Old French Flow Map Depicts Napoleon’s Fight against Russia’s Geography

A 19th-century print showing cold and hungry French soldiers during the retreat from Moscow

You have seen many maps, graphs, and charts that display geographical and historical information. But did you know that a flow map drawn in 1869 has been described as “the best statistical graphic ever drawn”? More on that shortly, but first . . .

This winter marks the 200th anniversary of one of the worst military disasters of all time. In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte sought to add Russia to his already huge European empire. He thought that the Russian emperor, Alexander I, would surely surrender when confronted with the obvious might of Napoleon’s great army. But Alexander knew he had a powerful ally—Russia’s physical geography.

On June 24, 1812, Napoleon entered Russian territory with perhaps half a million soldiers. Soon heavy rain made the already bad roads impassable. Supply wagons couldn’t keep up with the army, and both men and horses went hungry. When the French army encountered Russian forces, the Russians would fight but then retreat—time and time again—into the vast Russian countryside. Finally, Napoleon arrived in Moscow. To deny Napoleon a real victory, the Muscovites abandoned the city. Fires broke out, and most of Moscow burned to the ground. If Napoleon had sent the army back to France immediately, further disaster might have been averted. However, he waited until October 18, when the temperature was already dropping below freezing. When they finally turned toward home, a journey of more than 600 miles lay ahead of the dejected soldiers. Bitter cold, starvation, and hostile Russian peasants took a heavy toll. In the end, only about 10,000 soldiers made it back to France.

Now back to that map: It was drawn by French engineer Charles Minard and shows clearly how weather and distance crippled Napoleon’s invasion. (See the original in the first Related Link, below.) The graphic shows how the army was reduced in size to a trickle, along with information on the towns, rivers, dates, and temperatures during the retreat. Minard’s map is unequaled in its ability to display, in the starkest terms, a story of defeat, misery, and death.

Image credit: © Bettmann/Corbis

Related Links

• Charles Joseph Minard
  Click on the image titled “Charles Minard’s flow map of Napoleon’s March” to enlarge the graphic.
  (Source: Wikipedia; accessed November 30, 2012)
• Re-visions of Minard
  Minard’s map has received lots of attention from modern graphic designers. See how several have re-imagined his work. The site includes a complete English translation of the text on Minard’s graphic.
  (Source: York University; accessed November 30, 2012)
• Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia
  This very large website includes illustrations, facts and figures, and battle maps, as well as an extensive description of the invasion.
  (Source: private website; accessed November 30, 2012)
• War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
  You can find the entire text of Tolstoy’s masterful novel about the invasion and the subsequent retreat here.
  (Source: Gutenberg.org; accessed November 30, 2012)