Fire of Moscow (1812) explained

Event Name:	Fire of Moscow
Location:	Moscow, Russian Empire
Date:	14–18 September 1812
Result:	Russian evacuation destruction of 6496 out of 9151 residential buildings; destruction of 6584 wooden and 2567 stone houses; destruction of 122 out of 329 churches.^[1]

During the French occupation of Moscow, a fire persisted from 14 to 18 September 1812 and all but destroyed the city. The Russian troops and most of the remaining civilians had abandoned the city on 14 September 1812 just ahead of French Emperor Napoleon's troops entering the city after the Battle of Borodino. The Moscow military governor, Count Fyodor Rostopchin, has often been considered responsible for organising the destruction of the sacred former capital to weaken the French army in the scorched city even more.^[2]

Background

After continuing Barclay's "delaying operation" as part of his attrition warfare against Napoleon, Kutuzov used Rostopchin to burn most of Moscow's resources as part of a scorched earth strategy, guerilla warfare by the Cossacks against French supplies and total war by the peasants against French foraging. This kind of war without major battles weakened the French army at its most vulnerable point: military logistics. On 19 October 1812 the French army, lacking provisions and being warned by the first snow, abandoned the city voluntarily.

Regarding the state of Moscow itself, the city was mostly deserted, at least in comparison to its normal levels of population: At the beginning of 1812 Moscow had around 270,184 inhabitants according to a contemporary police survey;^[3] of these, somewhere between 6,200 and 10,000 civilians chose to remain in the city after the arrival of the French, in addition to between 10,000 and 15,000 sick or wounded Russian soldiers.^[4]

Causes

Search had been made for the fire-engines since the previous day, but some of them had been taken away and the rest put out of action...The Poles reported that they had already caught some incendiaries and shot them, ...they had extracted the information that orders had been given by the Governor of the city and the police that the whole city should be burnt during the night.

Before leaving Moscow, Count Rostopchin supposedly gave orders to the head of police (and released convicts) to have the Kremlin and major public buildings (including churches and monasteries) set on fire. During the following days, the fires spread. According to Germaine de Staël, who left the city a few weeks before Napoleon arrived, and afterward corresponded with Kutuzov, it was Rostopchin who ordered his own mansions to be set on fire, so no Frenchmen should lodge in it. The French actress Louise Fusil, who was living in Moscow, wrote that the fire started at Petrovka Street and offers more details in her memoires. Today, the majority of historians blame the initial fires on the Russian strategy of scorched earth.

Furthermore, a Moscow police officer was captured trying to set the Kremlin on fire where Napoleon was staying at the time. Brought before Napoleon, the officer admitted he and others had been ordered to set the city on fire, after which he was bayonetted by guardsmen on the spot on the orders of a furious Napoleon.

The sight of the fire deeply disturbed Napoleon who was horrified and intimidated at the Russian resolution to destroy their most sacred and beloved city before surrendering it. According to him most churches, monasteries and palaces survived as they were made out of stone. A witness records him as remaining transfixed watching the fire from the Kremlin while saying: "What a terrible sight! And they did this themselves! So many palaces! What an incredible solution! What kind of people! These are Scythians!"

The catastrophe started as many small fires, which promptly grew out of control and formed a massive blaze from the northeast, according to Larrey.^[5] The fires spread quickly since most buildings in Moscow were made of wood, except in the German Quarter. Although Moscow had had a fire brigade, their equipment had previously either been removed or destroyed on Rostopchin's orders. The flames spread into the Kremlin's arsenal, and was put out by French Guardsmen. The burning of Moscow is reported to have been visible up to 215 km, or 133 miles, away.^[6]

Tolstoy, in his book War and Peace, suggests that the fire was not deliberately set, either by the Russians or the French, but was the natural result of placing a deserted and mostly wooden city in the hands of invading troops. Before the invasion, fires would have started nearly every day even with the owners present and a fully functioning fire department, and the soldiers would start additional fires for their own needs, from smoking their pipes, cooking their food twice a day, and burning enemies' possessions in the streets. Some of those fires would inevitably get out of control, and without an efficient firefighting action, these individual building fires can spread to become neighborhood fires, and ultimately a citywide conflagration.^{[7] [8]}

