1812 Battle of the Berezina

205 years ago, on November 26, 1812, the battle on the Berezina River began - the last battle in Napoleon's campaign against Russia, which ended on November 29. The armies of Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, General Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov tried to surround and completely destroy the remnants of the "Great Army", capturing the French emperor. However, due to the inconsistency of the actions of the Russian armies, Napoleon managed to cross the Berezina near Borisov and leave with about 9 thousand combat-ready soldiers. His losses amounted to about 21 thousand soldiers with weapons and 15-20 thousand unarmed.

The main blame for the fact that Napoleon was "missed", Emperor Alexander I laid on Chichagov, who was dismissed. However, modern historians believe that Kutuzov and Wittgenstein were no less guilty.