PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1812
Causes and nature of the war. The Patriotic War of 1812 is the largest event in Russian history. Its emergence was caused by Napoleon's desire to achieve world domination. In Europe, only Russia and England maintained their independence. Despite the Treaty of Tilsit, Russia continued to oppose the expansion of Napoleonic aggression. Napoleon was especially irritated by her systematic violation of the continental blockade. Since 1810, both sides, realizing the inevitability of a new clash, were preparing for war. Napoleon flooded the Duchy of Warsaw with his troops and created military warehouses there. The threat of invasion looms over Russia's borders. In turn, the Russian government increased the number of troops in the western provinces.
In the military conflict between the two sides, Napoleon became the aggressor. He began military operations and invaded Russian territory. In this regard, for the Russian people the war became a liberation war, a Patriotic war. Not only the regular army, but also the broad masses of the people took part in it.
Correlation of forces. In preparation for the war against Russia, Napoleon gathered a significant army - up to 678 thousand soldiers. These were perfectly armed and trained troops, seasoned in previous wars. They were led by a galaxy of brilliant marshals and generals - L. Davout, L. Berthier, M. Ney, I. Murat and others. They were commanded by the most famous commander of that time, Napoleon Bonaparte. The weak point of his army was its motley national composition. German and Spanish The aggressive plans of the French bourgeoisie were deeply alien to the Polish and Portuguese, Austrian and Italian soldiers.
Active preparations for the war that Russia had been waging since 1810 brought results. She managed to create modern armed forces for that time, powerful artillery, which, as it turned out during the war, was superior to the French. The troops were led by talented military leaders M.I. Kutuzov, M.B. Barclay de Tolly, P.I. Bagration, A.P. Ermolov, N.N. Raevsky, M.A. Miloradovich and others. They were distinguished by their great military experience and personal courage. The advantage of the Russian army was determined by the patriotic enthusiasm of all segments of the population, large human resources, food and fodder reserves.
However, at the initial stage of the war, the French army outnumbered the Russian one. The first echelon of troops that entered Russia numbered 450 thousand people, while the Russians on the western border were about 320 thousand people, divided into three armies. 1st - under the command of M.B. Barclay de Tolly - covered the St. Petersburg direction, the 2nd - led by P.I. Bagration - defended the center of Russia, the 3rd - General A.P. Tormasov - was located in the southern direction.
Plans of the parties. Napoleon planned to seize a significant part of Russian territory up to Moscow and sign a new treaty with Alexander to subjugate Russia. Napoleon's strategic plan was based on his military experience acquired during the wars in Europe. He intended to prevent the dispersed Russian forces from uniting and deciding the outcome of the war in one or more border battles.
Even on the eve of the war, the Russian emperor and his entourage decided not to make any compromises with Napoleon. If the clash was successful, they intended to transfer hostilities to the territory of Western Europe. In case of defeat, Alexander was ready to retreat to Siberia (all the way to Kamchatka, according to him) to continue the fight from there. Russia had several strategic military plans. One of them was developed by the Prussian General Fuhl. It provided for the concentration of most of the Russian army in a fortified camp near the city of Drissa on the Western Dvina. According to Fuhl, this gave an advantage in the first border battle. The project remained unrealized, since the position on Drissa was unfavorable and the fortifications were weak. In addition, the balance of forces forced the Russian command to choose a strategy of active defense, i.e. retreat with rearguard battles deep into Russian territory. As the course of the war showed, this was the most correct decision.
The beginning of the war. On the morning of June 12, 1812, French troops crossed the Neman and invaded Russia by forced march.
The 1st and 2nd Russian armies retreated, avoiding a general battle. They fought stubborn rearguard battles with individual units of the French, exhausting and weakening the enemy, inflicting significant losses on him. Two main tasks faced the Russian troops - to eliminate disunity (not allow themselves to be defeated one by one) and to establish unity of command in the army. The first task was solved on July 22, when the 1st and 2nd armies united near Smolensk. Thus, Napoleon's original plan was thwarted. On August 8, Alexander appointed M.I. Kutuzov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. This meant solving the second problem. M.I. Kutuzov took command of the combined Russian forces on 17 August. He did not change his retreat tactics. However, the army and the whole country expected a decisive battle from him. Therefore, he gave the order to look for a position for a general battle. She was found near the village of Borodino, 124 km from Moscow.
Battle of Borodino. M.I. Kutuzov chose defensive tactics and deployed his troops in accordance with this. The left flank was defended by the army of P.I. Bagration, covered with artificial earthen fortifications - flashes. In the center there was an earthen mound where the artillery and troops of General N.N. were located. Raevsky. Army M.B. Barclay de Tolly was on the right flank.
Napoleon adhered to offensive tactics. He intended to break through the defenses of the Russian army on the flanks, encircle it and completely defeat it.
Early in the morning of August 26, the French launched an offensive on the left flank. The fight for flushes lasted until 12 noon. Both sides suffered huge losses. General P.I. was seriously wounded. Bagration. (He died from his wounds a few days later.) Taking the flushes did not bring any particular advantages to the French, since they were unable to break through the left flank. The Russians retreated in an organized manner and took up a position near the Semenovsky ravine.
At the same time, the situation in the center, where Napoleon directed the main attack, became more complicated. To help the troops of General N.N. Raevsky M.I. Kutuzov ordered the Cossacks M.I. Platov and the cavalry corps F.P. Uvarov to carry out a raid behind French lines. Napoleon was forced to interrupt the assault on the battery for almost 2 hours. This allowed M.I. Kutuzov to bring fresh forces to the center. Battery N.N. Raevsky passed from hand to hand several times and was captured by the French only at 16:00.
The capture of Russian fortifications did not mean Napoleon's victory. On the contrary, the offensive impulse of the French army dried up. She needed fresh forces, but Napoleon did not dare to use his last reserve - the imperial guard. The battle, which lasted more than 12 hours, gradually subsided. The losses on both sides were enormous. Borodino was a moral and political victory for the Russians: the combat potential of the Russian army was preserved, while Napoleonic's was significantly weakened. Far from France, in the vast Russian expanses, it was difficult to restore it.
From Moscow to Maloyaroslavets. After Borodino, the Russians began to retreat to Moscow. Napoleon followed, but did not strive for a new battle. On September 1, a military council of the Russian command took place in the village of Fili. M.I. Kutuzov, contrary to the general opinion of the generals, decided to leave Moscow. The French army entered it on September 2, 1812.
M.I. Kutuzov, withdrawing troops from Moscow, carried out an original plan - the Tarutino march-maneuver. Retreating from Moscow along the Ryazan road, the army turned sharply to the south and in the Krasnaya Pakhra area reached the old Kaluga road. This maneuver, firstly, prevented the French from seizing the Kaluga and Tula provinces, where ammunition and food were collected. Secondly, M.I. Kutuzov managed to break away from Napoleon's army. He set up a camp in Tarutino, where the Russian troops rested and were replenished with fresh regular units, militia, weapons and food supplies.
The occupation of Moscow did not benefit Napoleon. Abandoned by the inhabitants (an unprecedented case in history), it burned in the fire. There was no food or other supplies in it. The French army was completely demoralized and turned into a bunch of robbers and marauders. Its decomposition was so strong that Napoleon had only two options - either immediately make peace or begin a retreat. But all the peace proposals of the French emperor were unconditionally rejected by M.I. Kutuzov and Alexander.
On October 7, the French left Moscow. Napoleon still hoped to defeat the Russians or at least break into the unravaged southern regions, since the issue of providing the army with food and fodder was very acute. He moved his troops to Kaluga. On October 12, another bloody battle took place near the town of Maloyaroslavets. Once again, neither side achieved a decisive victory. However, the French were stopped and forced to retreat along the Smolensk road they had destroyed.
Expulsion of Napoleon from Russia. The retreat of the French army looked like a disorderly flight. It was accelerated by the unfolding partisan movement and the offensive actions of Russian troops.
The patriotic upsurge began literally immediately after Napoleon entered Russia. The robberies and looting of French soldiers provoked resistance from local residents. But this was not the main thing - the Russian people could not put up with the presence of invaders on their native land. History includes the names of ordinary people (A.N. Seslavin, G.M. Kurin, E.V. Chetvertakov, V. Kozhina) who organized partisan detachments. “flying detachments” of regular army soldiers led by career officers were also sent to the French rear.
At the final stage of the war, M.I. Kutuzov chose the tactics of parallel pursuit. He took care of every Russian soldier and understood that the enemy’s forces were melting every day. The final defeat of Napoleon was planned near the city of Borisov. For this purpose, troops were brought up from the south and north-west. Serious damage was inflicted on the French near the city of Krasny in early November, when more than half of the 50 thousand people of the retreating army were captured or died in battle. Fearing encirclement, Napoleon hastened to transport his troops across the Berezina River on November 14-17. The battle at the crossing completed the defeat of the French army. Napoleon abandoned her and secretly left for Paris. Order M.I. Kutuzov on the army on December 21 and the Tsar's Manifesto on December 25, 1812 marked the end of the Patriotic War.
The meaning of war. The Patriotic War of 1812 is the greatest event in Russian History. During its course, heroism, courage, patriotism and selfless love of all layers of society and especially ordinary people for their own were clearly demonstrated. Homeland. However, the war caused significant damage to the Russian economy, which was estimated at 1 billion rubles. About 2 million people died. Many western regions of the country were devastated. All this had a huge impact on the further internal development of Russia.
What you need to know about this topic:
Socio-economic development of Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Social structure of the population.
Development of agriculture.
Development of Russian industry in the first half of the 19th century. The formation of capitalist relations. Industrial revolution: essence, prerequisites, chronology.
Development of water and highway communications. Start of railway construction.
