05-22-2005, 03:30 AM
Two points about Napoleon's Russian Campaign:
He invaded in June; his retreat from Moscow began in October. He had lost the campaign before the winter began.
"Right from the beginning ill-health was to beset the mighty (Napoleon's) army. Diphtheria, dysentery and typhus, soon aggravated by malnutrition and semistarvation, would take a heavy toll. To cite one instance, the Bavarian Corps lost half its strength from sickness before it ever made contact with the enemy."
David Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon, "The Road to Moscow" pp. 758-9
He invaded in June; his retreat from Moscow began in October. He had lost the campaign before the winter began.
"Right from the beginning ill-health was to beset the mighty (Napoleon's) army. Diphtheria, dysentery and typhus, soon aggravated by malnutrition and semistarvation, would take a heavy toll. To cite one instance, the Bavarian Corps lost half its strength from sickness before it ever made contact with the enemy."
David Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon, "The Road to Moscow" pp. 758-9
Felix Wang
