The Battle of the Berezina: Napoleon's Great Escape

by Alexander Mikaberidze

In the winter of 1812, Napoleon's army retreated from Moscow under appalling conditions, hunted by three separate Russian armies, its chances of survival apparently nil. By late November Napoleon had reached the banks of the River Berezina - the last natural obstacle between his army and the safety of the Polish frontier. But instead of finding the river frozen solid enough to march his men across, an unseasonable thaw had turned the Berezina into an icy torrent. Having already ordered the burning of his bridging equipment, Napoleon's predicament was serious enough: but with the army of Admiral Chichagov holding the opposite bank, and those of Kutusov and Wittgenstein closing fast, it was critical. Only a miracle could save him ...

In a gripping narrative Alexander Mikaberidze describes how Napoleon rose from the pit of despair to the peak of his powers in order to achieve that miracle. Drawing on contemporary sources - letters, diaries, memoirs - he recreates one of the greatest escapes in military history - a story often half-told in general histories of the Russian campaign but never before fully explored.

242 pages of narrative, 284 pages in total

Genres: History, Russia, Military History, Nonfiction, France

284 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Alexander Mikaberidze is assistant professor of European history at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He holds a degree in international law from Tbilisi State University (Republic of Georgia, 1999) and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University (2003). After working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia (1996-2000), he taught European and Middle Eastern history at Florida State and Mississippi State Universities and lectured on strategy and policy for the U.S. Naval War College. For his contributions to the Napoleonic studies, he has been awarded the International Napoleonic Society's Legion of Merit Medal and La Renaissance Française's Médaille d'or du Rayonnement Culturel.


Dr. Mikaberidze specializes in the 18th-19th century Europe, particularly the Napoleonic Wars, and the military history of the Middle East. In addition to his articles, Dr. Mikaberidze has written and edited nine books, including Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: Historical Encyclopedia (2011), Napoleon's Great Escape: The Crossing of the Berezina (2010), The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon versus Kutuzov (2007), Historical Dictionary of Georgia (2007), The Russian Officer Corps in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1792-1815 (2005, winner of the 2005 Literary Prize of the International Napoleonic Society), The Czar’s General: The Memoirs of a Russian General in the Napoleonic Wars (2005).

Reviews

[Manny]

There's a terrific passage about the Battle of the Berezina, of which I until now had known little more than the name, in Balzac's Le médecin de campagne:

Mon homme est un des pontonniers de la Bérézina, il a contribué à construire le pont sur lequel a passé l'armée ; et pour en assujettir les premier chevalets, il s'est mis dans l'eau jusqu'à mi-corps. Le général Éblé, sous les ordres duquel étaient les pontonniers, n'est pas pu trouver que quarante-deux assez poilus, comme dit Gondrin, pour entreprendre cet ouvrage. Encore le général s'est-il mis à l'eau lui-même en les encourageant, les consolant, et leur promettant chacun mille francs de pension et la croix de légionnaire. Le premier homme qui est entré dans la Bérézina a eu la jambe emportée par un gros glaçon, et l'homme a suivi sa jambe. Mais vous comprenez mieux les difficultés de l'entreprise par les résultats : des quarante-deux pontonniers, il ne reste aujourd'hui que Gondrin. Trente-neuf entre eux ont péri au passage de la Bérézina, et les deux autres ont fini misérablement dans les hôpitaux de la Pologne.

___________________

Looking through the Hávamál just now (I'm helping one of our Icelandic colleagues to format it), this verse reminded me of the valorous General Éblé and his pontonniers:

Deyr fé,
deyja frændr,
deyr sjálfr ið sama;
ek veit einn
að aldri deyr
dómr um dauðan hvern.

A literal translation:

Die kine
die friends
die self the same:
I know one
that never dies
fame of deed left

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In June of 1812, Napoleon and his Grande Armee invaded Russia, intent on forcing Tsar Alexander I to negotiate once again, just as he had done in 1807. This time, however, things did not go well. Napoleon got his battle, Borodino, but he lost thousands even before Moscow. He then stubbornly stayed on in the burned-out city until even he realized that Alexander would not negotiate. October 19 saw the beginning of the great retreat. Men and their loot hit the road hoping to make it back to France while the Russian Army followed.

This book discusses in great detail the November days that saw the climactic fighting between the Grande Armee and the Russian forces led by Admiral Chichagov as they approached the hopeful safety of the Berezina River. The other two Russian commanders, Wittgenstein and Kutuzov, provided doubtful support and intelligence, which sometimes aided Napoleon more than Chichagov.

The descriptions of the fighting and the conditions that the Grande Armee (French plus their allies) were appalling. The army plus thousands of non-combatants starved, froze, were killed by shelling trudged on until those who survived made it across improvised bridges devised by General Eble and his pontonniers and sappers, who were the true heroes of the crossing.

Napoleon made it out of Russia because he had skilled and dedicated troops, his corps and regimental leadership did an excellent job, and the Russian lack of initiative was a plus. Napoleon provided inspiration, but he was also responsible for many of the problems since he ordered much of the bridging material burned. Chichagov ended up taking most of the blame for Napoleon's escape. The extent of his blame is still controversial.

In a future war, there was another battle with another bridge--'a bridge too far', but the bridges over the Berezina only gave temporary life to Napoleon's army. By 1815 the hope and glory was gone, lost or drowned on
many battlefields. None more so than on the Berezina.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding work on a very confusing campaign. The author smoothly transitions from the operational to the tactical level of war in order to describe some of the more important smaller battles surrounding the crossing. Additionally, he describes the human element of this tragedy extremely well. This campaign is a clear example of how the fog of war can affect operations, and this book also describes that the leadership at the division, regimental, brigade levels, etc. in the Allied armies were responsible for the success of the crossing, not the "genius" of Napoleon.

[Windsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting take on what could have been a disaster. Napoleon pulled one of the most genius evacuations of an army in world history, saving what was left of his army and pulling out of Russia. One of my favorite authors who is Russian. Also have his book on Borodino, which I have not read yet, but if it is anything like this, I will be very pleased.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mikaberidze's book is fascinating stuff. His deft presentation, backed up by thorough research, means that this work sets the new standard for accounts of this pivotal battle.

[Faisal Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Great first hand accounts. The horrors of crossing that bridge must have been insane.