When was napoleon defeated in russia

They simply retreated into the Russian interior. Russian roads, however, were in very poor condition, making it very difficult to transport supplies. Its troops were not dressed or trained for the kind of weather they faced. Russia lost more than , A single battle the Battle of Borodino resulted in more than 70, casualties in one day.

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Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society. Estimates vary, of course, but approximately , men died on that day. By comparison, the bloodiest day in the US Civil War, the battle at Antietam, fifty years later on September 17, resulted in 6, deaths. The Russian Commander in Chief, Mikhail Kutuzov, recognized that to continue fighting would not save Moscow, so he again ordered the Russian army to retreat. A week later Napoleon triumphantly entered the ancient capital of the Russian Empire. That triumph quickly turned to disaster.

Alexander had ordered the population to evacuate so Moscow was empty. Then mysterious fires broke out in the mostly wooden city, destroying three-quarters of its buildings. There was no food and people in the surrounding villages refused to give up what they had to the foraging enemy soldiers. Also, a French victory might trigger a friendly revolution in French-speaking Belgium. On June 17, Napoleon left Grouchy with the right wing of the French army to pursue the Prussians while he took the reserves and command of the left wing of the army to pursue Wellington towards Brussels.

On the night of June 17, the Anglo-allied army prepared for battle on a gentle escarpment about a mile 1. The next day this proved the decisive battle of the campaign. With the right wing of the army, Grouchy engaged a Prussian rearguard at the simultaneous Battle of Wavre.

Although he won a tactical victory, his failure to prevent the Prussian march to Waterloo meant that his actions contributed to the French defeat at Waterloo. The next day June 19 he left Wavre and started a long retreat back to Paris.

The battle also ended the First French Empire and set a chronological milestone between serial European wars and a time of relative peace. After the defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon chose not to remain with the army and attempt to rally it, but returned to Paris to try to secure political support for further action. He failed to do it and was forced to abdicate. Initially, the remnants of the French left wing and the reserves that were routed at Waterloo were commanded by Marshal Soult while Grouchy kept command of the left wing.

However, on June 25, Soult was relieved of his command by the Provisional Government and replaced by Grouchy, who in turn was placed under the command of Marshal Davout. On June 29, the near approach of the Prussians, who had orders to seize Napoleon dead or alive, caused him to retire westwards toward Rochefort in an attempt to eventually reach the United States.

After Napoleon's fall was clear, following his defeat at Leipzig, the victorious powers began to fight amongst themselves over what to do with France. Alexander I wanted to put his own puppet king on the throne and the British wanted a Bourbon back on the throne. In November of , Metternich announced the "Frankfurt Proposals", proposing that Napoleon should continue to rule a weakened France Metternich knew Napoleon would be indebted to Austria for this.

Napoleon rejected the offer. Britain, frightened of such a possibility, immediately dispatched Viscount Castlereagh to the continent to negotiate for England, and to advocate putting a Bourbon on the French throne. Metternich and Castlereagh immediately teamed up, secretly agreeing to prevent Russia from becoming to strong. The four powers signed the Treaty of Chaumont, promising to remain as allies for 20 years to stop France if it ever became too powerful.

The Treaty of Paris, which restored France to its borders, was surprisingly mild. Instead of destroying France, the great powers of Europe wanted a stable, normal France that could help preserve the delicate balance of power that European peace depended on.

In terms of land power, the Treaty was a great success, establishing such a balance that no war broke out in Europe for a century. Even so, with its dominance of the seas, a growing industrial economy, and a vibrant colonial network, Britain emerged from the Treaty first among equals.