CHAPTER XIII.
GLORY AND MADNESS—THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN (1811-1812).
It is painful to love one's country and see it advancing to defeat; it is sad to see a great mind, whose good sense recently equalled his power, dragged to ruin by his own faults and dragging after him a wearied nation. In 1812, France began to judge the Emperor Napoleon: and long previously Europe had denounced him as an insatiable conqueror who laid her waste incessantly. She was about to learn once more that neither distance, nor the rigors of climate, nor threatening armies, afforded sufficient protection against the emperor's schemes. Whilst his armies were struggling hard in Spain and Portugal against the insurgent population assisted by England, and whilst still holding in Germany the pledges of his conquests, Napoleon made preparations to attack the Emperor Alexander, who was still officially honored with the name of "ally," and to whom he thus wrote on the 6th April, 1811, when his armaments were already everywhere being prepared: "Has your Majesty ever had reason to repent of the confidence which you have shown me?"
Several reasons urged Napoleon to begin hostilities against the Emperor Alexander—reasons which, though bad and insufficient, weighed in his eyes, and, under the influence of his personal passions, with a decisive weight in the balance. He wished to pursue, everywhere and by every means, his struggle against England and her influence in Europe. Alexander had refused to increase the rigors of the continental blockade. To this infraction of the spirit of the treaties uniting the emperors, Alexander had added, during the Austrian war, an attitude of indifference and reserve which inspired confidence in the Emperor Francis and his advisers. He had shown no eagerness for the family alliance which Napoleon twice offered, while, at the same time, the latter was not deceived as to the annoyance caused at St. Petersburg by the negotiations for the hand of the grand-duchess being suddenly broken off. In short, Napoleon was convinced that the Emperor Alexander was preparing for war, eager to recover his liberty, and be freed from the conditions of the treaty of Tilsit. He, at the same time, believed that the renewal of hostilities would be signalized by important advantages for whichever of the two belligerents could first enter on the campaign. His main efforts, therefore, in 1811, were to hasten his warlike preparations, while using diplomatic artifices to make his adversary sleep, and, at the same time, proving to Europe that the rupture of the treaties was on the part of Alexander, and that the Russians were the first to arm. On sending him Count Lauriston, who was appointed to replace Caulaincourt, Napoleon wrote the Czar: "The man I send you has no consummate skill in business, but he is true and upright, as are the sentiments I bear towards you. Nevertheless I daily receive from Russia news which are not pacific. Yesterday I learned from Stockholm that the Russian divisions in Finland had left to go towards the frontiers of the Grand Duchy. A few days ago I had instructions from Bucharest that five divisions had left the Moldavian and Wallachian provinces for Poland, and that only four divisions of your Majesty's troops remain on the Danube. What is now taking place is a new proof that repetition is a powerful figure of rhetoric. Your Majesty has so often been told that I have a grudge against you, that your confidence has been shaken. The Russians quit a frontier where they are necessary, to go to a point where your Majesty has only friends. Nevertheless I had to think also of my affairs, and consider my own position. The recoil of my preparations will lead your Majesty to increase yours; and what you do, re-echoing here, will make me raise new levies, and all that for mere phantoms! It is a repetition of what I did in 1807 in Prussia, and in 1809 in Austria. As for me, I shall remain your Majesty's friend even when that fatality which rules Europe will one day compel our two nations to take sword in hand. I shall regulate my conduct by your Majesty's; I shall never make the attack: my troops will advance only when your Majesty has torn up the treaty of Tilsit. I shall be the first to disarm, and restore everything to the condition in which things were a year ago, if your Majesty will go back to the same confidence."
