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Historical Map of Europe & the Mediterranean (24 June 1812) - French invasion of Russia: In June 1812, having amassed a Grande Armée of over 400,000 men, Napoleon crossed the Niemen river into Russia.
Battle of Smolensk on 18 August 1812, by Albracht Adam. Berezina. French troops in Studzenke (C. Faber du Faur, 27.11.1812). Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte King of Westphalia (62,000) crossed the Niemen near Grodno on 1 July, [16] and moved towards Bagration 's (second western) army.
Searching for the decisive encounter As Napoleon concentrated his enormous coalition army in preparation for the invasion of Russia, three Russian armies were positioned to guard the western frontier: the 1st Western Army, under Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, the 2nd Western Army, under Prince Pyotr Bagration, and the 3rd Western Army, under Alexander Tormasov. In …
Austrian corps. Battle of Krasnoy on 14 August 1812; painting by Peter von Hess. The First Battle of Krasnoi was fought on 14 August between Ney's French troops and Neverovsky's Russian troops. It ended with a victory for the French, but the Russians retreated in good order to Smolensk.
Napoleon pushed deep into Russia in the hope of drawing the Russians into a decisive battle, but it was not until the French army approached Moscow itself in early September 1812 that his opponents felt forced to make a stand at Borodino, on the road to the city. In the bloodiest day of fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, the French triumphed, marching on to occupy Moscow as the Russians withdrew.
By 1812 Franco-Russian relations had deteriorated, largely because of disagreements over the restoration of Poland, the Continental System against Britain, and the French occupation of Oldenburg. Unable to bend the Russians to his will, Napoleon decided on war. To prepare for the invasion, he occupied Swedish Pomerania and secured military alliances with Prussia and Austria.
26 November 1812. Napoleonic Wars. Europe. Battle of Berezina. Suffering from the cold, exhausted supply lines, and repeated Russian attacks, the French retreat from Moscow soon degenerated into a disaster. In late November Napoleon narrowly managed to escape across the Berezina, evading a last Russian attempt to destroy his army but losing ...
