Patriotic War of 1812 directions. Mozhaisk deanery

A. Northen "Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow"

As you know, war usually begins when a lot of reasons and circumstances converge at one point, when mutual claims and grievances reach enormous proportions, and the voice of reason is drowned out.

Background

After 1807, Napoleon marched victoriously across Europe and beyond, and only Great Britain did not want to submit to him: it seized French colonies in America and India and dominated the sea, interfering with French trade. The only thing Napoleon could do in such a situation was to declare a continental blockade of Great Britain (after the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, Napoleon lost the opportunity to fight England at sea, where she became almost the only ruler). He decided to disrupt England's trade by closing all European ports to it, dealing a crushing blow to Britain's trade and economy. But the effectiveness of the continental blockade depended on other European states and their compliance with sanctions. Napoleon persistently demanded that Alexander I more consistently implement the continental blockade, but for Russia, Great Britain was the main trading partner, and she did not want to break off trade relations with her.

P. Delaroche "Napoleon Bonaparte"

In 1810, Russia introduced free trade with neutral countries, which allowed it to trade with Great Britain through intermediaries, and also adopted a protective tariff that increased customs rates mainly on imported French goods. Napoleon was outraged by Russian policies. But he also had a personal reason for the war with Russia: in order to confirm the legitimacy of his coronation, he wanted to marry a representative of one of the monarchies, but Alexander I twice rejected his proposals: first for a marriage with his sister Grand Duchess Catherine, and then with Grand Duchess Anna. Napoleon married the daughter of the Austrian Emperor Franz I, but declared in 1811: “ In five years I will be the ruler of the whole world. There is only Russia left - I will crush it...." At the same time, Napoleon continued to violate the Truce of Tilsit by occupying Prussia. Alexander demanded that French troops be withdrawn from there. In a word, the military machine began to spin: Napoleon concluded a military treaty with the Austrian Empire, which pledged to provide France with an army of 30 thousand for the war with Russia, then followed by an agreement with Prussia, which provided another 20 thousand soldiers for Napoleon’s army, and the French emperor himself intensively studied the military and economic situation of Russia, preparing for war with it. But Russian intelligence was not asleep either: M.I. Kutuzov successfully concludes a peace treaty with Turkey (ending the 5-year war for Moldova), thereby liberating the Danube Army under the command of Admiral Chichagov; in addition, information about the state of the Grand French Army and its movements was regularly intercepted at the Russian embassy in Paris.

Thus, both sides prepared for war. The size of the French army was, according to various sources, from 400 to 500 thousand soldiers, of which only half were French, the remaining soldiers were 16 nationalities, mainly Germans and Poles. Napoleon's army was well armed and financially secure. Its only weakness was precisely the diversity of its national composition.

The size of the Russian army: the 1st Army of Barclay de Tolly and the 2nd Army of Bagration were 153 thousand soldiers + the 3rd Army of Tormasov 45 thousand + the Danube Army of Admiral Chichagov 55 thousand + the Finnish corps of Steingel 19 thousand + a separate corps of Essen nearby Riga 18 thousand + 20-25 thousand Cossacks = approximately 315 thousand. Technically, Russia did not lag behind France. But embezzlement flourished in the Russian army. England provided Russia with material and financial support.

Barclay de Tolly. Lithograph by A. Munster

Starting the war, Napoleon did not plan to send his troops deep into Russia; his plans were to create a complete continental blockade of England, then include Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania in Poland and create a Polish state as a counterbalance to the Russian Empire, in order to then conclude a military alliance with Russia and move together towards India. Truly Napoleonic plans! Napoleon hoped to end the battle with Russia in the border areas with his victory, so the retreat of Russian troops into the interior of the country took him by surprise.

Alexander I foresaw this circumstance (disastrous for the French army to advance in depth): “ If Emperor Napoleon starts a war against me, then it is possible and even probable that he will beat us if we accept the battle, but this will not yet give him peace. ... We have an immense space behind us, and we will maintain a well-organized army. ... If the lot of arms decides the case against me, then I would rather retreat to Kamchatka than cede my provinces and sign treaties in my capital that are only a respite. The Frenchman is brave, but long hardships and bad climate tire and discourage him. Our climate and our winter will fight for us“, he wrote to the French Ambassador to Russia A. Caulaincourt.

Beginning of the war

The first skirmish with the French (a company of sappers) occurred on June 23, 1812, when they crossed to the Russian coast. And at 6 o’clock in the morning on June 24, 1812, the vanguard of the French troops entered Kovno. In the evening of the same day, Alexander I was informed about Napoleon's invasion. Thus began the Patriotic War of 1812.

Napoleon's army attacked simultaneously in the northern, central and southern directions. For the northern direction, the main task was to capture St. Petersburg (after first occupying Riga). But as a result of the battles near Klyastitsy and on August 17 near Polotsk (a battle between the 1st Russian Infantry Corps under the command of General Wittgenstein and the French corps of Marshal Oudinot and General Saint-Cyr). This battle did not have serious consequences. Over the next two months, the parties did not conduct active hostilities, accumulating forces. Wittgenstein's task was prevent the French from advancing towards St. Petersburg, Saint-Cyr blocked the Russian corps.

The main battles took place in the Moscow direction.

The 1st Western Russian Army was stretched from the Baltic Sea to Belarus (Lida). It was headed by Barclay de Tolly, chief of staff - General A.P. Ermolov. The Russian army was threatened with destruction in parts, because... Napoleonic army advanced rapidly. 2nd Western Army, led by P.I. Bagration, was located near Grodno. Bagration's attempt to connect with Barclay de Tolly's 1st Army was unsuccessful, and he retreated to the south. But the Cossacks of Ataman Platov supported Bagration’s army at Grodno. On July 8, Marshal Davout took Minsk, but Bagration, bypassing Minsk to the south, moved to Bobruisk. According to the plan, two Russian armies were to unite in Vitebsk in order to block the French road to Smolensk. A battle took place near Saltanovka, as a result of which Raevsky delayed Davout’s advance to Smolensk, but the path to Vitebsk was closed.

N. Samokish "The feat of Raevsky's soldiers near Saltanovka"

On July 23, Barclay de Tolly's 1st Army arrived in Vitebsk with the goal of waiting for the 2nd Army. Barclay de Tolly sent Osterman-Tolstoy's 4th Corps to meet the French, which fought near Vitebsk, near Ostrovno. However, the armies still could not reunite, and then Barclay de Tolly retreated from Vitebsk to Smolensk, where both Russian armies united on August 3. On August 13, Napoleon also set out for Smolensk, having rested in Vitebsk.

The 3rd Russian Southern Army was commanded by General Tormasov. The French General Rainier stretched his corps along a line of 179 km: Brest-Kobrin-Pinsk, Tormasov took advantage of the irrational location of the French army and defeated it near Kobrin, but, uniting with the corps of General Schwarzenberg, Rainier attacked Tormasov, and he was forced to retreat to Lutsk.

To Moscow!

Napoleon is credited with the phrase: “ If I take Kyiv, I will take Russia by the feet; if I take possession of St. Petersburg, I will take her by the head; Having occupied Moscow, I will strike her in the heart" Whether Napoleon spoke these words or not is now impossible to establish for sure. But one thing is clear: the main forces of Napoleonic army were aimed at capturing Moscow. On August 16, Napoleon was already at Smolensk with an army of 180 thousand and on the same day he began his assault. Barclay de Tolly did not consider it possible to fight here and retreated with his army from the burning city. The French Marshal Ney was pursuing the retreating Russian army, and the Russians decided to give him battle. On August 19, a bloody battle took place at Valutina Mountain, as a result of which Ney suffered heavy losses and was detained. The battle for Smolensk is the beginning of the people's, Patriotic, war: the population began to leave their homes and burn settlements along the route of the French army. Here Napoleon seriously doubted his brilliant victory and asked General P.A., who was captured in the battle of Valutina Gora. Tuchkova to write a letter to his brother so that he would bring to the attention of Alexander I Napoleon’s desire to make peace. He did not receive a response from Alexander I. Meanwhile, relations between Bagration and Barclay de Tolly after Smolensk became increasingly tense and irreconcilable: each saw his own path to victory over Napoleon. On August 17, the Extraordinary Committee approved Infantry General Kutuzov as the single commander-in-chief, and on August 29, in Tsarevo-Zaimishche, he already received the army. Meanwhile, the French had already entered Vyazma...

V. Kelerman "Moscow militias on the Old Smolensk Road"

M.I. Kutuzov, by that time already a famous military leader and diplomat, who served under Catherine II, Paul I, participated in the Russian-Turkish wars, in the Russian-Polish war, fell into disgrace with Alexander I in 1802, was removed from office and lived in his Goroshki estate in the Zhitomir region. But when Russia joined the coalition to fight Napoleon, he was appointed commander-in-chief of one of the armies and showed himself to be an experienced commander. But after the Austerlitz defeat, which Kutuzov opposed and which Alexander I insisted on, although he did not blame Kutuzov for the defeat, and even awarded him the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree, he did not forgive him for the defeat.

At the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, Kutuzov was appointed head of the St. Petersburg and then the Moscow militia, but the unsuccessful course of the war showed that an experienced commander of the entire Russian army was needed who enjoyed the trust of society. Alexander I was forced to appoint Kutuzov as commander-in-chief of the Russian army and militia.

Kutuzov initially continued Barclay de Tolly's strategy - retreat. The words are attributed to him: « We will not defeat Napoleon. We will deceive him».

At the same time, Kutuzov understood the need for a general battle: firstly, this was required by public opinion, which was concerned about the constant retreat of the Russian army; secondly, further retreat would mean the voluntary surrender of Moscow.

On September 3, the Russian army stood near the village of Borodino. Here Kutuzov decided to give a big battle, but in order to distract the French to gain time to prepare fortifications, he ordered General Gorchakov to fight near the village of Shevardino, where there was a fortified redoubt (a closed-type fortification, with a rampart and a ditch, intended for all-round defense). All day on September 5 there was a battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt.

After 12 hours of bloody battle, the French pressed the left flank and center of the Russian positions, but were unable to develop the offensive. The Russian army suffered heavy losses (40-45 thousand killed and wounded), the French - 30-34 thousand. There were almost no prisoners on either side. On September 8, Kutuzov ordered a retreat to Mozhaisk with the confidence that only in this way could the army be saved.

On September 13, a meeting was held in the village of Fili on the further plan of action. Most of the generals spoke in favor of a new battle. Kutuzov interrupted the meeting and ordered a retreat through Moscow along the Ryazan road. By the evening of September 14, Napoleon entered empty Moscow. On that same day, a fire began in Moscow, engulfing almost the entire Zemlyanoy City and White City, as well as the outskirts of the city, destroying three-quarters of the buildings.

A. Smirnov "Fire of Moscow"

There is still no single version about the causes of the fire in Moscow. There are several of them: organized arson by residents when leaving the city, deliberate arson by Russian spies, uncontrolled actions of the French, an accidental fire, the spread of which was facilitated by the general chaos in the abandoned city. Kutuzov directly pointed out that the French burned Moscow. Since the fire had several sources, it is possible that all versions are true.

More than half of the residential buildings, more than 8 thousand retail outlets, 122 churches out of the existing 329 were burned in the fire; Up to 2 thousand wounded Russian soldiers left in Moscow died. The university, theaters, and libraries were destroyed, and the manuscript “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” and the Trinity Chronicle were burned in the Musin-Pushkin palace. Not the entire population of Moscow left the city, only more than 50 thousand people (out of 270 thousand).

In Moscow, Napoleon, on the one hand, builds a plan for a campaign against St. Petersburg, on the other hand, he makes attempts to make peace with Alexander I, but at the same time remains with his demands (a continental blockade of England, the rejection of Lithuania and the creation of a military alliance with Russia). He makes three offers of truce, but receives no response from Alexander to any of them.

Militia

I. Arkhipov "Militia of 1812"

On July 18, 1812, Alexander I issued a Manifesto and an appeal to the residents of the “Most Throne Capital of our Moscow” with a call to join the militia (temporary armed formations to help the active army to repel the invasion of Napoleonic army). Zemstvo militias were limited to 16 provinces directly adjacent to the theater of operations:

District I - Moscow, Tver, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Ryazan, Tula, Kaluga, Smolensk provinces - was intended to protect Moscow.

District II - St. Petersburg and Novgorod provinces - provided “protection” of the capital.

III district (Volga region) - Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Kostroma, Simbirsk and Vyatka provinces - reserve of the first two militia districts.

The rest of the provinces should remain “inactive” until “there is a need to use them for sacrifices and services equal to the Fatherland.”

Drawing of the banner of the St. Petersburg militia

Chiefs of militias of the Patriotic War of 1812

The collection of militias was entrusted to the apparatus of state power, the nobility and the church. The military trained warriors, and a collection of funds for the militia was announced. Each landowner had to present a certain number of equipped and armed warriors from his serfs within a specified time frame. Unauthorized joining of the serfs' militia was considered a crime. Selection for the detachment was made by the landowner or peasant communities by lot.

I. Luchaninov "Blessing of the Militia"

There were not enough firearms for the militia; they were primarily allocated for the formation of reserve units of the regular army. Therefore, after the end of the gathering, all the militias, except for the St. Petersburg one, were armed mainly with edged weapons - pikes, spears and axes. Military training of the militia took place according to a shortened recruit training program by officers and lower ranks from the army and Cossack units. In addition to zemstvo (peasant) militias, the formation of Cossack militias began. Some wealthy landowners assembled entire regiments from their serfs or formed them at their own expense.

