The peace between France and Russia in 1807 lasted for five years but was not satisfactory to either side. The Tilsit settlement was thought of by Napoleon as no more than a convenient truce. In 1807 he had been in no position to invade Russia but there was no way that he could tolerate another European power for very long. Napoleon felt that a war with Russia was necessary ?for crushing England by crushing the only power still strong enough him any trouble by joining her.?
Napoleon began preparing for the war. He secured the support of Austria and Prussia since even though neither was in any position to refuse. Emperor Francis of Austria provided 34,000 men to cover the French but sent secret messages to St. Petersburg assuring Alexander that Austrian hostilities would be kept to a minimum. Prussia though was placed in a less fortunate position. With Berlin occupied by French and most of their 1807 debt to be paid it had no alternative but to provide 25,000 men and supply quarters and rations for the entire army. The rest of Napoleon?s Grand Army came from the many countries under his direct control. The Kingdom of Italy sent 45,000 men, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw 35,000. The Kingdoms of Bavaria, Saxony and Westphalia each sent 17,000 men and there were many additions from various other nations under Napoleon?s control. In all the army totaled to 600,000 men.
While Napoleon had an enormous army he made though inadequate preparations for supplying the troops. The provisions that he arranged for were not intended to provide all that the troops would need as they fought their way to Moscow. This was because Napoleon visualized a short campaign ending in a decisive victory. In a speech to his troops on June 22 he announced that ?In less than two months time the Russians will be asking for peace.? His main striking force consisted of 235,000 men. Two smaller forces, each of 70,000 men and commanded by Eugene Beauharna and Jerome Bonaparte, were back on his right, and the wings were covered by Prussian and Austrian troops. The attacking force alone consisted of 375,000 men with more than 100,000 horses and would be advancing on a narrow front. Where after the first wave of men and horses had passed there would not be a blade of grass left to feed those who followed. In the space between the Klaipeda and the Pripet marshes lay two Russian armies. Barclay de Tolly’s First Army of the West, which consisted of 110,000 strong men, was around Vilna and to their left was Prince Bagration?s Second Army of the West, which consisted of 60,000 men. The Third Army of the West under Tormasov consisted of 45,000 men that were mostly recruits. It was stationed to the south of the marshes, and had the task of keeping the Austrians under observation. There were also many other Russian armies being formed and larger armies from Finland and Romania were marching towards the Polish front. In the summer of 1812 though only the 215,00 men from the three Armies of the West were available to fight against the half million of the Grand Army.
The Essay on Napoleonic War Napoleon Wellington Troops
Motivated by his desire to make France an empire in Europe, Napoleon established himself as Emperor of France in 1804. In order to make his empire the most powerful in Europe, Napoleon wished to conquer surrounding countries. Feeling threatened and ready to defend them, Britain declared war on France in 1803. For the next 12 years Britain and the Allied troops fought "Napoleonic Wars" against ...
Napoleon’s plan was to separate Barclay’s army from Bagration and to defeat Barclay while Eugene and Jerome kept Bagration busy. The Czar had adopted a plan made by Ernst von Phull, a Prussian colonel. His plan was more of a defensive strategy. He planned that Barclay would fall back 150 miles to the town of Drissa on the East Bank of the Dvina River. There, Barclay?s army would remain in a camp fortified and entrenched and wait for Napoleon. The Czar gave Barclay the task of coordinating the movements of the First and Second Armies according to the plan. Bagration (commander of the Second Army) though was a higher-ranking officer than Barclay and did not want to listen to anything Barclay had to say. This produced some problems in the future. On June 24th the French crossed the Niemen River into Russian territory and were unopposed. After four days Napoleon reached Vilna and even though no battles had been fought yet he declared ?My maneuvers have disconcerted the Russians, before a month has passed they will be on their knees to me.? Already though there was a food shortage and 5,000 horses died from being fed green rye. 100 guns and 500 ammunition wagons had to be abandoned.
