Charles Joseph Minard’s famous graph depicts the decreasing size of Napoleon’s Grande Armee as it marched toward Moscow (tan line) and then as it retreated (black line), with the width of the line corresponding to the size of the army. Temperatures during the retreat are plotted on the lower graph. Click on the image to see a larger version.
This chart was reproduced in the March 2010 issue of Armchair General magazine as part of the article "Hard Choices: Napoleon’s Russia Campaign, 1812." "Hard Choices" is a regular feature of ACG, focusing on critical decisions throughout the history of warfare.
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