Exacerbation of socio-political contradictions in the country. The palace coup of 1801 and the accession to the throne of Alexander I. “The days of Alexander were a wonderful beginning.”
Peasant question. Decree "On Free Plowmen". Government measures in the field of education. State activities of M.M. Speransky and his plan for state reforms. Creation of the State Council.
Russia's participation in anti-French coalitions. Treaty of Tilsit.
Patriotic War of 1812. International relations on the eve of the war. Causes and beginning of the war. Balance of forces and military plans of the parties. M.B. Barclay de Tolly. P.I. Bagration. M.I.Kutuzov. Stages of war. Results and significance of the war.
Foreign campaigns of 1813-1814. Congress of Vienna and its decisions. Holy Alliance.
The internal situation of the country in 1815-1825. Strengthening conservative sentiments in Russian society. A.A. Arakcheev and Arakcheevism. Military settlements.
Foreign policy of tsarism in the first quarter of the 19th century.
The first secret organizations of the Decembrists were the “Union of Salvation” and the “Union of Prosperity”. Northern and Southern society. The main program documents of the Decembrists are “Russian Truth” by P.I. Pestel and “Constitution” by N.M. Muravyov. Death of Alexander I. Interregnum. Uprising on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. Uprising of the Chernigov regiment. Investigation and trial of the Decembrists. The significance of the Decembrist uprising.
The beginning of the reign of Nicholas I. Strengthening autocratic power. Further centralization and bureaucratization of the Russian state system. Intensifying repressive measures. Creation of the III department. Censorship regulations. The era of censorship terror.
Codification. M.M. Speransky. Reform of state peasants. P.D. Kiselev. Decree "On Obligated Peasants".
Polish uprising 1830-1831
The main directions of Russian foreign policy in the second quarter of the 19th century.
Eastern question. Russian-Turkish War 1828-1829 The problem of the straits in Russian foreign policy in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century.
Russia and the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. in Europe.
Crimean War. International relations on the eve of the war. Causes of the war. Progress of military operations. Russia's defeat in the war. Peace of Paris 1856. International and domestic consequences of the war.
Annexation of the Caucasus to Russia.
The formation of the state (imamate) in the North Caucasus. Muridism. Shamil. Caucasian War. The significance of the annexation of the Caucasus to Russia.
Social thought and social movement in Russia in the second quarter of the 19th century.
Formation of government ideology. The theory of official nationality. Mugs from the late 20s - early 30s of the 19th century.
N.V. Stankevich’s circle and German idealistic philosophy. A.I. Herzen’s circle and utopian socialism. "Philosophical Letter" by P.Ya.Chaadaev. Westerners. Moderate. Radicals. Slavophiles. M.V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky and his circle. The theory of "Russian socialism" by A.I. Herzen.
Socio-economic and political prerequisites for bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century.
Peasant reform. Preparation of reform. "Regulation" February 19, 1861 Personal liberation of the peasants. Allotments. Ransom. Duties of peasants. Temporary condition.
Zemstvo, judicial, urban reforms. Financial reforms. Reforms in the field of education. Censorship rules. Military reforms. The meaning of bourgeois reforms.
Socio-economic development of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Social structure of the population.
Industrial development. Industrial revolution: essence, prerequisites, chronology. The main stages of the development of capitalism in industry.
The development of capitalism in agriculture. Rural community in post-reform Russia. Agrarian crisis of the 80-90s of the XIX century.
Social movement in Russia in the 50-60s of the 19th century.
Social movement in Russia in the 70-90s of the 19th century.
Revolutionary populist movement of the 70s - early 80s of the 19th century.
"Land and Freedom" of the 70s of the XIX century. "People's Will" and "Black Redistribution". Assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881. The collapse of Narodnaya Volya.
Labor movement in the second half of the 19th century. Strike struggle. The first workers' organizations. A work issue arises. Factory legislation.
Liberal populism of the 80-90s of the 19th century. Spread of the ideas of Marxism in Russia. Group "Emancipation of Labor" (1883-1903). The emergence of Russian social democracy. Marxist circles of the 80s of the XIX century.
St. Petersburg "Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class." V.I. Ulyanov. "Legal Marxism".
Political reaction of the 80-90s of the XIX century. The era of counter-reforms.
Alexander III. Manifesto on the “inviolability” of autocracy (1881). The policy of counter-reforms. Results and significance of counter-reforms.
International position of Russia after the Crimean War. Changing the country's foreign policy program. The main directions and stages of Russian foreign policy in the second half of the 19th century.
Russia in the system of international relations after the Franco-Prussian war. Union of Three Emperors.
Russia and the Eastern crisis of the 70s of the XIX century. The goals of Russia's policy in the eastern question. Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878: causes, plans and forces of the parties, course of military operations. Treaty of San Stefano. Berlin Congress and its decisions. The role of Russia in the liberation of the Balkan peoples from the Ottoman yoke.
Foreign policy of Russia in the 80-90s of the XIX century. Formation of the Triple Alliance (1882). Deterioration of Russia's relations with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Conclusion of the Russian-French alliance (1891-1894).
- Buganov V.I., Zyryanov P.N. History of Russia: the end of the 17th - 19th centuries. . - M.: Education, 1996.
The Battle of Borodino is one of the bloodiest in history. “Of all my battles, the most terrible was the one I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible,” Napoleon later said.
The Battle of Borodino began at dawn on August 26 near the village of Borodino, 124 km away. from Moscow with the French offensive on the left flank of the Russian army. On the Borodino field, not only the fate of the battle was decided, but also the fate of the empire. The forces were almost equal. The most fierce battle was for the Semenov flushes. Only after eight attacks the best units of the French army managed to take these fortifications. Both sides suffered huge losses, Bagration was mortally wounded. However, having taken flushes, the French were unable to build on their success and break the left flank of the Russian army. The Russian units retreated and restored the defense at the Semenovsky ravine.
Napoleon's main attack in the afternoon was aimed at the center of the Russian army, in order to distract the French from the assault on the Kurgan Battery, a detachment of Cossacks and Cavalrymen under the command of M.I. Platov and F.P. Uvarov, made a raid behind enemy lines. However, by sixteen o'clock the battery was captured, but this turned out to be the last success of the French. Napoleon, not daring to bring his last reserve into battle, ordered his troops to retreat to their previous positions in the evening. The French went to spend the night in their camp. The Russians spent the night on the battlefield, and the Cossack patrols disturbed the enemy all night. Both sides had trophies: they captured guns, banners, and prisoners from each other. In the heat of the moment, Kutuzov decided to resume the battle the next morning, but when it was discovered that half of the Russian army had been destroyed in the battle, he realized that he should retreat and save the remaining forces from the final defeat. Losses in the Battle of Borodino were enormous on both sides. The Russians lost over 30% of their soldiers and officers; French - about 43%. Two generals, the Tuchkov brothers, Bukstevden, Kutaisov, and Gonchakov, were killed. The soldiers fought with amazing tenacity and fell in the thousands. The heroic resistance of the Russian troops embarrassed Napoleon. Eyewitnesses could not forget the Borodino horrors: “It is difficult to imagine the bitterness of both sides in the Battle of Borodino.” - says the “History of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment”, based on the testimony of soldiers and officers, “Many of those who fought threw their weapons, grappled with each other, tore each other’s mouths, strangled each other in close embraces and fell dead together. The artillery galloped over the corpses as if on a log pavement, squeezing the corpses into the ground, soaked in blood. Many battalions were so mixed up among themselves that in the general confusion it was impossible to distinguish the enemy from their own. Mutilated people and horses lay in groups, the wounded wandered to the dressing stations, but, exhausted, fell, not to the ground, but on the corpses. Cast iron and iron refused to serve the vengeance of people; the red-hot cannons could not withstand the action of gunpowder and burst with a bang, hitting the artillerymen loading them. Powder boxes flew into the air. The screams of the commanders and cries of despair in ten different languages were drowned out by gunfire and drumming. From more than a thousand cannons, flames sparkled on both sides, and deafening thunder roared, from which the earth trembled for several miles. The battlefield then presented a terrible sight. Over the left wing of our army hung a thick black cloud of smoke mixed with blood vapor; it completely eclipsed the light. The sun was covered with a bloody veil; Borodino was burning in front of the center, doused in fire, and the right flank was brightly illuminated by the rays of the sun. At the same time, day, evening and night appeared before our eyes.”
Huge losses deprived the French army of striking power.
On the evening of September 1, in the hut of the peasant A.S. Frolov in Fili (near Moscow), where M.I. Kutuzov was staying, a military council met. It was attended by M.I. Kutuzov, M.B. Barclay de Tolly, L.L. Bennigsen, D.S. Dokhturov, A.P. Ermolov, P.P. Konovnitsyn, A.I. Osterman-Tolstoy , N.N.Raevsky, F.P.Uvarov, P.S.Kaisarov, K.F.Tol. Only one question was discussed and decided: “Should we wait for the enemy in position and give him battle or surrender the capital to him without a battle?” Bennigsen proposed to give battle, Dokhturov joined Bennigsen’s opinion. Konovnitsyn, finding the position unfavorable, proposed attacking the enemy. Osterman-Tolstoy and Ermolov joined this opinion. Barclay de Tolly and Toll found it impossible to hold the Russian army in the position chosen by Bennigsen. Barclay de Tolly proposed to retreat with the army through Moscow on the road to Nizhny Novgorod, and Tol - to change the position near Moscow, so that in case of changed circumstances, to retreat from it along the Old Kaluga Road. Kutuzov believed that with the loss of Moscow, Russia was not lost yet and that his first duty was to save the army.
