100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 91 Kutuzov's Victory over Napoleon

Chapter 98 Kutuzov's Victory over Napoleon - Avoiding the Edge of the Enemy

Some people are not rational at all when they encounter certain situations, and they like to confront the tough, and they often suffer as a result.In fact, we should know how to avoid the opponent's edge, and then look for opportunities to solve the problem.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon, the French emperor, fought many wars with European anti-French countries and won many battles. His position was further consolidated and his strength was greatly enhanced.But Russia in the east has never been included in Napoleon's sphere of influence.If Napoleon wants to dominate Europe, he must completely defeat Russia.

In May 1812, in Dresden, Germany, which was occupied by the French army, Napoleon majestically inspected his troops.The French soldiers were in high spirits and kept shouting: "Long live the Emperor! Long live France!" Napoleon was overjoyed and full of confidence in the upcoming war.After the inspection, he waved his arms: "Let's go!" The 5 troops marched to the Russian-German border.His opponent was the great Russian general Kutuzov.

On June 6, French troops crossed the Neman River and entered Russian-controlled Lithuania.

At first, the situation seemed to be very favorable for the French army.The French army entered enemy territory without encountering resistance from a single soldier.Napoleon felt something was wrong, so he ordered a few ordinary people to ask about the situation.The soldiers looked left and right, but they didn't see anyone!It turned out that before the arrival of the French army, the tsar had ordered everyone to hide and fortify the walls and clear the country.

It was precisely because of the strategy of the Russians that Napoleon's hundreds of thousands of troops were in a lonely and cold wilderness, in a difficult situation, and soon there was a supply problem.But Napoleon still held on. "Go on! March to Smolensk! Go there and completely wipe out the Russian army." "Russia's most outstanding soldier" Bagration died heroically on the way of the French advance.Russian Supreme Commander Kutuzov ordered the troops to retreat. On September 9, French troops entered Moscow under the leadership of Napoleon.But Kutuzov had ordered the evacuation of the whole city, leaving an empty city to Napoleon.

Napoleon took Moscow with great difficulty and got nothing.Furious, he ordered a fire to set this majestic city, the capital of Russia.The fire was burning in the whole city, and the blazing flames seemed to be showing off for the French soldiers, and they also told the unprecedented catastrophe suffered by the Russian people!
The fire burned for three days and three nights, and the Kremlin, the temporary headquarters of the French army, was enveloped in thick smoke.Before Napoleon could feel the joy of the victor, he was driven out by the pungent smoke-he couldn't stand it anymore.

Although Napoleon occupied Moscow, it greatly lengthened the transportation line of the French army, and their supplies could not be obtained from the local area.With the advent of winter, the supply of military supplies is even tighter.The achievements of the soldiers in exchange for their lives were difficult to maintain due to lack of food and clothing, and the French army was full of resentment. On October 10, the Russian army took advantage of the fire to loot again, killing and wounding more than 18 French soldiers.Faced with this situation, Napoleon felt that his troops were no longer capable of continuing to occupy Russia. Instead of being beaten to death by the Russian army, starving to death, or freezing to death, it would be better to retreat automatically.If you keep the green hills, you are not afraid of running out of firewood.So, on October 3000, he led 10 million remnant soldiers back from the same route.On the way back home, he was constantly ambushed by the Russians, coupled with the snowstorm and freezing weather, and the soldiers died in large numbers. In mid-December, Napoleon finally led the French army to end the "death journey" and leave Russia.But now there are only 19 emaciated soldiers left in the original 115 army.

Wisdom Interpretation:

Eggs should not touch rocks, otherwise they will kill themselves.Smart people know how to avoid the enemy's edge, adopt devious tactics, and wait for the enemy's strength to weaken before defeating him.Faced with Napoleon's powerful offensive, Kutuzov did not use the army to die in vain, but avoided the edge, weakened the French army by fortifying the wall and clearing the field, and then looked for opportunities to wipe out the enemy.Kutuzov's approach is undoubtedly the best footnote to this roundabout wisdom.

(End of this chapter)