To top it off, an unusually early winter set in, complete with high winds, sub-zero temperatures and lots of snow. Horses were dying in droves, and the Grande ArmГ©eвЂ™s flanks and rear guard faced constant attacks. All forage along that route had already been consumed, and when the army arrived at Smolensk it found that stragglers had eaten the food left there. Originally he planned a southerly retreat, but his troops were forced back to the road they took in after a replenished Russian army engaged them at Maloyaroslavets. With snow flurries having already fallen, Napoleon led his army out of Moscow on October 19, realizing that it could not survive the winter there.Д«y this time, Napoleon was down to some 100,000 troops, the rest having died, deserted or been wounded, captured or left along the supply line. French troops drank and pillaged while Napoleon waited for Alexander to sue for peace. Most residents had already escaped the city, leaving behind vast quantities of hard liquor but little food. On September 14, the Grande ArmГ©e entered the ancient capital of Moscow, only to see it too become engulfed in flames. Rather than continue with a second day of fighting, the Russians withdrew and left the road to Moscow open. The losses on both sides were enormous, with total casualties of at least 70,000. Roughly three canon booms and seven musket shots rang out each second. That day, the French and Russians pounded each other with artillery and launched a number of charges and countercharges. But the Russians did not truly make a stand until the September 7 Battle of Borodino, which took place just 75 miles from Moscow. Thousands of men died while fighting at Smolensk and elsewhere. Napoleon watches as Moscow burns in a 20th-century book illustration.

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