margaret miles bramwell yacht

How 20-stone miner's daughter Margaret Miles-Bramwell went from poverty to riches by founding Slimming World

Once she was hard up and weighed ­almost 20 stone herself

• 00:00, 20 Mar 2011
• Updated 21:44, 26 Jan 2012

There's a yellow open-top Ferrari in the garage, a yacht moored in the marina and a villa in Majorca.

Not bad for a miner’s daughter who started a business with just £200 in her pocket and a clapped-out Austin van.

That was in 1969, and since then ­former secretary Margaret Miles-Bramwell has made millions helping other people to lose pounds.

Once she was hard up and weighed ­almost 20 stone herself. Then she invented the phenomenon known as ­Slimming World. What began as an idea jotted down at the kitchen table in her two-up-two-down terrace, 42 years later is a ­huge business empire which is getting ­bigger every year.

“That was never the plan,” she says. “Getting wealthy wasn’t the goal.

“I was never a proper businesswoman in that sense, measuring success by pounds in the bank. But, yes, I had ambition.

“We started out with a weekly meeting in the local Scout hut, and I always imagined there would be a day when it would become much bigger than that.”

Fifty-five women were at Slimming World’s first session in ­Mansfield, Notts – they were drawn from the pit villages by the promise of a new way to shed weight.

Today there are 7,300 groups meeting throughout the UK, ­following diet plans that are still much the same as Margaret, 62, worked out in her kitchen all those years ago.

Eat what you want as long as it’s within reason is the ­underlying principle.

Does it work? The aides who surround Margaret at the ­company’s 250-strong head office – still only 20 miles from Mansfield but now in sleeker ­premises in Alfreton – reach for the ­statistics.

More than five ­million slimmers have signed up over the years, they ­calculate – an army of converts who together have shed more than 60million surplus pounds.

Margaret says: “We came along at a time when people were becoming more and more concerned with the way they looked in nice fashions and, crucially, how weight affected their health.”

The truth is, Margaret faced struggles of her own.

She had been a chubby child, according to Sam and Pem, the loving parents who had adopted her as an illegitimate baby.

In her teens, her weight began ­fluctuating wildly and when, at 16, she became ­pregnant and married salesman Roy Miles, it began to soar. She went up to a size 28, watching the scales slide to within a few pounds of 20 stone.

In fact, she was twice the size she is today, and feeling thoroughly miserable.

“I looked for help – there was already another slimming group, which is still around today,” she says. “But when I went to their meeting I felt even worse – it was as if they were just hectoring and judging, and then ­shaming you if you didn’t meet the targets they had set. It seemed to me that overweight people deserved a gentler approach.

“I was 14 stone when we launched the first group, and so when I stood in front of those first 55 members and told them we were ­starting out on a journey together I think they understood that I wasn’t some health ­goddess – I was really one of them.

“There wouldn’t be any guilt or ­humiliation. They would join a club to be treated like adults who wanted to slim, not like naughty schoolchildren.” Margaret borrowed £200 from a friend to set up Slimming World, and paid her back within a year. She’s proud to say that she’s never borrowed a penny since.

The company doesn’t reveal its profits, and she’s coy about her own wealth, but nobody blinks when you suggest it must run into many millions.

At any one time, there are some 350,000 members paying £4.95 a week – half of which is kept by the franchisees running the groups. The rest goes into training and research and Margaret draws a ­chairman’s salary.

The Ferrari, she admits, was an ­indulgence she couldn’t resist. She wears designer jewellery now. And designer outfits – size 12 or 14.

With her second husband Tony Whittaker, 70, she now spends most of her time in Puerto Portals, ­Majorca, where she owns ­boating businesses and a share in one of the resort’s ­smartest ­restaurants, Mood – a hangout for off-duty Spanish soccer players and the ­occasional ­visiting royal.

Once a month the ­couple commute back to spend a few days in Mansfield –always travelling by budget airlines.

“When a fortune’s hard-earned, you’re careful where it goes,” she says.

Even after the birth of her sons – ­Dominic in 1977 and Ben three years later – she carried on putting in 15-hour days.

Then, in 1996, she was dealt a harsh reminder that even the most accomplished businesswoman can’t control everything in life. She was diagnosed with cancer and underwent a hysterectomy.

It was time to slow down. She and Tony sailed their yacht to Majorca and settled there with their youngest son.

“When you’re suddenly confronted with the fact that you could possibly die, things take on a different perspective”, says Margaret. “You begin to ask yourself ­exactly what you are working to achieve.”

