defeat of Napoleon

French Carabiniers-à-Cheval duringthe Russian Campaign.

The thunderstorms of the 24th turned into other downpours, turning the tracks——some diarists cthere were no roads in Lithuania——into bottomless mires. Wagon sank up to their hubs; horsesdropped from exhaustion; men lost their boots. Stalled wagons became obstacles that forced menaround them and stopped supply wagons and artillery columns. Then came the sun which would bthe deep ruts into canyons of concrete, where horses would break their legs and wagons their wheels.[38]

A Lieutenant Mertens — a Wurttemberger serving with Ney's III corps — reported in his diary that oppressive heat followed by rain left themwith dead horses and camping in swamp-like conditions with dysenteryand influenza raging though the ranks with hundreds in a field hospital thathad to be set up for the purpose. He reported the times, dates and places, of events reporting thunderstorms on the 6th of June and mendying of sunstroke by the 11th.[38]The Crown Prince of Wurttembergreported 21 men dead in bivouacs. The Bavarian corps was reporting345 sick by June 13.[39]

Desertion was high among Spanish and Portuguese formations. Thesedeserters proceeded to terrorize the population, looting whatever lay tohand. The areas in which the Grande Armée passed were devastated. A Polish officer reported that areahim were depopulated.[39]

The French light Cavalry was shocked to find itself outclassed by Russian counterparts so much so that had ordered that infantry be provided as back up to French light cavalry units.[39]This affected both Frenchreconnaissance and intelligence operations. Despite 30,000 cavalry, contact was not maintained with Baforces leaving Napoleon guessing and throwing out columns to find his opposition.[40]

The operation intended to splitBagration's forces from Barclay'sforces by driving to Vilnius hadcost the French forces 25,000losses from all causes in a fewdays.[39]Strong probingoperations were advanced fromVilnius towards Nemenčinė,Mykoliškės, Ashmyany andMolėtai.[39]

Eugene crossed at Prenn on June30 while Jerome moved VIICorps to Białystok, witheverything else crossing atGrodno.[40]Murat advanced to Nemenčinė on July 1 running intoelements of Doctorov's III Russian

Cavalry Corps en route to Djunaszev. Napoleon assumed this wasBagration's 2nd Army and rushed out before being told it was not 24 hours

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 9/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 9/20

later. Napoleon then attempted to use Davout, Jerome and Eugene out on his right in a hammer and anviBagration to destroy the 2nd army in an operation spanning Ashmyany and Minsk. This operation had fa produce results on his left before with Macdonald and Oudinot. Doctorov had moved from Djunaszev tnarrowly evading French forces, with 11 regiments and a battery of 12 guns heading to join Bagration whtoo late to stay with Doctorov.[41]

Conflicting orders and lack of information had almost placed Bagration in a bind marching into Davout; Jerome could not arrive in time over the same mud tracks, supply problems, and weather, that had so baaffected the rest of the Grande Armée, losing 9000 men in four days. Command disputes between JeromGeneral Vandamme would not help the situation.[42]Bagration joined with Doctorov and had 45,000 men atSverzen by the 7th. Davout had lost 10,000 men marching to Minsk and would not attack Bagration witJerome joining him. Two French Cavalry defeats by Platov kept the French in the dark and Bagration w better informed with both overestimating the other's strength, Davout thought Bagration had some 60,00Bagration thought Davout had 70,000. Bagration was getting orders from both Alexander's staff and Ba(which Barclay didn't know) and left Bagration without a clear picture of what was expected of him andsituation. This stream of confused orders to Bagration had him upset with Barclay which would have replater.[43]

Napoleon reached Vilnius on the 28th of June leaving 10,000 dead horses in his wake. These horses w bringing up further supplies to an army in desperate need. Napoleon had supposed that Alexander woul peace at this point and was to be disappointed; it would not be his last disappointment.[44]Barclay continued toretreat to the Drissa deciding that the concentration of the 1st and 2nd armies was his first priority.[45]

Barclay continued his retreat and with the exception of the occasional rearguard clash remained unhindemovements ever further east.[46]To date the standard methods of the Grande Armée were working againstRapid forced marches quickly caused desertion, starvation, exposed the troops to filthy water and diseathe logistics trains lost horses by the thousands, further exacerbating the problems. Some 50,000 straggldeserters became a lawless mob warring with local peasantry in all-out guerrilla war, that further hinderereaching the Grand Armee which was already down 95,000 men.[47]

