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  4. French invasion of Russia (1812)
  5. 212 Borodino - Utitza (7 September 1812)

French invasion of Russia (1812)

The French Invasion of Russia in 1812, also known as the Russian Campaign in France (French: Campagne de Russie) and the Patriotic War of 1812 in Russia (Russian: Отечественная война 1812 года), was a turning point during the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces (the Grande Armée) to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe. The reputation of Napoleon as an undefeated military genius was severely shaken, while the French Empire's former allies, at first Prussia and then the Austrian Empire, broke their alliance with France and switched camps, which triggered the War of the Sixth Coalition.

The campaign began on 24 June 1812, when Napoleon's forces crossed the Neman River. Napoleon aimed to compel Emperor of Russia Alexander I to remain in the Continental Blockade of the United Kingdom; an official aim was to remove the threat of a Russian invasion of Poland. Napoleon named the campaign a Second Polish War (in reference to the "First Polish War"); the Russian government proclaimed a Patriotic War.

At nearly half a million strong, the Grande Armée marched through Western Russia, winning a number of relatively minor engagements and a major battle at Smolensk on August 16–18. However, on that same day, the right wing of the Russian Army, under the command of General Peter Wittgenstein, stopped part of the French Army, led by Marshal Nicolas Oudinot, in the Battle of Polotsk. This prevented the French marching on the Russian capital at Saint Petersburg; the fate of the war had to be decided on the Moscow front, where Napoleon himself led his forces.

French invasion of Russia Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Articles
Title Author Hits
MM16 Valutino Gora (19 August 1812) Mark McG 1244
MM15 Epic Smolensk (17 August 1812) Mark McG 1876
GG04 Berezina Epic (27/28 November 1812) Guillaume GLEIZE 5859
KP03 Borodino - All-In-One (7 September 1812) Kirill Penteshin 6051
MD10 Borodino - Village of Borodino & Raevski Redoubt - "La Grande Battle" (5 September 1812) Michael Dippel 11936
MD09 Borodino - Shevardino Redoubt & Utitza "La Grande Battle" (5 September 1812) Michael Dippel 11196
MD07 - 1st Battle of Polotsk - 17-18 August 1812 alecrespi 10949
217 Crossing the Berezina (27-28 November 1812) alecrespi 12741
216 Krasnoi (17 November 1812) alecrespi 10484
215 Maloyaroslavets (24 October 1812) alecrespi 12376
214 Polotsk (18 October 1812) alecrespi 10844
213 Borodino - Raevski Redoubt (7 September 1812) alecrespi 13105
212 Borodino - Utitza (7 September 1812) alecrespi 11278
211 Borodino - Village of Borodino (7 September 1812) alecrespi 13232
210 Borodino - Shevardino Redoubt (5 September 1812) alecrespi 18145

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