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French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte 's Grande Armée occupied Moscow from 14 September to 19 October 1812 during the Napoleonic Wars. It marked the summit of the French invasion of Russia. During the occupation, which lasted 36 days, the city was devastated by fire and looted by both Russian peasants and the French. [4]
On September 14, 1812, Napoleon moved into Moscow. However, he was surprised to have received no delegation from the city. [159] Before the order was received to evacuate Moscow, the city had a population of approximately 270,000 people. 48 hours later three quarters of Moscow was reduced to ashes by arson. [24] A French Army foot soldier recalled:
Brought before Napoleon, the officer admitted he and others had been ordered to set the city on fire, after which he was bayonetted by guardsmen on the spot on the orders of a furious Napoleon. [ 18 ]
On the 15th September, a week after the bloody battle of Borodino, Napoleon entered Moscow. He had expected to enter with glory, met by a delegation of the city's highest officials assembled in recognition of his victory and ready to negotiate peace.
All that is known is that no orders for such an act were given by Napoleon or Alexander (irrespective – in the case of the former – of later Russian propaganda). Whatever the case, early on 15 September Napoleon entered an almost completely deserted Moscow.
1 paź 2020 · Over the last forty years he has produced a mass of extremely detailed Orders of Battle totaling nearly 8,000 different OOB’s ranging from 1600 to 1945 and produced a number of books on various aspects of military history.
Battle of Moscow, battle fought between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from September 30, 1941 to January 7, 1942, during World War II. It was the climax of Nazi Germany’s Operation Barbarossa, and it ended the Germans’ intention to capture Moscow, which ultimately doomed the Third Reich.
