Already in Moscow, that this war would turn out for him not as a brilliant victory, but as a shameful flight from Russia distraught soldiers of his once great army that conquered all of Europe? In 1807, after the defeat of the Russian army in the battle with the French near Friedland, Emperor Alexander I was forced to sign the unprofitable and humiliating Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon. At that moment, no one thought that in a few years the Russian troops would drive the Napoleonic army to Paris, and Russia would take a leading position in European politics.
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Causes and course of the Patriotic War of 1812
Main reasons
- Violation by both Russia and France of the terms of the Tilsit Treaty. Russia sabotaged the continental blockade of England, which was unprofitable for itself. France, in violation of the treaty, deployed troops in Prussia, annexing the Duchy of Oldenburg.
- The policy towards European states pursued by Napoleon without taking into account the interests of Russia.
- An indirect reason can also be considered the fact that Bonaparte twice made attempts to marry the sisters of Alexander the First, but both times he was refused.
Since 1810, both sides have been actively training to war, accumulating military forces.
Beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812
Who, if not Bonaparte, who conquered Europe, could be sure of his blitzkrieg? Napoleon hoped to defeat the Russian army even in border battles. Early in the morning of June 24, 1812, the Great French Army crossed the Russian border in four places.
The northern flank, under the command of Marshal MacDonald, advanced in the direction of Riga - St. Petersburg. Main a group of troops under the command of Napoleon himself advanced towards Smolensk. To the south of the main forces, the offensive was developed by the corps of Napoleon's stepson, Eugene Beauharnais. The corps of the Austrian General Karl Schwarzenberg was advancing in the Kiev direction.
After crossing the border, Napoleon failed to maintain a high pace of advance. Not only the huge Russian distances and the famous Russian roads were to blame. The local population had a slightly different reception for the French army than in Europe. Sabotage food supplies from the occupied territories became the most massive form of resistance to the invaders, but, of course, only the regular army could provide serious resistance to them.
Before joining Moscow the French army had to participate in nine major battles. In a large number of battles and armed skirmishes. Even before the occupation of Smolensk, the Great Army lost 100 thousand soldiers, but, in general, the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812 was extremely unsuccessful for the Russian army.
On the eve of the invasion of the Napoleonic army, Russian troops were dispersed in three places. The first army of Barclay de Tolly was near Vilna, the second army of Bagration was near Volokovysk, and the third army of Tormasov was in Volhynia. Strategy Napoleon was to break the Russian armies apart. Russian troops begin to retreat.
Through the efforts of the so-called Russian party, instead of Barclay de Tolly, M. I. Kutuzov was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief, to whom many generals with Russian surnames sympathized. The retreat strategy was not popular in Russian society.
However, Kutuzov continued to adhere to tactics retreat chosen by Barclay de Tolly. Napoleon sought to impose on the Russian army the main, general battle as soon as possible.
The main battles of the Patriotic War of 1812
bloody battle for Smolensk became a rehearsal for the general battle. Bonaparte, hoping that the Russians would concentrate all their forces here, prepares the main blow, and pulls up an army of 185,000 to the city. Despite the objections of Bagration, Baklay de Tolly decides to leave Smolensk. The French, having lost more than 20 thousand people in battle, entered the burning and destroyed city. The Russian army, despite the surrender of Smolensk, retained its combat capability.
news about surrender of Smolensk overtook Kutuzov near Vyazma. Meanwhile, Napoleon advanced his army towards Moscow. Kutuzov found himself in a very serious situation. He continued to retreat, but before leaving Moscow, Kutuzov had to give a general battle. The protracted retreat made a depressing impression on the Russian soldiers. Everyone was full of desire to give a decisive battle. When only a little more than a hundred miles remained to Moscow, on the field near the village of Borodino, the Great Army collided, as Bonaparte himself later admitted, with the Invincible Army.
Before the start of the battle, the Russian troops numbered 120 thousand, the French were 135 thousand. On the left flank of the formation of Russian troops were Semyonov flushes and parts of the second army Bagration. On the right - the battle formations of the first army of Barclay de Tolly, and the old Smolensk road was covered by the third infantry corps of General Tuchkov.
At dawn, on September 7, Napoleon inspected the positions. At seven o'clock in the morning the French batteries gave the signal for the start of the battle.
The weight of the first blow was taken by the grenadiers of Major General Vorontsova and 27th Infantry Division Nemerovsky near the village of Semyonovskaya. The French broke into the Semenov flushes several times, but under the pressure of Russian counterattacks they left them. During the main counterattack, Bagration was mortally wounded here. As a result, the French managed to capture the flushes, but they did not receive any advantages. They failed to break through the left flank, and the Russians retreated in an organized manner to the Semyonov ravines, taking up a position there.
A difficult situation developed in the center, where the main blow of Bonaparte was directed, where the battery fought desperately Rayevsky. To break the resistance of the defenders of the battery, Napoleon was already ready to commit his main reserve into battle. But this was prevented by Platov's Cossacks and Uvarov's cavalrymen, who, on the orders of Kutuzov, made a swift raid into the rear of the left flank of the French. This stopped the French advance on Raevsky's battery for about two hours, which allowed the Russians to bring up some reserves.
After bloody battles, the Russians in an organized manner withdrew from the Raevsky battery, and again took up defense. The battle, which had been going on for twelve hours, gradually subsided.
During Battle of Borodino the Russians lost almost half of their personnel, but continued to hold their positions. Twenty seven the best generals lost the Russian army, four of them were killed, and twenty-three were wounded. The French lost about thirty thousand soldiers. Of the thirty out of action French generals, eight died.
Brief results of the battle of Borodino:
- Napoleon could not defeat the Russian army and achieve the complete surrender of Russia.
- Kutuzov, although he greatly weakened Bonaparte's army, could not defend Moscow.
Despite the fact that the Russians formally failed to win, the Borodino field forever remained in Russian history field of Russian glory.
Having received information about the losses near Borodino, Kutuzov I realized that the second battle would be disastrous for the Russian army, and Moscow would have to be left. At the military council in Fili, Kutuzov insisted on the surrender of Moscow without a fight, although many generals were against it.
September 14 Russian army left Moscow. The Emperor of Europe, observing the majestic panorama of Moscow from Poklonnaya Hill, was waiting for the city delegation with the keys to the city. After military hardships and hardships, Bonaparte's soldiers found long-awaited warm apartments, food and valuables in the abandoned city, which the Muscovites, who for the most part left the city with the army, did not have time to take out.
After massive robberies and looting fires broke out in Moscow. Due to the dry and windy weather, the whole city flared up. Napoleon, for security reasons, was forced to move from the Kremlin to the suburban Petrovsky Palace, on the way, getting lost, he almost burned himself.
Bonaparte allowed the soldiers of his army to plunder what was still not burned. The French army was distinguished by defiant disregard for the local population. Marshal Davout arranged his bedroom in the altar of the Archangel Church. Dormition Cathedral of the Kremlin the French used it as a stable, and in Arkhangelsk they organized an army kitchen. The oldest monastery in Moscow, St. Danilov Monastery, was equipped for slaughtering cattle.
This behavior of the French outraged the entire Russian people to the core. Everyone burned with vengeance for the desecrated shrines and the desecration of the Russian land. Now the war has finally acquired the character and content domestic.
The expulsion of the French from Russia and the end of the war
Kutuzov, withdrawing troops from Moscow, committed maneuver, thanks to which the French army lost the initiative before the end of the war. The Russians, retreating along the Ryazan road, were able to march on the old Kaluga road, and entrenched themselves near the village of Tarutino, from where they were able to control all directions leading from Moscow to the south, through Kaluga.
Kutuzov foresaw what exactly Kaluga land unaffected by the war, Bonaparte will begin a retreat. All the time while Napoleon was in Moscow, the Russian army was replenished with fresh reserves. On October 18, near the village of Tarutino, Kutuzov attacked the French units of Marshal Murat. As a result of the battle, the French lost more than four thousand people, and retreated. Russian losses amounted to about one and a half thousand.
Bonaparte realized the futility of his expectations of a peace treaty, and the very next day after the Tarutino battle, he hastily left Moscow. The great army now resembled a barbarian horde with plundered property. Having made complex maneuvers on the march to Kaluga, the French entered Maloyaroslavets. On October 24, Russian troops decided to drive the French out of the city. Maloyaroslavets as a result of a stubborn battle, it changed hands eight times.
This battle became a turning point in the history of the Patriotic War of 1812. The French had to retreat along their ruined old Smolensk road. Now the once Grand Army considered its successful retreats victories. Russian troops used the tactics of parallel pursuit. After the Vyazma battle, and especially after the battle near the village of Krasnoye, where the losses of Bonaparte's army were comparable to those at Borodino, the effectiveness of such tactics became obvious.
In the territories occupied by the French, they actively acted partisans. Bearded peasants, armed with pitchforks and axes, suddenly appearing from the forest, which led the French into a stupor. The elements of the people's war captured not only the peasants, but all classes of Russian society. Kutuzov himself sent his son-in-law, Prince Kudashev, who led one of the detachments, to the partisans.
The last and decisive blow was dealt to Napoleon's army at the crossing over Berezina river. Many Western historians consider the Berezinsky operation almost a triumph of Napoleon, who managed to save the Great Army, or rather, its remnants. About 9 thousand French soldiers were able to cross the Berezina.
Napoleon, who, in fact, did not lose a single battle in Russia, lost campaign. The great army ceased to exist.
Results of the Patriotic War of 1812
- In the vastness of Russia, the French army was almost completely destroyed, which affected the balance of power in Europe.
- The self-awareness of all strata of Russian society has grown extraordinarily.
- Russia, coming out of the war as a winner, has strengthened its position in the geopolitical arena.
- The national liberation movement intensified in the European countries conquered by Napoleon.
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian Campaign of 1812, was the turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. After the campaign, only a small part of their former military power remained at the disposal of France and the allies. The war left a huge mark on culture (for example, Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace") and national identification, which was so necessary during the German attack in 1941-1945.
We call the French invasion the Patriotic War of 1812 (not to be confused with the Great Patriotic War, which is called the attack Nazi Germany on the ). In an attempt to enlist the support of Polish nationalists by playing on their feelings of the national idea, Napoleon called this war the "Second Polish War" ("The First Polish War" was the war for the independence of Poland from Russia, Prussia and Austria). Napoleon promised to revive the Polish state in the territories of modern Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine.
Causes of the Patriotic War
At the time of the invasion, Napoleon was at the pinnacle of power and in fact brought all of continental Europe under his influence. He often left the local government in the defeated countries, which earned him the fame of a liberal strategically wise politician, but all local authorities worked for the benefit of the interests of France.
