Cold Open

It’s the early hours of September 7th, 1812 in Borodino, a small village in war-torn Russia.

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte stealthily gallops away from his army’s encampment. He impatiently digs his heels into his horse’s flanks… and then, abruptly pulls the reins taut, jolting the steed to a halt in the pale moonlight, as he surveys the scene before him.

The muted glow of campfires flickers dimly in the distance. Beyond enemy lines, the Russian army is in deep repose, unaware that they’re being watched by the man who has come to take their homeland.

On his quest to become the most powerful ruler on the continent, Napoleon has already conquered much of Europe. But Russia has consistently refused to bow to his will. So, a few months ago, the French Emperor decided to force the issue. Confident his army could easily defeat the Russians, Napoleon launched an invasion.

So far, the two armies have clashed several times. No victor has emerged just yet. But today, Napoleon hopes that will change.

Satisfied that the Russian army has not changed their position during the night, Napoleon gallops back toward the French army’s camp and prepares his men for battle.

As dawn breaks, the Russians do the same. As enemy soldiers march into position and wheel out their polished cannons, Napoleon signals to his men that it’s time to attack.

The French soldiers meticulously point the iron muzzles of their cannons at the distant enemy lines, carefully aligning the barrels… before firing simultaneously, marking the beginning of what will be the bloodiest single day of the Napoleonic Wars.

By 1812, Napoleon is used to winning. For the past decade, he’s devoted himself to conquering Europe. Time and time again, he’s come out of his conflicts victorious, gaining more territory and more glory with every triumph.

But the Russian Army proves a formidable foe. The French army will claim a narrow victory against the Russians in the day-long battle at Borodino. The win however will not come easy, and both sides will suffer heavy casualties. As the Russian Army manages an orderly retreat, Napoleon and his men will march toward Moscow, determined to claim one of Russia’s biggest cities and force its tsar to the negotiating table. But their plans will be thrown in disarray after a disastrous fire engulfs the city on September 14th, 1812.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is September 14th, 1812: The Great Fire of Moscow.

Act One

It’s noon on June 25th, 1807, five years before the Battle of Borodino, on the banks of the Niemen River, the calm waters that separate Russia from the French Empire.

As a trumpet sounds, two boats from opposite banks approach an ornate pavilion, floating on a raft in the middle of the river. On one is French Emperor Napoleon. On the other is Tsar Alexander I of Russia.

The two men eye each other warily as they step onto the wooden planks of the floating barge. From shore, their respective soldiers nervously watch the two leaders as they walk toward each other, quietly sighing with relief when the men embrace.

Today is a break from years of tension and violence. For nearly two decades, the French Empire has been almost constantly at war with the rest of Europe. But since his rise to power in 1799, Napoleon has been making short work of France’s enemies. And he hopes Russia will be the next nation to fall in line.

After a decisive French victory two weeks ago, Napoleon and Alexander have arranged a meeting exactly at the mid-point between the two empires, in the middle of this river, to negotiate a peace agreement.

The two emperors enter the privacy of the raft’s pavilion, and for hours, they sit and debate. But there’s no denying Napoleon has the upper hand. The French emperor persuades the tsar to agree to a heavily lopsided treaty, one that diminishes the greatest obstacle facing Napoleon: Great Britain.

From the dawn of the nineteenth century, Napoleon has been Europe’s most powerful political leader and military commander. The only thorn in his sight has been Britain. The British government has refused to submit to the French dictator and has persistently tried to incite France’s allies against him.

So, following a disastrous defeat at the hands of the British Navy two years ago, Napoleon turned to economic warfare. He devised a continental system which prohibited countries allied with or occupied by France to trade with the British. And with this, Napoleon hopes to isolate the island nation and push it to the brink of economic collapse.

The treaty that Napoleon and Tsar Alexander sign, requires Russia to participate in the trade embargo against Britain. With little negotiating power, the Tsar begrudgingly accepts these terms, and when Napoleon reappears outside the pavilion, it’s with a smug smile, convinced that he has secured his position as the foremost ruler in Europe.

But within just three years, Russia’s economy is reeling from Napoleon’s continental system. So, by the end of 1810, Alexander unilaterally stops complying with the terms of the treaty, and tensions reignite. In 1812, Napoleon’s patience wears out, and he decides to invade Russia.

