Data visualization is not a new field. Ever since the first cave man drew a picture on a rock, humans have relied on visualization to depict what words cannot. This view was originally published in 1869 by Charles Minard, a brilliant French engineer turned visualization guru. Kim Rees of Periscopic, a socially-conscious information visualization firm, took it upon herself to bring it into the 21st century, while respecting the classic original work of Minard.
About this Viz
The orange trail depicts The Grand Army entering Russia and marching towards Moscow. Once it reaches Moscow the trail turns black, as the army retreats. The line below depicts the temperature on the return trip. As you can see, General Winter was as much an enemy to Napoleon as the Russians.
