Napoleon Invades Russia(1812)

 Napoleon's invades Russia marked a watershed moment in his military career. The French had won consecutive battles and overrun most of Europe in ten years, but they had suffered a severe defeat in Russia, with over 550,000 casualties or defections. This defeat severely weakened the French Empire and its allies, causing a significant shift in European politics and reducing French control in Europe. After this setback, Napoleon's reputation as an unstoppable military genius was shattered. France's allies, first Prussia and later Austria dissolved the alliance and turned against her, sparking the Sixth Coalition War.

Napoleon's campaign to invade Russia began on June 24, 1812, when Napoleon crossed the Neman River. Napoleon forced Russian Emperor Alexander I to remain in the Continental System to isolate the United Kingdom, the main purpose of which was to avoid Russian threats to Poland. Napoleon named this invasion the second Polish campaign, and the Russians declared the launch of a Patriotic War.

More than 680,000 of Napoleon's Grande Armée troops marched through western Russia, winning several small battles and one major battle at Smolensk on August 16–18. However, on the same day, the north wing. of the Russian army, led by Field Marshal Pyotr Khristianovich Wittgenstein blocked the northern flank of the French army, led by Field Marshal Nicolas Oudinot at the Battle of Polotsk. This prevented the French from marching to the capital, Saint-Petersburg. The fate of the war was decided in Moscow, where Napoleon himself led his army to attack.

The resistance of the Russian Army also stems from the boiling patriotism, the determination to avenge the defeats against the French in the years 1805–1807, as well as the determination not to be a vassal to France under the Treaty of Tilsit (1807). The radiant victory of this battle to protect Russia proves the mighty strength of the Russian Army forces in the Napoleonic Wars. This event was described in Lev Tolstoy's novel War and Peace and is often referred to by Russians as the Patriotic War of 1812 (distinguished from the "Great Patriotic War" or the Soviet-German War during World War II).

Prepare for War

By the end of 1811, Napoleon had given many extremely serious instructions for a major war with Russia.

Napoleon ordered Lacuee, in charge of logistics, to provide food for 400,000 troops in a 50-day campaign, demanding 20 million rations of bread and rice, and 6,000 trucks to carry enough flour for 200,000 men for 2 months and 72 million liters of oats to feed horses for 50 days.

On February 14, 1812, a considerable number of French troops went east and were stationed in 20 German cities throughout the Napoleonic Empire's western half.

Napoleon's invasion of Russia campaign included troops from France's vassal countries as well as the French army. Austria agreed to supply 30,000 troops to Napoleon in February 1812. Prussia mobilized 20,000 troops for France a week later. In terms of nationality, 48% of the infantry are French; 52% are foreigners; and 64% of the cavalry are French; 36% are foreigners.

The population of France at that time was 42.3 million; the population of the French satellite countries was 40 million, for a total of 82.3 million. Napoleon mobilized up to 690,000 troops; this was the largest conquest in European history up to that time. The French army had nearly 1,400 cannons, and 200,000 horses, distributed among 80,000 cavalrymen, 30,000 artillerymen, and 25,000 chariots of all kinds. There are 26 transport battalions, 18 of which have 600 heavy chariots, each with six horse-drawn vehicles capable of carrying nearly 3,000 kg.

Soldiers carried themselves for four days of food and an additional 20 days on army chariots. If, in the first 3 weeks, the campaign continues, the army will have to stop to resupply.

Meanwhile, Russia's total population at the time was 46 million, and they mobilized 700,000 main soldiers and 223,000 militiamen during the war.

Napoleon's Invasion of Russia 1812

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (1761–1818) was a Scottish-born officer in the Russian army. Barclay de Tolly grew up in St.Petersburg and became field marshal of the Russian Empire and Minister of War in 1810–1812. He effectively prepared the Russian army for the decisive war with Napoleon and personally created numerous tactical and strategic instructions and manuals for soldiers and officers. It was Barclay who originally outlined the overall plan for the Russian army in this war: using a strategic retreat into central Russia to drain the resources of the French army. As they retreated, the Russians destroyed their stockpile of food, ammunition, and any other usable property. Barclay had correctly calculated that the French supply routes would become too long to supply troops from Europe, and the Russian guerrilla forces and the army would do the rest to crush the enemy.