Sadly, her son Ben also struggled with health and weight problems.

In fact he was so overweight and unfit that a doctor warned in 2009 that he might have just five years to live.

“He told me frankly that I was a heart attack waiting to happen,” Ben, 31, recalls. “I was three stone too heavy, my ­cholesterol level was sky-high, I smoked 40 a day and I drank wine most evenings.

“It hit me like a thunderbolt. I had two young sons and a beautiful wife, and it suddenly became crystal clear to me – I have this fantastic life and I’m not ready just yet to give it up.”

Ben called his mother – and the next morning she was round, clearing his ­cupboards of biscuits and sweets and ­drawing up a healthy-eating programme.

Ben had a long history of poor health. He was born with a ­severely cleft palate and needed 12 ­operations by the age of 10. Then, in his teens, he was struck with a bone-wasting disease that meant he needed an artificial hip in his early 20s.

But the weight warning was a dramatic turning point. Now Ben, who runs a boat charter business in Puerto Portals, is training for his biggest challenge yet – cycling 6,000km from Gibraltar to Norway, raising funds for the NSPCC.

“One thing I inherited from my mother is determination,” he says. “Once I start it, I’ll finish it.”

He’s certainly following in mum’s footsteps when it comes to charity work. Two years ago Margaret was awarded the OBE – not just for services to slimmers, but for the company’s work ­in raising more than £2million for charity.

“Have I been lucky?” she asks. “I used to wonder where it came from. But when I was 18 I learned that I had been adopted and that the couple we used to visit in London were actually my birth parents. My father, it turned out, was a small-time businessman. I wonder now if some of his ­entrepreneurial genes could have been passed on to me.

­“Otherwise I might have carried on as a ­secretary with an old van and a weight ­problem.”

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The Slimming World story

Slimming World was founded in Alfreton, Derbyshire in 1969 by Margaret Miles-Bramwell, who remains the driving force behind the company today.

Margaret had struggled with her own weight since childhood and she understood that people who are overweight carry a double burden — the physical burden of excess weight and the sometimes far heavier burden of shame and self-criticism.

Over the years, so much has changed – and so much has stayed the same. Our founding principles haven’t changed. There’s Food Optimising – our uniquely satisfying way of eating, based on the liberating concept of Free Food. And more importantly, there’s our passion for treating every member with genuine care, empathy and respect – putting them and their success at the heart of everything we do.

Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE

The Slimming World difference

Margaret’s mission was to create a brand‐new approach to weight management. The programmes at the time relied on hunger, restriction and humiliation, and Margaret had a vision for a positive, practical system of support to help people learn new habits and achieve long-term success. It would be an approach based on freedom from hunger, and freedom from humiliation and guilt. From the first meeting, held in a church hall in Alfreton, to becoming the UK and Ireland’s favourite way to lose weight†, Slimming World has been on an incredible journey over the last 50 years.

Helping slimmers achieve their dreams

Slimming World’s Food Optimising plan is a healthy, flexible approach, based on everyday foods, to help people lose weight without ever going hungry. It’s a practical, family-friendly plan that fits easily into everyday life and doesn’t require complex weighing and measuring or obsessive calorie counting. At the heart of Slimming World are our warm, friendly and motivating weekly groups, designed to empower slimmers to make changes for life. Our groups are where the magic happens — a place to share ideas, inspire and be inspired, make friends, and discover new, healthy lifestyle grooves. The Consultants who run our groups have all been successful members themselves, and they are trained in nutrition and behaviour-change techniques at the Slimming World Academy. Millions of people in the UK and Ireland have attended Slimming World’s community-based groups, and increasing numbers of people are logging on to Slimming World’s digital weight loss programme, Slimming World Online.

Slimming World Online

Slimming World Online is our digital-only service, here to support you all the way to your dream weight. Our app and website will guide you step-by-step through your Slimming World journey, with weekly weigh-ins, personalised support, healthy recipes, plus you can take part in our motivating live member events and be inspired and inspire others in our Slimming World community. Slimming World Online puts you in control and our expertise and methods, rooted in the science and psychology of slimming, will support and inspire you to make lasting changes for life!

Slimming World on Referral

In 2000 Slimming World pioneered the first-ever NHS weight management referral scheme, enabling health professionals to refer overweight patients to Slimming World groups to manage their weight. Slimming World now works in partnership with a range of health providers and we currently have around 90 weight loss referral schemes in place. The cost of these is subsidised by Slimming World. Studies show that NHS patients who are referred lose an average of 4% of their body weight in 12 weeks; this increases to 5.5% for those who attend at least 10 out of the 12 sessions.

