page_title: French occupation of Moscow
section_title: Entrance of the French to Moscow
hierarchical_section_title: French occupation of Moscow / Entrance of the French to Moscow
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Перед Москвой в ожидании депутации бояр
context_page_description: The Occupation of Moscow by the Great Army under the command of the Emperor Napoleon lasted a little more than a month, from September 14 to October 20, 1812, and became a turning point in the Patriotic War of 1812. During the occupation, the city was looted and devastated by fire, the causes of which are controversial among historians. The last time before this, Moscow was occupied by foreign troops exactly 200 years before.
context_section_description: On September 14, 1812, at 2 pm on Tuesday, Napoleon arrived at Poklonnaya Gora, which was 3 miles away from Moscow (within its borders for 1812). There, by order of the Neapolitan King Murat, the vanguard of the French troops were formed into battle formation. Here Napoleon waited for half an hour, and then, not seeing any enemy action from Moscow, ordered a shot from a cannon to give a signal to the further movement of the French troops to Moscow. Cavalry and artillery on horses galloped at full speed, and the infantry ran. After reaching about a quarter-hour of the Dorogomilovskaya outpost, Napoleon dismounted at the Kamer-Kollezhsky shaft and began to pace back and forth, waiting for a delegation or bringing of city keys from Moscow. Infantry and artillery to the music began to enter the city.
  After about ten minutes of waiting, a young man in a blue overcoat and a round hat approached Napoleon and, after talking with Napoleon for a few minutes, entered the outpost. According to an eyewitness Fyodor Korbaletsky, this young man told the French emperor that the Russian army and residents left the city. This news, spread among the French, at first aroused bewilderment in them, which over time grew into despondency and grief. Napoleon was out of balance.
  At that time, suitable French troops began to split before approaching the Dorogomilovskaya outpost into two parts and bypass Moscow along the Kamer-Kollezhsky shaft to the right and left to enter the city through other outposts.
  An hour later, having regained consciousness, Napoleon mounted his horse and rode into Moscow. He was followed by cavalry, which had not entered Moscow before. Having passed the Dorogomilovskaya Yamskaya Sloboda and reaching the banks of the Moscow River, Napoleon stopped. At this time, the vanguard crossed the Moscow River, infantry and artillery began to cross the river over the bridge, and the cavalry began to ford. After crossing the river, the army began to break up into small detachments, taking guard on the river bank, along the main streets and side streets of the city.
  The streets of the city were deserted. In front of Napoleon, at a distance of a hundred fathoms, two squadrons of horse guards rode. The retinue of Napoleon was very numerous. The difference between the diversity and richness of the decoration of the uniforms of the people surrounding Napoleon and the simplicity of the decoration of the uniform of the emperor himself was striking. On Arbat, Napoleon saw only the owner of the pharmacy with his family and the wounded French general, who was at their stand.
  Having reached the Borovitsky gate of the Kremlin, Napoleon, looking at the Kremlin walls, said with a sneer: "What a scary wall!". Ober-Stalmeister Armand de Caulaincourt, who was with the emperor, wrote:
  In the Kremlin, just like in most private mansions, everything was in place: even the clock went on, as if the owners remained at home. A city without inhabitants was surrounded by gloomy silence. Throughout our long journey we did not meet a single local resident; the army held positions in the vicinity; some corps were placed in barracks. At three o'clock the emperor mounted his horse, traveled around the Kremlin, was in the Educational Home, visited the two most important bridges and returned to the Kremlin, where he settled in the ceremonial chambers of Emperor Alexander.
  Subsequently, as the contemporaries of those events wrote, seeing both the Russian government and the Russian people hatred and self-neglect, who decided to better cede their ancient capital to him than to bow before him, Napoleon ordered that instead of horses, Russians of both sexes should be used to bring edibles to the Kremlin, not analyzing either state or years. According to historian Alexander Martin, Muscovites in general, however, chose not to accept the occupation, but to flee the city. By the beginning of 1812, according to police, there were 270,184 residents in Moscow. According to her report, during the occupation, only about 6,200 civilians remained in the capital, that is, 2.3% of th
caption: In front of Moscow. Waiting for the deputation of the boyars. Napoleon on Poklonnaya Hill. Vereshchagin (1891–1892)
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