The first act of the drama was completed. Moscow's fate was decided. Great faith in his people and the final victory gave Kutuzov the strength to utter the words: “I order to retreat.” He correctly calculated that Napoleon, upon entering Moscow, would wait for peace proposals from the Russian government. Kutuzov hoped that, by preserving and strengthening his troops, he would starve the weakened enemy army in empty Moscow. Thus, the Russian army will gain time to be replenished with people and weapons, and the people's war will unfold in all its breadth.
Kutuzov’s further plan was to then, when the enemy’s forces were undermined and the Russian army gained new strength, to lead it in a victorious counter-offensive.
Fire in Moscow
Even earlier, having learned about the approach of the French, its inhabitants, young and old, began to leave Moscow. The whole city began to burn and turned into ruins: it was impossible to winter in it, and there was nothing to eat. On September 2, Napoleon entered the abandoned capital. The emperor was surprised, then angry, and gloomily ordered the city to be occupied. The regiments lined the deserted streets in strict order. The drums were beating. Their battle echoed dully from the walls of empty houses. The souls of the conquerors were uneasy. Moscow seemed to them a huge trap. Napoleon's attempts to start negotiations with Alexander 1 ended in failure. Alexander firmly decided to wage war to the last possible opportunity.
Expulsion of the French
Leaving the capital, the Russian army along the Ryazan road reached the Moscow River, crossed to its right bank, turned sharply to the west, moved along the Pakhra River to Podolsk and further to the old Kaluga road. Kutuzov first moved his army to Krasnaya Pakhra, then to the village of Tarutino, across the Narva River, and fortified himself well there. This is how he performed his brilliant Tarutino march maneuver. The position of the conquerors in Moscow became increasingly difficult. The military camp became like a fair. There was a brisk trade in loot here. Discipline has fallen. The army turned into an unbridled crowd of marauders.
Napoleon understood the dangerous situation he was in. His power in the conquered countries rested on the bayonets of his soldiers and continuous victories. In mid-October he decided to leave Moscow. Before leaving, Napoleon ordered the Kremlin and other cultural monuments to be blown up. The invaders carried out this atrocity only partially. Napoleon led his army towards Kaluga so as not to retreat along the old ruined road. But Kutuzov did not allow this, he repulsed the French at Maly-Yaroslavets, after which they turned to Smolensk along a ruined road. The Russian army marched parallel to the enemy, but Kutuzov was not at all keen on an open battle with it, saying that it would fall apart without a fight. The French army approached Smolensk, reduced by half, as partisans acted along the road with desperate courage.
The defeat of the enemy was completed when crossing the Berezina River. However, it was no longer the army that was coming from the Berezina, but only its pitiful remnants - 10 thousand sick, hungry and frostbitten people. All the rest died or remained in captivity or became vagabonds. They ran to Vilna, could not stay there and ran further to the Neman.
The Patriotic War is over
On Christmas Eve itself, Russia solemnly celebrated its deliverance from the French invasion. The French emperor himself, abandoning the remnants of his army, secretly left for Paris.
On December 25, the Manifesto of Alexander 1 marked the end of the Patriotic War. The victory over the French cost Russia dearly; the country's economy suffered significant damage.
The Patriotic War of 1812 began on June 12 - on this day Napoleon's troops crossed the Neman River, unleashing wars between the two crowns of France and Russia. This war lasted until December 14, 1812, ending with the complete and unconditional victory of the Russian and allied forces. This is a glorious page of Russian history, which we will consider with reference to the official history textbooks of Russia and France, as well as to the books of bibliographers Napoleon, Alexander 1 and Kutuzov, who describe in great detail the events taking place at that moment.
➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤ ➤Beginning of the war
Causes of the War of 1812
The causes of the Patriotic War of 1812, like all other wars in the history of mankind, must be considered in two aspects - the causes on the part of France and the causes on the part of Russia.
Reasons from France
In just a few years, Napoleon radically changed his own ideas about Russia. If, having come to power, he wrote that Russia was his only ally, then by 1812 Russia had become a threat to France (consider the emperor) a threat. In many ways, this was provoked by Alexander 1 himself. So, this is why France attacked Russia in June 1812:
- Violation of the Tilsit agreements: easing of the continental blockade. As you know, the main enemy of France at that time was England, against which the blockade was organized. Russia also participated in this, but in 1810 the government passed a law allowing trade with England through intermediaries. This effectively rendered the entire blockade ineffective, which completely undermined France's plans.
- Refusals in dynastic marriage. Napoleon sought to marry into the Russian imperial court in order to become “God’s anointed.” However, in 1808 he was denied marriage to Princess Catherine. In 1810 he was denied marriage to Princess Anna. As a result, in 1811 the French emperor married an Austrian princess.
- Transfer of Russian troops to the border with Poland in 1811. In the first half of 1811, Alexander 1 ordered the transfer of 3 divisions to the Polish borders, fearing an uprising of Poland, which could spread to Russian lands. This step was regarded by Napoleon as aggression and preparation for war for Polish territories, which by that time were already subordinate to France.
Soldiers! A new, second Polish war begins! The first ended in Tilsit. There, Russia promised to be an eternal ally for France in the war with England, but broke its promise. The Russian emperor does not want to give explanations for his actions until the French eagles cross the Rhine. Do they really think that we have become different? Are we really not the winners of Austerlitz? Russia presented France with a choice - shame or war. The choice is obvious! Let's go ahead, let's cross the Neman! The second Polish howl will be glorious for French arms. She will bring a messenger to the destructive influence of Russia on European affairs.
Thus began a war of conquest for France.
Reasons from Russia
Russia also had compelling reasons for participating in the war, which turned out to be a liberation war for the state. The main reasons include the following:
- Large losses for all segments of the population from the break in trade with England. The opinions of historians on this point differ, since it is believed that the blockade did not affect the state as a whole, but exclusively its elite, who, as a result of the lack of opportunity to trade with England, lost money.
- France's intention to recreate the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1807, Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw and sought to recreate the ancient state in its true size. Perhaps this was only in the event of the seizure of its western lands from Russia.
- Napoleon's violation of the Peace of Tilsit. One of the main criteria for signing this agreement was that Prussia should be cleared of French troops, but this was never done, although Alexander 1 constantly reminded about this.
For a long time, France has been trying to encroach on Russia's independence. We always tried to be meek, hoping to deflect her attempts to seize us. With all our desire to maintain peace, we are forced to gather troops to defend our Motherland. There are no possibilities for a peaceful resolution of the conflict with France, which means there is only one thing left - to defend the truth, to defend Russia from invaders. I don't need to remind commanders and soldiers about courage, it's in our hearts. The blood of the victors, the blood of the Slavs, flows in our veins. Soldiers! You defend the country, defend the religion, defend the fatherland. I'm with you. God is with us.
Balance of forces and means at the beginning of the war
Napoleon's crossing of the Neman occurred on June 12, with 450 thousand people at his disposal. Around the end of the month, another 200 thousand people joined him. If we take into account that by that time there were no large losses on both sides, then the total number of the French army at the start of hostilities in 1812 was 650 thousand soldiers. It is impossible to say that the French made up 100% of the army, since the combined army of almost all European countries fought on the side of France (France, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Prussia, Spain, Holland). However, it was the French who formed the basis of the army. These were proven soldiers who had won many victories with their emperor.
Russia after mobilization had 590 thousand soldiers. Initially, the army numbered 227 thousand people, and they were divided on three fronts:
- Northern - First Army. Commander - Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Toli. Number of people: 120 thousand people. They were located in the north of Lithuania and covered St. Petersburg.
- Central - Second Army. Commander - Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration. Number of people: 49 thousand people. They were located in the south of Lithuania, covering Moscow.
- Southern - Third Army. Commander - Alexander Petrovich Tormasov. Number of people: 58 thousand people. They were located in Volyn, covering the attack on Kyiv.
Also in Russia, partisan detachments were active, the number of which reached 400 thousand people.
The first stage of the war - The offensive of Napoleon's troops (June-September)
At 6 o'clock in the morning on June 12, 1812, the Patriotic War with Napoleonic France began for Russia. Napoleon's troops crossed the Neman and headed inland. The main direction of the attack was supposed to be on Moscow. The commander himself said that “if I capture Kyiv, I will lift the Russians by the feet, if I capture St. Petersburg, I will take them by the throat, if I take Moscow, I will strike the heart of Russia.”
The French army, commanded by brilliant commanders, was looking for a general battle, and the fact that Alexander 1 divided the army into 3 fronts was very beneficial to the aggressors. However, at the initial stage, Barclay de Toly played a decisive role, who gave the order not to engage in battle with the enemy and to retreat deeper into the country. This was necessary to combine forces, as well as to strengthen reserves. Retreating, the Russians destroyed everything - they killed livestock, poisoned water, burned fields. In the literal sense of the word, the French moved forward through the ashes. Later, Napoleon complained that the Russian people were carrying out a vile war and did not behave according to the rules.
Northern direction
Napoleon sent 32 thousand people led by General MacDonald to St. Petersburg. The first city on this route was Riga. According to the French plan, MacDonald was supposed to capture the city. Connect with General Oudinot (he had 28 thousand people at his disposal) and move on.
The defense of Riga was commanded by General Essen with 18 thousand soldiers. He burned everything around the city, and the city itself was very well fortified. By this time, MacDonald had captured Dinaburg (the Russians abandoned the city at the beginning of the war) and did not take further active action. He understood the absurdity of the assault on Riga and waited for the arrival of artillery.
General Oudinot occupied Polotsk and from there tried to separate Wittenstein's corps from the army of Barclay de Toly. However, on July 18, Wittenstein launched an unexpected blow on Oudinot, who was saved from defeat only by Saint-Cyr's corps, which arrived in time. As a result, balance came and no more active offensive operations were carried out in the northern direction.
South direction
General Ranier with an army of 22 thousand people was supposed to act in the young direction, blocking the army of General Tormasov, preventing it from connecting with the rest of the Russian army.
