French invasion of Russia subject of much discussion among historians. The campaign's sustained role in Russian culture may be seen in Tolstoy's "War and Peace", Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", and the identification of it with the German invasion of 1941–45, which became known as the "Great Patriotic War" in the Soviet Union. 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
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