SUMMARY
In June of 1812, Napoleon began his fatal Russian campaign, a landmark in the history of the destructive potential of warfare. Virtually all of continental Europe was under his control, and the invasion of Russia was an attempt to force Czar Alexander I to submit once again to the terms of a treaty that Napoleon had imposed upon him four years earlier. Having gathered nearly half a million soldiers, from France as well as all of the vassal states of Europe, Napoleon entered Russia at the head of the largest army ever seen. The Russians, under Marshal Kutuzov, could not realistically hope to defeat him in a direct confrontation. Instead, they begin a defensive campaign of strategic retreat, devastating the land as they fell back and harassing the flanks of the French. As the summer wore on, Napoleon's massive supply lines were stretched ever thinner, and his force began to decline. By September, without having engaged in a single pitched battle, the French Army had been reduced by more than two thirds from fatigue, hunger, desertion, and raids by Russian forces.
Nonetheless, it was clear that unless the Russians engaged the French Army in a major battle, Moscow would be Napoleon's in a matter of weeks. The Czar insisted upon an engagement, and on September 7, with winter closing in and the French army only 70 miles (110 km) from the city, the two armies met at Borodino Field. By the end of the day, 108,000 men had died--but neither side had gained a decisive victory. Kutuzov realized that any further defense of the city would be senseless, and he withdrew his forces, prompting the citizens of Moscow to begin a massive and panicked exodus. When Napoleon's army arrived on September 14, they found a city depopulated and bereft of supplies, a meager comfort in the face of the oncoming winter. To make matters worse, fires broke out in the city that night, and by the next day, the French were lacking shelter as well.
After waiting in vain for Alexander to offer to negotiate, Napoleon
ordered his troops to begin the march home. Because the route south was
blocked by Kutuzov's forces (and the French were in no shape for a battle)
the retreat retraced the long, devastated route of the invasion. Having
waited until mid-October to depart, the exhausted French army soon found
itself in the midst of winter--in fact, in the midst of an unusually early
and especially cold winter. Temperatures soon dropped well below freezing,
cossacks attacked stragglers and isolated units, food was almost non-existent,
and the march was five hundred miles. Ten thousand men survived. The campaign
ensured Napoleon's downfall and Russia's status as a leading power in post-Napoleonic
Europe. Yet even as Russia emerged more powerful than ever from the Napoleonic
era, its internal tensions began to increase.
Beginning of the March
By the 23rd of June 1812, all the troops had taken their positions. Napoleon's main army was between Kovno and Pilviszki. Eugene's army was around Kalvaria. Jerome with his VII Corps was near Novrogod. Macdonald with X Corps was at Tilsit. Swarzenberg's Austrians were near Siedlice. All of these forces totaled up to 499,000 men, with 1146 guns. At the time, Russians had an army of 183,000 men and 15,000 Cossacks with 938 guns.
Kovno
Napoleon's main army reached Kovno after crossing the river Niemen between June 24-25 1812. At the same time, Macdonald went over Niemen at Tilsit, eighty miles downstream. Jerome did not cross Neimen until the June 30th at Grodno. Napoleon established headquarters at Kovno and remained in that town for three days. Until Kovno, everything had gone according to the plans, but the following days were to reveal much tougher challenges in terms of climate and road quality. Lieutenant Mertens from Wuerttemberg, who was with III Corps gives this account:
"Until Ianovo [a town north of the Kovno-Vilna road], the heat was oppressive and the dust stifling. In the afternoon, the thunder would roll and we were drenched to the skin. On 28 June, the rains settled in and the first order of the day was to build some huts. Our exertions on this and the days following were the reason for the outbreaks of dysentery and influenza, which soon ran through the rank without let-up and thinned them more effectively than enemy shot. The rain held on through the 29th and left us in dire straits. On the 30th, we left our swamp-camp at the crack of dawn and on the 1st of July, many more men and horses fell victim to the mud. On the 3rd, the sun greeted us again, but the dysentery raged so badly that several hundred sick had to be brought to Maliaty, where a field hospital had been hastily established."
Vilna
The march from the banks of Niemen to Vilna was much tougher than expected. The weather was either too hot, or too rainy. The rain would turn the poor quality roads into muddy tracks that rendered the carriages impossible to move. Horses started to die in hundreds. Several bridges on the way could not deal with the load and gave way.
Each soldier carried his own four-day ration but unfortunately, these rations were all consumed during the first day due to lack of discipline. The road did not offer any source of nutrition for the starving soldiers in the march. The wells had been polluted by dead horses thrown in by the Russians. The cattle had a hard time keeping up with the army's march since the animals were not used to marching for 15 miles for 6 to seven hours.
The immense heat following the relentless rainstorms dried up the tracks but soon turned the muddy roads into clouds of dust which also hindered the army.
Vilna was captured on June 28, 1812. Unfortunately, Vilna provided little for the army's needs. The Russians abandoning the town had destroyed Vilna’s stores and houses. The rest of the stores were exhausted within the first day. Napoleon remained in Vilna far too long (28 June to 16 July.)
