Napoleon Enters Moscow: The Fire Begins
Napoleon rode into Moscow expecting a surrender. None came. The city was nearly empty — Governor Rostopchin had ordered most residents to leave, and as French troops entered on September 14, 1812, fires began breaking out across the city. Russian agents had lit them deliberately. Three-quarters of Moscow burned over five days. Napoleon waited 35 days in the ruins for a peace offer that never arrived. He'd marched 1,500 miles to capture a city no one would hand over, and left with nothing but winter behind him.
September 14, 1812
214 years ago
Key Figures & Places
France
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Moscow
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Napoleonic Wars
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Grande Armee
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grenadiers
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Fire of Moscow (1812)
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Napoleonic Wars
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Grande Armée
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Fire of Moscow (1812)
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French invasion of Russia
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Napoleon
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Moscow
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Russian Empire
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