"the sections that contain cannon shots, actual cannons are sometimes replaced by recorded cannons or played on a piece of staging, usually with a large wooden mallet or sledgehammer as in the Mahler 6th. The bass drum and gong/tam-tam are also regularly used as cannon substitutes or adjuncts in indoor performances. On September 7, 1812, at Borodino, west of Moscow, Napoleon's forces met those of General Mikhail Kutuzov in a concerted stand made by Russia against the seemingly invincible French Army. The Battle of Borodino saw casualties estimated as high as 100,000 and the French were masters of the field."
"harassment by the Russian troops, the disastrous battle at the crossing of Berezina river, and agonizing cold (down to minus 30 degree Celsius). Napoleon's army of more than 500,000 soldiers was annihilated, thus marking a turning point in world affairs and events around the world. ""The Washington Post"" reviewer Anne Applebaum commented: ""Certain historical events become so covered in myth and significance, so overlaid with patriotism and emotion, that over time many people forget what really happened and why. Napoleon's fatal 1812 march on Moscow is one such event."" HarperCollins commented that ""Moscow 1812 is a masterful work of history;"""
"Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (; ) was a battle fought on 7 September 1812 in the Napoleonic Wars during the French invasion of Russia. The fighting involved around 250,000 troops and left at least 70,000 casualties, making Borodino the deadliest day of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon's "" launched an attack against the Russian army, driving it back from its initial positions but failing to gain a decisive victory. Both armies were exhausted after the battle and the Russians withdrew from the field the following day. Borodino represented the last Russian effort at stopping the French advance on"
"a stop to this, to ensure his own access to the Mediterranean and exclude his chief rival, Napoleon made an effort in 1812 against Russia. Despite his victorious advance, the taking of Smolensk, the victory on the Moskva, and the entry into Moscow, he was defeated by the country and the climate, and by Alexander's refusal to make terms. After this came the terrible retreat in the harsh Russian winter, while all Europe was concentrating against him. Pushed back, as he had been in Spain, from bastion to bastion, after the action on the Berezina, Napoleon had to fall back"
"the battle in his poem ""Borodino"". The battle was famously described by Count Leo Tolstoy as ""a continuous slaughter which could be of no avail either to the French or the Russians"" in the culminating books X and XI of his novel ""War and Peace"". The Imperial Russian Navy named a battleship after the battle. A huge panorama representing the battle was painted by Franz Roubaud for the centenary of Borodino and installed on the Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow to mark the 150th anniversary of the event. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky also composed his ""1812 Overture"" to commemorate the battle. In"
"Battle of Berezina The Battle of Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina (near Borisov, Belarus), and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome. The French suffered very heavy losses but managed to cross the river and avoid being trapped. Since then """"Bérézina"""" has been used in French as a synonym for ""disaster."" As the surviving masses of the Grande Armée struggled on for the perceived safety of"
"Battle of Mir (1812) The Battle of Mir took place on 9 and 10 July 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Three Polish Lancers divisions battled against Russian cavalry, ending in the first major Russian victory in the French invasion of Russia. Russian general Matvei Platov had eight Cossack regiments and two Don batteries deployed south of the village of Mir, when one brigade of the Polish Fourth Light Cavalry attacked his advance posts, numbering about 100 men. These advance posts had the dual job of both observation and sentry duty, and to entice the enemy to attack; ambushes of"
"Chashniki, Napoleon ordered Victor to immediately attack Wittgenstein again and recapture Polotsk. This led to yet another French defeat, the Battle of Smoliani, on 14 November 1812. Battle of Chashniki The Battle of Chashniki (, ), sometimes called the Battle of Czasniki (from the Polish spelling - ), was fought during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, on 31 October 1812, between Russian forces under General Wittgenstein, and the French army, commanded by Marshal Victor. This battle was a failed effort by the French to reestablish their northern ""Dvina Line"", which had crumbled as a result of Wittgenstein's victory at the Second"
