[Music] [Applause] rusha 1812 Napoleon invades his former ally with the largest army Europe has ever seen but for the French Emperor the decisive blow remains frustratingly beyond reach Russia's resilience is unlike anything he's ever encountered and as winter closes in his army begins the most infamous retreat in history in 1807 following his defeat of the Russian army at Freedland Napoleon had travelled to Tilsit to meet the Russian Emperor Alexander during their celebrated encounter the two emperors formed a friendship and made an alliance but it was not to last over the next five years relations between France and Russia cooled dramatically the Russians were irritated by Napoleon's creation of a Duchy of Warsaw in Poland which they regarded as meddling in their own front yard they feared it would lead to the return of a fully fledged Polish state the traditional thorn in Russia's side then there was Napoleon's offer to marry Alexander's sister Grand Duchess an apple of nur to cement their alliance but the Romanovs hated the idea and after a year of Russian prevarications Napoleon married Marie Louise daughter of the Austrian Emperor instead later that year Napoleon broke a guarantee made a Tilsit and annexed the Duchy of oldenburg ruled by Alexander sisters father-in-law worst of all was the fallout over the Continental System Napoleon's not very effective economic blockade against Britain designed to [ __ ] his most steadfast enemy Alexander had agreed to join the Continental System at tills it but it was hugely unpopular in Russia and ruinous to her finances during a period of economic crisis when Napoleon found out that Russia was floating the rules of the system and had resumed an illicit trade with Britain he was furious with both Emperor's accusing the other of bad faith their two countries began preparing for war this video is sponsored by cinder block publishing and the new historical fiction novel terrible eater by Ben Wyckoff Shaw it tells the dramatic story of a family caught in the turbulent tides of nineteenth-century Italian history the patriarch a hero of the Italian Risorgimento who served with Garibaldi his son whose act of political defiance brings disaster crashing down on his family a grandson who seeks refuge and anonymity amid the last great age of sail this fast-paced story is crammed with great historical characters and events from Italy's brutal and forgotten Empire building in East Africa to the devastating Battle of Solferino where Napoleon the third tried to recapture his uncle's glory with his own Italian campaign that ended in slaughter the bloodshed so shocked a young swiss observer or redo not one of many historical figures that we meet in the novel that he went on to found the International Committee for the Red Cross [Music] this new novel is a perfect read for any history fan and has been getting great reviews terrible eater is available now paperback ebook and audiobook thank you - terrible eater and cinder block publishing for sponsoring this video [Music] [Applause] [Music] Napoleon knew an invasion of Russia was a massive undertaking especially as he still had an unfinished war in Spain that was tying down more than 200,000 troops nevertheless in 1811 he began to assemble the largest army Europe had ever seen around 600,000 men though less than half of them were French the rest came from halide states across Europe there was a Polish core from the Duchy of Warsaw led by Prince Poniatowski a corps from each of the German kingdoms of Saxony Westphalia and Bavaria from the Kingdom of Italy as well as Swiss Dutch Croat Spanish and Portuguese units scattered throughout the army there were even contingents from Prussia and Austria France's recent enemies now uneasy allies some of these allied troops such as the poles and Germans were as reliable as their French counterparts others were very inexperienced or like the Prussians and Austrians reluctant to be there at all this gigantic formation was deployed in three armies the main force under Napoleon himself another led by his stepson who gen and a third led by his younger brother Jerome king of Westphalia neither of these two were experienced commanders though one would distinguish himself on campaign the other would not on their left flank Marshall McDonald led tenth Corps with a large Prussian contingent while the right flank was guarded by General short Sandberg's austrian corps another 100,000 troops were in reserve including marshal Victor's 9th corps initially the Russians only had two hundred and twenty thousand men to face this juggernaut organized into barclay de tolly x' 1st army the prince / gratins 2nd army and general thomas offs 3rd army they would be outnumbered two to one but in the run-up to war russia scored two crucial diplomatic traps Sweden had been at war with Russia just three years earlier a conflict which cost her Finland by a curious turn of events Sweden was now ruled by Napoleon's ex marshal Bernadotte but after Napoleon occupied Swedish Pomerania without warning a furious Bernadotte promised Russia that Sweden would remain neutral meanwhile