Lesson 4: Battles of the French Invasion of Russia

On Napoleon’s journey to Moscow, the French army encountered battles against the Russian army. The Russian army would frequently retreat back to Russia before the advancing French army came. Because the Russians got to many cities before the French, they employed a scorched earth strategy, which was to burn food and shelter so that the enemy could not use it. This strategy significantly weakened Napoleon’s army, but were the French still successful in winning some battles?

Doing the science

1. Start the Data Visualization Simulation by clicking on the "Sim" tab.
2. Click on the "Battles" button at the bottom of the screen.
3. Move the mouse over each section of the path to view the battles that Napoleon fought.
4. Write the names of the battle along with the victors in the table below.
5. Click on the "Troops" button at the bottom of the screen.
6. The battles were part of the reason why there were so many casualties during the French Invasion of Russia. Put the number of soldiers lost in the "Casualties" column.