The UK’s No.1 slimming magazine

The multi award-winning Slimming World Magazine launched in 1998 and within a year had become the UK’s number one slimming title. Now the fourth most actively purchased magazine in the UK, each issue is packed with tried-and-trusted recipes, expert advice and inspiring real-life stories, offering the very best in weight loss support. Slimming World Magazine is available to buy in all good newsagents and supermarkets, and is sold in our groups at a special reduced price for members.

A healthy start for young people

Childhood obesity is increasing every year in the UK and around one-third of all children are above a healthy weight. At Slimming World we’ve always understood the need for a flexible, family-friendly approach. Because Food Optimising and Body Magic are founded on everyday food and activity, they help members to lay healthy foundations for the whole family that will last a lifetime. In fact, our research shows that 77% of Slimming World members say that, within just three months of joining a group, their children were also eating more healthily – and 41% of our members who’ve embraced Body Magic have encouraged their family to be more active too! To help members take their healthy habits home, we have a special booklet — Family Affair — our guide to family-friendly eating and moving more together.

Supporting women through pregnancy

Working with the Royal College of Midwives to develop its policy, Slimming World is the only national weight management organisation to support women through every stage of their pregnancy – from pre-conception to post-natal care. For pregnant women, the focus is not on weight loss, but on healthy lifestyle changes, with the support of their midwife. Our priority is a happy, healthy mum-to-be!

Raising money for charity

We launched a charitable foundation, SMILES (Slimmers Making it a Little Easier for Someone), in 1997. We’ve raised more than £25 million for a range of charities. Slimming World currently supports Cancer Research UK, the Irish Cancer Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK. Flagship charity events include The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw, where Slimming World members donate clothes they’ve slimmed out of to their local Cancer Research UK and Irish Cancer Society shops.

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Margaret Glynis Miles-Bramwell is the founder of Slimming World Ltd. She is on the board of Slimming World Ltd., Miles-Bramwell Administrative Services Ltd., Slimming World Field Area D Ltd. and Body Optimise Ltd.

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Slimming World founder, Margaret Miles-Bramwell, opens new 75,000 sq ft building – 49 years after her first weight loss group

It was a day of sunshine and smiles in Alfreton as Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE officially opened Slimming World’s new head office extension to delighted employees.

Some 350 members of staff witnessed the official ribbon-cutting ceremony before being invited to take a look around the new state-of-the-art building. The extension, which is situated on the 4.6-acre site of Slimming World’s existing head office in Alfreton, will house an advanced training centre for the 4,800 franchisee Consultants who run slimming groups in their local communities, as well as creating more space for its head office employees, supporting the company’s future growth plans.

The opening comes 49 years after Margaret started her very first weight-loss group in Mansfield Woodhouse in 1969 - little imagining that Slimming World would become the UK’s leading weight-loss organisation, supporting hundreds of thousands of people every year to lose weight and achieve their dreams.

Retaining Margaret’s strong East Midlands roots, the company has been located on the current Somercotes site, Derbyshire, since the early 1990s. Work began on the new extension in March 2017 and has been carried out by construction and infrastructure company Morgan Sindall. The new building also houses advanced video conferencing facilities, a stylish new restaurant and more office space. It also has two fully equipped training rooms creating a new home for the Slimming World Academy, where Consultants receive specialist training in nutrition, behaviour change techniques and psychology, including a compassionate, caring approach to weight loss support.

People have always been at the heart of Slimming World’s success and so ensuring that our people – our head office staff and Consultants – have the facilities and environment they need to do the best job possible has been a real priority for us. I’m confident that our fabulous new building will ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of weight management now and for many years to come.

Margaret Miles-Bramwell says: “As Slimming World’s founder and chair, I couldn’t be more proud of all that we’ve achieved. When I held the very first Slimming World group 49 years ago I couldn’t have imagined how many lives we would go on to transform – for our members achieving their weight-loss dreams, and for those members who go on to become Consultants running their own small businesses.

“In those years, so much has changed – Slimming World has gone on to become the UK’s leading weight-loss organisation – helping hundreds of thousands of people in our weekly groups to lose weight and, importantly, to keep it off for life. We’re proud to work with the NHS, with Public Health England, with the Royal College of Midwives and others to help shape the future of weight management in the UK.