In the last week of June, Napoleon crosses the Niemen River once again. This time, the French emperor is followed by an army of nearly a half million soldiers. Vastly outnumbered, a paltry group of Russian men fire three shots at the approaching entourage, before turning on their heels and disappearing.

Napoleon watches them flee with satisfaction, holding his head high as he proudly rides into Russian territory. He expects an easy victory. But that's not what happens.

Napoleon hoped to clash quickly but the Russians don’t allow it. Instead, they employ a scorched-earth policy – a military strategy where the army destroys any resources the enemy could use to fight a war, including food, fresh water, and tools. And then, they retreat ever further into their vast territory.

The French army is soon lured deep into the heart of Russia's expanse, losing men, resources, and morale. But after a victory at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon sees a path forward. He’s sure that if the French can just push ahead 100 miles and occupy Moscow, the Tsar will be forced to capitulate.

But as Napoleon rides his horse toward the renowned city, he’s filled with trepidation. The French army expects the Russians to put up a fierce defense and stage a full-scale assault. But no such attack ever comes.

When Napoleon arrives at the city’s gates, no one is there to greet him. Confused, Napoleon will send his soldiers inside the city to investigate. And when they return, they’ll deliver a peculiar piece of news: Moscow, one of the most populous places in Russia, is empty.

Act Two

It’s September 14th, 1812, the day of Napoleon’s arrival in Moscow.

Napoleon rides through the city’s gates, followed by a procession of weary French soldiers. As the men make their way through Moscow’s meandering streets, Napoleon admires the scale and grandeur of the city’s architecture. But as they push further into the city on silent roads, he can’t shake a heavy eeriness.

Moscow, usually bustling with a population of nearly a quarter million people, is practically empty. Unbeknownst to Napoleon, the Russian Army and the vast majority of Moscow’s panic-stricken residents evacuated early this morning. Though it means giving up Moscow, Russia has decided that to preserve any hope of winning the war, they can not meet Napoleon here in the city; they need to keep their army intact for as long as possible.

So now, only a few thousand stragglers remain in Moscow. But while none of them pose any threat to Napoleon and his army, an unexpected obstacle does rear its head.

As the French begin to occupy the city, a small fire breaks out.

To this day, the inferno’s cause is uncertain. Some believe it was intentionally planned by the Russians, in line with their scorched earth policy. Others maintain that it was accidentally started by the occupying French soldiers. Regardless, as Napoleon makes his way to the Kremlin, he is unaware of the disaster that is unfolding.

As night falls, Napoleon retires to his private quarters for an early night. He’s exhausted from the prolonged military campaign and is looking forward to a restful night. But as Napoleon slumbers, ferocious flames spread throughout Moscow.

The fiery crimson glow of the blaze wakes military officers who had taken up residence outside the Kremlin. They barked instructions, ordering their men to find the source of the fire and extinguish it immediately. The flames are still a fair distance away from the Kremlin, and the officials hope they can put an end to the problem without disturbing the infamously temperamental Napoleon.

Hundreds of French soldiers brave the smoke and heat, scouring the city for water pumps. But they come up empty-handed. And as more and more troops report back that their efforts in containing the fire were unsuccessful, the French officers become increasingly tense. Then, making matters worse, a strong northerly wind sweeps across Moscow, fanning the flames toward the Kremlin. Inferno grows at a startling pace, and thick plumes of acrid smoke poison the scorched air, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Finally, at around 4:00 AM, the hapless French officials are forced to wake Napoleon. The emperor expresses great irritation at being disturbed, not understanding the scale of the inferno until he stalks over to his window. A look of horror crosses his face as he draws the curtains and unveils the flames licking the entire city. Immediately, he starts shouting orders for procedures to control the fire.

Soon after, a group of bleary-eyed French officials hastily assemble inside one of the Kremlin's ornate meeting rooms. Napoleon takes his seat at the head of the table, impatiently drumming his fingers on its surface as an aide timidly briefs him on the fire’s spread. The man is mid-sentence when Napoleon abruptly rises from the table and rushes to the window to see the blaze’s progress for himself. The French emperor stares outside, watching as a whirlwind of crimson flames and thick smoke swallows the city, growing ever closer to the Kremlin.