Timeline of events

• 7 September – Battle of Borodino;
• 8 September – Russian army began retreating east from Borodino. They camped outside Mozhaysk.^[9] When the village of Mozhaysk was captured by the French on the 9th, the Grande Armée rested for two days to recover.
• 9 September Napoleon asked Berthier to send reinforcements from Minsk to Smolensk and from Smolensk to Moscow.
• 10 September – The main quarter of the Russian army was situated at Bolshiye Vyazyomy.^[10] Kutuzov settled in a manor on the high road to Moscow. The owner was Dmitry Golitsyn, who entered military service again. Russian sources suggest Mikhail Kutuzov wrote a number of orders and letters to Rostopchin about saving the city or the army.^[11]
• 11 September – Tsar Alexander signed a document that Kutuzov was promoted General Field Marshall, the highest military rank. Napoleon, still in Mozhaysk, wrote Marshal Victor to hurry to Moscow.^[12]
• 12 September – the main forces of Kutuzov departed from the village, now Golitsyno and camped near Odintsovo, 20 km to the west, followed by Mortier and Joachim Murat's vanguard.^[13] Eugene de Beauharnais attacked Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. Napoleon Bonaparte, who suffered from a cold and lost his voice, spent the night at Vyazyomy Manor (on the same sofa in the library) within 24 hours.^[14]
• 13 September – Napoleon leaves the manor house and heads east. Napoleon and Józef Poniatowski also camped near Odintsovo and invited Murat for dinner. Russian army set camp at Fili; Russian vanguard lodged nearby in Dorogomilovo. On Sunday afternoon the Russian military council at Fili discussed the risks and agreed to abandon Moscow without fighting. Leo Tolstoy wrote Rostopchin was invited also and explained the difficult decision in quite a few remarkable chapters. The troops started at once. "They were passing through Moscow from two o'clock at night, till two in the afternoon and bore away with them the wounded and the last of the inhabitants who were leaving."^[15] The civilian flight from Moscow was organized by Miloradovich while Kutuzov kept a low profile during the retreat using side streets.^[16]
• 14 September – The Russian army crossed the Moskva river near Sparrow Hills and marched through Moscow into a southeast bound road to Ryazan, followed by masses of civilians. Napoleon arrived at Poklonnaya Hill. After a ceasefire Murat's corps was the first to ride through the city, taking the Kremlin in the afternoon, leaving the inhabitants enough time to depart. First fires broke out in the evening.
• 15 September – More wind and massive fires. Napoleon arrives at Kremlin. It was seven o'clock in the evening when suddenly a shot rang out from the Kaluga Gate. The enemy blew up a powder magazine, which must have been the signal agreed upon; several rockets shoot up at once, and half an hour later a fire appeared in several blocks of the city.^[17] The wind changed direction and reached hurricane strength. Six or seven thousand little shops caught fire again.
• 16 September – By four in the morning the firestorm threatens Kremlin.^[18] Watching the fire from Kremlin Hill, Napoleon relocated to the suburban and empty Petrovsky Palace (located on the road to Saint Petersburg) in the afternoon. According to sergeant Adrien Bourgogne: "Orders had been given to shoot everyone found setting fire to houses. This order was executed at once. A little open space next to the Place du Gouvernement was called by us the Place des Pendus, as here a number of incendiaries were shot and hung on the trees."
• 18 September – Fire destroys three-quarters of the city and settling down; when it begins to rain, Napoleon returns to the Kremlin.