In some cities and villages adjacent to the Smolensk, Moscow, Kaluga, Tula, Tver, Pskov, Chernigov, Tambov, and Oryol provinces, “cordons” or “guard militias” were formed for self-defense and maintaining internal order.

The convening of the militia allowed the government of Alexander I to mobilize large human and material resources for the war in a short time. After completion of formation, the entire militia was under the unified command of Field Marshal M.I. Kutuzov and the supreme leadership of Emperor Alexander I.

S. Gersimov "Kutuzov - Chief of the Militia"

During the period that the Great French Army was in Moscow, the Tver, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula, Ryazan and Kaluga militias defended the borders of their provinces from enemy foragers and marauders and, together with army partisans, blocked the enemy in Moscow, and when the French retreated, they were pursued by the militias of Moscow, Smolensk, Tver, Yaroslavl, Tula, Kaluga, St. Petersburg and Novgorod zemstvo provincial troops, Don, Little Russian and Bashkir Cossack regiments, as well as individual battalions, squadrons and detachments. The militia could not be used as an independent fighting force, because they had poor military training and weapons. But they fought against enemy foragers, looters, deserters, and also performed police functions to maintain internal order. They destroyed and captured 10-12 thousand enemy soldiers and officers.

After the end of hostilities on Russian territory, all provincial militias, except Vladimir, Tver and Smolensk, participated in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army in 1813-1814. In the spring of 1813, the Moscow and Smolensk troops were disbanded, and by the end of 1814, all other zemstvo troops were disbanded.

Guerrilla warfare

J. Doe "D.V. Davydov"

After the Moscow fire began, guerrilla warfare and passive resistance intensified. The peasants refused to supply the French with food and fodder, went into the forests, burned unharvested grain in the fields so that the enemy would not get anything. Flying partisan detachments were created to operate in the rear and on the enemy’s communication lines in order to impede his supplies and destroy his small detachments. The most famous commanders of the flying detachments were Denis Davydov, Alexander Seslavin, Alexander Figner. Army partisan detachments received full support from the spontaneous peasant partisan movement. It was the violence and looting by the French that sparked the guerrilla war. The partisans made up the first ring of encirclement around Moscow, occupied by the French, and the second ring was made up of militias.

Battle at Tarutino

Kutuzov, retreating, took the army south to the village of Tarutino, closer to Kaluga. Being on the old Kaluga road, Kutuzov's army covered Tula, Kaluga, Bryansk and the grain-producing southern provinces, and threatened the enemy rear between Moscow and Smolensk. He waited, knowing that Napoleon’s army would not last long in Moscow without provisions, and winter was approaching... On October 18, near Tarutino, he gave battle to the French barrier under the command of Murat - and Murat’s retreat marked the fact that the initiative in the war had passed to the Russians.

Beginning of the End

Napoleon was forced to think about wintering his army. Where? “I’m going to look for another position from where it will be more profitable to launch a new campaign, the action of which will be directed towards St. Petersburg or Kyiv" And at this time Kutuzov put under surveillance all possible escape routes for the Napoleonic army from Moscow. Kutuzov's foresight was manifested in the fact that with his Tarutino maneuver he anticipated the movement of French troops to Smolensk through Kaluga.

On October 19, the French army (consisting of 110 thousand) began to leave Moscow along the Old Kaluga Road. Napoleon planned to get to the nearest large food base in Smolensk through an area not devastated by the war - through Kaluga, but Kutuzov blocked his way. Then Napoleon turned near the village of Troitsky onto the New Kaluga Road (modern Kiev Highway) to bypass Tarutino. However, Kutuzov transferred the army to Maloyaroslavets and cut off the French retreat along the New Kaluga Road.

PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1812

Causes and nature of the war. The Patriotic War of 1812 is the largest event in Russian history. Its emergence was caused by Napoleon's desire to achieve world domination. In Europe, only Russia and England maintained their independence. Despite the Treaty of Tilsit, Russia continued to oppose the expansion of Napoleonic aggression. Napoleon was especially irritated by her systematic violation of the continental blockade. Since 1810, both sides, realizing the inevitability of a new clash, were preparing for war. Napoleon flooded the Duchy of Warsaw with his troops and created military warehouses there. The threat of invasion looms over Russia's borders. In turn, the Russian government increased the number of troops in the western provinces.

In the military conflict between the two sides, Napoleon became the aggressor. He began military operations and invaded Russian territory. In this regard, for the Russian people the war became a liberation war, a Patriotic war. Not only the regular army, but also the broad masses of the people took part in it.

Correlation of forces. In preparation for the war against Russia, Napoleon gathered a significant army - up to 678 thousand soldiers. These were perfectly armed and trained troops, seasoned in previous wars. They were led by a galaxy of brilliant marshals and generals - L. Davout, L. Berthier, M. Ney, I. Murat and others. They were commanded by the most famous commander of that time, Napoleon Bonaparte. The weak point of his army was its motley national composition. German and Spanish The aggressive plans of the French bourgeoisie were deeply alien to the Polish and Portuguese, Austrian and Italian soldiers.

Active preparations for the war that Russia had been waging since 1810 brought results. She managed to create modern armed forces for that time, powerful artillery, which, as it turned out during the war, was superior to the French. The troops were led by talented military leaders M.I. Kutuzov, M.B. Barclay de Tolly, P.I. Bagration, A.P. Ermolov, N.N. Raevsky, M.A. Miloradovich and others. They were distinguished by their great military experience and personal courage. The advantage of the Russian army was determined by the patriotic enthusiasm of all segments of the population, large human resources, food and fodder reserves.

However, at the initial stage of the war, the French army outnumbered the Russian one. The first echelon of troops that entered Russia numbered 450 thousand people, while the Russians on the western border were about 320 thousand people, divided into three armies. 1st - under the command of M.B. Barclay de Tolly - covered the St. Petersburg direction, the 2nd - led by P.I. Bagration - defended the center of Russia, the 3rd - General A.P. Tormasov - was located in the southern direction.

Plans of the parties. Napoleon planned to seize a significant part of Russian territory up to Moscow and sign a new treaty with Alexander to subjugate Russia. Napoleon's strategic plan was based on his military experience acquired during the wars in Europe. He intended to prevent the dispersed Russian forces from uniting and deciding the outcome of the war in one or more border battles.

Even on the eve of the war, the Russian emperor and his entourage decided not to make any compromises with Napoleon. If the clash was successful, they intended to transfer hostilities to the territory of Western Europe. In case of defeat, Alexander was ready to retreat to Siberia (all the way to Kamchatka, according to him) to continue the fight from there. Russia had several strategic military plans. One of them was developed by the Prussian General Fuhl. It provided for the concentration of most of the Russian army in a fortified camp near the city of Drissa on the Western Dvina. According to Fuhl, this gave an advantage in the first border battle. The project remained unrealized, since the position on Drissa was unfavorable and the fortifications were weak. In addition, the balance of forces forced the Russian command to choose a strategy of active defense, i.e. retreat with rearguard battles deep into Russian territory. As the course of the war showed, this was the most correct decision.

The beginning of the war. On the morning of June 12, 1812, French troops crossed the Neman and invaded Russia by forced march.

The 1st and 2nd Russian armies retreated, avoiding a general battle. They fought stubborn rearguard battles with individual units of the French, exhausting and weakening the enemy, inflicting significant losses on him. Two main tasks faced the Russian troops - to eliminate disunity (not allow themselves to be defeated one by one) and to establish unity of command in the army. The first task was solved on July 22, when the 1st and 2nd armies united near Smolensk. Thus, Napoleon's original plan was thwarted. On August 8, Alexander appointed M.I. Kutuzov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. This meant solving the second problem. M.I. Kutuzov took command of the combined Russian forces on 17 August. He did not change his retreat tactics. However, the army and the whole country expected a decisive battle from him. Therefore, he gave the order to look for a position for a general battle. She was found near the village of Borodino, 124 km from Moscow.

Battle of Borodino. M.I. Kutuzov chose defensive tactics and deployed his troops in accordance with this. The left flank was defended by the army of P.I. Bagration, covered with artificial earthen fortifications - flashes. In the center there was an earthen mound where the artillery and troops of General N.N. were located. Raevsky. Army M.B. Barclay de Tolly was on the right flank.

Napoleon adhered to offensive tactics. He intended to break through the defenses of the Russian army on the flanks, encircle it and completely defeat it.

Early in the morning of August 26, the French launched an offensive on the left flank. The fight for flushes lasted until 12 noon. Both sides suffered huge losses. General P.I. was seriously wounded. Bagration. (He died from his wounds a few days later.) Taking the flushes did not bring any particular advantages to the French, since they were unable to break through the left flank. The Russians retreated in an organized manner and took up a position near the Semenovsky ravine.

At the same time, the situation in the center, where Napoleon directed the main attack, became more complicated. To help the troops of General N.N. Raevsky M.I. Kutuzov ordered the Cossacks M.I. Platov and the cavalry corps F.P. Uvarov to carry out a raid behind French lines. Napoleon was forced to interrupt the assault on the battery for almost 2 hours. This allowed M.I. Kutuzov to bring fresh forces to the center. Battery N.N. Raevsky passed from hand to hand several times and was captured by the French only at 16:00.

The capture of Russian fortifications did not mean Napoleon's victory. On the contrary, the offensive impulse of the French army dried up. She needed fresh forces, but Napoleon did not dare to use his last reserve - the imperial guard. The battle, which lasted more than 12 hours, gradually subsided. The losses on both sides were enormous. Borodino was a moral and political victory for the Russians: the combat potential of the Russian army was preserved, while Napoleonic's was significantly weakened. Far from France, in the vast Russian expanses, it was difficult to restore it.

From Moscow to Maloyaroslavets. After Borodino, the Russians began to retreat to Moscow. Napoleon followed, but did not strive for a new battle. On September 1, a military council of the Russian command took place in the village of Fili. M.I. Kutuzov, contrary to the general opinion of the generals, decided to leave Moscow. The French army entered it on September 2, 1812.

M.I. Kutuzov, withdrawing troops from Moscow, carried out an original plan - the Tarutino march-maneuver. Retreating from Moscow along the Ryazan road, the army turned sharply to the south and in the Krasnaya Pakhra area reached the old Kaluga road. This maneuver, firstly, prevented the French from seizing the Kaluga and Tula provinces, where ammunition and food were collected. Secondly, M.I. Kutuzov managed to break away from Napoleon's army. He set up a camp in Tarutino, where the Russian troops rested and were replenished with fresh regular units, militia, weapons and food supplies.

The occupation of Moscow did not benefit Napoleon. Abandoned by the inhabitants (an unprecedented case in history), it burned in the fire. There was no food or other supplies in it. The French army was completely demoralized and turned into a bunch of robbers and marauders. Its decomposition was so strong that Napoleon had only two options - either immediately make peace or begin a retreat. But all the peace proposals of the French emperor were unconditionally rejected by M.I. Kutuzov and Alexander.

On October 7, the French left Moscow. Napoleon still hoped to defeat the Russians or at least break into the unravaged southern regions, since the issue of providing the army with food and fodder was very acute. He moved his troops to Kaluga. On October 12, another bloody battle took place near the town of Maloyaroslavets. Once again, neither side achieved a decisive victory. However, the French were stopped and forced to retreat along the Smolensk road they had destroyed.

Expulsion of Napoleon from Russia. The retreat of the French army looked like a disorderly flight. It was accelerated by the unfolding partisan movement and the offensive actions of Russian troops.

The patriotic upsurge began literally immediately after Napoleon entered Russia. The robberies and looting of French soldiers provoked resistance from local residents. But this was not the main thing - the Russian people could not put up with the presence of invaders on their native land. History includes the names of ordinary people (A.N. Seslavin, G.M. Kurin, E.V. Chetvertakov, V. Kozhina) who organized partisan detachments. “flying detachments” of regular army soldiers led by career officers were also sent to the French rear.

At the final stage of the war, M.I. Kutuzov chose the tactics of parallel pursuit. He took care of every Russian soldier and understood that the enemy’s forces were melting every day. The final defeat of Napoleon was planned near the city of Borisov. For this purpose, troops were brought up from the south and north-west. Serious damage was inflicted on the French near the city of Krasny in early November, when more than half of the 50 thousand people of the retreating army were captured or died in battle. Fearing encirclement, Napoleon hastened to transport his troops across the Berezina River on November 14-17. The battle at the crossing completed the defeat of the French army. Napoleon abandoned her and secretly left for Paris. Order M.I. Kutuzov on the army on December 21 and the Tsar's Manifesto on December 25, 1812 marked the end of the Patriotic War.

The meaning of war. The Patriotic War of 1812 is the greatest event in Russian History. During its course, heroism, courage, patriotism and selfless love of all layers of society and especially ordinary people for their own were clearly demonstrated. Homeland. However, the war caused significant damage to the Russian economy, which was estimated at 1 billion rubles. About 2 million people died. Many western regions of the country were devastated. All this had a huge impact on the further internal development of Russia.

What you need to know about this topic:

Socio-economic development of Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Social structure of the population.

Development of agriculture.

Development of Russian industry in the first half of the 19th century. The formation of capitalist relations. Industrial revolution: essence, prerequisites, chronology.

Development of water and highway communications. Start of railway construction.

