Art Wanted Slideshow

Monday, March 7, 2022

Napoleon's March to Moscow: Infographic Extraordinaire

 Probably the best statistical graphic ever drawn, this map by Charles Joseph Minard portrays the losses suffered by Napoleon's army in the Russian campaign of 1812. Beginning at the Polish-Russian border, the thick band shows the size of the army at each position. The path of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in the bitterly cold winter is depicted by the dark lower band, which is tied to temperature and time scales. 


It is a great illustration of the formidable size of Napoleon's invading army, numbered near 400,000, represented in tan, and the effects of winter and the repelling and ultimate retreat of the invaders shown in black. By the end of the campaign, Napoleon's force was reduced to approximately 10,000 represented by the thin black line near the end of the infographic.

This poster and more products by Edward Tufte can be purchased at the following link:

https://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/posters

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