• 19 September – Murat lost sight of Kutuzov who changed direction and turned west to Podolsk and Tarutino where he would be more protected by the surrounding hills and the Nara river.
• 20 September – Napoleon sends a message to propose peace to the Tsar who is based in Saint Petersburg.
• 21 September – The fires are finally subsided.
• 23 September – Order given for the two battalions of the 33rd Regiment to break away. As they were daily bothered by numerous pulks of Cossacks' Napoleon ordered to clean the area and forage with the assistance of the Dutch flying squadron. On 25 September, in collaboration with German infantrymen and French dragoons, it had to sweep the area around Malye Vyaziomy.^[19]
• 24 September – Dinners were held at the Kremlin, with promotions and ribbons, and a theatre was set up.
• 26 September – After losing sight of the Russian army, Murat finally detects them near Podolsk.
• 27 September – A ball was held. Everyone put on their newly acquired clothes and drank rum punch. First snowfall of the season; the French army is suffering from famine and the cold.
• 28 September – A large supply of foodstuffs was seized at Malye Vyaziomy by Johan Frederik Wilhelm Veeren and loaded onto 26 wagons. They were pursued by Cossacks who managed to take 15 wagons.^{[20] [21]}
• 3 October – Kutuzov and his entire staff arrived at Tarutino. He wanted to go even further in order to control three-pronged roads from Obninsk, so that Napoleon could not turn south or southwest. Kutuzov avoided frontal battles involving large masses of troops. This tactic was sharply criticized by Chief of Staff Bennigsen and others, but also by the Autocrat and Emperor Alexander. Barclay de Tolly interrupted his service for five months and settled in Nizhny Novgorod. Each side avoided the other and seemed no longer to wish to get into a fight.
• 4 October – A plan to march the French army to Saint Petersburg was given up; absolute lack of forage, limited cavalry and artillery as horses died on the spot. Murat and his cavalry arrived at Winkovo and settled near a lake, watching the Russian army, but he was forced to withdraw into a ravine. A network of Cossacks and armed peasants were killing all isolated men.
• 5 October – On order of Napoleon, the French ambassador Jacques Lauriston leaves Moscow to meet Kutuzov at his headquarters near Tarutino. Kutuzov agreed to meet, despite the orders of the Tsar. Rostopchin owned an estate near Tarutino, Russia. Robert Wilson was with him, when Rostopchin set fire to his estate.
• 7 October – Although the weather was fine and the temperature mild, not a single (French) courier from Moscow reached Vilnius, due to a lack of horses.
• 8 October – Murat personally asked Miloradovich to let his cavalry go foraging.
• 15 October – Napoleon ordered evacuation of the 12,000 sick and wounded to Smolensk.
• 17 October – French columns again passed the Nara river and proceeded to their respective destinations.
• 18 October – At dawn during breakfast, Murat's camp in a forest was surprised by an attack by forces led by Bennigsen, known as Battle of Winkovo. Bennigsen was supported by Kutuzov from his headquarters at distance. Murat loses 12 guns, 3,000 men, and 20 of his baggage carts. Bennigsen asked Kutuzov to provide troops for the pursuit. However, the General Field Marshal refused.
• 19 October – After 36 days, the French army (around 108,000) leaves Moscow at seven in the morning. Before he left, Mortier was to blow up the Kremlin, but the marshal did not have enough time to complete this task and only managed a small explosion. Napoleon made camp in the village of Troitsk, Moscow on the Desna River. Napoleon's goal was to get around Kutuzov, but on the 24th he was stopped at Maloyaroslavets on his way to Medyn and forced to go north on the 26th.