Exacerbation of socio-political contradictions in the country. The palace coup of 1801 and the accession to the throne of Alexander I. “The days of Alexander were a wonderful beginning.”

Peasant question. Decree "On Free Plowmen". Government measures in the field of education. State activities of M.M. Speransky and his plan for state reforms. Creation of the State Council.

Russia's participation in anti-French coalitions. Treaty of Tilsit.

Patriotic War of 1812. International relations on the eve of the war. Causes and beginning of the war. Balance of forces and military plans of the parties. M.B. Barclay de Tolly. P.I. Bagration. M.I.Kutuzov. Stages of war. Results and significance of the war.

Foreign campaigns of 1813-1814. Congress of Vienna and its decisions. Holy Alliance.

The internal situation of the country in 1815-1825. Strengthening conservative sentiments in Russian society. A.A. Arakcheev and Arakcheevism. Military settlements.

Foreign policy of tsarism in the first quarter of the 19th century.

The first secret organizations of the Decembrists were the “Union of Salvation” and the “Union of Prosperity”. Northern and Southern society. The main program documents of the Decembrists are “Russian Truth” by P.I. Pestel and “Constitution” by N.M. Muravyov. Death of Alexander I. Interregnum. Uprising on December 14, 1825 in St. Petersburg. Uprising of the Chernigov regiment. Investigation and trial of the Decembrists. The significance of the Decembrist uprising.

The beginning of the reign of Nicholas I. Strengthening autocratic power. Further centralization and bureaucratization of the Russian state system. Intensifying repressive measures. Creation of the III department. Censorship regulations. The era of censorship terror.

Codification. M.M. Speransky. Reform of state peasants. P.D. Kiselev. Decree "On Obligated Peasants".

Polish uprising 1830-1831

The main directions of Russian foreign policy in the second quarter of the 19th century.

Eastern question. Russian-Turkish War 1828-1829 The problem of the straits in Russian foreign policy in the 30s and 40s of the 19th century.

Russia and the revolutions of 1830 and 1848. in Europe.

Crimean War. International relations on the eve of the war. Causes of the war. Progress of military operations. Russia's defeat in the war. Peace of Paris 1856. International and domestic consequences of the war.

Annexation of the Caucasus to Russia.

The formation of the state (imamate) in the North Caucasus. Muridism. Shamil. Caucasian War. The significance of the annexation of the Caucasus to Russia.

Social thought and social movement in Russia in the second quarter of the 19th century.

Formation of government ideology. The theory of official nationality. Mugs from the late 20s - early 30s of the 19th century.

N.V. Stankevich’s circle and German idealistic philosophy. A.I. Herzen’s circle and utopian socialism. "Philosophical Letter" by P.Ya.Chaadaev. Westerners. Moderate. Radicals. Slavophiles. M.V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky and his circle. The theory of "Russian socialism" by A.I. Herzen.

Socio-economic and political prerequisites for bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century.

Peasant reform. Preparation of reform. "Regulation" February 19, 1861 Personal liberation of the peasants. Allotments. Ransom. Duties of peasants. Temporary condition.

Zemstvo, judicial, urban reforms. Financial reforms. Reforms in the field of education. Censorship rules. Military reforms. The meaning of bourgeois reforms.

Socio-economic development of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Social structure of the population.

Industrial development. Industrial revolution: essence, prerequisites, chronology. The main stages of the development of capitalism in industry.

The development of capitalism in agriculture. Rural community in post-reform Russia. Agrarian crisis of the 80-90s of the XIX century.

Social movement in Russia in the 50-60s of the 19th century.

Social movement in Russia in the 70-90s of the 19th century.

Revolutionary populist movement of the 70s - early 80s of the 19th century.

"Land and Freedom" of the 70s of the XIX century. "People's Will" and "Black Redistribution". Assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881. The collapse of Narodnaya Volya.

Labor movement in the second half of the 19th century. Strike struggle. The first workers' organizations. A work issue arises. Factory legislation.

Liberal populism of the 80-90s of the 19th century. Spread of the ideas of Marxism in Russia. Group "Emancipation of Labor" (1883-1903). The emergence of Russian social democracy. Marxist circles of the 80s of the XIX century.

St. Petersburg "Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class." V.I. Ulyanov. "Legal Marxism".

Political reaction of the 80-90s of the XIX century. The era of counter-reforms.

Alexander III. Manifesto on the “inviolability” of autocracy (1881). The policy of counter-reforms. Results and significance of counter-reforms.

International position of Russia after the Crimean War. Changing the country's foreign policy program. The main directions and stages of Russian foreign policy in the second half of the 19th century.

Russia in the system of international relations after the Franco-Prussian war. Union of Three Emperors.

Russia and the Eastern crisis of the 70s of the XIX century. The goals of Russia's policy in the eastern question. Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878: causes, plans and forces of the parties, course of military operations. Treaty of San Stefano. Berlin Congress and its decisions. The role of Russia in the liberation of the Balkan peoples from the Ottoman yoke.

Foreign policy of Russia in the 80-90s of the XIX century. Formation of the Triple Alliance (1882). Deterioration of Russia's relations with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Conclusion of the Russian-French alliance (1891-1894).

• Buganov V.I., Zyryanov P.N. History of Russia: the end of the 17th - 19th centuries. . - M.: Education, 1996.

The First Patriotic War broke out in 1612, when the Russian people's militia defeated the Polish occupation forces. The result is the preservation of the Russian state and the choice of a new royal dynasty, the boyars Romanovs.

The Second Patriotic War began two hundred years later - in June 1812, and also became victorious for Russia. Napoleon was defeated, Russia received new territories and new experience of the army elite. The result is the December uprising on Senate Square. Slavery held on for another 50 years.

And the third Patriotic War - World War II 1939 - 1945. In Russian history it is accepted as the Great Patriotic War. The result is victory over Nazi Germany and the division of Europe into two camps - pro-communist and capitalist. Creation of the “Iron Curtain” for 50 years.

Half-Forgotten Patriotic War

Unlike the Great Patriotic War, the War of 1812 took less than a year. Starting in June, already in December of the same 1812, the victory of Russia and the entry of Russian troops into the territory of the Napoleonic Empire was announced. On December 25, the day of the Nativity of Christ, a Manifesto was published on the expulsion of the French from Russia.

“The club of the people’s war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength and rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion was destroyed,” wrote L.N. Tolstoy, emphasizing the popular nature of the war.

This small, even by the standards of an individual, time period contained many great events.

June

By June 1812 French troops were ready to invade Russia. At the borders stood a well-trained, mobilized army with extensive military experience, numbering, according to French data, 448 thousand people in the first echelon. Later, about 200 thousand more were sent to Russia - in total, according to Russian data, at least 600 thousand people.

On the night of June 12 (24), 1812 The French army invaded Russia. Early in the morning the vanguard of the French troops entered the city of Kovno. The Russian troops retreated without accepting the battle.

The French army began a rapid advance into the interior of the country, trying to cut off the Russian armies from each other and defeat them one by one.

July

July 22 (August 3), 1812 army Barclay de Tolly And Bagration united at Smolensk. This was a major success for the Russian army and a failure for Napoleon, who sought to defeat the 1st and 2nd armies individually and lead to a general border battle. The immediate task of the Russian command was solved - the mistakes of the strategic deployment of the Russian army were overcome.

August

Retreat of the Russian army. Having repulsed the fierce attacks of the enemy’s storming columns, Russian troops left burning Smolensk on the night of August 6 (18) and continued their retreat. “The campaign of 1812 is over,” said Napoleon upon entering Smolensk.

August 8 (20), 1812 an appointment order was signed M.I. Kutuzova Commander-in-Chief. Companion P.A. Rumyantseva And A.V. Suvorov was 67 years old.

September

The Battle of Borodino, which lasted about 12 hours, began early in the morning August 26 (September 7). During the many hours of continuous battle, the French units failed to break through the defenses of the Russian troops. They stopped the battle and were withdrawn to their original positions.

Napoleon failed to defeat the Russian army. Kutuzov failed to defend Moscow. But here, on the Borodino field, Napoleonic army, in fair judgment L.N. Tolstoy, received a “mortal wound.”

The losses on both sides were colossal: the French lost about 35 thousand people at Borodino, the Russians - 45 thousand. Napoleonic generals demanded new reinforcements, but the reserves were completely used up, and the emperor did not bring the old guard into service.

In the Battle of Borodino, the best forces of the enemy were defeated, thanks to which the initiative was prepared for the transfer of the initiative into the hands of the Russian army.

Napoleon subsequently said this about the Battle of Borodino: “Of all my battles, the most terrible is the one I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of victory, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.”

September 2(14), 1812 Napoleon approached Moscow and stopped at Poklonnaya Hill. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, being confident that the capture of Moscow would make further resistance to Russia pointless. Napoleon waited for more than two hours for the Moscow deputation with the keys to the city. And then they reported to him that the city was empty.

Soon the city caught fire with the Great Moscow Fire. The Moscow fire and looting soon destroyed the food supplies that were in the city. The Russian army's resistance to the enemy grew, and the partisan movement expanded.

Napoleon proposed from Moscow three times Alexander I start peace negotiations. The royal court and officials close to Alexander I ( A.A. Arakcheev, N.P. Rumyantsev, HELL. Balashov) advised to sign peace. But the king was adamant: all Napoleon’s letters remained unanswered.

In such a situation, further stay in Moscow for the French army became dangerous.

October

October 7 (19), After 36 days of fruitless efforts to achieve peace with Russia, Napoleon ordered a retreat from Moscow. When leaving, he ordered the Kremlin to be blown up. As a result of the explosion, the Faceted Chamber and other buildings burned down. Only the courage of the heroes who cut the lit wicks and the onset of rain saved the ancient monument of Russian culture from complete destruction.

October 6(18), 1812 Murat's corps, sent by Napoleon to the river. Chernishna to monitor the Russian army was attacked by Kutuzov. As a result of the fighting, the French lost about 5 thousand people and were forced to retreat. This was the first victory of the Russian army's ongoing offensive.

“Our retreat, which began with a masquerade,” wrote a French officer E. Labom, - ended with a funeral procession."

November

Mid November Kutuzov's main forces defeated the enemy in three-day battles near the city of Krasny. Napoleon's army needed to cross the Berezina River to escape from Russia. 20-30 thousand people managed to cross the Berezina, more than 20 thousand died during the crossing or were captured.

After the Berezina, Napoleon's retreat turned into a disorderly flight. His Grand Army practically ceased to exist. A little more than 30 thousand people remained from it.

In the end of November The emperor from the town of Smorgon headed to France. On December 6 (18) he was in Paris. .

On December 25, the day of the Nativity of Christ, a Manifesto was published on the expulsion of the French from Russia.

What did the Patriotic War mean for Russia 100 years ago?

Emphasizing the scale of events, the publicist Alexander Herzen believed that the true history of Russia begins in 1812: before that time there was only its prehistory.

“The interval between 1810 and 1820 is short,” wrote A.I. Herzen. - But between them is 1812. The morals are the same; The landowners who returned from their villages to the burned capital are the same. But something has changed. A thought flashed through, and what she touched with her breath became no longer what it was.”

The future Decembrists highly appreciated the significance of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaign, considering themselves “children of 1812.” “Napoleon invaded Russia,” noted A. Bestuzhev, - and then the Russian people first felt their strength, then a feeling of independence, first patriotic, and subsequently popular, awakened in all hearts. This is the beginning of free thought in Russia.”

An employee of the Battle of Borodino panorama museum, Ilya Kudryashov, a scientific consultant for a project dedicated to the War of 1812, which Gazeta.Ru prepared together with the historical site Runiverse, answered Gazeta RU’s question this way:

— In your opinion, what is the difference between celebrating the anniversary now and a hundred years ago?

“One hundred years ago we celebrated one of the brightest events in the history of that Russia. Then there was a monarch from the same dynasty on the throne (Alexander I was the elder brother of his great-grandfather Nicholas II). There were the same regiments that fought on the Borodino field, and they erected monuments at their own expense.

Now the tradition has been interrupted, this is just another anniversary occasion to remember patriotism, renovate museums and hold events “for show”.

What do we remember about the War of 1812?

The Public Opinion Foundation invited Russians to answer a Unified State Exam question on history about the War of 1812: choose a battle that relates to the war with Napoleon. Only 13% of respondents made the right choice.

Less than a third of our fellow citizens know who was the emperor of Russia during this war.

The majority of respondents (17%) associate the words “Patriotic War of 1812” with Napoleon. “Holy war,” “we fought with the French,” answered 12% of respondents.

9% of respondents feel pride in the country and the people who defended the Fatherland.

9% of survey participants associate this war with the Battle of Borodino, 8% with commander Mikhail Kutuzov.

3% of respondents spoke about victory over the French. When asked who Russia fought with in 1812, 69% of survey participants answered correctly, 26% found it difficult to answer, and 5% of respondents were mistaken.

Moreover, most often the incorrect answer was given by people aged 18-30 years. And in the group of 80 and older there were no errors, although 52% of respondents found it difficult to answer.

29% of respondents remembered who the Russian emperor was during the Patriotic War of 1812. 51% found it difficult to answer, 7% each believe that at that time Russia was ruled or Paul I, or Nicholas I, and 6% even named the name Catherine II.

