France, Russia give ceremonial burial to soldiers fallen during Napoleonic war

The remains of French and Russian soldiers who died in a battle during the Napoleonic war were given ceremonial burial on February 13. The bodies, which discovered two years ago in a mass grave, constitutes 120 soldiers, three women and three teenage boys, BBC reported.  The ceremony, which also included a gun salute,  comes like a rare moment of unity between an EU nation and Russia, which have been at loggerheads in the recent weeks.

It is believed that all of them were killed during the Battle of Vyazma, Napoleon’s disastrous retreat from Moscow. While the three women are thought to have provided food and first aid for the troops, the boys are believed to have served as drummers. All of them have been laid to rest in the monastery in the town of Vyazma.

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All the bodies were unearthed in the Smolensk Region during an archaeological project conducted in May 2019 under the auspices of the Trianon Dialogue French-Russian forum founded at the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, TASS reported. The expedition was organized by the Foundation for the Development of Russian-French Historical Initiatives, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Military-Historical Society.

About Battle of Vyazma

The Battle of Vyazma fought in 1812 was a part of Napoleon's invasion of Russia starting as an attack against the French rearguard during the beginning of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow after the Battle of Maloyaroslavets. Although Marshal Davout repelled Miloradovich's attempt to encircle and destroy his corps, the French withdrew in a partial state of disorder after suffering fairly important casualties. French causalities of the catastrophic battle are not yet known. 

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