Extent of the disaster

...In 1812, there had been approximately 4,000 stone structures and 8,000 wooden houses in Moscow. Of these, there remained after the fires only about 200 of the stone buildings and some 500 wooden houses along with about half of the 1,600 (?) churches, although nearly every church was damaged to some extent...the large number of churches that escaped total destruction by the flames is probably explained by the fact that altar implements and other paraphernalia were made of precious metals, which immediately attracted the attention of the looters. Indeed, Napoleon had a systematic sweep made for the church silver, which ended up in his war chest, the mobile treasury.

The treatment of these Russians left behind, civilians or soldiers, by the French was mixed: According to a Russian source, they destroyed monasteries and blew up architectural monuments. Moscow churches were deliberately turned into stables and latrines. Priests who did not give up church shrines were murdered savagely, nuns were raped, and stoves were fired using ancient icons. On the other hand, Napoleon personally made sure that enough food was delivered to Moscow to feed all the Russians left behind who were fed regardless of sex or age.^{[22] [23]}

Still, the remaining buildings had enough space for the French army. As General Marcellin Marbot reasoned:

"It is often claimed that the fire of Moscow... was the principal cause of the failure of the 1812 campaign. This assertion seems to me to be contestable. To begin with, the destruction of Moscow was not so complete that there did not remain enough houses, palaces, churches, and barracks to accommodate the entire army [for a whole month]."

Reconstruction of the city

The process of rebuilding after the fire under military governor Alexander Tormasov (1814–1819) and Dmitry Golitsyn (1820–ca 1840) was gradual, lasting well over a decade.^{[24] [25]}

In culture

• Leo Tolstoy describes the occupation and fire in his novel War and Peace (Book XI).
• Louise Fusil, a French actress, who was living in Russia for six years, witnessed the fire and described in her memoir the retreat.
• Kutuzov, Russian movie (1943) with English subtitles, describes also the Fire of Moscow (1812).
• The fire was adapted into 1965–67 Soviet film War and Peace; the film crew planned out the scenes for 10 months and shot the fires with six ground cameras while also filming from helicopters.
• The fire is depicted in the 1955 film Napoléon, as well as in the 2023 film Napoleon.

Bibliography

• Book: Austin, Paul Britten . 1812: Napoleon in Moscow . Frontline Books . 978-1-4738-1139-3 . 2012 . Barnsley, England. 2nd . 26 September 2021 . Google Books .
• Book: Bourgogne, Adrien Jean Baptiste François . Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne, 1812–1813 . Paul . Cottin . New York . Doubleday & McClure Company. 99001646 . 1899 . 2nd . Internet Archive . 26 September 2021 .
• Book: Caulaincourt, Armand-August-Louis de . With Napoleon in Russia: The memoirs of General de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza . William Morrow and Company, Inc. . George . Libaire . William . Morrow . New York . 1935 . Internet Archive. 26 September 2021 . Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt .
• Book: Haythornthwaite, Philip . Borodino 1812: Napoleon's great gamble . Illustrations and graphics by Peter Dennis . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-84908-697-4 . 2012 . Google Books. Marcus . Cowper . Campaign . 246 . London . 26 September 2021 .
• Book: Lieven, Dominic . 2009 . Russia Against Napoleon: The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814 . Allen Lane (Penguin Books) . 978-0-14-194744-0 . London. Markus . Dohle . Deborah . Wright . Tom . Weldon . Joanna . Prior . Google Books . 419644822 .
• Book: Marbot, Jean-Baptiste Antoine Marcelin . The memoirs of General Baron de Marbot, late lieutenant-general in the French army . Marcellin Marbot . Internet Archive . Arthur John . Butler . 1913 . 26 September 2021 . I . London. 5th . 1891 . Arthur John Butler . Longmans, Green, and Co. .
• Book: Ludwig, Emil . Napoleon . London. 7th . Paul . 1927 . Eden . Paul . Cedar . Unwin Brothers Ltd. . George . Allen . Internet Archive . 26 September 2021 . Emil Ludwig .
• Book: Riehn, Richard K. . 1990 . 1812: Napoleon's Russian campaign . Internet Archive . New York . McGraw-Hill . 89028432 . 978-0-07-052731-7 . 20563997 . 26 September 2021 .
• Web site: New York . John . Mulvaney . War and Peace: Saint Petersburg Fiddles, Moscow Burns . . The Criterion Collection, Inc. (Janus Films) . Ella . Taylor . Essays . 27 June 2019 . 26 September 2021 . Saul J. . Turell . Saul J. Turell . William J. . Becker . William J. Becker . 3 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190703181054/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6463-war-and-peace-saint-petersburg-fiddles-moscow-burns .
• Book: Staël-Holstein, Anne Louise Germain de . Ten Years' Exile; or Memoirs of that Interesting Period of the Life of the Baroness de Staël-Holstein . Germaine de Staël . London. Internet Archive. Augustus . de Staël-Holstein . 5938603 . 1821 . Treuttel and Würtz/Hewlett & Brimmer, Printers . 26 September 2021 .
• Book: Vionnet, Louis Joseph . With Napoleon's Guard in Russia: The Memoirs of Major Vionnet, 1812 . 2013 . Google Books . 978-1-78340-898-6 . Casemate Publishers .
• Book: Zamoyski, Adam . Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March . 2004047575 . New York. Internet Archive . 978-0-06-107558-2 . 55067008 . 2nd . 1980 . 2004 . HarperCollins. 26 September 2021 .
• Web site: US DOD . 2021 . delaying operation .

