Napoleon’s invasion of Russia occurs in 1812 in War and Peace. The invasion begins when Napoleon’s Grande Armée crosses the Niemen River in June 1812 and advances deep into the Russian Empire.
Tolstoy’s novel begins earlier, in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars involving Russia, Austria, and France. This allows readers to watch the principal families and characters develop before the central national crisis arrives. The 1812 campaign brings the historical and personal storylines together.
The Battle of Borodino, fought on 7 September 1812, becomes the novel’s major military climax. Although Napoleon’s forces occupy Moscow afterward, the campaign does not produce a durable French victory. The city is largely abandoned and fires break out, while the French army faces worsening supply problems and the severe Russian winter.
A common mix-up is 1805, the year of the Battle of Austerlitz, which is also important in the novel. Napoleon’s invasion of Russia itself belongs to the later campaign of 1812, often called the French invasion of Russia or the Russian campaign.