Napoleon a Bloodthirsty Ogre?
"...it does take two sides to make war. Napoleon’s enemies were far from caring or squeamish and could be equally profligate with their soldiers’ lives. In 1812 the Russians implemented a scorched-earth tactic that condemned many of their own people to suffering and death, while the dogged incompetence of its commanders cost the Russian army somewhere around 300,000 fatal casualties."
In 1812 the Russians implemented a scorched-earth tactic that condemned many of their own people to suffering and deathI hope we can agree that this statement is out of context and utter useless, Vilnus, did the Russian burn it? What is with Smolensk, deliberately burned by the Russians before Boney arrived or a consequence of the Russians trying to defend it? Reading memoires - there was wide spreat foraging - which was successful, was there any scorched earth in a path of 50 km width in front of the Grande Armée??? What condemned the Russian people to their death was Boney's invasion. It is depressing that full professional historians are proposing such nonsense.