The emperor spoke the truth, and his treatment of Russia was nothing new. It had long been a clumsy artifice of his insatiable greed for war and conquest to charge his enemies with taking the sword in hand on account of their fears or expectations, the fear and expectations being usually caused by his attitude and the projects with which he was credited. Military reasons assisted at this time in encouraging him to dissimulate and talk of peace. He had conceived the idea of occupying successively the vast territories by which he was separated from Russia, and gaining first the Oder and then the Vistula before the Russians were in motion to cross the Niemen. The first links of this combination were already begun to be forged; crowds of runaway conscripts were everywhere being dragged from the woods and rocks where they hid themselves; and, by sending columns of militia to scour the provinces, garrison the villages, and freely pillage the houses of the young deserters, there were 50,000 or 60,000 men thus compelled to give themselves up, whose hiding-places had not been discovered. The emperor sent them in troops to the islands of Elba, Corsica, Ré, Belle-Isle, and Walcheren, appointing the sea to keep his deserters. Scarcely had they acquired the most rudimentary notions of military discipline, when they were despatched in a body to Marshal Davout, who was still stationed on the Elbe, with instructions to drill and form them. They often arrived still clad in their peasant's dress, their bodies ill, and their minds revolting against the existence thus forced upon them far from their home and country. About one sixth of these wretches escaped during the march, braving all the dangers and suffering of flight across an unknown country rather than be soldiers. Recruits from all the conquered nations filled up the gaps in the regiments of the ever- increasing army. War supplies as well as soldiers were also constantly accumulating in Germany. Napoleon resolved to collect at Dantzig the resources necessary to support an army of 400,000 men for a year. The marvellous fertility of his mind was entirely occupied in facilitating and rendering certain the movements of that enormous mass of men and horses during a long campaign and across vast spaces. The transport arrangements were in charge of skilled lieutenants, who had been with him in all his battles; and General Eblé was at the head of the engineer division for bridge-construction. "With the means at our disposal, we shall eat up all obstacles," said Napoleon, confidently.
Alliances would have been difficult and few in Napoleon's case, if he had insisted on having genuine sympathy and hearty assistance; but he did not ask so much from Prussia, nor even from the Emperor Francis, whose daughter he had just married. Fear was enough for the accomplishment of his wishes, and in that he reckoned rightly. King Frederick William asked for Napoleon's alliance, because he dreaded seeing himself suddenly hemmed in by the attack against Russia. After leaving him for a long time unanswered, and at last bringing his preparations as far forward as he had beforehand determined, the emperor accepted the offers of the King of Prussia and his minister Hardenberg. In their anxiety to close the bargain, the Prussian diplomatist had gone so far as to say that their sovereign could place 100,000 men at the service of France. By skilful system of rotation in their military service, the King of Prussia had been able to exercise all his subjects who were of age to bear arms without appearing to exceed the narrow limits allowed to his army by Napoleon. Thus, under the weight of unjust restriction, were sown the seeds of that military organization which afterwards proved several times so fatal to us. In 1812, Napoleon let the King of Prussia know that he had observed the state of his military resources. By the treaty of alliance, concluded in February, 1812, the Prussian contingent in the war then preparing amounted only to 20,000 soldiers. Large supplies of provisions were to be received in part payment of the war contributions which Prussia still owed France; and on this condition the emperor guaranteed the security of the territory of his new ally—recently his mangled victim. Some hopes were also allowed him of several ulterior advantages; but Napoleon refused to restore Glogau, in spite of the entreaties of King Frederick William.
Austria would have wished to avoid the necessity of joining in the war and allying herself to Napoleon; but the situation of the daughter of the Emperor Francis upon the throne of France, and the eagerness which the Austrian court had shown for the union, prevented any refusal. In his negotiations Metternich insisted that the treaty should be kept secret: "There are only two of us in Austria who wish for a French alliance," said he; "the emperor is the first, and I am the second; but Russia must not know of our feeling towards you." Some regiments were being secretly prepared in Galicia.
In a famous conversation which Napoleon had, on 15th August, 1811, with Prince Kourakin, the Russian ambassador at Paris, he said, "Is it on Austria that you reckon? You made war upon her in 1809, and deprived her of a province during peace. Is it Sweden, from whom you took Finland? Is it Prussia, whose spoils you accepted at Tilsit after being her ally?" The same reproaches could with more justice have been applied to France—or rather, to her ruler. He was soon to understand that truth, and weigh the value of the alliances which he had imposed. On the eve of the Russian campaign he was, and seemed, more formidable than the Czar; and fear made the weak cling to his side, while they still concealed their secret hatred and long-cherished rancor.
Russia, nevertheless, was also negotiating, relying upon her rival's natural and declared enemies. The treaties were not new when they were published, on the 20th July, 1812, between the Czar and the Spanish insurgents, the 1st August with England, and on the 5th April with Sweden.