Further reading

• Chambray, George de, Histoire de l'expédition de Russie https://archive.org/details/histoiredelexpd00chamgoog Chambray, George de, Histoire de l'expédition de Russie access-date=7 March 2021
• Book: Chandler, David G. . The Campaigns of Napoleon: The mind and method of history's greatest soldier . Google Books . New York. Graphics and illustrations by Shelia Waters, design by Abe Lerner . Abe . Lerner . 1966 . 2009 . Simon & Schuster. 978-1-4391-3103-9 . 4th . 893136895 . 26 September 2021 . I .
• Clausewitz, Carl von, "Der Feldzug 1812 in Russland und die Befreiungskriege von 1813–15", 1906, https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_PzEQAAAAYAAJ
• Book: The wars against Napoleon: Debunking the myth of the Napoleonic Wars . Michel . Franceschi . Ben . Weider . 978-1-61121-029-3 . Savas Beatie . New York . Jonathan M. . House . 2008 . 2nd . Google Books. 26 September 2021 .
• V. Fillipov, "Dynamics of ethnic and confessional identity of Moscow population", citing Russian edition of: На пути к переписи / Под редакцией Валерия Тишкова – М.: "Авиаиздат", 2003 с. 277–313 Web site: Как менялся этнический состав москвичей . Demoscope.ru . 2013-09-28.
• Холодковский В.М., Наполеон ли поджёг Москву?, «Вопросы истории», 1966, No. 4.
• Kataev, I.M. "Fire of Moscow", citing Russian edition of "Отечественная война и русское общество", в 7тт, т.4, М, издание т-ва И.Д.Сытина, 1911 Web site: ╚Нревеярбеммюъ Бнимю Х Псяяйне Наыеярбн╩. Рнл Iv. Лняйбю Опх Тпюмжсгюу. Онфюп Лняйбш . Museum.ru . 2013-09-28.
• Martin, Alexander, Enlightened Metropolis: Constructing Imperial Moscow, 1762–1855, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2013.
• Martin, Alexander, From the Holy Roman Empire to the Land of the Tsars: One Family's Odyssey, 1768–1870, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2022.
• Book: Mikaberidze, Alexander . Barnsley, England . Pen & Sword Books Ltd. . Pen & Sword Military . 978-1-78159-352-3 . Google Books . The Burning of Moscow: Napoleon's Trial By Fire 1812 . 2014 . none.
• Olivier, Daria, The Burning of Moscow 1812, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1966 (JSTOR – The Scholarly Journal Archive review)
• Rosenstrauch, J.A., "Historische Ereignisse in Moskau im Jahre 1812 zur Zeit der Anwesenheit des Feindes in dieser Stadt" (German-language memoir text), in: И.А. Розенштраух, Исторические происшествия в Москве 1812 года во время присутствия в сем городе неприятеля, М., Новое Литературное Обозрение, 2015, pp. 169–220 – .
• Tatiana . Ruchinskaya . The Scottish architectural traditions in the plan for the reconstruction of Moscow after the fire of 1812: A rare account of the influence of Scottish architect William Hastie on town planning in Moscow . Building Research & Information . 22 . 4 . 1994 . 228–233 . 10.1080/09613219408727386.
• The Restoration of Moscow after 1812 . Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES)/University of Pittsburgh/Cambridge University Press . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . 10.2307/2496426 . 2496426 . 40 . 1 . 37–48 . Albert J. . Schmidt . . 0037-6779 . 47006565 . 818900629 . 21 March 1981 . 163600450 . 26 September 2021 . Diane P. . Koenker .
• Sytin, P.V. "History of Moscow Streets", citing original Russia edition: Сытин, П.В., "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948.* Полосин И.И., Кутузов и пожар Москвы 1812 г., «Исторические записки», 1950, т. 34.
• Tarle, Yevgeny, "Napoleon's Invasion of Russia", citing Russian edition of: Тарле, Е.В., "Нашествие Наполеона на Россию", гл.VI "Пожар Москвы" at Web site: Е.Б. Рюпке ╚Мюьеярбхе Мюонкенмю Мю Пняяхч╩ . Museum.ru . 2013-09-28.
• Тартаковский А.Г., Обманутый Герострат. Ростопчин и пожар Москвы, «Родина», 1992, No. 6–7.
• Book: Wilson, Robert Thomas . Narrative of events during the Invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Retreat of the French Army, 1812 . Herbert . Randolph . 3rd . Google Books . 1860 . 2013 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-108-05400-3 . Cambridge. Cambridge Library Collection . 26 September 2021 .