Napoleon issued a campaign notification on June 22, 1812, as well as an order for the Grande Armée to cross the Niemen River into Russia. After deducting the garrison, the national guard, and the number of men defending the warehouse, as well as the coast guard artillery, the strength of Napoleon's Grande Armée was 450,000 on the front line and 165,000 on the second line. This was larger than Paris' whole population at the time.

At the beginning of the campaign, the Russian Army achieved initial victories at Mir, Romanovo, Ostrovno, Saltanovka, and Klyastitsy. But in August 1812, the Russian army had to withdraw under French pressure and also under Commander Barclay de Tolly's plan. After the tsar was not satisfied, Kutuzov was promoted to Marshal and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, replacing Barclay De Tolly. Then the Russian army led by Kutuzov fiercely resisted Napoleon in the battle at Borodino from a distance of 120 km (about 75 miles) west of Moscow on September 7, 1812. The Russian army fought bravely and caused the French army to suffer heavy losses. Many Westphalian vassal soldiers fighting for France also lost their lives in this fierce fighting. However, Emperor Napoleon was victorious, and the Russian army withdrew from the battlefield.

This bloody battle, however, resulted in a spiritual victory for the Russian warriors. Winter in Russia is brutal. The more the Russian army fled, the more the French force became mired down in the huge area, and the Russians torched towns before the French advanced, making it impossible for the French to find food.

With an empty supply of supplies and an overstretched supply line, Napoleon's Grande Armée, after winning the bloody battle at Borodino, marched to the ancient capital of Moscow on September 14, 1812. The French warriors rejoiced on the threshold of Moscow, and Napoleon considered that the time had come to force the Russians to surrender. However, there was no one here; only a Russian officer suggested a truce so that the Russian soldiers had more time to withdraw from the ancient capital. By the time the sun went down, no one was seen. Some French officers entered Moscow and then ran out again and reported to the angry Emperor Napoleon that the entire population of Moscow had evacuated and burned Moscow. When night fell, he advanced his army into the ancient capital of Russia.

Tsar Alexander I refused to negotiate. The French, expecting Tsar Alexander I's conditional surrender, instead found themselves in a bleak and desolate city that the Russians had entirely demolished before retreating. Napoleon was forced to withdraw his forces because he lacked a winter garrison. Beginning on October 19 and extending until December, the French troops faced numerous challenges on their long journey out of Russia, including starvation, harsh weather, and a Russian army blockade.

Due to a lack of food, clothes, and medical facilities, French forces sustained significant losses. They were also constantly harassed by Russian guerrillas and attacked by the Russian winter. The winter in Russia is too harsh. The majority of the French army died of starvation, cold, and sickness, and a substantial number were captured.

The battles at Krasnyi lasted from November 4 to 5, 1812, costing Napoleon another 20,000 soldiers. Next, the Russian Army moved to the Berezina River to pursue the French. The Russian commander Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov captured a large French supply depot at Minsk, destroyed the bridges over the Berezina River at Borisov town, and pulled troops on the west bank of this river to prevent the enemy from crossing the river. From November 14 to 17, 1812, in the Battle of the Berezina River, the Russian army continued to attack, but Napoleon crossed the river. He suffered terrible losses. Only Kutuzov's tacit cooperation caused such a disaster for Napoleon. Originally, he realized that winter had destroyed Napoleon's army, so he did not need to pursue the French too aggressively.

Result

Napoleon's invasion of Russia was a watershed moment in European history, as was his devastating defeat and tragedy. The Russian people began to value national pride after this win. This was a victory won by the Russian people's bravery, thanks to Emperor Alexander I's gathering of nobles and peasants to fight for the country's defense. This was a watershed moment in Napoleon's battles because it reduced the size of the French and allied armies to a fraction of their initial size. The hard winter in Russia contributed to the loss of numerous French men, forcing Napoleon to withdraw his troops. Many Russian forces pursued the French across the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Prussia.

Despite the Emperor of France's efforts to rebuild his army, which included many troops who were always devoted to the empire, his vast force never recovered. Soon after, the nations of Europe united against France, and Napoleon's First Empire crumbled. Thus, the heroic triumph of the Russian Patriotic War is seen as a crucial event contributing to Europe's emancipation from Emperor Napoleon's oppression.