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Napoleon - Russian invasion 1812

Napoleon had planned to bring the war to an end within 20 days by forcing the Russians to fight a major battle: his army's strength. Just in case his calculation was out Napoleon had allocated 30 days of supplies. The reality of the campaign however was different. Napoleon soon discovered that the road network in Russia was extremely poor and this forced his soldiers to advance along a very narrow front. Even though he had allowed for a larger supply train, food had to be supplemented by whatever the soldiers could forage along the way. In addition to the poor road network, the agriculture system was less than adequate and there was a bad drought causing a shortage of water. Compounding this problem the wells had been polluted when Russian soldiers had thrown in dead horses. .
             Because the entire army was fundamentally following the same route, the first troops to pass by were able to get the food easily foraged. The second troops to go by were able to forage less and had to travel further to do so, so the troops toward the rear of the 600 000 strong army were left with little to nothing at times. The situation was just as bad for the horses. Grazing along the road or in a paddock was not adequate to maintain a healthy horse. Their food had to be supplemented with hay. The further the army went into Russia, the less hay was available. Even the grass began to be thinned out, and like the food, the first horses had the best grazing, and those bringing up the rear had it the worse. .
             Soldiers became weak due to poor diet. Disease became a major problem. Typhus was rampant among the troops due to infestations of lice; dysentery and chronic diarrhoea were also widespread. Even before Napoleon had reached Moscow almost one third or his troops and horses were dead or hospitalized due to starvation, disease and exhaustion.
             Lieutenant Mertens from Wuerttemberg, who was with III Corps, gives this account: .


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