The Crossing of the Niemen

On June 23-24, 1812, Napoleon's Grande Armée crossed the Niemen without any opposition, surprising the Russians, who had not expected the French to invade their country. Napoleon's plan was to move on quickly, to get as far as possible into Russia before Russian troops had time to prepare their defense. However, very soon after the crossing Napoleon's men became familiar with the best Russian defense, the weather. Heavy rains beat Napoleon's troops and made the roads almost impassable for the heavy waggons and guns. The rains were followed by stifling heat. The few rations the French had had at the beginning had been consumed, and summer's harvest was not ready yet. Men were suffering from diarrhoea and dying in hundreds from exhaustion, hunger, diseases or by suicide. Marshal Adolphe Mortier summed up the situation in his letter home:

From the Niemen to Vilna, I have seen nothing but ruined houses and abandoned carts and equipment. 10,000 horses have been killed already by the cold rains and eating unripe rye which they are not accustomed to. The smell of the dead horses on the road is perfectly horrible. But that is not so bad as the shortness of rations. Several of my Young Guard have a lready starved to death.

(Nicolson, p.38, image from (Assolant, p.13).