The powers hostile to France were astonished to hear of the advances made by the new Prince Royal of Sweden. From recollection of the republican enthusiasm of his youth, as well as personal antipathy, Bernadotte had never liked General Bonaparte when they were comrades and rivals for military fame. The fortune of Napoleon had dug a gulf between them. Raised to the throne by a curious freak of destiny, Bernadotte had brought to his new country no attachment for Napoleon, nor the enthusiastic recollections of France with which he was generally credited. He had asked the emperor to grant him Norway; but Napoleon did not wish to rob Denmark, and a contemptuous silence was the reply to the court of Sweden. Bernadotte pursued in another direction the same views of ambition and aggrandizement; and in allying himself to Russia he asked for Norway, urging the importance of the personal and national assistance which he could contribute to the coalition. England was not a stranger to this arrangement. Two months afterwards, disregarding his engagements with Russia, and alarmed at the huge display of Napoleon's power, the Prince Royal of Sweden proceeded to make fresh overtures to France. Norway was to remain as the price of his alliance, together with a subsidy of 20,000,000. Napoleon was extremely angry. Bernadotte had never possessed his good graces; and he, not unnaturally, felt indignant at the manoeuvres of a Frenchman who had so soon forgot his country. "The wretch!" exclaimed he; "he is true neither to his reputation, to Sweden, or his native land, but is preparing bitter remorse for himself. When Russia wants the Sound, her soldiers have only to cross the ice from Aland to Stockholm. The present opportunity of humbling Russia is unique, and he will never have such another. Never again will a man like me be seen marching against the North with 600,000 men! He is not worth thinking about; let nobody mention him again to me; I forbid sending any communication to him, formal or informal." Thus repulsed, Bernadotte remained faithful to his engagements with Russia, and was soon after to make others, which were still more disastrous to his native country.
Soon after the official publication of the treaty uniting Sweden to the enemies of France, the Emperor Alexander concluded a war which had long occupied the greater part of his forces. The hostilities so long waged between Russia and Turkey had not contributed to the glory of Alexander's generals. "Your soldiers are very brave," said Napoleon once to the Czar's ambassador, "but your generals are not worthy of them. It is impossible not to see that they have managed their movements very badly, and acted against all the rules." The fear inspired by the Emperor Napoleon had been of still greater use to the Turks than the bad generalship of the Russians, Alexander being eager to conclude the peace, in order to concentrate his forces against an enemy more formidable than the Sultan. Admiral Tchitchakoff, at the head of the army of the Danube, was empowered to finish the war or negotiate peace. The Czar renounced part of his former claims, contenting himself with Bessarabia, and proposing the Pruth as the boundary for both empires, on condition that Turkey became an active ally. The influence of the English diplomatists turned the balance, and Mahmoud, yielding to the desire for peace, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed on the 28th May, 1812.
Napoleon was afraid of this peace, and had tried to prevent it. Perpetually trying to gain time, he succeeded in throwing off the scent Nesselrode, who had been sent with instructions to put the question of peace or war simply. Lauriston was directed to dwell constantly upon the emperor's friendly feeling towards the Czar. Napoleon was at the trouble of conversing for a long time with a Russian of position who was visiting Paris. Czernicheff was sent to gather information as to the importance of our armament, and had learned much, when the emperor sent for him to come to the Elysée, to unfold his intentions with regard to Poland. He had formerly said to Prince Kourakin, "I shall give you nothing in Poland— nothing! nothing!" Now he declared his resolution never to restore to Poland its national independence. "I had no wish to engage in the convention which was proposed to me," said he, "because that engagement was not compatible with my dignity; but I am well resolved on that point. I have no other reason for arming except the notoriously unkind disposition of the Russian court towards me. She is deceived as to my intentions; she serves England, whose commerce extends to all parts of her territory. I only ask her to come closer; by ourselves we two shall crush all our enemies." Napoleon gave Czernicheff a letter for the Emperor Alexander, which made him a sort of accredited agent at the Russian court. "My brother, after the arrival of the courier sent by Count Lauriston on the 6th instant, I laid down my views of the troublesome events of the last fifteen months in a conversation with Colonel Czernicheff. It only depends on your Majesty to finish it all."
At the same time a despatch of the Duke of Bassano (Maret), who had succeeded the Duke of Cadore (Champagny) as minister of foreign affairs, informed Lauriston of the importance of the mission. "The emperor is anxious," said he, "that the troops should gradually advance upon the Vistula, rest there, settle there, strengthen their position, fortify their bridges; in short, make use of every advantage, and be certain of taking the initiative in military movements. The emperor has shown great kindness to Colonel Czernicheff, but I must tell you that officer has used his time in Paris intriguing and disseminating corruption. The emperor knew it without interfering. The preparations of his Majesty are really enormous, and the more they are known it will only be the better for him. The Emperor Alexander will, no doubt, show you the letter sent him by his Majesty; it is very simple…. The emperor has no wish for an interview, or even a negotiation which should take place out of Paris. He has no confidence in a negotiation of any sort, unless the 450,000 men whom his Majesty has put in movement, and their enormous mass of war apparatus, should have caused the cabinet of St. Petersburg to reflect seriously, and, by loyally restoring the system established at Tilsit, place Russia again in the state of inferiority in which she then was. Your single aim must be to gain time. The head of the army of Italy is already at Munich, and the general movement is being everywhere declared. Maintain on all occasions that, should war take place, it is Russia who wished for it."
