In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with the largest army Europe had ever seen. But after winning a costly victory at Borodino and occupying Moscow, Napoleon's invitation to Russian Emperor Alexander to make peace met with no response. Napoleon now found himself 500 miles from friendly territory, outnumbered, poorly supplied, and with winter approaching. What followed was one of the most harrowing and disastrous events in military history - the Retreat from Moscow - in which Russian attacks, freezing weather and starvation virtually wiped out the once-proud Grande Armée.

Special thanks to Alexander Averyanov for kind permission to use his paintings 'Maloyaroslavets', 'At Gorodnya 25 October 1812' and 'Council of War at Gorodnya'.

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📚Recommended books about the Napoleonic Wars:

📖Campaign: Borodino 1812 by Philip Haythornthwaite https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/b...
📖The Cossacks 1799 - 1815 by Laurence Springhttps://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/c...
📖The Napoleonic Wars by Todd Fisher https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/n... / https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/n...
📖Combat: French Guardsman vs Russian Jäger 1812-14 https://www.ospreypublishing.com/uk/f...

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