Episode 45 The Russian Campaign

Living the French Revolution and Age of Napoleon

Dr Suzanne M Desan

Film Review

When Napoleon invaded Russia in May 1812, he was losing badly in Spain, despite deploying 200,000 troops to battle a Spain/Portugal/UK coalition and Spanish guerillas (see Napoleon Expand Empire to Include Poland, East Prussia and Spain). According to Desan, he made some weird miscalculation that a Russian victory would distract the French from how badly he was losing in Spain.

The entente between Napoleon and Alexander I broke down when the czar refused to participate in Napoleon’s economic blockade against Britain the emperor secretly allied with the Ottomans in a border dispute with Russia.

Napoleon’s advisors strongly advised him not to invade Russia due to the vast supply lines required. He crossed the Polish-Russian border with 650,000 troops (the majority from his conquered territories), 200,000 horses and 26 battalions transporting food and supplies. This included 25,000 transport wagons and ambulances, horse fodder and entire herds of cattle and oxen.

The Russian army, numbering 450,000, continuously withdrew further east as Napoleon’s forces advanced.

It was very difficult to feed 650,000,000 and foraging was very meager. Russian peasants fled to the forests ahead of Napoleon’s advancing troops, taking their food with them. Drinking was also extremely scarce.

In addition to hunger, the troops faced extreme heat (97 degrees F), driving rain and disease. Dysentery killed tens of thousands and thousands more deserted. By July Napoleon had lost more than a third of his forces. He himself also fell ill repeatedly.

Napoleon eventually led his men 300 miles to Smolensk before confronting Russsian forces. After two days, Napoleon breached the Russian front line to find most of the Russian army had retreated. By now he had 256,000 men.

On September 7, 130,000 French faced off against 121,000 Russians at Borodino.  Technically the French won the battle, losing 33,000 men to the Russians 44,000.

On September 14, Napoleon marched into Moscow to find the city had evacuated and the city governors had burned the city no food, water or loot. Napoleon at in the Kremlin several days waiting for Alexander to surrender, but the czar was in the capitol St Petersburg rebuilding the Russian army.

By the time Napoleon left Moscow, he had 100,000 troops. On November 6, Russia had their first serious snowfall and temperatures dropped to -35 F at night. In addition to numerous men and horses freezing to death, those who survived were harried by random attacks by the Russian army, the Cossacks and peasants angered by the French troops raving their crops.

Napoleon and the Russian army had another skirmish at the Beraseno River, where the river had thawed, forcing Napoleon’s troops to tear down neighboring houses to build bridges.

By the time, Napoleon made it back to Paris, he had lost a half million men and began drafting young teenager to rebuild his army.  Russian losses were also extremely high.

In March 1813, the Prussian king Frederick William III, who had 270,000 men under arms, entered into an alliance with Alexander I.

Film can be viewed free with a library card at Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/149323/149411