French invasion of Russia

French invasion of Russia
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Top to bottom: French soldiers struggling with thirst and heat by Albrecht Adam * The end of Borodino battle by Vasily Vereshchagin * Moscow burning by Viktor Mazurovsky * French soldiers attacked by Russian Cossacks * Crossing the Berezina River by Victor Adam * Marshal Ney at the Kowno redoubt by Auguste Raffet
Date 24 June – 14 December 1812 (5 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) Location Russian Empire Result Russian victory
Belligerents
France Poland Duchy of Warsaw Lithuania Italy Naples Rhine Confederation Saxony Bavaria Westphalia Württemberg Hesse Berg Baden Switzerland  Spain[1] French allies:  Austria  Prussia  Denmark-Norway[2][3]	Russia
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I Pierre Augereau Eugène de Beauharnais Jean-Baptiste Bessières Jérôme Bonaparte Louis-Nicolas Davout Jean-Andoche Junot François Joseph Lefebvre Étienne Macdonald Édouard Mortier Joachim Murat Michel Ney Nicolas Oudinot Józef Poniatowski Jean Reynier Laurent Saint-Cyr Ambroży Mikołaj Skarżyński Karl von Schwarzenberg Claude Victor Johann Yorck	Alexander I Pyotr Bagration † Mikhail Barclay de Tolly Alexander von Benckendorff Levin von Bennigsen Pavel Chichagov Eufemiusz Czaplic Dmitry Dokhturov Dmitry Golitsyn Yakov Kulnev † Mikhail Kutuzov Charles de Lambert Mikhail Miloradovich Vasily Orlov-Denisov Alexander Osterman-Tolstoy Fabian Osten-Sacken Peter von der Pahlen Matvei Platov Nikolay Raevsky Pavel Stroganov Alexander Tormasov Nikolay Tuchkov † Peter Wittgenstein Aleksey Yermolov
Strength
450,000[4] – 685,000[5] total: 449,000 First wave[6] 134,000 Borodino[7] 108,000 Maloyaroslavets[8] 33,000 Berezina[9]	508,000 – 723,000 total:[4] 98,000 First wave[6] 118,000 Borodino[10] 129,000 Maloyaroslavets[11] 126,000 Berezina[9]
Casualties and losses
434,000 - 500,000 284,000[12][13] - 350,000 dead 100,000 killed in combat[14][15] 200,000 died from other causes[16] 50,000 died in captivity[17][12][4] 50,000 wounded[13] 50,000 deserted[13][12] 50,000 prisoners[4][12]	410,000 210,000 dead[18] 150,000 wounded[19] 50,000 deserted[19]
Total military and civilian deaths: c. 1,000,000[20]

French invasion of Russia

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  Prussian corps

  Napoleon

  Austrian corps

The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (French: Campagne de Russie) and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (Russian: Оте́чественная война́ 1812 го́да, romanized: Otéchestvennaya voyná 1812 góda), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continental blockade of the United Kingdom. Widely studied, Napoleon's incursion into Russia stands as a focal point in military history, recognized as among the most devastating military endeavors globally.^[21] In a span of fewer than six months, the campaign exacted a staggering toll, claiming the lives of nearly a million soldiers and civilians.^[22][20]

On 24 June 1812 and subsequent days, the initial wave of the multinational Grande Armée crossed the Niemen River, marking the entry from the Duchy of Warsaw into Russia. Employing extensive forced marches, Napoleon rapidly advanced his army of nearly half a million individuals through Western Russia, encompassing present-day Belarus, in a bid to dismantle the disparate Russian forces led by Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration totaling approximately 180,000–220,000 soldiers at that juncture.^[23][24] Despite losing half of his men within six weeks due to extreme weather conditions, diseases and scarcity of provisions, Napoleon emerged victorious in the Battle of Smolensk. However, the Russian Army, now commanded by Mikhail Kutuzov, opted for a strategic retreat, employing attrition warfare against Napoleon compelling the invaders to rely on an inadequate supply system, incapable of sustaining their vast army in the field.

The fierce Battle of Borodino, located 110 kilometres (70 mi) west of Moscow, concluded as a narrow victory for the French although Napoleon was not able to beat the Russian army and Kutuzov could not stop the French. At the Council at Fili Kutuzov made the critical decision not to defend the city but to orchestrate a general withdrawal, prioritizing the preservation of the Russian army.^[25][a] On 14 September, Napoleon and his roughly 100,000-strong army took control of Moscow, only to discover it deserted, and set ablaze by its military governor Fyodor Rostopchin. Remaining in Moscow for five weeks, Napoleon awaited a peace proposal that never materialized.^[26] Due to favorable weather conditions, Napoleon delayed his retreat and, hoping to secure supplies, began a different route westward than the one the army had devastated on the way there. However, after losing the Battle of Maloyaroslavets, he was compelled to retrace his initial path.

As early November arrived, snowfall and frost complicated the retreat. Shortages of food and winter attire for the soldiers and provision for the horses, combined with relentless guerilla warfare from Russian peasants and Cossacks resulted in significant losses. Once again more than half of the soldiers perished on the roadside succumbing to exhaustion, typhus and the unforgiving continental climate. The once-formidable Grande Armée disintegrated into a disordered multitude, forcing the Russians to witness the crumbling state of the invaders with no alternative.

During the Battle of Krasnoi, Napoleon faced a critical scarcity of cavalry and artillery due to severe snowfall and icy conditions. Employing a strategic maneuver, he deployed the Old Guard against Miloradovich, who obstructed the primary road to Krasny, effectively isolating him from the main army. Davout successfully broke through, Eugene de Beauharnais and Michel Ney were forced to take a detour.^[27] Despite the consolidation of several retreating French corps with the main army, by the time they reached the Berezina, Napoleon commanded only around 49,000 troops alongside 40,000 stragglers of little military significance. On 5 December, Napoleon departed from the army at Smorgonie in a sled and returned to Paris. Within a few days, an additional 20,000 people succombed to the bitter cold and diseases carried by lice.^[28] Murat and Ney assumed command, pressing forward but leaving over 20,000 men in the hospitals of Vilnius. The remnants of the principal armies, disheartened, crossed the frozen Niemen and the Bug.

While exact figures remain elusive due to the absence of meticulous records,^[29] estimations varied and often included exaggerated counts, overlooking auxiliary troops. Napoleon's initial force upon entering Russia exceeded 450,000 men,^[30] accompanied by over 150,000 horses,^[31] approximately 25,000 wagons and nearly 1,400 artillery pieces. However, the surviving count dwindled to a mere 120,000 men (excluding early deserters);^[b] signifying a staggering loss of approximately 380,000 lives throughout the campaign, half of which resulted from diseases.^[33][34] This catastrophic outcome shattered Napoleon's once-untarnished reputation of invincibility.^[35]

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