Napoleon went to Kaurakin, the Russian ambassador ... were so many that the Russians didn’t dare fight. They started to retreat because they didn't have a choice. They had to retreat.

The Night Bivouac of Napoleon's Army during retreat from Russia in 1812, by Vasily Vereshchagin A snow-caked cluster of troops after the ruinous invasion of Russia. By the end of the French ...

On June 24, 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte launched the most audacious campaign of his career. With the most enormous army ever assembled in Europe, he made the fateful decision to invade Russia.