It was no longer from Paris that the emperor dictated his diplomatic orders and directed the movements of his armies. Since March he had lived at St. Cloud, to avoid an opposition Which vexed him to the bottom of his heart, and which he had in vain attempted to disarm. The Parisians, long enthusiastic in favor of his glory, were showing discontent, aversion, and complaint. After the long drought of the summer of 1811, bread was dear; and the financial measures which had been tried to reduce the prices in the capital were extremely onerous for the Treasury without acting successfully upon trade. Corn was scarce, and the threat of an arbitrary tariff kept back the supply of provisions. The strain upon all the commercial relations caused by the continental blockade reacted unfavorably on the necessary resources during a dearth. The Food Council appointed by the emperor tried in vain to supply by artificial means the beneficent action of commercial freedom and confidence.
Other causes contributed to the agitation and ill-temper of the Parisians; and the discontent, as well as the suffering caused by the dearness of corn, was not confined to the capital. Too clear-sighted, in spite of the mad impulses of his ambition, not to feel what risks he was running, and making France run, Napoleon wished to provide some protection. Though long inexhaustible in men and devotion, the country was becoming tired, and about to be deprived of its means of defence at the very moment when a new European conflagration was bursting forth. The emperor had therefore ordered the formation of a certain number of cohorts of the national guard, under the name of "First Ban" (Body of Defence). Thus 120,000 men, borrowed from the "sedentary contingents" of 1809 to 1812, had been formed into regiments, on the assurance that they should not have to leave their departments. Their families, however, were deprived of them, and the present hardships combining with their fear of the future, there was great dissatisfaction in the country. The number of deserters having increased, the columns of militia recommenced their hateful work: and in the conquered countries, Holland and the territory of the Hanse towns, the conscription was violently resisted. Insurrections took place, followed by executions. Several of the regiments raised in the ancient free towns had mutinied, and kept themselves for several days in the isle of Heligoland. These troops were incorporated with Marshal Davout's army, and put under the most rigid guard. In Italy itself, and even in the army of Prince Eugène, the discontent and fatigue were unmistakable. The hard service of Napoleon had become a slavery. His severity towards the Pope also assisted in alienating the Italians, and throughout the Roman States he was hated by the population.
His pacific protestations, however, deceived nobody. The Czar had no wish for war; he dreaded it, and his people had also long dreaded it; but now he felt it to be inevitable, and the patriotic passion of defending their soil took possession of the Russian nation. Lauriston was besieged with attentions, but he lived alone, having no intercourse with the Russian upper classes, who were now urging the emperor forward. "Everything will be against us in this war," said Napoleon boldly to some of those about him who knew Russia well, especially Caulaincourt and Ségur. "On their side, love of country and independence; all private and public interests, even to the secret wishes of our allies! On our side, against so many obstacles, glory alone, even without the hope of plunder, since the frightful poverty of those regions renders it impossible."
The events proved, in a startling manner, the justice of what the military diplomatists anticipated. From the history of the secret negotiations we learn that advices and promises were largely bestowed by Austria and Prussia upon the Emperor Alexander. The leaders of our armies, which had for several months occupied Germany and Poland, could not pretend not to see the increasing hatred which was silently brooding under the disguises of popular submission and princely attentions. General Rapp, who commanded at Dantzig, felt it his duty to inform Marshal Davout of the precarious state in which our rule in Europe then stood. "If the French army has a single check," wrote the general, "there will quickly be from the Rhine to the Niemen only one single insurrection." Davout, in transmitting this information to Napoleon, made only one remark: "I recollect, sire, true enough, that in 1809, without the miracles wrought by you at Ratisbon our situation in Germany would have been very difficult."
It was upon those miracles of his genius, and upon a destiny which he justly considered superhuman, that the Emperor Napoleon always reckoned. The information brought vexed him without persuading him, and made him somewhat distrust those who ventured to give it him. The brilliant renown of Marshal Davout, the justice and consistency of his administration in Poland, and the admirable order which reigned in his army, had made Napoleon somewhat displeased and gloomy. The rivals and enemies of Davout skilfully utilized the occasion. "One would think that the Prince of Eckmühl commanded the army," they said constantly in the emperor's presence. Some even accused him of aiming at the throne of Poland. Napoleon had dispensed with Masséna's services; and now he showed a coolness towards Davout, as if he were jealous of his glory and power, and at the moment of engaging in the supreme struggle wished to be surrounded with servants only!