Vitebsk
"It would be foolish to go any further. Here we must halt and regain our strength."
-Napoleon Bonaparte
The trip from Vilna to Vitebsk claimed another 8000 horses and the cattle had a very hard time keeping up with the marching army. Several carriages were abandoned. Russians on the other hand did not seem to be suffering from the conditions. No dead horses, or abandoned carriages were found by the roadsides. Russians intended to leave nothing for the enemy so they had raid through the country destroying all the villages and all sources of resources. The peasants were just as afraid of the Russian army as they were of the French army.
All through this march, Napoleon seemed to make ambitious assumptions about the army's ability to march on without proper food and shelter. He kept on promising the soldiers that they would get a good rest at Vitebsk.
Napoleon entered Vitebsk on July 29, 1812. There was still no indication of the Russian army that was constantly retreating deeper into Russian land. Conditions in Vitebsk were dire. There was a clear shortage of medical supplies and doctors and people with lost limbs dies first. Napoleon also seemed to show signs of psychological unbalance. He gave orders that were impossible to execute under the current conditions.
Smolensk
"I was maneuvering in a country which was as well disposed towards me as France itself; the population and authorities were on my side; I was able to obtain men, horses, provisions; and Smolensk is a fortified town"
-Napoleon Bonaparte
Smolensk is an ancient city built on high bluffs each side of the Dnieper. The city was encircled by high seventeen-century brick walls, thirty feet high and fifteen feet thick at the base.
Russian army's divisions had retreated to Smolensk. Napoleon decided that he had to attack the city frontally from south to northward. This was due to the placement of the Russian Troops. To the east was Russian army under command of Bagration, to the North was Barclay with his troops.
On August 16, 1812, French troops under the command of Murat. Napoleon deployed his four corps around the entire south perimeter of the city. The main battle took place on August 17.
Since the Russians were inside the city they had the advantage of using cannons on the approaching troops and soldiers were killed by the hundreds. The battle died down with the dusk, by now the French had control over the southern suburbs of the city and the Russians still had control over the town. The Russian troops started a retreat eastward abandoning the city. The retreat of the Russian troops was received with delight by Napoleon while the news stirred controversy in Moscow's political circles. The Moscow crowd was shocked to hear that the Russian army had once again chosen to avoid further contact with the French army and had abandoned a holy city even after so many men had already died in the battle.
When the French troops entered the city, Smolensk was in ruins, streets were littered with dead and burnt bodies. Napoleon was so proud of his victory that he rushed a letter to Paris to inform his country of the victory. He dictated the following letter to Murat, his Minister of Foreign Affairs:
"I have this moment come in. The heat is intense, and there is a lot of dust, which we find rather drying. The enemy's whole army was here. It was under orders to fight, but dared not. We captured Smolensk without the loss of a man. It is a very big town, with walls and pretty fortifications. We killed three to four thousand of the enemy, wounded thrice as many, and found plenty of guns here. According to all accounts, a number of their divisional generals were killed. The Russian army is marching towards Moscow in a very discouraged and discontented state."
Only the last sentence was somewhat accurate for Napoleon had lost 8-9,000
men during the Smolensk war and had overall lost 100,000 men since he had
left Niemen.
Viasma
The French Army entered Viasma on August 28, 1812. Although the Napoleon’s intentions were to save the town by rushing to get it, he was still too late. When the army arrived, the city was in flames. Although they found nothing in the city, Napoleon still wrote a letter to Paris, saying, "I am in a rather handsome city. There are thirty churches, 15,000 inhabitants, and many shops with vodka and other useful objects for the soldiers."
The reality was quite the contrary, the further they penetrated into the Russian land, they met more terrified were the local people and more devastation.
Two days later Napoleon ordered the march to resume, and the French army set out on a trying journey to Gzatsk.
Gzatsk
As the Russians neared Borodino where they were to halt their retreat, the French kept chasing. Passing through Gzatsk the Russians absorbed reserves, totaling 15,589 men. The French army arrived in Gzatsk on September 1 1812. The town was quickly occupied.
The Russians had stripped the area of all the resources. There was meat but no salt, there was flour but no bread, and a general lack of water. The temperatures were around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The French army that numbered 149,075 at Smolensk was down to 133,819.
Napoleon and the French army remained in Gzatsk until September 4, 1812.
Borodino
"There was not the least sense in it. Its immediate result for the Russians was, and was bound to be, that we were brought a step further towards the destruction of Moscow, and for the French that they were brought nearer the destruction of their whole army"
-Tolstoy in War and Peace
Borodino lies seventy miles west of Moscow. The battlefield was open farmland from which the corn had just been harvested. There was a very dense forest behind the Russian forces , the Russian position was not very strong since the battlefield was flatland with no major obstacles. Napoleon however was not able to take advantage of the topography of the battlefield. The battle eventually turned into a "trial of mutual slaughter that could have taken place anywhere." The armies took their positions on September 6, 1812. Napoleon's army consisted of 100,000 infantry, 28,000 cavalry and 590 guns. Russian army under the command of Kutuzov consisted of 72,000 regular infantry, 10,000 semi-trained militia, 17,000 cavalry, 7,000 Cossacks and 640 guns. The different approaches of the commanders of the two armies is clear in their proclamations:
Kutuzov's read:
"Trusting in God we shall either win or die. Napoleon is His enemy. He will desecrate His churches. Think of your wives and children, who rely on your protection. Think of your Emperor, who is watching you. Before the sun has set tomorrow, you will have written on this field the record of your faith and patriotism in the blood of your enemy."
