In the winter of 1812, Napoleon’s once-mighty army left Russia battered, frostbitten, and starving. The infamous retreat claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, but until recently, no one could say ...

Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, thought he was victorious yet had to retreat, losing most of his army and, soon after, his empire.

Yet the Russian army remains an army. Napoleon’s army, composed of soldiers from many European powers including France, has on the other hand, as Tolstoy assesses it, suffered a mortal wound.

A 1812 letter written by Napoleon in which he vows to blow up the Kremlin sells at auction for 150,000 euros, 10 times the initial estimate.

Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss why Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, thought he was victorious yet had to retreat, losing most of his army and, soon after, his empire.