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The Russians refused to come to terms, and both military and political dangers could be foreseen if the French were to winter in Moscow. After waiting for a month, Napoleon began his retreat, his army now 110,000 strong, on October 19, 1812. His first intention was to retire via Kaluga and thus to make a long detour through more fertile and unexhausted territory before regaining Smolensk, but after the successful combat of Maloyaroslavets (October 24), where he found Kutuzov in his path, he decided to return by the direct route. CLICK FOR MORE at Encyclopedia Britannica