1812

When Napoleon Ventured East

Content

0. Minard map
1. From the Peace of Tilsit to war
2. Feeling of supremacy
3. The Neman river crossing
4. Scythian tactics
5. Smolensk
6. In pursuit of a grand battle
7. Borodino
8. Moscow on fire
9. “They’ll go just as they came”
10. Was there a General Frost?
11. The Berezina river crossing
12. Napoleon goes to Paris
13. The price of ambition

IV

Scythian tactics

july 1812

Some say that Napoleon’s military glory did him a great disservice—his contemporaries had enough time to study his tactics in detail. The Russian Empire countered the French Emperor’s reliance on speed and aggressive attack with a so-called Scythian plan—slow retreat deep into the country with the aim of bleeding the enemy forces dry and wearing down their reserves and resources. Whereas Napoleon’s aim was to start the decisive battle as soon as possible, the Russian military tactic was to evade direct collision to the maximum extent.

We will be fighting a prolonged war, for in view of Napoleon’s obvious supremacy in strength and methods this is the sole chance of success that we can count on

From a letter by Alexander I

Under a prewar plan drawn up by General Karl Phuel (an adviser to Alexander I) the 1st Western army’s final point of retreat was the fortified camp Drissa on the West Dvina river. The force under Barclay de Tolly was to lure in the enemy’s main forces. After that the 2nd Western Army under Prince Bagration would attack Napoleon’s left flank. Upon arrival in that camp, it became clear that it was utterly unsuitable for that purpose.

It is anyone’s guess how the thought of setting up this camp might have ever come into someone’s head; in any case this thought utterly contradicted both the intentions of the commander-in-chief and those of Napoleon himself

From recollections by Aleksandr Muravyov,
the 1st Western Army’s staff officer

Russia’s military strategy needed urgent revision. The military council in Drissa made a decision to continue the retreat and bring the 1st and 2nd armies closer to each other with the aim of their eventual merger. On July 16 the 1st Western army left Drissa.

In the evening of July 18 French troops entered the vacated fortifications. It was only part of Napoleon’s army at the very start of the march on St. Petersburg—the capital of the Russian Empire. The split-up failed to yield the expected results. The units in the north bogged down in prolonged skirmishes and joined the main forces again only during their retreat in November 1812.

During a stop in Polotsk on the same day Alexander I made a decision to create volunteer paramilitary militias. His idea was each nobleman, each cleric and each citizen would take up arms against Napoleon in a joint surge of patriotism. On July 19, Alexander I left the 1st Western Army to start organizing gubernatorial militias in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

In the meantime, Napoleon’s army, though it remained on the offensive, was encountering ever worse problems. The special transport battalions together with their food and fodder convoys were lagging behind the main forces. As some participants in the campaign recall, on the way from Vilno to Vitebsk each regiment had to search for food on its own.

Soldiers used to bring rye or flour but they never managed to get any bread… scouts then set out to find ovens and mills. Since soldiers didn’t have any bread, they put the flour in their soup

From recollections by Pion de Loches,
a captain of artillery

Soldiers were suffering from famine, heat, fatiguing foot marches and lack of any results. The Russian army slipped away from Napoleon again and again. The pace of advance slowed down. After taking Vitebsk, the French Emperor was considering in earnest the possibility of pausing the campaign and delaying combat operations till 1813, but the shift in the Russian military strategy caused him to abandon this intention. At last, Napoleon saw a chance of forcing the opponent to fight a large decisive battle.

V

Smolensk

august 16–18, 1812

On August 3, the 1st and 2nd western armies joined near Smolensk. Napoleon would have had a chance to stop that from happening, if he had not placed the operation in the hands of his younger brother, King Jerome of Westphalia, but rather had somebody else in command. The troops under King Jerome’s command were expected to beat Bagration’s army, cutting it off from Barclay de Tolly’s forces. However, after stalling for three days in Grodno, that moment of opportunity had slipped through French hands.

