09/05/2026
In June 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte launched the largest military invasion Europe had ever seen.
More than 600,000 soldiers crossed the Neman River into Russia as part of the Grande Armée. Napoleon expected a decisive victory that would force Tsar Alexander I back into his Continental System and secure French dominance over Europe.
Instead, he marched into one of the greatest military disasters in history.
This documentary follows the entire Russian Campaign of 1812, from the growing tensions between France and Russia, the scorched-earth strategy of Barclay de Tolly and Kutuzov, the bloody Battle of Borodino, the burning of Moscow, and the catastrophic retreat that destroyed Napoleon's army.
Long before winter arrived, disease, starvation, exhaustion, desertion, and collapsing supply lines were already devastating the Grande Armée. By the time the French reached Moscow, the campaign was unraveling. When Napoleon finally ordered a retreat, Russian forces, Cossack raids, and the brutal Russian winter turned defeat into catastrophe.
By the end of the campaign, fewer than 30,000 soldiers remained from the force that had entered Russia only six months earlier.
The invasion of Russia shattered the myth of French invincibility, inspired a new coalition against Napoleon, and marked the beginning of the fall of the French Empire.
⚔️ Watch the complete story of Napoleon's greatest defeat and one of the most important campaigns in military history.
⏱ Chapters
00:00 Napoleon Invades Russia
01:08 The Road to War
02:25 The Grande Armée Begins to Collapse
03:48 The Battle of Borodino
05:07 Moscow Burns
06:31 The Disaster at the Berezina
07:40 The Beginning of Napoleon's Fall
