Crossing the Berezina River, 29 November 1812, painted by Peter Hess The painting is a part of the s

Crossing the Berezina River, 29 November 1812, painted by Peter Hess The painting is a part of the series devoted to the great battles of the Patriotic War of 1812. On the morning of 17 (29) November 1812 Russian troops took the village of Studyanki (near the place where the Frenchmen had crossed the Berezina), and the vanguard of General Piotr Wittgenstein marched to the bank of the river. On the right there is Wittgenstein (on a bay); nearby there are Russian Cossacks and infantrymen making their way amid abandoned French carts; there are also the Bashkirs and the Kalmyks who comprise the irregular Cavalry of the Russian Army. In the centre are two Russian officers offering surrender to a group of French soldiers. On the left are French soldiers. In the foreground, next to the cart, on the snow there is a Marshal’s uniform, Legion of Honour ribbon, box from which church values are pouring out. In the background there are burning bridges across the Berezina River. On the right the village of Studyanki is burning; nearby the Russian artillery is firing at the enemy located on the right bank of the river. Text by the Russian State Hermitage Museum -- source link

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