March on Moscow

Barclay, the Russian commander-in-chief, refused to fight despite Bagration's urgings. Several times he ato establish a strong defensive position, but each time the French advance was too quick for him to finish preparations and he was forced to retreat once more. When the French army progressed further, seriouin foraging surfaced, aggravated by scorched earth tactics of the Russian army[48][49]advocated by Karl Ludwivon Phull.[50]

Political pressure on Barclay to give battle and the general's continuing resistance (viewed as intransigen populace) led to his removal from the position of commander-in-chief to be replaced by the boastful andMikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Despite Kutuzov's rhetoric to the contrary, he continued in much the wayhad, immediately seeing that to face the French in open battle would be to sacrifice his army pointlessly. an indecisive clash at Smolensk on August 16–18, he finally managed to establish a defensive position a

The Battle of Borodino

Main article: Batt le of Borodino

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 10/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 10/20

Kutusov and his staff at Borodino Napoleon and his staff at Borodino

The Battle of Borodino(Russian: Бородинскаябитва, Borodinskayabitva ; French: Bataillede la Moskowa ), foughton September 7,1812,[51]was thelargest and bloodiestday of the Frenchinvasion of Russia,involving more than250,000 troops and

resulting in at least 70,000 casualties. The FrenchGrande Armée under Emperor Napoleon I attacked the ImRussian Army of General Mikhail Kutuzov near the village of Borodino, west of the town of Mozhaysk eventually captured the main positions on the battlefield but failed to destroy the Russian army. About a Napoleon's soldiers were killed or wounded; Russian losses, while heavier, could be replaced due to Ru population, since Napoleon's campaign took place on Russian soil.

The battle ended with the Russian Army, while out of position, still ready for a fight.[citation needed ] The state of exhaustion of the French forces and the lack of recognition of the state of the Russian Army led Napoleoon the battlefield with his army instead of the forced pursuit that had marked other campaigns that he hadconducted.[52]The entirety of the Guard was still available to Napoleon and in refusing to use it he lost thchance to destroy the Russian army.[53]The battle at Borodino was a pivotal point in the campaign, as it walast offensive action fought by Napoleon in Russia. By withdrawing, the Russian army preserved its comstrength, eventually allowing it to force Napoleon out of the country.

The Battle of Borodino on September 7 was the bloodiest day of battle in the Napoleonic Wars. The Rucould only muster half of its strength on September 8 and was forced to retreat, leaving the road to MosKutuzov also ordered the evacuation of the city.

By this point the Russians had managed to draft large numbers of reinforcements into the army bringing Russian land forces to their peak strength in 1812 of 904,000 with perhaps 100,000 in the vicinity of Mthe remnants of Kutuzov's army from Borodino partially reinforced.

Capture of Moscow

On September 14, 1812, Napoleon moved into the empty city that was stripped of all supplies by its goFeodor Rostopchin. Relying on classical rules of warfare aiming at capturing the enemy's capital (even thPetersburg was the political capital at that time, Moscow was the spiritual capital of Russia), Napoleon hexpected Tsar Alexander I to offer his capitulation at the Poklonnaya Hill but the Russian command did surrendering.

As Napoleon prepared to enter Moscow he was surprised to have received no delegation from the city.approach of a victorious general, the civil authorities customarily presented themselves at the gates of thethe keys to the city in an attempt to safeguard the population and their property. As nobody received Nasent his aides into the city, seeking out officials with whom the arrangements for the occupation could beWhen none could be found, it became clear that the Russians had left the city unconditionally.[54]

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 11/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 11/20

Napoléon and General Lauriston — Peaceat all costs!

Patriotic War of 1812. Theexpulsion of Napoleon's armyfrom Russia (October 18 — December 14, 1812)

In a normal surrender, the city officials would be forced to find billets and make arrangements for the feeding of the soldiers, but thesituation caused a free-for-all in which every man was forced to findlodgings and sustenance for himself. Napoleon was secretlydisappointed by the lack of custom as he felt it robbed him of atraditional victory over the Russians, especially in taking such ahistorically significant city.[54]

Before the order was received to evacuate Moscow, the city had a population of approximately 270,000 people. As much of the population pulled out, the remainder were burning or robbing theremaining stores of food, depriving the French of their use. As Napoleon entered the Kremlin, there still remained one-third of theoriginal population, mainly consisting of foreign traders, servants and people who were unable or unwilling to flee. These, including theseveral hundred strong French colony, attempted to avoid thetroops.

