FREE ESSAY ON NAPOLEON THE RUSSIAN CONFLICT

NAPOLEON THE RUSSIAN CONFLICT

Napoleon was one of the greatest military leaders of all time. By 1812 Napoleon
had expanded 
the territory of France all over Europe including Spain, Italy, Holland, and
Switzerland.
The countries that 
Napoleon did not directly control, he was usually allied with. The turning point of
Napoleon's career also 
came in 1812 when war broke out between France and Russia because of Alexander I's
refusal to enforce 
the continental $ 
Even the French nation could not provide all the manpower and supplies needed to
carry out the 
Emperor's grandiose plan for subduing Russia. Throughout 1811, he worked to mobilize
the entire 
continent against Russia. He not only levied the vassal kingdoms in Spain, Italy, and
Germany but also 
summoned Austria and Prussia to furnish their share of men and goods. Altogether,
Napoleon could count 
on nearly 700,000 men of 20 nationalities of whom more than 600,000 crossed the
border. Grown far 
beyond its original intended size, the army was difficult to assemble and hard to feed.
Between Tilsit and 
Moscow, there lay over 600 miles of hostile barren countryside. Because of lack of
supplies and the 
difficulty to feed the large army, Napoleon's plan was simple: bring about a battle,
defeat
the Russian 
army, and dictate a settlement. Apparently neither he nor his soldiers, who cheerfully
began crossing the 
Nieman River, thought beyond the immediate goal. 
Already 300 miles into Russia, Napoleon had not yet found a way to exploit his
advantage. In the 
Emperor's programming the resources necessary to achieve his objective, he had
anticipated fighting a 
battle within a month after crossing the Nieman. Toward the end of that month Napoleon
began to realize 
that events were disproving the validity of his estimates. Dying horses littered the
roads
and the advanced 
guard found little forage as Russians everywhere abandoned their homes. Napoleon
knew that he needed to 
fight. At Smolensk, he set up for a battle and waited but the Russians, afraid of a trap
steadily withdrew 
their troops from Smolensk and continued to retreat deeper into Russia. 
The only major battle in the Russian campaign proved that something was definitely
lacking in 
Napoleon's judgment. Borodino was a battle of legendary proportions. Before the battle
Napoleon 
proclaimed, Soldiers, here is the battle you have so long desired! However, the fight
was inconclusive. 
At its end, Napoleon found himself the possessor, not of a victory, but of a barren
hillside and an 
increasingly compelling commitment to advance further into the east. Well into the
battle,
the French had 
almost cracked the left side of the Russian Army. Several French generals had requested
that Napoleon 
would commit the guard infantry into battle. This would create the final blow and insure
the Russian defeat. 
After 14 hours of intense combat, the fighting died out at nightfall, and Mikhail
Illarionovich Kutusov, the 
Russian general, gratefully began to retreat his troops. The guard infantry had remained
unused. After the 
Battle of Borodino, in which losses on both sides totaled ! 
over 70,000 men, Napoleon had 100,000 effectives remaining, while Kutusov probably
had no more than 
55,000. Both sides claimed a victory, whereas actually, both sides had lost. While the
Russian army filed 
disconsolately toward Moscow, the Emperor of the French rationalized his indecision at
Borodino by 
contenting himself with the capture of the city. 
On September 14, Napoleon rode into Moscow at the head of a fraction of the
Empire's military 
strength. Meanwhile, Napoleon's opponent had made a decision that was to shape the
remainder of the 
campaign. Kutusov made up his mind not to fight another battle in defense of Moscow. 
Kutusov ordered 
the city's population out into the countryside, released all inmates from the city jails,
and
destroyed the city 
firefighting equipment. Napoleon and his army of 100,000 arrived only to find a handful
of the original 
inhabitants and several hundred criminals and lunatics freely roaming and plundering the
streets. That 
night, fires sprang up all over the city. Fire swept through the city for several days
and
by morning it was 
apparent that most of the city had been consumed by the flames. Left with no choice,
Napoleon sent peace 
proposals to Alexander, but Alexander refused to even discuss the concept of peace
while the French 
remained on Russian soil. Napoleon was given an opportu! 
nity to evacuate Moscow by acting like he was reinforcing his brother-in-law's troops. 
Napoleon's plan was 
to march to Kaluga and Bryansk. By returning along an untraveled route, he hoped to
find forage for the 
horses, avoid the appearance of a retreat, and eventually settle the army in winter
quarters somewhere 
between Smolensk and Minsk. There appeared to be a good chance to reach his
destination before the first 
frost. It was imperative to do so. The horses were not shod for heavy snow, nor had
the troops been issued 
any winter gear. On October 31, Napoleon and the guard reached Vyuzma; Davout (his
general) had 
cleared Borodino. One week later a heavy snow fell and, with it, the morale of the
French. On icy roads it 
was impossible for the starving horses to pull their loads. Tired men dropped in their
tracks and pushed to 
the side of the road, were lost forever. Artillery pieces, loot, and many of the wounded
were left behind. 
November was an unending catastrophe! 
for the decimated French army. Men began to fight for scraps of bread and frozen
horseflesh. As the army 
began to fragment, there were extraordinary acts of individual heroism. Mere survival
itself required 
unending strength of will. Many men fell and simply refused to rise again and go on.
Marching out of 
Smolensk, the ragged, frozen and famished group of men knew that they must sooner or
later fight the 
Russians as well as the winter. On November 16, Kulusov blocked the French escape
routes. The Russians 
made many attacks on the French. And because of the health of the French soldiers,
there was little 
opposition for the Russian's attacks. Napoleon had returned to France to preserve his
empire. With his 
desertion marking the end of the war. 
A lengthy bulletin had appeared in The Moniteur on the return of Napoleon. Until
November 6, 
the weather was good, and the movement of the army was executed with success, but on
the 7th the cold 
commenced. French officers and soldiers had fought bravely, and their General had led
expertly. The 
Russian winter, not the Russian army, had defeated him. 
Electronic Arts EA 3D Atlas 1995, N.Y. New York 
Grolier Incorporated Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia 1994 N.Y. New York 
SoftKey Infopedia 2 1996 N.Y. New York 
Webster New World Dictionary 1984 N.Y. New York