Napoleon paces about the room, muttering incoherently. His mind races as he debates their course of action. But the sound of gushing water soon interrupts his thoughts.

Napoleon rushes to the window once more and sees that the fire has now reached the Kremlin itself. French officers armed with brooms and buckets of water are standing atop the palace’s kitchen, trying to douse the fire by soaking the roof and brushing off the scathing embers. It’s enough to convince Napoleon to evacuate. And the emperor wheels around and roars orders for the French to flee the Kremlin immediately.

Napoleon and his soldiers will narrowly survive the fire, making a dangerous escape through flaming debris and falling ash, to reach an empty Russian palace northwest of Moscow. But the impact of the fire will be enormous. The French emperor will later describe the blaze as “a sea of fire…with mountains of red swirling flames, like huge sea waves, suddenly surging up, rising to the blazing sky and then falling into the fiery ocean.” He will declare it “the most magnificent and frightening sight mankind had ever seen.”

The flames in Moscow will continue to burn for the next few days, causing tremendous destruction and irretrievable loss. And then, just as the blaze’s final embers die out, the historic city will be set on fire once again.

Act Three

It’s September 18th, 1812, inside the scorched ruins of Moscow, where the last flames of the raging blaze are finally subsiding.

As Napoleon leads an entourage of fatigued French officials into Moscow for the second time in less than a week, the city isn’t just empty, it’s also devastated.

A thick sheet of black ash coats the ground. Rows of houses have been reduced to piles of debris. Towering churches are sheathed in soot, the faces of saints painted on their walls marred by the black stains of smoke.

In a letter to his cousin, Napoleon reports the grim state of affairs, stating that “Moscow was a spectacular city; I say ‘was’ because more than half has been consumed by fire.” All told, over two-thirds of Moscow is destroyed – including a third of its mostly wooden houses, almost half of its churches, its university and its rare archives, and innumerable priceless works of art.

But as the French settle back into Moscow, something weighs on Napoleon’s mind even more than the city’s devastation. The emperor suspects the fire may have cost him something he values far more greatly — the entire war against Russia.

After the city was razed to the ground, Napoleon comes to the bitter realization that Moscow has lost its worth; occupying it can no longer pressure the Tsar into surrendering, as he had once hoped. And in fact, the incensed Tsar blames the French for destroying the ancient Russian city and dramatically refuses to negotiate with Napoleon.

As the days go by, things only get worse for the French emperor. His soldiers grow restless, homesick, and exhausted. Their campaign has gone on for far longer than anticipated. Food supplies are dwindling and a cold bite in the air has signaled that winter is coming.

Napoleon considers launching a campaign to St. Petersburg, the Russian capital 400 miles away. But with his men dispirited and his resources depleted, he abandons the idea and instead appeals to the Tsar for peace. Alexander, however, is not open to surrendering or negotiating.

So, after one month in Moscow, Napoleon has little choice but to march back to France. But before he goes, he decides to leave nothing for the Russians to come back to. Intent on destroying whatever is left of Moscow, he instructs his officers to set the city ablaze once again. He then orders them to strategically set up explosives that would annihilate Moscow after their departure.

But the gesture doesn’t have the impact he hopes for. The French will try to carry out Napoleon’s instructions, but they won’t have sufficient time to place the bombs all around Moscow, and the result is a much weaker show of destruction than planned.

Then as the French flee the city, their spirits will sink only lower. Their journey back to France will be slow and painful. And as they retreat, the onset of a brutal winter will cripple Napoleon's ill-prepared army. Meanwhile, the Russian Army will pursue them with a vengeance, waging a series of bloody attacks as they withdraw.

By many accounts, Napoleon’s army will be decimated by the time he crosses the Niemen River. While the French Emperor struggles to recover from this loss, Russia will join forces with Britain, Prussia, and Austria in waging a war that will eventually topple Napoleon and send him into exile; a sequence of events set in motion after a fire foiled his occupation of Moscow on September 14th, 1812.

Outro

Next on History Daily. September 15th, 1762. The Battle of Signal Hill ends the French and Indian War and establishes Britain as the dominant power in North America.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Rhea Purohit.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.