The Patriotic War of 1812 became one of the most famous in history. This is the rare case when a significant part of the territory of Russia has been occupied. The war with Napoleon became an integral part of the pan-European conflict of the beginning of the XIX century.
War background
On June 12, Napoleon’s huge army crossed the border river Neman and captured the city of Kovno. However, the story of the war of 1812 cannot begin without mentioning the premises of this campaign. What made several hundred thousand European soldiers of various nationalities end up in Russia?
At the end of the 18th century, a revolution took place in France, during which the monarchical system was overthrown. The state became a republic, gradually a talented and popular commander Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in Paris. Most European countries then lived under absolute monarchies. Conservative rulers (including the Russian empress Catherine II) were not at all enthusiastic about the revolutionary events in the heart of the continent.
Therefore, the monarchy for several years formed coalitions against France. All of these campaigns failed. Napoleon became one of the generals who defended his country from interventionists. So he came to power, and in 1804 he also became emperor. The reverse process has begun. Now French troops captured neighboring countries, which were either occupied or received governments loyal to Paris. The war of 1812 was completely different. In short, Napoleon had to face completely different conditions of warfare, in which he was cut off from resources and fresh strength thousands of kilometers from his homeland.
Diplomacy of Alexander I
Meanwhile, Alexander I took the Russian throne. He led several coalitions against Napoleon. After the defeat at Austerlitz in 1805 and several other failures, the Russian emperor had to conclude an agreement on the terms of the French counterpart. The Tilsit world of 1807 temporarily settled the contradictions between opponents. However, Napoleon longed for final dominance in the Old World. Therefore, he decided not just to defeat Alexander, but to capture his country. Thus began preparations for the invasion of Russia.
When Napoleon crossed the Neman, under his banners were more than 500 thousand soldiers. It was a huge "tangle" of the most different European nationalities. By this time, Austria and Prussia were defeated, who also joined part of their troops to the Napoleonic hordes. Officially, the military formation was called the Great Army. The reasons for the 1812 war were that French hegemony in Europe could not be eternal. Napoleon had to challenge every new neighbor. In 1812, Russia turned out to be such a country.
If Russia formally remained a neutral country, then Great Britain was still in a state of conflict with France. Napoleon wanted to destroy the English economy by setting up a continental blockade. Russia was an important trading partner of Great Britain, so Napoleon, when signing the Tilsit Peace, urged Alexander to support his embargo. However, St. Petersburg did not want to go to these disadvantageous measures and tried in every way to circumvent the agreement. These were the causes of the war of 1812. One way or another, but by the beginning of the invasion between the two countries too many contradictions had accumulated. Without mentioning them, the story of the 1812 war would not be complete.
Napoleon's Strategy
Choosing the direction of his main blow, Napoleon stopped at Moscow. Russia was too big to immediately occupy its entire territory. In addition to Moscow, options were also discussed with an attack on Kiev or St. Petersburg, but they were abandoned. In Russia, thanks to intelligence, they knew about the upcoming operation of Napoleon. Therefore, the government rushed Mikhail Kutuzov to quickly end the war with Turkey in order to be ready for a new campaign. A peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire was signed a month before Napoleon's invasion. According to it, Russia received Moldova.
Offensive of the Great Army
During the first months of the war, Napoleon freely moved inland. He was opposed by several small armies. Since each of them could be easily defeated, Alexander rushed the generals to unite to give the enemy a general battle. The meeting place was Smolensk. The story of the war of 1812 shows a fine example of how disparate Russian forces were successfully combined to further fight the enemy. On August 6, the battle for Smolensk began, but the very next day Barclay de Tolly decided to retreat to Moscow.
The two armies moved east until finally they clashed on the Borodino field. In the battle of August 26, about 80 thousand soldiers died on both sides in total. None of the parties achieved decisive success. After the battle at the Russian headquarters, they decided to leave Moscow. Napoleon entered the empty city. He was in it for more than a month. During this time, cases of looting became frequent. The story of the war of 1812 can not do without mention of the decline in morale among the French soldiers, who were almost locked up in a strange robbed city. Napoleon was left without resources. In addition, there was a cold, for which the French were clearly not ready. The capture of Moscow did not give Napoleon any strategic benefit. He decided to head south to winter in warm apartments.
French retreat
However, his plan failed. On October 12, the French were defeated at Maloyaroslavets, after which it was decided to retreat to the west. At this stage, the Russian army of the war of 1812 acted along with the partisans, who haunted the French. Napoleon had to retreat through the provinces, which he ravaged a few months before. Famine began in his army.
On November 3, near the village of Krasny, the French were defeated by the troops of Kutuzov and Miloradovich. After this, a mass exodus began. Thus ended the war of 1812. In short, Napoleon incorrectly calculated his strength. In addition, he spent valuable time in occupied Moscow. On December 14, the last units from the Great Army left Russia.
The meaning of war
The outcome of the war of 1812 is that Napoleon unsuccessfully tried to capture Russia. He had to return home with nothing. This made it possible to assemble a new anti-French coalition, which already next year defeated Bonaparte near Leipzig. Soon his power collapsed, and he was sent into exile.