Even the French nation could not provide all the manpower and supplies needed to carry out the Emperor's grandiose plan for subduing Russia. Throughout 1811, he worked to mobilize the entire continent against Russia. He not only levied the vassal kingdoms in Spain, Italy, and Germany but also summoned Austria and Prussia to furnish their share of men and goods. Altogether, Napoleon could count on nearly 700,000 men of 20 nationalities of whom more than 600,000 crossed the border. Grown far beyond its original intended size, the army was difficult to assemble and hard to feed. Between Tilsit and Moscow, there lay over 600 miles of hostile barren countryside. Because of lack of supplies and the difficulty to feed the large army, Napoleon's plan was simple: bring about a battle, defeat the Russian arm

y, and dictate a settlement. Apparently neither he nor his soldiers, who cheerfully began crossing the Nieman River, thought beyond the immediate goal.

Already 300 miles into Russia, Napoleon had not yet found a way to exploit his advantage. In the Emperor's programming the resources necessary to achieve his objective, he had anticipated fighting a battle within a month after crossing the Nieman. Toward the end of that month Napoleon began to realize that events were disproving the validity of his estimates. Dying horses littered the roads and the advanced guard found little forage as Russians everywhere abandoned their homes. Napoleon knew that he needed to fight. At Smolensk, he set up for a battle and waited but the Russians, afraid of a trap steadily withdrew their troops from Smolensk and continued to retreat deeper into Russia.

The only major battle in the Russian campaign proved that something was definitely lacking in Napoleon's judgment. Borodino was a battle of legendary proportions. Before the battle Napoleon proclaimed, "Soldiers, here is the battle you have so long desired!" However, the fight was inconclusive. At its end, Napoleon found himself the possessor, not of a victory, but of a barren hillside and an increasingly compelling commitment to advance further into the east. Well into the battle, the French had almost cracked the left side of the Russian Army. Several French generals had requested that Napoleon would commit the guard infantry into battle. This would create the final blow and insure the Russian defeat. After 14 hours of intense combat, the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Russia Napoleon, Vyuzma Davout, Moscow Kutusov, Marching Smolensk, Tilsit Moscow, Napoleon November, Smolensk Minsk, Alexander Alexander, Army French, Battle Borodino, russian army, guard infantry, crossing nieman, napoleon's plan, heavy snow, napoleon found, spain italy,
Approximate Word count = 1069
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)