June 24, 1812

French invasion of Russia

The Grande Armée begins crossing the Neman into Russia

Three pontoon bridges turned a frontier river into an invasion road, while Napoleon stood and watched the columns pass.

24 June 1812, near Kovno

The first formations of Napoleon's Grande Armée crossed the Neman near Kovno — modern Kaunas, Lithuania — on 24 June 1812, opening the invasion of the Russian Empire. Jean-Baptiste Eblé's bridging troops had put three pontoon bridges across the river.

Napoleon watched and reviewed the troops as they crossed, then crossed himself and set up headquarters at Kovno. Two days earlier he had told his soldiers, in a proclamation, that the "Second Polish War" had begun.

Not one day, and not one nation

The date marks the start of the crossing, not its completion. About 380,000 troops came over between 22 June and 1 July, at this and other points.

Nor was the army French in any simple sense — the Grande Armée was a multinational coalition. In Russia's contemporary Julian calendar, the day was 12 June.

A frontier breached without a battle

Alexander I and Barclay de Tolly, commanding the 1st Western Army, were at headquarters near Vilna and received news of the crossing late that evening.

Russian corps were ordered to begin withdrawing on 26–27 June. They evacuated Vilna, and the French occupied it on 28 June.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

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What the sources leave uncertain

The date is Gregorian, the calendar used by Napoleon’s forces. It corresponded to June 12 in Russia’s contemporary Julian calendar.
June 24 marks the beginning of the crossing, not the moment the entire Grande Armée had reached the Russian bank.