“From the day of exchanging the ratification of the present treaties, there shall be perfect peace and amity between his majesty the emperor of the French [Napoleon], king of Italy, and his majesty the emperor of all the Russias.”
– “Treaty of Tilsit, 7 July 1807,” between Napoleon Bonaparte of France and “Alexander the First” of Russia – a treaty which was soon broken in 1812, when Napoleon invaded Russia
In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte came to the throne of France. He was the victor of campaigns in the “French Revolutionary Wars,” and must have seemed truly “invincible.” But his world came crashing down all around him, when his forces were defeated while invading Russia in 1812. How did all of this happen? How did the most powerful man in Europe become a prisoner in St. Helena by 1815 – later to die as a prisoner in 1821? How did the Russian people rally against the French (and other invaders) in this campaign? And what do certain prior events in the Napoleonic Wars, such as Russia’s twice switching sides in that conflict, tell us about Napoleon’s invasion of Russia? In this post, I will try to answer these questions. I will show how the larger “Napoleonic Wars” turned around in this massive Russian campaign. And I will show how Napoleon’s downfall owed much to his being routed by the Russians during this invasion.
Paul the First of Russia
Background on prior conflicts with France, including in the Napoleonic Wars
In the eighteenth century, the French Revolution began in 1789, when a French mob stormed the Bastille. It would soon claim the lives of King Louis the Sixteenth and his wife Marie Antoinette – among many others. The “French Revolutionary Wars” had begun in 1792, sucking in much of the rest of Europe as well. France went through a succession of administrations during this turbulent period. Catherine the Great was then one of the greatest rulers of Russia. But, unfortunately for the Russians, she soon died in 1796. Thus, her son “Paul the First” would now become the new “Emperor of Russia.” But Paul’s reign would be affected by distant events in continental Europe. Soon, France had a coup d’état in 1799, which brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power there – when he was still quite young. It was during this year that Paul the First’s Russia entered the “French Revolutionary Wars.” They were then siding with the British against Napoleon. But this initial involvement was brief, since it only lasted for a single year: 1799. Two years later, “Paul the First” was assassinated in 1801. Thus, he was succeeded by his son Alexander, who is now called “Alexander the First.” Soon, the “French Revolutionary Wars” ended in 1802. However, they were soon followed by the Napoleonic Wars in 1803. Soon, Russia would then be entering the Napoleonic Wars in 1804, again siding with the British against Napoleon and France. But the Russians would switch sides in this conflict twice, before the invasion of Russia had even been seriously contemplated by Napoleon.
Alexander the First of Russia
Russia fights the Turks, makes peace with Napoleon, and then fights the British instead
For three centuries, nearby Serbia had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire. But the Serbs were a little tired of Ottoman (i.e. Turkish) rule. Thus, in 1804, the “First Serbian Uprising” began, which would soon involve Russia. In 1806, a “Russo-Turkish War” then began. It was not Russia’s first war with the Ottoman Turks, and it would not be the last one. Napoleon also made an alliance with the Ottomans in 1806. Thus, in 1807, Alexander signed a “Treaty of Tilsit” with Napoleon, on a raft in the middle of the Neman River – in what is today Russia, although it was not yet controlled by Russia in 1807. In this critical treaty, Napoleon’s France agreed to help the Russians in their fight against the Ottoman Empire. In return, Alexander agreed to help Napoleon in his own war with the British Empire. Among other things, this meant that Alexander would now be enforcing Napoleon’s “Continental System,” an embargo on all trade with Britain. This was Napoleon’s biggest economic weapon against the British. In 1807, a seemingly-unrelated “Gunboat War” began between Denmark-Norway and Great Britain. This would later become important for our story. But, because of the Russian alliance with Napoleon, there was now an “Anglo-Russian War,” starting in 1807. France also began to be allied with the distant Persian Empire in that year. This was the first time in the Napoleonic Wars that the Russians were switching sides. But, again, it would not be the last. In 1808, the Russians also went to war with Sweden, in a conflict now known as the “Finnish War.” This conflict ended the following year in 1809. Only in that year was the “Grand Duchy of Finland” actually created. This conflict coincided with the “Dano-Swedish War” (between Denmark-Norway and Sweden), also from 1808 to 1809. This meant that Russia was now allied with Denmark-Norway against Sweden. In 1809, Napoleon also ended his alliance with the Persian Empire, and the Ottomans signed their own peace treaty with Britain. Meanwhile, the great “Anglo-Russian War,” as it is now called, mainly involved some naval fighting between the Russians and the British, in the Baltic Sea and the Barents Sea. This coincided with some other naval conflicts like the “Gunboat War,” which likewise kept the British busy. As with their earlier mutual wars against Sweden, the Russians were now allied with Denmark-Norway against a common enemy. But it would not stay this way for long.
