The 1906 caption reads: “FRENCH BURNING THEIR FLAGS ON THE RETREAT FROM MOSCOW.—The retreat of Napoleon's famished and frozen soldiers soon became a despairing flight. The Cossack horsemen swept repeatedly through their lines, slaying and plundering. Napoleon himself, seeing no other way of saving the French standards from the enemy, ordered them to be burnt. This was done, in one last, solemn ceremony while the generals saluted their de-parting glory.” The Russians refused to come to terms, and both military and political dangers could be foreseen if the French were to winter in Moscow. After
The 1906 caption reads: “FRENCH BURNING THEIR FLAGS ON THE RETREAT FROM MOSCOW.—The retreat of Napoleon's famished and frozen soldiers soon became a despairing flight. The Cossack horsemen swept repeatedly through their lines, slaying and plundering. Napoleon himself, seeing no other way of saving the French standards from the enemy, ordered them to be burnt. This was done, in one last, solemn ceremony while the generals saluted their de-parting glory.” The Russians refused to come to terms, and both military and political dangers could be foreseen if the French were to winter in Moscow. After waiting for a month, Napoleon began his retreat, his army now 110,000 strong, on October 19, 1812.
Size: 5280px × 3454px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1800s, 1812, 19th, burn, century, cossacks, early, flags, france, french, history, moscow, napoleon, retreat, russia
