October 15, 2006

MALOYAROSLAVETS, RUSSIA - Members of the historical club, dressed as Russian soldiers perform during the re-enactment of the 1812 battle between Napoleon's army and Russian troops on October 15, 2006 in the town of Maloyaroslavets, some 140 kms from Moscow. Napoleon first struck south from Moscow along the Old Kaluga Road, then veered west by secondary roads intending to slip around Kutuzov's left flank to the important junction of Maloyaroslavets, from where a variety of routes led through untouched country to Smolensk. Advance troops of the French and Russian armies converged almost simultaneously on Maloyaroslavets on 24 October 1812, where they engaged in a fierce eighteen-hour battle that cost 10,000 men. (Photo by DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images)