None of the political forces operating at that time in Europe dared to go against the interests of Napoleon. In 1809, under the terms of a peace treaty with Austria, she undertook to transfer western Galicia under the control of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Russia saw this as an infringement of its interests and the preparation of a springboard for the invasion of Russia.
Here is what Napoleon wrote in an attempt to enlist the help of Polish nationalists in his decree of June 22, 1812: “Soldiers, the second Polish war has begun. The first ended in Tilsit. In Tilsit, Russia swore eternal alliance with France and war with England. Today Russia is breaking its oaths. Russia is being led by fate and what is destined must be fulfilled. Does this mean that we must be degenerate? No, we will move on, we will cross the Neman River and start a war on its territory. The second Polish war will be victorious with a French army at the head of what was the first war."
The First Polish War was a war of four coalitions to liberate Poland from the rule of Russia, Prussia and Austria. One of the officially declared goals of the war was the restoration of an independent Poland within the borders of present-day Poland and Lithuania.
Emperor Alexander the First accepted the country in an economic hole, as the industrial revolution that was taking place everywhere bypassed Russia. However, Russia was rich in raw materials and was part of the Napoleonic strategy to build the economy of continental Europe. These plans made it impossible to trade in raw materials, which was vital for Russia from an economic point of view. Russian refusal to participate in the strategy was another reason for Napoleon's attack.
Logistics
Napoleon and the Grand Army developed the ability to maintain combat capability outside territories where they were well supplied. It was not so difficult in densely populated and agrarian central Europe with its own road network and well-established infrastructure. The Austrian and Prussian armies were stumped by rapid movements, and this was achieved by the timely supply of fodder.
But in Russia, Napoleon's strategy of warfare turned against him. Forced marches often forced the troops to do without supplies, as supply caravans simply could not keep up with the swift Napoleonic army. The lack of food and water in the sparsely populated and undeveloped regions of Russia led to the death of people and horses.
The army was weakened constant hunger, as well as diseases caused by dirty water, as they had to drink even from puddles and use rotten fodder. The forward detachments received everything they could get, while the rest of the army was forced to starve.
Napoleon made impressive preparations to supply his army. Seventeen convoys, consisting of 6,000 wagons, were supposed to provide the Grand Army with supplies for 40 days. A system of ammunition depots was also prepared in the cities of Poland and East Prussia.
At the beginning of the campaign, the capture of Moscow was not planned, so supplies were not enough. However, the Russian armies, dispersed over a large area, could not oppose Napoleon's army of 285,000 people in one major battle separately and continued to retreat in an attempt to unite.
This forced the Grand Army to advance on muddy roads with bottomless swamps and frozen ruts, resulting in the death of exhausted horses and breaking wagons. Charles José Minard wrote that Napoleon's army suffered most of its losses advancing towards Moscow in the summer and autumn, and not in open battles. Hunger, thirst, typhus and suicide brought the French army more losses than all the battles with the Russian army combined.
Composition of Napoleon's Grand Army
On June 24, 1812, the Grand Army, numbering 690,000 (the largest army ever assembled in European history), crossed the Neman River and advanced towards Moscow.
The Grand Army was subdivided into:
- The army for the main attack consisted of 250,000 people under the personal command of the emperor.
Two other advanced armies under the command of Eugène de Beauharnais (80,000 men) and Jérôme Bonaparte (70,000 men). - Two separate corps commanded by Jacques Macdonald (32,500 men, mostly Prussian soldiers) and Karl Schwarzenberg (34,000 Austrian soldiers).
- The reserve army of 225,000 people (the main part remained in Germany and Poland).
There was also a National Guard of 80,000 men left to defend the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Including them, the size of the French imperial army on the border of Russia was 800,000 people. This huge accumulation of manpower greatly thinned the Empire. Because 300,000 French soldiers, along with 200,000 thousand Germans and Italians, fought in Iberia.
The army consisted of:
- 300,000 French
- 34,000 Austrian corps led by Schwarzenberg
- about 90,000 Poles
- 90,000 Germans (including Bavarians, Saxons, Prussians, Westphalians, Württembergers, Baden)
- 32,000 Italians
- 25,000 Neapolitans
- 9,000 Swiss ( German sources specify 16,000 people)
- 4,800 Spaniards
- 3,500 Croats
- 2,000 Portuguese
Anthony Joes in the Journal of Conflict Research wrote: The data on how many of Napoleon's soldiers fought in the war, and how many of them returned, vary widely. Georges Lefebvre writes that Napoleon crossed the Niemen with over 600,000 soldiers, and only half of them were French. The rest were predominantly Germans and Poles.
Felix Markham claims that 450,000 soldiers crossed the Neman on June 25, 1812, of which less than 40,000 returned in some sort of army. James Marshall-Cornwall writes that 510,000 imperial soldiers invaded Russia. Eugene Tarle estimates that 420,000 were with Napoleon and 150,000 followed behind, for a total of 570,000 soldiers.
Richard K. Rhine gives the following figures: 685,000 people crossed the Russian border, of which 355,000 were French. 31,000 were able to leave Russia as a united military formation, another 35,000 fled alone and small groups. The total number of survivors is estimated at around 70,000.
Whatever the exact numbers really are, everyone agrees that practically the entire Great Army remained killed or wounded on Russian territory.
Adam Zamoyski estimates that between 550,000 and 600,000 French and Allied soldiers, including reinforcements, took part in crossing the Niemen. At least 400,000 soldiers died.
The infamous graphs of Charles Minard (an innovator in graphical analysis) show the size of the advancing army on a contour map, as well as the number of retreating soldiers as temperatures drop (temperatures dropped to -30 Celsius that year). According to these charts, 422,000 soldiers crossed the Neman with Napoleon, 22,000 soldiers separated and headed north, only 100,000 survived on the way to Moscow. Of these 100,000, only 4,000 survived and linked up with 6,000 soldiers from a side army of 22,000. Thus, only 10,000 of the original 422,000 soldiers returned.
Russian imperial army
The troops that opposed Napoleon at the time of the attack consisted of three armies with a total of 175,250 soldiers. regular army, 15,000 Cossacks and 938 guns:
- The First Western Army, under the command of Field Marshal Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, consisted of 104,250 soldiers, 7,000 Cossacks and 558 guns.
- The Second Western Army under the command of Infantry General Pyotr Bagration, numbering 33,000 soldiers, 4,000 Cossacks and 216 guns.
- The third reserve army, under the command of cavalry general Alexander Tormasov, consisted of 38,000 soldiers, 4,000 Cossacks and 164 guns.
However, these forces could count on reinforcements, which amounted to 129,000 soldiers, 8,000 Cossacks and 434 cannons.
But only 105,000 of these potential reinforcements could take part in the defense against the invasion. In addition to the reserve, there were recruits and militias totaling approximately 161,000 people of varying degrees of training. Of these, 133,000 took part in the defense.
Although the total number of all formations was 488,000 people, but of them only approximately 428,000 thousand opposed the Great Army from time to time. Also, more than 80,000 Cossacks and militias and about 20,000 soldiers garrisoned in fortresses in the combat zone did not take part in an open confrontation with Napoleon's army.
Sweden, Russia's only ally, sent no reinforcements. But the alliance with Sweden made it possible to transfer 45,000 soldiers from Finland and use them in subsequent battles (20,000 soldiers were sent to Riga).
Beginning of the Patriotic War
The invasion began on June 24, 1812. Shortly before that, Napoleon sent the last peace offer to St. Petersburg on favorable terms for France. Having received no answer, he gave the order to advance to the Russian part of Poland. At first, the army did not meet resistance and quickly advanced through enemy territory. The French army at that time consisted of 449,000 soldiers and 1,146 artillery pieces. They were opposed by Russian armies consisting of only 153,000 soldiers, 15,000 Cossacks and 938 cannons.
The central army of the French forces rushed to Kaunas and the crossings were made by French guards numbering 120,000 soldiers. The crossing itself was carried out to the south, where three pontoon bridges were built. The place of crossing was chosen by Napoleon personally.
Napoleon was put up a tent on a hill, from where he could observe the crossing of the Neman. The roads in this part of Lithuania were little better than just muddy ruts in the middle of a dense forest. From the very beginning, the army suffered as the supply trains simply could not keep up with the marching troops, and the rear formations experienced even greater hardships.
March on Vilnius
On June 25, Napoleon's army met, crossing the existing crossing, the army under the command of Michel Ney. The cavalry under the command of Joachim Murat was in the forefront along with Napoleon's army, the first corps of Louis Nicola Davout followed. Eugene de Beauharnais with his army crossed the Niemen to the north, MacDonald's army followed and crossed the river on the same day.
The army under the command of Jerome Bonaparte did not cross with everyone and crossed the river only on June 28 in Grodno. Napoleon rushed to Vilnius, giving no rest to the infantry, languishing under heavy rains and unbearable heat. The main part covered 70 miles in two days. The third corps of Ney marched along the road to Suterva, while the corps of Nikola Oudinot marched along the other side of the Vilnia River.
These maneuvers were part of the operation, the purpose of which was to surround the army of Peter Wittgenstein with the armies of Ney, Oudinot and MacDonald. But MacDonald's army was delayed and the opportunity for encirclement was lost. Then Jerome was instructed to oppose Bagration in Grodno, and the seventh corps of Jean Renier was sent to Bialystok for support.
On June 24, the Russian headquarters was located in Vilnius, and the messengers rushed to inform Barclay de Tolly about the crossing of the Neman by the enemy. During the night, Bagration and Platov received orders to go on the offensive. Emperor Alexander I left Vilnius on 26 June and Barclay de Tolly took command. Barclay de Tolly wanted to fight, but assessed the situation and realized that it makes no sense to fight, due to the numerical superiority of the enemy. Then he ordered the ammunition depots to be burned and the Vilnius bridge to be dismantled. Wittgenstein with his army advanced in the direction of the Lithuanian town of Perkele, breaking out of the encirclement of MacDonald and Oudinot.
It was not possible to completely avoid the battle, and the detachments of Wittgenstein following behind nevertheless came into conflict with the forward detachments of Oudinot. On the left flank of the Russian army, Dokhturov's corps was threatened by the third cavalry corps of Phalen. Bagration was ordered to advance to Vileyka (Minsk region) to meet the army of Barclay de Tolly, although the meaning of this maneuver remains a mystery to this day.
On June 28, Napoleon entered Vilnius almost without a fight. Replenishment of forage in Lithuania was difficult, since the land there is mostly not fertile and covered with dense forests. Forage supplies were poorer than in Poland, and two days of non-stop marching only worsened the situation.