Notes and References

1. (in Russian) Kataev, I.M. (1912) "The Fire of Moscow in 1812 "(Moscow, 1911)
2. French Jesuit Abbot A. Surugue and the 1812 Fire of Moscow Historic Myth . 14 . 2 . 118–133 . Vladimir Nikolaevich . Zemtsov . Izvestiya Uralskogo Federalnogo Universiteta – Seriya 2 – Gumanitarnye Nauki . 2227-2283 . . Yekaterinburg, Russia . 2012 .
3. Book: Martin, Alexander M. . Brill . History of warfare . XIV . The Military and Society in Russia: 1450–1917 . 978-9004122734 . 2002 . Eric . Lohr . Marshall . Poe . The Response of the Population of Moscow to the Napoleonic Occupation of 1812 . 469–490 . .
4. Napoleon's Lost Legions. The Grande Armée Prisoners of War in Russia . Alexander . Mikaberidze . 35–44 . Napoleonica. La Revue . . Paris, Ile de France, France . Spécial prisonniers de guerre . 2014 . 3 . 21 . 2100-0123 . 10.3917/napo.153.0035 . Cairn.INFO . Victor-André . Masséna . Thierry . Lentz . Marie . de Bruchard . Antoine . Boulant . Irène . Delage .
5. https://ia804702.us.archive.org/27/items/55810930R.nlm.nih.gov/55810930R.pdf "Surgical memoirs of the campaigns of Russia, Germany, and France", pp. 43–45
6. Web site: Russian Life . Montpelier, Vermont, United States of America . StoryWorkz . Moscow's Last Great Fire . Alec . Luhn . 14 September 2012 . 26 September 2021 . 18 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200618034631/https://www.russianlife.com/stories/online/moscows-last-great-fire . Paul E. . Richardson . Scott . Widmer . Eileen . Shine . Caroline . Matte .
7. War and Peace, Vol. 3, Book XI, chapter 26
8. https://books.google.com/books?id=YB69DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT78 Russia: A Short History by Abraham Ascher
9. Web site: The Burning of Moscow. 31 August 2015.
10. Book: Wolzogen und Neuhaus, Justus Philipp Adolf Wilhelm Ludwig . Memoirs of the Royal Prussian General of the Infantry Ludwig Freiherrn von Wolzogen . Memoiren des Königlich Preussischen Generals der Infanterie Ludwig Freiherrn von Wolzogen . 1851 . 16012211 . 5034988 . Leipzig, Germany . O. . Wigand . Wigand . German . Ludwig von Wolzogen .
11. https://www.nivasposad.ru/school/homepages/all_kurs/konkurs2013/web-pages/web/filippov_andreji/html/bolshie_vyazemi.html Russian: Большие Вязёмы
12. Philip . de Segúr . Philippe Paul, comte de Ségur . The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, Etc. . 23 April 1825 . . 431 . 26 September 2021 . Segur's History of Napoleon's Expedition . IX . 262–263 . London . Whiting & Branston .
13. Book: Adam, Albrecht . Napoleon's Army in Russia: The Illustrated Memoirs of Albrecht Adam, 1812 . Jonathan . North . Barnsley, England . 2005 . Pen & Sword Books Limited . 978-1-84415-161-5 . Albrecht Adam . 2nd . 1990 . Pen & Sword Military . Jonathan . North .
14. https://architecturebest.com/usadba-bolshie-vjazemy/ Russian: Усадьба Большие Вяземы
