Snappy Nappy

The Russian Conflagration of 1812

History: The 1812 Invasion of Russia in a Nutshell

by Russ Lockwood

In between 1807 and 1812, a series of political maneuverings fractured the fragile peace of Tilsit. On the French side, Napoleon insisted on a more stringent enforcement of the Continental System of trade restrictions against Britain. However, Russia's best market for wheat, timber, hemp, and tallow was Britain, and the Russian economy was starting to slide. Further, Napoleon flirted with the creation of a Polish nation and a Confederation of the Balkans--two political entities the Czar refused to permit. And finally, Napoleon's dealings with Turkey aroused Russian ire, as the Russians were at war with its southern neighbor.

When Napoleon proved unwilling to make concessions on Poland or Turkey, Czar Alexander refused to continue the imposition of the Continental System. On December 31, 1810, the Czar issued a decree that favored the entry of neutral ships into Russian ports and excluded the imports of French silk, wine, and brandy.

For the next year and a half, both emperors engaged in a massive military buildup. Napoleon concluded treaties with Prussia and Austria, requiring them to supply troops. He demanded contingents from other allied states such as Bavaria, Saxony, Confederation of the Rhine, Holland, Switzerland, Wurttemberg, the Duchy of Poland, and others. Meanwhile, Alexander concluded treaties with Sweden and Turkey, freeing up Russian troops.

That's when Alexander issued an ultimatum to Napoleon: Russia would negotiate with France only if the French would withdraw from Prussia. Napoleon responded by marching an army to the Niemen River. On the night of June 23, 1812, the first of 600,000 troops crossed the Niemen. The invasion had begun.

Napoleon's Plans

Napoleon learned that the Russians had two main concentrations: an Army under Barclay de Tolly north of the Pripet Marshes, and an army under Bagration centered south of the Pripet Marshes centered on Lutsk. He figured the Russians had three options:

    1: Fall back and refuse battle, in which case he believed he could outmarch them up the middle and crush each army separately.

    2: de Tolly would abandon the north and fall back to the south, in which case he felt he could pin them against the Pripet and crush them.

    3: de Tolly would give ground while Bagration swung north towards Warsaw to sever the French line of communications.

Napoleon felt number 3 was the most likeliest and thus sent a small force to tie down Bagration and slowly give ground to draw the Russians northward. He would press de Tolly, but when Bagration was far enough northward, Napoleon would swing around to trap and destroy Bagration's army. It would all happen within 20 days, and the Russians would sue for peace.

Alexander's Plans

There were many. The initial plan, designed by a Prussian emigre general named Phull, centered the defense on the fortified camp at Drissa. The French would presumably siege it from the front and then cross the river to encircle it from behind. Phull would lead a counterattack against the siegers, sweep them away, and then encircle the French, who would presumably starve, and then tumble whoever remained alive back into Poland and Germany. The problem was that the camp was far from defensible, not anywhere near any important roads, and was not completed.

At this point, the idea was evolving into more of a scorched earth policy without a battle untill the gates of Smolensk. De Tolly warmed to it. Bagration preferred to fight on the frontier. The strategy had not entirely gelled into coherence when Napoleon invaded a day ahead of when de Tolly thought the French would cross the Niemen River.

Maneuvers

The crossing on the night of June 23rd and day of the 24th was unopposed. Davout and most of the cavalry crossed first, followed by Oudinot, Ney, and the rest of the army, which began to fan out into Russia. However, by restricting crossing at Kovno, including the diversion of Ney, from Prenn to Kovno, a tangle occurred at the bridges, slowing Eugene's crossing. MacDonald was heading north from Tilsit towards Riga, and Schwarzenberg and Reynier was heading towards the south to screen Bagration and hold him in the south. Prince Jerome suffered a case of the slows and was far behind schedule.

Meanwhile, Bagration asked permission to advance towards Warsaw (as Napoleon had thought would happen), but was ordered instead to join the main army by marching northeast. De Tolly fell back, roughly in the direction of Drissa. French recon found Doctorov, which they thought was part of Bagration's army. Doctorov had not received orders to move at all, but decided to withdraw on his own.

Davout entered Vilnius on the 28th, and Jerome finally entered Russia on the 30th. Napoleon thought that the Russians had divined his intentions and he reorganized his army whil in Vilnius. Thunderstorms moved in, turning the roads into mud. When they ended, murderous heat took its toll on the army as it marched and marched and marched.

Bagration, meanwhile, reached Nesvich before Schwarzenberg, Reynier, or Jerome could intervene. de Tolly continued to withdraw.

The main French army headed towards Minsk. Davout tried to cut off Bagration, reaching Minsk on July 8, but the wily Russian commander slipped eastwards along the top of the Marshes from Nesvich to Bobryusk. He then headed north to Borisov and east to Orsha. Davout followed, crossing at Mogilev to try and outflank the Russians. He did not.

De Tolly withdrew from Drissa to Vitebsk, but was caught by Napoleon. Yet, the Emperor delayed a day for more forces to arrive, and de Tolly slipped away again. Napoleon entered a deserted town. On August 1st, de Tolly arrived in Smolensk, followed by Bargration on August 3rd-4th.

A little over a month has passed and although there are many skirmishes and rearguard actions, no main battle has occurred. Napoleon had conquered Lithuania without a battle, but the Russian armies were united, and the attrition on the French forces proved ruinous: roughly 150,000 troops were no longer with the Grande Armee. He had outrun his supply trains and indeed, while at Vitebsk, re-organized his line of communications to run through Vilnius, Minsk, Borisov, and Vitebsk.

The Russians advanced towards the French in an abortive attack starting August 7. By the 15th, they are back in Smolensk with the French on their heels. Although serious fighting occurred, once again, the Russians averted a major battle, and slipped away towards Moscow. The French followed. The major battle would be September 7, 1812 at Borodino. A week later, Napoleon would be in Moscow.

Here is where the Snappy Nappy scenario would tentatively end: at Smolensk--in part because of game time to actually march the French across 350 or so miles from the Niemen to Smolensk, and in part because tabletop space would run out. It is also where Napoleon contemplated ending the campaign and wintering. When he pushed on against the advice of various generals at Vitebsk, he had a chance of catching the Russian army. After Smolensk, the relentless push east took an ever increasing toll on the French Grande Armee.

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