The main problem was the ever-increasing distances between the army and the delivery region. In addition, not a single convoy could keep up with the infantry column during the forced march. Even the weather itself became a problem. As historian Richard K. Rhine writes of her: Lightning storms and heavy rain washed out the roads on June 24. Some argued that there were no roads in Lithuania and bottomless swamps were everywhere. The convoys sat "on their belly", the horses fell exhausted, people lost their shoes in puddles. Stuck convoys became obstacles, people were forced to bypass them, and fodder and artillery columns could not bypass them. Then the sun came out and baked the deep ruts, turning them into concrete canyons. In these ruts, the horses broke their legs, and the wagons of the wheel.
Lieutenant Mertens, a Württemberg citizen who served in Ney's third corps, wrote in his diary that the oppressive heat that followed the rain killed the horses and forced them to camp, practically in the swamps. Dysentery and influenza raged in the army, despite field hospitals designed to protect against the epidemic, hundreds of people were infected.
He reported on time, place and events with great accuracy. So on June 6 there was a strong thunderstorm with thunder and lightning, and already on the 11th people began to die from sunstroke. The crown prince of Württemberg reported 21 dead in the bivouac. The Bavarian corps reported 345 seriously ill patients by 13 June.
Desertions flourished in the Spanish and Portuguese formations. Deserters terrorized the population, stealing everything that came to hand. The areas where the Grand Army had marched remained destroyed. A Polish officer wrote that people were abandoning houses, and the area was depopulated.
The French light cavalry were shocked at how vastly outnumbered they were by the Russians. The superiority was so tangible that Napoleon ordered the infantry to support his cavalry. This even applied to reconnaissance and intelligence. Despite thirty thousand cavalry, they were never able to determine the location of Barclay de Tolly's troops, forcing Napoleon to send columns in all directions, in the hope of determining the position of the enemy.
The pursuit of the Russian army
The operation, which aimed to prevent the unification of the armies of Bagration and Barclay de Tolly near Vilnius, cost the French army 25,000 dead from minor skirmishes with Russian armies and disease. Then it was decided to advance from Vilnius in the direction of Nemenchyne, Mikhalishki, Oshmyany and Maliata.
Eugene crossed the river at Prenn on 30 June, while Jérôme was leading his 7th corps to Bialystok along with the troops crossing into Grodno. Murat advanced in Nemenchin on July 1, pursuing Dokhturov's third cavalry corps on the way to Dzhunashev. Napoleon decided that it was the second army of Bagration and rushed after him. Only after 24 hours of infantry pursuit of the cavalry regiment, intelligence reported that it was not Bagration's army.
Then Napoleon decided to use the armies of Davout, Jerome and Eugene to catch Bagration's army between a rock and a hard place in an operation covering Oshmyana and Minsk. The operation failed on the left flank, where MacDonald and Oudinot did not have time. Dokhturov, meanwhile, advanced from Dzhunashev to Svir towards Bagration's army, avoiding battles with the French army. 11 French regiments and a battery of 12 artillery pieces were too slow to stop him.
Conflicting orders and lack of intelligence almost brought Bagration's army between the armies of Davout and Jerome. But here, too, Jérôme was too late, stuck in the mud and experiencing the same food and weather problems as the rest of the Grand Army. Jérôme's army lost 9,000 men in four days of pursuit. Disagreements between Jérôme Bonaparte and General Dominique Vandamme further aggravated the situation. Meanwhile, Bagration had joined his army with Dokhturov's corps and had 45,000 men at his disposal in the area of the village of Novy Sverzhen by July 7th.
Davout lost 10,000 men during the march on Minsk and did not dare to fight without the support of Jérôme's army. Two French cavalry corps were defeated by the inferior corps of Matvey Platov, leaving the French army without intelligence. Bagration was also not sufficiently informed. So Davout believed that Bagration had about 60,000 soldiers available, while Bagration believed that Davout's army had 70,000 soldiers. Armed with false information, both generals were in no hurry to join the battle.
Bagration received orders from both Alexander I and Barclay de Tolly. Barclay de Tolly unknowingly did not provide Bagration with an understanding of the role of his army in the global strategy. This stream of conflicting orders gave rise to disagreements between Bagration and Barclay de Tolly, which later had consequences.
Napoleon reached Vilnius on June 28th, leaving behind 10,000 dead horses. These horses were vital to supplying the army in desperate need of them. Napoleon assumed that Alexander would sue for peace, but to his dismay this did not happen. And this was not his last disappointment. Barclay continued to retreat towards Verkhnedvinsk, deciding that the unification of the 1st and 2nd armies was the highest priority.
Barclay de Tolly continued his retreat and, with the exception of an occasional skirmish between the rearguard of his army and the vanguard of Ney's army, the advance proceeded without haste or resistance. The usual methods of the Grand Army now worked against her.
Rapid forced marches caused desertion, famine, forced the troops to drink dirty water, an epidemic occurred in the army, logistic convoys lost thousands of horses, which only exacerbated the problems. The 50,000 stragglers and deserters became an unruly mob fighting the peasants in full scale guerrilla warfare, which only exacerbated the supply situation for the Grand Army. By this time, the army was already reduced by 95,000 people.
March on Moscow
The Supreme Commander Barclay de Tolly refused to join the battle, despite the calls of Bagration. Several times he made attempts to prepare a powerful defensive position, but Napoleon's troops turned out to be too fast, and he did not have time to finish the preparations and retreated. The Russian army continued to retreat inland, following the tactics developed by Karl Ludwig Pfuel. As the army retreated, it left scorched earth in its wake, causing even more serious forage problems.
Political pressure was exerted on Barclay de Tolly, forcing him to give battle. But he continued to abandon the idea of a global battle, which led to his resignation. The boastful and popular Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov was appointed to the post of supreme commander. Despite Kutuzov's populist rhetoric, he continued to stick to Barclay de Tolly's plan. It was obvious that going against the French in open battle would lead to the aimless loss of the army.
After an indecisive clash near Smolensk in August, he finally managed to establish a decent defensive position at Borodino. The Battle of Borodino took place on September 7th and became the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars. By September 8, the Russian army was halved and again forced to retreat, leaving the road to Moscow open. Kutuzov also ordered the evacuation of the city.
By this point, the Russian army had reached its maximum strength of 904,000 men. Of these, 100,000 were in the immediate vicinity of Moscow and were able to join Kutuzov's army.
Capture of Moscow
On September 14, 1812, Napoleon entered the empty city, from which, by decree of the governor Fyodor Rostopchin, all supplies were taken out. According to the classic rules of warfare of the time, aimed at capturing the enemy capital, although the capital was St. Petersburg, Moscow remained the spiritual capital, Napoleon expected Emperor Alexander I to announce surrender on Poklonnaya Hill. But the Russian command did not even think about surrender.
Preparing to enter Moscow, Napoleon was surprised that he was not met by a delegation from the city. At the approach of the victorious general, local authorities they usually met him at the gate with the keys to the city in an attempt to protect the population and the city from looting. Napoleon sent his assistants to the city in search of official authorities with whom it would be possible to conclude agreements on the occupation of the city. When no one could be found, Napoleon realized that the city had been unconditionally abandoned.
With the usual capitulation, city officials were forced to take measures to accommodate and feed the soldiers. In this case, the situation forced the soldiers themselves to look for a roof over their heads and food for themselves. Napoleon was secretly frustrated with the non-observance of customs, as he believed that it robbed him of his traditional victory over the Russians, especially after taking such a spiritually significant city.
Before the order to evacuate Moscow, the city's population was 270,000. After most of the population left the city, those who remained robbed and burned food so that they would not get to the French. By the time Napoleon entered the Kremlin, no more than a third of its inhabitants remained in the city. What remained in the city were mainly foreign merchants, servants and people who could not or did not want to evacuate. The remaining people tried to avoid the troops and the large French community, numbering several hundred people.
Burning of Moscow
After the capture of Moscow, the Great Army, dissatisfied with the conditions of detention and the honors not rendered to the winners, began to rob what was left of the city. That same evening, fires began, which only grew over the next days.
Two-thirds of the city was made of wood. The city was burned almost to the ground. Four-fifths of the city was burned, leaving the French homeless. French historians believe that the fires were sabotaged by the Russians.
Leo Tolstoy, in his War and Peace, states that the fires were not caused by Russian sabotage or French looting. The fires were a natural result of the fact that the city was filled with strangers in the winter season. Tolstoy believed that the fires were a natural consequence of the fact that the invaders built small fires for heating, cooking and other domestic needs. But they soon got out of control, and without an active fire service, there was no one to extinguish them.
Retreat and defeat of Napoleon
Sitting in the ashes of a ruined city, receiving no Russian surrender and facing a rebuilt Russian army driving him out of Moscow, Napoleon began his long retreat by mid-October. At the Battle of Maloyaroslavets, Kutuzov was able to force the French army to use the same Smolensk road for retreat, which they went to Moscow. The surrounding area had already been stripped of food supplies by both armies. This is often presented as an example of a scorched earth tactic.
Continuing to block the southern flank to prevent the return of the French through another route, Kutuzov again deployed guerrilla tactics to constantly hit the French procession in the most vulnerable places. Russian light cavalry, including mounted Cossacks, attacked and destroyed scattered French troops.
The supply of the army became impossible. The lack of grass weakened the already few horses, which were killed and eaten by starving soldiers back in Moscow. Without horses, the French cavalry disappeared as a class and were forced to march on foot. In addition, the lack of horses meant that guns and baggage had to be abandoned, leaving the army without artillery support and ammunition.
Although the army quickly rebuilt its artillery arsenal in 1813, thousands of abandoned military carts created logistical problems until the very end of the war. With the growth of fatigue, hunger and the number of sick people, the number of desertions also increased. Most of the deserters were captured or killed by the peasants whose lands they plundered. However, historians mention cases when soldiers were pitied and warmed up. Many remained to live in Russia, fearing punishment for desertion, and simply assimilated.
The French army, weakened by these circumstances, was beaten three more times in Vyazma, Krasny and Polotsk. Crossing the Berezina River was the last catastrophe of the war for the Great Army. Two separate Russian armies defeated the remnants of Europe's greatest army in their attempt to cross the river on pontoon bridges.
Losses in World War II
In early December 1812, Napoleon discovers that General Claude de Male has attempted a coup d'état in France. Napoleon abandons the army and returns home on a sleigh, leaving Marshal Joachim Murat in command. Murat soon deserted and fled to Naples, of which he was king. So the commander-in-chief was the stepson of Napoleon, Eugene de Beauharnais.
In the weeks that followed, the remnants of the Grand Army continued to decline. On December 14, 1812, the army left the territory of Russia. According to popular belief, only 22,000 of Napoleon's army survived the Russian campaign. Although some other sources claim no more than 380,000 dead. The difference can be explained by the fact that almost 100,000 people were taken prisoner and the fact that about 80,000 people returned from side armies not under the direct command of Napoleon.
