Victory Day over Napoleon Bonaparte

January 7 (December 25 old style) celebrates the forgotten Victory Day over Napoleon Bonaparte On August 30, 1814, Russian Emperor Alexander I issued a decree “On the establishment of the December 25 festival” According to this document, on this day bells were rung and services were held in churches The decree was strictly observed until the 1917 revolution With the advent of Soviet power, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about the day of victory in the distant war, although the commanders of that era were revered In 1942, the Order of Kutuzov was even introduced In modern Russia, the memory of the war with the French has almost been erased; it has been replaced by Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War This holiday is not fixed at the legislative level, although the law on days of military glory includes the Battle of Borodino, in which our troops showed incredible courage At the beginning of the 19th century, a new aggressor with an ever-increasing appetite appeared in Europe - France All power over this country was concentrated in the hands of the ambitious ruler Napoleon Bonaparte, who laid the “foundation” of the statehood of modern France Napoleon needed new lands and new vassals, so he began to expand his sphere of influence His country is mired in endless wars First, the French emperor undertook to restore order in neighboring countries, and then turned his gaze to the east, where the Russian Empire was located with vast territories - a tasty morsel for the commander’s ambitions At first, the French warmly supported their ruler, but the nation’s fighting spirit gradually began to dry up People just wanted a quiet life Initially, Russia adhered to neutrality, but in 1805 the country entered into a coalition with Great Britain and Prussia Together they unsuccessfully resisted French troops, but suffered a crushing defeat at Austerlitz, after which Russia concluded the Tilsit Armistice Treaty This loss took Prussia out of the game England also did not try to support Russia, so our emperor tried to find new allies, but to no avail Some countries were already under France's thumb, while others were licking the wounds inflicted by Bonaparte and preferred to behave more cautiously Relations between France and Russia became tense Bonaparte provoked Alexander I, and in 1812 he decided to start another military campaign The French emperor, along with 450,000 troops, crossed the Russian border in June 1812 This campaign was supposed to cover Napoleon's name with glory, but it ended in complete defeat They were opposed by two Russian Western armies with only 195,000 soldiers Trying to avoid a frontal battle with the enemy, the subjects of Alexander I backed down and were forced to retreat deeper into the country Devastated lands awaited Napoleon French soldiers suffered from hunger, heat and disease By the end of July, entire detachments began to desert from the army Near Smolensk, the Russians were able to join forces, but they were unable to hold the city Our troops had to retreat to Moscow, and on September 7 they fought a general battle near Borodino, which later became the bloodiest battle of the century Although the French lost many soldiers, the Russian troops suffered no less They retreated again and gave Moscow to the enemy, where a fire broke out, destroying more than half of the capital Napoleon lingered in Moscow, and when his troops advanced towards Maloyaroslavets, a turning point came in the war The Russians have finally taken the initiative into their own hands Already rather exhausted, the French began to retreat the same way they came six months ago It is believed that the harsh Russian winter finally finished off the morale of the enemy soldiers On the way, devastated lands without provisions awaited them Napoleon's army was again starving Of the 450,000 soldiers that the French emperor brought with him, only 25,000 returned home The Patriotic War was virtually over Although the Russian army was also drained of blood, Alexander I decided to continue the battle and reach Paris The theater of military operations in the next campaign was the territory of modern Poland and Germany Napoleon somehow managed to recruit another 300,000 soldiers, but another defeat awaited him, which marked the final end of the “golden” era of commander Bonaparte