a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire ended Russia's six-year war against its southern rival these two agreements secured Russia's flanks from any strategic threat and freed up troops to face Napoleon's invasion [Music] on the 24th of June 1812 French troops began crossing the Neyman River into Russian territory the army was so large the crossing took five days Napoleon's plan was to attack north of the impassable Pripet marshes and defeat Barclays army while Jerome pinned Bhagwati on in place French forces would then swing south to trap for Gracia Napoleon expected the campaign to be over in five weeks but the sheer size of the French army convinced the cautious Barclay that retreat was his only option Prince progression a much more aggressive commander by instinct and often Barclays fierce critic was forced to agree as they withdrew they burned villages and crops part of a scorched earth strategy to deny supplies to the enemy in four days Napoleon had reached Vilnius but Barclay was gone to the south jerome failed to pin down bug rat Ian so when Davos first course won southeast to trap him he'd already withdrawn to safety Napoleon's younger brother was out of his depth stunned by the emperor's criticism humiliated when his troops were put under martial Davos command he resigned his post and returned to Westphalia the campaign was already beginning to expose serious flaws in Napoleon's plan knowing his troops would struggle to live off the land in this impoverished region he'd organised huge supply depots and transport units to feed the army but wagons rolled slowly along Russia's bad roads which returned to rivers of mud by summer thunderstorms the army had to make frequent stops to allow its supplies to catch up bad news for Napoleon's plan to catch the Russians but a much-needed relief for the many thousands of young conscripts in his army not used to hard marches day after day many were soon dropping out with exhaustion others deserted there were also huge problems of command and control over a vast multinational army that was three times bigger than any Napoleon had commanded before Lokhande may once famed for its speed of maneuver had become a lumbering Beast after a pause to rest and regroup at Vilnius Napoleon resumed his advance Barclay continued his retreat to the Thames where he hoped per gratins Second Army would be able to join him but de veau blocked the gratins path at Sultan Oscar forcing him to make 4 small ensk instead at feh temps Napoleon clashed with Barclays rearguard but once more the Russians escaped after setting fire to all the stores they couldn't take with them meanwhile 300 miles away on the Poland's southern flank Russian Third Army attacked and defeated the Saxons 7th Corps forcing Napoleon to diverge fought Sandberg's Austrian Corps to their aid by the end of July Napoleon had advanced 250 miles into Russia much further than he'd planned and the long marches in extreme summer heat continued to take a heavy toll on his men without fighting a major battle the army had already suffered 20% casualties from exhaustion and illness particularly typhus and dysentery the army had entered Russia with a quarter of a million horses but they were now dying at a rate of a thousand every day from exhaustion and lack of fodder it wasn't just cavalry horses that were dying but the very horses that were supposed to halt the Army's transport wagons making a bad situation worse this crisis in horse power came just as the French light cavalry Napoleon's eyes and ears met their match in rushes and cossacks cossacks self-reliant proud ruthless and superb horsemen didn't play by the same rules as other european cavalry everyday the shadowed napoleon's army swooping in whenever they saw an easy target but melting away into the forests if they were attacked by a stronger force cossacks as well as Russian partisans made hit-and-run attacks on French supply lines and Depot's forcing Napoleon to divert thousands of troops to their defense alongside Russian regular light cavalry they also prevented French patrols from carrying out reconnaissance which meant that Napoleon often lacked good information about roads or the enemy's whereabouts Napoleon stayed 16 days at Vitebsk resting his troops and considering his options among his many mounting concerns was the security of his long exposed flanks but at Vitebsk he received news that Schwarzenberg had defeated the Russians at Gora Desna a week later at Polotsk a French Bavarian force fought Wittgenstein's Russian 1st Corps to a standstill Napoleon's flanks were secure for now although his main force had been reduced to less than half its original strength Napoleon decided to push on to Smolensk and try to force the Russians into a decisive battle for the city Berkeley was indeed under pressure to give battle from fellow commander Prince Bagration and Emperor Alexander in st. Petersburg the Army's morale and Russia's honor required it they told him with the first and second Russian armies finally linking up near Smolensk Barclay decided to attack Napoleon's army which he believed was