Hey GL-

[Lew]

I know that the German Army supposedly made it within 30 miles of the Kremlin in 1941. How close did Napoleon get? And was the city itself ever in danger of being captured by him?

[LanDroid]

(Insert Jeopardy clock-ticking music here)

While we're waiting, here's a tough little quiz on WW2.. I got only 7 of 12 correct.

[Blast from the Past]

Against the wishes and advice of his top advisers Napoleon marched all the way to Moscow. In all of his other campaigns he was able to extract the best terms when sitting in his foe's palace surrounded by his army. He mistakenly thought the Russian Campaign would be the same. His supply line was too long and too vulnerable. The winter set in early. General Kutuzov played a cat and mouse game drawing him ever further into the heartland (read = frozen wasteland) of Russia. Czar Alexander retreated to St Petersburg to wait out events. Napoleon assumed he would sue for peace, his position instead was to not treat with the French whatsoever while they remained on Russian soil. Napoleon waited it out in Moscow and by the time he decided to march home, it was too late. The mayor of Moscow and a band of thugs burned the city to the ground to help Napoleon make his decision. Old man winter did what no army (or combination of armies) had been able to do previously: defeat Napoleon. As word leaked back to the rest of Europe his forced allies started abandoning him left and right. At the same time his forces in Spain were being driven back to France on the advance of Wellington's army. 1812 saw the absolute zenith of Napoleon's power. 1813 saw it come crashing down. Russia was the reason. Napoleon invaded Russia with nearly 1 million soldiers. He returned with less than 100,000.



<font color="#FFFFAA"><font size="1">[ May 03, 2005 08:00 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font></font>

<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ May 03, 2005 08:30 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font>

[Blast from the Past]

The horror stories I have read about the retreat from Moscow are unreal. Men suffering from frostbite would finally reach a fire, warm their feet/hands only to have them fall off in front of their eyes. Makeshift hospitals with broken windows where the doctors used dead bodies to block (and parts of bodies)to help keep out the cold. Starvation leading to cannibalism and slicing flesh off of their horses flanks to eat raw. The horses suffered even more than the soldiers really. After the Russian campaign Napoleon really didn't have a cavalry force anymore which crippled his movement in future conflicts. Soldiers would be on the verge of starvation, encounter food/drink and die from over indulgence. Battlefields from the march into Moscow several months before still had thousands of unburied dead littering them. That is what the wolves and carrion hadn't carried off. Many of the soldiers marched the thousands of miles home with no boots, bare feet. Some in fact continued marching with their feet virtually gone on just the remains of their foot bones (cold numbed the sensation in the extremities). It was truly a horrific experience for anyone who survived it. On top of old man winter killing them they were atacked by angry peasants ad Cossacks. Napoleon also erred in thinking the Russian peasants would welcome him as a "savior" (same fatal mistake he made in Spain) They were oppressed but worshipped their oppressors and fought the invaders.



<font color="#FFFFAA" size="1">[ May 03, 2005 08:35 AM: Message edited by: G L ]</font>

[Lew]

As always, most insightful, GL. Many thanks.

[Blast from the Past]

Thanks Lew. I have been having some nice discussions on the Napoleonic discussion forum I like to visit. Today marks the 186th anniversary of Napoleon's death in 1821. I have the Napoleonic board buzzing by asking everyone to post what they liked/disliked about Napoleon and what interests them in the era, in honor of his death. A lot of comments have been left since yesterday...