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Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia

Some public-domain imagesfrom the internet

There is no shortageof good maps and art

about Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812.

This is a West Point mapof the situation in Europe

before the invasion.

Napoleon wassomewhere around here.

And Moscow was here,more than 800 miles away.

There are also plentyof good maps of battlesbefore, during, and after

the ill-fated invasion.

The activity is basedon some historical mapsand data about armies

at specific places.

Many of these mapsshow the alliances

that linked many countriestogether on each side.

We found more than fiftyoriginal works of art

that dealt with this topic.(It was, like, viral at the time!)

Many of these paintingcapture the confusion

and horror of war.

The artists camefrom many countries –

on both sides, in between,and neutral bystanders.

Some painters tried to showthe massed cannons

and other tacticsof Napoleonic war.

Others are less flatteringabout the generals

and Napoleon himself!

That same artist (a Russiannamed Vasily Vereshchagin)

also tried to showthe effects of weather.

The message was clear,and it was duly reportedin many old paintings –

Russian winters are rough!

If anything, that messagewas clearer than the effortsto paint individual generals

as heroes or villains.

When your studentsfinish their activity maps,

the results will looklike one of the most famous

maps ever made.

Question: Would Napoleon have invaded Russiaif his fleet had been

victorious at Trafalgar?

Was Borodino the real turning point in history?Or was it Trafalgar? Waterloo?

Would Napoleon have sold Louisianaif things in Europe were different?