concentrated around rudia the offensive was led by general plateaus Cossacks who surprised a French cavalry division at in cover but alarmed by false reports that who gens fourth Corps was out flanking him to the north Berkeley called off the attack Napoleon reassured that Barclays offensive posed no real threat began a grand outflanking move to the south to take Smolensk and cut off the Russian retreat the so-called Smolensk maneuver was Napoleon at his best using Meera's cavalry to scream his movements and keep Barclay in the dark the Emperor reached the knee pro on the evening of the 13th of August his engineers quickly threw up four pontoon bridges and by dawn the next day his army was across marshal de veau led a second column across the river at OSHA but a single Russian division the 27th fought a heroic fighting retreat from Krasny delaying the French advance and buying time for pas grotty on to reinforce the Smolensk garrison the chance for a surprise assault on the city was a lost and as the Russian army began to pull back Napoleon displayed an uncharacteristic lack of urgency even halting the army for a parade to mark his 43rd birthday when the main attack on Smolensk began two days later Napoleon opted for a frontal assault 150 French guns battered the city as three French Corps attacked its medieval fortifications Russians resisted bravely but Barclay fearing encirclement ordered another retreat with Smolensk in flames the Russians began to pull out just as the French fought their way into the city two scenes of utter devastation Bhagwat Ian's Second Army withdrew first as Barclays army followed its rearguard was caught by nays 3rd Corps at veloute no general Juno commanding the Westphalian 8th Corps had orders to cut off Barclays retreat but having crossed the river he did nothing and the opportunity was lost a furious Napoleon swore that you know would never now win his marshals battle the Battle of Smolensk cost both sides around 10,000 casualties and destroyed one of Russia's most historic and holy cities but settled nothing [Music] after the missed chance to defeat the Russians at Smolensk Napoleon paused once more to consider his options his men were weary and far from home and it was already late in the campaigning season he considered sitting out the Russian winter at Smolensk and resuming the campaign in 1813 but now he was just 230 miles from Moscow a century earlier Peter the Great had moved Russia's capital to st. Petersburg but Moscow remained its historic and spiritual heart a prize for which the Russians had to fight Napoleon always a gambler decided to push on the Russians faced their own dilemma Emperor Alexander had experienced a kind of religious Epiphany that summer and rallied the Russian people to the country's defense describing the war with Napoleon as a war to save Holy Mother Russia from the Antichrist for months the Emperor had received conflicting advice to stand and fight or retreat now he decided change was needed the cautious general Barclay kept his job but the Emperor summoned general Mikhail Kutuzov to take over all command of Russia's armies Kutuzov had been beaten by Napoleon at Austerlitz seven years before but he'd since won several victories against the Ottoman Empire and was a true Russian loved by the troops although Kutuzov agreed with Barclays strategy of delay he saw that constant retreats were destroying the soldiers and the nation's morale if Moscow was given up without a battle the fallout could be disastrous and so 70 miles west of the city near the village of Borodino the Russian army prepared to make a stand Europe was about to witness the bloodiest days fighting of the Napoleonic Wars [Music] [Applause] [Music] September 18 1210 weeks had passed since Napoleon invaded Russia with more than half a million men the French Emperor wanted a quick victory over the Russians one that would force Emperor Alexander to make peace and agree to French terms bartered Vitebsk and then Smolensk the outnumbered Russian army had narrowly escaped his clutches the holy city of Smolensk had been virtually destroyed Napoleon had advanced deep into Russia and months of marching had left his army decimated by disease and exhaustion it was now half its original strength and summer was nearly over but finally 70 miles west of Moscow near the village of Borodino the Russians had turned to offer battle Napoleon would have a chance to win the decisive victory that he believed would end the war the Russian army commanded by the 67 year old one-eyed veteran general Kutuzov occupied a defensive position across the two main roads leading from Smolensk to Moscow general Barclay de Tolly 'he's first army was on the right its front protected by the kalanchoe river a steep banked but shallow and easily forded Prince Bagration second army was on the left a more open position but reinforced by major earthworks the greater redoubt and what the French nicknamed for their shape the flesh the arrows another forward redoubt at shevardino was expected to delay the enemy's advance historians still dispute the size of the Russian army but