French Revolution and Napoleonic WarsWars and battles
Battle of the Berezina
Crossing the Berezina near the village of Studzianka, Napoleon’s retreating army broke out of the pincers of the Russian armies of Chichagov and Wittgenstein but lost what remained of its fighting capacity.
- Date
- 14 (26) November 1812 – 17 (29) November 1812exact date · duration: 3 daysJulian calendar (Old Style); the Gregorian date (New Style) is in brackets
- Place
- Studzianka (Berezina crossing)today: Studzianka village, Barysaw District, Minsk Region, Belarus · Eastern Europe
- Participants
- Grande Armée, Russian Empire, Napoleon I
- Threads
- French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, Russia at the turn of the 19th century
- Also known as
- Переправа через Березину
Under fire, French pontonniers built bridges over which the main force and the emperor himself crossed; thousands of stragglers and wounded were left behind on the eastern bank. In French, “Bérézina” has become a byword for utter disaster.
Connections
Part of
- French invasion of Russia24 June – 14 December 1812 · Eastern Europe
Same participants
- Battle of Leipzig4 (16) October 1813 – 7 (19) October 1813 · Western and Central Europevia Grande Armée
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Western and Central Europe
- Battle of Leipzig4 (16) October 1813 – 7 (19) October 1813
- Peninsular War2 May 1808 – 17 April 1814
- Continental System21 November 1806 – 11 April 1814
Balkans and Anatolia
- Treaty of Bucharest16 (28) May 1812
- First Serbian Uprising14 February 1804 – 7 October 1813
Middle East and Egypt
- Treaty of Gulistan12 (24) October 1813
North America
- Founding of Fort RossMarch – 30 August (11 September) 1812
- War of 181218 June 1812 – 17 February 1815