"Battle of Gorodechno The Battle of Gorodechno was a battle between the army of the allies of Napoleonic France and Russia at Gorodechno, a town in Kobryn Uyezd, Grodno Governorate (now Pruzhany District, Brest Region). On August 12, 1812, a battle took place between the part of the 3rd Reserve Observation Army (about 18,000 men) under the command of General Tormasov and the Austrian and Saxon corps of the Austrian prince Schwarzenberg and Reynier (about 40,000 men). The Russian position from the front was accessible only by three dams, which passed through the marshy tributary of the Mukhavets River; its"
"de Tolly. The battle is often seen by French historians as a missed opportunity for Napoleon, who failed to press Pahlen hard and thus render the Russian retreat difficult. Indeed, Napoleon took for granted the fact that the Russians would fight the next day and stopped his attack early on, unwilling to risk high losses against an enemy who vastly outnumbered the forces that he had available. Battle of Vitebsk (1812) The Battle of Vitebsk, sometimes spelled Witepsk, was a military engagement that took place on 26 and 27 July 1812 during the French invasion of Russia. The battle put"
"the Berezina River in November, only 27,000 effective soldiers remained; the had lost some 380,000 men dead and 100,000 captured. Following the crossing of the Berezina, Napoleon left the army and returned to Paris to protect his position as Emperor and to raise more forces to resist the advancing Russians. The campaign effectively ended on 14 December 1812, with the last French troops leaving Russian soil. The campaign was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. The reputation of Napoleon was severely shaken, and French hegemony in Europe was dramatically weakened. The , made up of French and allied invasion"
"Battle of Krasnoi The Battle of Krasnoi (""Krasny"") (November 15 to 18, 1812) was a series of skirmishes fought in the final stage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. The Russians under General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov inflicted heavy losses on the remnants of the Grande Armée. Lacking sufficient artillery, cavalry and supplies to wage battle, Napoleon's objective at Krasnoi was to collect his scattered troops and to resume his retreat. Despite the vast superiority of his forces, Kutuzov refrained from launching a full-scale offensive during the four days of fighting. The climax of the engagement occurred on November 17, when an"
"Battle of Chashniki The Battle of Chashniki (, ), sometimes called the Battle of Czasniki (from the Polish spelling - ), was fought during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, on 31 October 1812, between Russian forces under General Wittgenstein, and the French army, commanded by Marshal Victor. This battle was a failed effort by the French to reestablish their northern ""Dvina Line"", which had crumbled as a result of Wittgenstein's victory at the Second battle of Polotsk just two weeks earlier. Upon learning of the French defeat at Polotsk, Victor, the commander of the French IX corps which Napoleon had kept"
"to 161,475 men. Napoleon lost at least 30,000 men in this battle, to gain a narrow and Pyrrhic victory almost into hostile territory. Napoleon's invasion of Russia is listed among the most lethal military operations in world history. Napoleon's invasion of Russia is better known in Russia as the ""Patriotic War of 1812"" (Russian , ). It should not be confused with the ""Great Patriotic War"" (, ), a term for Adolf Hitler's invasion of Russia during the Second World War. The ""Patriotic War of 1812"" is also occasionally referred to as simply the """"War of 1812"""", a term which"
"Battle of Vyazma The Battle of Vyazma (3 November 1812) occurred at the beginning of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. In this encounter, the rear guard of the Grande Armée was defeated by the Russians commanded by General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich. Although the French repelled Miloradovich's attempt to encircle and destroy the corps of Louis Nicolas Davout, they withdrew in a partial state of disorder after suffering heavy casualties from continued Russian attacks. The French reversal at Vyazma was not decisive, but it was noteworthy because of its disruptive impact on the Grande Armée's retreat. Two weeks before the Battle of"
"troops. When the remnants of the Napoleon's army crossed the Berezina River in November, only 27,000 fit soldiers survived, with 380,000 men dead or missing and 100,000 captured. Napoleon then left his men and returned to Paris to prepare the defence against the advancing Russians. The campaign effectively ended on 14 December 1812, when the last enemy troops left Russia. The Russians had lost around 210,000 men, but with their shorter supply lines, they soon replenished their armies. Seeing an opportunity in Napoleon's historic defeat, Prussia, Sweden, Austria, and several German states re-entered the war. Napoleon vowed that he would"