“Our head office is important because it’s home to our dedicated teams who work exceptionally hard to support our fantastic Consultants who, in turn, ensure our members receive the very best service – and that all starts here in Derbyshire. It’s also a home from home for Consultants when they’re receiving training. We’ve experienced huge growth in the last few years, and our new building will ensure we have the facilities to give our people a great working environment and a bigger, better, state-of-the art training centre.“People have always been at the heart of Slimming World’s success and so ensuring that our people – our head office staff and Consultants – have the facilities and environment they need to do the best job possible has been a real priority for us. I’m confident that our fabulous new building will ensure that we continue to be at the forefront of weight management now and for many years to come. Extra-special thanks go to Morgan Sindall, whose care and professionalism during this construction has been outstanding. They really have delivered everything we wanted and more.”

Sean Bowles, managing director of the central region of Morgan Sindall construction said: “From the outset of this project we have worked closely with Slimming World to understand its vision and create a space with a ‘wow factor’ for the company’s staff and Consultants.

“The building provides a fantastic end-user experience for those who come to work and attend training here and will enable Slimming World to continue to provide the best service to its members throughout the UK.

Image 1: Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE outside of Slimming World’s new head office extension, just off Clover Nook Road in Alfreton.

Image 2: Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE and Morgan Sindall project manager Peter Maguire, cutting the ribbon at Slimming World’s new head office extension, just off Clover Nook Road in Alfreton, Derbyshire.

Image 3: Slimming World's new building

Image 4&5: Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE opening Slimming World’s new head office extension to Slimming World’s head office staff.

Image 6: Slimming World founder Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE and company directors cutting the ribbon at Slimming World’s new head office extension.

Images 7-20: captioned.

Slimming World was founded by Margaret Miles-Bramwell (OBE, FRSA) in 1969. There are now more than 18,000 groups held weekly across the UK and Republic of Ireland via a network of 4,000 community-based Slimming World Consultants, who receive specific training in the role of diet and physical activity in weight management, as well as sophisticated behaviour-change techniques.

Slimming World’s healthy eating plan, Food Optimising, is based on the science of satiety and energy density. Our phased activity programme, Body Magic, eases members into activity until it becomes an intrinsic part of their daily routine. The principles behind Slimming World’s philosophy are based on a deep understanding of the challenges faced by overweight people and a recognition that those who struggle with weight carry a double burden, the weight itself and a burden of guilt and shame about their weight. Slimming World’s programme integrates practical, up-to-date advice with a highly developed support system based on care and compassion, and Consultant training focuses on facilitating behaviour change in a warm and friendly group environment. Consultant training is delivered through the Slimming World Academy. Slimming World also invests in a comprehensive research programme to develop its support for long-term weight management. The group support provided by Slimming World is recognised as effective by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the NHS.

For more information about Slimming World’s approach visit  www.slimmingworld.co.uk  or call 0344 897 8000.

For the Press Office please email [email protected]

†More people in the UK choose to attend a Slimming World group each week than any other weight loss group.

*Weight loss will vary due to your individual circumstances and how much weight you have to lose.

© Slimming World. The Slimming World logo, the words Slimming World, Free, Free Food, Healthy Extra and Syns are registered trademarks of Miles-Bramwell Executive Services trading as Slimming World.

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Moscow Muled

Why do moscow mules come in copper mugs.

Oct 18, 2019

Have you ever wondered why the Moscow Mule cocktail is served in a copper mug? In this post, we answer that question in detail. As it turns out, the answer is partly based on historical events and partly based on the extra "kick" that copper brings to this classic cocktail. Let's dive in!

Introduction

A remarkable cocktail is something you notice from across the room, easily identified by the signature drinking vessel it's served in. Few are more distinct than the burnished copper mug of a Moscow Mule. 

Great cocktails aren't just alcohol and mixers––they should be something more, a full sensory experience from beginning to end. It starts as you observe the precise convergence of ingredients in a golden ratio that blossoms into flavors and aromas of citrus and spicy ginger. It is then delivered into an ice-filled copper mug and garnished with fresh mint and a slice of lime.  Finally, it is presented before you, shiny and cold, compelling you to taste.

The copper mule mug not only tells the story of the drink it contains, but also is essentially functional to the full experience. You might already know that the cone-shaped bowl of a long-stemmed Martini glass was designed so that olives would stand perfectly upright, and the elegantly curvaceous welled Margarita glass was designed to add ample salt, sugar and garnishes.

But why are Moscow Mules served in copper mugs?

Inquiring minds want to know, so this article will sum up the science and history of why traditional Moscow Mules come in copper mugs, and other legit benefits of serving cocktails in pure copper mugs. This includes:

A Brief History of the Moscow Mule

The science of using copper mugs.