Naval battle between the Russians and the British, 1808
Russia makes peace with the British, and then defies Napoleon by trading with Britain
The “Anglo-Russian War” lasted until 1810, at which time the Russians (temporarily) left the Napoleonic Wars. It did not exactly please Napoleon to lose an ally. However, Napoleon was sufficiently pacified – for the time being, at least – when Alexander agreed to continue enforcing Napoleon’s “Continental System” (also for the time being). But this embargo on all trade with Britain was now hurting the Russian economy. This was enough to bother Alexander the First. Therefore, Alexander stopped enforcing the “Continental System” in 1812. To put it simply, this infuriated Napoleon. Thus, Napoleon then declared war on Russia in 1812. This meant that Russia was again allied with the British, and again switching sides in the Napoleonic Wars. Russia made peace with the Ottoman Turks in 1812, to allow them to focus more exclusively on their war with Napoleon. Incidentally, this meant that the “First Serbian Uprising” would soon be suppressed the following year in 1813, although another rebellion would soon follow it in 1814. But I’m getting ahead of myself here. In 1812, the stage was now set for Napoleon’s ill-fated “invasion of Russia.”
Napoleon's “Grande Armée” crosses the border into Russia, 1812
Napoleon’s troops invade Russia in summer 1812, and then fight the Battle of Borodino
Napoleon was then in control of many parts of Europe. Thus, his invasion army included forces from occupied Poland, including the Duchy of Warsaw and Lithuania. It included troops from occupied areas in Italy and Naples, and from Spain and Switzerland. His army also included troops from the occupied German states of the “Rhine Confederation.” And Napoleon’s army also included soldiers from Napoleon’s various ally states: Austria, Prussia, and Denmark-Norway. On the other side, there was only Russia itself in this immediate area, although Britain (and others) continued to harass Napoleon from the west. Thus, in June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with nearly half a million troops. These included marines, sappers, miners, and even pontoon companies. There were also military hospitals, scattered throughout various locations in Germany and Poland. Napoleon’s troops marched on Vilna, Vitebsk, Minsk, and Smolensk – among other places. On the Russian side, the defenders would now be commanded by General Mikhail Kutuzov. General Kutuzov thus organized a retreat. He would employ attrition warfare against Napoleon, trying to wear him down. The turning point was the Battle of Borodino, on the 7th of September 1812. It was a single-day battle, but it was the bloodiest single-day battle of the Napoleonic Wars, and the bloodiest single day of the wars as well. The battle was nominally a French victory, but neither army had destroyed the other. This would prove crucial, when Napoleon soon turned on Moscow in autumn.
