Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia in 1812 was a failure because of poor discipline, lack of food, diseases, and weather. The invasion began because Napoleon wanted access to India. Since England controlled the sea routes and have a better naval army than France, Napoleon’s only chance was to take it by land, and that meant taking on the Russian army. Napoleon failed because he underestimated the Russian army, disease, and weather. In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with more than 500,000 troops and 50,000 horses. Since there were so many troops, the demand for food was high. But Napoleon made his men live off the land for as much as possible. This was difficult because not only were the road networks bad, but Russia's
The usable land was mainly in the southwest of Russia. The eastern part which is called Siberia, is mostly frozen permanently (permafrost). Since the land was frozen, so too was the ocean around Russia. This meant that trade between Russia and other countries was impossible. All these downsides of the Russian agriculture affected the peasants and most of the population of the country.
For centuries, autocratic and repressive tsarist regimes ruled the country and population under sever economic and social conditions; consequently, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, various movements were staging demonstrations to overthrow the oppressive government. Poor involvement in WWI also added to the rising discontent against Nicholas as Russian armies suffered terrible casualties and defeats because of a lack of food and equipment; in addition, the country was industrially backward compared to countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the USA. It had failed to modernize, this was to do with the tsars lack of effort for reforms. The country was undergoing tremendous hardships as industrial and agricultural output dropped. Famine and poor morale could be found in all aspects of Russian life. Furthermore, the tsar committed a fatal mistake when he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces because he was responsible for the armies constant string of defeats.
In 1812, it was a different story, the French invaded Russia. It led to a change of fates.
The Importance of Russian Weakness in World War One in Explaining the Start of the Revolution in 1917
Napoleon Bonaparte, an unparalleled military commander who conquered most of Europe around the early 1800’s, invaded Russia in 1812, who was under the rule of Tsar Alexander at the time, lost three quarters of his Grande Armee which was composed of soldiers from all over Europe totaling 600,000 soldiers. This part of history is the most talked about and studied military campaign even today by scholars and military school alike. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 was a extraordinary expedition that shocked the French Empire to its foundation and led to its eventual collapse just a year later. This Historiographic comparative
But in 1812, the seemingly invincible Napoleon made the fateful decision to invade Russia. He advanced deep into that vast country, eventually reaching Moscow in September. He found Moscow had been burned by the Russians and could not support the hungry French Army over the long winter. Thus Napoleon was forced to begin a long retreat, and saw his army decimated to a mere 20,000 men by the severe Russian winter and chaos in the ranks.
In Germany, anti-French feelings broke out. However, the French invasions carried German nationalism beyond the small ranks of writers. In 1807, writers attacked French occupation of Germany. This nationalistic feeling spread to the Prussians. In 1806, the Prussians were defeated by the French troops. To drive the French out of Prussia there would have to be a spirit of cooperation and loyalty. To accomplish this there would have to be social and political reforms. A reformer said that if social abuses were eliminated the Prussians could fight with national honor. Military reforms improved the Prussian army. In the War of Liberation (1813), the soldiers showed great feelings of patriotism and nationalism. Afterwards, the French were driven out of Prussia. Russia, who was an ally of France, went against the word of Napoleon, So Napoleon decided to invade Russia. Napoleon's Grand Army had 700,000 people in it. Most of soldiers were not French and did not care for the war. In 1812 when Napoleon began the invasion, Russia retreated. As they were retreating, they burned all crops, which were valuable. When Napoleon reached Moscow, the Russians burned the city. Even worse, the winter was in a few months. The Russians also destroyed the food supply of Napoleon.
1. What was the impact of the mongol conquest of Russia? Of the Islamic heartlands?
No such offer ever came, and with the flusters of snow having already fallen, Napoleon had nothing else to do but lead his army out of Moscow on the 19th of October, as he realized that they could not survive a winter in Russia.
As a military genius, Napoleon won many battles to expand France and was always welcomed back to France as a hero. His use of strategic warfare throughout many battles allowed him to be seen as a hero not only in France but all of Europe. Although his army was outnumbered by the Russians and Austrians in December 2, 1805, Napoleon' brilliant strategies resulted in a defeat of the opposing armies in the Battle of Austerlitz.
French Revolution brought a great number of great ideas, but ideas are not beneficial unless they are realized and stabilized. The man to stabilize the concepts of French Revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. He started out as an Italian general and ended up being one of the greatest historical figures. First, Directors requested Napoleon's support while organizing a coup d'etat. Then, Bonaparte fought Britain in order to benefit France. Lastly, he was called to help creating a new constitution and ended up as the First Consul of France. At home, he ruled using flattery, but also he strongly resisted the opposition. Napoleon is a pro-revolutionist because he denied all the privileges of the aristocracy, created a new constitution, and also established the Napoleonic Code.
Two authors, General Carl von Clausewitz and Brett James, show similarities in reasons why Napoleon lost this campaign to Russia. Napoleon believed that after a few quick victorious battles, he could convince Alexander to return to the Continental System. He also decided that if he occupied Moscow, the Russian government would crumple and ask for peace. " A single blow delivered at the heart of the Russian Empire, at Moscow the Great, at Moscow the Holy, will instantly put this whole blind, apathetic mass at my mercy." pg 6, 1812 Napoleon's Defeat in Russia.
As the Russians retreated in two columns, Napoleon advanced toward Moscow, encountering little opposition apart from small-scale Cossack raids. He succeeded in reaching and capturing the city on September 14th, 1812 (8). The French were again met with an inferno. Moscow, made up of mostly wooden buildings, had been set on fire. The Russians had applied their scorched-earth tactic once again. There were no supplies, no food, and no shelter for the exhausted Grande Armée. Feodor Rostopchin, the governor of Moscow, had agreed to strip the city of all its supplies, under the order of Tsar Alexander. Two-thirds of Moscow’s 270,000 population had evacuated, and those who stayed behind were mostly foreign merchants, traders, and servants. As the majority
Misused intelligence and underestimated opponents were at the heart of Napoleon?s downfall. This was clearly shown at Moscow when the Russians outwitted him by using their scorched earth policy and not meeting him in battle as they agreed. With careful planning, the Russian invasion could have gone a lot better and maybe not have led to Napoleon?s downfall.
Napoleon had to retrieve from Russia under attacks by Russian peasants and horsemen on those who fell behind. His army also suffered from cold and hunger, since the Russians destroyed all food supplies. The takeover of Moscow by Napoleon proved to be useless, and in the long run, destroyed a large part of his army. Alongside these historical events, Tolstoy describes the different classes of Russian society in terms of their participation in the war and what kind of an impact war had on their lives. In the beginning of the novel, the Russian aristocratic class, which was in the czar’s circle, wanted Russia to participate in the war.