Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
Napoleon’s ‘Grand Army’ consisted of 675,000 troops but only half
of them were French. Many of the soldiers from other countries
such as Germany, Austria and Spain had been forced to join his army
and were not very keen on fighting for the glory of France.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
By the time the Grand Army reached the border of Russia at the River
Niemen, they had already marched 1,000 miles.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
Napoleon’s army marched to the
city of Smolensk where they hoped
to cross the River Dnieper.
The Russian army defended the
bridges across the river against a
fierce attack from Napoleon’s army.
The French took control of the
bridges but the Russians withdrew
in good order.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
The Battle of Borodino
About 50km from Moscow, the French and
Russian armies fought a huge battle. The
French gained control of the battlefield but
again the Russians withdrew in good order.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
After the Battle of Borodino,
Napoleon’s army marched
towards Moscow.
When he got there he found
most of the city on fire and very
few Russian people left.
The Russians had deliberately
deserted the city and taken or
destroyed anything useful to
Napoleon.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
Moscow
Napoleon’s troops ride through
the ruins of Moscow.
A map showing the distance from Moscow
to France
Napoleon had a difficult decision to make in Moscow. Should he stay
there for the winter or go back to France? He thought that his other
enemies in Europe would attack France if he stayed in Moscow. He
decided to retreat from Russia back to France.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
The retreat from Moscow was a
disaster. The Russian winter is very
cold. Thousands of Napoleon’s
soldiers froze to death or died of
disease.
Napoleon had not supplied his
army with winter coats and
clothing as he thought he would
defeat the Russians easily.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
The Russian army was used to the cold, winter conditions. They
constantly attacked the retreating French army picking off the troops
who fell behind the main group.
This picture shows Marshal Ney, in the centre, who was the man
ordered by Napoleon to defend the rear of his retreating army.
Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
By the time Napoleon reached the Russian border again, he only had 93,000
soldiers left. He had underestimated how difficult it would be to defeat a
country the size of Russia.
This diagram shows the size of Napoleon’s army as it marched into Russia (grey)
and then as it retreated (black).