• How Copper Mugs Amplify the Taste & Aroma of your Moscow Mule
• The Enhanced Experience of Drinking from a Pure Copper Mug

The origin of this timeless cocktail is the tale of the American Dream. One fateful day in 1941 , three struggling entrepreneurs had a serendipitous meeting at the Cock 'N Bull bar on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood: A bar owner passionate about his unpopular home-brewed ginger beer, a businessman who took a big chance and purchased Smirnoff vodka, and a Russian immigrant with a cache of copper mugs she couldn't seem to sell. That day, the unlikely trio wisely decided to join forces in a bold venture that would not only save their individual businesses, but also create an iconic American cocktail.

Essentially, the Moscow Mule is the most successful marketing campaign in cocktail history. At a time when most Americans had never even heard of vodka, this cocktail introduced them to the traditional Russian alcohol, and established Smirnoff as a necessity in both bars and homes alike.

Thanks to celebrity endorsement, the Moscow Mule soon took the Hollywood cocktail scene by storm, and quickly became the most beloved mixed drink of the 1950's.

It's popularity understandably waned during the Cold War, and it was briefly re-branded as the Smirnoff Mule to distance itself from communism. However, the recent cocktail renaissance of the 21st century has seen the Moscow Mule come kicking back, as evidenced by lists like Esquire's Top 10 Cocktails of 2019 , and Business Insider's 8th Best-selling Cocktail in the World, 2018 .

But the answer to why Moscow Mules are served in copper mugs goes much further than a conveniently clever alliance between co-founders desperate for a big break. The story of the Moscow Mule is both the struggle of the immigrant searching for success, and the flashy lifestyle of the rich and famous.

It boasts a simple recipe , yet a complex flavor profile, encapsulated in a shiny copper mug. And as delicious and refreshing as the Moscow Mule may be, it's the copper mug that makes the cocktail so extraordinary.  Like the drink itself, the pure copper mule mug is a balance of form and functionality.

The most scientific benefit of the copper mug is its ability to regulate temperature. When a drink is served in a copper mug, it gets cold fast––and stays that way.

Copper is a renowned thermal conductor that will keep your beverage frosty in any weather, and is one of the reasons the traditional Moscow Mule has become synonymous with summer. Add a little ice, and the copper chills drinks instantly, and sustains a refreshingly icy rim with every sip.

Because copper is such an excellent conductor, it can keep your cold beverages colder for longer. The downfall of many ill-fated cocktails on a hot summer day is melting ice. Copper mugs stay brisk, and don't disrupt the recipe's ratio, so the simple yet distinct flavors of the Moscow Mule remain strong till the last drop.

Another important feature of the solid copper Moscow Mule mug is the handle. Much like the stem of a wine glass, the copper mug handle keeps the nearly 100 degree body temperature of your hand from impacting the status of your deliciously frosty cocktail.

How Copper Mugs Amplify the Taste and Aroma of Your Moscow Mule

If you want to know what a Moscow Mule tastes like, purists would insist the only way to experience it is in a 100% copper mug. Aside from being a great American tradition, copper mugs offer some unique enhancements to both the flavor and aroma of the Moscow Mule (or almost any finely-crafted cocktail).

Although subjective, most discerning drinkers would agree that copper mugs imbue cocktails with a superior taste. Experts explain that the copper oxidizes the vodka upon contact, thus enhancing the flavor profile and potency of the aromatics.

The intense cold of the copper also creates more stability in the bubbles of the ginger beer carbonation, and balances the tangy citrus of the lime with the earthy spice of the ginger.

For the skeptics out there, the theory of superior taste is easily verifiable. Simply make or order two Moscow Mules––one served in a plastic cup, and one served in a copper mug. Take a moment to inhale deeply, enjoy a big sip, and let your senses be the judge.

The epiphany should take a matter of moments, and you soon realize why a Moscow Mule is best served in a copper mug, and why any other cup or glass is vastly inferior. The difference can be so vivid, you might even consider drinking all your favorite beverages from copper mugs, even hot tea and coffee!

The Enhanced Experience of Drinking From a Pure Copper Mug

Throwing back shots with reckless disregard is a great way to get hammered, but a terrible way to enjoy something delicious. People order cocktails for the full package––observing its creation, revelling in its presentation, and slowly savoring its captivating story and unique taste.

Not only is a cocktail a well-balanced combination of spirits and mixers, it's also about the aesthetic and function of the vessel it's served in. A cocktail should be an object of inspired beauty, presented thoughtfully in a suitable glass or mug and garnished appropriately. It should take time, because it's made by hand.

