By 1812, unresolved territorial disputes triggered an all-out war, with Napoleon seeking a short conflict. Russia – weakened economically by this association with France – decided to withdraw from France’s orbit. So let’s go back to 1810, two years before the invasion.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s approach to warfare – those attributes that made him so feared – can help us to understand a very modern conflict in Europe: that in Ukraine.įollowing the release of a new biopic of the French emperor, one particular campaign stands out: the invasion of Russia in 1812, which – in its audacity and scale – encapsulates Napoleon’s genius, yet also explains what ultimately led to his downfall.
