On June 24, 1812, Napoleon's army crossed the Neman River and invaded Russia.
This event is considered the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812.
According to historians, the whole nation rose to defend the Russian Empire.
As a result, the Napoleonic army was almost completely destroyed, and the defeat of the French emperor in the war with Russia was a key factor that led to the fall of the Napoleonic empire.
On the brink of war
In 1792, revolutionaries in France overthrew the monarchy and transformed the country into a republic.
According to historians, other monarchs perceived the overthrow of the internationally recognized king as a threat to stability in Europe.
The anti-French coalition, which included Austria, Prussia, Russia, Britain and a number of other states, entered the war with Paris.
At the initial stage of the conflict, the French troops acted successfully and were able to subjugate a significant part of the territory of neighboring states, including lands in Italy.
Russia actively joined the fighting against France in 1798-1799, acting in alliance with Austria.
The victories of the Russian-Austrian ground forces under the command of Alexander Suvorov and the successful operations of the squadron of Fyodor Ushakov in the Mediterranean Sea practically put an end to the dominance of the French in Italy.
But then luck turned away from the Russian army and its allies.
In 1805 and 1807, Russia was defeated in the battles of Austerlitz and Friedland, suffering significant losses.
On July 7, 1807, an agreement was signed between the Russian Empire and Napoleonic France, known as the Peace of Tilsit.
According to the document, friendly relations were established between Russia and France and trade was restored.
At the same time, Russia suspended the war with Turkey, an ally of France, transferred the bay of the city of Cattaro in the Balkans under the control of Paris, and recognized regimes dependent on France in several European states.
In addition, the parties assumed obligations to assist each other in European wars.
According to historians, Russian society negatively perceived the Treaty of Tilsit.
France's demand to abandon trade relations with Great Britain and join the continental blockade of London turned out to be unacceptable for official St. Petersburg.
“The destruction of trade and economic ties with Great Britain painfully violated the economic interests of Russia,” said the head of the sector of the History of Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, in a conversation with RT.
GIM Konstantin Igoshin.
As Yevgeny Korolenkov, head of the cultural, educational and excursion projects of the Russia - My History historical park, noted in an interview with RT, in general, Napoleon pursued his European policy without taking into account the interests of Russia.
In particular, this concerned the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw on the borders with Russia.
Crossing of the Napoleonic army across the Neman, painting by an unknown artist
© Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
“France wanted to see Russia as its junior partner, but such a role categorically did not suit Russia,” said Vitaly Zakharov, professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University, Doctor of Historical Sciences, in a conversation with RT.
In addition, according to the historian, on a personal level, Napoleon was offended by the fact that Alexander I twice refused to marry his sisters to him: first Catherine, and then Anna.
“By 1811, relations between the Russian and French empires had become so aggravated that there was no longer any way for reconciliation, and the countries began preparing for war,” said Evgeny Korolenkov.
By that time, the population of the French Empire, together with the vassal states, reached 71 million people, and the population of Russia - 41 million. Napoleon included 678 thousand people and 2.8 thousand artillery pieces in the army prepared for the invasion of Russia.
The number of Russian troops on the western borders was much more modest - about 220 thousand people and 942 guns.
The basis of the Russian grouping was the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Western armies, as well as a separate corps in the Riga region.
On June 24, 1812, the French army began to cross the Neman River.
Alexander I appealed to Napoleon to stop the invasion, but the French emperor ignored him.
People's War
“Napoleon planned to defeat the Russian troops during the general battle in the Vilna region, and thus return Russia to his sphere of influence.
However, the withdrawal of the Russian army from the blow mixed up his plans, ”said Konstantin Igoshin.
In early August, the 1st and 2nd Western armies, as a result of active maneuvers and rearguard battles, were able to combine their forces in the Smolensk region.
The 3rd Western Army, after fighting in the area of Kobrin and Gordechnaya, took up defensive positions on the Styr River.
Successfully defending in the Battle of Smolensk, the main forces of the Russian army did not allow the French to impose a general battle in unfavorable conditions for themselves - they continued to retreat to the east, while additional recruiting was going on in Russia.
According to historians, a number of problems arose in the initial stage of the war in Russia.
The retreat inland of the main forces of the Russian army caused misunderstanding in society.
Between the commanders of the 1st and 2nd Western armies, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly and Pyotr Bagration, there were constant disputes over the tactics of further actions.
