The Invasion of Russia
Napoleon and his 420,000 soldiers marched into Russia because Alexander I refused to stop selling grain to Britain and there was suspicion between the two rulers over competing designs on Poland.
Alexander I pulled back his troops to avoid an unequal battle and to practice scorched-earth policy, which involved burning grain fields and slaughtering livestock.
In June 1812, Napoleon and his army entered Russia and the two armies clashed in the Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812.
Only 10,000 soldiers were left to fight when Napoleon and his army retreated back to France.
Napoleon's Downfall
King Frederick William III of Prussia and Czar Alexander I of Russia led their troops in a triumphant parade through the French capital.
In April 1814, Napoleon accepted the terms of surrender and gave up his throne, being exiled to Elba.
The Hundred Days
Louis XVIII assumed the throne and became unpopular among his subjects for suspected motives to undo the Revolution's land reforms.
On March 1, 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and landed in France, becoming emperor once again.
Napoleon went to war against the British army led by the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian army at Waterloo.
Napoleon was shipped to St. Helena in exile where he lived for six years and died in 1821 possibly from cancer.
Napoleon's defeat opened the door for freed European countries to establish a new order.
The Invasion of Russia Napoleon’s most disastrous mistake of all came
in 1812. Even though Alexander I had become Napoleon’s ally, the Russian czar refused to stop selling grain to Britain. In addition, the French
and Russian rulers suspected each other of having competing designs on
Poland. Because of this breakdown in their alliance, Napoleon decided to
invade Russia.
In June 1812, Napoleon and his Grand Army of more than 420,000
soldiers marched into Russia. As Napoleon advanced, Alexander pulled
back his troops, refusing to be lured into an unequal battle. On this
retreat, the Russians practiced a scorched-earth policy. This involved
burning grain fields and slaughtering livestock so as to leave nothing for
the enemy to eat.
On September 7, 1812, the two armies finally clashed in the Battle of
Borodino. After several hours of indecisive fighting, the Russians fell back,
allowing Napoleon to move on Moscow. When Napoleon entered Moscow
seven days later, the city was in flames. Rather than surrender Russia’s
“holy city” to the French, Alexander had destroyed it. Napoleon stayed in
the ruined city until the middle of October, when he decided to turn back
toward France.As the snows—and the temperature—began to fall in early November,
Russian raiders mercilessly attacked Napoleon’s ragged, retreating army.
Many soldiers were killed in these clashes or later died of their wounds.
Still more dropped in their tracks from exhaustion, hunger, and cold.
Finally, in the middle of December, the last survivors straggled out of Russia. The retreat from Moscow had devastated the Grand Army—only
10,000 soldiers were left to fight.
Napoleon’s Downfall
Napoleon’s enemies were quick to take advantage of his weakness. Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden joined forces against him. Austria also
declared war on Napoleon, despite his marriage to Marie Louise. All of the
main powers of Europe were now at war with France.
Napoleon Suffers Defeat In only a few months, Napoleon managed to
raise another army. However, most of his troops were untrained and ill
prepared for battle. By January of 1814, the allied armies were pushing
steadily toward Paris. Some two months later, King Frederick William III
of Prussia and Czar Alexander I of Russia led their troops in a triumphant
parade through the French capital.
Napoleon wanted to fight on, but his generals refused. In April 1814,
he accepted the terms of surrender and gave up his throne. The victors
gave Napoleon a small pension and exiled, or banished, him to Elba, a tiny
island off the Italian coast. The allies expected no further trouble from
Napoleon, but they were wrong.
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Place Why was it a mistake for Napoleon to
stay in Moscow until mid-October?
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Napoleon’s Russian Campaign, 1812
The French Revolut.The Hundred Days Louis XVI’s brother assumed the throne as Louis
XVIII. (The executed king’s son, Louis XVII, had died in prison in 1795.)
However, the new king quickly became unpopular among his subjects,
especially the peasants. They suspected him of wanting to undo the Revolution’s land reforms.
The news of Louis’s troubles was all the incentive Napoleon needed to
try to regain power. He escaped from Elba and, on March 1, 1815, landed
in France. Joyous crowds welcomed him on the march to Paris. And
thousands of volunteers swelled the ranks of his army. Within days, Napoleon was again emperor of France.
In response, the European allies quickly marshaled their armies. The
British army, led by the Duke of Wellington, prepared for battle near the
village of Waterloo in Belgium. On June 18, 1815, Napoleon attacked. The
British army defended its ground all day. Late in the afternoon, the Prussian army arrived. Together, the British and the Prussian forces attacked
the French. Two days later, Napoleon’s exhausted troops gave way, and the
British and Prussian forces chased them from the field.
This defeat ended Napoleon’s last bid for power, called the
Hundred Days. Taking no chances this time, the British shipped Napoleon to St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic. There, he lived in
lonely exile for six years, writing his memoirs. He died in 1821 of a stomach ailment, perhaps cancer.
Without doubt, Napoleon was a military genius and a brilliant administrator. Yet all his victories and other achievements must be measured
against the millions of lives that were lost in his wars. The French writer
Alexis de Tocqueville summed up Napoleon’s character by saying, “He was
as great as a man can be without virtue.” Napoleon’s defeat opened the
door for the freed European countries to establish a new order.
The Invasion of Russia
Why did Napoleon and his 420,000 soldiers march into Russia?
Why did Alexander I pull back his troops?
What is scorched-earth policy?
What happened in June 1812?
How many soldiers were left to fight when Napoleon and his army retreated back to France?
Napoleon's Downfall
Napoleon Suffers defeat
King Freerick William III of Prussia and Czar Alexander I of Russia did what in the French Capital?
What did Napoleon do in April of 1814?
WHere was Napoleon exiled to?
The Hundred Days
Who assumed the throne?
Why did he become unpopular among his subjects?
On march 1,1815,what did Napoleon do?
At Waterloo,what 2 armies did Napoleon go to war against?
Where was Napoleon shipped to where he lived lonely in exile for 6 years?
What was said to be the cause of death for Napoleon?
Napoleon's defeat opened the door for what in freed European countries?
1 answer
1 answer