On July 27, Tormasov surrounded the city of Kobrin, where Ranier’s main forces gathered. The French suffered a terrible defeat - in 1 day 5 thousand people were killed in the battle, which forced the French to retreat. Napoleon realized that the southern direction in the Patriotic War of 1812 was in danger of failure. Therefore, he transferred General Schwarzenberg’s troops there, numbering 30 thousand people. As a result of this, on August 12, Tormasov was forced to retreat to Lutsk and take up defense there. Subsequently, the French did not undertake active offensive actions in the southern direction. The main events took place in the Moscow direction.
The course of events of the offensive company
On June 26, the army of General Bagration advanced from Vitebsk, whose task Alexander 1 set to engage in battle with the main forces of the enemy in order to wear them down. Everyone realized the absurdity of this idea, but only by July 17 was it possible to finally dissuade the emperor from this idea. The troops began to retreat to Smolensk.
On July 6, the large number of Napoleon's troops became clear. To prevent the Patriotic War from dragging on for a long time, Alexander 1 signed a decree on the creation of a militia. Literally all residents of the country are enrolled in it - there are about 400 thousand volunteers in total.
On July 22, the armies of Bagration and Barclay de Tolly united near Smolensk. The command of the united army was taken over by Barclay de Tolly, who had 130 thousand soldiers at his disposal, while the front line of the French army numbered 150 thousand soldiers.
On July 25, a military council was held in Smolensk, at which the issue of accepting the battle was discussed in order to launch a counteroffensive and defeat Napoleon with one blow. But Barclay spoke out against this idea, realizing that an open battle with an enemy, a brilliant strategist and tactician, could lead to a monumental failure. As a result, the offensive idea was not implemented. It was decided to retreat further - to Moscow.
On July 26, the retreat of the troops began, which General Neverovsky was supposed to cover by occupying the village of Krasnoye, thereby closing the bypass of Smolensk for Napoleon.
On August 2, Murat with a cavalry corps tried to break through the defenses of Neverovsky, but to no avail. In total, more than 40 attacks were launched with the help of cavalry, but it was not possible to achieve the desired result.
August 5 is one of the important dates in the Patriotic War of 1812. Napoleon began the assault on Smolensk, capturing the suburbs by evening. However, at night he was driven out of the city, and the Russian army continued its massive retreat from the city. This caused a storm of discontent among the soldiers. They believed that if they managed to drive the French out of Smolensk, then it was necessary to destroy it there. They accused Barclay of cowardice, but the general implemented only one plan - to wear down the enemy and take a decisive battle when the balance of forces was on the side of Russia. By this time, the French had all the advantage.
On August 17, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov arrived in the army and took command. This candidacy did not raise any questions, since Kutuzov (a student of Suvorov) was highly respected and was considered the best Russian commander after the death of Suvorov. Having arrived in the army, the new commander-in-chief wrote that he had not yet decided what to do next: “The question has not yet been resolved - either lose the army, or give up Moscow.”
On August 26, the Battle of Borodino took place. Its outcome still raises many questions and disputes, but there were no losers then. Each commander solved his own problems: Napoleon opened his way to Moscow (the heart of Russia, as the Emperor of France himself wrote), and Kutuzov was able to inflict heavy damage on the enemy, thereby making the initial turning point in the battle of 1812.
September 1 is a significant day, which is described in all history textbooks. A military council was held in Fili, near Moscow. Kutuzov gathered his generals to decide what to do next. There were only two options: retreat and surrender Moscow, or organize a second general battle after Borodino. Most of the generals, on the wave of success, demanded a battle in order to defeat Napoleon as soon as possible. Kutuzov himself and Barclay de Tolly opposed this development of events. The military council in Fili ended with Kutuzov’s phrase “As long as there is an army, there is hope. If we lose the army near Moscow, we will lose not only the ancient capital, but also all of Russia.”
September 2 - following the results of the military council of generals, which took place in Fili, it was decided that it was necessary to leave the ancient capital. The Russian army retreated, and Moscow itself, before the arrival of Napoleon, according to many sources, was subjected to terrible looting. However, this is not even the main thing. Retreating, the Russian army set the city on fire. Wooden Moscow burned down almost three-quarters. The most important thing is that literally all food warehouses were destroyed. The reasons for the Moscow fire lie in the fact that the French would not get anything that could be used by the enemies for food, movement or in other aspects. As a result, the aggressor troops found themselves in a very precarious position.
The second stage of the war - Napoleon's retreat (October - December)
Having occupied Moscow, Napoleon considered the mission completed. The commander's bibliographers later wrote that he was faithful - the loss of the historical center of Rus' would break the victorious spirit, and the country's leaders had to come to him asking for peace. But this did not happen. Kutuzov settled down with his army 80 kilometers from Moscow near Tarutin and waited until the enemy army, deprived of normal supplies, weakened and itself made a radical change in the Patriotic War. Without waiting for a peace offer from Russia, the French emperor himself took the initiative.
Napoleon's quest for peace
According to Napoleon's original plan, the capture of Moscow was to be decisive. Here it was possible to establish a convenient bridgehead, including for a campaign against St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. However, the delay in moving around Russia and the heroism of the people, who fought for literally every piece of land, practically thwarted this plan. After all, a trip to the north of Russia in winter for the French army with irregular food supplies actually amounted to death. This became clearly clear towards the end of September, when it began to get colder. Subsequently, Napoleon wrote in his autobiography that his biggest mistake was the campaign against Moscow and the month spent there.
Realizing the gravity of his situation, the French emperor and commander decided to end the Patriotic War of Russia by signing a peace treaty with it. Three such attempts were made:
- September 18. A message was sent through General Tutolmin to Alexander 1, which stated that Napoleon revered the Russian emperor and offered him peace. All he demands from Russia is to give up the territory of Lithuania and return to the continental blockade again.
- September 20. Alexander 1 received a second letter from Napoleon with a peace proposal. The conditions offered were the same as before. The Russian emperor did not respond to these messages.
- The 4th of October. The hopelessness of the situation led to Napoleon literally begging for peace. This is what he writes to Alexander 1 (according to the major French historian F. Segur): “I need peace, I need it, at all costs, just save your honor.” This proposal was delivered to Kutuzov, but the Emperor of France never received a response.
Retreat of the French army in the autumn-winter of 1812
It became obvious to Napoleon that he would not be able to sign a peace treaty with Russia, and that staying for the winter in Moscow, which the Russians had burned while retreating, was reckless. Moreover, it was impossible to stay here, since constant raids by militias caused great damage to the army. So, during the month that the French army was in Moscow, its strength decreased by 30 thousand people. As a result, the decision was made to retreat.
On October 7, preparations began for the retreat of the French army. One of the orders on this occasion was to blow up the Kremlin. Fortunately, this idea did not work out for him. Russian historians attribute this to the fact that due to high humidity, the wicks got wet and failed.
On October 19, the retreat of Napoleon's army from Moscow began. The purpose of this retreat was to reach Smolensk, since it was the only major nearby city that had significant food supplies. The road went through Kaluga, but Kutuzov blocked this direction. Now the advantage was on the side of the Russian army, so Napoleon decided to bypass. However, Kutuzov foresaw this maneuver and met the enemy army at Maloyaroslavets.
On October 24, the battle of Maloyaroslavets took place. During the day, this small town passed from one side to the other 8 times. In the final stage of the battle, Kutuzov managed to take fortified positions, and Napoleon did not dare to storm them, since the numerical superiority was already on the side of the Russian army. As a result, the French plans were thwarted, and they had to retreat to Smolensk along the same road along which they went to Moscow. It was already a scorched land - without food and without water.
Napoleon's retreat was accompanied by heavy losses. Indeed, in addition to clashes with Kutuzov’s army, we also had to deal with partisan detachments that daily attacked the enemy, especially his rear units. Napoleon's losses were terrible. On November 9, he managed to capture Smolensk, but this did not bring a fundamental change in the course of the war. There was practically no food in the city, and it was not possible to organize a reliable defense. As a result, the army was subjected to almost continuous attacks by militias and local patriots. Therefore, Napoleon stayed in Smolensk for 4 days and decided to retreat further.
Crossing the Berezina River
The French were heading to the Berezina River (in modern Belarus) to cross the river and cross to the Neman. But on November 16, General Chichagov captured the city of Borisov, which is located on the Berezina. Napoleon's situation became catastrophic - for the first time, the possibility of being captured was actively looming for him, since he was surrounded.
On November 25, by order of Napoleon, the French army began to imitate a crossing south of Borisov. Chichagov bought into this maneuver and began transferring troops. At this point, the French built two bridges across the Berezina and began crossing on November 26-27. Only on November 28, Chichagov realized his mistake and tried to give battle to the French army, but it was too late - the crossing was completed, albeit at the loss of a huge number of human lives. 21 thousand French died while crossing the Berezina! The “Grand Army” now consisted of only 9 thousand soldiers, most of whom were no longer capable of combat.
It was during this crossing that unusually severe frosts occurred, to which the French emperor referred, justifying huge losses. The 29th bulletin, which was published in one of the newspapers in France, said that until November 10 the weather was normal, but after that very severe cold came, for which no one was prepared.
Crossing the Neman (from Russia to France)
The crossing of the Berezina showed that Napoleon's Russian campaign was over - he lost the Patriotic War in Russia in 1812. Then the emperor decided that his further stay with the army did not make sense and on December 5 he left his troops and headed to Paris.
On December 16, in Kovno, the French army crossed the Neman and left Russian territory. Its strength was only 1,600 people. The invincible army, which terrified all of Europe, was almost completely destroyed by Kutuzov's army in less than 6 months.
Below is a graphical representation of Napoleon's retreat on the map.
