Retreat

Fun Facts About Famous Military Retreats

• In 1812, Napoleon crossed into Moscow with over 600,000 troops, but fewer than 100,000 survived the retreat. The extreme Russian winter and scorched-earth tactics devastated his army more than the actual battles did.
• Over 338,000 Allied soldiers were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk, France, during WWII as German forces closed in. They used not just naval ships but hundreds of civilian boats, including fishing vessels, yachts, and ferries.
• After their employer was killed in Persia in 401 BC, Greek mercenaries, historically known as the Ten Thousand, endured a year-long retreat of nearly 1,500 miles through hostile territory to get back home.
• The British Retreat from Kabul of 1842 involved roughly 16,000 soldiers and civilians. Only one European, an assistant surgeon, survived.
• The 1915 Great Retreat was a massive strategic withdrawal by the Russian Army on the Eastern Front to avoid encirclement by German forces. They ended up surrendering Poland and Galicia in their retreat in order to survive.
• During the Fall of Saigon on April 29, 1975, the U.S. Embassy was evacuated of its 1,000 personnel via 70 helicopters landing on rooftops. It is one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.
• In 1950 U.S. Marines withdrew from the Chosin Reservoir once they realized they were surrounded and outnumbered by Chinese soldiers 4-to-1. Their retreat lasted 13 days and covered 78 miles in freezing temperatures.
• The Retreat from Yorktown is the final surrender and departure of the British army under General Cornwallis in 1781 after they were defeated in the last major battle of the American Revolution.