As soon as he learned of the operation’s failure, Napoleon tried to correct the mistake by resubordinating the army’s right flank to an experienced commander, Louis Nicolas Davout, nicknamed the Iron Marshal for his long record of victorious battles and stern character. Jerome, feeling insulted by the loss of his original status, left the army for Kassel, the capital of his kingdom.

In the meantime, the main forces of the Grand Army braced for what would turn into the two-day long battle of Smolensk, which would yield nothing but losses. Napoleon failed to implement his plan to promptly seize the city and perform a maneuver that would have blocked any route of retreat for the Russian army leaving them no choice but to enter into an enormous battle.

The Russian generals, too, were unable to cope with the tasks set before them, that is, to turn the tide of the battle and mount a counter-offensive. The enemy’s numerical supremacy was still overwhelming. In the small hours of August 18 the armies under Barclay and Bagration had to leave a ruined Smolensk and continue to retreat deeper into the country.

If you are reading these lines you should know that somebody’s fate has already been decided: either Napoleon has been beaten back or the door to Russia has been unlocked!

From a letter by Fyodor Glinka,
a Russian officer

During the fierce battle, the city was literally razed to the ground. Out of the town’s 2,250 houses no more than 350 survived the assault. The Russian army was in a depressed mood: everybody was aware that Moscow would be Napoleon’s next target.

VI

In pursuit of the grand battle

august 1812

The next phase of Napoleon’s campaign can be described with just one word—haste. The march from Smolensk to Gzhatsk (currently Gagarin) was a truly fatiguing experience for the soldiers. Tremendously long supply lines turned out to be a real disaster. Overloaded convoys were hopelessly lagging behind the main forces, which suffered from lack of food and summer heat.

Our horses’ hooves kicked up clouds of scorching sand, fine as dust, which covered us to such a degree that made it hard to tell what color our uniform was. The sand got into our eyes causing agonizing pain. I could barely breathe

Michel Combes,
a lieutenant with the 8th Mounted Jaeger Regiment of the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Corps

“The-army-feeds-itself” principle Napoleon had widely used during the European campaigns did not work on the sparsely populated vast expanses of the Russian Empire. Desertion and marauding became commonplace.

There was no chance for recuperate in the captured cities. The Russian forces strictly followed the orders from Alexander I to “ruin roads, dykes and bridges, destroy mills as well as government-run and private food stores, take away carts, horses and livestock, remove from the archives all sorts of lists, inventories and various statistics and, lastly, to haul away those officials who might give the enemy any information about the territory’s resources and thereby facilitating requisitions to retreat with the army.” The French Emperor had to fight not only with the Russian army, but against the entire nation that rose against him. But Napoleon kept hurrying.

The emperor wanted everybody to fly like a bird

Armand de Caulaincourt,
a French diplomat

In store for him there lay La Bataille de la Moscowa, which in Russian history is known as the Battle of Borodino.

VII

Borodino

september 5–7, 1812

The Russian troops’ continued retreat was annoying not only for Napoleon, but also for some Russian generals, too. Many argued the absence of a single commander-in-chief was the root cause of the problem.

Bagration reluctantly agreed with Barclay’s requests because he himself held a conflicting opinion

From recollections by Aleksandr Muravyov,
a staff officer of the 1st Western Army

Alexander I made a decision to appoint to this position Mikhail Golenishchev-Kutuzov, an experienced commander, chief of the St. Petersburg and Moscow paramilitary militias, who just one month before the war with France had clinched a peace treaty with Turkey (thereby securing the Russian Empire’s south-western border). On August 29, Kutuzov took over the command of all Russian armies in the village of Tsaryovo-Zaymishche. The moment of the main battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 was drawing near.

By that time, Napoleon’s army had depleted much of its original strength. About 135,000 men were under his direct command. The Russian Empire's forces numbered 150,000 men (including volunteer militias). Contrary to either side’s expectations, the Battle of Borodino ended in a bloody draw. Napoleon failed to beat the Russian army, while Kutuzov had no chance of stopping the enemy’s thrust towards Moscow.

What a terrible battle there was near Borodino! The french say they fired 60,000 artillery shots and lost 40 generals!