Results of the Patriotic War of 1812
The Patriotic War between Russia and Napoleon was of great importance for all countries involved in the conflict. Largely thanks to these events, England's undivided dominance in Europe became possible. This development was foreseen by Kutuzov, who, after the flight of the French army in December, sent a report to Alexander 1, where he explained to the ruler that the war needed to be ended immediately, and the pursuit of the enemy and the liberation of Europe would be beneficial to strengthening the power of England. But Alexander did not listen to the advice of his commander and soon began a campaign abroad.
Reasons for Napoleon's defeat in the war
When determining the main reasons for the defeat of Napoleonic army, it is necessary to dwell on the most important ones, which are most often used by historians:
- A strategic mistake by the Emperor of France, who sat in Moscow for 30 days and waited for representatives of Alexander 1 with pleas for peace. As a result, it began to get colder and provisions ran out, and constant raids by partisan movements brought a turning point in the war.
- Unity of the Russian people. As usual, in the face of great danger, the Slavs unite. It was the same this time. For example, the historian Lieven writes that the main reason for the defeat of France lies in the massive nature of the war. Everyone fought for the Russians - women and children. And all this was ideologically justified, which made the morale of the army very strong. The Emperor of France did not break him.
- The reluctance of Russian generals to accept a decisive battle. Most historians forget about this, but what would have happened to Bagration’s army if he had accepted a general battle at the beginning of the war, as Alexander 1 really wanted? 60 thousand of Bagration’s army against 400 thousand of the aggressor army. It would have been an unconditional victory, and they would hardly have had time to recover from it. Therefore, the Russian people must express words of gratitude to Barclay de Tolly, who, by his decision, gave the order for the retreat and unification of the armies.
- The genius of Kutuzov. The Russian general, who received excellent training from Suvorov, did not make a single tactical miscalculation. It is noteworthy that Kutuzov never managed to defeat his enemy, but managed to tactically and strategically win the Patriotic War.
- General Frost is used as an excuse. To be fair, it must be said that the frost did not have any significant impact on the final result, since at the time the abnormal frosts began (mid-November), the outcome of the confrontation was decided - the great army was destroyed.
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 Russian territory |
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Commanders |
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Napoleon I |
Alexander I |
E. MacDonald |
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.-V. Perrin |
P. V. Chichagov |
L.-N. Davout, |
P. H. Wittgenstein |
Strengths of the parties |
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610 thousand soldiers, 1370 guns |
650 thousand soldiers, 1600 guns, 400 thousand militias |
Military losses |
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About 550 thousand, 1200 guns |
210 thousand soldiers |
Patriotic War of 1812- military actions in 1812 between Russia and the army of Napoleon Bonaparte that invaded its territory. In Napoleonic studies the term " Russian campaign of 1812"(fr. campagne de Russie pendant l "année 1812).
It ended with the almost complete destruction of Napoleonic army and the transfer of military operations to the territory of Poland and Germany in 1813.
Napoleon originally called for this war second Polish, because one of his declared goals of the campaign was the revival of the Polish independent state in opposition to the Russian Empire, including 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 Russian troops in the Battle of Friedland in June 1807. Emperor Alexander I concluded the Treaty of Tilsit with Napoleon, according to which he undertook to join the continental blockade of England. By agreement with Napoleon, Russia took Finland from Sweden in 1808 and made a number of other territorial acquisitions; Napoleon had a free hand 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 concluded 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 a military alliance with Austria on March 14 of the same year, according to which the Austrians pledged to field 30 thousand 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 benefit of Napoleon. In April of the same year, on the Swedish side, former Napoleonic Marshal Bernadotte (the future King of Sweden Charles XIV), elected crown prince in 1810 and de facto head of 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 Napoleon's conqueror) managed to conclude a profitable peace with Turkey, ending the five-year war for Moldavia. In the south of Russia, Chichagov’s Danube Army was released as a barrier against Austria, which was forced to be in an alliance with Napoleon.
On May 19, 1812, Napoleon left for Dresden, where he reviewed 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 the second Polish war. The liberation of Poland became one of the slogans that made it possible to attract many Poles into 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 a.m. on June 24, 1812, Napoleon ordered the start of 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 and threatened the restoration of independent Poland. Napoleon demanded that Tsar Alexander I tighten the blockade of England. The Russian Empire did not respect the continental blockade and imposed duties on French goods. Russia demanded the withdrawal of French troops from Prussia, stationed there in violation of the Treaty of Tilsit.
Armed forces of 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 alliance agreements with Napoleon.
Spain, having tied up 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 battles 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 thousand French soldiers in the garrisons of central Europe (of which 60 thousand in the 11th reserve corps in Prussia) and 100 thousand 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 by the troops stationed on the western border: Barclay's 1st Army and Bagration's 2nd Army, a total of 153 thousand soldiers and 758 guns. Even further south in Volyn (northwest Ukraine) was located the 3rd Army of Tormasov (up to 45 thousand, 168 guns), which served as a barrier from Austria. In Moldova, Chichagov’s Danube Army (55 thousand, 202 guns) stood against Turkey. In Finland, the corps of the Russian General Shteingel (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 further from the border.
According to the lists, the irregular Cossack troops numbered 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 Barclay’s 1st Army 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 + 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 told 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 probable that he will beat us if we accept the battle, but this will not yet give him peace. The Spaniards were beaten repeatedly, but they were neither defeated nor subjugated. And yet they are not as far from Paris as we are: they have neither our climate nor our resources. We won't take any risks. We have vast space behind us, and we will maintain a well-organized army. […] If the lot of arms decides the case against me, then I would rather retreat to Kamchatka than cede my provinces and sign treaties in my capital that are only a respite. The Frenchman is brave, but long hardships and bad climate tire and discourage him. Our climate and our winter will fight for us.» |
However, the original campaign plan developed by the military theorist Pfuel proposed defense at the Driss fortified camp. During the war, Pfuel's plan was rejected by the generals as impossible to implement in the conditions of modern maneuver warfare. Artillery warehouses for supplying the Russian army were located in three lines:
- Vilna - Dinaburg - Nesvizh - Bobruisk - Polonnoye - Kyiv
- Pskov - Porkhov - Shostka - Bryansk - Smolensk
- Moscow - Novgorod - Kaluga
Napoleon wished to conduct a limited campaign for 1812. He told Metternich: “ 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. I'll stop there.“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 Napoleon’s phrase: “ He started talking about Russian nobles who, in the event of war, would fear for their palaces and, after a major battle, would force Emperor Alexander to sign peace.»
Napoleon's offensive (June–September 1812)
At 6 a.m. 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, another group (79 thousand soldiers: 6th and 4th infantry corps, cavalry) under the command of Prince Beauharnais crossed the Neman.
At the same time, on June 30, even further south near Grodno, the Neman was crossed by 4 corps (78-79 thousand soldiers: 5th, 7th, 8th infantry and 4th cavalry corps) under the overall command of Jerome Bonaparte.
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 of the start of the invasion late in the evening of 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 following his troops.
From Neman to Smolensk (July - August 1812)
Northern direction
Napoleon sent Marshal MacDonald's 10th Corps, consisting of 32 thousand Prussians and Germans, to the north of the Russian Empire. His goal was to capture Riga, and then, uniting with the 2nd Corps of Marshal Oudinot (28 thousand), attack St. Petersburg. The core of MacDonald's corps was a 20,000-strong Prussian corps under the command of General Gravert (later York). Macdonald approached the fortifications of Riga, however, lacking siege artillery, he stopped at the distant approaches to the city. The military governor of Riga, Essen, burned the outskirts 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 military clashes in this foreign war, however, if the situation threatened the “honor of the Prussian arms,” the Prussians offered active resistance, and repeatedly repulsed Russian forays 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 Oudinot's connection with MacDonald, on July 30 Wittgenstein attacked Oudinot's 2/3 corps, which was not expecting an attack and was weakened by a march on the 2/3 corps, 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 stuck in low-intensity fighting, remaining in place.
Moscow direction
Units of Barclay's 1st Army were scattered from the Baltic to Lida, with headquarters located in Vilna. In view of Napoleon's rapid advance, the divided Russian corps faced the threat of being defeated piecemeal. Dokhturov's corps found itself in an operational environment, but was able to escape and arrive at the Sventsyany assembly point. At the same time, Dorokhov’s cavalry detachment found itself cut off from the corps and united with Bagration’s army. After the 1st Army united, 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 Napoleonic troops. The generals managed to convince the emperor of the absurdity of this idea put forward by the military theorist Pfuel (or Ful). On July 16, the Russian army continued its retreat through Polotsk to Vitebsk, leaving Lieutenant General Wittgenstein’s 1st Corps to defend St. Petersburg. In Polotsk, Alexander I left the army, convinced to leave by persistent requests from dignitaries and family. An executive general and cautious strategist, Barclay retreated under the pressure of superior forces from almost all of Europe, and this greatly irritated Napoleon, who was interested in a speedy 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 western Belarus, approximately 150 kilometers from Barclay’s 1st Army. At first Bagration moved to join the main 1st Army, but when he reached Lida (100 km from Vilno), it was too late. He had to escape from the French to the south. To cut Bagration off from the main forces and destroy him, Napoleon sent Marshal Davout with a force of up to 50 thousand soldiers to cross Bagration. Davout moved from Vilna to Minsk, which he occupied on July 8. On the other hand, from the west, Jerome Bonaparte attacked Bagration with 4 corps, which crossed the Neman near Grodno. Napoleon sought to prevent the connection of the Russian armies in order to defeat them piece by piece. Bagration, with swift marches and successful rearguard battles, broke away from Jerome's troops, and now Marshal Davout became his main opponent.
