Burning of Moscow and Retreat
Napoleon entered Moscow on 14 September 1812 expecting Russian capitulation. Instead he found a city largely abandoned by its population and, within hours, ablaze. Governor Rostopchin had ordered the destruction of supplies and warehouses; fires set by Russian patriots and the chaos of occupation spread through wooden buildings for five days, consuming three-quarters of the city. The Kremlin itself was narrowly saved. Napoleon established himself in the Kremlin and waited five weeks for a peace offer from Alexander I that never came. The Tsar, under intense pressure from nobles and generals who regarded any negotiation as betrayal, remained silent. By mid-October, with supplies exhausted, the army deteriorating through idleness and forage raids, and winter approaching, Napoleon ordered the retreat on 19 October 1812. The Grande Armée — reduced to perhaps 95,000 effective troops from its summer strength — was forced to retrace the route it had come by, through countryside already stripped bare, harassed by Cossacks and partisan fighters. Early winter onset, exceptional cold, and constant attack reduced the army to a shattered remnant by the time it recrossed the Berezina River in late November.
- Year: 1812 CE
- Category: Military