For example, most of the Prussian soldiers survived, thanks to the Taurogen Convention of Neutrality. The Austrians also escaped, having withdrawn their troops in advance. Later, the so-called Russian-German Legion was organized from German prisoners and deserters in Russia.
Russian losses in open battles were comparable to those of the French, but civilian casualties greatly exceeded those of the military. In general, according to early estimates, it was believed that several million people died, but now historians are inclined to believe that the losses, including civilians, amounted to about a million people. Of these, Russia and France lost 300,000 each, about 72,000 Poles, 50,000 Italians, 80,000 Germans, and 61,000 residents of other countries. In addition to the loss of life, the French also lost about 200,000 horses and over 1,000 pieces of artillery.
It is believed that winter was the decisive factor in the defeat of Napoleon, but this is not so. Napoleon lost half his army in the first eight weeks of the campaign. Losses were due to the abandonment of garrisons in supply centers, disease, desertion and minor skirmishes with the Russian armies.
In Borodino, Napoleon's army numbered no more than 135,000 people, and the victory with losses of 30,000 people became pyrrhic. Stuck 1000 km deep in enemy territory, proclaiming himself the winner after the capture of Moscow, Napoleon humiliatingly fled on October 19th. According to historians, the first snow that year fell on November 5th.
Napoleon's attack on Russia was the deadliest military operation of the time.
Historical score
The Russian victory over the French army in 1812 dealt a huge blow to Napoleon's ambitions for European domination. The Russian campaign was the turning point of the Napoleonic Wars, and ultimately led to Napoleon's defeat and exile on the island of Elba. For Russia, the term "Patriotic War" formed a symbol national identity, which had a huge impact on Russian patriotism in the nineteenth century. An indirect result of the patriotic movement of the Russians was a strong desire to modernize the country, which led to a series of revolutions, starting with the Decembrist uprising and ending February Revolution 1917.
Napoleon's empire was not completely defeated by the lost war in Russia. The following year, he will raise an army of about 400,000 French, backed by a quarter of a million French-allied soldiers, to contest control of Germany in an even larger campaign known as the War of the Sixth Coalition.
Although outnumbered, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Dresden (August 26-27, 1813). Only after decisive battle near Leipzig (Battle of the Nations October 16-19, 1813) he was finally defeated. Napoleon simply did not have the necessary troops to prevent the coalition from invading France. Napoleon proved to be a brilliant general and yet managed to inflict heavy casualties on the vastly superior allied armies in the Battle of Paris. The city was nevertheless captured and Napoleon was forced to abdicate in 1814.
However Russian campaign showed that Napoleon was not invincible, ending his reputation as an invincible military genius. Napoleon foresaw what this would mean, so he quickly fled to France before the disaster became known. Sensing this and enlisting the support of the Prussian nationalists and the Russian emperor, the German nationalists rebelled against the Confederation of the Rhine and. The decisive German campaign would not have taken place without the most mighty empire Europe.
Patriotic War of 1812 |
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Russian empire |
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Almost complete destruction of Napoleon's army |
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Opponents |
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Allies: |
Allies: |
England and Sweden did not participate in the war on the territory of Russia |
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Commanders |
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Napoleon I |
Alexander I |
E. McDonald |
M. I. Kutuzov |
Jerome Bonaparte |
M. B. Barclay de Tolly |
K.-F. Schwarzenberg, E. Beauharnais |
P. I. Bagration † |
N.-Sh. Oudinot |
A. P. Tormasov |
K.-W. Perrin |
P. V. Chichagov |
L.-N. Davout |
P. H. Wittgenstein |
Side forces |
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610 thousand soldiers, 1370 guns |
650 thousand soldiers, 1600 guns 400 thousand militias |
Military casualties |
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About 550 thousand, 1200 guns |
210 thousand soldiers |
Patriotic War of 1812- military operations in 1812 between Russia and the army of Napoleon Bonaparte that invaded its territory. Napoleonic studies also use the term " Russian campaign of 1812"(Fr. campagne de Russie pendant l "année 1812).
It ended with the almost complete destruction of the Napoleonic army and the transfer of hostilities to the territory of Poland and Germany in 1813.
Napoleon originally called this war second Polish, because one of the goals of the campaign he proclaimed was a revival in opposition to Russian Empire Polish independent state with the inclusion of the territories of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. In pre-revolutionary literature, there is such an epithet of war as "the invasion of twelve languages."
background
Political situation on the eve of the war
After the defeat of the Russian troops in the battle of Friedland in June 1807. Emperor Alexander I concluded the Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon, according to which he pledged to join the continental blockade of England. By agreement with Napoleon, in 1808 Russia took Finland from Sweden and made a number of other territorial acquisitions; Napoleon, however, untied her hands to conquer all of Europe, with the exception of England and Spain. After an unsuccessful attempt to marry the Russian Grand Duchess, in 1810 Napoleon married Marie-Louise of Austria, daughter of the Austrian Emperor Franz, thus strengthening his rear and creating a foothold in Europe.
French troops, after a series of annexations, moved close to the borders of the Russian Empire.
On February 24, 1812, Napoleon signed an alliance treaty with Prussia, which was supposed to field 20 thousand soldiers against Russia, as well as provide logistics for the French army. Napoleon also concluded on March 14 of the same year a military alliance with Austria, according to which the Austrians pledged to field 30,000 soldiers against Russia.
Russia also diplomatically prepared the rear. As a result of secret negotiations in the spring of 1812, the Austrians made it clear that their army would not go far from the Austro-Russian border and would not be zealous at all for the good of Napoleon. In April of the same year, on behalf of Sweden, the former Napoleonic Marshal Bernadotte (the future King Charles XIV of Sweden), who was elected crown prince in 1810 and actually headed the Swedish aristocracy, gave assurances of his friendly position towards Russia and concluded an alliance treaty. On May 22, 1812, the Russian ambassador Kutuzov (the future field marshal and winner of Napoleon) managed to conclude a profitable peace with Turkey, ending the five-year war for Moldavia. In the south of Russia, the Danube army of Chichagov was released as a barrier against Austria, forced to be in alliance with Napoleon.
On May 19, 1812, Napoleon left for Dresden, where he held a review of the vassal monarchs of Europe. From Dresden, the emperor went to the "Great Army" on the Neman River, which separated Prussia and Russia. On June 22, Napoleon wrote an appeal to the troops, in which he accused Russia of violating the Tilsit agreement and called the invasion a second Polish war. The liberation of Poland became one of the slogans that made it possible to attract many Poles to the French army. Even the French marshals did not understand the meaning and goals of the invasion of Russia, but they habitually obeyed.
At 2 am on June 24, 1812, Napoleon ordered the crossing to the Russian bank of the Neman through 4 bridges above Kovno.
Causes of the war
The French infringed on the interests of Russians in Europe, threatened to restore an independent Poland. Napoleon demanded that Tsar Alexander I tighten the blockade of England. The Russian Empire did not observe the continental blockade and taxed French goods. Russia demanded the withdrawal of French troops from Prussia, stationed there in violation of the Treaty of Tilsit.
The armed forces of the opponents
Napoleon was able to concentrate about 450 thousand soldiers against Russia, of which the French themselves made up half. Italians, Poles, Germans, Dutch, and even Spaniards mobilized by force also took part in the campaign. Austria and Prussia allocated corps (30 and 20 thousand, respectively) against Russia under allied agreements with Napoleon.
Spain, having connected about 200 thousand French soldiers with partisan resistance, provided great assistance to Russia. England provided material and financial support to Russia, but its army was involved in the fighting in Spain, and the strong British fleet could not influence land operations in Europe, although it was one of the factors that tilted Sweden's position in favor of Russia.
Napoleon had the following reserves: about 90,000 French soldiers in the garrisons of central Europe (of which 60,000 were in the 11th reserve corps in Prussia) and 100,000 in the French National Guard, which, by law, could not fight outside France.
Russia had a large army, but could not quickly mobilize troops due to poor roads and vast territory. The blow of Napoleon's army was taken over by the troops stationed on the western border: the 1st Army of Barclay and the 2nd Army of Bagration, a total of 153 thousand soldiers and 758 guns. Even further south in Volhynia (north-west of Ukraine), the 3rd Army of Tormasov (up to 45 thousand, 168 guns) was located, which served as a barrier from Austria. In Moldova, the Danube army of Chichagov (55 thousand, 202 guns) stood against Turkey. In Finland, the corps of the Russian general Steingel (19 thousand, 102 guns) stood against Sweden. In the Riga area there was a separate Essen corps (up to 18 thousand), up to 4 reserve corps were located away from the border.
Irregular Cossack troops According to the lists, there were up to 110 thousand light cavalry, but in reality up to 20 thousand Cossacks took part in the war.
Infantry, |
Cavalry, |
Artillery |
Cossacks, |
garrisons, |
Note |
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35-40 thousand soldiers, |
110-132 thousand in the 1st army of Barclay in Lithuania, |
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1370 guns |
190 |
450 thousand invaded Russia. After the start of the war, another 140 thousand arrived in Russia in the form of reinforcements. In the garrisons of Europe, up to 90 thousand + the National Guard in France (100 thousand) |
Strategic plans of the parties
From the very beginning, the Russian side planned a long organized retreat in order to avoid the risk of a decisive battle and the possible loss of the army. Emperor Alexander I said to the French ambassador to Russia, Armand Caulaincourt, in a private conversation in May 1811:
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« If Emperor Napoleon starts a war against me, then it is possible and even likely that he will beat us if we accept the battle, but this will not give him peace yet. The Spaniards were repeatedly beaten, but they were neither defeated nor subdued. And yet they are not as far from Paris as we are: they have neither our climate nor our resources. We won't take risks. We have vast space behind us, and we will keep a well-organized army. […] If the lot of arms decides the case against me, then I would rather retreat to Kamchatka than give up my provinces and sign treaties in my capital, which are only a respite. The Frenchman is brave, but long hardships and a bad climate tire and discourage him. Our climate and our winter will fight for us.» |
Nevertheless, the original plan of the campaign, developed by the military theorist Pfuel, proposed defense in the Drissa fortified camp. During the course of the war, the Pfuel plan was rejected by the generals as impossible to carry out under the conditions of modern mobile warfare. Artillery depots for supplying the Russian army were located in three lines:
- Vilna - Dinaburg - Nesvizh - Bobruisk - Polonne - Kyiv
- Pskov - Porkhov - Shostka - Bryansk - Smolensk
- Moscow - Novgorod - Kaluga
Napoleon desired a limited campaign for 1812. He told Metternich: The triumph will be the lot of the more patient. I will open the campaign by crossing the Neman. I will finish it in Smolensk and Minsk. There I will stop.» The French emperor hoped that the defeat of the Russian army in the general battle would force Alexander to accept his conditions. Caulaincourt in his memoirs recalls the phrase of Napoleon: " He spoke of Russian nobles who, in the event of war, would be afraid for their palaces and, after a major battle, would force Emperor Alexander to sign peace.»