The Essay on Napoleon Army Russian 000
It was December 2, 1804, with over 400 musicians and singers performing. The world famous cathedral, Notre Dame, was filled. All eyes were set upon Napoleon Bonaparte. This Corsican native slowly ascended the steps to the alter alone, sizing the crown with his own hands. He held it aloft and brought it to rest on his head. Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France that day. Napoleon was an ...
Barclay fell back as planned but when he reached the camp in Drissa he found that it was too small and would be difficult to defend. Napoleon meanwhile was traveling through the gap between the two Russian armies and was marching toward Vitebsk. There Napoleon was 280 miles from his main camp but there was no decisive battle to be fought which was the basis of his plan and he was also already far beyond the reach of his supply train. He was faced with many problems at this time. The wagons carrying the supplies were built for hard roads and were not appropriate for traveling across the Russian terrain. Half of the horses the army began with were already sick or dead and the infantry were not in good condition.
At this point Napoleon had two options. He could wait at Vitebsk for a battle or he could continue traveling seeking a battle. Napoleon himself wanted to go on looking for a fight but his many officers advised him not to. On August 8th though, Cossacks attacked some French cavalry at Inkovo. This was more than enough to convince Napoleon that the Russians wanted a fight. He decided to continue the advance, going deeper into Russian territory. When he reached Smolensk Napoleon had almost succeeded in forcing a major battle with Barclay and Bagration. Barclay was held under a lot of pressure from the senior officers to stop retreating. Finally, Barclay agreed to counter-attack Napoleon with the First and Second Armies from Smolensk. The tension between Bagration and Barclay was high, thereby creating coordination problems. At Smolensk, Barclay?s army was anxiously guarding the city?s right side. Napoleon though swung around to the Russian’s left side, crossed the Dnieper River and attacked the city from the south. A courageous rearguard action by a group of 9,500 Russian soldiers under General Neverovsky gained enough time for the First and Second Western Armies to unite in the city and hear Barclay?s command.
The Term Paper on Military School Napoleon France Army
The Hundred Days counts the approximate number of days that Napoleon came back into power after having been exiled. The Treaty of Fontainebleau had given to him sovereignty over the island of Elba and his title of emperor, along with an annual pension of two million francs. He had retired there on the 20 of April 1814, after his well-awaited abdication. Louis XVIII was put into power right away, ...
Bargation and most of the generals were determined to make a stand but Barclay disagreed with them. He recognized that his heavily outnumbered army would be destroyed in a battle and insisted on a retreat. He overrode the generals? decision to stand and ordered a retreat on August 17th. For the other Russian Generals this was the last straw. They dispatched an ultimatum to the Czar in St. Petersburg demanding the dismissal of Barclay from First and Second Army coordinator. As it turned out Alexander had already decided to appoint 67 year-old Kutusov to the supreme command position. Alexander disliked and distrusted Kutusov but knew that he was greatly admired by the Russian generals as well as the army. In Smolensk the French found lots of supplies so Napoleon ordered his troops to stop and rest. The decision did not stand for very long though. Murat, the commander of the advance guard reported, with very little evidence, that the Russians were making a stand. Once more the hope of a decisive victory drew Napoleon forward. On August 29 though the Russian army was still retreating and Kutusov (the new commander-in-chief) joined them west of Gzhatsk. He continued Barclay?s policy of retreating until September 3rd, when he reached a defensive position near Borodino. He was joined by reinforcements to give him equality in numbers with Napoleon. With the fresh troops he decided to no longer postpone the major battle with the French.
Napoleon attacked the Borodino position on September 7th. The “Battle of Moskva,” as the French called it, was one of the bloodiest fought before the twentieth century. Kutusov stationed himself to the rear and left the tactical control to Barclay and Bagration, both of which didn?t cooperate with each other at all. Napoleon?s battle plan was to have a series of frontal attacks. Once most of Kutusov?s positions had been stormed though, Napoleon became sluggish. He refused to commit the Imperial Guard to make a final thrust which might have given him the overwhelming victory he needed so badly. Bravery was shown by the troops on both sides but the carelessness on the part of their Generals was evident in the casualty lists. The French lost 30,000 men, the Russians 44,000 including Prince Bagration who died of wounds. The Russians though were clearly more able to handle their major loss. They had unlimited reserves of manpower behind them while Napoleon was 500 miles from his base and 1,500 from his country.
