Jourquin, Jacques <br/><br/>
The extraordinary ride: Napoleon’s return journey 

 -  2022.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 34 
<br/><br/> This article by Jacques Jourquin is based on eyewitness accounts and on the best historical accounts of the route taken by Napoleon out of Russia, starting in Smorgony on 5 December and arriving in Paris on 18 December 1812, thirteen days and nights non-stop, as he rushed back to France, the seat of his power. Despite being pursued by the Cossacks and suffering from extreme cold, the emperor and his few companions owed the success of their escape not only to unfailing determination but also to luck.