Napoleon Bonaparte and Hitler were very significant figures in history and are well known for their military triumphs. Napoleon is most known for his military genius and his ability to defeat immense armies with smaller forces or to simply outwit his opponents. Hitler is best known for his atrocious human rights violations and his genocide of the Jewish during World War 2. However, Hitler was another gifted military commander who was able to take Germany from a small nation in poverty to a world power that rivaled the United States and the Soviet Union. A blemish on both Napoleon and Hitler’s military resumes is that both of them failed to conquer Russia as their invasions failed. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia was similar yet different to Hitler’s invasion of Russia. Napoleon invasion of Russia was similar to Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union for many reasons. One reason that the invasion was similar was that both Napoleon and Hitler failed in their attempts. When Napoleon invaded Russia he had brought as many as 650,000 soldiers to overwhelm the Russians. However, during the invasion “The French Army barely existed as a fighting force. Napoleon watched as his army slowly died… What remained of his defeated army straggled towards safety.” Hitler also suffered a defeat when he attempted to invade the Soviet Union during World War 2. “The tremendous strain of that winter campaign, on armies which had not been prepared for it, had other serious effects. Before the winter ended, many German divisions were reduced to barely a third of their original strength, and they were never fully built up again.” This clearly shows that Hitler’s German army was defeated and decimated as well be the Soviets. Another similarity between the two invasions is that the deciding factor was the bitter Russian winter. When Napoleon invaded Russia the Russian winter arrived early and his troops and animals were battered. The Russian winter had arrived early. “Temperatures fell to twenty-two degrees below zero. Napoleon's soldiers froze in the open countryside. Horses were dying in droves, and the Grande Armée’s flanks and rear guard faced constant attacks. To top it off, an unusually early winter set in, complete with high winds, sub-zero temperatures and lots of snow." The Russian winter caused Napoleon’s army to be in disarray.
When Hitler invaded Russia, his troops were not sufficiently prepared for the bitter cold and the lack of food. “His decision exposed his troops to awful sufferings in their advanced positions facing Moscow, for they had neither the clothing nor the equipment for a Russian winter campaign; but if they had once started a general retreat it might easily have degenerated into a panic-stricken rout.”2 This means that the Russian winter caught the German army by surprise and it severely weakened them, which influenced the tide of the invasion. These are the similarities between Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Despite the vast amount of similarities between Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union, there were many differences as well. One of the differences was that Hitler knew of the risks involved in invading Russia but he still continued with it. “Hitler forbade any retreat beyond the shortest possible local withdrawals.”2 This showed that Hitler had knowledge of the Russian winter but he refused to sanction a retreat.
Another difference between the two invasions was that Napoleon’s invasion made him lose his power. “On April 12, 1814, Napoleon picked up a pen and renounced his throne. Once master over an empire of seventy million people, he would now become the emperor of the tiny island of Elba.”2 Napoleon’s invasion of France coincided with his loss of power in France. However, Hitler did not lose any power or control after his failure in the Soviet Union as his people supported him when he engaged in the war of the Pacific. These are the differences between Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler and Napoleon were revered military leaders who struck fear into the hearts of their opponents. However, neither Napoleon nor Hitler were able to defeat Russia or the Soviet Union. The similarities between the two invasions are that: both invasions were failures and the deciding factor was Russia’s bitter winter. The differences were that: Hitler knew the dangers of the Russian winter and the invasion ended Napoleon’s rule of France. These are the similarities and differences of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Works Cited Page
Greenspan, Jesse Napoleon’s Disastrous Invasion of Russia, 200 Years Ago, History.com. June 22, 2012. http://www.history.com/news/napoleons-disastrous-invasion-of-russia-200-years-ago.

Smith, John Invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941, Britannica.com. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/648813/World-War-II/53552/Invasion-of-the-Soviet-Union-1941

The Russian Campaign 1812 http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_war/campaign/page_14.html