On July 19, Bagration was in Bobruisk on the Berezina, while Davout on July 21 occupied Mogilev on the Dnieper with advanced units, that is, the French were ahead of Bagration, being in the northeast of the Russian 2nd Army. Bagration, having approached the Dnieper 60 km below Mogilev, sent General Raevsky’s corps against Davout on July 23 with the goal of pushing the French back from Mogilev and taking a direct road to Vitebsk, where according to plans the Russian armies were to unite. 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 cross the Dnieper in the town of Novoye Bykhovo without interference on July 25 and headed towards Smolensk. Davout no longer had the strength to pursue the Russian 2nd Army, and the troops of Jerome Bonaparte, hopelessly behind, were still crossing 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 to meet the enemy vanguard. On July 25, 26 versts from Vitebsk, the battle of Ostrovno took place, 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 of Bagration breaking through to Vitebsk. On August 3, the Russian 1st and 2nd armies united near Smolensk, thus achieving their first strategic success. There was a short respite in the war; both sides were putting their troops in order, tired of continuous marches.
Upon reaching Vitebsk, Napoleon stopped to rest his troops, frustrated after a 400 km offensive in the absence of supply bases. Only on August 12, after much 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 a cordon position along the Brest-Kobrin-Pinsk line, spreading out an already small body over 170 km. On July 27, Tormasov was surrounded by 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 hold Tormasov, Napoleon decided not to attract Schwarzenberg’s Austrian corps (30 thousand) to the main direction and left it in the south against Tormasov. Rainier, gathering his troops and linking up with Schwarzenberg, attacked Tormasov on 12 August at Gorodechny, forcing the Russians to retreat to Lutsk (northwest Ukraine). The main battles take place between the Saxons and the Russians, the Austrians try to limit themselves to artillery shelling and maneuvers.
Until the end of September, low-intensity fighting took place in the southern direction in a sparsely populated swampy area in the Lutsk region.
In addition to Tormasov, in the southern direction there was the 2nd Russian reserve corps of Lieutenant General Ertel, formed in Mozyr and providing support to the blocked garrison of Bobruisk. To blockade Bobruisk, as well as to cover communications from Ertel, Napoleon left Dombrowski's Polish division (10 thousand) from the 5th Polish Corps.
From Smolensk to Borodin (August-September 1812)
After the unification of the Russian armies, the generals began to persistently demand from Barclay a general battle. 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, taking advantage of the slow advance of the Russian army, gathered his corps into a fist and tried to go to Barclay’s rear, 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 Krasnoye. Neverovsky's stubborn resistance gave time to transfer General Raevsky's corps to Smolensk.
By August 16, Napoleon approached Smolensk with 180 thousand. Bagration instructed General Raevsky (15 thousand soldiers), into whose 7th corps the remnants of Neverovsky’s division joined, to defend Smolensk. Barclay was against a battle that was unnecessary in his opinion, but at that time there was actual dual command in the Russian army. At 6 a.m. on August 16, Napoleon began the assault on the city with a march. The stubborn battle for Smolensk continued until the morning of August 18, when Barclay withdrew his troops from the burning city to avoid a major battle without a chance of victory. Barclay had 76 thousand, another 34 thousand (Bagration’s army) covered the retreat route of the Russian army to Dorogobuzh, which Napoleon could cut with a roundabout maneuver (similar to the one that failed at Smolensk).
Marshal Ney pursued the retreating army. On August 19, in a bloody battle near Valutina Gora, the Russian rearguard detained the marshal, who suffered significant losses. Napoleon sent General Junot to go behind the Russian rear in a roundabout way, but he was unable to complete the task, running into an impassable swamp, and the Russian army left in good order towards Moscow to Dorogobuzh. The battle for Smolensk, which destroyed a large city, marked the development 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 peace proposal to Tsar Alexander I, so far from a position of strength, but did not receive an 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. On August 17, the emperor assembled a council, which recommended that he appoint infantry general 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 the general strategic line of his predecessor, Kutuzov could not avoid a general battle for political and moral reasons. Russian society demanded a battle, even though it was unnecessary from a military point of view. By September 3, the Russian army retreated to the village of Borodino; further retreat implied the surrender of Moscow. Kutuzov decided to give a general battle, since the balance of power had shifted in the Russian direction. 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 versus 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 militia. The warriors were given pikes, but Kutuzov did not use people as “cannon fodder.”
On September 7 (August 26, 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 almost two days of battle, which consisted of an assault by French troops on the fortified Russian line, the French, at the cost of 30-34 thousand of their soldiers, pushed the Russian left flank out of 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 o'clock in the afternoon on September 13, in the village of Fili, Kutuzov ordered the generals to gather for a meeting on the further plan of action. Most of the generals spoke 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 reached the Ryazan road (southeast of Moscow). Towards evening, Napoleon entered empty Moscow.
Capture of Moscow (September 1812)
On September 14, Napoleon occupied Moscow without a fight, and already on the night of the same day the city was engulfed in fire, which by the night of September 15 intensified so much that Napoleon was forced to leave the Kremlin. The fire raged until September 18 and destroyed most of Moscow.
Up to 400 lower-class townspeople 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 occupiers, an accidental fire, the spread of which was facilitated by general chaos in an abandoned city. The fire had several sources, so it is possible that all versions are true to one degree or another.
Kutuzov, retreating from Moscow south to the Ryazan road, performed the famous Tarutino maneuver. Having knocked off the trail of Murat's pursuing cavalrymen, Kutuzov turned west from the Ryazan road through Podolsk onto the old Kaluga road, where he reached on September 20 in the Krasnaya Pakhra area (near the modern city of Troitsk).
Then, convinced that his position was unprofitable, 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 Napoleon’s main roads to 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. Hence, 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 a city devastated by a fire, foraging outside the city was not going well, the French communications stretched over thousands of kilometers were very vulnerable, the army, after suffering hardships, began to disintegrate. On October 5, Napoleon sent General Lauriston to Kutuzov for passage to Alexander I with the order: “ I need peace, I need it absolutely at all costs, save only honor" Kutuzov, after a short conversation, sent Lauriston back to Moscow. Napoleon began to prepare for a retreat not yet from Russia, but to winter quarters somewhere between the Dnieper and Dvina.
Napoleon's retreat (October-December 1812)
Napoleon's main army cut deep into Russia like a wedge. At the time when Napoleon entered Moscow, Wittgenstein's army, held by the French corps of Saint-Cyr and Oudinot, hung over his left flank in the north in the Polotsk region. Napoleon's right flank trampled near the borders of the Russian Empire in Belarus. Tormasov's army connected with its presence the Austrian corps of Schwarzenberg and the 7th corps of Rainier. French garrisons along the Smolensk road guarded the communication line and Napoleon's rear.
From Moscow to Maloyaroslavets (October 1812)
On October 18, Kutuzov launched an attack on the French barrier under the command of Murat, who was monitoring 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, marking the transition of the Russian army to a counteroffensive.
On October 19, the French army (110 thousand) with a huge convoy began to leave Moscow along the old Kaluga road. Napoleon, in anticipation of the coming winter, planned to get to the nearest large base, Smolensk, where, according to his calculations, supplies were stocked for the French army, which was experiencing hardships. In the Russian off-road conditions, it was possible to get to Smolensk by a direct route, the Smolensk road, along which the French came to Moscow. Another route led south through Kaluga. The second route was preferable, since it passed through unravaged areas, and the loss of horses from the lack of forage in the French army reached alarming proportions. Due to the lack of horses, the artillery fleet was reduced, and large French cavalry formations practically disappeared.
The road to Kaluga was blocked by Napoleon's army, positioned 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 Kyiv highway) to bypass Tarutino.
However, Kutuzov transferred the army to Maloyaroslavets, cutting off the French retreat along the new Kaluga road.
On October 24, the battle of Maloyaroslavets took place. The French managed to capture Maloyaroslavets, but Kutuzov took a fortified position outside the city, which Napoleon did not dare to storm. By October 22, Kutuzov's army consisted of 97 thousand regular troops, 20 thousand Cossacks, 622 guns and more than 10 thousand militia warriors. Napoleon had up to 70 thousand combat-ready soldiers at hand, the cavalry had practically disappeared, and 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 were in vain for the French and only delayed their retreat. From Mozhaisk, the French army resumed its movement towards Smolensk along the road along which it advanced on Moscow.
From Maloyaroslavets to Berezina (October-November 1812)
From Maloyaroslavets to the village of Krasny (45 km west of Smolensk), Napoleon was pursued by the vanguard of the Russian army under the command of Miloradovich. Platov's Cossacks and partisans attacked the retreating French from all sides, not giving the enemy any opportunity for supplies. Kutuzov's main army slowly moved south parallel to Napoleon, performing 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 vanguard severely battered the closing corps of the French in the battle of Vyazma. Napoleon had at his disposal in Smolensk up to 50 thousand soldiers under arms (of which only 5 thousand were cavalry), and about the same number of unfit soldiers who were wounded and lost their weapons.
Units of the French army, greatly thinned out on the march from Moscow, entered Smolensk for a whole week with the hope of rest and food. There were no large supplies of food in the city, and what was there was plundered by crowds of uncontrollable soldiers of the Great Army. Napoleon ordered the shooting of the French intendant Sioff, who, faced with resistance from the peasants, failed to organize the collection of food.
Napoleon's strategic position had 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 the food reserves accumulated there.
On November 14, Napoleon and the guard moved from Smolensk following the vanguard corps. Ney's corps, which was in the rearguard, left Smolensk only on November 17. 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’s route of retreat in the Krasnoye area. On November 15-18, as a result of the battles near Krasny, 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 its 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 pursuing armies of Wittgenstein and Kutuzov.
