Why Did Napoleon Withdraw From Russia

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With his troops stationed among the ashes of a ruined city with no foreseeable sign on Russian surrender or peace negotiation, Napoleon had no choice but to withdraw from Moscow, with the Russian winter closing in. While the Grande Armée was stationed inside Moscow, Kutuzov had assembled a stronger Russian force, and was making preparations to force the French out of Russian territory. Napoleon started his withdrawal from Moscow in mid- October, heading back toward France. As he retreated, Kutuzov was able to exploit his rebuilt army to force the French onto the same road they came, the same road that was scorched a few months earlier. Blocking the southern flank to prevent them from taking a different route to the south, Kutuzov used guerrilla