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
War and Peace (game) strategic game of the whole war), "Wellington" (on the Peninsular War), and "Kutuzov" (on Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812). The functional unit counters, typical of the 1980s, represent strengths of 5,000 infantry, cavalry (representing a smaller number of men but able to move independently), or 6 ships (either warships or transports). The art is colourful and very simple and functional by today's standards. There are around 50 leader counters, which play a key role in the game, as they are needed to move infantry and are rated for their ability in combat. Apart from a handful of incompetents rated