15. War and Peace, Vol. 3, Book XI, chapter 19
16. War and Peace, Vol. 3, Book XI, chapter 19
17. Book: Dedem van de Gelder, Anton Boudewijn Gijsbert van . Elisabeth . van Dedem Lecky . 1900 . Un général hollandais sous le premier empire: Mémoires du général Bon de Dedem de Gelder, 1774–1825 . A Dutch general under the First Empire: Memoirs of general Bon de Dedem de Gelder, 1774–1825 . 01017275 . 1007804088 . Libraire Plon, Nourrit et Cie, Imprimeurs-Éditeurs . Paris. . French . 250 .
18. Web site: Moscow's Last Great Fire.
19. https://books.google.com/books?id=lR_AAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT93 1812: Napoleon in Moscow by Paul Britten Austin
20. https://napoleonchronicles.wordpress.com/2022/06/21/a-dutch-officer-of-the-33rd-light-infantry-regiment-russia-1812/ A Dutch officer of the 33rd Light Infantry Regiment, Russia 1812
21. F.H.A. Sabron (1910) Geschiedenis van het 33e regiment Lichte Infanterie (het Oud-Hollandsche 3e regiment Jagers) onder Keizer Napoleon I, p. 64
22. Zemtsov . Vladimir Nikolaevich . The Fate of the Russian Wounded Abandoned in Moscow in 1812 . . . 28 . 3 . 502–523 . 1351-8046 . 10.1080/13518046.2015.1061824 . 15 August 2015 . 142674272 . Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America . 93641610 . 56751630 . David . Glantz . David Glantz .
23. Book: Zakharov, Arthur . Napoleon v Rossii glazami russkikh . Russian . 2004 . Napoleon in Russia through the eyes of the Russians . Moscow, Russia . 1st .
24. Molokova Tatyana . Alekseevna . 10.22227/1997-0935.2012.6.17-22 . 17–22 . 1997-0935 . 7 . 6 . Vestnik MGSU . Valery Ivanovich . Telichenko . Elena Anatolievna . Korol . Anna A. . Dyadicheva . Tat'yana V. . Bernikova . Reconstruction of Moscow after the 1812 fire of Moscow: New look of the city . Russian . Восстановление Москвы после пожара 1812 г.: новый облик города . Архитектура и градостроительство. Реконструкция и реставрация . Moscow State University of Civil Engineering/ASB Publishing House, LLC. . Moscow, Russia . 1 June 2012 . free .
25. 10.5593/sgemsocial2017/62/S22.007 . Dmitry . Shvidkovsky . Georgy . Yesoulov . 59–66 . Sofia, Bulgaria . 2367-5659 . 978-619-7408-24-9 . 17 . 4th International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences and Arts SGEM 2017 . The classical models brought by European architects to the development of the St. Petersburg and the reconstruction of Mosco after the Great Fire of 1812 . International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference on Social Sciences & Arts Sgem . 28 August 2017 . SWS International Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences, Arts & Humanities . 2024-04-02 . 2022-02-09 . 2022-02-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220209235940/https://www.sgemsocial.org/index.php/elibrary?view=publication&task=show&id=3192 . dead .