Napoleon's read:
This is the battle you have so long desired! Now victory depends on you. We have need of it. Victory will give us abundance of supplies, good winter quarters and a prompt return to our motherland. Conduct yourselves as you did at Austerlitz, Friedland, Vitebsk and Smolensk. Let distant posterity say of each of you, 'He was present at the great battle beneath the walls of Moscow!'"
The battle began on September 7, 1812 at 6 am. The war ended with Kutuzov's order to retreat at 3 am on September 8. Both sides had brutal losses. Russians lost around 44,000 men, the French lost at least 35,000 including fort-three generals. Russians did not consider themselves defeated, Kutuzov actually first decided to renew the battle the next day. Kutuzov actually remained behind during the Borodino war, and when he was told at the end of the day that they had lost their whole front-line, he refused to believe it.
"French attacks have been successfully repulsed everywhere, and tomorrow I shall put myself at the head of the army and drive the enemy from the sacred soil of Russia."
Later on, Kutuzov accepted the inevitable conclusion that his men were too tired to face another attack and thus he gave orders for the retreat.
Napoleon himself was not very sure that what he had was a victory or not, but the sight of the retreating army reassured him.
Moscow
-Napoleon Bonaparte
"We never suffered such losses. never had the army's morale been so damaged. I no longer found the soldiers' old gaiety. A gloomy silence has replaced the songs and amusing stories that previously had helped them forget the fatigues of the long marches. Even the officers appeared anxious, and they continued serving only from a sense of duty and honor. This depression, natural in a defeated army, was remarkable after a decisive action, after a victory which opened to us the gates of Moscow."
--Colonel Fezensac on the state of the French army after Borodino
The Russians had withdrawn to Moscow unsure to do what next. Kutuzov did not want to hand over Moscow to the French without any sort of resistance. He thought this would be utmost disgraceful of him. A meeting was called and all commanders were present except for one who was in charge of the rearguard. The Russians had 70,000 men against napoleon's 100,000. The council of war quite divided due to the shame and honor involved in the different possible tactics. Kutuzov finally decided to call for a retreat.
"You are afraid of falling back through Moscow, but I consider it the only way of saving the army. Napoleon is a torrent, which we are as yet unable to stem. Moscow will be the sponge that will suck him dry."
--Russian Commander Kutuzov 1812
At the time, Moscow was quite a sizable city with a total inhabitant of 250,000. The city spread over large stretches of land with a mixture of palaces, rich homes, single storey cabins and huge bazaars. Moscow had six cathedrals and 1,500 churches, all of which were special due to their outlandish designs and unique architectural style. Although the denizens of Moscow were Francophile until 1812, and spoke French and watched French operas, they displayed a great sense of national pride in 1812 and left their homes.
Only 25,000 people had remained by the French arrived at Moscow. Napoleon entered Moscow on September 14, 1812.
Although the army had strict orders against pillage, the men could not be controlled and they forced themselves into the palaces and rich houses. Some time after Napoleon's arrival in Moscow some fires started to show up in various locations in the city. At first these were though to be accidents but when the fires started swallowing large parts of the city, it was obvious that the Russian army was setting fire to the city to avoid the French raiding on the riches.
The fires spread to such extent that napoleon hardly escaped the torched city. The fire lasted from September 15-18. Four-fifths of the city burned down and the rest was saved by a sudden change of direction of wind and a following shower. Kremlin was saved since it stood above the city and the guards remaining in Kremlin extinguished and threatening fires nearby.
Napoleon experienced probably the most frustrating moments of his campaign at this time when his prize was taken away from him. Now that the city had burned down, there was not much left behind for the hope of establishing peace with Russia. The Russians had clearly indicated that they just did not want the French in the precious Russian land by going as far as destroying a large city.
Although Napoleon considered several quite far-fetched scenarios, he finally decided to go back to Paris. He first wanted to march to St. Petersburg, almost 350 miles away from Moscow. His generals told Napoleon that such a march was impossible due to the condition of the army after Smolensk and Borodino. There was the option of staying in Moscow until spring and then returning to Paris. The problem with staying in Moscow
was that the capital of Napoleon's empire would not hear from him for
another six months and this absence of authority could have drastic results.
Finally, Napoleon decided to march to Kaluga, a city to the south of Moscow.
Napoleon left Moscow on October 19, 1812 with 87,500 infantry, 14,750 cavalry and 533 guns with a trail of some 40,000 carriages and wagons.