Military actions in 1812 between Russia and the army of Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte that invaded its territory. In Napoleonic studies the term “Russian campaign of 1812” (French: campagne de Russie pendant l "année 1812) is also used.
It ended with the almost complete destruction of Napoleonic army and the transfer of military operations to the territory of Poland and Germany in 1813.
Napoleon initially called this war the second Polish war, because one of his declared goals of the campaign was the revival of the Polish independent state as a counterweight to the Russian Empire, including the territories of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. In pre-revolutionary literature there is such an epithet of war as “the invasion of twelve languages.”

Story

The Franco-Russian alliance, formalized by the Peace of Tilsit (1807, see Russian-Prussian-French War of 1806-1807), allowed the two powers to solve some problems, but did not strengthen their agreement. Serious contradictions remained and even began to intensify. The Polish question became a stumbling block. Bonaparte formed the Duchy of Warsaw in the Polish regions taken from Prussia. With this, he created his own outpost at the Russian borders, hostile to Russia, which participated in the divisions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Despite the protests of St. Petersburg, Napoleon gave the Poles hope for the restoration of their state, which increased the danger of a new redistribution of borders in Eastern Europe. Bonaparte continued to seize the lands of the German principalities, including the Duchy of Oldenburg, where the husband of the sister of the Russian emperor (Catherine Pavlovna) ruled. A serious breakdown in Franco-Russian relations occurred after Napoleon's unsuccessful matchmaking with the sister of Alexander I, Grand Duchess Anna. This was facilitated by court circles and the king’s family, who were, in general, sharply opposed to an alliance with Bonaparte. Trade and economic contradictions were no less acute. The French emperor demanded that St. Petersburg strictly implement the Continental blockade, as a result of which the turnover of Russian foreign trade fell by almost 2 times. The blockade affected, first of all, landowners - grain exporters, and the nobility who bought expensive imports. The alliance with Alexander I was only a temporary maneuver for Napoleon, making it easier for France to achieve world domination. Having achieved power over almost all of continental Europe, the French emperor no longer needed Russian support. By now she had already become an obstacle to the implementation of his further plans. “In five years,” he said, “I will be the master of the world; only Russia remains, but I will crush it.” By the beginning of 1812, Napoleon persuaded most European countries and even its former ally, Prussia, to an alliance against Russia. Moreover, the Prussian king demanded Courland and Riga for participation in the future campaign. The only state that continued the fight against Napoleon was England. But she was then in hostile relations with St. Petersburg. In short, on the eve of the invasion, the Russian Empire found itself faced with a united and hostile Europe. True, the defeat of Sweden and Turkey, as well as the art of Russian diplomacy, prevented Napoleon from attracting these countries to his camp and, with their help, organizing formidable flank attacks on the north- and south-western borders of the empire.

Balance of power

To invade Russia, Napoleon concentrated a group of about 480 thousand people, huge for those times, near the Russian border. Along with the French, Poles, Italians, Belgians, Swiss, Austrians, Dutch, Germans and representatives of other European nations, who made up about half of Napoleon's army, also took part in the campaign. It focused on a 700-kilometer front from Galicia to East Prussia. On the right flank of Napoleonic troops, in Galicia, the main force was the army of Prince Schwarzenberg (40 thousand people). On the left, in East Prussia, stood the army of Marshal MacDonald (30 thousand people), consisting mainly of Prussians. Napoleon's central forces were located in Poland, in the region of Polotsk and Warsaw. Here, in the direction of the main attack, there were three armies with a total number of about 400 thousand people. There were also rear troops (approximately 160 thousand people) who were in reserve between the Vistula and Oder. The trip was carefully prepared. It was taken into account, for example, that in a sparsely populated and vast theater of military operations a huge army would not be able to feed itself solely through requisitions. Therefore, Napoleon created large commissary warehouses on the Vistula. Danzig alone contained a 50-day supply of food for 400 thousand people. There were two main plans for the Napoleonic campaign. One of them was nominated by the Poles. They proposed a stage-by-stage fight against Russia - first to push back the Russian army to the eastern borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772, and then, having strengthened and reorganized Poland, to conduct further military operations. But Napoleon still chose his traditional version of a “lightning” war using general battles to defeat the main forces of the enemy. His huge, multilingual army was not designed for protracted campaigns. She needed quick and decisive success. The Napoleonic army on the western borders of Russia was opposed by approximately half as many forces, with a total number of about 240 thousand people. The 1st Army under the command of General Barclay de Tolly (127 thousand people) covered the Russian border along the Neman. To the south, between the Neman and the Bug, in the Bialystok region, the 2nd Army was located under the command of General Bagration (45 thousand people). In the Lutsk area, in Western Ukraine, there was the 3rd Army under the command of General Tormasov (45 thousand people). In addition, the Riga direction was covered by the corps of General Essen (about 20 thousand people). A large contingent of Russian troops (approximately 50 thousand people) was then in the southwest, where the war with Turkey had just ended. Some of the troops remained in the Caucasus, where military operations against Persia continued. In addition, troops were stationed in Finland, Crimea and the interior of Russia. In general, the number of Russian armed forces at that time was not inferior to Napoleonic ones. Based on the situation on the western borders, the Russian command rejected the idea of ​​an offensive and chose a defensive plan of action. However, at first he did not envisage a protracted war. Thus, according to the accepted plan of the German theorist Fuhl, the main military actions took place on the territory of Belarus. According to the Ful strategy, the 1st Army retreated, luring Napoleon's troops to the Western Dvina, where the so-called. Drissa fortified camp. At that time, the 2nd Army was striking from the south at the flank and rear of Napoleonic formations that had gone deep into Russian borders. This plan suffered from schematism. He did not take into account the real balance of forces, the characteristics of the theater of military operations and Napoleon's possible countermeasures. Despite the weak tactical elaboration of the campaign plan, the Russian armed forces were, in general, ready for decent resistance. The Russian army had high fighting qualities, strong command and rank and file personnel, who had rich military experience behind them. Over the past years, the Russian armed forces have grown both quantitatively and qualitatively. Thus, the number of ranger regiments increased significantly, and the composition of the guard increased significantly. New types of troops appear - lancers (light cavalry armed with pikes and sabers), engineering troops, etc. The number of field artillery increased and its organization improved. On the eve of the war, new regulations and instructions also appeared in the Russian army, reflecting modern trends in the art of war. The armament of the Russian army was provided by the military industry, which was quite developed at that time. Thus, Russian factories annually produced up to 150-170 thousand guns, 800 guns, and over 765 thousand pounds of shells. The quality of Russian weapons, in general, was not inferior to, and in some cases even superior to, their European counterparts. For example, the service life of a Russian cannon of those years (in terms of the number of shots) was 2 times higher than the French one. Nevertheless, the coalition created by Bonaparte surpassed Russia both in population (almost 2 times) and in economic potential. For the first time, the West managed to unite on such a large scale and move its best forces to the east. Defeat promised Russia territorial losses, political and economic dependence on France, and one-sided development as an agricultural and raw materials appendage of Europe. In addition, taking into account the experience of the development and conquest of America by Europeans, it can be assumed that if the Napoleonic campaign was successful, the Old World opened up a new vast direction of colonization - the east. For the Russian people, this was the first such major invasion since the time of Batu. But if then the enemy was confronted by scattered principalities, now he was dealing with a single empire capable of worthy resistance.

Progress of the war

Napoleon's forces crossed the Russian border without declaring war on June 12, 1812. The French emperor presented this treacherous aggression to everyone as a struggle for the revival of Poland, calling his invasion the “Second Polish War.” The Warsaw Sejm announced the restoration of the Kingdom of Poland and announced the mobilization of Poles into Napoleonic army (this also applied to those who served in the Russian armed forces). The course of the Patriotic War of 1812 can be roughly divided into a number of stages. 1st stage: Belarusian-Lithuanian operation. This period covers June and July, when the Russians managed to avoid encirclement in Lithuania and Belarus, repel the onslaught in the St. Petersburg and Ukrainian directions and unite in the Smolensk region. Stage 2: Smolensk operation. It includes military operations in the Smolensk region. Stage 3: March on Moscow, or the culmination of the Napoleonic invasion. Stage 4: Kaluga campaign. It represents Napoleon's attempt to break out from Moscow in the Kaluga direction. Stage 5: Expulsion of Napoleonic troops from Russia.

Belarusian-Lithuanian operation

Soon after the invasion, the inconsistency of the Fule plan was revealed. The 1st and 2nd armies were cut off from each other by French corps, which immediately tried to seize the main highways in order to cut off the escape routes for both armies and defeat them individually. The Russian armies did not have a single command. Each of them had to act according to the circumstances. Avoiding defeat individually, both armies began to retreat to the east.

Battle of Peace (1812)

The most difficult situation arose for the 2nd Army. After the invasion began, on June 18 she received an order to join the 1st Army. Bagration went to Nikolaev and began crossing the Neman to go to Minsk. But the city was already occupied by Marshal Davout. Meanwhile, the French vanguards appeared in the rear of the 2nd Army, near Slonim. It became clear that Napoleonic troops had already bypassed the 2nd Army from the north, and now they were trying to bypass it from the south. Then Bagration quickly turned south, to Nesvizh, and then headed east to Bobruisk, moving parallel to Marshal Davout, who was advancing to the north. Before this, Bagration’s rearguard under the command of the Don Ataman Matvey Platov gave battle on June 27-28 near the town of Mir to the vanguard of the French army of the Westphalian king Jerome Bonaparte. Platov left one Cossack regiment in Mir, and hid his main forces (7 regiments with artillery) in the nearby forest. The French cavalry, suspecting nothing, burst into the town, on the streets of which a fierce battle broke out. Then Jerome sent fresh Uhlan regiments to reinforce the attackers. They were attacked by Platov from the rear, surrounded and killed. In two days of fighting near Mir, 9 Uhlan regiments of Napoleonic army were defeated. This was the first major success of the Russians in the Patriotic War. He ensured the withdrawal of Bagration's army from Western Belarus.

Battle of Saltanovka (1812)

Having reached the Dnieper at Novy Bykhov, Bagration received orders to again try to break through to join the 1st Army - now through Mogilev and Orsha. To do this, he sent an avant-garde under the command of General Nikolai Raevsky (15 thousand people) to Mogilev. But Marshal Davout’s corps was already standing there. His units (26 thousand people) advanced to the village of Saltanovka and blocked Raevsky’s path. He decided to fight his way to Mogilev. On July 11, Russian attacks were repelled by superior French forces. Davout then tried to bypass Raevsky’s detachment from the right flank, but the marshal’s plan was thwarted by the steadfastness of General Ivan Paskevich’s division. In this hot battle, Raevsky personally led the soldiers into the attack along with his 17-year-old son. The French lost 3.5 thousand people in the battle of Saltanovka. The Russians lost 2.5 thousand people. The next day, Davout, having strengthened his positions, expected a new attack. But Bagration, seeing the impossibility of breaking through Mogilev, transported the army across the Dnieper at Novy Bykhov and moved with a forced march to Smolensk. Napoleon's plan to encircle the 2nd Army or force a general battle on it failed.

Battle of Ostrovno (1812)

After the outbreak of hostilities, the 1st Army, according to the drawn up disposition, began to retreat to the Dris camp. Having reached it on June 26, Barclay de Tolly gave his soldiers a six-day rest. In the current situation, the Dris position turned out to be unsuccessful. The defense in the Drissa camp, pressed against the river, could have ended in the encirclement and death of the 1st Army. Moreover, communication with the 2nd Army was interrupted. Therefore, Barclay left this camp on July 2. Having allocated a 20,000-strong corps under the command of General Peter Wittgenstein to protect the St. Petersburg direction, Barclay with the main forces of the 1st Army moved east to Vitebsk, which he reached on the day of the battle of Bagration’s troops near Saltanovka. Two days later, vanguard French units under the command of Marshals Ney and Murat approached Vitebsk. On July 13, their path near the village of Ostrovno was blocked by the 4th Corps of General Osterman-Tolstoy. Despite their advantage in artillery, the French, after several hours of continuous attacks, were unable to overcome the Russian resistance. When Osterman was informed that the losses in the corps were great and asked what to do, he, phlegmatically sniffing tobacco, replied: “Stand and die!” These words of the Russian general went down in history. The corps held its position until it was replaced by fresh units of General Konovnitsyn, who heroically held back the attacks of the superior French forces for another day. Losses on both sides in this hot affair amounted to 4 thousand people. Meanwhile, Barclay was waiting for Bagration's 2nd Army to approach him from the south (via Mogilev and Orsha). Instead, on July 15, Napoleon’s main forces approached Vitebsk from the west, threatening to give a general battle. On the night of July 16, Barclay finally received news from Bagration that he could not get through to him through Mogilev and was going to Smolensk. That same night, Barclay, leaving burning fires to disorient the French, quietly withdrew the army from its positions and moved on a forced march to Smolensk. On July 22, both armies united in Smolensk. General Barclay de Tolly took over their overall command. Napoleon's plan to dissect and destroy one by one the Russian armies in Belarus failed.

