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Napoleon’s Arrival in an Abandoned Moscow: The Fire That Sealed His Fate

On September 14, 1812, when Napoleon Bonaparte and his vast army marched into Moscow, they were met with an unsettling silence. Most of the city’s population, estimated at over 250,000 residents, had fled in anticipation of the impending conflict. The Russian military had strategically retreated, adopting a scorched-earth strategy designed to thwart the invaders’ survival through the brutal winter that loomed ahead.

Just three months earlier, Napoleon had crossed into Russia with nearly 500,000 troops, pushing his forces past the Neman River toward Moscow. Upon entering the city and discovering it deserted, the French soldiers looked forward to a well-deserved reprieve after their long grueling journey. When night came, Napoleon and his men seized the opportunity to occupy the opulent residences of Moscow’s elite.

“Both officers and the rank-and-file were eager to indulge in the luxurious homes of affluent Muscovites,” noted historian Alexander Mikaberidze in his work The Burning of Moscow: Napoleon’s Trial by Fire, 1812. “Senior officers were often greeted with offers of hospitality from servants, all hoping to protect themselves and the properties of their masters from the worst outcomes.”

The French revelers enjoyed a lavish first evening, likely envisioning many more similar nights ahead. They feasted on the city’s provisions and, after enduring hundreds of miles of hardship, finally succumbed to sleep.

Nonetheless, a sense of unease crept over Napoleon. Philippe-Paul de Ségur, a general who chronicled the 1812 campaign, reported Napoleon’s disbelief at the empty city: “Perhaps these inhabitants do not even know how to surrender; everything is new to them, as it is to us.”

That night, Napoleon chose to rest in a suburban house. However, around 2 a.m. on September 15, news of a fire sweeping through the deserted city reached him. Determined to ascertain the situation, he made his way to the Kremlin, still distant from the flames. Despite the troubling news, he was captivated by the beauty of Moscow. Ségur later reflected on this moment:

At the sight of this half-Gothic, half-modern palace, his earlier hopes were rekindled. His ambition was momentarily inflamed by this significant victory. “At last, I am in Moscow, in the ancient palace of the czars, in the Kremlin!” Napoleon marveled, exploring its every corner with a mix of pride and satisfaction.

As the hours passed, the fire blazed more fiercely, consuming a significant portion of the city dominated by wooden structures. It was only when the flames threatened the Kremlin itself that Napoleon reluctantly made plans to retreat. Navigating through the inferno proved daunting; however, he and his entourage found a narrow escape route amidst the destruction.

“He undoubtedly struggled to come to terms with leaving behind the very symbol of Russian imperial power—Moscow, the first city he had conquered in two hundred years. It was here he had hoped to negotiate a peace with the Russian emperor,” Mikaberidze explains.

The inferno raged for days, finally subsiding on September 18. Although the Kremlin survived, approximately three-quarters of Moscow’s buildings were annihilated.

The French attributed the catastrophic fires to the inhabitants of Moscow. Rather than allow Napoleon to claim the city for his own, they had opted to leave it in ruins, thus depriving the French forces of essential supplies. The French suspected Fyodor Rostopchin, the governor general of Moscow, of orchestrating the disaster, a claim he repudiated.

In a desperate attempt to evoke a response, Napoleon wrote to Alexander I, expressing sorrow over the loss of the city. “My lord brother: Beautiful, magical Moscow exists no more,” he lamented. “How could you let the loveliest city in the world be destroyed, a city centuries in the making?” His poignant message went unanswered.

As October approached, after enduring prolonged delays, Napoleon and his troops began their arduous retreat. Along their route, they faced relentless assaults from the steadfast Russian Army, and the majority of their losses resulted from exposure to the elements and disease, rather than direct combat.

By the time the remnants of the French forces crossed into East Prussia in December 1812, fewer than 100,000 soldiers remained. Shortly after leaving Russian territory, Napoleon abandoned his troops to return to Paris, a city grappling with his increasingly precarious hold on power. He was compelled to abdicate in April 1814 but briefly regained the throne the following year, only to be ultimately defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon died in exile in 1821, a stark reminder of the consequences of his ambitions.

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