Question

What was the result of Napoleon's invasion of Russia? A) Stalemate B) French defeat C) Russian defeat D) Napoleon was killed

Answer 1

The Napoleonic invasion of Russia was a bittersweet experience. Designed to liberate Poland and force the surrender of the Russian army, the expedition began with more than 680,000 troops on the French side, which included Europeans allies. Although the French managed to defeat the Russian army in a series of engagements, they never achieved a decisive victory. Napoleon entered Moscow but it had been burned and abandoned by the Russians. The Russians never surrendered and Napoleon was forced to move back toward the Polish border. As they retreated, the army was attacked Russian peasants and Cossacks. These attacks took a heavy toll on the Russians. When the French army returned to France, its numbers had decreased to 27,000. The costly nature of this conflict severely depleted the fighting ranks and tarnished Napoleon's image in Europe.

Answer 2

The correct answer is B) French defeat.

Indeed, Napoleon had assembled one of the greatest land armies of his time (450,000 men) and he invaded Russia during the early summer of 1812. Russians employed a brutal scorched earth tactic, depriving Napoleon’s troops of anything that could be used to feed them or their horses or to house them.

They lost the Battle of Borodino outside Moscow in September but then burned Moscow to the ground in order to prevent the French from spending the winter there. Their retreat was catastrophic. Harassed by the extreme cold weather and by Russian attacks, only 40,000 of the original survived the Berezina Battle in November.

Napoleon’s Empire would never recover from such defeat and was ultimately defeated and removed from power in 1814.