Napoleonic Russian campaign

18 12 In the summer, Napoleon assembled his forces and crossed the Neman River on June 24th to declare war on Russia. The war for European hegemony broke out.

At the beginning of the war, Russia had only about 240 thousand troops because of its weak defense, which was not enough to resist Napoleon's invincible army in Europe before. Kutuzov adopted the strategy of retreating and set fire to the soil along the way.

After the French army entered the hinterland of Russia, it was effectively resisted by Russian soldiers and civilians, especially shortly after the start of the war, the weather in Russia quickly entered autumn and winter, and the cold Russian wasteland made the French soldiers from afar acclimatized.

The French army was attacked on all sides and ran out of ammunition and food. As the severe winter approached, Napoleon I was forced to give up Moscow in June 65438 +654381October+September in order to find food and warm shelter in the south.

Extended data:

Napoleon's war vision is to March into Moscow, force the Russian army to fight a decisive battle with it, destroy the main force of the Russian army, and let the tsar bend his knees at the negotiating table. However, the Russian army pursued the strategy of luring the enemy deep and avoiding the enemy's sharp edge, and Napoleon was not prepared to fight the winter war in Russia at all

In addition, at this time, France's war to conquer Spain was still not over, and the Russian invasion put France in a position of fighting on two fronts.

Pride and blind self-confidence made Napoleon misjudge the situation, and after trying to negotiate failed, he had to withdraw while the enemy's main force was still there. As a result, the bodies of thousands of French soldiers were covered with the retreat road from Russia to France.

Napoleon was not warned before the expedition, and the former ambassador to Russia advised him not to stretch the front too long and to be careful of the cold winter in Russia. But 20 years of successful military career made Napoleon lose his vigilance. He didn't listen to other people's different opinions and began to go his own way.

Although the Russian army hardly won a battle, it finally brought down Napoleon in the war of attrition and changed the balance of power in the European continent.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Russia-France War 18 12