it's likely Kutuzov had around 121 thousand men and 680 guns at Borodino on the 5th of September Napoleon's army began to arrive from the West around 130,000 men and 585 guns Napoleon quickly saw that the shevardino redoubt would have to be taken for he could deploy his army and ordered an immediate assault the attack was led by compounds 5th division of the 1st Corps supported by the Polish 5th Corps to the south in several hours of heavy fighting the readout changed hands more than once but late that evening the Russians finally withdrew to their main line and the readout fell to the French its capture had cost them an estimated four thousand casualties while the Russians lost around six thousand men Napoleon noted how few prisoners were taken a worrying sign of the enemy's unbroken resolve both sides spent the next day preparing for battle Marshall davu commanding French first corps and widely considered Napoleon's most able subordinate appealed to the Emperor to use his core to make a wide out flanking attack to the south but Napoleon dismissed the idea as too risky and instead began preparing for a massive frontal assault on the Russian defenses [Music] shortly after dawn the 7th of September Orthodox priests paraded one of Russia's holiest icons Our Lady of Smolensk before the Russian army it was a stirring sight for many devout Russian soldiers thousands of who would not live to see dusk the battle began at 6:00 a.m. as French batteries opened the deafening cannonade against the Russian defenses versions forth core advanced on polity no village lightly held by Yeager's of the Russian Imperial Guard after clearing the village his infantry crossed the kolache and advanced towards the great redoubt but were driven back with heavy losses the russians burned the bridge across the river but did not launch a counter-attack and Oh Jen was able to move cannon into the village to put flanking fire on the great redoubt [Music] in the center Davos first Corps began its advance against the flesh going under heavy fire one on the right the Polish fifth Corps ordered to take ooh tit sir got held up in the woods and ravines their slow advance allowed to scoffs third Corps to send a division north to reinforce the flesh defenses cut us off at his headquarters in Gorky took little part in the battle leaving tactical decisions to his subordinates Berkeley and / gratia had spent most of the summer arguing furiously over strategy but in the hour of crisis they put their differences aside they could see the main French attack was falling on the Russian center and left so Barclay ordered general bag of oats second Corps South to reinforce pug Ratan [Music] fighting around the flesh intensified as the French captured one of the earthworks only to be driven out by a Russian counter-attack de vous himself was injured in the fighting as he fell from his dying horse but he refused to leave the field when Russian cavalry counter-attacks marshal Marat himself led the French cavalry forward to meet them nay's third corn now joined the attack of the flesh a charge by Russian cuirassiers forced Bureau to take shelter in a square of vert on berg infantry Mira with his flamboyant dress and reckless courage but now even made a name for himself among the Russians the Cossacks in particular saw him as a kindred spirit and were eager to capture him alive if they could to the South Polish troops Naoto coat it sir which the Russians set ablaze before withdrawing but general bagger votes reinforcements arrived just in time to shore up the Russian flank around 10 a.m. ocean launched another attack on the great readout it was briefly captured by bombs first division before his men were thrown out by a ferocious Russian counter-attack the Russian Army's twenty-seven-year-old artillery commander general katase off was killed leading one of these counter-attacks a heroic death but a blow to the organization of russian artillery for the rest of the day fighting continued to rage around the flesh earthworks some counted as many as six major French assaults involving 45,000 troops with hundreds of cannon on both sides pouring fire into the packed ranks more than once French infantry fought their way into one of the Russian positions only to be driven out again at banners point Juno's Westphalian core was sent forward in support helping to clear russian skirmishes from the woods to the Sanna general Bhagwat ian was close to the action overseeing the defense of the flesh leading forward reinforcements and ordering counter-attacks around 10:00 a.m. he was hit in the leg by shell fragments mortally wounded he was carried from the field shaken by the loss of their iconic commander the exhausted Russian infantry began to fall back the French finally took the flesh marshal Marat then led forward freons division first cause last reserve supported by waves of heavy cavalry on both flanks Russian grenadiers formed squares to ward off the French gracias while their own guard cavalry fought the French in a giant confused melee with heavy losses on both sides [Music] the Russians resisted doggedly but the