Napoleon was one of the greatest military leaders of all time.
By 1812 Napoleon had expanded the territory of France all over Europe
including Spain, Italy, Holland, and Switzerland. The countries that
Napoleon did not directly control, he was usually allied with. The
turning point of Napoleon's career also came in 1812 when war broke
out between France and Russia because of Alexander I's refusal to
enforce the continental.
Even the French nation could not provide all the manpower and
supplies needed to carry out the Emperor's grandiose plan for subduing
Russia. Throughout 1811, he worked to mobilize the entire continent
against Russia. He not only levied the vassal kingdoms in Spain,
Italy, and Germany but also summoned Austria and Prussia to furnish
their share of men and goods. Altogether, Napoleon could count on
nearly 700,000 men of 20 nationalities of whom more than 600,000
crossed the border. Grown far beyond its original intended size, the
army was difficult to assemble and hard to feed. Between Tilsit and
Moscow, there lay over 600 miles of hostile barren countryside.
Because of lack of supplies and the difficulty to feed the large army,
Napoleon's plan was simple: bring about a battle, defeat the Russian
army, and dictate a settlement. Apparently neither he nor his
soldiers, who cheerfully began crossing the Nieman River, thought
beyond the immediate goal.
Already 300 miles into Russia, Napoleon had not yet found a
way to exploit his advantage. In the Emperor's programming the
resources necessary to achieve his objective, he had anticipated
fighting a battle within a month after crossing the Nieman. Toward the
end of that month Napoleon began to realize that events were
disproving the validity of his estimates. Dying horses littered the
roads and the advanced guard found little forage as Russians
everywhere abandoned their homes. Napoleon knew that he needed to
fight. At Smolensk, he set up for a battle and waited but the
Russians, afraid of a trap steadily withdrew their troops from
Smolensk and continued to retreat deeper into Russia.
The only major battle in the Russian campaign proved that
something was definitely lacking in Napoleon's judgment. Borodino was
a battle of legendary proportions. Before the battle Napoleon
proclaimed, "Soldiers, here is the battle you have so long desired!"
However, the fight was inconclusive. At its end, Napoleon found
himself the possessor, not of a victory, but of a barren hillside and
an increasingly compelling commitment to advance further into the
east. Well into the battle, the French had almost cracked the left
side of the Russian Army. Several French generals had requested that
Napoleon would commit the guard infantry into battle. This would
create the final blow and insure the Russian defeat. After 14 hours of
intense combat, the fighting died out at nightfall, and Mikhail
Illarionovich Kutusov, the Russian general, gratefully began to
retreat his troops. The guard infantry had remained unused. After the
Battle of Borodino, in which losses on both sides totaled !
over 70,000 men, Napoleon had 100,000 effectives remaining, while
Kutusov probably had no more than 55,000. Both sides claimed a
victory, whereas actually, both sides had lost. While the Russian
army filed disconsolately toward Moscow, the Emperor of the French
rationalized his indecision at Borodino by contenting himself with the
capture of the city.
On September 14, Napoleon rode into Moscow at the head of a
fraction of the Empire's military strength. Meanwhile, Napoleon's
opponent had made a decision that was to shape the remainder of the
campaign. Kutusov made up his mind not to fight another battle in
defense of Moscow. Kutusov ordered the city's population out into the
countryside, released all inmates from the city jails, and destroyed
the city firefighting equipment. Napoleon and his army of 100,000
arrived only to find a handful of the original inhabitants and several
hundred criminals and lunatics freely roaming and plundering the
streets. That night, fires sprang up all over the city. Fire swept
through the city for several days and by morning it was apparent that
most of the city had been consumed by the flames. Left with no choice,
Napoleon sent peace proposals to Alexander, but Alexander refused to
even discuss the concept of peace while the French remained on Russian
soil. Napoleon was given an opportunity to evacuate Moscow by acting
like he was reinforcing his brother-in-law's troops. Napoleon's plan
was to march to Kaluga and Bryansk. By returning along an untraveled
route, he hoped to find forage for the horses, avoid the appearance of
a retreat, and eventually settle the army in winter quarters somewhere
between Smolensk and Minsk. There appeared to be a good chance to
reach his destination before the first frost. It was imperative to do
so. The horses were not shod for heavy snow, nor had the troops been
issued any winter gear. On October 31, Napoleon and the guard reached
Vyuzma; Davout (his general) had cleared Borodino. One week later a
heavy snow fell and, with it, the morale of the French. On icy roads
it was impossible for the starving horses to pull their loads. Tired
men dropped in their tracks and pushed to the side of the road, were
lost forever. Artillery pieces, loot, and many of the wounded were
left behind. November was an unending catastrophe for the decimated
French army. Men began to fight for scraps of bread and frozen
horseflesh. As the army began to fragment, there were extraordinary
acts of individual heroism. Mere survival itself required unending
strength of will. Many men fell and simply refused to rise again and
go on. Marching out of Smolensk, the ragged, frozen and famished group
of men knew that they must sooner or later fight the Russians as well
as the winter. On November 16, Kulusov blocked the French escape
routes. The Russians made many attacks on the French. And because of
the health of the French soldiers, there was little opposition for the
Russian's attacks. Napoleon had returned to France to preserve his
empire. With his desertion marking the end of the war.
A lengthy bulletin had appeared in The Moniteur on the return
of Napoleon. Until November 6, the weather was good, and the movement
of the army was executed with success, but on the 7th the cold
commenced. French officers and soldiers had fought bravely, and their
General had led expertly. The Russian winter, not the Russian army,
had defeated him.
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Bibliography
Electronic Arts EA 3D Atlas 1995, N.Y. New York
Grolier Incorporated Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1994 N.Y. New
York
SoftKey Infopedia 2 1996 N.Y. New York
Webster New World Dictionary 1984 N.Y. New York
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