The Essay on Napoleon Resume French France Education
Napoleons Resume"1769 - 1821"Date of Birth- August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Education- elementary education at a boys's chool in Ajaccio, young Napoleon was sent in January 1779 with his older brother Joseph to the College of Autun in the duchy of Burgundy. In May of the same year he was transferred to the more fashionable College of Brienne. At Brienne, Napoleon ...
Napoleon though was now driven forward by the belief that the capture of Russia?s capital city, Moscow, would end the war. In a speech to his troops Napoleon said that ?Peace lies in Moscow. When the Great Russian nobles see us masters of their capital they will think twice before continuing the war.? Kutusov realized that any defense of the city against Napoleon would be senseless. He declared in a message to Alexander that ?I see my first duty as the preservation of the army. The loss of Moscow does not mean the loss of Russia.? With that he withdrew his forces and told the citizens of Moscow to begin evacuating. The French entered a deserted Moscow on September 14th without further fighting. That evening though the city caught fire and burned until rains put the flames out six days later. About a sixth of the buildings were destroyed. From Moscow Napoleon sent peace proposals to the Czar. He received no reply from Alexander who promised his army that he would never go through with any peace treaty with Napoleon, which left Napoleon with three options. First, he could stay in Moscow and hope that the army, which had no winter clothing, could find enough food and supplies to last through the Russian winter. Even though a lot of food had been found in Moscow it was clear that it wouldn?t last till spring. Second, he could retreat to Poland or some place in Russia where he was closer to his supply trains and depots. He feared though that a retreat would degrade himself and his prestige and would tempt Austria and Prussia to break away from him. The third option was to go south and head for Ukraine. If he did this though he would not avoid a confrontation against the growing Russian army. He would have to face and defeat Kutusov if this was to be successful. Faced with these unattractive options Napoleon decided to wait and hope for a reply from the Czar.
The Essay on Dr Zhivago Movie Russian Troops
Doctor Zhivago is a historically accurate movie. It is a love story that takes place during the Russian Revolution, World War One, and the Russian Civil War. Doctor Zhivago is historically correct because of the events it represents, the people the actors portray, and the level of detail put into the setting. At the beginning of the movie, there is a scene showing a man handing out fly ers asking ...
While the French were sitting in Moscow the Russian army was retreating to Tarutino, 50 miles from Moscow. This retreat made Kutusov as unpopular among the Russian generals as Barclay was at Smolensk. He was accused of cowardice and of being on the French side. Kutusov knew though that Napoleon must retreat and that the later Napoleon did, the more damage there would be done to the French army. He was persuaded though to mount a limited attack against Murat?s advanced cavalry, which was carelessly encamped at Vinkovo. Kutusov organized a night attack, which completely surprised Murat?s forces. They lost 2,500 men and 38 guns. Three days earlier, on October 15th Napoleon gave orders for the evacuation of Moscow to take place on October 20th. Napoleon?s intention was to put his army into winter quarters in the Smolensk, Vitebsk, and Minsk areas where there were enormous amounts of supplies that were guarded by the troops of Marshal Victor. His orders were for the move to take place on the Kaluga road because the direct road was already stripped bare of all provisions. Murat?s defeat at Vinkovo pressured him to put the evacuation forward by one day. On October 19th hundreds of troops, led by the advance guard of Prince Eugene and his Italian troops, poured out of Moscow in ?Three Great Columns? and began moving towards Smolensk. The Russian general?s first assumed that the move of Prince Eugene was no more than an unusually strong expedition and to leave it alone. They later though discovered what it really was and decided to move against it, and after a day of fighting Kutusov held the French army at Maloyaroslavets on October 24th. Napoleon realized that here was the opportunity of fighting the decisive battle, which he had originally wanted. Now thought that it was offered to him he could not afford the risk. Another battle like Borodino would destroy his army. He decided to go towards the main road even though his army could starve that way.