Marshal Davout, nevertheless, went on his way, executing the emperor's instructions with consummate skill and prudence. There were now 450,000 men marching against Russia; an army of reserve of 150,000 men was about to be formed in Germany from the recruits sent from all parts of France; 120,000 men of the national guard were to protect the French soil, in combination with 150,000 soldiers, sick or new, who were still in the military depots. According to the "cadres," which were often deceptive, there were 300,000 men engaged in Spain. On leaving Italy to march to Germany, Prince Eugène had left about 50,000 soldiers in the strongholds. Thus for one man's quarrel, and in his name, there were under arms more than 1,200,000 soldiers. The Russian army did not exceed 300,000 men: on their side they had the weather, extent of country, and climate. "Don't come into collision with the Emperor Napoleon," said Knesebek, the Prussian envoy to the Czar; "draw the French into the interior of Russia. Let fatigue and hunger do the rest." The Emperor Alexander had just learnt that Davout had appeared at Elbing: having crossed the Vistula, he was on his way to the Niemen. The feeling of the people as well as the ardor of the court called the Czar to head-quarters, but he still hesitated, having a repugnance to give the sign of general conflagration; and at last, on the 21st, set out for Wilna after telling Lauriston that there was still time for negotiations. The population of St. Petersburg were all present at his departure, earnest and full of interest, and the churches were crowded with people praying at the altars. "I go with you. God will be against the aggressor." Such was the Czar's proclamation on reaching his head-quarters.
Europe was no more deceived than Russia and France herself; in spite of Napoleon's precautions, nobody was ignorant as to the real aggressor. The emperor remained at St. Cloud till 9th May, 1812, waiting till an act of the Czar's should give him the liberty of his movements. Before leaving France, and as a last indication of his pacific intentions, he despatched Narbonne to Wilna, with instructions to propose to the Czar an interview and armed negotiation, on the Niemen. "My aide-de-camp, Count Narbonne, who is the bearer of this letter to your Majesty, has at the same time important communications for Count Romanzoff," wrote Napoleon on the 25th April; "they will prove to your Majesty my desire to avoid war, and my constancy to the sentiments of Tilsit and Erfurt. In any case your Majesty will allow me to assure you, that if fate renders this war inevitable between us, it will make no change in the sentiments with which your Majesty has inspired me, and which are safe from all vicissitude or alteration."
It was at Dresden, whither he had gone on leaving France, that Napoleon received the refusal to negotiate, brought by Narbonne from the Czar. England had replied by a similar refusal to the pacific manifesto which the emperor, as usual, had addressed to her before recommencing new hostilities in Europe. The orders for the positions of the troops were already given. Davout was to concentrate between Marienwerder, Marienburg, and Elbing; the Prussians had been appointed to the advance-guard, and still remained on their right, advancing to the banks of the Niemen. Marshal Oudinot occupied the suburbs of Dantzig, forming Davout's right; while Ney's body, at Thorn, supported his left. Prince Eugène, with the Bavarians, advanced to Plock, on the Vistula; the Poles, Saxons, and Westphalians were united at Warsaw, under the orders of King Jerome; and the guard, who held Posen, were commanded by Mortier and Lefebvre. General St. Cyr was appointed to lead the Bavarians in the field, and General Régnier was responsible for the Saxons. The Austrians were to invade Volhynia. Already wherever the troops passed there was raised a chorus of complaints from the pillaged and ill-treated populations, and from the King of Prussia, who had seen Spandau and Pillau occupied by the French troops, on pretext of depositing the war-material there. King Frederick William had set out for Dresden, to present his claims personally to the conqueror.
