Crossing of the Berezina
On 26–29 November 1812, the remnants of Napoleon's Grande Armée reached the Berezina River near the village of Studianka during the retreat from Moscow, to find the crossing threatened by converging Russian armies under Wittgenstein from the north and Chichagov from the south. Engineers under General Eblé built two makeshift bridges under fire in near-freezing water, working for hours in the river; Eblé's sappers worked in shifts, many dying of exposure. The fighting core of the army — perhaps 35,000–40,000 troops — crossed in reasonable order under rearguard actions commanded by Marshals Victor and Ney. But the collapse of one bridge on 29 November while thousands of camp followers, wounded, and non-combatants were still waiting produced a catastrophe: Russian artillery fire drove crowds onto the remaining bridge, which then collapsed, and thousands drowned or were killed. Estimated deaths at the Berezina alone exceeded 10,000. Marshal Ney commanded the final rearguard and was the last man across, earning Napoleon's accolade of 'bravest of the brave.' 'Berezina' entered both French and Russian vocabulary as a synonym for disaster.
- Year: 1812 CE
- Category: Military