Retreat and rebuilding

Both Armies began to move and rebuild. The Russian retreat was significantfor two reasons; firstly, the move was to the south and not the east;secondly, the Russians immediately began operations that would continue todeplete the French forces. Platov, commanding the rear guard on the 8th of September, offered such strong resistance that Napoleon remained on theBorodino field.[55]On the 9th of September Miloradovitch assumedcommand of the rear guard adding his forces to the formation. Another

battle was given throwing back French forces at Semolino causing 2,000losses on both sides, however some 10,000 wounded would be left behind by the Russian Army.[56]The French Army began to move out on Sept.10th with the still ill Napoleon not leaving until the 12th. Some 18,000 menwere ordered in from Smolensk, and Marshal Victor's corps suppliedanother 25,000.[57]Miloradovich would not give up his rear guard dutiesuntil the 14th allowing much of Moscow to be deserted, and retreated under a truce at last.[58]

Fire of Moscow

Main article: Fire of Moscow (1812)

After entering Moscow, the Grande Armée, unhappy with military conditions and no sign of victory, begwhat little remained within Moscow. The same evening, the first fires began to break out in the city, spremerging over the next few days.

Moscow, comprised two thirds of wooden buildings at the time, burnt down almost completely (it was ethat four-fifths of the city was destroyed), depriving the French of shelter in the city. French historians (ePaul, comte de Ségur) assume that the fires were due to Russian sabotage.

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 12/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 12/20

The fire of Moscow (1812) In 1812 by Illarion Pryanishnikov.

French Army in the Town Hall Square Vilnius during the retreat.

Tolstoy, inWar and Peace , claimed that the fire was not deliberately set, either by the Russians or the Frenatural result of placing a wooden city in the hands of strangers in wintertime is that they will make smallwarm, to cook their food and for other benign purposes and that some of the fires will get out of controlfire department, house fires will spread to become neighborhood fires and ultimately a city-wide conflag

Retreat and losses

Sitting in the ashes of a ruined city withouthaving received theRussian capitulationand facing Russianoperations against hissupplies forced Napoleon and hisdiminished army outof Moscow.[59]He

started his longretreat by the middleof October 1812. At the Battle of Maloyaroslavets, Kutuzov was able to force the French army into usiSmolensk road on which they had earlier moved East and which had been stripped of food by both armioften presented as another example of scorched-earth tactics. Continuing to block the southern flank to French from returning by a different route, Kutuzov again deployed partisan tactics to constantly strike aFrench train where it was weakest. Light Russian cavalry, including mounted Cossacks, assaulted and bisolated French units.[59]

Supplying the army became an impossibility – the lack of grass

weakened the army's remaining horses, almost all of which died or were killed for food by starving soldiers. With no horses the Frenchcavalry ceased to exist and cavalrymen were forced to march onfoot. In addition the lack of horses meant that cannons and wagonshad to be abandoned, depriving the army of artillery and supportconvoys. Although the army was quickly able to replace its artilleryin 1813, the abandonment of wagons created an immense logistics problem for the remainder of the war, as thousands of the bestmilitary wagons were left behind in Russia. As starvation anddisease took their toll desertion soared. Most of the deserters were

taken prisoner or promptly executed by Russian peasants. Badlyweakened by these circumstances, the French military positioncollapsed. The Russians inflicted further defeats on elements of theGrande Armée at Vyazma, Krasnoi and Polotsk. The crossing of the river Berezina was the final Frenchcatastrophe of the war, as two Russian armies inflicted horrendous casualties on the remnants of the Graas it struggled to escape across pontoon bridges.

In early November 1812 Napoleon learned that General Claude de Malet had attempted a coup d'état bFrance. He abandoned the army and returned home on a sleigh, leaving Marshal Joachim Murat in charglater deserted to save his kingdom of Naples, leaving Napoleon's former stepson Eugène de Beauharnai

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 13/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 13/20

Bad News from France , paintingdepicting Napoleon encamped in aRussian Orthodox church (VasilyVereshchagin, part of his series,"Napoleon, 1812", 1887–95).

Napoleon and his marshals struggle toredress the situation during the retreat.

command.