From Berezina to Neman (November-December 1812)
On November 25, through 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 shortcut to the road to Minsk and then head to join the Austrian allies. Meanwhile, the French built 2 bridges north of Borisov, along which on November 26-27 Napoleon crossed to the right (western) bank of the Berezina, throwing off the weak Russian guards.
Realizing the mistake, Chichagov attacked Napoleon with his main forces on November 28 on the right bank. On the left bank, the French rearguard defending the crossing was attacked by Wittgenstein's approaching corps. Kutuzov's main army fell behind. Without waiting for the entire huge crowd of French stragglers, consisting of the wounded, frostbitten, those who had lost their weapons and civilians, to cross, 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 conditions of significant superiority of Russian forces. In the memories 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 towards Vilna, joining along the way French divisions operating in other directions. The army was accompanied by a large crowd of unfit people, mainly soldiers from the allied states who had lost their weapons. The course of the war at the final stage, a 2-week pursuit by the Russian army of the remnants of Napoleonic troops to the border of the Russian Empire, is outlined in the article “From the Berezina to the Neman.” Severe frosts that struck during the crossing finally exterminated the French, already weakened by hunger. The pursuit of Russian troops did not give Napoleon the opportunity to gather at least some strength 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 killed in Russia. Of the 47 thousand elite guards who entered Russia with the emperor, six months later only a few hundred soldiers remained.
On December 14, in Kovno, the pitiful remnants of the “Great Army” in the amount of 1,600 people crossed the Neman into Poland, and then into Prussia. Later they were joined by remnants of troops from other directions. The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with the almost complete destruction of the invading “Grand Army”.
The last stage of the war was commented on by the 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, bringing Wittgenstein’s advancing army dangerously closer to Napoleon’s rear line. During these days, Napoleon began his retreat from Moscow. Marshal Victor's 9th Corps, which arrived in September as Napoleon's reserve from Europe, was immediately sent to help from Smolensk. The combined forces of the French reached 36 thousand soldiers, which approximately corresponded to the forces of Wittgenstein. An oncoming battle took place on October 31 near Chashniki, as a result of which the French were defeated and rolled back even further to the south.
Vitebsk remained uncovered; a detachment from Wittgenstein’s army stormed the city on November 7, capturing 300 garrison soldiers and food supplies for Napoleon’s retreating army. On November 14, Marshal Victor, near the village of Smolyan, tried to push Wittgenstein back across the Dvina, but was unsuccessful, and the parties maintained their positions until Napoleon approached the Berezina. Then Victor, joining the main army, retreated to the Berezina as Napoleon's rearguard, holding back Wittgenstein's pressure.
In the Baltic states near Riga, a positional war was fought with rare Russian forays against MacDonald's corps. General Steingel's Finnish corps (12 thousand) came to the aid of the Riga garrison on September 20, but 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 military operations. On November 15, Macdonald, in turn, successfully attacked Russian positions, almost destroying a large Russian detachment.
Marshal MacDonald's 10th Corps began to retreat from Riga towards Prussia only on December 19, after the pitiful remnants of Napoleon's main army had left Russia. On December 26, MacDonald's troops had to engage in battle with Wittgenstein's vanguard. On December 30, 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.
Southern direction (October-December 1812)
On September 18, Admiral Chichagov with an army (38 thousand) approached from the Danube to the slow-moving 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 the recall of Tormasov, gave the troops a 2-week rest, after which on October 27 he moved from Brest-Litovsk to Minsk with 24 thousand soldiers, leaving General Sacken with a 27 thousand-strong corps against the Austrians Schwarzenberg.
Schwarzenberg pursued Chichagov, bypassing Sacken's positions and covering himself from his troops with Rainier's Saxon corps. Rainier was unable to hold off Sacken's superior forces, and Schwarzenberg was forced to turn towards the Russians from Slonim. With joint forces, Rainier and Schwarzenberg drove Sacken south of Brest-Litovsk, however, as a result, Chichagov’s army broke through to Napoleon’s rear 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, by order 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 greater than the Western Russian armies under the command of generals not marked by brilliant victories, and after just six months of the campaign, his army, the strongest in history, was completely destroyed.
The destruction of almost 550 thousand soldiers is beyond the imagination of even modern Western historians. A large number of articles are devoted to searching for the reasons for the defeat of the greatest commander and analyzing the factors of the war. The most frequently cited reasons are bad roads in Russia and frost; there are attempts to explain the defeat by the poor harvest of 1812, which is why it was not possible to ensure normal supplies.
The Russian campaign (in Western names) received the name Patriotic in Russia, which explains the defeat of Napoleon. A combination of factors led to his defeat: popular participation in the war, mass heroism of soldiers and officers, the leadership talent of Kutuzov and other generals, and the skillful use of 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 invasion army in Russia, together with reinforcements during the war, numbered 610 thousand soldiers, including 50 thousand soldier of Austria and Prussia. While the Austrians and Prussians, operating in secondary directions, mostly survived, only Napoleon's main army had assembled across the Vistula by January 1813. 23 thousand soldier. Napoleon lost over 550 thousand trained soldiers, the entire elite guard, over 1200 guns.
According to the calculations of the Prussian official Auerswald, by December 21, 1812, 255 generals, 5,111 officers, 26,950 lower ranks had passed through East Prussia from the Great Army, “in a pitiful condition and mostly unarmed.” Many of them, according to Count Segur, died of disease upon reaching safe territory. To this number must be added approximately 6 thousand soldiers (who returned to the French army) from the Rainier and Macdonald corps, operating in other directions. Apparently, from all these returning soldiers, 23 thousand (mentioned by Clausewitz) later gathered under the command of the French. The relatively large number of surviving officers allowed Napoleon to organize a new army, calling up the recruits of 1813.
In a report to Emperor Alexander I, Field Marshal Kutuzov estimated the total number of French prisoners at 150 thousand man (December, 1812).
Although Napoleon managed to gather fresh forces, their fighting qualities could not replace the dead veterans. The Patriotic War in January 1813 turned into the “Foreign Campaign of the 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 mid-19th century M.I. Bogdanovich traced the replenishment of the Russian armies during the war according to the statements of the Military Scientific Archive of the General Staff. He counted the reinforcements of the Main Army at 134 thousand people. By the time of the occupation of Vilna in December, the main army numbered 70 thousand soldiers in its ranks, and the composition of the 1st and 2nd Western armies at 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’s assumption, up to 40 thousand wounded and sick returned to duty. The losses of the corps operating in secondary directions and the losses of the militias could amount to approximately the same 40 thousand people. Based on these calculations, Bogdanovich estimates the losses of the Russian army in the Patriotic War at 210 thousand soldiers and militias.
Memory of the War of 1812
On August 30, 1814, Emperor Alexander I issued a Manifesto: “ December 25, the day of the Nativity of Christ, will henceforth be a day of thanksgiving celebration 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 Empire from the invasion of the Gauls and with them the twenty tongues».
The highest manifesto on bringing thanksgiving to God for the liberation of Russia 12/25/1812
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God and the whole world are witnesses to this with what desires and strength 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 collected against Us from almost all European Powers, and driven by the greed of conquest and the thirst for blood, he hastened to burst into the very breast of Our Great Empire in order to pour out on it all the horrors and disasters that were not generated by chance, but from ancient times the all-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 for Us from him, and seeing him already entering Our borders with indomitable rage, We were forced with a painful and contrite heart, calling on God for help, to draw our sword, and promise to Our Kingdom that We will not put it into the vagina, until at least one of the enemies remains armed in Our land. We placed 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 courage, courage, piety, patience and firmness Russia has shown! The enemy who had broken into her chest with all the unheard of means of cruelty and frenzy could not achieve the point that she would sigh even once about the deep wounds inflicted on her by him. It seemed that with the shedding of her blood, the spirit of courage increased in her, with the fires of her cities, love for the Fatherland was inflamed, with the destruction and desecration of the temples of God, faith was confirmed in her and irreconcilable vengeance arose. The army, the nobles, the nobility, the clergy, the merchants, the people, in a word, all government ranks and fortunes, sparing neither their property nor their lives, formed a single soul, a soul together courageous and pious, as much flaming with love for the Fatherland as with love for God . From this universal consent and zeal, consequences soon arose that were hardly incredible, hardly ever heard of. Let those gathered from 20 Kingdoms and nations, united under one banner, imagine the terrible forces with which the power-hungry, arrogant, and fierce enemy entered Our land! Half a million foot and horse soldiers and about one and a half thousand cannons followed him. With such a huge militia, he penetrates into the very middle of Russia, spreads, and begins to spread fire and devastation everywhere. But six months have barely passed since he entered Our borders, and where is he? Here it is appropriate to say the words of the sacred Songsinger: “I have seen the wicked exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon. And I passed by, and behold, I sought him, and his place was not found.” Truly this lofty saying was fulfilled in all the power of its meaning over Our proud and wicked enemy. Where are his troops, like a cloud of black clouds driven by the winds? Scattered like rain. A great part of them, having watered the earth with blood, lies covering the space of Moscow, Kaluga, Smolensk, Belarusian and Lithuanian fields. Another great part in various and frequent battles was taken prisoner with many military leaders and generals, and in such a way that after repeated and severe defeats, finally their entire regiments, resorting to the generosity of the victors, bowed their weapons before them. The rest, an equally great part, driven in their swift flight by Our victorious troops and greeted by 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 ones remaining from all their numerous forces and unarmed warriors, hardly half-dead, can come to their country, in order to inform them, to the eternal horror and trembling of their fellow countrymen, since a terrible execution befalls those who dare with abusive intentions to enter the bowels of powerful 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 yet, they all stayed here, but how? dead, wounded and prisoners. The proud ruler and leader himself could barely ride away with his most important officials, having lost all his army and all the cannons he brought with him, which, more than a thousand, not counting those buried and sunk by him, were 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? Without taking away worthy glory either from the famous Commander-in-Chief of our troops, who brought immortal merit to the Fatherland, or from other skillful and courageous leaders and military leaders who distinguished themselves with zeal and zeal; nor in general for all of Our brave army, we can say that what they did is beyond human strength. And so, let us recognize God’s providence in this great matter. Let us prostrate ourselves before His Holy Throne, and seeing clearly His hand, punishing 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 doers of His laws and will, not like these defilers who have fallen away from the faith temples of God, Our enemies, whose bodies in countless numbers are strewn as food for dogs and corvids! Great is the Lord Our God in His mercy and in His wrath! Let us go by the goodness of our deeds and the purity of our feelings and thoughts, the only path leading to Him, to the temple of His holiness, and there, crowned by His hand with glory, let us give thanks for the generosity poured out on us, and let us fall to Him with warm prayers, that He may extend His mercy over By Us, and ceasing wars and battles, He will send victory to Us; desired peace and silence. |
The Christmas holiday was also celebrated as the 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 of Palace Square with the Alexander Column. A grandiose project has been implemented in painting, 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 of 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, won an Academy Award in 1968; its large-scale battle scenes are still considered unsurpassed.
