Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow 1812

[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 [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 Theodorus touchin 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 our video sponsored the legendary world of tanks is the home of online multiplayer armored mayhem this game has more than 550 carefully researched historic tanks all of which can be blown to pieces across 40 stunning but highly lethal battlefields World of Tanks is offering new recruits who use the link in our video description and the code tank tastic a signup bonus of a premium light tank 500 gold and seven days premium access a handy head start as you enter the fray and figure out your own tactical style fearless kamikaze assault or ice cold hold on sniper thank you to world of tanks for supporting this video 100,000 men of the Grande armée left Moscow in a column ten miles long with an estimated 40,000 carriages and carts there were women and children two army wives and the vivan D Aires 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 infantry 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 - the great besides these I had my uniform a woman's large riding cloak - silver pictures in relief twelve inches long and eight high all in the finest workmanship also several markets and the 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 ninth Corps west to support them in the south admiral chichagov advance and 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 versions 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 as 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 named came to his rescue the battle ended with street fighting in vyasa as the French easterly 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 the next night temperatures plummeted to minus 20 degrees centigrade few men or women have 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 Coutu soft time to circle ahead and prepare an ambush when the French retreat resumed his truck 30 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 Xue Shan 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 hold themselves against the Russian lines with desperate courage but were mowed 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 escape as a 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 mints could fallen to chichagov eat then marched on barrese off 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 color on its retreat from polotsk budino launched an immediate counter-attack on Parisse 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 study anchor Napoleon issued a flurry of orders second Corps was to fake preparations for a river crossing south of Paris off 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 but was moving his troops south to face it allowing Napoleon's army to begin crossing its rickety bridges virtually unopposed Buddha knows second 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 4000 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 partener 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 doom irks courtesy airs 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 have 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 certain death when French engineers burned the bridges of 9 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 lies 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 cord are may 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 all the patreon supporters who make this series possible and to our sponsor world of tanks don't forget you can download the game using the link in our video description to get special signup bonuses if you'd like to support the channel and get free perks including ad free early access and exclusive production updates please visit our patreon page

Channel: Epic History TV

Views: 1,307,364

Rating: 4.9234247 out of 5

Keywords: epic history tv, history, epic history, napoleon, napoleonic, russia, moscow, military history, napoleonic wars

Id: lNReCCShKJQ

Length: 27min 59sec (1679 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 20 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/ForeignLegion7]

The British consider the American war of 1812 a minor theater in the Napoleonic wars, as America was a pseudo ally of France. This war was probably something like a World war.

[u/pjabrony]

Yeah, but those guys didn't get an Overture about them.

[u/hiphippo65]

The idea that the Russian winter was so deadly and the reason for failed invasions has always confused me; if the winter was so bad, the Russians would suffer the same as the Polish/French/Germans. It has always been the struggle of logistics that have caused armies to suffer in Russia - not the cold.