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Napoleon in Russia 1812
Citation preview
References
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, George F. Nafciger, 1963
The retreat from Moscow, R.F. Delderfield, 1967
Napoleonic Wars, Vincent J. Esposito and John Robert
Elting, 1963
"The Campaign of 1812 in Russia"- Karl von Clausewitz
OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
STRATEGY AND TACTICS
OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW
PHASES
OUTCOME OF BATTLE
KEY EVENTS
SUMMARY / LESSONS LEARNED
INTRODUCTION
WHO FOUGHT?
La Grande Armée (French and Allies)
Commanded by Napoleon
Russia
Commanded by Tsar Alexander I
WHEN?
Renaissance period
23 Jun 1812- 14 December 1812
WHERE?
Eastern Europe (Russian Empire)
WHY?
Russia's commitment to Napoleon's Continental System was a mere lip-service.
Differences between France and Russia over influence in Poland and the Balkans.
INTRODUCTION- Antagonists
1st Corps- Marshal Davout
2nd Corps-Marshal Oudinot
3rd Corps-Michel Ney
4th Corps- Prince Eugene
5th Corps-Prince Poniatowski
6th Corps- Marshal St. Cyr
7th Corps- General Reynier
8th Corps-King of Westphalia
9th Corps Marshal Victor
10th Corps- Marshal Macdonald
11th Corps-Marshal Augereau
12th Corps- Marshal Murat
13th Corps-General Schvartzenberg
Old Guard- Marshal Bessieres
Young Guard- Marshal Mortier
Corps of engineer- General Eble
1st Army- General Barclay de Tolly
2nd Army- Prince Bagration+/Tormasov
3rd Army- General Wittgenstein
4th Army (Danube)- General Tchichagoff
Rear guard- Tormasov/Platov/ Miloradovich
Irregular forces
Cossacks- Platov
Militia- Miloradovich
La Grande Armée- Napoleon
Chief of Staff Marshal Berthier
Russian Army- Tsar Alexander
Chief of Staff: Barclay de Tolly/Marshal Kutusoff
400,000-600,000(422,000)/1,800 cannons
177,000 horses 200,000-400,000/
Strategy and Tactics
Strategy
Strategy of Indirect Approach
Strategy of the Central Position
Tactics
1 Battle of maneuver 2. Battle of attrition
Reconnaissance
Concentrate artillery fire on the gaps
Pour exploitation force trough the gaps
Pursue with mobile force
Strategy
Strategic defence
Retreating and attrition of the enemy
Tactics
Scorched-earth tactics
Raid the enemy with light Cosacks
cavalery
La Grande Armée Russian Army
THEATER OF OPERATIONS
LEGEND
U - Uplands
M - Marshes
L - Lakelands Lithuanians
Belarusians
Ukrainians
Napoleon’s Plan
10 xxx
13 xxx
xxxx
7 xxx
11 xxx
Mission:
Across Niemen river, engage and
defeat the enemy and force Tsar
Alexander to accept French Peace
proposal.
Russian Plan
3 xxxx
1 xxxx
2 xxxx
Mission:
Back the struggle to a considerable
distance, thus approaching their
reinforcements, gaining time,
weakening the enemy by means of
detachments which he would be
compelled to make, and gaining
space for strategical operations
upon his flank and rear R xxxx
The Invasion
X xxx
XIII xxx
xxxx
VII xxx
XI xxx
I xxxx
III
xxxx
II xxxx
R xxxx
IV xxxx
BORODINO
07 Sep 1812
NIEMEN
23 Jun 1812
IX xxx
Battle of Borodino/07 Sep 1812
0630-1600
130,000
86,000 Infantry
28,000 Cavalry
16,000 Artillery and Engineers
587 Guns
Losses
28,000/36 generals
120,000
72,000 Infantry
17,000 Cavalry
14,000 Artillery and Engineers
7000 Cossacks
10,000 Militia
640 Guns
Losses
30,000/23 Generals
French Army Russian Army
Next year, after winter the peasants would have to bury a total of
58,521 corpses and the carcasses of 35,478 horses
Retreating
xxxx
14 Sep 1812
xxxx
III xxxx
IV xxxx
27 Sep 1812
X xxx
xxx
18 Oct 1812
Berezina
23-28 Nov
1812
VII xxx
XI xxx
XIII xxx
IX
xxx
R xxxx
OUTCOME
French losses:
370,000 dead, 200,000 POW
1550 cannon, almost all horses and
vehicles
the graph of Charles Joseph Minard
Russian losses:
150,000 dead, 300,000 wounded
KEY EVENT 1
CHANGING IN COMMAND-
DE TOLLY REPLACED BY KUTUZOV
Causes
De Tolly was under pressure because he didn’t want to accept decisive battle
Russian’s generals hated him (he was Scot)
He lost Battle of Smolensk
Effects
He was Russian, strong character, he continued avoiding of resistance, he was able to avoid pressure
He had a lot of experience, he understood Russia better then any other Russian or French leader
His plan was: sacrifice everything, use terrain and time advantages in order to save army and win battle
KEY EVENT 2
VIOLATION OF PRINCIPLE OF WAR-
NAPOLEON HESITATES ON USING RESERVE DURING BATTLE of BORODINO
Causes
Marshal Ney broke Russian defense and asked for reinforcement
Earlier that day, French rear was attacked by Cossacks
Effects
Delay gave Russians time to retreat, reconsolidate and reorganize
Napoleon missed chance to convert victory into triumph and end war on the spot
He missed chance to change the course of war and possibly the course of nineteenth century history
KEY EVENT 3
EVACUATION AND BURNING OF MOSCOW
Causes
Russian’s troops were to weak for new decisive battle
Napoleon’s troops were to far from their depots, logistic became almost impossible
Effects
Russians avoided new battle, took position in south in order to close Napoleon’s retreat
French didn’t find supply in Moscow, troops lost discipline
French had to leave Moscow and use the same way for retreating
LESSONS LEARNED
Have a contingency plan. Take the time to imagine what can go wrong, and develop solutions to address it.
Napoleon didn’t plan to go deep in Russia, he expected battle near boundary
Follow principles of war.
He had advantage over thy enemy but he allowed him to retreat
Don’t become over-confident
Emperor Napoleon 1st vs. General Bonaparte
LESSONS LEARNED
Know when to cut your losses
If Napoleon had left Moscow immediately, he may
have returned with a salvageable army
“My losses are real but the enemy can take no credit
for them”. Napoleon, January 1813
LESSONS LEARNED
LOGISTICS
“When you do battle, even if you are winning, if you
continue for a long time it will dull your forces and
blunt you edge…If you keep your armies out in the
field for a long time, your supplies will be
insufficient. Transportation of provisions itself
consumes 20 times the amount transported.”
“The line between disorder and order lies in
logistics…”
Sun Tzu
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