Battle of Berezina River
The Battle of Berezina River, fought from November 26 to 28, 1812, was a critical engagement during Napoleon Bonaparte's retreat from Moscow, which began on October 19 with approximately 100,000 troops. Following his failed invasion and subsequent encirclement by Russian forces led by Admiral Tshitshagov and General Kutuzov, Napoleon aimed to cross the Berezina River at Studzianka Ford near Borisov. To facilitate this, French forces constructed two pontoon bridges while engaging in fierce combat against significantly larger Russian troops. Despite heavy losses, around 60,000 men from the French army managed to cross the river. However, many stragglers perished in the chaos, leading to substantial casualties. The battle exemplified the challenges faced by Napoleon's Grande Armée, which suffered tremendous attrition during the campaign. Ultimately, the stalling actions at Berezina allowed a portion of the retreating forces to continue toward safety, but the drastic decline in troop numbers highlighted the devastating impact of the campaign, with only about 4,000 soldiers ultimately reaching Prussia from an initial 600,000.
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Subject Terms
Battle of Berezina River
Type of action: Ground battle in the Napoleonic Wars
Date: November 26-28, 1812
Location: Studzianka Ford on Berezina River
Combatants: 18,000 French vs. 67,000 Russians
Principal commanders:French, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821); Russian, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813)
Result: Actions enabled 60,000 French to cross the river and escape from superior Russian forces
Napoleon Bonaparte began his retreat from Moscow on October 19 with 100,000 men after failing to force the submission of Czar Alexander I. He faced mounting losses from a November storm and was gradually encircled by superior Russian forces led by Admiral Tshitshagov and Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. On November 24, he prepared to cross the Berezina River at Studzianka Ford near Borisov. Two pontoon bridges were constructed across the frigid river. General Claude P. Victor’s 6,000 Frenchmen held off Ludwig Adolf Wittgenstein’s 40,000 Russians in the rear on the east bank, while Michel Ney and Nicolas Charles Oudinot, with 8,000 men, held off Admiral Tshitshagov’s 27,000 Russians on the west bank bridgehead.
Napoleon suffered huge losses at the Berezina, but about 60,000 men managed to cross the river on November 26-28. Many thousands of stragglers perished as they were forced over the sides of the bridges or through the unsecured planks by the crush of the desperate throng.
Significance
French stalling actions at the Berezina River enabled Napoleon and 60,000 of his men to retreat toward Vilna and thence across the Niemen River (in December). In the final tally, only 4,000 troops reached Prussia from among the Grand Army’s original host of almost 600,000 men.
Bibliography
Austin, Paul Britten. 1812: The March on Moscow. London: Greenhill Books, 1993.
De Segur, Comte Philippe-Paul. Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. New York: Time, 1965.
Napoleon’s Road to Moscow. Documentary. Kultur Video, 1999.
Nicolson, Nigel. Napoleon 1812. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1985.
War and Peace. Fiction feature. Paramount Pictures, 1956.