combined onslaught of French artillery cavalry and infantry' proved irresistible as the Russians pulled back three L's infantry fought their way into the village of Simeonov skia the Russian Center was in disarray and seemed close to breaking surely now was the time for Napoleon to deliver the knockout blow [Music] [Music] for most of the day Napoleon remained at his headquarters near shevardino [Music] those around him later said that illness as well as the exertions of the long campaign had left him tired and irritable as the Russian Center buckled Marat and his staff urged him to send forward his last reserve the Imperial Guard the Emperor refused if there is another battle tomorrow he asked them where is my army but he did make one exception Berkeley was continuing to move troops from his unengaged right wing to bolster the center as Osterman Tolstoy's 4th corps arrived behind the russian center french observers feared they were massing for an attack so Napoleon ordered forward general Serbia's guard artillery his batteries opened a devastating fire on the enemy yet even as they were moaned down in their ranks the Russian infantry stood their ground on the Russian right wing all remained quiet so general plot of commander of the Don Cossacks proposed that he lead an attack on the lightly defended Borodino village permission received generals plot off and afar off led a force of 8,000 cossacks and cavalry across the kolache river they fell off French and Italian troops around Borodino with complete surprise spreading panic and disorder guru she's 3rd cavalry Corps had to be pulled back across the river to drive off the Russians Russian commanders saw this raid as a missed opportunity but it had delayed the next French attack by two hours and may have persuaded Napoleon that he was right to hold back his reserve around 3:00 p.m. the French launched their biggest assault yet on the great redoubt Russian Gunners targeted the French infantry advancing to their front allowing French cavalry to outflank the redoubt and charge it from the rear Saxon cavalry were first in cutting down Russian infantry and Gunners almost to the last man it was an astonishing feat by the horsemen against all the rules of war and testament to the ferocity of the fighting as Oh Jen's infantry consolidated their hold on the redoubt he ordered forward all the available cavalry to exploit this success but they were met and checked by the last Russian cavalry reserves Oh sh n now implored Napoleon to commit the Imperial Guard but again the Emperor refused I will not destroy my guard he told his staff I am eight hundred leagues from France and I will not risk my last reserve [Music] by 5:00 p.m. both armies were in a state of utter exhaustion the battlefield was strewn with dead and wounded some infantry battalions could muster only a third of their strength cavalry could advance no faster than a trot gun crews were collapsing with fatigue as dusk approached fighting slowly died out across the battlefield Napoleon and the French army expected the fighting to resume the next day but by Dawn Curtiss off having learned the full horrifying scale of Russian losses had ordered a withdrawal [Music] the losses on both sides were enormous Russian casualties are estimated at 44,000 French losses around 30,000 including 49 generals 12 of them killed Borodino would prove to be the bloodiest single-day of the Napoleonic Wars the Russian army could not fight another battle until it had received major reinforcements and so Kutuzov decided that he must abandon Moscow on the 15th of September a week after his victory at Borodino Napoleon entered the city he would find it virtually deserted and already the first fires starting to burn [Music] [Applause] [Music] the 15th of September 1812 83 days after invading Russia a week after his costly victory at Borodino Napoleon entered Moscow he expected to be greeted by dignitaries formally offering the city's surrender instead he discovered that 90% of Moscow's inhabitants had fled a fire had started the previous night and was blamed on drunken soldiers but over the next 48 hours fires continued to break out across Moscow until most of the city was ablaze count Fyodor reception the city's governor but ordered that Moscow be destroyed rather than allowed to fall into enemy hands and now fires were being started deliberately by Russian criminals freed from jail and acting on police orders French soldiers rounded up and shot any they could catch but the inferno was impossible to contain [Music] in four days two-thirds of Moscow was destroyed with the fires finally under control Napoleon's soldiers turned their attention to systematically looting the ruined city while from his new quarters in the Kremlin Napoleon sent a letter to Emperor Alexander in st. Petersburg inviting him to make peace and end the war he received no reply Napoleon waited confident that Alexander would eventually negotiate but as the days passed he grew increasingly uneasy Cossack raids were disrupting his vital communications with Paris as well as the arrival of supplies while the steady attrition