"than 30 kilometers away. Upon finding out about this, the king, who was on his way to help the garrison, decided to halt the march and head back to Poland. Battle of Moscow (1612) The Battle of Moscow was a series of two battles, which took place in Moscow, on September 1 and 3, 1612, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18). Forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were commanded by Field Hetman of Lithuania, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, while Russians were led by Dmitry Pozharsky. The battles ended in tactical Russian victory. After the Battle of Klushino in summer of 1610 Tsar Vasili"
"in evading Napoleon's pincers. A final stand for the defence of Moscow led to the massive Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812. There the Armée won a bloody but indecisive and arguably Pyrrhic victory. Seven days after Borodino, La Grande Armée entered Moscow only to find the city largely empty and ablaze. Its soldiers were now forced to deal with the fires while hunting down the arsonists and guarding Moscow's historic districts. Napoleon and his army spent over a month in Moscow, vainly hoping that the Czar would respond to the French peace feelers. After these efforts failed, the"
"Battle of Smoliani At the Battle of Smoliani (November 13-14, 1812), the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein defeated the French forces of Marshal Claude Victor and Marshal Nicholas Oudinot. This battle was the last effort of the French to reestablish their northern flank in Russia, known as the ""Dwina Line"". Previously, the French had been defeated in this sector at the Second battle of Polotsk (October 18-20, 1812) and at the Battle of Czasniki (October 31, 1812) Upon learning of Victor's defeat at the Battle of Czasniki, Napoleon – who was already distressed about the situation in the north due"
"against Britain. He and Napoleon could never agree, especially about Poland, and the alliance collapsed by 1810. The tsar's greatest triumph came in 1812 as Napoleon's invasion of Russia proved a total disaster for the French. The initiative swung toward the Allies. Russian armies joined the others in pushing the French all the way back, seizing Paris, and forcing Napoleon to abdicate in 1814. As part of the winning coalition against Napoleon Russia gained some spoils in Finland and Poland at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815. The tsar attended and was deeply involved in the diplomatic wrangling over the"
"and made him a member of the Committee on Navy Reorganization. In 1807, he was promoted to Admiral and appointed Minister of the Navy. Chichagov resigned and traveled in Europe in 1809-1811. Elizabeth died in 1811. In 1812, Alexander recalled him and appointed him Commander in Chief of the newly formed Third Western Army and Governor-General of Moldavia and Wallachia. However, the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest ended the Russo-Turkish War by the time he took command of the army. During the 1812 campaign against Napoleon, he was blamed for letting Napoleon escape at the Berezina River in November 1812. In"
"French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 () and in France as the Russian Campaign (), began on 24 June 1812 when Napoleon's crossed the Neman River in an attempt to engage and defeat the Russian army. Napoleon hoped to compel Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia. Napoleon named the campaign the Second Polish"
"the Berezina is described in Honoré de Balzac's novel The Country Doctor. The drama of the battle's story inspired many works of art centred on the crossing. Battle of Berezina The Battle of Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina (near Borisov, Belarus), and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome. The French suffered very heavy losses but managed to cross the river and avoid being trapped. Since"
"Battle of Kobrin The Battle of Kobryn was a battle that took place on 27 July 1812 between the Russian and Saxon forces in the city of Kobryn at the initial stage of French invasion of Russia. The battle was the first major victory of Russian forces in the Patriotic War of 1812. On June 24, 1812 Napoleon invaded the Russian Empire on a broad front from Brest to the Baltic sea in the north. The main French forces crossed the Neman in Lithuania and acted against the 1st and 2nd Russian armies stationed there. 33,000-strong Austrian corps of Schwarzenberg"
"Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March is a non-fiction book analysing the events and circumstances during the French Invasion of Russia and the events during the reign of Napoleon, which would, ultimately, mark the ending of the Napoleonic empire after his troops were defeated after attempting to access Moscow. The book was written by Adam Zamoyski and first published on August 3, 2004 by HarperCollins; receiving positive reviews by critics and the media. Napoleon I of France was, at the time, a very prominent military and political figure, desiring to create a French-governed Europe. He succeeded"