In the following weeks, the Grande Armée shrank further and on 14 December 1812 it left Russian terriAccording to the popular legend only about 22,000 of Napoleon'survived the Russian campaign. However, some sources say that more than 380,000 soldiers were killed.[3]The difference can beexplained by up to 100,000 French prisoners in Russian hands(mentioned by Eugen Tarlé, released in 1814) and more than 80,0(including all wing-armies, not only the rest of the "main army" und Napoleon's direct command) returning troops (mentioned by Germilitary historians). Most of the Prussian contingent survived thanConvention of Tauroggen and almost the whole Austrian contingeunder Schwarzenberg withdrew successfully. The Russians formeRussian-German Legion from other German prisoners and desert[28

Russian casualties in thefew open battles arecomparable to the Frenchlosses but civilian lossesalong the devastatedcampaign route weremuch higher than themilitary casualties. In total,despite earlier estimatesgiving figures of severalmillion dead, around one

million were killed including civilians — fairly evenly split betweenthe French and Russians.[60]Military losses amounted to 300,000French, about 72,000 Poles,[61]50,000 Italians, 80,000 Germans, 61,000 from other nations. As well as tof human life the French also lost some 200,000 horses and over 1,000 artillery pieces.

The losses of the Russian armies are hard to assess. A 19th century historian Michael Bogdanovich assereinforcements of the Russian armies during the war using the Military Registry archives of the General SAccording to this the reinforcements totaled 134,000. The main army at the time of capture of Vilnius inhad 70,000 men, while its number at the war start was about 150,000. Thus, the total loss is 210,000 mthese about 40,000 returned to duty. Losses of the formations operating in secondary areas of operationlosses in militia units were about 40,000. Thus, he came up with the number of 210,000 men and militiam[5]

Weather as a factor

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 14/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 14/20

The Night Bivouac of Napoleon'sArmy during retreat from Russia i1812. Oil on canvas. HistoricalMuseum, Moscow, Russia.

A saying arose that the Generals Janvier and Fevrier (January and February) defeated Napoleon, alludinRussian Winter. But one study concluded that the winter had a major effect only after Napoleon was in fsaying that "In regard to the claims of 'General Winter', the main body of Napoleon's Grande Armée dimhalf during the first eight weeks of his invasion before the major battle of the campaign. This decrease wdue to garrisoning supply centres but disease, desertions and casualties sustained in minor actions causeof losses. At Borodino, Napoleon could muster no more than 135,000 troops and he lost at least 30,00to gain a narrow and Pyrrhic victory almost 1,000 km (620 mi) deep in hostile territory. The sequels weruncontested and self-defeating occupation of Moscow and his humiliatingretreat which began on 19 October, before the first severe frosts later that month and the first snow on 5 November."[62]

General of Cavalry Denis Davidov, writing in 1814, noted that thewinters during campaigns in 1795 and 1807 were far colder but failed to prevent French operations and victories. Also, for much of the period of retreat, the temperature did not drop below 10 °C (50 °F) and even atits coldest during November in Vilno the temperatures on the 13th(−8 °C or 18 °F), 14th (−9.2 °C or 15.4 °F) and 15th (−6.5 °C or 20.3 °F) were not especially severe. In fact the severe cold temperaturesthat are often referred to and depicted on paintings did not occur untilafter the French retreat crossed the Neman River.[63]Davidov and other Russian campaign participants record wholesale surrenders of starvingmembers of the Grande Armée well before the onset of frosts amideyewitness reports of cannibalism and point to the breakdown in French supply and constant harassmenFrench army by Russian forces as the primary reasons for their losses during the retreat.

Napoleon's invasion of Russia is listed among the most lethal military operations in world history.[64]

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 15/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 15/20

Charles Joseph Minard's famous graph showing the decreasing size of the Grande Armée as it marches to M

(brown line, from left to right) and back (black line, from right to left) with the size of the army equal to the wthe line. Temperature is plotted on the lower graph for the return journey (Multiply Réaumur temperatures byget Celsius, e.g. −30 °R = −37.5 °C)

Historical assessment

The Russian victory over the French army in 1812 marked a huge blow to Napoleon's ambitions of Eurdominance. This war was the reason the other coalition allies triumphed once and for all over Napoleonwas shattered and morale was low, both for French troops still in Russia, fighting battles just before the cended and for the troops on other fronts. Out of an original force of 615,000, only 110,000 frostbitten anstarved survivors stumbled back into France.[65]The Russian campaign was the decisive turning-point of the Napoleonic Wars that ultimately led to Napoleon's defeat and exile on the island of Elba.[1]For Russia the term Patriotic War (an English rendition of the Russian Отечественная война) formed a symbol for a strengnational identity that would have great effect on Russian patriotism in the 19th century. The indirect resul patriotic movement of Russians was a strong desire for the modernization of the country that would resuof revolutions, starting with the Decembrist revolt and ending with the February Revolution of 1917.