Napoleon's offensive (June-September 1812)
At 6 am on June 24 (June 12, old style), 1812, the vanguard of the French troops entered Russian Kovno (modern Kaunas in Lithuania), crossing the Neman. The crossing of 220 thousand soldiers of the French army (1st, 2nd, 3rd infantry corps, guards and cavalry) near Kovno took 4 days.
On June 29-30, near Prena (modern Prienai in Lithuania), a little south of Kovno, the Neman crossed another group (79 thousand soldiers: 6th and 4th infantry corps, cavalry) under the command of Prince Beauharnais.
At the same time, on June 30, even further south near Grodno, the Neman crossed 4 corps (78-79 thousand soldiers: the 5th, 7th, 8th infantry and 4th cavalry corps) under the general command of Jerome Bonaparte.
To the north of Kovno, near Tilsit, the Neman crossed the 10th Corps of the French Marshal MacDonald. In the south of the central direction from Warsaw, the Bug River was crossed by a separate Austrian corps of Schwarzenberg (30-33 thousand soldiers).
Emperor Alexander I learned about the beginning of the invasion late in the evening on June 24 in Vilna (modern Vilnius in Lithuania). And already on June 28, the French entered Vilna. Only on July 16, Napoleon, having arranged state affairs in occupied Lithuania, left the city after his troops.
From the Neman to Smolensk (July - August 1812)
North direction
Napoleon sent the 10th Corps of Marshal MacDonald, consisting of 32 thousand Prussians and Germans, to the north of the Russian Empire. His goal was to capture Riga, and then, connecting with the 2nd Corps of Marshal Oudinot (28 thousand), strike at St. Petersburg. The skeleton of MacDonald's corps was the 20,000th Prussian corps under the command of General Gravert (later York). MacDonald approached the fortifications of Riga, however, having no siege artillery, he stopped at the distant approaches to the city. The military governor of Riga, Essen, burned the suburbs and locked himself in the city with a strong garrison. Trying to support Oudinot, MacDonald captured the abandoned Dinaburg on the Western Dvina and stopped active operations, waiting for siege artillery from East Prussia. The Prussians of MacDonald's corps tried to avoid active combat clashes in this alien war for them, however, if the situation threatened the "honor of the Prussian weapons", the Prussians offered active resistance, and repeatedly beat off the Russian attacks from Riga with heavy losses.
Oudinot, having occupied Polotsk, decided to bypass Wittgenstein's separate corps (25 thousand), allocated by Barclay's 1st Army during the retreat through Polotsk, from the north, and cut it off from the rear. Fearing a connection between Oudinot and MacDonald, on July 30 Wittgenstein attacked Oudinot's corps, which was not expecting an attack and was weakened by the march, in the battle of Klyastitsy and threw it back to Polotsk. The victory allowed Wittgenstein to attack Polotsk on August 17-18, but Saint-Cyr's corps, timely sent by Napoleon to support Oudinot's corps, helped repulse the attack and restore balance.
Oudinot and Macdonald were bogged down in sluggish fighting, remaining in place.
Moscow direction
Parts of Barclay's 1st Army were scattered from the Baltic to Lida, the headquarters was located in Vilna. In view of the rapid advance of Napoleon, the divided Russian corps faced the threat of being defeated piecemeal. Dokhturov's corps found itself in an operational encirclement, but was able to break out and arrive at the Sventsyany assembly point. At the same time, Dorokhov's cavalry detachment turned out to be cut off from the corps and united with Bagration's army. After the 1st Army connected, Barclay de Tolly began to gradually retreat to Vilna and further to Drissa.
On June 26, Barclay's army left Vilna and on July 10 arrived at the Drissa fortified camp on the Western Dvina (in northern Belarus), where Emperor Alexander I planned to fight off the Napoleonic troops. The generals managed to convince the emperor of the absurdity of this idea put forward by the military theorist Pful (or Ful). On July 16, the Russian army continued its retreat through Polotsk to Vitebsk, leaving the 1st Corps of Lieutenant General Wittgenstein to defend Petersburg. In Polotsk, Alexander I left the army, convinced to leave by the persistent requests of dignitaries and family. The executive general and cautious strategist Barclay retreated under the onslaught of superior forces from almost all of Europe, and this greatly annoyed Napoleon, who was interested in an early general battle.
The 2nd Russian army (up to 45 thousand) under the command of Bagration at the beginning of the invasion was located near Grodno in the west of Belarus, about 150 kilometers from the 1st army of Barclay. First, Bagration moved to connect with the main 1st Army, but when he reached Lida (100 km from Vilna), it was too late. He had to leave the French to the south. In order to cut off Bagration from the main forces and destroy him, Napoleon sent Marshal Davout to cut off Bagration with forces of up to 50 thousand soldiers. Davout moved from Vilna to Minsk, which he occupied on July 8. On the other hand, from the west, Jerome Bonaparte advanced on Bagration with 4 corps that crossed the Neman near Grodno. Napoleon sought to prevent the connection of the Russian armies in order to smash them piece by piece. Bagration broke away from the troops of Jerome with swift marches and successful rearguard battles, now Marshal Davout became his main opponent.
On July 19, Bagration was in Bobruisk on the Berezina, while Davout occupied Mogilev on the Dnieper with advanced units on July 21, that is, the French were ahead of Bagration, being in the northeast of the 2nd Russian army. Bagration, having approached the Dnieper 60 km below Mogilev, sent on July 23 the corps of General Raevsky against Davout in order to push the French back from Mogilev and reach the direct road to Vitebsk, where the Russian armies were supposed to join according to the plans. As a result of the battle near Saltanovka, Raevsky delayed Davout's advance east to Smolensk, but the path to Vitebsk was blocked. Bagration was able to force the Dnieper in the town of Novoe Bykhovo without interference on July 25 and headed for Smolensk. Davout no longer had the strength to pursue the Russian 2nd Army, and the troops of Jerome Bonaparte, hopelessly behind, were still overcoming the wooded and swampy territory of Belarus.
On July 23, Barclay's army arrived in Vitebsk, where Barclay wanted to wait for Bagration. To prevent the advance of the French, he sent the 4th Corps of Osterman-Tolstoy towards the enemy's vanguard. On July 25, 26 miles from Vitebsk, a battle took place at Ostrovno, which continued on July 26.
On July 27, Barclay retreated from Vitebsk to Smolensk, having learned about the approach of Napoleon with the main forces and the impossibility for Bagration to break through to Vitebsk. On August 3, the Russian 1st and 2nd armies joined near Smolensk, thus achieving the first strategic success. There was a small respite in the war, both sides put their troops in order, tired of incessant marches.
Upon reaching Vitebsk, Napoleon made a stop to rest the troops, upset after a 400 km offensive in the absence of supply bases. Only on August 12, after long hesitation, Napoleon set out from Vitebsk to Smolensk.
South direction
The 7th Saxon Corps under the command of Rainier (17-22 thousand) was supposed to cover the left flank of Napoleon's main forces from the 3rd Russian army under the command of Tormasov (25 thousand under arms). Rainier took up a cordon position along the Brest-Kobrin-Pinsk line, spraying a small corps over 170 km. On July 27, Tormasov surrounded Kobrin, the Saxon garrison under the command of Klengel (up to 5 thousand) was completely defeated. Brest and Pinsk were also cleared of the French garrisons.
Realizing that the weakened Rainier would not be able to keep Tormasov, Napoleon decided not to involve the Austrian corps of Schwarzenberg (30 thousand) in the main direction and left him in the south against Tormasov. Rainier, gathering his troops and linking up with Schwarzenberg, attacked Tormasov on August 12 at Gorodechna, forcing the Russians to retreat to Lutsk (northwestern Ukraine). The main battles take place between the Saxons and the Russians, the Austrians try to limit themselves to artillery fire and maneuvers.
Until the end of September, sluggish fighting in a sparsely populated swampy area near Lutsk.
In addition to Tormasov, in the southern direction was the 2nd Russian reserve corps of Lieutenant General Ertel, formed in Mozyr and providing support to the blockaded garrison of Bobruisk. For the blockade of Bobruisk, as well as to cover communications from Ertel, Napoleon left the Polish division of Dombrovsky (10 thousand) from the 5th Polish corps.
From Smolensk to Borodino (August-September 1812)
After the connection of the Russian armies, the generals began to insistently demand a general battle from Barclay. Taking advantage of the scattered position of the French corps, Barclay decided to defeat them one by one and marched on August 8 to Rudnya, where Murat's cavalry was quartered.
However, Napoleon, using the slow advance of the Russian army, gathered his corps into a fist and tried to go behind Barclay, bypassing his left flank from the south, for which he crossed the Dnieper west of Smolensk. On the path of the vanguard of the French army was the 27th division of General Neverovsky, covering the left flank of the Russian army near Krasnoe. The stubborn resistance of Neverovsky gave time to transfer the corps of General Raevsky to Smolensk.
By August 16, Napoleon approached Smolensk with 180 thousand. Bagration instructed General Raevsky (15 thousand soldiers), in whose 7th Corps the remnants of Neverovsky's division had joined, to defend Smolensk. Barclay was against the battle, which in his opinion was unnecessary, but at that time the actual dual command reigned in the Russian army. At 6 am on August 16, Napoleon began the assault on the city from the march. The stubborn battle for Smolensk continued until the morning of August 18, when Barclay withdrew troops from the burning city in order to avoid a big battle with no chance of victory. Barclay had 76 thousand, another 34 thousand (Bagration's army) covered the withdrawal route of the Russian army to Dorogobuzh, which Napoleon could cut with a roundabout maneuver (similar to the one that failed near Smolensk).
Marshal Ney pursued the retreating army. On August 19, in a bloody battle near Valutina Gora, the Russian rear guard detained the marshal, who suffered significant losses. Napoleon sent General Junot to go behind Russian lines in a detour, but he failed to complete the task, burying himself in an impenetrable swamp, and the Russian army left in perfect order towards Moscow to Dorogobuzh. The battle for Smolensk, which destroyed a considerable city, marked the deployment of a nationwide war between the Russian people and the enemy, which was immediately felt by both ordinary French suppliers and Napoleon's marshals. Settlements along the route of the French army were burned, the population left as far as possible. Immediately after the battle of Smolensk, Napoleon made a disguised offer of peace to Tsar Alexander I, while from a position of strength, but received no answer.
Relations between Bagration and Barclay after leaving Smolensk became more and more tense with each day of retreat, and in this dispute the mood of the nobility was not on the side of the cautious Barclay. As early as August 17, the emperor gathered a council that recommended that he appoint a general from infantry, Prince Kutuzov, as commander-in-chief of the Russian army. On August 29, Kutuzov received the army in Tsarevo-Zaimishche. On this day, the French entered Vyazma.