Against this background, Alexander I appointed Mikhail Kutuzov, a student of Alexander Suvorov, as commander-in-chief of all Russian armies.
“Alexander I did not like Kutuzov, but he was an experienced and popular military leader in society.
His appointment caused a significant patriotic upsurge in the country,” said Vitaly Zakharov.
To give Napoleon a major battle, Kutuzov chose a field near the village of Borodino, not far from Mozhaisk.
The positions of the Russian army were convenient and made it possible to immediately block the Old and New Smolensk roads.
The number of Russian troops near Borodino was approximately 132 thousand people, and the grouping with which Napoleon entered the field was 135 thousand.
Battle of Borodino
© Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
On September 7, 1812, the Battle of Borodino took place, in which both sides suffered significant losses (according to domestic data, the Russian army lost about 45.6 thousand people, and the French - more than 50 thousand).
Russian generals personally led the soldiers into the attacks.
Despite all the efforts of Napoleon, the French were never able to break through the Russian defenses.
Nevertheless, having counted his losses, Kutuzov decided to withdraw his troops to Moscow.
“By scale and significance, by the degree of bitterness and perseverance, by the magnitude of the losses of both sides, by examples of mass and individual heroism, the Battle of Borodino became one of the most outstanding events of the era of the Napoleonic wars.
It belongs to the greatest battles of all military history,” said Konstantin Igoshin.
At the same time, according to him, in historiography there is no unambiguous assessment of who can be considered the winner in this battle.
Attack of the Shevardinsky Redoubt, episode of the Battle of Borodino
© Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
“On the most superficial glance, it might seem that Napoleon managed to defeat the Russian army, capturing the main fortified points of the Russian positions and forcing the Russian army to retreat from the battlefield.
However, if we consider this battle in the context of the entire campaign, we can see that Napoleon missed on the Borodino field the only opportunity to turn the tide of the war in his favor: he was unable to destroy or defeat the Russian army, which did not lose its combat capability and remained an active factor in the campaign.
Therefore, we can talk about the strategic victory of Kutuzov on the Borodino field, ”Igoshin emphasized.
On September 13, 1812, at a military council in the village of Fili, Kutuzov decided to leave Moscow.
Most of the population left with the army.
After the entry of the French into Moscow, fires began in the city (there are various versions regarding their cause: from targeted arson by the Russian authorities to the actions of French marauders).
Denis Davydov
© Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
At the same time, Russian partisans and militias were active around Moscow.
Kutuzov considered the activity of army partisan detachments (in particular, the detachment of Denis Davydov) to be promising and supported them.
In addition, peasants who had suffered from robberies and violence by the French poured into the volunteer partisan detachments en masse.
By October, the main forces of the Russian army were located near the village of Tarutino, blocking Napoleon's path south of Moscow.
Experiencing an acute shortage of supplies, the French were forced to withdraw from the city on 19 October.
The French made an attempt to move to the western border along a new path not yet ruined by the invasion, but the Russian army blocked their path in the Maloyaroslavets area.
As a result of the successful actions of the Russian troops in the Battle of Maloyaroslavets, the French lost about 5 thousand people killed and finally lost the opportunity to turn south.
Napoleon's army had to return to the border along the Old Smolensk road, which had previously been devastated by it.
According to historians, French soldiers suffered from hunger and cold, and also suffered significant losses during skirmishes with Russian troops and partisans.
On November 3, the Russian army defeated the French near Vyazma.
In the area of the Berezina River, the remnants of the French troops fell into the "bag", and only a small part of them, together with Napoleon himself, managed to escape.
According to experts, as a result of an unsuccessful invasion of Russia, the French emperor lost about 500,000 troops, all of his cavalry and almost all of his artillery.
According to Konstantin Igoshin, the loss of French troops in Russia became a decisive factor in crushing the power of Napoleon's empire in Europe.
The victory over the invaders not only allowed Russia to defend its sovereignty, but also contributed to the growth of influence in the international arena.
The flight of the French from Russia in 1812
© Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
“The Patriotic War of 1812 led to the decline of Napoleon's empire.
Before he started the war against Russia, no one in Europe could stop his troops and interfere with the implementation of his political plans.
However, the Russian people, having risen to defend their homeland, stopped this victorious march of Napoleon, ”summed up Evgeny Korolenkov.