Remains of Napoleonic soldiers buried in Belarus

Authorities in Belarus today reburied the remains of more than 200 soldiers of Napoleon’s army who died in a major battle in 1812.

Tens of thousands of French troops and civilians perished when the Russian army attacked Napoleon’s army retreating from Moscow as it was crossing the Berezina River in November 1812.

Today the remains of 223 French soldiers were buried in a mass grave near the village of Studenka at Berezina’s bank, about 70 miles east of the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

“Today we must remember the suffering that befell these soldiers and forget about our disagreements,” the French Ambassador to Belarus, Mireille Musso, said at the ceremony.

The remains were found by war enthusiasts and government-sponsored teams digging in the area, which was also the site of a major battle during World War II.

About 100 military history enthusiasts from Russia, Belarus and France, dressed in period uniforms, re-enacted episodes of the Berezina battle to mark the event.