Klyastitsy (1812)

If in the central direction the Russian troops had to retreat almost non-stop, then on the flanks the enemy’s advance was stopped. The greatest success was achieved by the corps of General Wittgenstein (17 thousand people), which on July 18-20 in the Klyastits area (a village in Belarus, north of Polotsk) defeated the French corps of Marshal Oudinot (29 thousand people). The battle began with a dashing attack by a hussar detachment led by General Kulnev, who drove the French vanguard back to Klyastitsy. The next day, the main forces from both sides entered the battle. After a fierce battle, the French retreated to Polotsk. On July 20, inspired by success, the indomitable Kulnev began an independent pursuit of the retreating. His detachment broke away from its own and in a battle with the main forces of the French corps suffered heavy losses (Kulnev himself died in the skirmish). Despite this local failure, the battle of Klyastitsy generally stopped the French advance towards St. Petersburg. In addition, Napoleon had to strengthen Oudinot’s defeated northern group by transferring Saint-Cyr’s corps to it from the central Moscow direction.

Battle of Kobrin (1812)

Another success was achieved on the left flank of the Russian forces. Here the 3rd Army of General Tormasov distinguished itself. On July 10, Tormasov moved north from the Lutsk region against the Saxon corps of General Rainier, which threatened the southern flank of Bagration’s army. Taking advantage of the scattered nature of the Saxon corps, Tormasov sent his cavalry vanguard against the brigade of General Klingel (4 thousand people). On July 15, the Russians quickly attacked this brigade and surrounded it. After the approach of the Russian infantry, the Saxons laid down their arms. Their losses amounted to 1.5 thousand killed, the rest surrendered. The Russians lost 259 people in this case. After the battle of Kobrin, Rainier stopped threatening Bagration's army and retreated to join the corps of General Schwarzenberg.

Battle of Gorodechna (1812)

On July 31, near Gorodechna, a battle took place between units of the 3rd Russian Army under the command of General Tormasov (18 thousand people) with the Austrian corps of Schwarzenberg and the Saxon corps of Rainier (40 thousand people in total). After the battle at Kobrin, Schwarzenberg’s corps came to the rescue of the Saxons. Having united, both corps attacked units of the 3rd Army at Gorodechnya. Due to a successful regrouping of forces, Tormasov threw back Rainier’s corps, which was trying to bypass the Russian left flank. Having held their positions until nightfall, the units of the 3rd Army, in full battle formation, retreated south to Lutsk. The corps of Schwarzenberg and Rainier followed him there. After the battle of Gorodechna, there was a long lull on the left flank of the Russian army, in Western Ukraine. So, in the Belarusian-Lithuanian operation, Russian troops, by skillful maneuver, managed to avoid encirclement and a disastrous general battle in Belarus. They retreated to Smolensk, where the forces of the 1st and 2nd armies united. On the flanks, the Russians stopped attempts to expand Napoleonic aggression: they repelled the French offensive in the St. Petersburg direction and did not allow them to intensify actions on the left flank. Nevertheless, during the Belarusian-Lithuanian operation, Napoleon managed to achieve major political success. In less than two months, Lithuania, Belarus and Courland fell into his hands.

Smolensk operation

After the 1st Army left Vitebsk, Napoleon stopped the offensive and began to put his forces in order. Having covered more than half a thousand kilometers in a month, the French army was stretched across communications, discipline fell within it, looting spread, and supply interruptions arose. In the 20th of July, both French and Russian troops remained in place and recovered after a long and difficult transition. The first to take offensive actions from Smolensk on July 26 was Barclay de Tolly, who moved the forces of the united armies (140 thousand people) in the direction of Rudnya (northwest of Smolensk). Without accurate information about the enemy, the Russian commander acted cautiously. Having walked a 70-kilometer route to Rudnya, Barclay de Tolly stopped the troops and stood in place for five days, clarifying the situation. The attack turned out to be directed into emptiness. Having learned about the Russian movement, Napoleon changed his disposition and with his main forces (180 thousand people) crossed the Dnieper south of the location of the Russian army. He moved towards Smolensk from the southwest, trying to occupy it and cut off Barclay's path to the east. The first to rush towards Smolensk was the equestrian vanguard of Marshal Murat (15 thousand people).

Battle of Krasnoye (1812)

In the area through which Murat was breaking through, the Russians had only one 27th Infantry Division under the command of General Dmitry Neverovsky (7 thousand people). It consisted entirely of recruits. But it was they who stood up on August 2 near the village of Krasnoye as an insurmountable wall on the path of Murat’s cavalry. Neverovsky took a position on the road, on the sides of which there was a birch forest, which prevented the cavalry from making a flanking move. Murat was forced to attack the Russian infantry head-on. Having lined up the soldiers in one column, Neverovsky addressed them with the words: “Guys, remember what you were taught. No cavalry will defeat you, just take your time when firing and shoot accurately. No one dare start without my command!” Bristling with bayonets, the Russian infantry repelled all attacks of the French cavalry. During the break between fights, Neverovsky encouraged his soldiers, conducted battle analysis and divisional exercises with them. The division did not allow a breakthrough of Murat's corps and retreated to Smolensk in an organized manner, covering itself with unfading glory. According to Napoleonic general Segur, "Neverovsky retreated like a lion." The damage to the Russians amounted to 1 thousand people, the French (according to their data) - 500 people. Thanks to the steadfastness of the 27th Division, the 1st and 2nd Armies managed to retreat to Smolensk and take up defense there.

Battle of Smolensk (1812)

On August 3, the Russian army retreated to Smolensk. Bagration considered it necessary to fight a general battle here. But Barclay de Tolly insisted on continuing the retreat. He decided to give a rearguard battle in Smolensk and withdraw the main forces beyond the Dnieper. The first to enter the battle for Smolensk on August 4 was the corps of General Raevsky (15 thousand people), which repelled the attacks of the French corps of Marshal Ney (22 thousand people). On the evening of August 4, Barclay’s main forces (120 thousand people) arrived at Smolensk from near Rudnya. They are located north of the city. The weakened corps of Raevsky was replaced by the corps of Dokhturov, divisions of Neverovsky and Konovnitsyn (20 thousand people in total). They were supposed to cover the retreat of the 1st and 2nd armies to the Moscow road. All day on August 5, the Russian rearguard heroically held back the brutal onslaught of the main forces of the French army (140 thousand people). On the night of the sixth, the Russians left Smolensk. The bitterness of the soldiers was so great that they had to be taken by force to the rear, since they did not want to carry out the order to retreat. The division of General Konovnitsyn was the last to leave the burning city, conducting rearguard battles on August 6. While retreating, she blew up powder magazines and a bridge across the Dnieper. The Russians lost 10 thousand people in this battle, the French - 20 thousand people.

Battle at Valutina Mountain (1812)

After the Battle of Smolensk, on August 7, Napoleon once again tried to cut off the retreat routes of the 1st Army, which had not yet managed to cross the Dnieper and retreat to Dorogobuzh. To capture the Dnieper crossing, Napoleon sent forward Ney's corps (40 thousand people). To contain the French, Barclay advanced to the village of Valutina Gora (10 km east of Smolensk) a rearguard under the command of General Pavel Tuchkov (over 3 thousand people). Ney intended to immediately crush the small Russian detachment that had taken up positions near the village, but Tuchkov’s soldiers stood unshakably and valiantly repelled the onslaught of the French. By evening, due to reinforcements that arrived in time, the number of Russian troops at Valutina Gora was increased to 22 thousand people. The fierce battle lasted here until late at night. During the last attack in the moonlight, Tuchkov, wounded by bayonets, was captured. By that time, the main forces of the 1st Army had already managed to cross the Dnieper. The Russian losses in this battle amounted to 5 thousand people, the French - over 8 thousand people. The Battle of Valutina Gora ended the two-week Smolensk operation, as a result of which the “key to Moscow” fell and the Russians retreated again without fighting a general battle. Now the French army, gathered into one fist, moved towards Moscow.

March on Moscow

It is known that after his first walk through the destroyed Smolensk, Napoleon exclaimed: “The campaign of 1812 is over!” Indeed, the large losses of his army, fatigue from a difficult campaign, the stubborn resistance of the Russians, who managed to preserve their main forces - all this forced the French emperor to think deeply about the advisability of further moving forward. It seemed that Napoleon was inclined to the original Polish plan. However, after 6 days of deliberation, the French emperor nevertheless set out on a campaign against Moscow. There were good reasons for this. Having failed to inflict a decisive defeat on the Russian army in Belarus, Napoleon never achieved a fundamental turning point during the campaign. Meanwhile, his army in Smolensk was cut off by almost a thousand kilometers from the main supply bases on the Vistula. She was in a hostile country, whose population not only did not supply the invaders with food, but also began an armed struggle against them. If supply interruptions arose, wintering in Smolensk became impossible. For normal life support for the army during the cold period, Napoleon would have to retreat to his bases on the Vistula. This meant that the Russian army could recapture most of the territories they occupied from the French in winter. Therefore, it seemed extremely important for Napoleon to defeat the Russian armed forces before the onset of cold weather. Based on these considerations, he nevertheless decided to use the last month of summer to march on Moscow. His calculation was based on the fact that the Russians would definitely fight a general battle at the walls of their ancient capital, the success of which Napoleon had no doubt. It was a convincing victory in the campaign of 1812 that could save him from the difficult problems of the upcoming winter and would greatly facilitate his victorious conclusion of the war. Meanwhile, Barclay de Tolly continued to retreat, forcing Napoleon into a protracted war in which space and time became Russia's allies. The retreat from Smolensk aroused open hostility towards the “German” Barclay in society. He was accused of cowardice and almost treason. Although the accusations were unfair, Alexander I, on the advice of those close to him, nevertheless appointed a new commander-in-chief. It became Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. He arrived in the army on August 17, when Barclay was already preparing, under pressure from society and the military, to give a general battle at Tsarev Zaimishche. Kutuzov considered the chosen position unsuitable and ordered the retreat to continue. Kutuzov, like Barclay, understood that the battle was needed primarily by Napoleon, since each new step to the east moved the French army away from sources of life support and brought its death closer. The new commander was a resolute opponent of a general battle. But, as at Austerlitz, Kutuzov had to fight to please the opinion of the country’s leadership and its society, excited by failures. True, now Kutuzov himself made decisions on tactical issues. Therefore, not wanting to take risks, he chose a purely defensive option for the upcoming battle. The Russian strategist intended to achieve victory in this war not only on the battlefields.

Battle of Borodino (1812)