From a letter by Fyodor Glinka,
a Russian officer

About 2,500 men lost their lives on either side during each hour of the battle. In the end the Grand Army lost about 30,000, including practically all cavalry units. The Russian army lost 40,000 to 50,000 men, including Prince Bagration, who suffered a mortal wound in battle.

No more than 100,000 of Napoleon’s troops reached Mozhaysk, just before the seizure of Moscow. This city is one of the few points on the map where Minard’s statistics agree with the estimates of modern researchers.

VIII

Moscow on fire

september 14 – october 19, 1812

When the choice is between the army and the city, choose the army. As we know, this is precisely the decision that was made at a meeting of the military council in the village of Fili on September 13. Kutuzov ordered an exodus from Moscow without a fight.

With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not lost yet, but with the loss of the army, Russia will be lost, as well

Mikhail Golenishchev-Kutuzov

On September 14, the Russian army concluded a brief ceasefire with the French advanced guard, left the city and moved south along the Ryazan road. A large number of civilians (nearly 200,000 people) followed the departing troops.

Napoleon entered the city on September 15. He was expecting the keys to the Kremlin and a prompt offer for peace talks from Alexander I. Instead, as some participants in the campaign remember it, in Moscow they found “the silence of the desert.” Fires began in the city in the evening of the same day.

X

Was there a General Frost?

november 1812

Previously, the Grand Army had been in pursuit of a grand battle, now it had to defend itself and beat a hasty retreat. The French forces were exposed to blows from all sides. Cossack regiments were on their heels, guerilla detachments were dealing flank blows and the advanced guard was exposed to strikes by peasant militias. On several occasions, Russian troops literally caught up with Napoleon’s rearguard to inflict heavy losses on it. The French were losing battle after battle.

Alongside the never-ending skirmishes with the pursuers, Napoleon had another adversary to contend with—cold weather. The problem began to be felt in Vyazma and took a turn for the worse after the French army had to flee Smolensk so as to avoid being encircled.

Recollections of the time suggest the frosts were not very harsh. According to Denis Davydov (a legendary commander of Russian guerilla units) during the French army’s trek from Moscow to Berezina air temperatures never sank below –17 °С.

Throughout the French army’s march from Moscow to Berezina, in other words, for twenty six days, the bitter frost, though not extraordinary (from –12 °С to –17 °С), lasted for no more than three days, according to Chambray, Jomini and Napoleon, or for five days, according to Gaurgaud

Denis Davydov,
from an article entitled Was it the Frost that Devastated the French army in 1812?

Moreover, in 1807 French troops happened to fight under far worse weather conditions, for instance in a blizzard during the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau in Prussia. “General Frost” then did not inflict any decisive impact on the outcome of the battle. So was its influence on the ending of the French campaign in November 1812 very significant?

The frost during the campaign in Holland in 1795 and the Eylau campaign of 1807 was far stronger than the one that lasted from Moscow to Berezina. But in both those campaigns the troops were getting food, wine and vodka, and had not been trekking in a state of hunger all day long, as it happened in the latest campaign, being certain that tomorrow would be even worse

From memoirs by Antoine-Henri Jomini,
a French Brigadier-General

The history of weather watching, too, confirms that when the French army was on the retreat, the air temperatures were not critically low—on the Minard map they are considerably overstated. For instance, according to the 1812 report by the Vilno Astronomical Observatory, by December 6 the air temperature had dropped to –23 °С, and on the next day to about –25 °С, while the Minard map shows a temperature equivalent to –32.5 °С. In the vicinity of Vilno, the monthly temperature in December averaged –12.2 °С, which is approximately 8.5 degrees below normal.

That Napoleon’s worst enemies were hunger and disorganization is well seen in the condition of the reserve troops, which joined the main forces during the retreat. The troops that before November 1812 had been engaged in the north were not as exhausted as those who had reached Moscow, so the November frosts in no way affected their combat potential. But even after the reserves joined up, the condition of Napoleon’s army kept getting worse day in and day out. After the defeat near Krasnoye, the Grand Army’s retreat quickly turned into a panic flight.

