LIS 385T.16 - Fall 1997: The Napoleon Project
User-System Interface Design Course

Crossing the Nieman

French
French Crossing at Nieman
About this painting
In June 1812, Napoleon lined 600,000 troops on the Russian border and crossed the Nieman River. Less than half of the troops were French. Perhaps this was the first of many mistakes that Napoleon made marching towards Moscow. While the flags over Bonaparte's troops had French officers and foreign soldiers, he would be facing the Tsar's army that had foreign officers and Russian soldiers.

In his book "With Napoleon in Russia: The Memoirs of General de Caulaincourt Duke of Vicenza" General Caulaincourt writes:

"When the reconnaisance was finished [ Napoleon ] rejoined his staff officers, and once more examined the different points to be occupied by the troops. As he galloped through the wheat, a hare started out between the legs of the Emperor's horse -- and made him swerve slightly. The Emperor whose seat was poor, rolled to the ground but got up so quickly that he was on his feet before I could reach him to give him a hand. He mounted again without saying a word. The ground was very soft and he was only slightly bruised on the hip. It struck me then that here was a bad omen...(p.45)."

March Through Russia (Image Map):

The advance: Niemen River | Kovno | Vitebsk | Smolensk | Borodino | Moscow |
The retreat: Malo-Jaroslavetz | Orsha | Berezina | Smorgoni |