In the sight of the crowned crowd which at Dresden thronged around Napoleon, there was something at once brilliant and sad. Amongst the sovereigns who claimed the honor of presenting their homages, there were very few who did not cherish against him some secret grievance or bitter rancor. All dreaded some new misfortunes, and were endeavoring to charm them away by servile flatteries. The Empress Marie Louise accompanied her husband, showing her delight and want of tact in displaying her splendor so near her native country, before the eyes of her father and mother-in- law, who had just met her in Dresden. All purely military display had been forbidden at the magnificent court around Napoleon. Murat and King Jerome themselves had been ordered to their head-quarters, yet the couriers followed each other night and day, frequently disturbing the brilliant fêtes by the fear of the first cannon-shot ready to go off. At Paris, Prince Kourakin, discontented and uneasy, had asked for his passports, thus anticipating the official rupture. At St. Petersburg, Lauriston received the order to join the Emperor Alexander at Wilna, and again lay before him the proposals of peace. It was necessary to let the grass grow —to let the sun dry the roads—to give Napoleon's emissaries the opportunity of acting on the minds of the Poles, and stirring up amongst them a national movement in favor of France, a mission to which Abbé Pradt, afterwards Bishop of Malines, had been appointed. Talleyrand, of whom the emperor at first thought, did not then enjoy his good graces. "Set out, my lord," said Napoleon to the bishop, "set out at once; spare no expense; rouse their enthusiasm; set Poland a-going without embroiling me with Austria, and you will have well understood and fulfilled your mission." The prelate's vanity was fired, surrounded as he was by the apparatus of his new grandeur. He set out to stir up Poland in the name of France!
The work was more difficult then than it had been in 1807, when Napoleon had personally remarked the distrust of the great lords and the apathetic indifference of the peasantry. The formation of the grand-duchy of Warsaw did not please the Poles, who had already seen their hopes vanish. They were poor, and a large number of their best soldiers were serving under Napoleon. The continental blockade had ruined the trade of the Jews, who had always been numerous and influential in Poland. The Abbé Pradt had to use his efforts in the midst of an excited people, who wished for the future something different from promises. His mission was to produce but trifling results, because the penetration of the Poles guessed Napoleon's thoughts, and his resolution to wage no decisive battle in their favor. He set no great value on the political spirit of the race, their patriotic passions meeting with scarcely any response in him. He wished to drag the living force of Poland in his train, in order to support him in his struggle; but it was in vain that he gave to the new aggression which he was about to attempt the name of a second Polish war—the public voice was no more deceived than history. The campaign of Russia was about to begin.
On leaving Dresden, Napoleon at last urged forward the advance of his armies. In spite of the precautions he had taken, the transports moved slowly and with difficulty, the staff officers dragging after them much useless baggage, and on reaching Thorn he ordered some important reductions. When pushing on towards Marienburg and Dantzig he was attended by Davout and Murat. Cold in his manner to Davout, who was perpetually quarrelling with Marshal Berthier, he was uncivil to Murat, who was tired and ill. "Are you not satisfied with being king?" he asked, dryly. "I scarcely am king, sire," retorted Murat. "I did not make you kings, you and your brothers, to reign as you liked, but as I liked," returned the emperor; "to follow my policy, and remain French on foreign thrones." Napoleon had given orders for the last supply of provisions for the strongholds, and completed the organization of inland navigation by streams and rivers. On the 17th June he arrived at Intersburg, having resolved to cross the Niemen at Kowno, in order to direct his march upon the Dwina and Dnieper by the road leading to Moscow, passing first by Wilna, the capital of Lithuania. It was, in fact, upon those two rivers, the real frontiers of the Russian empire, that the Emperor Alexander had concentrated his forces. The army of the Dwina was commanded by General Barclay de Tolly; the army of the Dnieper marched under the orders of Prince Bagration. The emperor went straight towards the enemy, hoping to open the campaign by one of those brilliant strokes by which he had been accustomed to terrify Europe. He reckoned upon passing the Niemen on the 22nd or 23rd, and on the 16th wrote from Koenigsberg, authorizing Lauriston to ask his passports. The despatch was dated the 12th, from Thorn, the ambassador having been told of the artifice. Napoleon soon learned that Lauriston had not been allowed to leave Wilna. It mattered little now; having reached the banks of the Niemen, his proclamation was everywhere read to the troops:—
"Soldiers! The second Polish war is begun. The first finished at Friedland and Tilsit! At Tilsit Russia swore an eternal alliance with France, and war with England. To-day she is violating her oaths. She will give no explanation of her strange conduct unless the French eagles recross the Rhine, thus leaving our allies to her discretion. Russia is drawn on by fate; her destiny must be accomplished. Why does she think we are degenerated? Are we no longer the soldiers of Austerlitz? She places us between dishonor and war. Our choice cannot be doubtful! Let us march forward; let us pass the Niemen; let us carry war into her territory. The second Polish war will be glorious to French arms; but the peace which we shall conclude will bring with it its guarantee; it will bring to a close the fatal influence which for fifty years Russia has exercised upon the affairs of Europe."
