(Photo by Art Media/Print Collector / Getty Images) German infantrymen following a tank towards Moscow in the snow, Russia, 1941. Russia’s war of attrition aided by its hostile climate had taken its toll on a once "Grande" invasion force. On December 4, Napoleon abandoned his army that had now deteriorated into a disillusioned mob. Lack of food and winter clothing coupled with typhus doomed much of the Grande Armée to perish before returning to France.
With the brutal Russian winter approaching and his soldiers still in their summer uniforms, Napoleon left Moscow and began his retreat out of the country. In the abandoned cultural capital of Russia, Napoleon waited five weeks for a peace offer that would never arrive. Napoleon was able to occupy Moscow on September 14, but his Grande Armée was now a quarter of the size. The Grande Armée’s supply lines were inadequate to sustain such a large attacking force, and thousands of Napoleon’s forces fell victim to disease and malnourishment. As they retreated, the Russians would lay waste to any supplies, preventing the Grande Armée from collecting resources as they marched. Instead, they performed a series of tactical retreats farther and farther into the Russian interior. The Russians refused to engage with Napoleon’s forces.
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