The Battle of Moscow between the French and Russians took place near the village of Borodino on August 26, 1812, the day of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. Napoleon brought only a third of the army that started the war (135 thousand people) to Borodino. The rest were absorbed like a sponge by the spaces from the Neman to Smolensk. Some died, some remained to guard extended communications, some settled in hospitals or simply deserted. On the other hand, the best have arrived. The French were opposed by a 132,000-strong Russian army, which included 21,000 unfired militias. Kutuzov positioned his forces between the New and Old Smolensk roads. The right flank of his army was covered by the Koloch and Moskva rivers, which excluded the possibility of envelopment. On the left flank, south of the Old Smolensk Road, this was prevented by wooded areas. Thus, a frontal battle was imposed on Napoleon in a 3-kilometer space between the villages of Gorki and Utitsa. Here Kutuzov built a defense in depth (its total depth, including reserves, was 3-4 km) and placed the main fortifications. In the center there was a battery at Kurganaya heights. It was defended by the 7th Corps of General Raevsky (that’s why this place was called “Raevsky’s battery”). On the left flank, near the village of Semenovskoye, field fortifications - flushes - were erected. Initially, the combined grenadier division of General Mikhail Vorontsov and the fearless 27th Infantry Division of General Dmitry Neverovsky from Bagration's 2nd Army were located here. To the south, in the forest near the village of Utitsa, Kutuzov stationed the 3rd Corps of General Nikolai Tuchkov. He was given the task of striking the flank of the attacking French units. Actually, the main events of the Battle of Borodino unfolded in these three areas: at the Kurgan Battery, Semenovsky flashes and Utitsa. Napoleon, eager for a general battle, was ready for any options. He accepted Kutuzov's challenge to a frontal collision. He even abandoned Davout’s plan to bypass the Russians on the left, through Utitsa, because he was afraid that then they would not accept the battle and would retreat again. The French emperor planned to break through the Russian defenses with a frontal attack, press them to the Moscow River and destroy them. The battle was preceded by a battle on August 24 near the village of Shevardino (Shevardinsky redoubt), in which General Gorchakov’s 8,000-strong detachment held off attacks from superior French forces (40,000 people) all day long. This gave Kutuzov the opportunity to take the main positions. On August 25, the troops prepared for the battle, which began the next day at 5 a.m. The French launched their first diversionary attacks on the Russian right flank. They pushed the Russian units behind the Koloch River. But the French attempts to cross the river were repulsed. Then, at 6 o’clock in the morning, Marshal Davout’s strike force launched the first attack against the Russian left flank, where the Semenov flashes were located. Almost simultaneously, to reach the rear of the Semyonov flushes, the Polish corps of General Poniatovsky tried to break through to the village of Utitsa, where they entered into a counter battle with Tuchkov’s soldiers. The decisive battle in the first half of the day broke out over the Semenov flushes, where Napoleon planned to make the main breakthrough. Both commanders threw their main reserves here. “The picture of that part of the Borodino field near the village of Semenovskoye was terrible, where the battle was boiling, as if in a cauldron,” recalled officer F.I. Glinka, a participant in the battle. “Thick smoke and bloody steam obscured the midday sun. Some dim, uncertain twilight lay over field of horrors, above the field of death. In this twilight nothing was visible except formidable columns, advancing and broken... The distance presents a view of complete chaos: broken, broken French squadrons crash, worry and disappear in the smoke... We have no language , to describe this dump, this crash, this crash, this last struggle by a thousand! Everyone grabbed the fatal scales to pull them to their side...” At the cost of huge losses, after the eighth attack, the French managed to knock out the Russians from the flushes by 12 o'clock. In this battle, General Bagration, who personally led the defense of the flushes (they received a second name: “Bagration’s”), was mortally wounded. At the same time, the French furiously attacked the center of the Russian army - Kurgan Heights. At 11 o'clock, during the second attack of Raevsky's battery, General Bonamy's brigade managed to break into the heights. The situation was saved by General Ermolov, the chief of staff of the 1st Army, who was passing by. Having assessed the situation, he led a counterattack of the nearby battalions of the Ufa Infantry Regiment and recaptured the heights. General Bonamy was captured and his soldiers fled. Inspired Ufa residents began pursuing the French. We had to send Cossacks to bring back the attackers. At this time, a hot battle was raging near Utitsa between Poniatovsky’s units and the 3rd Corps, which was now led (instead of the mortally wounded Tuchkov) by General Alsufiev. The ferocity of both sides during the battle was extraordinary. “Many of the combatants threw down their weapons, grappled with each other, tore each other’s mouths apart, strangled each other and fell dead together. The artillery galloped over the corpses as if on a log pavement, squeezing the corpses into the ground, soaked in blood... The screams of the commanders and cries of despair in 10 different languages ​​were drowned out by gunfire and drumming. The battlefield then presented a terrible sight. A thick black cloud of smoke mixed with blood vapor hung over the left wing of our army... At the same time, day, evening and night appeared before our eyes,” recalled N.S. Pestrikov, a participant in that battle. After Bagration, command of the left flank was received by the senior General Konovnitsyn (then Kutuzov sent General Dokhturov to lead the left flank). He began to withdraw the defeated units behind the Semenovsky ravine, where he organized a new line of defense. After the surrender of the flushes, fearing an attack in the rear, the 3rd Corps also retreated to new positions ". The critical moment of the battle had arrived. The positions of the defeated units at the Semenovsky ravine were not strengthened, and the reserves had not yet arrived. In this situation, Kutuzov organized a counterattack on the left flank of the Napoleonic army with the forces of the cavalry regiments of Uvarov and Platov. Their attack caused confusion in the ranks of the French. This two-hour the delay gave Kutuzov time to bring up his reserves. At 2 p.m., the French transferred the main attack to the Raevsky battery. After the 3rd attack, they managed to break into the heights by 5 p.m. In the battle for it, almost the entire division of General Likhachev, abandoned from the reserve, was killed. But the attempts of the French cavalry to build on their success were stopped by the Russian cavalry regiments, which were led into battle by General Barclay de Tolly. The marshals demanded that Napoleon deliver the final blow to the Russians who had been knocked down from all fortifications, throwing the guard into battle. Then the emperor himself went to the line of fire to assess the situation. He looked around at the new positions of the Russians, and “it was clear how they, without losing courage, closed their ranks, entered the battle again and went to die,” recalled General Segur, who was with the emperor at that moment. Napoleon saw an army that did not run away, but was preparing to fight to the end. He no longer had enough strength to crush her. "I cannot risk my last reserve three thousand leagues from Paris." Having abandoned this historical phrase, Napoleon went back. Soon he withdrew his troops to their original positions. The Battle of Borodino is over. The Russians lost 44 thousand people in it, the French - over 58 thousand. The Battle of Borodino is sometimes called the “battle of the generals.” During it, 16 generals died on both sides. Europe has not seen such losses in generals for 100 years, which indicates the extreme ferocity of this battle. “Of all my battles,” Bonaparte recalled, “the most terrible one was the one I fought near Moscow. The French showed themselves worthy of victory in it, and the Russians acquired the right to be invincible.” For Borodino, Kutuzov received the rank of field marshal. The main result of the Battle of Borodino was that it did not give Napoleon the opportunity to defeat the Russians in a general battle. This was the collapse of his strategic plan, which was followed by defeat in the war. In general, two military leadership concepts collided here. One involved an active onslaught and victory over the enemy, in a general battle with forces gathered into one fist. The other gave preference to skillful maneuver and imposing on the enemy a variant of the campaign that was obviously unfavorable for him. Kutuzov’s maneuver doctrine won on the Russian field.

Tarutino maneuver (1812)

Having learned about the losses, Kutuzov did not resume the battle the next day. Even in the event of success and the advance of his army, the position of the Russians remained precarious. They did not have any reserves in the area from Moscow to Smolensk (all warehouses were made in Belarus, where the war was initially supposed to be waged). Napoleon had large human reserves outside Smolensk. Therefore, Kutuzov believed that the time to go on the offensive had not yet come, and ordered a retreat. True, he hoped to receive reinforcements and did not exclude the possibility of giving a new battle already near the walls of Moscow. But hopes for reinforcements did not materialize, and the position chosen for the battle near the city turned out to be unfavorable. Then Kutuzov took upon himself the responsibility to surrender Moscow. “With the loss of Moscow, Russia is not yet lost... But if the army is destroyed, both Moscow and Russia will perish,” Kutuzov said to his generals at the military council in Fili. Indeed, Russia did not have another army capable of coping with Napoleon. So, the Russians left their ancient capital, which for the first time in 200 years found itself in the hands of foreigners. Leaving Moscow, Kutuzov began to retreat in a south-eastern direction, along the Ryazan road. After two crossings, Russian troops approached the Moscow River. Having crossed at the Borovsky transportation to the right bank, they turned west and moved in a forced march to the Old Kaluga Road. At the same time, the Cossack detachment from the rearguard of General Raevsky continued to retreat to Ryazan. By this, the Cossacks misled the French vanguard of Marshal Murat, who followed on the heels of the retreating army. During the retreat, Kutuzov introduced strict measures against desertion, which began in his troops after the surrender of Moscow. Having reached the Old Kaluga Road, the Russian army turned towards Kaluga and set up camp in the village of Tarutino. Kutuzov brought 85 thousand people there. available personnel (together with the militia). As a result of the Tarutino maneuver, the Russian army escaped the attack and took an advantageous position. While in Tarutino, Kutuzov covered the southern regions of Russia, rich in human resources and food, the Tula military-industrial complex, and at the same time could threaten the communications of the French on the Smolensk road. The French could not freely advance from Moscow to St. Petersburg, having the Russian army in the rear. Thus, Kutuzov actually imposed the further course of the campaign on Napoleon. In the Tarutino camp, the Russian army received reinforcements and increased its strength to 120 thousand people. In 1834, a monument was erected in Tarutino with the inscription: “In this place, the Russian army, led by Field Marshal Kutuzov, saved Russia and Europe.” The capture of Moscow did not bring Napoleon to a victorious conclusion to the campaign. He was greeted by a city abandoned by its inhabitants, where fires soon began. At this tragic moment in Russian history, Alexander I declared that he would fight with the people in Siberia, but would not make peace until at least one armed invader remained on Russian soil. The emperor's firmness was important, since many influential people at court (the king's mother, his brother, Grand Duke Konstantin, General Arakcheev, etc.) did not believe in the success of the fight against Napoleon and advocated peace with him. Kutuzov, at a meeting with the French envoy Lauriston, who arrived for peace negotiations, philosophically said that the real war was just beginning. “The enemy could destroy your walls, turn your property into ruins and ashes, impose heavy shackles on you, but he could not and cannot win and conquer your hearts. Such are the Russians!” - these words of Kutuzov addressed to the people marked the beginning of the people's Patriotic War. The entire population of the country, regardless of class or nationality, rises to fight the invaders. National unity became the decisive force that crushed Napoleonic army. In less than two months, the peoples of Russia deployed 300 thousand new militias to help their army and collected more than 100 million rubles for it. In areas occupied by the enemy, a guerrilla war unfolds, in which Denis Davydov, Vasilisa Kozhina, Gerasim Kurin, Alexander Figner and many other heroes became famous. The year 1812 fully demonstrated the talents of M.I. Kutuzov, a commander and wise national strategist who managed to organically combine the actions of the army with the patriotic struggle of the nation.

Battle of Chernishna (1812)

Having strengthened himself, Kutuzov moved on to decisive action; on October 6, his troops under the command of generals Miloradovich and Bennigsen attacked Murat’s corps (20 thousand people) at Chernishni (a river north of Tarutino), which was monitoring the Tarutino camp. The strike was prepared secretly. The plan for reaching Murat’s positions involved a night march through the forest of Bennigsen’s main detachment. It was not possible to complete the maneuver successfully. In the darkness, the columns got mixed up, and by morning only Cossack regiments led by General Orlov-Denisov reached the given place. In accordance with the letter of the plan, he resolutely attacked the French, overthrew the cuirassier division and captured the convoys. But other columns, having wandered through the forest, reached the battlefield later and were unable to support the onslaught of their cavalry in time. This gave Murat the opportunity to recover from the unexpected attack and have time to organize a defense. Bennigsen's units finally emerged from the forest and came under fire and suffered losses (in particular, the commander of the 2nd Corps, General Baggovut, was killed). Nevertheless, under the onslaught of the Russians, Murat was forced to retreat to join the Napoleonic army. The inconsistency of the Russian actions allowed him to avoid encirclement. The French lost 2.5 thousand killed and 2 thousand prisoners. Russian losses amounted to 1.2 thousand people. The defeat of Murat's corps accelerated the departure of Napoleon's army from Moscow. It caused a moral upsurge in Kutuzov's army, which won its first major victory after leaving Moscow.

Kaluga campaign

On the evening of October 6, Napoleon set out from Moscow to meet Kutuzov’s army, leaving Marshal Mortier’s 10,000-strong corps in the city. But soon (apparently, under the impression of the sight of an army overloaded with looted goods, more reminiscent of a camp than a professional army), he abruptly changed his plan. Napoleon decided not to engage in battle with Kutuzov, but to turn onto the New Kaluga Road and retreat west through the southern regions that were not devastated by the war. Mortier received orders to also speak from Moscow. Before leaving, Napoleon ordered him to blow up the Kremlin. As a result, the most valuable historical and architectural ensemble was partially destroyed. The Kaluga campaign was perhaps Bonaparte's most inconsistent operation, during which he changed his decisions several times within a week. Apparently, he did not have a clear plan of action at all. The French emperor resembled an overplayed gambler who kept raising the stakes, not wanting to see himself defeated.

Battle of Maloyaroslavets (1812)

Having learned about Napoleon's movement along the New Kaluga Road, Kutuzov sent the vanguard corps of General Dokhturov (15 thousand people) to cross the French army. He was supposed to block her path to Kaluga, where the Russians had huge reserves of weapons and food. On the morning of October 12, Dokhturov approached Maloyaroslavets and knocked out the French units that had occupied the city the night before. But a corps that soon arrived under the command of Prince Eugene of Beauharnais drove the Russians out of Maloyaroslavets. Subsequently, the battle unfolded as new forces approached from both sides, successively recapturing the city from each other. During the day, Maloyaroslavets changed hands 8 times. The fierce battle was ended by the 15th Italian division of General Pino, which arrived in the evening, thanks to which the city remained with the French for the night. They lost 5 thousand people that day, the Russians - 3 thousand people. The Battle of Maloyaroslavets was Napoleon's last offensive success in the campaign of 1812. It was not for nothing that the French fought so hard. They occupied an important strategic point, from where the fork of two roads began - to Kaluga (to the south) and Medyn (to the west). At night, Kutuzov’s army strengthened south of Maloyaroslavets. After much hesitation, Napoleon finally decided to attack it in the last hope of a victorious outcome of the campaign. But after an unsuccessful attempt on October 13 by the corps of General Poniatowski to break through to the west at Medyn, where he was repulsed by the cavalry detachment of General Ilovaisky, the emperor was afraid of a trap and did not dare to fight again with the Russian army. By the way, on this day, when leaving to inspect positions, Napoleon was almost captured by the Cossacks. Only the French squadrons that arrived in time saved the emperor and his retinue from the attacking horsemen. Nevertheless, the appearance of Cossack detachments near Napoleonic headquarters was an ominous sign of the weakening of the French army. The roads to Medyn and Maloyaroslavets were closed to them. On October 14, Napoleon gave the order to turn north and take the Smolensk road. In turn, Kutuzov, deciding that Poniatovsky wanted to go to his rear through Medyn, also began a retreat and took his army to the village of Detchino, and then to the Linen Plant. The Battle of Maloyaroslavets also had a deeper historical meaning. Here, in the words of Napoleonic general Segur, “the conquest of the world stopped” and “the great collapse of our happiness began.”

Expulsion of Napoleonic troops from Russia

Now the roles have changed. Napoleon avoided battles in every possible way and quickly went west along the Smolensk road, ravaged by the war and attacked by partisans. Given the complete absence of food warehouses here, the French logistics supply system finally collapsed, turning the retreat of Napoleon's army into a disaster. Kutuzov did not seek to attack the enemy. He walked with his army to the south, preventing a possible French breakthrough into the southern regions. The Russian commander took care of his soldiers, believing that now hunger and winter would complete the defeat of the Great Army better than any battles. At that time, a plan had already been developed to encircle Napoleon beyond the Dnieper with the forces of the corps of General Peter Wittgenstein from the north and the 3rd and Danube armies, which came from the south, led by Admiral Pavel Chichagov.