The river was there, rolling at Napoleon's feet, like a natural and majestic barrier, fulfilling its function of holding him back from ruin; the enormous mass of his army surrounded him; on the opposite bank reigned silence and solitude. Several sappers who had crossed in a small boat, having landed, a Cossack came up to them, in charge of a patrol, who followed him at a short distance. "Who are you? and what do you want here?" he asked. "We are Frenchmen, and we are come to make war upon you," replied one of the sappers. The Cossack turned his horse round, and disappeared in the forest, unhurt by the bullets which they fired after him. They were there to throw a bridge across.
On the morning of the 25th, Napoleon himself crossed the river on horseback, galloping as if he wished to find the enemy, still absent and invisible. The light cavalry had already taken possession of Kowno. The emperor wishing bridges to be thrown over the Vilia, ordered a squadron of Polish lancers to cross the river, in order to sound the depth, and a large number of the unfortunate men perished in the attempt. When they felt themselves carried away by the current, they turned round to shout "Long live the emperor!" Meanwhile the army was still defiling across the Niemen, and it was only on the 30th June that it had entirely reached the left bank.
After a violent discussion among the Czar's advisers, Alexander decided to evacuate Wilna, the minister of police being appointed for the last time to carry a conciliatory message to Napoleon. A detachment of cavalry disputed for a moment with the French the gates of the capital of Lithuania, the passage being forced by Murat. On the 28th June, about mid- day, Napoleon made his entry into Wilna, annoyed at not meeting the enemy, whom he would have liked to fight, overcome, and crush on the first day. The Lithuanians received him eagerly, as in expectation of freedom. The same day the Diet assembled at Warsaw proclaimed the re-establishment of the kingdom of Poland, and several members of the Senate hastened to Wilna, to announce officially to Napoleon the resurrection of their country. "The Poles have never been subjected by either peace or war," said they, "but by treason! They are therefore free de jure before God as well as before men, and to-day they can be so de facto; and their right becomes a duty. We demand the independence of our Lithuanian brothers, and their union to the centre of all the Polish family. It is from Napoleon the Great that we ask this word, 'The Kingdom of Poland exists!' It will then exist if all the Poles devote themselves ardently to the orders of the chief of the fourth French race, before whom the ages are but a moment, and space an infinitesimal point."
Napoleon did not believe in the restoration of Poland, and was resolved not to create beforehand an insurmountable obstacle to peace by forming engagements with the Poles. He received the deputies of the Diet coldly, and did not yield to their desire of seeing Lithuania at once joined to Poland. A special government had just been organized, which seemed to be entrusted to the great Lithuanian lords, but was practically administered by young "auditors" of the Council of State. Distrust had already secretly begun, and mutual recriminations; the Lithuanians dreaded the vengeance of Russia, not being certain of having permanently got rid of her government; robbery was scandalously common; the weather was bad, and many soldiers were ill. Everywhere throughout the province, corn, cattle, and forage were requisitioned for the army, and a dearth threatened Lithuania as soon as the French entered upon their soil. Half of the carriages, a third of the horse, and a fourth of those in charge of the transports, had already perished on the roads from the Elbe to Wilna. Napoleon had ordered a levy of four regiments of infantry in Lithuania, and five regiments of cavalry; but the money and military outfits were both wanting. It was necessary to organize some columns of militia, to pursue those who pillaged, and protect the peaceful inhabitants. Our soldiers were ordered to look after the burial of the dead. From the reports of chiefs of divisions the emperor was fully informed of some of the wretched consequences. The Duke of Trevisa wrote:—"From the Niemen to the Vilia I saw nothing but houses in ruins, wagons and carriages abandoned; we found them scattered on the roads and in the fields; some upset, others open, with their contents strewed here and there, and pillaged, as if they had been taken by the enemy. I thought I was following a routed army. Ten thousand horses were killed by the cold stormy rains and the green rye, which is their only food, and new to them. They lie on the roads and encumber them; their bodies exhale a poisonous smell—a new plague, which some compare to famine, though the latter is much more terrible. Several soldiers of the young guard have already died of hunger."