XI

The Berezina river crossing

november 26–29, 1812

In French the name of the Russian river—Bérézina—is a synonym of disastrous defeat. And in history it is an example of Napoleon’s tactical talent. After the victory in the Battle of Krasnoye, the Russian army was capable of encircling what was left of the French Emperor’s forces and wiping it out. But Napoleon managed to “outwit” the Russian command. Lack of coordination among Russian forces allowed him to buy time to arrange for crossing the Berezina and avoid the complete loss of his army.

According to various sources, the main force of about 19,000 men managed to cross the river in the area of Studenka. Those who remained suffered a dreadful fate. On November 29, Napoleon issued orders to burn the bridges, thus abandoning about 40,000 men—disorganized deserters who fled the combat positions on the Berezina’s left bank. Most of them would soon be taken prisoner or drown while trying to cross the river. The surviving remains of what just recently was the Grand Army headed for Vilno towards the border.

Anything was edible no matter how disgusting it was, it didn’t hold them back from devouring it… sometimes people were gnawing away their own flesh, palms and fingers to quench hunger

From memoirs by Heinrich von Vossler,
a Wurttemberg lieutenant

XII

Napoleon goes to Paris

december 5, 1812

When Kutuzov was faced with a stark dilemma, he made his choice in favor of the army, and not the city, but Napoleon set his priorities quite differently. On December 3, while staying in Molodechno, he got word of an attempted government coup in Paris, staged by General Malet. On the same day, he decided to leave what was left of his troops, saying the situation being what it was, he would be able “to inspire respect from Europe only from the Tuileries Palace.”

Duke of Istria… openly raised the question to Napoleon about leaving. In his very first words… the latter succumbed to a violent outburst of anger and said that only his mortal foe could’ve suggested he should abandon the army given the condition it was in at the moment… there is proof that the question of leaving had already been settled for him when that scene took place

From recollections by Marie Elie Gillaume de Baudus,
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières’s aide-de-camp

At 19:30 on December 5, during a stopover in Smorgon, Napoleon delegated the command of the remaining army to King Joachim Murat of Naples, as the person having the highest title. The Emperor ordered Murat to take the troops to Vilno and stop there for the winter.

At 22:00 Napoleon left Smorgon under the name of Duke of Vicenza. He crossed the border on December 7 and by the midnight of December 18, he arrived in the capital of France. As a politician he had no choice. As a military commander, he lost all respect in the eyes of his own soldiers.

The price of ambition

epilogue

Contrary to Napoleon’s orders, the French troops failed to retain Vilno. Under the Russian army’s mounting pressure they had to flee the city, leaving transport, the remaining artillery and the treasury. In the area of Kovno (currently Kaunas) only small group of participants in the Russian campaign crossed the Neman. The war had changed many beyond recognition.

…in Gumbinnen, where i stopped at a doctor’s house as i had done when i had first passed through the town. We had just been served with some excellent coffee when i saw a man wearing a brown coat come in. He had a long beard. His face was black and seemed to be burnt. His eyes were red and glistening. ‘Here i am at last!’ he said. ‘What, general Dumas! Don’t your recognize me?’ ‘No. Who are you?’ ‘I am the rearguard of the Grand Army, marshal Ney.’

From recollections by Guillaume-Mathieu Dumas,
the Intendant-General of the Grand Army

Russian troops took Bialystok and Brest-Litovsk (currently Brest) on December 26, 1812 to have completed the liberation of the Russian Empire’s territory. On January 6, 1813 Alexander I issued a manifesto declaring the Patriotic War to be over.

The Russian Empire’s losses totaled about 300,000 (recruitment during wartime included).

As for the Grand Army’s losses, according to the Minard map, Napoleon’s plans cost more than 400,000 lives. Some modern historians argue that the price was still higher—of the 647,000 men who participated in the 1812 campaign no more than 80,000 crossed the Neman back. Another 110,ooo were taken prisoner.

The booklet titled the Retreat of the French, issued by the Russian army’s Headquarters said the Russians crushed Napoleon’s dreams of military expeditions to Persia and India.

The Grand Army is no more

Louis-Alexandre Berthier,
Minister of War and Chief of Staff under Napoleon