Continuing in general the strategic line of his predecessor, Kutuzov could not avoid a general battle for political and moral reasons. The battle was demanded by Russian society, although it was superfluous from a military point of view. By September 3, the Russian army retreated to the village of Borodino, further retreat meant the surrender of Moscow. Kutuzov decided to give a general battle, as the balance of power shifted to the Russian side. If at the beginning of the invasion Napoleon had a threefold superiority in the number of soldiers over the opposing Russian army, now the numbers of the armies were comparable - 135 thousand for Napoleon against 110-130 thousand for Kutuzov. The problem of the Russian army was the lack of weapons. While the militia provided up to 80-100 thousand warriors from the Russian central provinces, there were no guns to arm the militias. The warriors were given lances, but Kutuzov did not use people as "cannon fodder".
On September 7 (August 26 according to the old style) near the village of Borodino (124 km west of Moscow) the largest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812 took place between the Russian and French armies.
After an almost two-day battle, which was an assault by the French troops on the fortified Russian line, the French, at the cost of 30-34 thousand of their soldiers, pushed the Russian left flank from the position. The Russian army suffered heavy losses, and Kutuzov ordered a retreat to Mozhaisk on September 8 with the firm intention of preserving the army.
At 4 pm on September 13, in the village of Fili, Kutuzov ordered the generals to meet for a meeting on a further plan of action. Most of the generals were in favor of a new general battle with Napoleon. Then Kutuzov interrupted the meeting and announced that he was ordering a retreat.
On September 14, the Russian army passed through Moscow and entered the Ryazan road (southeast of Moscow). Toward evening, Napoleon entered the deserted Moscow.
Capture of Moscow (September 1812)
On September 14, Napoleon occupied Moscow without a fight, and already at night of the same day the city was engulfed in fire, which increased so much by the night of September 15 that Napoleon was forced to leave the Kremlin. The fire raged until September 18 and destroyed most of Moscow.
Up to 400 lower-class citizens were shot by a French court-martial on suspicion of arson.
There are several versions of the fire - organized arson when leaving the city (usually associated with the name of F.V. Rostopchin), arson by Russian spies (several Russians were shot by the French on such charges), uncontrolled actions of the invaders, an accidental fire, the spread of which was facilitated by general chaos in the abandoned city. There were several sources of fire, so it is possible that all versions are true to some extent.
Kutuzov, retreating from Moscow south to the Ryazan road, made the famous Tarutinsky maneuver. Having knocked Murat off the trail of the pursuing cavalrymen, Kutuzov turned west from the Ryazan road through Podolsk to the old Kaluga road, where he left on September 20 in the Krasnaya Pakhra region (near the modern city of Troitsk).
Then, convinced of the disadvantage of his position, by October 2, Kutuzov transferred the army south to the village of Tarutino, which lies along the old Kaluga road in the Kaluga region not far from the border with Moscow. With this maneuver, Kutuzov blocked the main roads to Napoleon in the southern provinces, and also created a constant threat to the rear communications of the French.
Napoleon called Moscow not a military, but a political position. From here, he makes repeated attempts to reconcile with Alexander I. In Moscow, Napoleon found himself in a trap: it was not possible to spend the winter in the city devastated by fire, foraging outside the city was not successful, the French communications stretched for thousands of kilometers were very vulnerable, the army, after suffering hardships, began to decompose. On October 5, Napoleon sent General Lauriston to Kutuzov for a pass to Alexander I with the order: “ I need the world, I need it absolutely no matter what, save only honor". Kutuzov, after a short conversation, sent Loriston back to Moscow. Napoleon began to prepare for a retreat not yet from Russia, but to winter quarters somewhere between the Dnieper and the Dvina.
Retreat of Napoleon (October-December 1812)
Napoleon's main army cut deep into Russia like a wedge. At the time when Napoleon entered Moscow, Wittgenstein's army hung over his left flank in the north in the Polotsk region, held by the French corps of Saint-Cyr and Oudinot. The right flank of Napoleon was trampling near the borders of the Russian Empire in Belarus. Tormasov's army connected the Austrian corps of Schwarzenberg and the 7th Renier corps with its presence. The French garrisons along the Smolensk road guarded Napoleon's line of communication and rear.
From Moscow to Maloyaroslavets (October 1812)
On October 18, Kutuzov attacked the French barrier under the command of Murat, who was following the Russian army near Tarutino. Having lost up to 4 thousand soldiers and 38 guns, Murat retreated to Moscow. The Tarutino battle became a landmark event that marked the transition of the Russian army to the counteroffensive.
On October 19, the French army (110 thousand) with a huge convoy began to leave Moscow along the old Kaluga road. Napoleon, on the eve of the coming winter, planned to get to the nearest major base, Smolensk, where, according to his calculations, supplies were stocked for the French army, which was experiencing hardships. It was possible to get to Smolensk in Russian off-road conditions by a direct route, the Smolensk road, along which the French came to Moscow. Another route led the southern route through Kaluga. The second route was preferable, as it passed through undestroyed places, and the loss of horses from a lack of fodder in the French army reached alarming proportions. Due to the lack of horses, the artillery park was reduced, large French cavalry formations practically disappeared.
The road to Kaluga to Napoleon was blocked by Kutuzov's army, located near Tarutino on the old Kaluga road. Not wanting to break through a fortified position with a weakened army, Napoleon turned in the area of the village of Troitskoye (modern Troitsk) onto the new Kaluga road (modern Kiev highway) in order to bypass Tarutino.
However, Kutuzov transferred the army to Maloyaroslavets, cutting off the French retreat along the new Kaluga road.
On October 24, a battle took place near Maloyaroslavets. The French managed to capture Maloyaroslavets, but Kutuzov took a fortified position outside the city, which Napoleon did not dare to storm. Kutuzov's army by October 22 consisted of 97 thousand regular troops, 20 thousand Cossacks, 622 guns and more than 10 thousand militia warriors. Napoleon had at hand up to 70 thousand combat-ready soldiers, the cavalry practically disappeared, the artillery was much weaker than the Russian one. The course of the war was now dictated by the Russian army.
On October 26, Napoleon ordered a retreat north to Borovsk-Vereya-Mozhaisk. The battles for Maloyaroslavets turned out to be in vain for the French and only delayed their retreat. From Mozhaisk, the French army resumed its movement towards Smolensk along the same road along which it had advanced on Moscow.
From Maloyaroslavets to the Berezina (October-November 1812)
From Maloyaroslavets to the village of Krasnoy (45 km west of Smolensk), Napoleon was pursued by the vanguard of the Russian army under the command of Miloradovich. From all sides, the retreating French were attacked by Platov's Cossacks and partisans, without giving the enemy any opportunity for supplies. The main army of Kutuzov slowly moved south parallel to Napoleon, making the so-called flank march.
On November 1, Napoleon passed Vyazma, on November 8 he entered Smolensk, where he spent 5 days waiting for the stragglers. On November 3, the Russian avant-garde badly battered the closing corps of the French in the battle of Vyazma. At the disposal of Napoleon in Smolensk there were up to 50 thousand soldiers under arms (of which only 5 thousand cavalry), and about the same number of unfit soldiers who were wounded and lost their weapons.
Parts of the French army, greatly thinned on the march from Moscow, entered Smolensk for a whole week with the hope of rest and food. There were no large supplies of provisions in the city, and what they had was plundered by crowds of unruly soldiers of the Great Army. Napoleon ordered the execution of the French quartermaster Sioff, who, faced with the resistance of the peasants, failed to organize the collection of food.
Napoleon's strategic position deteriorated greatly, Chichagov's Danube army was approaching from the south, Wittgenstein was advancing from the north, whose vanguard captured Vitebsk on November 7, depriving the French of food supplies accumulated there.
On November 14, Napoleon with the guard moved from Smolensk following the avant-garde corps. Ney's corps, which was in the rearguard, left Smolensk only on November 17th. The column of French troops was greatly extended, since the difficulties of the road precluded a compact march of large masses of people. Kutuzov took advantage of this circumstance, cutting off the French retreat in the Krasnoye area. On November 15-18, as a result of the battles near Red, Napoleon managed to break through, losing many soldiers and most of the artillery.
The Danube army of Admiral Chichagov (24 thousand) captured Minsk on November 16, depriving Napoleon of the largest rear center. Moreover, on November 21, Chichagov's vanguard captured Borisov, where Napoleon planned to cross the Berezina. The vanguard corps of Marshal Oudinot drove Chichagov from Borisov to the western bank of the Berezina, but the Russian admiral with a strong army guarded possible crossing points.
On November 24, Napoleon approached the Berezina, breaking away from the armies of Wittgenstein and Kutuzov pursuing him.
From the Berezina to the Neman (November-December 1812)
On November 25, with a series of skillful maneuvers, Napoleon managed to divert Chichagov's attention to Borisov and south of Borisov. Chichagov believed that Napoleon intended to cross in these places in order to take a short cut to the road to Minsk and then head to join the Austrian allies. In the meantime, the French built 2 bridges north of Borisov, along which on November 26-27 Napoleon crossed to the right (western) bank of the Berezina, rejecting the weak outposts of the Russians.
Realizing the error, Chichagov attacked Napoleon with the main forces on November 28 on the right bank. On the left bank, the French rear guard, defending the crossing, was attacked by the approaching corps of Wittgenstein. The main army of Kutuzov lagged behind. Not waiting for the crossing of the entire huge crowd of French stragglers, consisting of the wounded, frostbitten, lost weapons and civilians, Napoleon ordered the bridges to be burned on the morning of November 29. The main result of the battle on the Berezina was that Napoleon avoided complete defeat in the face of a significant superiority of Russian forces. In the memoirs of the French, the crossing of the Berezina occupies no less place than the largest Battle of Borodino.
Having lost up to 30 thousand people at the crossing, Napoleon, with 9 thousand soldiers remaining under arms, moved to Vilna, joining French divisions operating in other directions along the way. The army was accompanied by a large crowd of incompetent people, mostly soldiers from the allied states who had lost their weapons. The course of the war final stage, a 2-week pursuit by the Russian army of the remnants of Napoleon's troops to the border of the Russian Empire, is described in the article "From the Berezina to the Neman". Very coldy, who struck even during the crossing, finally exterminated the French, already weakened by hunger. The pursuit of the Russian troops did not allow Napoleon to gather at least a little force in Vilna, the flight of the French continued to the Neman, which separated Russia from Prussia and the buffer state of the Duchy of Warsaw.
On December 6, Napoleon left the army, going to Paris to recruit new soldiers to replace those who died in Russia. Of the 47,000 elite guards that entered Russia with the emperor, several hundred soldiers remained six months later.
