Crossing the Berezina

While the Napoleonic troops carry out a strategic withdrawal after their semi-victory in Moscow, the Russian soldiers, commanded by Prince Mikhail Koutouzov manage to surround the Grand Army near the Berezina river, near the city of Borissov.
The French soldiers were then exhausted, on the verge of death for some, so, to flee, Napoleon decided to build bridges over the Berezina which, despite the -31° fahrenheit (-37.5°C). temperatures, was not frozen.
The crossing needed to be completed very quickly, at the risk of leaving the passage free to the Russian armies. It was decided that the bridges, erected on December 28, 1812, would be burned on the morning of December 29.
Exhausted, some refused to cross, preferring to die or be taken prisoner.
On the morning of the 29th, when a fire was lit on the bridges, the French soldiers gazed with dismay at the men, women and children from the surrounding area who tried to reach the other bank by crossing the flames or the icy river. It was truly a slaughter for both the French and the Russians.
If the battle of Berezina is technically a victory for Napoleon, it will nevertheless remain in collective memory as a human disaster. Incidentally, the word Berezina in everyday language has become synonymous with failure.