The Patriotic War of 1812 was one of thethe most famous in history. This is the rare case when a significant part of the territory of Russia was in occupation. The war with Napoleon became an integral part of the all-European conflict of the beginning of the XIX century.
Background of war
June 12, a huge army of Napoleon forcedborder river Neman and captured the city of Kovno. However, the story of the war of 1812 can not begin without mentioning the prerequisites of this campaign. What caused several hundreds of thousands of European soldiers of different nationalities to be in Russia?
At the end of the 18th century, Francerevolution, during which the monarchical order was overthrown. The state became a republic, gradually to power came the talented and popular commander Napoleon Bonaparte. Most European countries then lived under absolute monarchies. Conservative rulers (including the Russian Empress Catherine II) were not at all delighted with the revolutionary events in the heart of the continent.
Therefore, the monarchy for several yearsformed coalitions directed against France. All these campaigns failed. Napoleon became one of the generals who defended their country from the interventionists. So he came to power, and in 1804 became also emperor. The reverse process has begun. Now the French troops seized neighboring countries, which were either occupied, or received governments loyal to Paris. It was not the same as the war of 1812. To put it briefly, Napoleon had to face absolutely different conditions of conducting military operations, under which he was cut off from resources and fresh strength thousands of kilometers from his homeland.
Diplomacy of Alexander I
Meanwhile, the Russian throne was occupied by Alexander I.He led several coalitions against Napoleon. After the defeat at Austerlitz in 1805 and several other failures, the Russian emperor had to conclude an agreement on the terms of a French counterpart. The Tilsit peace of 1807 temporarily resolved the contradictions between the enemies. However, Napoleon craved final dominance in the Old World. Therefore, he decided not just to defeat Alexander, but to seize his country. So began preparations for the invasion of Russia.
When Napoleon crossed the Neman, under his bannerthere were more than 500 thousand soldiers. It was a huge "ball" of various European nationalities. By this time, Austria and Prussia had been defeated, which also annexed part of their troops to the Napoleonic hordes. Officially, the military formation was called the Great Army. The reasons for the war of 1812 were that the French hegemony in Europe could not be eternal. Napoleon had to challenge every new neighbor. In 1812, Russia was such a country.
If Russia formally remained neutralcountry, the United Kingdom was still in a state of conflict with France. Napoleon wanted to destroy the English economy by arranging a continental blockade. Russia was an important trading partner of Great Britain, so Napoleon, at the signing of the Peace of Tilsit, urged Alexander to support his embargo. However, in St. Petersburg they did not want to take these unprofitable measures and tried in every possible way to circumvent the agreement. This was the cause of the war of 1812. Anyway, but at the beginning of the invasion between the two countries, too many contradictions have accumulated. Without mentioning them, the story of the war of 1812 would not be complete.
The strategy of Napoleon
Choosing the direction of his main strike,Napoleon stopped at Moscow. Russia was too big to immediately occupy all of its territory. In addition to Moscow, options were also discussed with the attack on Kiev or St. Petersburg, but they were refused. In Russia, thanks to intelligence, they knew about the upcoming operation of Napoleon. Therefore, the government urged Mikhail Kutuzov to finish the war with Turkey quickly, in order to be ready for a new campaign. The peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire was signed a month before the invasion of Napoleon. On it, Russia received Moldova.
The Great Army offensive
During the first months of the war, Napoleonfreely moved deeper into Russia. He was confronted by several small armies. Since each of them could be easily broken, Alexander hastened the generals to unite in order to give the enemy a general battle. The meeting place was Smolensk. The story of the war of 1812 shows a perfect example of how the disparate Russian forces were successfully combined to further fight the enemy. August 6, the battle began for Smolensk, but the next day Barclay de Tolly decided to retreat to Moscow.
Two armies moved to the east, until, finally,clashed in the field of Borodino. In the battle of August 26, about 80,000 soldiers perished in total on both sides. Neither side has achieved decisive success. After the battle in the Russian headquarters, they decided to leave Moscow. Napoleon entered the empty city. He was in it for more than a month. During this time cases of looting have become frequent. The story of the war of 1812 can not do without a reference to the fall of morale among French soldiers, who were practically locked up in another's looted city. Napoleon was left without resources. In addition, the cold came, to which the French were clearly not ready. Taking Moscow did not give Napoleon any strategic advantage. He decided to go south to winter in warm apartments.
The French retreat
However, his plan failed.On October 12, the French were defeated near Maloyaroslavets, after which it was decided to retreat to the west. At this stage, the Russian army of the war of 1812 acted in concert with the partisans, who did not give rest to the French. Napoleon had to retreat to the provinces, which he ruined a few months before. In his army hunger began.
On November 3, near the village of Red, the French suffereddefeat from the troops Kutuzov and Miloradovich. After that, a mass flight began. Thus ended the war of 1812. In short, Napoleon incorrectly calculated his strength. In addition, he spent precious time in the occupied Moscow. On December 14 the last detachments from the Great Army left Russia.
Importance of war
The results of the war of 1812 are thatNapoleon attempted unsuccessfully to seize Russia. He had to return home with nothing. This made it possible to assemble a new anti-French coalition, which, the following year, defeated Bonaparte near Leipzig. Soon his power collapsed, and he himself was sent into exile.
