Napoleon's campaign to Moscow - 1812
After the breakdown of the Franco-Russian alliance, Napoleon mobilised an army of 600,000 in hopes of crushing the Russians just inside their borders. The Russian army had other ideas, namely retreating repeatedly and drawing French forces deeper into their territory. Rather than defend Moscow, they burned the city and let Napoleon have it. It cost them dearly, but cost Napoleon even more; weakening him and strengthening the resolve of other European nations to finish him once and for all.
Freezing point: Napoleon abandoned Moscow just in time for the Russian winter to settle in with a vengeance. Hampered by blizzards, frozen terrain and picked to pieces by the Russian army, Napoleon’s army was reduced to a fraction of its original size. During the Battle of Berezina, which took place in November 1812, thousands died in combat but more perished in the freezing Berezina River where the Cossacks ended up slaughtering stragglers wholesale.