"The huge multinational army marched slowly east, and the Russians fell back with its approach. After the capture of Smolensk and victory in the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon and a part of the Grande Armée reached Moscow on 14 September 1812. However, the army was already drastically reduced because of deaths and injuries from battles with the Russians, disease (principally typhus), desertion, and long communication lines. The army spent a month in Moscow but was ultimately forced to march back westward. It started to suffer from cold, starvation and disease, and was constantly harassed by Cossacks and Russian irregulars, so"
"invaded. The French invasion of Russia (1812) Was a total disaster, caused primarily by weather, partisan attacks, disease and inadequate logistics. Only small remnants of the invading army returned from Russia. On the Spanish front the French armies were defeated and evacuated Spain. Since France had been defeated on these two fronts, states it previously conquered and controlled struck back. The Sixth Coalition was formed, and the German states of the Confederation of the Rhine switched sides, finally opposing Napoleon. Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of the Nations outside Leipzig in October 1813. The Allies invaded France and Napoleon"
"Battle of Moscow (1612) The Battle of Moscow was a series of two battles, which took place in Moscow, on September 1 and 3, 1612, during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–18). Forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were commanded by Field Hetman of Lithuania, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, while Russians were led by Dmitry Pozharsky. The battles ended in tactical Russian victory. After the Battle of Klushino in summer of 1610 Tsar Vasili IV of Russia was deposed and taken to Warsaw. The Polish-Lithuanian army entered Moscow on September 21, 1610, and the boyars, clergy and citizens of Moscow, in fear of False"
"Battle of the Neva (1708) The Battle of the Neva was a battle which took place on September 9, 1708 during the Swedish invasion of Russia in the Great Northern War. While Charles XII had started his offensive against Russia from his winter quarters in Saxony, the Swedish–Finnish army of 12,000 men under the command of Georg Lybecker went in field to interrupt and possibly capture the newly-established ports and town of Saint Peterburg, which had been built on Swedish land. This was intended to draw the attention and troops from the main Russian army facing Charles. The Russian forces"
"the street, and also less trade than in other parts of Moscow. However the Arbat continued to serve as the most important way into and out of Moscow towards the West. During Napoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812, French troops led by Joachim Murat used the street to get to the Kremlin. This event is mentioned in Leo Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace, written 50 years afterwards. The fire lit during the battle for Moscow in 1812 destroyed large parts of the predominantly wooden city, and also decimated the Arbat. The results of the energetic period of rebuilding in the"
"marched through Germany and defeated the Russians on 14 June 1807 at Friedland. The Treaties of Tilsit divided Europe between France and Russia and created the Duchy of Warsaw. On 12 June 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with a Grande Armée of nearly 700,000 troops. After the measured victories at Smolensk and Borodino Napoleon occupied Moscow, only to find it burned by the retreating Russian army. He was forced to withdraw. On the march back his army was harassed by Cossacks, and suffered disease and starvation. Only 20,000 of his men survived the campaign. By 1813 the tide had begun to"
"Second Battle of Polotsk The Second Battle of Polotsk (18–20 October 1812) took place during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In this encounter the Russians under General Peter Wittgenstein attacked and defeated a Franco-Bavarian force under Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. In the aftermath of this success, the Russians took Polotsk and dismantled Napoleon's operations in Belarus. Wittgenstein's victory set the stage for the Battle of Berezina in November, in which three Russian armies converged on Napoleon from separate directions. While advancing on Moscow, Napoleon left a contingent of French and German troops at Polotsk to guard his northern flank against Wittgenstein. The"
"in their conquests, this monument of Moorish elegance and grandeur was rescued from the absolute ruin and desolation that were overwhelming it. The roofs were repaired, the saloons and galleries protected from the weather, the gardens cultivated, the watercourses restored, the fountains once more made to throw up their sparkling showers; and Spain may thank her invaders for having preserved to her the most beautiful and interesting of her historical monuments."" Serving during Napoleon's invasion of Russia, under Marshal Joachim Murat, and in the Campaign of 1812–1813, he commanded a cavalry division, becoming noted in the battles of Borodino (being"