Blog posts about this graph surface every so often. They all say about the same thing, and all (that I’ve seen) miss the same thing.<p>What’s the biggest piece of information missing from the graph? The Russians!<p>Minard’s visualization presents the campaign as if it’s a natural disaster or act of god. One man’s hubris against nature, with a tragic, inevitable outcome. Russian participation not required.<p>To pick an example, the dogleg near the beginning of the French retreat is the battle of Maloyaroslavets, where the Russians prevented the French from turning south into warmer weather and unspoiled countryside. The diagram labels the battle, but without other information it’s an arbitrary waypoint.<p>I’m not arguing the merits of the diagram’s point of view either way, but it’s worth observing that it <i>has one</i>.