Imagine an army of 510,000 troops. Now imagine an army of just 10,000. The difference is staggering and to be honest, it is the same army. The year was 1812 and Napoleon believed that the British had struck a deal with the Russians, so he acted quickly. He marched on Russia with an army of 510,000 men. His army was unprepared for the harsh winter and this strategic blunder was the beginning of the end of the Napoleonic wars. Cold, hunger and disease caused the majority of the deaths suffered by the French. This was a hard lesson, one significant enough to warrant remembering, when planning an offensive against Russia.This same folly was again played out in 1941. Nazi Germany brazenly attacked Russia in hopes of capturing oil reserves. They initially were very successful and it looked as though Russia would become yet another victim to the German war machine. However, winter struck with a vengeance and hit the German forces hard. The German troops were unprepared for the harsh winter and their initial successes were quickly ended. If the first winter spent in Russia was not enough the Germans stayed for the winter of 1942-1943. That winter marked the bloodiest battle ever fought in human history-the Battle of Stalingrad, it had an estimated 1.5 million casualties. That winter battle (siege) marked what was the turning point for the Germans on the Eastern Front.Germany was defeated as much by Russia's winter as it was by Russia's soldiers. It is a very good thing that some people are not good students of history!