The Russian Winter of 1812 and Napoleon’s Defeat

Why is Napoleon’s loss of the Invasion of Russia so often attributed to the winter weather? Here’s a theory: in the decades following Napoleon’s exit from Russia, artists chose to portray the defeat as occurring in winter because paintings of soldiers bogged-down in snow is simply more visually interesting than paintings of logistics failures. These paintings, each worth at least a thousand words, carried the impression of winter hardship to anyone who has ever seen them.

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow - Adolph Northen (1851)

French Retreat from Russia in 1812 - Illarion Mikhailovich Pryanishnikov (1874)

Night Bivouac of Great Army - Vasilïĭ Vereshchagin (1896-1897)

Épisode de la campagne de Russie - Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet (1836)

The visceral impact of those images is greater than the paintings showing Napoleon arriving at Moscow, finding it burned to prevent him from using it to his advantage.

Napoleon in Burning Moscow - Adam Albrecht (1841)

Before Moscow waiting for the Boyars' Deputation - Vasilïĭ Vereshchagin (1891)

Vasilïĭ Vereshchagin, who in 1891-1897 created a whole series of drawings and paintings about the French Invasion of Russia, was one of the few artists who painted both Napoleon’s arrival at and departure from Moscow. His description of the burning of Moscow was certainly intense, but he was unable to carry that vehemence into his painting of Napoleon overlooking the burning city:

The earth was so hot that it was impossible to touch it. Boots were no protection; the ground scorched the feet even through leather soles. Eye-witnesses assert that molten lead and copper were flowing in streams along the streets. Strangers were astonished to observe that the inhabitants looked upon their burning houses without a trace of emotion. Their religious faith must undoubtedly have sustained them, for they placed ikons before the houses they abandoned, after quietly making the sign of the cross, without lamentation, or weeping, or wringing of hands.

Of course, all this is just a theory. Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture represented the overall Russian defiance during Napoleon’s campaign and can be equally attached to the Battle of Borodino as to the Cossacks’ harassment of the Grand Armée during its retreat from Moscow. Having not read Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I cannot describe how it portrayed the causes of Napoleon’s defeat.

Bibliography

Vereshchagin, V. "1812" Napoleon I in Russia. London: William Heinemann. 1899. Retrieved 11 July 2024 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51418/51418-h/51418-h.htm