of French forces and Russian reinforcements meant Napoleon was outnumbered for the first time in the campaign rumors also reached him that his reluctant allies Prussia and Austria were in secret talks with his enemies Napoleon had proposed that the army winter in Moscow but that now looked too dangerous reluctantly he accepted that the army would have to move back to Smolensk to find safe winter quarters Napoleon knew how severe Russian winters could be but continued to put off his departure reassured by fine October weather and hoping that at the last minute there might be a message from Alexander offering peace it never came on the 13th of October the first light snow fell five days later Kutuzov launched a surprise attack on Mira's advanced guard at Vinc over and defeated it napoleon stung into action gave the order for the army to leave Moscow the next day 100,000 men of the Grande armée left Moscow in a column 10 miles long with an estimated 40,000 carriages and carts there were women and children two army wives and the volunteers the women who cooked for the soldiers as well as some civilians every wagon and pack was stuffed with as much food and loot as possible as he set off sergeant begonia of the Imperial Guard made an inventory of his pack it contained several pounds of sugar some rice some biscuit half a bottle of liquor a woman's Chinese silk dress embroidered in gold and silver several gold and silver ornaments amongst them a piece of the Cross of Ivan the great besides the ease I had my uniform a woman's large riding cloak two silver pictures in relief 12 inches long and eight high all in the finest workmanship also several markets and a Russian Prince's spittoon set with precious stones I wore over my shirt a yellow silk waistcoat which I had made myself out of a woman's skirt over that a large cape lined with ermine and a large pouch hung at my side via silver cord this was full of various things amongst them a crucifix in gold and silver and a little Chinese porcelain vars then there were my firearms powder flask and sixty cartridges in the box this heavily encumbered army did not yet realize it was in a race against time the Russians were beginning to move against the flanks of Napoleon's 550 mile deep salient that very day Vidkun Stein's army was driving back Marshall SAS ears outnumbered force at Pulaski and drawing Victor's 9th corps west to support them in the south admiral chichagov advance at Schwarzenberg austrian corps falling back to cover warsaw the corridor was closing and then there was the weather though Napoleon was confident his army could reach winter quarters in Smolensk in 20 days well before the more extreme temperatures were due to hit Napoleon planned to withdraw via Kaluga through unspoilt country where the army could forage for supplies but Kutuzov sent general doctor offs sixth Corps to block the road at maloyaroslavets in fierce fighting Italian troops of Oh James fourth Corps drove the Russians out of the town it was a hard-won victory reminiscent of the fighting at Borodino KATUSA now stood between Napoleon and Kaluga Napoleon now take the unusual step of conferring with his marshals and after discussing various options he decided that rather than seek another major battle they would retreat the way they'd come along the Smolensk Road Napoleon had hoped to avoid this route as it meant marching back through country already stripped bare of supplies the day after the fighting of maloyaroslavets Napoleon was nearly captured by a group of Cossacks and saved only by general wraps charge at the head of his escort after this close shave Napoleon had a file of poison Veda which he carried around his neck in case of capture Napoleon's army set off on its new course shadowed at a respectful distance by Kutuzov's army to the south they passed the old battlefield of Borodino a grisly unnerving site where crows pecked at half buried corpses relentless marching quickly began to tire out men and horses a few days later the temperature fell below freezing the Army's overworked starving horses died on mass discipline began to break down the some drivers simply dumped the sick and wounded by the roadside to try to ensure their own survival as the French column became increasingly strung out general miloradovitch commanding Kutuzov's advance guard fell on Davos rear guard outside the Asthma for a few hours Davos first call was cut off until O'Shane and ney came to his rescue the battle ended with street fighting Envy asthma as the French a stoolie evacuated the burning town for the soldiers of the Grande armée so unaccustomed to retreats and routes the asthma was an alarming demoralizing blow [Music] on the 4th of November it began to snow heavily [Music] the next night temperatures plummeted to minus 20 degrees centigrade few men or women had proper winter clothing or access to shelter many froze to death overnight [Music] the next morning wagons and guns were abandoned many soldiers sought to save themselves ignoring officers stealing horses and food and leaving the column to scour the countryside for supplies [Music] many