Rasputitsa is the mud season that occurs in various rural areas of Eastern Europe, when the rapid snowmelt or thawing of frozen ground combined with wet weather in spring, or heavy rains in autumn lea
Spring thaw and huge puddles in Komi Republic, March 2015
Thick snow cover and waterlogged soil in Sokol, Russia, October 2012
Village street in Moscow oblast, November 1941
German horses and cart stuck in mud (near Kursk), March 1942
Russian Winter, sometimes personified as "General Frost" or "General Winter", is an aspect of the climate of Russia that has contributed to military failures of several invasions of Russia and the Sov
Rasputitsa
…treacherous. Rasputitsa has repeatedly affected wars by causing military vehicles and artillery pieces to become mired in the mud. In conjunction with the general conditions of winter, rasputitsa has been credited with encumbering the military campaigns of the French Empire in 1812 and Nazi Germany in 1941, as well as all belligerents…
"General Winter", from a 1916 front page illustration of the French periodical Le Petit Journal
Russians used skis in the third Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1507–1508).
The Night Bivouac of Napoleon's Army during retreat from Russia in 1812.