French invasion of Russia part of the government. During the Cold War, many Western historians were inclined to see Russia as "the enemy", and there was a tendency to downplay and dismiss Russia's contributions to the defeat of Napoleon. As such, Napoleon's claim that the Russians did not defeat him and he was just the victim of fate in 1812 was very appealing to many Western historians. Russian historians tended to focus on the French invasion of Russia in 1812 and ignore the campaigns in 1813–1814 fought in Germany and France because a campaign fought on Russian soil was regarded as more important than
Army of the Danube (1806–1812) Army of the Danube (1806–1812) The Army of the Danube (or Danube Army; alternately the Army of Moldavia) () was a field army of the Russian Empire, created for the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812. Commanded by Admiral Pavel Chichagov from May 1812, it merged with the Third Reserve Army of Observation to form the Third Western Army in September during the French invasion of Russia. The Army of the Danube ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812 on the Danube; its commander-in-chief, General of the infantry Mikhail Kutuzov, signed the peace treaty ending the war at Bucharest on . Admiral Pavel