of these foragers were found by the Cossacks some cut down or last others robbed of every possession and left to freeze in a few cases they were handed over to peasants eager for retribution against the foreign invaders who had plundered all they owned as the Army struggled on towards Smolensk through blizzards Napoleon ordered huijin's fourth Corps to strike out for the tips where there were large French supply depots but the tabs had already fallen to the Russians fourth Corps was too weak to fight its way through and rejoined the army - its artillery and most of its baggage a colonel who saw fourth Corps at this stage described men without shoes almost without clothes exhausted and famished sitting on their packs sleeping on their knees and only rousing themselves out of this stupor to grill slices of horse meat or melt bits of ice just three weeks after leaving Moscow a third of the army was dead or captured about half the rest formed a growing army of stragglers men without units prepared to fight only to survive Napoleon reached Smolensk on the 9th of November the first troops into town ransacked the supply depots leaving nothing for those who followed including neighs rear guard which arrived six days later Napoleon had hoped to make Smolensk his winter base but the state of the army and lack of supplies meant the retreat had to continue but the five days he spent there gave Curtis off time to circle ahead and prepare an ambush when the French retreat resumed his truck thirty miles west of Smolensk at Krasny in three days of desperate fighting through knee-deep snow Napoleon used his Imperial Guard to hold open the road as you Jane and Davos Corps fought their way through the ambush with heavy losses two regiments of the young guard were ordered to make a sacrificial counter-attack to keep the Russians at bay and were virtually annihilated KATUSA held back many of his troops and was blamed for not trying to destroy Napoleon's army when he had the chance it's possible he was concerned at the number of raw conscripts in his own army also suffering terribly in the freezing conditions not every French core broke through at Krasny marshal ney and his 6,000 strong rearguard arrived on the 18th of November to find the road blocked by 60,000 Russian troops but no sign of the promised support from Davos first Corps neighs men held themselves against the Russian lines with desperate courage but were mowed and down rejecting several invitations to surrender they led the survivors in a daring night crossing of the Nitra River then across 45 miles of open country under constant attack from lot of scar sacs to reach posture by the time they rejoined the army his rear guard was down to just 800 fighting men leading a column of several thousand stragglers the army regarded his escapers of miracle and when Napoleon heard of it he immediately dubbed marshal ney the bravest of the brave [Music] Napoleon had escaped one trap but now three Russian armies were closing in from different directions and outnumbered him nearly three to one from the east Kutuzov's main army with 65,000 men from the north Vidkun stein with 30,000 steadily driving back marshal victors 9th corps and from the south admiral chichagov army of Moldavia with 34,000 having detached general Austin zackham with 30,000 to prevent Schwarzenberg Austrians and rainy airs Saxon Corps marching to Napoleon's aid Napoleon was heading from Minsk a major French supply base with vast stores of the food clothing shoes and ammunition but his army so desperately needed but on the 21st of November disastrous news arrived Mintz could fallen to Chichikov he'd then marched on barrese often driven out the Polish garrison and captured its bridge over the Berezina River by rights the Berezina ought to a frozen solid by now sir Napoleon could have crossed anywhere but a sudden Thor had turned the river into a torrent of ice and freezing water [Music] Napoleon was at least joined by the hard-fighting marshal uh Dino and his second corn which hadn't suffered as badly as the main column on its retreat from Pulaski Boudinot launched an immediate counter-attack on Maurice off and retook the town but couldn't stop the Russians burning the bridge with no other bridge for miles in either direction it seemed Napoleon's exhausted army was finally doomed but there was one sliver of hope polish cavalry had found a Ford across the river near the village of studio anchor Napoleon issued a flurry of orders second Corps was to fake preparations for a river crossing south of presov Victor's ninth core arriving from the north was to form a rearguard east of sturdy angka to hold the Russians at bay while engineers worked as quickly as possible to build pontoon bridges across the river but win Napoleon's army a fighting chance of escape on the afternoon of the 25th of November general ablaze Dutch engineers began building two 300-foot pontoon bridges across the Berezina River they worked day and night sometimes chest deep in freezing water and completed both bridges in less than 24 hours few of the engineers survived the ordeal chichagov had