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 16/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 16/20

A hall of military fame in the Winter Palace with portraits of the Russian war heroes.

Napoleon was not completely defeated by the disaster inRussia. The following year he raised an army of around400,000 French troops supported by a quarter of a millionFrench allied troops to contest control of Germany in aneven larger campaign. Despite being outnumbered, he wona large victory at the Battle of Dresden. It was not until thedecisive Battle of Nations (October 16–19, 1813) that hewas finally defeated and afterwards no longer had thetroops to stop the Coalition's invasion of France. Napoleondid still manage to inflict heavy losses and a series of minor military victories on the far larger Allied armies as theydrove towards Paris, though they captured the city andforced him to abdicate in 1814.

The Russian campaign had revealed that Napoleon was notinvincible, putting an end to his reputation as an undefeatedmilitary genius. Napoleon had made many terrible errors in this campaign. One of the worst was that hequit his campaign in Spain while trying to campaign in Russia. Historian F.G. Hourtoulle perhaps says it bdoes not make war on two fronts, especially so far apart."[66]In trying to have both he gave up any chance ateither. Napoleon had foreseen what it would mean, so he fled back to France quickly before word of th became widespread, allowing him to start raising another army.[65]Metternich began to take the actions that wtake Austria out of the war with a secret truce.[67]Sensing this and urged on by Prussian nationalists and Ruscommanders, German nationalists revolted in the Confederation of the Rhine and Prussia. The decisive Gcampaign likely could not have occurred without the message the defeat in Russia sent to the rest of Eur

In hindsight, such a defeat is somewhat mirrored by Hitler's failed invasion on Russia during World War Although, ironically, Hitler had studied Napoleon's battle tactics, he decided, against many of his top advinvade Russia and break his contract with Stalin. He knew the invasion would have only one chance and he would be fighting a war on two fronts (the Western Front consisting of France and Britain, and the Eawhich would consist of the Soviet Union) which also proved fatal in Napoleon's situation. In 1812, Nap been campaigning in Spain as well as Russia and had failed in both.[66] In 1941, Hitler had to split his army in to conquer Russia and in doing so, perhaps lost the war solely on that point. After Stalin found out what happened, he orchestrated the Battle of Moscow which, along with the notoriously cold Russian winter,the German troops and finally pushed them back. Hitler would now be fighting on two fronts.

See also

Nadezhda DurovaVasilisa KozhinaList of warsList of invasions1812 Overture : orchestra piece written by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky to celebrate the 70th anniversRussian victory over the French.War and Peace : epic novel written by Leo Tolstoy that analyzes Napoleon's invasion of RussiaGeneral Confederation of Kingdom of PolandWar and Peace opera by Sergey Prokofiev

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 17/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 17/20

Notes

1. ^ a b von Clausewitz, Carl (1996).The Russian campaign of 1812 . Transaction Publishers. Introduction by GChaliand, VII. ISBN 1-4128-0599-6

2. ^ a b Riehn, p.503. ^ a b The Wordsworth Pocket Encyclopedia, p. 17, Hertfordshire 1993.4. ^ Zamoyski, page 5365. ^ a b Bogdanovich, "History of Patriotic War 1812", Spt., 1859–1860, Appendix, pp. 492–503.6. ^ Boudon Jacques-Olivier, Napoléon et la campagne de Russie: 1812 , Armand Colin, 2012.7. ^ Fierro; Palluel-Guillard; Tulard, p. 159-1618. ^ With Napoleon in Russia, The Memoirs of General Coulaincourt , Chapter VI 'The Fire' pp. 109–107 Pub.

William Morrow and Co 19459. ^ The Wordsworth Pocket Encyclopedia, page 17, Hertfordshire 1993

10. ^ Geisler, Michael E. National Symbols, Fractured Identities: Contesting the National Narrative . University Preof New England, 2005: pg. 107.

11. ^ Illustrated History of Europe: A Unique Guide to Europe's Common Heritage (1992) p. 28212. ^ McLynn, Frank, pp. 490-520.

