By Lyubov Tsarevskaya
The Patriotic War against the Napoleonic France, which attacked Russia
in 1812, came to be the central development of the reign of Alexander I,
as well as of the whole of the 19th century. During the war Russia both
retained its independence and liberated Europe from France’s domination.
The bourgeois revolution that shook France in 1789 resulted in the overthrow
and execution of King Louis XVI. A gifted General and prominent politician
Napoleon Bonaparte came to power on the crest of the revolutionary wave.
In 1804 he proclaimed himself the Emperor of France. 
As he defended the revolution, Napoleon fought against the entire monarchial
Europe, which saw the developments in France as a grave danger. But with
time the revolutionary wars grew predatory in character. In the long run
Napoleon succeeded in subjugating the whole of Europe, with the exception
of Britain.
Economically powerful, Britain was France’s main rival on world markets.
The UK was out of Napoleon’s reach ever since Lord Nelson defeated the
French Navy in the Battle of Trafalgar, the pivotal naval battle of the
19th century, in 1805. Then Napoleon decided to strangle London economically
through the so-called Continental Blockade, which meant that the European
nations were barred from trading with Britain.
Napoleon’s great ambitions and aggressive policy annoyed and made anxious
the Russian Tsar Alexander I. In the long run Russia found itself engaged
in a fight against Napoleon, first in league with Austria, and then with
Prussia. But the allied nations failed to defeat Napoleon’s army. After
the Austrian and Prussian armies had been crushed, Alexander I and Napoleon
met on a raft in the middle of the Neman river, in Tilsit, to sign a peace
treaty.
Under the Treaty Russia joined the continental blockade, and Napoleon had,
in exchange, encouraged Russia’s occupation of Finland. The two emperors’
political bargaining was accompanied by mutual assurances of personal friendship
and loyalty.
But the Tilsit Peace Treaty proved short-lived. Russia’s nobility was angered
by a rapprochement between Alexander and Napoleon and saw it as shameful
to Russia. Also, they were opposed to the continental blockade against
Britain, the main buyer of Russian bread and raw materials, as well as
to the suspended trade with London, which severely damaged the Russian
economy.
Eventually Russia found it unnecessary to comply with Napoleon’s policy
and resumed trade with Britain. Ships under the flags of neutral countries
started to bring British goods to Russian ports. What’s more, Emperor Alexander
I slapped on heavy import duties on French luxuries, to protect the Russian
market. This and some other moves largely damaged relations between the
Russian and French Emperors. Napoleon realized that his policy of continental
blockade against Britain was about to collapse and that he would never
be able to rule sway the destinies of Europe as long as Russia remained
strong and independent. He felt an invasion of Russia and its subjugation
was the only way to solve the problem. “In five years,” he wrote in 1811,
“I will become the master of the world. But I still have to deal with Russia
and I’ll crash it before long.” 
As Alexander I learnt about Napoleon’s military preparations, he also ordered
the Russian Army to get ready for fighting. When meeting the French ambassador
to St. Petersburg Colencourt he warned him:
“I will not be the first to draw the sword, but I’ll be the last one to
sheathe it. I would rather retreat to Kamchatka, than concede provinces
or sign a peace treaty in my conquered capital, a treaty that can only
be a cease-fire.”
The European nations were certain that Napoleon would defeat the Russian
Army in the very first battle on the Russian border. After all, Napoleon’s
Army was the most powerful on the continent and was formed of the troops
of the conquered nations. The French Emperor, too, had little doubt about
the outcome of his Russian campaign and the time it would take him to win
it.
Napoleon’s 600,000 strong army invaded Russia on the night of June 23rd,
1812.
Things took a bad turn for Russia at the initial stage of fighting. Two
Russian armies, stretched along the western border, failed to put up coordinated
resistance to Napoleon’s superior forces and had to retreat deeper into
Russia. But that was by no means a flight from a strong enemy, but skillful
maneuvering to avoid a decisive battle and preserve the main forces. The
civilian population followed the Army, burning down their homes, provisions
and slaughtering the livestock.
Napoleon was disappointed by failing to crush the Russians in the first
battle. As his Grand Army moved deeper into Russia, it was suffering losses
and was losing morale.
The Russian Army retreat and the avoidance of a decisive battle with the
Grand Army of Napoleon stirred up general discontent in Russia. Emperor
Alexander I had to bow to public pressure and dismiss General Barclay de
Tolli as the Commander-in-Chief and appoint an elderly General Mikhail
Kutuzov, who was very popular with the troops.
