Napoleon was forced to step down as emperor of France as a result of a disastrous military campaign in the winter of 1812, in which country?

The French emperor's downfall began with his fateful 1812 invasion of the Russian Empire. Napoleon assembled the Grande Armée, a force of over 600,000 soldiers, with the goal of forcing Tsar Alexander I to stop trading with Great Britain. Napoleon expected a quick and decisive victory, but the campaign quickly turned into a nightmare.

As the massive army advanced, the Russians employed a scorched-earth strategy, retreating deep into their territory while burning crops and destroying supplies. After a bloody and costly victory at the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon captured Moscow, only to find the city largely deserted and set ablaze. Stranded hundreds of miles from his supply lines, Napoleon was forced to order a retreat as the famously harsh winter set in.

The retreat was catastrophic. Facing starvation, frostbite, and constant attacks from Russian forces, the once-mighty Grande Armée was annihilated. The devastating loss of men and equipment shattered the myth of Napoleon's invincibility. This encouraged his enemies across Europe to form a new coalition against him, ultimately leading to his defeat and first abdication as emperor in 1814.