crossing of the Berezina River

E176352

battle military engagement retreat operation

The crossing of the Berezina River was a disastrous retreat action in November 1812 during Napoleon’s withdrawal from Russia, symbolizing the collapse of the Grande Armée amid chaos, heavy losses, and near-encirclement by Russian forces.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Battle of Berezina	4
Battle of the Berezina	1
Crossing of the Berezina by Napoleon’s Grande Armée	1
crossing of the Berezina River canonical	1
Переправа через Березину	1

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	battle ⓘ military engagement ⓘ retreat operation ⓘ
approximateFrenchStrength	tens of thousands of troops and followers ⓘ
approximateRussianStrength	superior numbers compared to French forces ⓘ
belligerent	First French Empire ⓘ Russian Empire ⓘ
casualties	significant Russian casualties ⓘ very high French casualties ⓘ
commander	Admiral Pavel Chichagov ⓘ Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ⓘ surface form: Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov General Jean Baptiste Eblé ⓘ General Peter Wittgenstein ⓘ Michel Ney ⓘ surface form: Marshal Michel Ney Marshal Nicolas Oudinot ⓘ Napoleon I ⓘ surface form: Napoleon I of France
conflict	French invasion of Russia ⓘ
consequence	further disintegration of the Grande Armée ⓘ weakening of Napoleon’s military power in Europe ⓘ
countryAtTheTime	Russian Empire ⓘ
date	November 1812 ⓘ
description	disastrous retreat action during Napoleon’s withdrawal from Russia ⓘ
endDate	29 November 1812 ⓘ
hasLegacy	term "Bérézina" used in French as a synonym for disaster ⓘ
historicalPeriod	Napoleonic era ⓘ
involves	pontonniers of General Jean Baptiste Eblé ⓘ
location	Berezina ⓘ surface form: Berezina River near Borisov ⓘ present-day Belarus ⓘ
militaryTactic	feint and deception to mislead Russian forces about crossing point ⓘ
notableFeature	emergency construction of pontoon bridges ⓘ extreme cold and harsh winter conditions ⓘ large numbers of stragglers and non-combatants ⓘ
notableFor	sacrifice of French engineers and pontonniers ⓘ
outcome	escape of part of the Grande Armée ⓘ heavy French losses ⓘ near-encirclement by Russian forces ⓘ
partOf	French invasion of Russia ⓘ Napoleonic Wars ⓘ
relatedEvent	Battle of Borodino ⓘ Battle of Leipzig ⓘ retreat from Moscow ⓘ
result	French tactical success ⓘ Russian strategic success ⓘ
startDate	26 November 1812 ⓘ
strategicObjective	avoid encirclement and destruction by Russian armies ⓘ preserve remnants of the Grande Armée ⓘ
symbolism	symbol of chaos and catastrophe in French collective memory ⓘ symbol of the collapse of the Grande Armée ⓘ

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

French invasion of Russia → notableEvent → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

French invasion of Russia → keyBattle → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Battle of the Berezina

Patriotic War of 1812 → battle → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Battle of Berezina

Berezina → knownFor → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Battle of Berezina

Berezina → significantEvent → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Battle of Berezina

Berezina → significantEvent → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Crossing of the Berezina by Napoleon’s Grande Armée

Отечественная война 1812 года → ключевоеСражение → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Переправа через Березину

Battle of Krasnoi → followedBy → crossing of the Berezina River ⓘ

this entity surface form: Battle of Berezina