Battle of Borodino, 1812 – the largest single-day battle of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleon takes Moscow, but problems come from the Russian winter, forcing a retreat
Kutuzov decided not to defend the Russian capital city of Moscow at all. Instead, he orchestrated a general withdrawal from the city, thus saving the Russian army. Napoleon’s troops then took control of Moscow, but discovered that it was deserted – and set ablaze by Fyodor Rostopchin. Napoleon’s troops remained there for five weeks, awaiting a peace proposal. But the peace proposal never actually came. With the good weather at that moment, Napoleon thus delayed his departure, since he was still hoping to secure supplies through an alternative route. But, in his retreat, Napoleon lost the Battle of Maloyaroslavets on the 24th of October 1812. Thus, Napoleon was forced to retrace his initial path during the retreat. As Wikipedia puts it, “As early November arrived, snowfall and frost complicated the retreat. Shortages of food and winter attire for the soldiers and provision for the horses, combined with relentless guerilla warfare from Russian peasants and Cossacks resulted in significant losses. Once again more than half of the soldiers perished on the roadside succumbing to exhaustion, typhus and the unforgiving continental climate. The once-formidable Grande Armée disintegrated into a disordered multitude” (see source). Like Hitler’s troops of a century later, Napoleon was thus partly defeated by the Russian winter. To put it bluntly, this was an unmitigated disaster for Napoleon.
Napoleon’s retreat from Russia, 1812
This was the turning point of the Napoleonic Wars, leading to Napoleon’s eventual defeat
Napoleon had further problems with the Russians at the Battle of Krasnoi. In December 1812, Napoleon departed from his own army at Smorgonie in a sled, and then returned to Paris. Initially, Napoleon had commanded a force of 450,000 men – nearly half a million. Now, he had only 120,000, excluding the deserters. Thus, he had lost some 380,000 men during this “Russian campaign” (more than a third of a million). This included many losses to disease. This was the turning point of the Napoleonic Wars. Before this, Napoleon had enjoyed a near-untarnished reputation for “invincibility,” which gave him considerable momentum. But his army had now been routed, and his momentum was dying. Russia thus continued to fight Napoleon until 1815, the last year of the Napoleonic Wars. The aforementioned “Gunboat War,” between Denmark-Norway and Britain, had ended in 1814. This had resulted in a British victory, which was helpful to the Russians who were now their allies. After Napoleon was defeated in battle, he finally abdicated the throne of France in April 1814. Napoleon was thus exiled to the island of Elba. But he escaped from captivity, and then returned to ruling France as he had before. Thus, the Napoleonic Wars temporarily resumed in 1815. But the death blow came in the west in what is today Belgium, at the Battle of Waterloo. There were many nations involved at Waterloo, with the British being the most prominent of them. Perhaps partially because of the Seventh Coalition, Napoleon was defeated there, and abdicated the throne of France for the second and final time four days later. Thus, Napoleon was then exiled to St. Helena, and was subsequently imprisoned there for the rest of his life. Thus ended the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon would die in captivity in 1821. “Alexander the First” would die of natural causes, still the czar of Russia, in 1825.
Battle of Waterloo, 1815 – in what is today Belgium
The popular memory of the invasion, and how it affected the twentieth century
In Russia, this campaign is now known simply as the “Patriotic War of 1812” – not to be confused with the American “War of 1812” (which was simultaneous), or with Russia’s “Great Patriotic War” of World War II. Again, Napoleon’s invasion army had included many Germans, who would again face the Russians in the following century. In the First World War, there was the mostly-forgotten Eastern Front against the Germans, and a Russian communist revolution in 1917. In the Second World War, the Russians would now be invaded by the formidable German armies, who were then fighting under Hitler’s Nazi government. Like Napoleon’s “Grande Armée,” the Nazis would be soundly defeated (at least in part) by the Russian winter. The war is also remembered in Tchaikovsky’s classical music piece, entitled “The 1812 Overture” – and in various art and music. The French invasion of Russia lives on today, as the “great turning point” of the Napoleonic Wars. In France, it was the beginning of the end for Napoleon Bonaparte. And, in Russia, it was a time when the Russians had rallied against the French invaders, and their various allies and subjects who helped them. It’s no wonder that Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is so popular in Russia – another legacy of this war. And the war lives on in popular memory, in many other ways as well.
Footnote to this blog post:
There are only two surviving accounts of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, from ordinary common soldiers. One was the diary of Joseph Abbeel, which I have not read. But in a college history class, I read the other such surviving account, which is from Jakob Walter. It is now marketed as “The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier.” I link to it below. He was one of the aforementioned German-speaking soldiers to be fighting for Napoleon.
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