13. ^ Riehn, Richard K, pp. 10–20.14. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 25.15. ^ Dariusz Nawrot, Litwa i Napoleon w 1812 roku, Katowice 2008, pp. 58-59.16. ^ Napoleon daily decree, June 22, 181217. ^ Reihn, Richard K, p. 24.18. ^ Riehn, Richard K, pp. 138–40.19. ^a b c Riehn, Richard K, p. 139.20. ^ Professor Saul David (9-Feb-2012). "Napoleon's failure: For the want of a winter horseshoe"

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16929522). BBC news magazine. Retrieved 9-Feb-2012.21. ^ Riehn, Richard K, pp. 139–53.22. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 150.23. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 151.24. ^ Typhus in Russia (http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/napoleon/typhus_russia.htm), Montana U25. ^ Zamoyski 2005, p. 536 — note this includes deaths of prisoners during captivity.26. ^ Anthony James Joes.Continuity and Change in Guerrilla War: The Spanish and Afghan Cases

(http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get.cgi?directory=J97/articles/&filename=joes1.htm#27) , Journal of ConfSudies Vol. XVI No. 2, Fall 1997. Footnote 27 (http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get.cgi?directory=J97/articles/&filename=joes_notes.htm#27), cites

Georges Lefebvre, Napoleon f rom Tilsit to Waterloo (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969), v pp. 311–12.Felix Markham, Napoleon (New York: Mentor, 1963), pp. 190, 199.James Marshall-Cornwall: Napoleon as Military Commander (London: Batsford, 1967), p. 220.Eugene Tarle: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1942), p. 397Richard K. Riehn See 1812: Napoleon's Russian Campaign(New York: John Wiley, 1991), pp. 77 and 501

27. ^ See a large copy of the chart here (http://www.adept-plm.com/Newsletter/NapoleonsMarch.htm), butat length in Edward Tufte,The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (London: Graphics Press, 1992)

28. ^a b Helmert/Usczek: Europäische Befreiungskriege 1808 bis 1814/15, Berlin 198629. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 159.30. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 160.31. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 163.32. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 164.33. ^ Riehn, Richard K, pp. 160–1.34. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 162.

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 18/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 18/20

35. ^ Riehn, Richard K, p. 166.36. ^a b Riehn, Richard K, p. 167.37. ^a b Riehn, Richard K, p. 168.38. ^a b c Riehn, Richard K, p. 169.39. ^a b c d e Riehn, Richard K, p. 170.40. ^a b Riehn, Richard K, p. 171.41. ^ Reihn, Richard K, p. 172.42. ^ Reihn, Richard K, pp. 174–5.43. ^ Reihn, Richard K, p. 176.44. ^ Reihn, Richard K, p. 179.45. ^ Reihn, Richard K, p. 180.46. ^ Reihn, Richard K, pp. 182–447. ^ Reihn, Richard K, p. 185.48. ^ George Nafziger, 'Napoleon's Invasion of Russia(1984) ISBN 0-88254-681-349. ^ George Nafziger, "Rear services and foraging in the 1812 campaign: Reasons of Napoleon's defeat" (R

translation online) (http://genstab.ru/nap_sup_1812.htm)50. ^ Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Bd. 26, Leipzig 1888(German)51. ^ August 26 in the Julian calendar then used in Russia.52. ^ Riehn, P.25353. ^ Riehn, P.255-25654. ^a b Zamoyski 2005, p.297.55. ^ Riehn, p.26056. ^ Riehn, p.26157. ^ Riehn, p.26258. ^ Riehn, p.26559. ^a b Riehn, p.300-30160. ^ Zamoyski 2004, p. 536.61. ^ Zamoyski 2004, p. 537.62. ^ "Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies" (http://www-

cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Chew/CHEW.asp). US Army Command and General Staff College. Ret2006-03-31.63. ^ Мороз ли истребил французскую армию в 1812 году? Денис Васильевич Давыдов

(http://www.museum.ru/museum/1812/Library/davidov1/index.html#part3) (Did the cold exterminate tharmy in 1812?) by Denis Vasilyevich Davidov in Дневник партизанских действий (Journal of partisan action part III(Russian)

64. ^ Grant, R. G. (2005). Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat (http://books.google.com/boid=iU-pAQAACAAJ&ei=OtqJSa-lLJTUlQTVuu3rAQ). Dorling Kindersley. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-7566-1

65. ^a b Riehn, p.39566. ^a b Hourtoulle p.11967. ^ Riehn, p.397

References

Books

Britten Austin, Paul (2000).1812: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia . Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-4X. (Originally published in three volumes: The March on Moscow, Napoleon in Moscow, The GreRetreat.)

