French invasion of Russia French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, known in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 () and in France as the Russian Campaign (), began on 24 June 1812 when Napoleon's crossed the Neman River in an attempt to engage and defeat the Russian army. Napoleon hoped to compel Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The official political aim of the campaign was to liberate Poland from the threat of Russia. Napoleon named the campaign the Second Polish
Tolstoy Cup Tolstoy Cup The Tolstoy Cup is an annual football match played between the students of the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford and the Department of War Studies at King's College London since 2007, though the match was first played in 1994. The competition is named after "War and Peace", the 1869 novel written by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. The rivalry between 'Peace Studies' and 'War Studies' is one of the great sporting rivalries, being featured at number four on the "Financial Times" list of "Great college sports rivalries". Although it does not match the history