23.3.2: Invasion of Russia

Causes of Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia

Although most of Western and Central European states were under Napoleon’s control—either directly or indirectly through various protectorates, alliances, or under treaties favorable for France—Napoleon had embroiled his armies in the costly Peninsular War (1807/8-1814) in Spain and Portugal. France’s economy, army morale, and political support at home noticeably declined. Most importantly, Napoleon himself was not in the same physical and mental state. He was overweight and increasingly prone to various maladies.

The Treaty of Schönbrunn, which ended the 1809 war between Austria and France, had a clause removing Western Galicia from Austria and annexing it to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Russia saw the territory as a potential launching-point for another country to invade and thus developed a plan of offensive war in 1811, assuming a Russian assault on Warsaw and Danzig. Furthermore, Tsar Alexander found Russia in an economic bind as his country had little in the way of manufacturing yet was rich in raw materials, depending heavily on Napoleon’s Continental System for both money and manufactured goods. Russia’s withdrawal from the system was a further incentive for Napoleon to start the campaign.

Napoleon ignored repeated advice against an invasion of the Russian heartland and prepared for an offensive campaign. The invasion commenced in June 1812. In an attempt to gain increased support from Polish nationalists and patriots, Napoleon termed this war the Second Polish War (Napoleon’s “First Polish War” was in fact the War of the Fourth Coalition, 1806-08, one of declared goals of which was the resurrection of the Polish state on territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Polish patriots wanted the Russian part of Poland to be joined with the Duchy of Warsaw and independent Poland reestablished. These demands were rejected by Napoleon, who stated he promised Austria, one of powers that had partitioned Poland at the end of the 18th century, that this would not happen.

Logistical Challenges

The invasion of Russia demonstrates the importance of logistics in military planning. Napoleon and the Grande Armée developed a proclivity for living off the land that served them well in the densely populated and agriculturally rich central Europe with its network of roads. Rapid forced marches dazed and confused old order Austrian and Prussian armies and made foraging difficult. In Russia, many of the Grande Armée’s methods of operation did not work and they were handicapped by the lack of winter horse shoes, which made it impossible for the horses to obtain traction on snow and ice. Forced marches often left troops without supplies as the wagons struggled to keep up. Lack of food and water in thinly populated, agriculturally sparse regions led to the death of troops by exposing them to waterborne diseases through drinking from mud puddles and eating rotten food and forage. The front of the army received whatever could be provided while the formations behind starved. In fact, starvation, desertion, typhus, and suicide would cost the French Army more men than all the battles of the Russian invasion combined. Following the campaign, a saying arose that the Generals Janvier and Février (January and February) defeated Napoleon, alluding to the Russian Winter. While the harsh weather was an important factor in the final defeat of the French Army, historians point out that most French losses took place before the winter and the common narrative that identified the extremely cold weather as the main reason behind the French loss is a myth (perpetuated also by Napoleon’s advisers).

The French Invasion of Russia

Through a series of long marches, Napoleon pushed the army rapidly through Western Russia in an attempt to bring the Russian army to battle, winning a number of minor engagements and a major battle at Smolensk in August 1812. As the Russian army fell back, Cossacks were given the task of burning villages, towns, and crops. This was intended to deny the invaders the option of living off the land. These scorched-earth tactics surprised and disturbed the French as the strategy also destroyed Russian territory.

The Russian army retreated into Russia for almost three months. The continual retreat and loss of lands to the French upset the Russian nobility. They pressured Alexander I to relieve the commander of the Russian army, Field Marshal Barclay. Alexander I complied, appointing an old veteran, Prince Mikhail Kutuzov, to take over command.

In September, the French caught up with the Russian army, which had dug itself in on hillsides before a small town called Borodino 70 miles west of Moscow. The battle that followed was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 soldiers and resulting in 70,000 casualties. The French gained a tactical victory, but at the cost of 49 general officers and thousands of men. Napoleon entered Moscow a week later. In another turn of events the French found puzzling, there was no delegation to meet the Emperor. The Russians evacuated the city and the city’s governor, Count Fyodor Rostopchin, ordered several strategic points in Moscow set ablaze. The loss of Moscow did not compel Alexander I to sue for peace and both sides were aware that Napoleon’s position weakened with each passing day. After staying a month in Moscow, Napoleon moved his army out southwest toward Kaluga, where Kutuzov was encamped with the Russian army.

 

Kutuzov’s military career was closely associated with the period of Russia’s growing power from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. Kutuzov contributed much to the military history of Russia and is considered one of the best Russian generals. He took part in the suppression of the Bar Confederation’s uprising, in three of the Russo-Turkish Wars, and in the Napoleonic War, including two major battles at Austerlitz and the battle of Borodino.

Napoleon tried once more to engage the Russian army in a decisive action at the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Despite holding a superior position, the Russians retreated with troops exhausted, few rations, no winter clothing, and the remaining horses in poor condition. Napoleon hoped to reach supplies at Smolensk and later at Vilnius. In the weeks that followed, lack of food and fodder for the horses, hypothermia from the bitter cold, and persistent attacks upon isolated troops from Russian peasants and Cossacks led to great loss of men and a general lack of discipline and cohesion in the army. After crossing the Berezina River, Napoleon left the army with urging from his advisers. He returned to Paris to protect his position as Emperor and raise more forces to resist the advancing Russians. The campaign effectively ended in December 1812, with the last French troops leaving Russian soil.

The main body of Napoleon’s Grande Armée diminished by a third during the first eight weeks of his invasion before the major battle of the campaign. The central French force under Napoleon’s direct command crossed the Niemen River with 286,000 men, but by the time of the Battle of Borodino his force was reduced to 161,475. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia is among the most lethal military operations in world history.

The painting shows Napoleon’s army retreating in the snow.

Effects

The campaign was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. The reputation of Napoleon was severely shaken and French hegemony in Europe dramatically weakened. The Grande Armée, made up of French and allied invasion forces, was reduced to a fraction of its initial strength. These events triggered a major shift in European politics. France’s ally Prussia broke their imposed alliance with France and switched sides, soon followed by Austria. This triggered the War of the Sixth Coalition.

Attributions

• Invasion of Russia
  • “Russian Winter.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Winter. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Napoleon.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Continental System.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_System. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Mikhail Kutuzov.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Kutuzov. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Peninsular War.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsular_War. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “French invasion of Russia.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Kutuzov_fili.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kutuzov_fili.jpg. Wikimedia Commons Public domain.
  • “On_the_big_road_Vereshchagin_-_detail.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:On_the_big_road_(Vereshchagin)_-_detail.jpg. Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.