FAILURE OF HITLER'S AND NAPOLEON'S INVASIONS OF RUSSIA
This research paper compares and contrasts the invasions of Russia undertaken by the Grande Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812 and by the Wehrmacht of Adolf Hitler in 1941-1943. In both cases, the invasions were launched by dictators who had imposed their will on the European continent and sought to remove the last major continental obstacle to their imperial ambitions; however, Hitler's motivations were much more complex than Napoleon's and adversely affected German strategic planning.
Each of them achieved spectacular initial successes, owing to the striking power of their forces, the initiative of their commanders and the errors of their enemies, only to be forced to retreat eventually by the inherent difficulties of attempting to conquer Russia because of its immense expanse, its inhospitable climate and the indomitable opposition and endurance of its people. Neither of them particularly distinguished himself as a military or political leader during their Russian campaigns, but each of them displayed flashes of military genius. Both of them came closer to succeeding than is generally recognized, and might have prevailed had fate bestowed its favor upon them at critical junctures. However, their failures were fundamentally more due to their own unwillingness to scale back their seemingly unlimited ambitions and, in Hitler's case, his refusal to focus German military thrusts and later to consider political compromise during the long period (before the summer of 1943) while Germany held most of European Russia, than to the skills of their adversaries.
Motivations, Goals and Preparations
By the time they decided to invade Russia, both Napoleon and Hitler had achieved hegemony on the European continent. Their motivations and goals in attacking Russia were different.
Napoleon's Approach to the Prospect of War with Russia
Napoleon gradually and somewhat ...