https://pjmedia.com/spengler/2012/06/25/napoleon-in-russia-why-some-wars-go-on-until-theres-no-one-left-to-fight/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 08:17:10 -0400<![CDATA[Two hundred years ago Sunday, Napoleon crossed into Russian territory with the largest army the world had ever seen; the following December 16th, the main body of his force counted just 16,000 men as it crossed the Russian frontier on the way out. &#8220;Am I a Napoleon, am I a Mohammed?,&#8221; muses Dostoevsky&#8217;s murderer Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment.  What linked the legendary founder of Islam and the author of a legendary military catastrophe in Dostoevsky&#8217;s mind, I think, was this: charismatic leaders launch wars of total attrition by offering advancement to ambitious young men with nothing to lose. Wars of this sort continue until there aren&#8217;t enough young men left to put into the ranks. Frenchmen and Americans have fought this kind of war with suicidal abandon; all the more so should we expect such wars of attrition to characterize the Middle East during the next generation.]]>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 05:58:00 -0400<![CDATA[David P. Goldman]]>https://pjmedia.com/david-p-goldman/2012/06/25/napoleon-in-russia-why-some-wars-go-on-until-theres-no-one-left-to-fight-n130915