In the final throes of the Battle of Borodino, some of Napoleon's top generals asked that he commit the Imperial Guard to the battle in the hopes that it would raise the morale of the other French troops and allow a final assault that would decide the fate of the Russian Army and the war itself.
Napoleon refused to commit the Guard for fear that it would be decimated in the battle. Borodino would by a French Pyrrhic victory at best, and the Russian Army would withdraw to fight another day.
So what effects on the battle and the war would there be if Napoleon had committed the Guard to the battle?
Napoleon refused to commit the Guard for fear that it would be decimated in the battle. Borodino would by a French Pyrrhic victory at best, and the Russian Army would withdraw to fight another day.
So what effects on the battle and the war would there be if Napoleon had committed the Guard to the battle?