On December 14, in Kovno, the miserable remnants of the "Great Army" in the amount of 1600 people crossed the Neman to Poland, and then to Prussia. Later they were joined by the remnants of troops from other directions. The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with the almost complete annihilation of the invading "Great Army".
Final stage war commented impartial observer Clausewitz:
Northern direction (October-December 1812)
After the 2nd battle for Polotsk (October 18-20), which took place 2 months after the 1st, Marshal Saint-Cyr retreated south to Chashniki, dangerously bringing Wittgenstein's advancing army closer to Napoleon's rear line. During these days, Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow. Marshal Viktor's 9th Corps was immediately sent to help from Smolensk, arriving in September as Napoleon's reserve from Europe. The combined forces of the French reached 36 thousand soldiers, which roughly corresponded to the forces of Wittgenstein. The oncoming battle took place on October 31 near Chashniki, as a result of which the French were defeated and rolled back even further south.
Vitebsk remained uncovered, a detachment from Wittgenstein's army stormed this city on November 7, capturing 300 soldiers of the garrison and food supplies for the retreating army of Napoleon. On November 14, Marshal Victor, near the village of Smolyany, tried to throw Wittgenstein back behind the Dvina, but to no avail, and the parties maintained their positions until Napoleon approached the Berezina. Victor then, linking up with the main army, retreated to the Berezina as Napoleon's rearguard, holding back Wittgenstein's pressure.
In the Baltics near Riga, a positional war was fought with occasional Russian sorties against MacDonald's corps. The Finnish corps of General Steingel (12 thousand) approached on September 20 to help the garrison of Riga, however, after a successful sortie on September 29 against the French siege artillery, Steingel was transferred to Wittgenstein in Polotsk to the theater of the main hostilities. On November 15, MacDonald, in turn, successfully attacked the Russian positions, almost destroying a large Russian detachment.
The 10th Corps of Marshal MacDonald began to retreat from Riga towards Prussia only on December 19, after the miserable remnants of Napoleon's main army had left Russia. On December 26, MacDonald's troops had to engage in battle with Wittgenstein's vanguard. December 30th Russian general Dibich concluded an armistice agreement with the commander of the Prussian corps, General York, known at the place of signing as the Taurogen Convention. Thus, MacDonald lost his main forces, he had to hastily retreat through East Prussia.
South direction (October-December 1812)
On September 18, Admiral Chichagov with an army (38 thousand) approached from the Danube to the sedentary southern front in the Lutsk region. The combined forces of Chichagov and Tormasov (65 thousand) attacked Schwarzenberg (40 thousand), forcing the latter to leave for Poland in mid-October. Chichagov, who took over the main command after Tormasov's recall, gave the troops a 2-week rest, after which on October 27 he moved from Brest-Litovsk to Minsk with 24,000 soldiers, leaving General Saken with a 27,000-strong corps against the Schwarzenberg Austrians.
Schwarzenberg chased Chichagov, outflanking the positions of Saken and hiding from his troops by the Saxon corps of Rainier. Renier failed to hold onto Sacken's superior forces, and Schwarzenberg was forced to turn on the Russians from Slonim. Together, Rainier and Schwarzenberg drove Saken south of Brest-Litovsk, however, as a result, Chichagov's army broke through to the rear of Napoleon and occupied Minsk on November 16, and on November 21 approached Borisov on the Berezina, where the retreating Napoleon planned to cross.
On November 27, Schwarzenberg, on the orders of Napoleon, moved to Minsk, but stopped in Slonim, from where on December 14 he retreated through Bialystok to Poland.
Results of the Patriotic War of 1812
Napoleon, a recognized genius of military art, invaded Russia with forces three times superior to the Western Russian armies under the command of generals not marked by brilliant victories, and after six months of the company his army, the strongest in history, was completely destroyed.
The destruction of almost 550 thousand soldiers does not fit even modern Western historians. A large number of articles are devoted to the search for the causes of the defeat of the greatest commander, the analysis of the factors of war. The following reasons are most often cited - bad roads in Russia and frost, there are attempts to explain the rout by the bad harvest of 1812, which made it impossible to ensure normal supply.
The Russian campaign (in Western terms) received the name Patriotic in Russia, which explains the defeat of Napoleon. A combination of factors led to his defeat: the nationwide participation in the war, the mass heroism of soldiers and officers, the military talent of Kutuzov and other generals, the skillful use natural factors. The victory in the Patriotic War caused not only a rise in national spirit, but also a desire to modernize the country, which ultimately led to the Decembrist uprising in 1825.
Clausewitz, analyzing Napoleon's campaign in Russia from a military point of view, comes to the conclusion:
According to Clausewitz's calculations, the army of the invasion of Russia, together with reinforcements during the war, consisted of 610 thousand soldier, including 50 thousand soldiers of Austria and Prussia. While the Austrians and Prussians, operating in secondary directions, mostly survived, from the main army of Napoleon gathered behind the Vistula by January 1813, only 23 thousand soldier. Napoleon lost in Russia over 550 thousand trained soldiers, the entire elite guard, over 1200 guns.
According to the estimates of the Prussian official Auerswald, by December 21, 1812, 255 generals, 5111 officers, 26950 lower ranks, "in a miserable condition and mostly unarmed" passed through East Prussia from the Great Army. Many of them, according to the testimony of Count Segur, died of disease, reaching safe territory. To this number must be added about 6 thousand soldiers (who returned to the French army) from the corps of Renier and MacDonald, who operated in other directions. Apparently, from all these returning soldiers, 23 thousand (mentioned by Clausewitz) gathered later under the command of the French. The relatively large number of surviving officers allowed Napoleon to organize a new army, calling on the recruits of 1813.
In a report to Emperor Alexander I, Field Marshal Kutuzov appreciated total number French prisoners in 150 thousand man (December, 1812).
Although Napoleon managed to raise fresh forces, their fighting qualities could not replace the dead veterans. The Patriotic War in January 1813 turned into " foreign trip Russian army": the fighting moved to the territory of Germany and France. In October 1813, Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig and in April 1814 abdicated the throne of France (see article War of the Sixth Coalition).
The historian of the middle of the 19th century M. I. Bogdanovich traced the replenishment of the Russian armies during the war according to the records of the Military Scientific Archive of the General Staff. He counted the replenishment of the Main Army at 134 thousand people. The main army at the time of the occupation of Vilna in December had 70 thousand soldiers in its ranks, and the composition of the 1st and 2nd Western armies by the beginning of the war was up to 150 thousand soldiers. Thus, the total loss by December is 210 thousand soldiers. Of these, according to Bogdanovich, up to 40 thousand wounded and sick returned to service. The losses of the corps operating in secondary directions, and the losses of the militias, can be approximately the same 40 thousand people. Based on these calculations, Bogdanovich estimates the losses of the Russian army in World War II at 210,000 soldiers and militias.
Memory of the War of 1812
On August 30, 1814, Emperor Alexander I issued a Manifesto: December 25, let the day of the Nativity of Christ be from now on also the day of a thanksgiving feast under the name in the church circle: the Nativity of our Savior Jesus Christ and the remembrance of the deliverance of the Church and the Russian Power from the invasion of the Gauls and with them twenty languages».
The highest manifesto, on bringing thanks to the Lord God for the liberation of Russia 12/25/1812
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God and the whole world is a witness to this, with what desires and forces the enemy entered our beloved Fatherland. Nothing could avert his evil and stubborn intentions. Firmly relying on his own and the terrible forces he had gathered against Us from almost all European Powers, and driven by the greed of conquest and the thirst for blood, he hastened to break into the very chest of Our Great Empire in order to pour out on it all the horrors and disasters not accidentally generated, but long since devastating war prepared for them. Knowing from experience the boundless lust for power and the impudence of his enterprises, the bitter cup of evils prepared from him for Us, and seeing him with indomitable fury entered Our limits, We were forced with a painful and contrite heart, calling on God for help, to draw our sword, and to promise Our Kingdom that We will not put her in the vagina, as long as one of the enemies remains armed in Our land. We made this promise firmly in our hearts, hoping for the strong valor of the people entrusted to Us by God, in which we were not deceived. What an example of bravery, courage, piety, patience and firmness Russia showed! The enemy, who had broken into her chest, by all unheard of means of cruelty and fury, could not reach the point that she even once sighed about the deep wounds inflicted on her by him. It seemed that with the shedding of her blood, the spirit of courage multiplied in her, with the fires of her city, her love for the Fatherland was inflamed, with the destruction and desecration of the temples of God, faith was affirmed in her and irreconcilable revenge arose. The army, the nobles, the nobility, the clergy, the merchants, the people, in a word, all the state ranks and states, sparing neither their property nor their lives, made up a single soul, a soul together courageous and pious, as much burning with love for the Fatherland, as much with love for God. . From this universal consent and zeal, consequences soon arose, hardly incredible, hardly ever heard of. Let them imagine the terrible forces gathered from 20 Kingdoms and peoples, united under a single banner, with what power-hungry, arrogant victories, a ferocious enemy entered Our land! Half a million foot and cavalry soldiers and about a thousand and a half guns followed him. With this huge militia, he penetrates into the very middle of Russia, spreads, and begins to spread fire and devastation everywhere. But barely six months have passed since he entered Our borders, and where is he? Here it is appropriate to say the words of the sacred Song-Singer: “The wicked one was seen exalted and exalted, like the cedars of Lebanon. And they went past, behold, they did not, and sought him, and did not find his place. Truly, this lofty saying was accomplished in all the power of its meaning over Our proud and impious enemy. Where are his troops, like a cloud of black clouds driven by the winds? They crumbled like rain. A great part of them, having drunk the earth with blood, lies, covering the space of the Moscow, Kaluga, Smolensk, Belorussian and Lithuanian fields. Another great part in various and frequent battles was taken prisoner with many Commanders and Generals, and in such a way that after repeated and strong defeats, finally, their entire regiments, resorting to the generosity of the victors, bowed their weapons before them. The rest, an equally great part, in their swift flight, driven by our victorious troops and met with scum and famine, covered the path from Moscow itself to the borders of Russia with corpses, cannons, carts, shells, so that the smallest, insignificant part of the exhausted and unarmed warriors, hardly half-dead can come to their country, in order to tell them to the eternal horror and trembling of their fellow earthmen, since a terrible execution befalls those who dare with swearing intentions to enter the bowels of mighty Russia. Now, with heartfelt joy and ardent gratitude to God, We announce to Our dear loyal subjects that the event has surpassed even Our very hope, and that what We announced, at the opening of this war, has been fulfilled beyond measure: there is no longer a single enemy on the face of Our land; or better to say, they all stayed here, but how? dead, wounded and captured. The proud ruler and their leader himself could hardly ride away with his most important officials from here, losing all his army and all the guns he brought with him, which are more than a thousand, not counting those buried and sunk by him, recaptured from him and are in Our hands. The spectacle of the death of his troops is incredible! You can hardly believe your own eyes! Who could do this? Not taking away worthy glory from either the famous Commander in Chief of our troops, who brought immortal merits to the Fatherland, or from other skillful and courageous leaders and military leaders who marked themselves with zeal and zeal; nor in general with all our brave army, we can say that what they have done is beyond human strength. And so, let us recognize in this great work the providence of God. Let us bow down before His Holy Throne, and seeing clearly His hand that punished pride and wickedness, instead of vanity and arrogance about Our victories, let us learn from this great and terrible example to be meek and humble of the laws and will of His executors, not like these defilers who have fallen away from the faith. temples of God, Our enemies, whose bodies in myriad quantities are lying around as food for dogs and crows! Great is the Lord Our God in His mercies and in His wrath! Let us go by the goodness of deeds and the purity of Our feelings and thoughts, the only way leading to Him, to the temple of His holiness, and there, crowned by His hand with glory, let us give thanks for the bounty poured out on us, and let us fall down to Him with warm prayers, may He prolong His mercy over Nami, and stopping wars and battles, He will send victories to Us; desired peace and quiet. |
The Christmas holiday was also celebrated as modern Victory Day until 1917.
