I'm writing an essay on the French Invasion of Russia.
I will discuss in my essay the French faults which led to Russian victory.
Would this be appropriate thesis/intro:
The French Invasion of Russia was part of the Napoleonic Wars fought in 1812.This essay will focus on the view that it was Napoleon’s most unsuccessful war and will examine the flaws which led to the defeat. The French unawareness of the Russian climate at winter, the great supply shortage armies ran into and the great casualties are the main cause for Russia’s ultimate victory.
Comments, suggestions and critiques much appreciated!
2007-05-29 02:52:43 · 5 answers · asked by Lume 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
You can add the fact that the sheer size of Russia was a cause too, the Russians burned everything (crops and villages) and retreated because they had even more land behind them and they could afford that temporary loss without fearing famine for their army, and western Europeans couldn't understand that tactic, having difficutly conceptualising a single country with more land than all the rest of Europe. So the French army advanced on burnt land they had hope would feed them.
2007-05-29 03:10:12 · answer #1 · answered by Cabal 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would just suggest you add to this useful list a misunderstanding of the Russians on the psychological level.
Napoleon though he could defeat the Russian army and win a negotiated victory- as he had in his many other successful battles. But Russian avoided confrontation and was not willing to negotiate terms... which denied Napoleon the ability to turn a battlefield victory into a political one. In fact, he had to chase the Russian army all over the place in an increasingly-desperate effort to bring it to battle... simply by avoiding battle, the Russians could use their vast space to win a victory themselves.
This should be a lesson for many subsequent wars where success in the battle itself is no guarantee of victory- these wars represent a misunderstanding on the political level.
2007-05-29 03:02:17 · answer #2 · answered by llordlloyd 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think this is a great introduction using the five paragraph essay format for your opening paragraph. However, your thesis statement tells what the essay will be about, so you should omit the sentence, "This essay will focus...defeat." The three points you plan to develop are clearly stated and tell the reader where you are going with the essay. Now take each point and give specific examples to illustrate your points, and you have an A+ essay!! At least you would have in my class, an English teacher for 40 years (now retired). If your teacher taught you this format, he/she has done you a lifelong favor for when you write academic essays!! Please congratulate him/her for doing so!!
Chow!!
2007-05-29 03:04:57 · answer #3 · answered by No one 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He was not a revolutionary IMHO. He was a liar and basically established a monarchy with himself as a king. Only he called himself an emperor instead of a king. As long as he could keep France at war he was safe in power So he prolonged the war intentionally for his personal gain. So I would argue he was more of a type of monarchist and was a pretend revolutionary since that was a convenient word to use for him. Any ideals of the revolution were twisted and used against the people he was supposed to protect.
2016-05-20 22:19:41 · answer #4 · answered by stephaine 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Very true and its been said that Hitler did not learn from the French defeat, what Barbara Tuchman called the March of the Follies.
2007-05-29 04:23:12 · answer #5 · answered by Josephine 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