Battle of Polotsk and Chashnikov (1812)

Wittgenstein's corps (50 thousand people) received reinforcements and went on the offensive against the corps of Marshal Saint-Cyr (30 thousand people) defending Polotsk. In the battle of October 8-11, the Russians took Polotsk. Then, having crossed the Western Dvina, they began to pursue the defeated French formations. The victory at Polotsk created a flank threat to Napoleon's army. This forced him to send the corps of Marshal Victor, who had arrived from Poland, to help Saint-Cyr, which was initially intended to reinforce Napoleonic troops on the Kaluga road. On October 19, Wittgenstein continued the offensive and attacked Saint-Cyr's corps in the Chashniki area, on the Ulla River. The Russians managed to push back the French. But having learned about the approach of Victor’s new corps to Saint-Cyr, Wittgenstein stopped the onslaught. Saint-Cyr and Victor were also inactive. But soon they received Napoleon's order to push the Russians back beyond the Dvina. Thus, the French emperor sought to clear another, safer escape route for his army through Polotsk and Lepel. On November 2, the corps of Saint-Cyr and Victor (46 thousand people) attacked the corps of Wittgenstein (45 thousand people). They managed to push the Russian vanguard back to Chashniki. But in a stubborn battle near the village of Smolnya, which changed hands more than once, the French were stopped. Having lost 3 thousand people, Saint-Cyr and Victor were forced to retreat to join the main forces of Napoleonic army. The victory at Chashnikov provided Wittgenstein with the opportunity to cut off the communications of the Great Army retreating from Russia.

Battle of Vyazma (1812)

The first major battle of the Russians with Napoleon's retreating army was the battle of Vyazma on October 22. Here, detachments of the Russian army under the command of General Miloradovich and Don Ataman Platov (25 thousand people) defeated 4 French corps (37 thousand people in total). Despite the overall numerical superiority of the French, the Russians had superiority in cavalry (almost twice). The fighting spirit of the Russian soldiers, who wanted to expel the invaders from their native land as quickly as possible, was also significantly higher. Having cut off the retreat of Davout’s corps at Vyazma, Miloradovich and Platov tried to destroy it. The corps of Beauharnais and Poniatowski came to the aid of their own, which allowed Davout to break through the encirclement. The French then retreated to the heights near the city, where Ney’s corps was located, and tried to organize a defense. But in a battle with the Russian vanguard they were defeated. In the evening, the burning Vyazma was taken by storm. Here, partisan detachments under the command of captains Seslavin and Figner distinguished themselves, who were among the first to break into the burning city. The French lost 8.5 thousand people in the battle of Vyazma. (killed, wounded and captured). The damage to the Russians is about 2 thousand people. The defeat of the best French formations caused a moral breakdown of Napoleonic troops and forced them to accelerate their withdrawal from Russia.

Battle of Red (1812)

On October 27, Napoleon's main forces reached Smolensk, where they plundered the remaining warehouses. Due to the threat of encirclement and the complete disorganization of his army, the number of which had been reduced to 60 thousand people, Napoleon decided to leave Smolensk on October 31. Leaving the city, the French army stretched for almost 60 km. Its vanguard was approaching Krasnoye, and its rearguard was just leaving Smolensk. Kutuzov took advantage of this. On November 3, he sent the vanguard of General Miloradovich (16 thousand people) to Krasny. He fired artillery fire at the French troops marching along the Smolensk road, then attacked them and, cutting off the rear columns, captured up to 2 thousand people. The next day, Miloradovich fought all day with the Beauharnais corps, capturing 1.5 thousand prisoners from him. In this battle, Miloradovich, pointing out the grenadiers of the Pavlovsk regiment to the approaching French, uttered his famous phrase: “I give you these columns!” On November 5, the main forces of both armies entered the battle of Krasnoye. Kutuzov’s plan was to gradually cut off French units on the road with attacks from the south and destroy them piece by piece. For this purpose, two strike groups were allocated under the command of generals Tormasov and Golitsyn. During a fierce battle, in which Miloradovich’s detachment also took part, the Russians inflicted heavy damage on the Young Guard and the corps of Davout and Ney. Nevertheless, it was not possible to completely eliminate the French army. Part of it, led by Napoleon, managed to break through and continued to retreat to the Berezina. The French lost 32 thousand people in the battle of Krasny. (of which 26 thousand were prisoners), as well as almost all of their artillery. Russian losses amounted to 2 thousand people. This battle became the largest success of the Russian army since the beginning of the campaign. For Red Kutuzov received the title of Prince of Smolensk.

Battle of the Berezina (1812)

After Red, the ring around Napoleonic troops began to shrink. Wittgenstein's corps (50 thousand people) approached from the north, and Chichagov's army (60 thousand people) approached from the south. At the Berezina they were preparing to close ranks and cut off Napoleon’s escape route from Russia. On November 9, Chichagov’s units approached the Berezina and occupied the city of Borisov. But they were soon knocked out of there by the French corps of Marshal Oudinot. The Russians retreated to the right bank of the river and blew up the bridge. Thus, the crossing on the main road along which Napoleon’s army was retreating was destroyed. The Berezina had not yet frozen, and the French were trapped. On November 13, Napoleon’s main forces approached the Berezina, which, with the added corps of Victor, Saint-Cyr and a number of other units, numbered up to 75 thousand people. In this critical situation, when every minute mattered, Napoleon acted quickly and decisively. South of Borisov there was another crossing. Napoleon sent Oudinot's corps there. The French emperor sought to make the Russian commander believe that he would cross there to retreat to Minsk. Meanwhile, Kutuzov’s main army, marching towards Minsk, was moving to the area south of Borisov. A meeting with her could have ended in ruin for Napoleon. He sought to go northwest of Minsk, to Vilna. To do this, 15 km north of Borisov, near the village of Studenka, the Polish lancers found a ford, where French sappers built temporary bridges. Napoleon began crossing along them on November 14. The demonstration of Oudinot's body was a success. Chichagov, leaving part of his troops at Borisov, set off with the main forces down the river. For two days, the French crossed, repelling the attacks of scattered detachments of Wittgenstein and Chichagov. On November 15, vanguard pursuit units sent by Kutuzov under the command of Ataman Platov and General Ermolov burst into Borisov. Kutuzov himself was in no hurry to the Berezina, hoping that even without him there would be enough forces there to eliminate the French army. When Chichagov finally returned to Borisov, Napoleonic troops had already entrenched themselves on the right bank of the river. On November 16, a fierce battle began on both sides of the Berezina. Chichagov tried to push back the French units covering the Studenko crossing on the right bank. Wittgenstein attacked the corps of Marshal Victor, who was staunchly covering the crossing on the left bank. The wooded area impeded the maneuverability of the cavalry. All day until 11 o'clock at night there was a stubborn frontal rifle battle, which cost heavy losses for both sides and became the culmination of the battle. Due to the low capacity of the built bridges, the huge concentration of people and convoys, panic and the increasing onslaught of the Russians, only one third of the troops (25 thousand people) managed to break through to the west, towards Vilno. The rest (about 50 thousand people) died in battle, froze, drowned or were captured. Fearing that the crossing would be captured by the Russians, Napoleon ordered its destruction, abandoning a mass of his troops on the left bank. Contemporaries noted that in some places the river was filled to the brim with corpses of people and horses. The Russians lost 4 thousand people in this battle. After the Berezina, the main forces of Napoleonic army in Russia ceased to exist.

During the campaign of 1812, the personnel of the French army, which France could subsequently only dream of, disappeared. In 1813-1814, the veterans of the Moscow campaign who escaped on the Berezina accounted for less than 5% of Napoleon’s army (a considerable part of them were blocked in the Danzig fortress, which surrendered in December 1813). After 1812, Napoleon had a completely different army. With her he could only delay his final downfall. Soon after the Berezina, Napoleon left the remnants of his army and went to France to gather new troops. At this time, severe frosts struck, accelerating the liquidation of Napoleonic troops. Marshal Murat, abandoned by the commander-in-chief, transferred only the pitiful remnants of the Great Army across the frozen Neman in mid-December. This is how Napoleon’s attempt to defeat Russia ended ingloriously. History does not know many examples of such military disasters. In his report, M.I. Kutuzov summed up the results of the campaign this way. “Napoleon entered with 480 thousand, and withdrew about 20 thousand, leaving at least 150,000 prisoners and 850 guns.” The death toll in Russian troops was 120 thousand people. Of these, 46 thousand were killed and died from wounds. The rest died of disease, mainly during the period of Napoleon's persecution.

The Patriotic War of 1812 began on June 12 - on this day Napoleon's troops crossed the Neman River, unleashing wars between the two crowns of France and Russia. This war lasted until December 14, 1812, ending with the complete and unconditional victory of the Russian and allied forces. This is a glorious page of Russian history, which we will consider with reference to the official history textbooks of Russia and France, as well as to the books of bibliographers Napoleon, Alexander 1 and Kutuzov, who describe in great detail the events taking place at that moment.

Beginning of the war

Causes of the War of 1812

The causes of the Patriotic War of 1812, like all other wars in the history of mankind, must be considered in two aspects - the causes on the part of France and the causes on the part of Russia.

Reasons from France

In just a few years, Napoleon radically changed his own ideas about Russia. If, having come to power, he wrote that Russia was his only ally, then by 1812 Russia had become a threat to France (consider the emperor) a threat. In many ways, this was provoked by Alexander 1 himself. So, this is why France attacked Russia in June 1812:

1. Violation of the Tilsit agreements: easing of the continental blockade. As you know, the main enemy of France at that time was England, against which the blockade was organized. Russia also participated in this, but in 1810 the government passed a law allowing trade with England through intermediaries. This effectively rendered the entire blockade ineffective, which completely undermined France's plans.
2. Refusals in dynastic marriage. Napoleon sought to marry into the Russian imperial court in order to become “God’s anointed.” However, in 1808 he was denied marriage to Princess Catherine. In 1810 he was denied marriage to Princess Anna. As a result, in 1811 the French emperor married an Austrian princess.
3. Transfer of Russian troops to the border with Poland in 1811. In the first half of 1811, Alexander 1 ordered the transfer of 3 divisions to the Polish borders, fearing an uprising of Poland, which could spread to Russian lands. This step was regarded by Napoleon as aggression and preparation for war for Polish territories, which by that time were already subordinate to France.

Soldiers! A new, second Polish war begins! The first ended in Tilsit. There, Russia promised to be an eternal ally for France in the war with England, but broke its promise. The Russian emperor does not want to give explanations for his actions until the French eagles cross the Rhine. Do they really think that we have become different? Are we really not the winners of Austerlitz? Russia presented France with a choice - shame or war. The choice is obvious! Let's go ahead, let's cross the Neman! The second Polish howl will be glorious for French arms. She will bring a messenger to the destructive influence of Russia on European affairs.

Thus began a war of conquest for France.

Reasons from Russia

Russia also had compelling reasons for participating in the war, which turned out to be a liberation war for the state. The main reasons include the following:

1. Large losses for all segments of the population from the break in trade with England. The opinions of historians on this point differ, since it is believed that the blockade did not affect the state as a whole, but exclusively its elite, who, as a result of the lack of opportunity to trade with England, lost money.
2. France's intention to recreate the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1807, Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw and sought to recreate the ancient state in its true size. Perhaps this was only in the event of the seizure of its western lands from Russia.
3. Napoleon's violation of the Peace of Tilsit. One of the main criteria for signing this agreement was that Prussia should be cleared of French troops, but this was never done, although Alexander 1 constantly reminded about this.

For a long time, France has been trying to encroach on Russia's independence. We always tried to be meek, hoping to deflect her attempts to seize us. With all our desire to maintain peace, we are forced to gather troops to defend our Motherland. There are no possibilities for a peaceful resolution of the conflict with France, which means there is only one thing left - to defend the truth, to defend Russia from invaders. I don't need to remind commanders and soldiers about courage, it's in our hearts. The blood of the victors, the blood of the Slavs, flows in our veins. Soldiers! You defend the country, defend the religion, defend the fatherland. I'm with you. God is with us.

Balance of forces and means at the beginning of the war

Napoleon's crossing of the Neman occurred on June 12, with 450 thousand people at his disposal. Around the end of the month, another 200 thousand people joined him. If we take into account that by that time there were no large losses on both sides, then the total number of the French army at the start of hostilities in 1812 was 650 thousand soldiers. It is impossible to say that the French made up 100% of the army, since the combined army of almost all European countries fought on the side of France (France, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Prussia, Spain, Holland). However, it was the French who formed the basis of the army. These were proven soldiers who had won many victories with their emperor.

Russia after mobilization had 590 thousand soldiers. Initially, the army numbered 227 thousand people, and they were divided on three fronts:

• Northern - First Army. Commander - Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Toli. Number of people: 120 thousand people. They were located in the north of Lithuania and covered St. Petersburg.
• Central - Second Army. Commander - Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration. Number of people: 49 thousand people. They were located in the south of Lithuania, covering Moscow.
• Southern - Third Army. Commander - Alexander Petrovich Tormasov. Number of people: 58 thousand people. They were located in Volyn, covering the attack on Kyiv.

Also in Russia, partisan detachments were active, the number of which reached 400 thousand people.

The first stage of the war - The offensive of Napoleon's troops (June-September)

At 6 o'clock in the morning on June 12, 1812, the Patriotic War with Napoleonic France began for Russia. Napoleon's troops crossed the Neman and headed inland. The main direction of the attack was supposed to be on Moscow. The commander himself said that “if I capture Kyiv, I will lift the Russians by the feet, if I capture St. Petersburg, I will take them by the throat, if I take Moscow, I will strike the heart of Russia.”