The first Patriotic War in Russian history occurred in 1812, when Napoleon I Bonaparte, following his bourgeois ideas, attacked the Russian Empire. All segments of the population rose up against a single enemy, both old and young fought. For such a rise in the national spirit and the entire population with hostility, the war was officially dubbed the Patriotic War.
This event is firmly imprinted in the history of our country and the whole world. The bloody battle between the two great empires was reflected in literature and culture. Napoleon Bonaparte planned to quickly bleed the Russian Empire through quick and deliberate attacks on Kyiv, St. Petersburg and Moscow. The Russian army, led by the greatest leaders, took the battle in the very heart of the country and won, driving the French back beyond the Russian border.
Patriotic War of 1812. Minimum for the Unified State Examination.
At the end of the 18th century, an incident occurred in France that claimed thousands and thousands of lives and brought Napoleon I Bonaparte to the throne of the overthrown Bourbon dynasty. He glorified his name during the Italian and Egyptian military campaigns, establishing his reputation as a valiant military leader. Having secured the support of the army and influential people, he disperses Directory, the main ruling body of France at that time, and appoints himself consul, and soon emperor. Having taken power into his own hands, the French emperor quickly launched a campaign aimed at the expansion of European states.
By 1809, almost all of Europe had been conquered by Napoleon. Only Great Britain remained unconquered. The dominance of the British fleet in the English Channel made the peninsula virtually invulnerable. Adding fuel to the fire, the British took away colonies in America and India from France, thereby depriving the empire of key trading points. The only correct solution for France would be to deploy a continental blockade to cut off Britain from Europe. But to organize such sanctions, Napoleon needed the support of Alexander I, Emperor of the Russian Empire, otherwise these actions would have been meaningless
Map: Napoleonic Wars in Russia 1799-1812. "The path of the Napoleonic wars before the war with Russia."
Causes
It was concluded in the interests of Russia World of Tilsit, which was, in essence, a reprieve for the accumulation of military power.
The main points of the agreement were:
- support for the continental blockade of Britain;
- recognition of all French conquests;
- recognition of the governors appointed by Bonaparte in the conquered countries, etc.
The deterioration of relations was caused by non-compliance with the points of the peace agreement, as well as the refusal to allow Napoleon to marry Russian princesses. His proposal was rejected twice. The French emperor needed to marry to confirm the legitimacy of his title.
Occasion
The main reason for the Russian-French war was the violation of the border of the Russian Empire by French troops. You need to understand that Napoleon did not intend to conquer the entire country. His worst enemy was the impregnable Great Britain. The purpose of the campaign against Russia was to inflict military defeat on her and make peace on her own terms against the British.
Participants
"Twenty Language", this is what the troops of the captured states who joined the French army were called. The name itself makes it clear that there were many countries participating in the conflict. There were not many allies on the Russian side.
Goals of the parties
The main reason for this war, as indeed for all conflicts, was the problem of dividing influence in Europe between France, Britain And Russia. It was in the interests of all three to prevent absolute leadership of one of the countries.
The goals were the following:
Great Britain |
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Make peace with Russia on your own terms. | Throw back the enemy army beyond your borders. | |
Capture British colonies in India and win back their own, passing through Russian Asia. | Exhaust the enemy through the tactic of constant retreat into the interior of the country. | Keep Russia on your side, even after the Peace of Tilsit. |
Weaken Russia's influence in Europe. | Do not leave any resources in the path of Napoleon's army, thereby exhausting the enemy. | Provide allied states with support in the war. |
Use the Russian Empire as a source of resources. | Prevent France from setting up a continental blockade of Great Britain. | |
Return the old borders with Russia to the form they were before the reign of Peter I. | Deprive France of absolute leadership in Europe. | |
Block Great Britain on the island in order to further weaken it and seize territories. |
Balance of power
At the time Napoleon crossed the Russian border, the military power of both sides could be expressed in the following figures:
At the disposal of the Russian army there was also a Cossack regiment, which fought on the side of the Russians with special rights.
Commanders and military leaders
The commanders-in-chief of the Grand Army and the Russian Army, Napoleon I Bonaparte and Alexander I, respectively, had the most talented tacticians and strategists at their disposal.
From the outside France The following generals are especially noteworthy:
Louis-Nicolas Davout- “Iron Marshal”, Marshal of the Empire, who did not lose a single battle. He commanded the Guards Grenadiers during the war with Russia.
Joachim Murat- King of the Kingdom of Naples, commanded the reserve cavalry of the French army. He took direct part in the Battle of Borodino. Known for his ardor, courage and hot temper.
Jacques Macdonald- Marshal of the Empire, commanded the French-Prussian infantry corps. Served as the reserve power of the Grand Army. Covered the retreat of the French military forces.
Michelle Ney– one of the most active participants in the conflict. The Marshal of the Empire earned the nickname “bravest of the brave” in battle. He fought desperately in the Battle of Borodino, and then covered the retreat of the main parts of his army.
Russian Army She also had many outstanding military leaders in her camp:
Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Tolly- at the beginning of the Patriotic War, Alexander I gave him the opportunity to be Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, with the words, - “I have no other army”. He held this post until the appointment of Kutuzov.
Bagration Pyotr Ivanovich- Infantry General, commanded the 2nd Western Army at the time the enemy crossed the border. One of Suvorov's most famous students. He insisted on a general battle with Napoleon. In the Battle of Borodino he was seriously wounded by a fragment of an exploding cannonball and died in agony in the infirmary.
Tormasov Alexander Petrovich- Russian general who commanded the cavalry of the Russian Army. In the south of the Empire, the 3rd Western Army was under his command. His task was to contain France's allies - Austria and Prussia.
Wittgenstein Peter Christianovich- Lieutenant General, commanded the first infantry corps. He stood in the way of the Great Army, which was moving towards St. Petersburg. With skillful tactical actions, he seized the initiative in the battle with the French and pinned down three corps on the way to the capital. In this battle for the north of the state, Wittgenstein was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield.
Golenishchev-Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich- Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the War of 1812. An outstanding strategist, tactician and diplomat. Became the first full holder of the Order of St. George. During World War II, the French nicknamed him "The old fox from the North." The most famous and recognizable person of the war of 1812.
Main stages and course of the war
Reorganization of command: approval of Kutuzov to the post of commander-in-chief of the Russian army (August 29, 1812)
Flight from Moscow to Maloyaroslavets
Retreat from Maloyaroslavets to the Berezina
Retreat from Berezina to Neman
Division of the Great Army into three directions: Southern, Central, Northern.
March from the Neman River to Smolensk.
March from Smolensk to Moscow.
Retreat of the Great Army.
Map: Patriotic War of 1812
Peace treaty
While in burning Moscow, Napoleon I Bonaparte tried three times to conclude a peace agreement with the Russian Empire.
The first attempt was made with the help of the captured Major General Tutolmin. Feeling his dominant position, Napoleon continued to demand from the Russian emperor a blockade of Great Britain, an alliance with France and the renunciation of lands conquered by Russia.
For the second time, the commander-in-chief of the Great Army sent a letter to Alexander I with the same negotiator offering peace.
The third time Bonaparte sent his general Lauriston to the Russian emperor with the words, “ I need peace, I need it absolutely, at all costs, save only honor».
All three attempts were ignored by the command of the Russian Army.
Results and consequences of the war
The Great Army lost about 580 thousand soldiers during the six months of the war on the territory of the Russian Empire. These include deserters, allied troops who fled to their homeland. Some 60 thousand people were sheltered by local residents and the nobility alone from Napoleon's army in Russia.
The Russian Empire, for its part, also suffered considerable losses: from 150 to 200 thousand people. About 300 thousand people were injured to varying degrees of severity and about half of them remained disabled.
At the beginning of 1813 The foreign campaign of the Russian army began, which passed through the lands of Germany and France, pursuing the remnants of the Great Army. By pinning Napoleon on his territory, Alexander I achieved his surrender and capture. In this campaign, the Russian Empire annexed the Duchy of Warsaw to its territory, and the lands of Finland were again recognized as Russian.
Historical significance of the war
Patriotic War of 1812 immortalized in the history and culture of many peoples. A large number of literary works are dedicated to this event, for example “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, “Borodino” by M.Yu. Lermontova, O.N. Mikhailov "Kutuzov". In honor of the victory, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was built, and in the hero cities there are memorial obelisks. On the Borodino field, a reconstruction of the battle is held every year, where an impressive number of people who want to plunge into the era take part.
References:
- Alexey Shcherbakov - “Napoleon. The winners are not judged."
- Sergey Nechaev – “1812. An hour of pride and glory."