The Russian Army was extremely enthusiastic and hopeful about the appointment.
Kutuzov was perfectly aware that he was expected to give a decisive battle,
one that would check the Grand Army’s advance eastwards. He ordered that
battle near the village of Borodino, 124 kilometres (77 miles) west of
Moscow.
The Grand Army attacked the Russian battle formation at Borodino at dawn
on September 7th, 1812.
“It takes the talent of Michelangelo, who depicted Doomsday, to dare to
portray the horrible carnage. Up to 400,000 troops fought with unheard-of
fierceness in a field that was clearly too small for them. A deafening
cannonade of 2,000 field-guns went on non-stop. The frenzied French were
rushing around, while the Russians stood as immobile as the strongest of
walls. The French were after the long-coveted end to their pains and long
marches, anxious to grab the riches, promised to them, and relish in all
the pleasures in the famous old capital of Russia. The Russians remembered
they were defending this very capital, the heart of Russia and the mother
of all Russian cities. Their offended faith and devastated cities and villages,
outraged altars and the remains of their fathers, - all cried out for vengeance.”
This is what a man who fought in the Battle of Borodino, Fyodor Glinka,
wrote about the fighting. The bloodshed continued into the night. As dark
fell, the French retreated to their initial positions while the Russians
held their ground. The losses on both sides were enormous. Later Napoleon
said this about the Battle of Borodino:
“Of all my battles the most horrible was the one I gave near Moscow. The
French proved worthy of a victory, while the Russians won the right to
be invincible.” 
The Russian Army morale was so high that on the following day troops were
ready for another fight with the enemy. But when it transpired that half
of the army had fallen in action, Kutuzov ordered a retreat to preserve
the remaining troops. The Russian Army set out for Moscow. To decide on
further moves, Field-Marshal Kutuzov convened a military council. After
hearing out his Generals who failed to come to terms with one another,
he said:
“This, dear Sirs, means that it’s me who will have to pay for the broken
pottery. Some of you will not agree with me but I – by the authority the
Emperor and Fatherland entrusted me – I order a retreat. Napoleon is a
rapid stream that we cannot stop yet. Moscow will suck this stream in like
a sponge. As long as we have the army, we can hope to end the war successfully.
But if we lose the army, we shall lose Moscow and the whole of Russia.”
God alone might know what were the Field-Marshal’s feelings that night.
Some claimed they heard muffled sobs from his room. Could he imagine only
a short while ago that he would have to surrender the heart of Russia to
the enemy! In his heart of hearts he believed that by giving in Moscow
he would bring nearer Napoleon’s defeat, and therefore this great sacrifice
would be justified. Subsequent events proved Kutuzov right.
The surrender of Moscow marked the most dramatic point in the war of 1812.
The order to surrender the city came as a shock to the Russian Army. The
troops obeyed but they were clearly depressed. Trailing behind the army
were crowds of civilians, the residents of Moscow.
Napoleon stood on Poklonnaya Hill on the outskirts of Moscow. Stretching
before him was a huge city with the domes of its numerous churches sparkling
in the blazing sun. Enraptured French soldiers started shouting: “Moscow!
Moscow!” The French Emperor exclaimed: “Here is this famous city at last!
High time!” No European capital that he had conquered seemed as important
as Moscow, the old Russian capital. Napoleon saw it as a link between Europe
and Asia, a major move towards world domination.
As he stood on Poklonnaya Hill, the Emperor visualized how the Russian
Tsar Alexander I would beg for peace. He wanted to see his Grand Army,
worn out by the long march, enjoying a rest in warm flats and having a
good time in the rich city.
Napoleon was waiting for a delegation from Moscow residents. But he seemed
to be waiting in vain. Indeed, word came at last there would be no delegation
since there were no residents left in the city. The news came as a shock
to the French Emperor and at first he refused to believe it.
The deadly silence of Moscow’s empty streets was there to greet the conquerors.
The Frenchmen were impressed by the beauty and riches of the city. It took
them little to turn into a crowd of marauders that fell upon the deserted
city as a hungry herd that quickly spreads across a pasture. But quite
soon their delight at the seizure of Moscow started to give way to fear
and confusion. And then fires came!
For a week Moscow was swept by fires. The greater part of the once beautiful
city turned into smoking ruins. Napoleon took the fire as a harbinger of
great misfortunes, and rightly so. The surrender of Moscow stirred the
entire nation to a new powerful display of patriotism. People from all
social groups stood up in defence of their Fatherland. The landed gentry
and merchants donated huge sums of money for the Army and set up militia
units. Thousands of peasants who formed armed groups to fight guerrilla
warfare inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Napoleon came to face
something he had never known before, - an outbreak of popular warfare.