The French army, commanded by brilliant commanders, was looking for a general battle, and the fact that Alexander 1 divided the army into 3 fronts was very beneficial to the aggressors. However, at the initial stage, Barclay de Toly played a decisive role, who gave the order not to engage in battle with the enemy and to retreat deeper into the country. This was necessary to combine forces, as well as to strengthen reserves. Retreating, the Russians destroyed everything - they killed livestock, poisoned water, burned fields. In the literal sense of the word, the French moved forward through the ashes. Later, Napoleon complained that the Russian people were carrying out a vile war and did not behave according to the rules.

Northern direction

Napoleon sent 32 thousand people led by General MacDonald to St. Petersburg. The first city on this route was Riga. According to the French plan, MacDonald was supposed to capture the city. Connect with General Oudinot (he had 28 thousand people at his disposal) and move on.

The defense of Riga was commanded by General Essen with 18 thousand soldiers. He burned everything around the city, and the city itself was very well fortified. By this time, MacDonald had captured Dinaburg (the Russians abandoned the city at the beginning of the war) and did not take further active action. He understood the absurdity of the assault on Riga and waited for the arrival of artillery.

General Oudinot occupied Polotsk and from there tried to separate Wittenstein's corps from the army of Barclay de Toly. However, on July 18, Wittenstein launched an unexpected blow on Oudinot, who was saved from defeat only by Saint-Cyr's corps, which arrived in time. As a result, balance came and no more active offensive operations were carried out in the northern direction.

South direction

General Ranier with an army of 22 thousand people was supposed to act in the young direction, blocking the army of General Tormasov, preventing it from connecting with the rest of the Russian army.

On July 27, Tormasov surrounded the city of Kobrin, where Ranier’s main forces gathered. The French suffered a terrible defeat - in 1 day 5 thousand people were killed in the battle, which forced the French to retreat. Napoleon realized that the southern direction in the Patriotic War of 1812 was in danger of failure. Therefore, he transferred General Schwarzenberg’s troops there, numbering 30 thousand people. As a result of this, on August 12, Tormasov was forced to retreat to Lutsk and take up defense there. Subsequently, the French did not undertake active offensive actions in the southern direction. The main events took place in the Moscow direction.

The course of events of the offensive company

On June 26, the army of General Bagration advanced from Vitebsk, whose task Alexander 1 set to engage in battle with the main forces of the enemy in order to wear them down. Everyone realized the absurdity of this idea, but only by July 17 was it possible to finally dissuade the emperor from this idea. The troops began to retreat to Smolensk.

On July 6, the large number of Napoleon's troops became clear. To prevent the Patriotic War from dragging on for a long time, Alexander 1 signed a decree on the creation of a militia. Literally all residents of the country are enrolled in it - there are about 400 thousand volunteers in total.

On July 22, the armies of Bagration and Barclay de Tolly united near Smolensk. The command of the united army was taken over by Barclay de Tolly, who had 130 thousand soldiers at his disposal, while the front line of the French army numbered 150 thousand soldiers.

On July 25, a military council was held in Smolensk, at which the issue of accepting the battle was discussed in order to launch a counteroffensive and defeat Napoleon with one blow. But Barclay spoke out against this idea, realizing that an open battle with an enemy, a brilliant strategist and tactician, could lead to a monumental failure. As a result, the offensive idea was not implemented. It was decided to retreat further - to Moscow.

On July 26, the retreat of the troops began, which General Neverovsky was supposed to cover by occupying the village of Krasnoye, thereby closing the bypass of Smolensk for Napoleon.

On August 2, Murat with a cavalry corps tried to break through the defenses of Neverovsky, but to no avail. In total, more than 40 attacks were launched with the help of cavalry, but it was not possible to achieve the desired result.

August 5 is one of the important dates in the Patriotic War of 1812. Napoleon began the assault on Smolensk, capturing the suburbs by evening. However, at night he was driven out of the city, and the Russian army continued its massive retreat from the city. This caused a storm of discontent among the soldiers. They believed that if they managed to drive the French out of Smolensk, then it was necessary to destroy it there. They accused Barclay of cowardice, but the general implemented only one plan - to wear down the enemy and take a decisive battle when the balance of forces was on the side of Russia. By this time, the French had all the advantage.

On August 17, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov arrived in the army and took command. This candidacy did not raise any questions, since Kutuzov (a student of Suvorov) was highly respected and was considered the best Russian commander after the death of Suvorov. Having arrived in the army, the new commander-in-chief wrote that he had not yet decided what to do next: “The question has not yet been resolved - either lose the army, or give up Moscow.”

On August 26, the Battle of Borodino took place. Its outcome still raises many questions and disputes, but there were no losers then. Each commander solved his own problems: Napoleon opened his way to Moscow (the heart of Russia, as the Emperor of France himself wrote), and Kutuzov was able to inflict heavy damage on the enemy, thereby making the initial turning point in the battle of 1812.

September 1 is a significant day, which is described in all history textbooks. A military council was held in Fili, near Moscow. Kutuzov gathered his generals to decide what to do next. There were only two options: retreat and surrender Moscow, or organize a second general battle after Borodino. Most of the generals, on the wave of success, demanded a battle in order to defeat Napoleon as soon as possible. Kutuzov himself and Barclay de Tolly opposed this development of events. The military council in Fili ended with Kutuzov’s phrase “As long as there is an army, there is hope. If we lose the army near Moscow, we will lose not only the ancient capital, but also all of Russia.”

September 2 - following the results of the military council of generals, which took place in Fili, it was decided that it was necessary to leave the ancient capital. The Russian army retreated, and Moscow itself, before the arrival of Napoleon, according to many sources, was subjected to terrible looting. However, this is not even the main thing. Retreating, the Russian army set the city on fire. Wooden Moscow burned down almost three-quarters. The most important thing is that literally all food warehouses were destroyed. The reasons for the Moscow fire lie in the fact that the French would not get anything that could be used by the enemies for food, movement or in other aspects. As a result, the aggressor troops found themselves in a very precarious position.

The second stage of the war - Napoleon's retreat (October - December)

Having occupied Moscow, Napoleon considered the mission completed. The commander's bibliographers later wrote that he was faithful - the loss of the historical center of Rus' would break the victorious spirit, and the country's leaders had to come to him asking for peace. But this did not happen. Kutuzov settled down with his army 80 kilometers from Moscow near Tarutin and waited until the enemy army, deprived of normal supplies, weakened and itself made a radical change in the Patriotic War. Without waiting for a peace offer from Russia, the French emperor himself took the initiative.

Napoleon's quest for peace

According to Napoleon's original plan, the capture of Moscow was to be decisive. Here it was possible to establish a convenient bridgehead, including for a campaign against St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia. However, the delay in moving around Russia and the heroism of the people, who fought for literally every piece of land, practically thwarted this plan. After all, a trip to the north of Russia in winter for the French army with irregular food supplies actually amounted to death. This became clearly clear towards the end of September, when it began to get colder. Subsequently, Napoleon wrote in his autobiography that his biggest mistake was the campaign against Moscow and the month spent there.

Realizing the gravity of his situation, the French emperor and commander decided to end the Patriotic War of Russia by signing a peace treaty with it. Three such attempts were made:

1. September 18. A message was sent through General Tutolmin to Alexander 1, which stated that Napoleon revered the Russian emperor and offered him peace. All he demands from Russia is to give up the territory of Lithuania and return to the continental blockade again.
2. September 20. Alexander 1 received a second letter from Napoleon with a peace proposal. The conditions offered were the same as before. The Russian emperor did not respond to these messages.
3. The 4th of October. The hopelessness of the situation led to Napoleon literally begging for peace. This is what he writes to Alexander 1 (according to the major French historian F. Segur): “I need peace, I need it, at all costs, just save your honor.” This proposal was delivered to Kutuzov, but the Emperor of France never received a response.

Retreat of the French army in the autumn-winter of 1812

It became obvious to Napoleon that he would not be able to sign a peace treaty with Russia, and that staying for the winter in Moscow, which the Russians had burned while retreating, was reckless. Moreover, it was impossible to stay here, since constant raids by militias caused great damage to the army. So, during the month that the French army was in Moscow, its strength decreased by 30 thousand people. As a result, the decision was made to retreat.

On October 7, preparations began for the retreat of the French army. One of the orders on this occasion was to blow up the Kremlin. Fortunately, this idea did not work out for him. Russian historians attribute this to the fact that due to high humidity, the wicks got wet and failed.

On October 19, the retreat of Napoleon's army from Moscow began. The purpose of this retreat was to reach Smolensk, since it was the only major nearby city that had significant food supplies. The road went through Kaluga, but Kutuzov blocked this direction. Now the advantage was on the side of the Russian army, so Napoleon decided to bypass. However, Kutuzov foresaw this maneuver and met the enemy army at Maloyaroslavets.

On October 24, the battle of Maloyaroslavets took place. During the day, this small town passed from one side to the other 8 times. In the final stage of the battle, Kutuzov managed to take fortified positions, and Napoleon did not dare to storm them, since the numerical superiority was already on the side of the Russian army. As a result, the French plans were thwarted, and they had to retreat to Smolensk along the same road along which they went to Moscow. It was already a scorched land - without food and without water.

Napoleon's retreat was accompanied by heavy losses. Indeed, in addition to clashes with Kutuzov’s army, we also had to deal with partisan detachments that daily attacked the enemy, especially his rear units. Napoleon's losses were terrible. On November 9, he managed to capture Smolensk, but this did not bring a fundamental change in the course of the war. There was practically no food in the city, and it was not possible to organize a reliable defense. As a result, the army was subjected to almost continuous attacks by militias and local patriots. Therefore, Napoleon stayed in Smolensk for 4 days and decided to retreat further.

Crossing the Berezina River

The French were heading to the Berezina River (in modern Belarus) to cross the river and cross to the Neman. But on November 16, General Chichagov captured the city of Borisov, which is located on the Berezina. Napoleon's situation became catastrophic - for the first time, the possibility of being captured was actively looming for him, since he was surrounded.

On November 25, by order of Napoleon, the French army began to imitate a crossing south of Borisov. Chichagov bought into this maneuver and began transferring troops. At this point, the French built two bridges across the Berezina and began crossing on November 26-27. Only on November 28, Chichagov realized his mistake and tried to give battle to the French army, but it was too late - the crossing was completed, albeit at the loss of a huge number of human lives. 21 thousand French died while crossing the Berezina! The “Grand Army” now consisted of only 9 thousand soldiers, most of whom were no longer capable of combat.

It was during this crossing that unusually severe frosts occurred, to which the French emperor referred, justifying huge losses. The 29th bulletin, which was published in one of the newspapers in France, said that until November 10 the weather was normal, but after that very severe cold came, for which no one was prepared.

Crossing the Neman (from Russia to France)

The crossing of the Berezina showed that Napoleon's Russian campaign was over - he lost the Patriotic War in Russia in 1812. Then the emperor decided that his further stay with the army did not make sense and on December 5 he left his troops and headed to Paris.

On December 16, in Kovno, the French army crossed the Neman and left Russian territory. Its strength was only 1,600 people. The invincible army, which terrified all of Europe, was almost completely destroyed by Kutuzov's army in less than 6 months.

Below is a graphical representation of Napoleon's retreat on the map.

Results of the Patriotic War of 1812

The Patriotic War between Russia and Napoleon was of great importance for all countries involved in the conflict. Largely thanks to these events, England's undivided dominance in Europe became possible. This development was foreseen by Kutuzov, who, after the flight of the French army in December, sent a report to Alexander 1, where he explained to the ruler that the war needed to be ended immediately, and the pursuit of the enemy and the liberation of Europe would be beneficial to strengthening the power of England. But Alexander did not listen to the advice of his commander and soon began a campaign abroad.

Reasons for Napoleon's defeat in the war

When determining the main reasons for the defeat of Napoleonic army, it is necessary to dwell on the most important ones, which are most often used by historians:

• A strategic mistake by the Emperor of France, who sat in Moscow for 30 days and waited for representatives of Alexander 1 with pleas for peace. As a result, it began to get colder and provisions ran out, and constant raids by partisan movements brought a turning point in the war.
• Unity of the Russian people. As usual, in the face of great danger, the Slavs unite. It was the same this time. For example, the historian Lieven writes that the main reason for the defeat of France lies in the massive nature of the war. Everyone fought for the Russians - women and children. And all this was ideologically justified, which made the morale of the army very strong. The Emperor of France did not break him.
• The reluctance of Russian generals to accept a decisive battle. Most historians forget about this, but what would have happened to Bagration’s army if he had accepted a general battle at the beginning of the war, as Alexander 1 really wanted? 60 thousand of Bagration’s army against 400 thousand of the aggressor army. It would have been an unconditional victory, and they would hardly have had time to recover from it. Therefore, the Russian people must express words of gratitude to Barclay de Tolly, who, by his decision, gave the order for the retreat and unification of the armies.
• The genius of Kutuzov. The Russian general, who received excellent training from Suvorov, did not make a single tactical miscalculation. It is noteworthy that Kutuzov never managed to defeat his enemy, but managed to tactically and strategically win the Patriotic War.
• General Frost is used as an excuse. To be fair, it must be said that the frost did not have any significant impact on the final result, since at the time the abnormal frosts began (mid-November), the outcome of the confrontation was decided - the great army was destroyed.