Although the copper mug has become the symbol of Moscow Mules, it can also pair exquisitely with many other cocktails. Many people seem drawn to the shine and nostalgia of the metal, and Mixologists seem impressed by the scientific properties of the copper mug. Other drinks prominently featured in copper mugs include Dark 'n Stormy, Mescal, Gin & Tonic, and Cuba Libre.

No matter how frosted a beer glass gets, nothing can keep a mixed drink colder than a copper mug. The sensation when one's lips touch the ice-cold rim with every sip is part of the unique experience.

The flavors are heightened, the aromas amplified, and the balance of vodka, lime juice and ginger beer is never watered-down by melting ice. Provided your Moscow Mule is served in a pure copper mug, the last sip should be just as robust and enjoyable as the first.

The benefits of drinking from copper mugs aren't a newfound discovery. In fact, copper has been the preferred metal for drinking vessels for thousands of years.

Gurus in India have been using copper mugs for hundreds of years, and copper goblets called Escra have been found in ancient Irish ruins. Even American settles in 1645 drank exclusively from a massive tankard made of pure copper, known today as the Virginia Tankard .

The Moscow Mule is a classic drink served in a magnificent copper mug because it tells a compelling story, and enhances your consumption experience. It is an unforgettable drink because it's served in a mug that is both more beautiful than and functionally superior to glass.

Three Reasons Moscow Mules Come in Copper Mugs

The reason your Moscow Mule is served in a copper mug is not a fluke. It is not because it's the latest trendy hipster craze. It's not just a marketing ploy (although it definitely started out as one), nor is it a conspiracy by the lobbyists for Big Copper.

Moscow Mules come in copper mugs for three reasons: taste, temperature, and presentation.

The unique experience of drinking a Moscow Mule is a balanced combination of these three elements. It's also the reason this drink is not only the most recognizable, but also consistently one of the most popular drinks in global cocktail culture history.

Taste: The natural properties of the copper oxidize the alcohol, resulting in powerful aromatics and superior flavors. The bubbles of the ginger beer stay fizzy, and perfectly counter the acidity of the fresh lime juice. It's spicy yet refreshing. Simply put, it's delicious!

Temperature: Copper is an ideal thermal conductor, instantly chilling your beverage upon creation, and maintaining a consistently arctic temperature. This prevents the ice from quickly melting and dulling the cocktail ratio, while keeping the rim refreshingly frosty with every sip. The handle also keeps your hot little fingers from fluctuating the temperature with every touch.

Presentation: A glinting copper mug looks authentic and catches the eye. It is vintage, yet modern, and tells a story of creativity, charm and resilience. It is instantly recognizable, and makes for a fine looking beverage. Yes please!

The Bottom Line

The copper mug is iconic, a great American tradition of nearly 80 years, and is the only proper way to drink a Moscow Mule. Cheers!

Did You Enjoy This Article?

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this article, you might also like the following articles:  How to Clean and Care for Copper Mugs: The Definitive Guide and  Why You Should Only Use Moscow Mule Copper Mugs With Stainless Steel Lining

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Napoleon's Moscow Campaign: 1812

Napoleon's determination to implement the Continental System had led him to embark on the Peninsular Campaign in a further extension of the French Wars . Although the attempt to conquer Spain was failing, Napoleon set about a greater task: the conquest of Russia. One reason for this was that Britain had become involved in a war with America and Napoleon was convinced that Britain was on the verge of collapse, provided that the blockade of trade with Britain was carried out. However, the Czar was making a big hole in the plan. The interview at Erfurt had merely checked the process of disillusionment which had been going on in Alexander's mind ever since Tilsit . There had always been a strong anti-Bonaparte party at his Court, headed by the Czar's mother; and its influence was strengthened during the next few years. For instance

• Napoleon would not give definite assurances that he would not turn the Grand Duchy of Warsaw into a Kingdom of Poland
• when Napoleon annexed northern Germany in 1811 he had dethroned the Duke of Oldenburg, the Czar's uncle, with insultingly offhand talk of compensations elsewhere
• the Czar was angry to discover the depth of Napoleon's opposition to Russia acquiring Constantinople in the war which Alexander had just begun with Turkey.

The main trouble was over the Continental System. The stoppage of trade with England meant the ruin of Russian commerce, and therefore of the Czar's revenues; also of the corn-growing on which the Russian nobles depended for their own incomes. Alexander grew slacker and slacker in the enforcement of the Decrees, and Napoleon's protests grew more and more heated. In 1810 the Czar forbade the importation of a number of luxury articles, such as wines and lace, most of which came from France, in order to redress his trade-balance. A year later he openly admitted British shipping to his ports.