Following the fire in Moscow, he found himself in a trap. Obviously the
city could no longer serve as a shelter for his army. Almost all the food
in Moscow’s provision shops had gone up in flames. The horses died by the
thousand because of the lack of fodder. But more importantly, the army,
engaged in looting, was growing increasingly undisciplined. Napoleon needed
to make peace with Russia at any cost. He wrote a letter to Alexander I
suggesting the two should conclude a peace treaty but got no reply. He
then sent General Lauriston, his aide-de-camp, to Kutuzov’s headquarters,
but Field Marshal refused to negotiate. 
Now the French Emperor knew that his fortune had let him down. He realized
that if his troops stayed in the ravaged Moscow they would be doomed to
death. So Napoleon decided to leave the city for Russia’s southern regions,
non-seared by military action and stay there until spring, when he could
resume fighting against the Russian Army.
In mid-October the French Army started pulling out of Moscow with long
convoys carrying the booty. Before departure, Napoleon ordered the cross
of the Belfry of Ivan the Great removed, the Kremlin blown up and the few
buildings that were still intact, set on fire.
But Kutuzov was shrewd enough to discover his intentions. In a brilliant
move, he cut off the road to the south, forcing Napoleon’s Army onto the
destroyed road that the French used when advancing to Moscow. That was
the road to the destruction of Napoleon’s Grand Army. This is what the
French General Francois wrote in his memoirs:
“By November 1st the plight of the army had grown desperate. We were 30
miles away from Moscow in the midst of a ravaged country. Nobody thought
any more of saving the valuable things they’d grabbed from the ruins of
the burning Moscow. The idea of how to find food to survive engulfed everyone’s
mind. It grew colder by the day, and quite soon cold, together with starvation,
was to wipe out our army. The acute shortage of foodstuffs made us eat
the rotting corpses of horses, scattered all along the road. But this was
clearly insufficient for the greater part of the army. Hardships had destroyed
all sacred feelings of comradeship-in-arms that the French had always been
famous for, to replace them with the instinct of self-preservation and
the ugliest egotism.”
The French army, starving and frost-bitten, with Kutuzov on its heels,
was losing men by the thousand. Napoleon managed to cross the Berezina
river with what still remained of his Guards, burn down the bridges and
flee to Russia’s western border. Then he abandoned the army and went to
Paris.
This ended Napoleon’s three-month march on Russia.
The entire world was agitated by the news that the invincible Napoleon
had been scattered to the winds in Russia. Nobody expected “the whip of
the world”, who had conquered Moscow, to beat a hasty retreat from Russia
in three months’ time and leave the whole of his army behind to die amid
heavy snowfalls and bitter cold. Even the Russians were amazed by the grand
scale of the defeat they had inflicted on the enemy. Emperor Alexander
I dared not attribute this Victory to either the people’s and army’s patriotic
sentiment, or his own firmness, and said it was a Godsend. “The Lord led
us to victories,” he said. “It was He who defeated the enemies, not we!”
He ordered stamping a service medal in honour of the 1812 war, with an
inscription on it reading: “Not to us, not to us, but to Thy Name!”
But the Russian Emperor was not about to leave things as they were. He
planned to set up another coalition against Napoleon and turn Europe into
a theatre of operations to rid it of France’s domination. Alexander I moved
his troops to Germany. Austria and Prussia quickly joined him. The allied
armies won a decisive victory over Napoleon’s troops in a three-day “Battle
of the Nations” near Leipzig, Germany, in October 1813. In March 1814 the
allied forces entered Paris, which put paid to Napoleon’s rule.
The crushing of Napoleon’s troops at Leipzig left Alexander I the most
powerful sovereign in Europe, and Russia acquired enormous prestige as
a nation. The Government of the Russian Empire bestowed the title of the
“Blessed” on him, and although he refused to accept it, the title was nonetheless
officially conferred. The 1812 Patriotic War proved the viability of the
Russian Monarchy, which greatly influenced Alexander’s Weltanschauung,
making him still more pious. He realized that following all the upheavals
and battles, Europe badly needed a period of peace and quiet. To ensure
this, the Russian Tsar initiated in 1815 the “Holy Alliance” of European
Monarchs, which was to arrange things in keeping with the Christian commandments
of love, truth and peace.
03/18/2005
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