Since Kutusov also had decided not to fight at Maloyaroslavets the strategic direction of the Russian armies was taken from him and given to Alexander. From St. Petersburg the Czar made a plan to surround and crush the Grand Army. From the north, General Wittgenstein with troops that had been guarding St. Petersburg and troops from Finland was going to block the gap between the Dvina and Bersina rivers. From the south, Admiral Tchitchagov with the Third Army and 35,00 troops from Danube was going to take control of the line of Bersina, therefore blocking the French retreat. Kutusov?s army was given the role of pursuing the French army so they would not get any rest until the wall formed by the Wittgenstein and Tchitchagov armies blocked them off.
This Essay Is A Comparison Of The French And Russian Revolutions
The French and Russian Revolutions were both very dramatic and have influenced the political standings of both nations and nations surrounding them to this day. The Russian Revolution, although performed over 100 years later, is a great comparison to the French Revolution, due to their relative similarities and differences. Both nations were very powerful and at times had every nation in Europe ...
When the French finally reached Smolensk on November 8th they found that Marshal Victor and his troops had marched north to hold Witetgenstein back and they had taken most of the provisions with them. The distribution of what remained was extremely unfair, with many troops getting nothing. By this time the army was down to 49,000 men. Napoleon decided to continue the retreat. On November 15th though, General Miloradovitch, commanding Kutusov?s advanced guard, ambushed the Italian corps. Prince Eugene and his men fought their way out with 900 men left from the original 5,000. Napoleon had another problem when on November 18th, Kutusov?s army cut off the French rearguard, which consisted of 15,000 men under the control of Davout and Ney. Napoleon turned back to rescue the two marshals. Davout and Ney eventually made it back to the rest of the army on November 21st with 850 men left. More bad news came to the French when they found out that Tchitchagov had taken Minsk, the huge supply depot, which Napoleon was depending on for his army?s rations. Also on November 16th Tchitchagov had reached Borisov and destroyed the bridge that crossed over the Berezina River. The river was 600 yards long in width and needed to be crossed in order for the French to escape Russia.
Napoleon?s chief engineer though, General Eble, thought out a plan for building a temporarily stable bridge over the river. He went 8 miles north to work at Studianka to build two bridges from wood taken off of houses. Between November 26th and 29th 25,000 French troops walked across the river on Eble?s bridge and went through the snow towards Vilna. Russia was free of most French troops, except prisoners, by mid-December. The French headquarters after the retreat were at Smorgon, a village east of Vilna. On December 5th Napoleon decided to leave the army and return to France, leaving Murat in command. He was worried that if he stayed with the army that his grip on Europe would be loosened and that Prussia and Austria would try to break away from his empire. Napoleon blamed the failure of the campaign on the weather and stated that if he had stayed only four days less in Moscow that he would be on the Russian throne. He did not though, realize how big of a disaster had just taken place. He held on to the belief that he still had 150,000 men on the eastern front and that they could hold the Russians at bay. What was left of the Grand Army though could not hold Vilna. There were not enough men and there was almost no will to fight. On December 13th the remaining 400 infantry and 600 cavalry burned the bridge over the Niemen River at Kovno and marched into East Prussia. Russia though made a deal with East Prussia, which allowed the Russian troops to enter East Prussia and by the end of January 1813 the French were behind the Elbe River, far away from Russia. This marked the end of Napoleon?s Russian Campaign.
Bibliography:
Gate, Curtis. The War Of The Two Emperors New York: Random House, 1985. Glover, Michael. The Napoleonic Wars: An Illustrated History New York: Hippocrene Books, 1979. Hilt, Douglas. Ten Against Napoleon Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1975. Holtman, Robert. The Napoleonic Revolution Philadelphia & New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1967. Nicolson, Nigel. Napoleon 1812 New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Riehn, Richard. 1812: Napoleon’s Russian Campaign San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1990. Walter, Jacob. The Diary Of A Napoleonic Foot Soldier London: Doubleday, 1991.