Napoleon thought that he could not let this go on. Ruinous as the defection of Russia was in itself, even worse was the effect it would have on other countries groaning under the System. He believed that he must make an example of the Czar that would intimidate other rulers who were "willing to wound yet half afraid to strike": He intended to give a demonstration of his overwhelming strength and determination but he was no longer the man he had been.

Napoleon was growing old at an age when others were just coming into their prime. He was becoming fatter, less energetic and more cautious. He made more military mistakes and his run of success had robbed him of all sense of the attainable. He had begun to shut his eyes to unpleasant facts, and to ignore the voice of common sense.

When in the middle of 1811 the clash became inevitable, Czar and Emperor competed with each other in the search for alliances. Austria was now bound to Napoleon by family ties following his marriage to Princess Marie Louise; moreover, however much the Emperor Francis of Austria- Hungary chafed against his dependence, he was haunted by memories of Campo Formio, Lunéville, Pressburg and Schönbrunn. He therefore agreed to mobilise an army on his Galician frontier with an understanding that he was to recover his Illyrian provinces at the end of the campaign. However, his new Chancellor, Metternich, had seen enough while he was the Austrian ambassador at Paris to realise that the Napoleonic Empire would not last much longer, and he privately made a "gentleman's agreement" with Alexander that his army should do nothing in particular.

In Prussia, patriotic fervour was strong, but the King's nerve had been even more shaken than that of the Emperor Francis. He was forced to send an army to cover the Baltic flank of the coming invasion, and to feed the invading host as it passed through his dominions. The Poles, too, remained faithful to Napoleon; he had done much for them, and would, they hoped, do more when he had conquered Russia.

Napoleon hoped that Sweden and Turkey would join in attacking Russia, but in these countries he was outdone by his rival. The King of Sweden, being a childless old man, had adopted Marshal Bernadotte as his heir, with Napoleon's grudging consent 1810; and the new "Prince Royal", who at once became the moving spirit of the kingdom, put the interests of his adopted country before those of his old master. That meant repudiating the Continental System. Napoleon offered to restore Finland to Sweden if Bernadotte would help him against the Czar; but Alexander countered this with the more attractive suggestion that he should annex Norway instead - Norway being a province of Denmark, which had adhered to the French alliance ever since the days of Tilsit and Copenhagen. By the Treaty of Abo in April 1812 a Russo-Swedish alliance was made. As for the Sultan, Alexander had little difficulty in convincing him that he had more to fear from France than from Russia, and by the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1812 Turkey received back the Danubian Principalities, but ceded Bessarabia to Russia. Two months later Alexander also signed a formal treaty of alliance with Britain, with whom nominally he had been at war ever since 1807.

Meanwhile Napoleon was pushing on with preparations for war on a colossal scale. By the summer of 1812 he had about 750,000 men under arms, of whom 450,000 were destined for the actual invasion. Only half of them were French, the rest were made up of Poles, Italians, Saxons, Bavarians, Swiss, Austrians, Prussians and Illyrians. He passed the elite of these forces in review at Dresden, before a throng of vassal rulers, including an Emperor and five kings, with Marie Louise treating her father with lofty condescension. Then on 28 May this army of armies set out towards the east. Immense stores were collected: two million pairs of boots were held in reserve at Danzig, for instance. The baggage was hauled by 18,000 heavy draft horses, the siege-guns and pontoons by 10,000 oxen. A million greatcoats had been bought from the West Riding of Yorkshire, helping the English woollen trade in a time of desperate need. However, Napoleon had sought to cut the cost of these coats by ordering tin buttons instead of brass ones. He did not know that tin undergoes an allotropic transformation at low temperatures and turns to dust. His men discovered this fact the hard way. [1]

On 23 June the army passed unopposed over the Niemen into Russia. By the time it reached Vilna, some fifty miles from the frontier, some of the difficulties of campaigning in Russia had become apparent. The lack of roads held up transport, and the scantiness of the population prevented living on the country. The Emperor had expected to fight pitched battles with his enemy but this was not to be. The main Russian army under Barclay de Tolley seemed to be always a day's march in front, while farther south a smaller army under Bagration had eluded King Jerome and was also retiring eastward. The Russian plan was an imitation of Wellington's at Torres Vedras. A great fortified camp had been prepared at Drissa, about a hundred and fifty miles from the frontier; there the main body was to stand on the defensive while the invaders starved and Bagration harried their communications. As they drew near, the Czar became convinced that without Wellington's covering sea-power the place would be a death trap so the Russians continued their retirement and Bagration joined the main body at Smolensk. Meanwhile Napoleon was pressing on, hoping that each day's march would bring him to grips with his enemy. " The whole Russian force is at Vitepsk ," he wrote to the Empress on 25 July; " we are on the eve of great events. " but by the next day the Russians had disappeared once more.

