Scorched-earth strategy

One of the most beautiful and impressive chess games at the Chessmen Museum represents Napoleon´s campaign in Russia. The tiny general faces Russian field marshal Kutuzov. But instead of fighting, the Russian army officer set fire to Moscow on September 14, 1812.

Napoleon dreamed big. He wanted to conquer the whole of Europe and that included the vast territory of Russia. Although Russian Tsar Alexander I was an ally of his, Napoleon couldn´t contain himself. In 1811, the Russians had ceased to respect the trade barrier on the English enemy and Napoleon started to prepare an invasion.

Biggest army ever

Never before had such a large army been mobilised in Europe: nearly 700.000 men crossed the Polish border and entered Russia on June 24, 1812. Supplies and logistics were perfectly organised so the army could move quickly. This was a first in military history too. The Russian army at the time consisted of less than 500.000 soldiers and Napoleon was optimistic about the future. Before winter, Moscow would be his.

The Russians barely had time to set up their defences because Napoleon´s army was approaching too fast. The strategy they had to resort to then was that of the scorched earth. They destroyed everything that the fast approaching French troops could otherwise have used. They either took food stocks, farm animals, clothing and other utensils with them or destroyed them. Houses and crops grown on the fields were all set on fire and wells were poisoned just so that nothing would fall into the hands of the French. Napoleon went after the receding Russians, without new provisions though. The supply chains from his own territory became increasingly longer…

The turnaround

On September 14, the French entered Moscow. Russian general Kutuzov had previously evacuated the city, including all of its supplies, and the few remaining soldiers set the mainly wooden houses on fire. The hungry and exhausted soldiers couldn´t find any food or shelter in the largely destroyed city… Napoleon stayed in Moscow for a few weeks, waiting for a reaction from the Tsar, but then he really had to move on; to find food for his men and to escape the snow that had started to fall. The Russian winter arrived early that year and the extreme cold caused a lot of casualties among the retreating soldiers. These soldiers were so hungry that they ate the riding- and draught horses, which meant that the cavalry ceased to exist and the heavy cannons had to stay behind in the countryside. This was an enormous loss of material for the French army.

The French troops were forced to go back the same way from which they had come and there was hardly anything left for them on this route. The Russian people were not afraid to kill the soldiers that came begging for help and food and the Cossacks liberally took part in this too. They attacked soldiers that had got lost and their preferred method of killing these privates was leaving them behind naked and needy, to die out in the snow.

All hail the general

All in all, not even 20.000 men from the Grande Armée returned from Russia. The Fire of Moscow would be the turning point for Napoleon. The man who never lost, was finally defeated. Not by a decisive battle but by a clever strategy. Kutuzov became the hero of the Russian people, although Tsar Alexander didn´t entirely agree with this. Yes, the result was that Napoleon had been repelled, but the general had not been able to beat the French.

Historians of later times also maintain that the share of the Russian general in the downfall of the Grande Armée wasn´t as big as it was made out to be. However, Kutuzov didn´t want to attack Napoleon because he had little faith in his own army, which mainly consisted of hastily recruited farmers, and his commanding officers used to argue with each other.

Writer Leo Tolstoy is part of the reason why Kutuzov is still considered one of the most important generals in Russian history. In his book War and Peace (1869) the writer praises the general for his wisdom, so Kutuzov´s place on the chessboard opposite Napoleon seems well-earned.

By Marjolein Overmeer