WI Napolean invaded Russia earlier?

Mujahid786

Banned
What would have happened if France invaded Russia while the Russians were still fighting the Turks. How would things have turned out?
 
Poles stil brag about being only Western invaders who occupied Russia's capital (hint - Moscow hadn't been capital when Napoleon invaded).

I don't think invading earlier would help Napoleon. Russia was picking fight with Turks all the time (and they wisely wrapped one up before the invasion). Would they expect Napoleon to invade earlier - they wouldn't start a war, or may be sign bad peace with Turks to break it later.

Defeating Russia is a lifelong project for every invader in pre-railway era, and nobody but Mongols (who dealt with bunch of onruly principalities, not a state) could accomplish it in written history. Basically, you need to eat it piecemeal and have population pool compatible in size to Russians (they never were backward enough to be conquered by anyone using technological advantage). Tough business.
 
By some accounts, Napoleon started with 500.000-600.000 men in June 1812, yet by the beginning of September (just before the first major setpiece battle at Borodino) this number had dwindled to under 200.000 - and this was before the winter had even set in. Had Napoleon attacked earlier, this still would have happened, and even with the Russians occupied elsewhere I doubt an ever-shrinking pool of 200.000 men could have forced the Russians to submit.

Then again, all this is largely ignoring the psychological aspects of a Napoleonic invasion while Russia was occupied elsewhere. Although in hindsight it seems to us that the French invasion was doomed to logistical failure, I highly doubt that the Russians had the same level of information at their disposal. Therefore, even while the Russians carried out their scorched earth policy, I'm sure they weren't 100% confident that this would be enough to see off the threat. Faced with the uncertainties of a two-front war, with one of the sides fielding a super army of half a million men, maybe they would in fact opt for an early (unfavorable) settlement after all.
 

Mujahid786

Banned
what would have happened, if russia began to fight a war on two fronts, against napolean and the turks?
 
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