Battle of Maloyaroslavets happened on 1812-10-24.

I don't quite know just how much Napoleon or Berthier knew about just how far it was to go from Poland to Moscow: How long it would take to march or more to the point how long it would take to march there & back again. What is sure is that by the time they got there, Moscow, they had passed the point, literally, of no return. The simple fact was that the Russians endure severe winters year on year & the French (& Germans, who mad up much of his forces by this time) do not. It became terribly apparrent they were unable to march & fight under these circumstances & they perished in their thousands. Returning by the same route they had come, after the battle of Maloyaroslavets too, added to their difficulties, as this route had already been stripped bare of resources during their advance. Quite how deserted Moscow was on their arrival must have come as a terrible shock. But quite what they, the French, had to do to survive the terrible Russian winter is unknown.

The Russian strategy was that of deeply retreating within the country, giving to Napoleon Army more and more land , making the French to over extend their communications lines and gaining time, waiting for the winter season to come.

In October, the Russians were able to cheat Napoleon, who was still standing in Moscow, pretending they were ready to negotiate a peace of compromise, making the French to waste time and start the inevitable retreat too late to avoid of getting bogged down in the awful climatic conditions and logistic problems, which they were not fit to deal with.

They avoided a battle and retreated leaving only scorched earth behind them. The Russians beat Napoleon by waiting for the cold Russian winter to come. When it did, the Russians attacked a weakened and starving army with their horsemen.

The Russian defence of their homeland resulted in the massive battle of Borodino. 7th Sept 1812.

Combatants of about 250 000 on both sides accounted for about 70 000 casualties! ( 28%) It was a huge, bloody struggle and although the French took the field it was a hollow victory, despite opening the road to Moscow.

Too late, the French arrived only to find that anyone that mattered had left to go to St Petersburg.

14th Sept 1812. Moscow was in flames. The retreat from Moscow was terrible for the French (Tchaikowski does it as well as any !) and the predation of winter & Cossacks made their problems shocking & unimaginable.

Dokhturov blocked the retreat at Maloyaroslavets on the 24th October & Napoleon changed his route of retreat via Smolensk, the way they had come.

This was a disasterous alteration. by the end of November the French had reached the Berezina river only to be attacked by 3 combined Russian armies.

Few would see the Niemen river which marked the Polish border. The campaign had cost the lives of something in the region of 700 000 lives!

Strategically Kutuzov has mastered his forces well for the Tsar, despite the death of Prince Bagration at Borodino.

By the time the French have left the Grande Armee will never again be the force it was, for obvious reasons, despite what would happen at Leipzig in 1813, Napoleons defence of France in the 1814 campaign and indeed the final action at Waterloo.

The Russians had at last seen off the French threat from their homeland.