Nevertheless Barclay was meeting with much opposition in continuing the retirement. His officers distrusted him as a foreigner (he was of Scottish descent) and insisted on a stand in defence of Smolensk. After inflicting great losses on the French, they only escaped just as Napoleon's pincers were about to close upon them. Napoleon remained some weeks at Smolensk, debating whether to continue the chase, or to go into winter quarters there. He eventually decided that a threat to Moscow would compel the Czar either to fight or to negotiate. By this time Barclay had been dismissed in favour of Kutusoff, who gave Napoleon his pitched battle at Borodino in September. Though the losses amounted to 40,000 men on each side, neither could claim a clean-cut victory. Perhaps if Napoleon had thrown in his reserves, the Old Guard, at the critical moment he might have destroyed the enemy; but he had not the nerve to risk losing that solid core of his army so far from France so the Russians were able to continue their retreat in good order to Moscow and beyond. A few days later Napoleon rode in with his staff through echoing empty streets and squares. The population had evacuated the city, carrying off all transportable foodstuffs; and on the following night fires broke out - whether by accident or design nobody knows - until half the city was in flames.

Napoleon had won his "high victories" over professional armies; but in Russia, as in Spain, he was finding himself opposed by a force far more formidable because far less tangible - the hostility of a whole nation defending its fatherland and by way of reminder of the analogy between the two countries, he now received the dire news of Salamanca.

To Napoleon's dismay, Alexander continued to keep silence. By this time the Russians realised that their half-involuntary strategy of retirement had lured their enemy to destruction. Napoleon had thought of Moscow as the heart of Russia; but he found, all too late, that such a great sprawling country has no vital spot, a blow at which will paralyse the whole body. There were now three possible courses open to him:

• to attack the Czar at St. Petersburg
• to winter at Moscow
• to go back.

The marshals were reluctant to march northwards at that time of year while to stay at Moscow meant starvation for the troops and a free hand for lurking "treason" among the vassal states. The last humiliating alternative had to be faced, and in the middle of October the Grand Army set out to trudge the thousand miles back to civilisation.

It started by a more southerly route than it had come by, in the hope of finding fresh supplies of food but when it had got eighty miles on, it found the Russians so strongly posted at Malo-Jaroslavetz that after an obstinate fight it had to turn back and rejoin the wasted line of its advance at Borodino. For a time things did not go badly; the autumn weather was particularly fine, and the worst trouble was the lack of fodder, which necessitated killing and eating the horses and abandoning the baggage. On 6 November came the first fall of snow, and from then on the story of the march became an epic of human and animal misery. No food, no shelter, no fuel except what could be scraped together on a bare countryside by weary and famished men at the close of a day's march; icy gales that froze them, killing scores every night; snowdrifts that blotted out the landscape so that hundreds got lost or were cut down by prowling Cossacks.

Worse, the horses were kitted out for a summer campaign and therefore were not provided with winter shoes. Winter horse-shoes have hooks which point downwards to dig into the ground -- without the hooks, the horses had no grip so they slipped about, fell, broke their legs, pulled muscles and otherwise damaged themselves. They, like the soldiers, had no winter equipment.

All semblance of military discipline faded away. The climax came with the crossing of the Beresina, where the military bridges, made by devoted engineers at the cost of their lives in the half-frozen water, broke down, and 12,000 corpses were found when the winter floods abated.

Napoleon now announced to his staff that he must hurry on ahead, to reach Paris before his enemies both inside France as well as outside learned the extent of the disaster. He needed to raise a fresh army with which to face the dangers that threatened. The command devolved on Murat, but that was a mere formality: it was every man for himself, now. Ney added fresh laurels to his fame as "the bravest of the brave" by his heroic courage in holding together the rearguard and beating off the exultant pursuers.

Eventually, of the 450,000 who had crossed the Niemen to conquer Russia in June, only 20,000 frostbitten and famished scarecrows tottered back over it in December.

[1] This information was given to me many years ago by the man who was then my Head of Department. He was a metallurgist. He did not give - and I did not request - the source of the anecdote. [back]

The Retreat from Moscow by General Count Philip de Segur See also the Greville Memoirs