been totally fooled by the diversion south of Paris off and was moving his troops south to face it allowing Napoleon's army to begin crossing its rickety bridges virtually unopposed Budi nose ii corps led the way to secure a bridgehead followed the next day by the remnants of the main army priority was given to formed troops still able to fight for the time being the army his vast crowd of stragglers remained on the far bank [Music] by the time chichagov realized his mistake and began moving north Napoleon had troops in place to defend the cross on the east bank general part-owners 12th division 4,000 relatively fresh troops from Victor's ninth floor formed the rear guard as plat offs Cossacks approached from the east the vanguard of Kutuzov's main army partner tried to rejoin 9th corps but caught in a swirling blizzard with visibility down to 50 meters he marched straight into Vidkun Stein's army his entire division was killed or captured the next morning chichagov and Vidkun Stein launched coordinated attacks on both sides of the river there was desperate fighting on the West Bank where Marshall adeno was yet again seriously wounded but his Swiss infantry held the line until General do mercs courtesy airs and the Army's last heavy cavalry charged and routed the Russian soon at great cost Polish and German troops of victors via guard held off the Russians until dark then pulled back across the bridges for two nights officers had been trying to get the vast camp of stragglers to cross the bridges when they weren't being used but with temperatures reaching minus 30 centigrade they preferred to stay put huddled around their fires at dawn on the 29th with the army leaving and the Russians approaching thousands of stragglers surged in panic towards the bridges dozens were crushed underfoot others fell or were pushed into the water or tried to swim which was served death when French engineers burned the bridges at 9:00 a.m. thousands were cut off and left to the mercy of the advancing Cossacks some became prisoners others were simply put out of their misery [Music] since the retreat began 43 days earlier the Grande armée had marched nearly 500 miles under constant attack starved exhausted and for the last 23 days in lethal sub-zero temperatures without proper clothing or shelter in that time the fighting strength of the Kong d'Armes had been reduced from around 124 thousand men to twenty thousand with as many stragglers still following the army as the retreat continued to Vilna the weather turned even worse the temperatures falling to minus 37 degrees centigrade the Russian army is at least now held back leaving the winter Cossacks and Russian peasants to finish off the invaders on the 5th of December Napoleon left the army traveling incognito across Europe at breakneck speed and reaching Paris in just 13 days [Music] naturally English satirist Scapa ties Don Napoleon seeming to abandon his defeated army and many soldiers did regard it as an act of betrayal but his generals supported his decision to leave that already been one attempted coup against Napoleon in Paris and there was much work to be done to rebuild the army and reassure Frances allies on the 9th of December 51 days after the retreat began around 20,000 ragged survivors of the Grande armée began crossing the Neyman River back into friendly Polish territory according to legend marshal ney was the last man across [Music] Napoleon's invasion of Russia had proved to be one of the greatest military disasters in history he had made fatal miscalculations about geography logistics and above all Russia's political and strategic response to his invasion these blunders cost his empire around half a million men as well as a quarter of a million horses and a thousand cannon put another way or every 12 men who marched into Russia with the Grand Army one was killed in action or died of wounds two were taken prisoner one of whom died in captivity seven died from disease or the effects of climate just to returned alive [Music] contrary to myth many more soldiers had died in the summer advance from heat typhus and dysentery than were lost in the winter retreat Russian military casualties were estimated at a hundred and fifty thousand and a huge but unknown number of civilian deaths the Russian campaign was a catastrophe for Napoleon not just in lost troops and resources but in damage to prestige and reputation that winter all his enemies sensed weakness and prepared to join forces against him but the Emperor wasn't going down without a fight back in Paris he admitted to his ministers fortune has dazzled me gentlemen I've let it lead me astray instead of following my plan I went to Moscow I thought I'd make peace there I stayed too long I've made a grave mistake but I'll have the means to repair it thank you to the artist's Alexander averin off and the Agora sites f-for kind permission to use their artwork in this video and thanks as always to all our patreon supporters for making this series possible find out how you too can support the channel and get at free early access to new videos by visiting our patreon page
