Berezina

This article is about Berezina, a tributary of Dnieper River. For Western Berezina, a tributary of the Neman River, see Western Berezina.

"Beresina" redirects here. For the 1999 Swiss film, see Beresina, or the Last Days of Switzerland.

Berezina River
Berezina River in Belarus
Native name	Belarusian: Рака Бярэзіна
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Belarus
Mouth
• location	Dnieper
Length	561 km (349 mi)
Basin size	24,500 km2 (9,500 sq mi)

The Berezina (Belarusian: Бярэ́зіна, Biarezina; [bʲaˈrɛzʲinɐ]) is a river in Belarus and a tributary of the Dnieper River.

The Berezina Preserve by the river is in the UNESCO list of Biosphere Preserves.

Cities and towns by Berezina

• Babruysk
• Barysau
• Svietlahorsk

Historical significance

• Napoleon Bonaparte's army suffered heavy losses (about 36,000) when crossing the Berezina in November 1812 during his retreat from Russia (see Battle of Berezina). Since then "Berezina" is used in French as a synonym of catastrophe. (See also Charles Joseph Minard for a visual graphic of the army's fate.)
• Charles XII of Sweden's army crossed the Berezina on June 25, 1708 during his campaign against Peter the Great of Russia in the Great Northern War. (see ISBN 0-306-80863-3 for details)
• Several armies in German Wehrmacht Army Group Centre were entrapped and prevented from crossing the Berezina in June, 1944, during the envelopment phases of the Bobruysk and Minsk Offensives, within the closing phases of Operation Bagration in World War II.
• See also Battle of Berezina (disambiguation).

See also

• Western Berezina

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