To commemorate the victory in the war, many monuments and memorials were erected, of which the most famous are the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the ensemble Palace Square with the Alexander Column. In painting, a grandiose project has been implemented, the Military Gallery, which consists of 332 portraits of Russian generals who participated in the Patriotic War of 1812. One of the most famous works Russian literature was the epic novel "War and Peace", where L. N. Tolstoy tried to comprehend global human issues against the backdrop of war. The Soviet film War and Peace, based on the novel, was awarded an Oscar in 1968; large-scale battle scenes in it are still considered unsurpassed.
The official reason for the war was the violation of the terms of the Treaty of Tilsit by Russia and France. Russia, despite the blockade of England, received its ships under neutral flags in its ports. France annexed the Duchy of Oldenburg to its possessions. Napoleon considered it insulting to himself the demand of Emperor Alexander for the withdrawal of troops from the Duchy of Warsaw and Prussia. The War of 1812 was becoming inevitable.
Here summary Patriotic War of 1812. Napoleon, at the head of a huge army of 600,000, crossed the Neman on June 12, 1812. The Russian army, numbering only 240 thousand people, was forced to retreat deep into the country. In the battle of Smolensk, Bonaparte failed to win a complete victory and defeat the united 1st and 2nd Russian armies.
In August, Kutuzov M.I. was appointed commander in chief. He not only possessed the talent of a strategist, but also enjoyed respect among soldiers and officers. He decided to give a general battle to the French near the village of Borodino. The positions for the Russian troops were chosen most successfully. The left flank was protected by flushes (earth fortifications), and the right flank by the Koloch River. In the center were the troops of Raevsky N.N. and artillery.
Both sides fought desperately. 400 guns were fired at the flushes, which were courageously guarded by the troops under the command of Bagration. As a result of 8 attacks, the Napoleonic troops suffered huge losses. They managed to capture the batteries of Raevsky (in the center) only at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but not for long. The attacking impulse of the French was held back thanks to a bold raid by the lancers of the 1st Cavalry Corps. Despite all the difficulties to bring into battle the old guard, elite troops, Napoleon did not dare. Late in the evening the battle was over. The losses were huge. The French lost 58, and the Russians 44 thousand people. Paradoxically, both commanders declared their victory in the battle.
The decision to leave Moscow was made by Kutuzov at a council in Fili on September 1. It was the only way to keep a combat-ready army. September 2, 1812 Napoleon entered Moscow. While waiting for an offer of peace, Napoleon stayed in the city until 7 October. As a result of fires, most of Moscow perished during this time. Peace with Alexander 1 was never concluded.
Kutuzov stopped 80 km away. from Moscow in the village of Tarutino. He covered Kaluga, which has large stocks of fodder and the arsenals of Tula. The Russian army, thanks to this maneuver, was able to replenish its reserves and, importantly, upgrade equipment. At the same time, French foragers were subjected to guerrilla attacks. Detachments of Vasilisa Kozhina, Fyodor Potapov, Gerasim Kurin delivered effective strikes, depriving the French army of the opportunity to replenish food. In the same way, special detachments of Davydov A.V. and Seslavina A.N.
After leaving Moscow, Napoleon's army failed to break through to Kaluga. The French were forced to retreat along the Smolensk road, without fodder. Early severe frosts exacerbated the situation. The final defeat of the Great Army took place in the battle near the Berezina River on November 14-16, 1812. Of the 600,000-strong army, only 30,000 hungry and frozen soldiers left Russia. The manifesto on the victorious end of the Patriotic War was issued by Alexander 1 on December 25 of the same year. The victory of 1812 was complete.
In 1813 and 1814, a campaign of the Russian army took place, liberating European countries from the reign of Napoleon. Russian troops acted in alliance with the armies of Sweden, Austria, Prussia. As a result, in accordance with the Treaty of Paris on May 18, 1814, Napoleon lost his throne, and France returned to the borders of 1793.
The entire biography of mankind is continuously connected with military conflicts, the formation and collapse of empires and individual states. The essence of war is the continuation of the same policy, but by violent means. The motives that encourage people to take up arms can be very different, and somewhere they justify themselves, but the ending is always the same - great losses of humanity.
A distinctive feature of the Patriotic Wars is, first of all, justice, when they defend the independence of their land, the integrity of its borders, fighting against foreign invaders.
The term "Patriotic war"
The special value of all peoples in the composition Russian state is his Fatherland. This is a synonym for the Motherland, but implies a more sacred understanding: spiritual and moral values, patriotism, a sense of filial duty.
The main role in the perception of the war as patriotic was played by the position Orthodox Church and Emperor Alexander I in the 19th century. A propaganda campaign was launched: orders, appeals, church sermons, patriotic poems. In journalism this definition first appeared in 1816 after the publication of the work of the poet F. N. Glinka, who participated in the battles of the Great Patriotic War of 1812.
And in July 1941, the chairman of the USSR State Defense Committee, I. V. Stalin, again stated the threat to the Motherland. Defining the nature of the war in his address, he calls it Patriotic. This war was against Nazi Germany, which invaded the territory of the USSR.
Events of the past
The war did not bypass any state. And Russia is no exception. In the era of the great crisis of Moscow Russia in September 1610, Polish troops entered Moscow. Victory in those conditions was possible only through the militia of the whole people, when national interests were placed above internal disagreements and enmity. And in the fall of 1612, with the participation of representatives of all classes, the Russian land was liberated.
The two Great Patriotic Wars of 1812 and 1941, which affected the whole world, were also aimed at protecting the Fatherland. Through incredible efforts and sacrifices, the united forces of the people were able to stop the aggressors on their land and drive them away.
It should be noted that in these wars the enemy had a quantitative superiority. The 500,000th army of Napoleon was opposed by the 200,000th army of Russian soldiers. And more than 5 million Wehrmacht army and its allies were rebuffed by 3 million Soviet soldiers. It is quite expected that at the very beginning of these Patriotic Wars a forced retreat was inevitable.
And also important is the fact that in both cases the battle near Moscow was turning point. For the city, which is the heart of the state, they fought to the last.
For a just cause
Victory in the Great Patriotic Wars should be viewed as the result of the unity of the whole society. When they fought not out of fear and not for medals, but out of a sense of duty to the Motherland. When they went to a mortal battle not for the sake of glory and profit, but for the sake of the life of their relatives, their loved ones. Victory was won at a hard price: through pain and suffering, deprivation and martyrdom.
The years of the Patriotic War revealed so much courage and heroism ordinary people! The serf peasant Ivan Susanin saved Tsar Michael in 1613, pointing the wrong way to the Poles, for which he was chopped to pieces. Or Vasilisa Kozhina, the wife of a village headman in the Smolensk province, resisted the French who came to the village in 1812. And what are the little heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941, who, by hook or by crook, joined the army: Valery Lyalin, Arkady Kamanin, Volodya Tarnovsky.
Patriotic War of 1812
At the beginning of the 19th century, one of the most significant events in European history was the war of the Russian Empire against the invading army of Emperor Napoleon I. The reasons for the attack were Russia's unwillingness to participate in the continental blockade of England. By that time, Napoleon had usurped almost all of Europe.
Under pressure from superior enemy forces, Russian troops retreated inland. The general battle was the battle near the village of Borodino, which is 125 km from Moscow. It was a battle of attrition, with heavy losses on both sides. And although the Russians retreated and surrendered Moscow, which was a strategic decision of the command, the French troops were heavily bled to hold their positions.
The Patriotic War of 1812 was ended in December by the notification of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army M.I. Kutuzov about the complete defeat of the enemy. The defeat of Napoleon in this war was the beginning of the decline of his career.
For Motherland!
In the 20th century, the perfidious German attack marked the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The Soviet leadership believed to the last that Hitler would not dare to violate the non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany. However, the agreements were broken.
Military operations covered a huge territory. The Soviet troops retreated. In December 1941, an important event took place near Moscow: the troops of the Red Army managed to stop and push back the enemy invaders for 250 km. It was one of the largest battles during the Great Patriotic War, more than 7 million people participated in the battle.
The victory at Stalingrad in 1943 became a decisive moment in this war, when the Soviet troops switched from defense to offensive. And on May 9, 1945, the act of surrender of Germany was signed in Berlin.
The price of victory
If Napoleon's plans were to humiliate and subjugate Russia, then Hitler's plans were the complete defeat of the Land of Soviets. As history has shown, for Germany this war was for extermination, for the peoples of the USSR - for survival.
During the Great Patriotic War, the mass destruction of Soviet people took place, atrocities that had not been heard of before were horrifying: the genocide of the Slavic, Jewish, Gypsy people; medical inhuman experiments on prisoners; the use of children's blood for transfusion of the German wounded. There was no limit to the cruelty committed in the occupied territories.
Cities and villages were destroyed, bombed railways and ports, but people did not give up, rising as a single giant to defend their homeland. Even the smallest settlements offered heroic resistance. The years of the Patriotic War were terrible, terrible, but in this hell the courage and invincibility of the united peoples of the great state were born and tempered.
Results
Victories in the Great Patriotic Wars are events of an international scale. At stake was not only the upholding of the independence and freedom of their state, but also the liberation of other peoples from the power of tyranny. The victories gained have raised the prestige of our country on the world stage - it is becoming one of the leading powers, which has to be reckoned with and taken into account.
Patriotic wars are difficult pages of history that cannot be forgotten. Losses are calculated in huge numbers: almost 42 million dead - and this is only in 1941-1945. What were the losses in other wars, and remained unknown.