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 19/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon%27s_invasion_of_Russia 19/20

Bogdanovich, Michael (1863). History of Patriotic War 1812 . St. Petersburg. pp. 1859–1860.OCLC 25319830 (//www.worldcat.org/oclc/25319830).Connelly, Owen (1999). Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns (2nd ed.). WilmingtonDelaware: SR Books. ISBN 0-8420-2780-7.Marshall-Cornwall, James (1967). Napoleon as Military Commander . London: Batsford.Mikaberidze, Alexander (2010).The Battle of Berezina: Napoleon's Great Escape . London:Pen&Sword.

Mikaberidze, Alexander (2007).The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon versus Kutuzov . London:Pen&Sword. Nafziger, George (1984). Napoleon's Invasion of Russia . New York, N.Y.: Hippocrene Books. ISBN88254-681-3.Riehn, Richard K. (1991).1812 Napoleon's Russian Campaign . New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-5430.Zamoyski, Adam (2004). Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March . London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-712375-2.Lieven, Dominic (2009). Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814 . AllenLane/The Penguin Press. p. 617.[1] (http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/esdaile_10_09.html)Fierro, Alfred; Palluel-Guillard, André; Tulard, Jean (1995). Histoire et Dictionnaire du Consulat et del'Empire . Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont. p. 1350. ISBN 2-221-05858-5.

Journals

Anthony, James Joes (1996). "Continuity and Change in Guerrilla War: The Spanish and Afghan C(http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/JCS/article/view/4482/5262). Journal of Conflict Sudies 16 (2). Nafziger, George. "Rear services and foraging in the 1812 campaign: Reasons of Napoleon's defe(Russian translation online) (http://genstab.ru/nap_sup_1812.htm)

Fighting the Russians in Winter: Three Case Studies (http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/Chew/CHEW.asp). US Army Command and General Staff Colle

Articles

George, Hereford B."Public Opinion at Paris During the Russian Campaign, 1912," (http://archive.org/stream/englishhistoric07edwagoog#page/n536/mode/2up) The English Review,1901.

Further readingNon-fiction

Mikaberidze, Alexander, ed. Russian Voices of the Napoleonic Wars, 2011- (ongoing series featuRussian memoirs)Bogdanovich Modest I. (1859–1860). 'History of the War of 1812' (http://new.runivers.ru/lib/boo(История Отечественной войны 1812 года) at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formatsDavid G. Chandler (2002).The Campaigns of Napoleon . Folio. ISBN 0-297-74830-0.Denis Davidov (1999). In Service of the Tsar Against Napoleon, 1806–1814 . Greenhill Books. ISBN

7/28/2019 French Invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/french-invasion-of-russia-wikipedia-the-free-encyclopedia 20/20

6/14/13 French invasion of Russia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

85367-373-0.Edward Ryan (1999). Napoleon's Elite Cavalry . Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-371-4.Heinrich von Brandt (1999). In the Legions of Napoleon; The Memoirs of a Polish Officer in Spain and

Russia, 1808–1813 . Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-380-3.

Fiction

War and Peace , Leo TolstoyThe Retreat, Patrick Rambaud The Commodore by C.S. Forester – A fictional account of the siege of Riga on the Baltic by the Farmy and its allies.

External links

History of the Expedition to Russia Undertaken by the Emperor Napoleon in the Year 1812(http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18113), by the count de Ségur (Gutenberg Project ebook)

Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812 + color maps(http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Invasion_of_Russia_1812.htm)Alternative version of Minard's map (using modern country boundaries)(http://robslink.com/SAS/democd15/zoom.htm)Alternative version of Minard's map (zoomed-out, to show area in relationship to the rest of Europ(http://robslink.com/SAS/democd15/minard.htm)French invasion of 1812, view from Russia (http://steadfast-tin-soldier.hostingsiteforfree.com/s2/1

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_invasion_of_Russia&oldid=5585135Categories:19th-century conflicts Conflicts in 1812 Invasions Napoleonic Wars

Russian people of the Napoleonic Wars Wars involving Russia Wars involving France19th century in Russia 1812 in France 1812 in Russia France–Russia relations Polish–Russian wFrench invasion of Russia

This page was last modified on 5 June 2013 at 22:21.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms mBy using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization