The lack of supplies and the impossibility
of wintering in a ruined city, attacked in turn by an enraged peasantry
and by detachments of General Kutusov's army, now comfortably ensconced
a short distance to the south, compelled Napoleon on 22 October, after
an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Kremlin, or citadel, to evacuate
Moscow and to retrace his steps toward the Niemen.
[Sidenote: The Disastrous Retreat from Moscow]
The retreat from Moscow is one of the most horrible episodes in all
history. To the exasperating and deadly attacks of the victoriously
pursuing Russians on the rear were added the severity of the weather
and the barrenness of the country. Steady downpours of rain changed to
blinding storms of sleet and snow. Swollen streams, heaps of abandoned
baggage, and huge snow-drifts repeatedly blocked the line of march. The
gaunt and desolate country, which the army had ravaged and pillaged
during the summer's invasion, now grimly mocked the retreating host. It
was a land truly inhospitable and dreary beyond description.
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