Crossing the Berezina River is an 1844 history painting by the German artist Peter von Hess.

The battle took place in modern-day Belarus, and was a partial French success as Napoleon was able to get the remnants of his Grande Armée across the river on pontoon bridges in the face of fierce Russian opposition and continue the retreat westwards.

[2] On the left a group of French soldiers try to make a last stand as they face a charge by Russian forces led by Peter Wittgenstein.

The mounted soldiers behind him are a mix of Cossacks, Bashkirs and Kalmyks, celebrating the various ethnicities that played a part on Russia's victory.

[4] The battle was also notably painted by the Polish artist January Suchodolski in 1866, now in the National Museum in Poznań.