The necessity for a speedy victory was being already felt. The Russian army had been cut in two by the rapid march of the French, Prince Bagration being isolated on the Dnieper, where Marshal Davout was already hemming him in, and soon after gained an important victory, at Mohilew, 23rd July, 1812. The Czar, with General Barclay de Tolly, had fixed himself in the intrenched camp at Drissa before the Dwina; and it was upon this principal division that Napoleon directed his march when he left Wilna, on the evening of the 16th July. Murat commanded the advanced guard, followed first by Ney, and then by Oudinot; Prince Eugène, who advanced towards the right, was to join Marshal Davout. The forces of King Jerome and Prince Poniatowski remained in the rear. Desertion and fatigue were already decimating the soldiers. The King of Westphalia, placed under Marshal Davout's orders, had with difficulty accepted that secondary position. Difficulties having arisen, the prince returned towards Germany, and thus lessened the marshal's success at Mohilew.
Before leaving Wilna the emperor had dismissed, without satisfying him, Balachoff, the bearer of the Czar's last offers. Napoleon repeated his former complaints, going back bitterly to the happy future which was unrolled before Russia when her emperor walked in harmony with France. "What an admirable reign he might have had, if he had liked!" repeated Napoleon; "all that was necessary was to keep on good terms with me. I gave him Finland, and promised him Moldavia and Wallachia, which he was about to obtain, when all at once he allowed himself to be surrounded by my enemies, and turned against me the arms he ought to have reserved for the Turks; and now his gain will be having neither Wallachia nor Moldavia. And now, what is your object in coming here? What are the Emperor Alexander's intentions? He is only general on parade: whom will he put against me? Kutusof, whom he does not like, because he is too Russian? Benningsen, who is old and only recalls to him frightful memories? Barclay, who can manoeuvre, who is brave, who knows war, but who is a superannuated general? Bagration is the best soldier; he has no imagination; but he has experience, quickness of vision, and decision; he cannot prevent my throwing you beyond the Dnieper and Dwina. These are the results of your rupture with me. When I think of the reign which your master might have had!" Napoleon summed up by a demand to occupy Lithuania, Russia to undertake to resume permanently her alliance against England. Balachoff set out again, assuring Napoleon that if the sentiment of religious patriotism had disappeared throughout Europe, it still remained in Spain and Russia. The bitterness of the discussion envenomed several wounds already deep enough. When Balachoff rejoined the Czar in order to give account of his mission, Alexander was no longer at Drissa. Waiting in an entrenched camp tired and humiliated the Russians. The plan of campaign was the work of Pfuhl, a German general, high in the emperor's favor; but the feeling of the whole army was expressed so emphatically against the tactics at first adopted, that the Czar agreed to quit head- quarters, and fall back with his staff upon Moscow. There, they assured him, the mere fact of his presence was enough to animate the national enthusiasm of the old Russians, and stir up the whole country against the invader. General Barclay, henceforward free in his movements, began on the 10th July to march up the Dwina as far as Vitebsk, hoping to be joined by Bagration opposite Smolensk. Our road to Moscow was thus intercepted; and Count Wittgenstein, with 25,000 or 30,000 men, was to cover St. Petersburg between Polotsk and Riga. Marshal Macdonald, at the head of the left wing of the French army, threatened the coasts of the Baltic.
Napoleon guessed this movement of the Russian general, and determined to push forward, prevent the junction of the two armies of the enemy, attack them by suddenly crossing the Dwina, and thus render impossible the continuous retreat of the Russians, who were now drawing him in their pursuit into the interior of the empire, without giving him an opportunity of striking the blow which was to be their destruction. He therefore left Gloubokoé on the 23rd July, advancing upon Vitebsk; and two brilliant engagements of the advance-guard, by Murat and Ney, on the 25th and 26th, redoubled the ardor of our troops. On reaching Vitebsk after another engagement, the Russian army was seen, drawn up in order of battle, beyond a small tributary of the Dwina. Napoleon urged forward the march of all his forces. The Russian forces seemed to count about 90,000 or 100,000 men. The French army was reduced by illness, by the desertion of some Poles and Germans, and by the death of young recruits who could not endure the heat, fatigue, and bad food. The body accompanying the emperor, however, still amounted to 125,000 men, excellent troops. Napoleon felt certain of success.
Barclay de Tolly was of the same opinion. At first he had resolved to give battle, in order to keep the roads open for Prince Bagration, with whom he had made an appointment to meet at Babinowiczi; but the news of the check received by the Russian army at Mohilew convinced him that their junction must now be delayed, and that his colleague felt himself compelled to look forward to a long movement before succeeding in passing the Dnieper. A battle was no longer necessary, and, on the night of the 27th, Barclay raised his camp, to advance upon Poreczie, behind the Kasplia. Thus the St. Petersburg and Moscow roads were covered by the Russian army, and the two main divisions might look forward to a junction in the neighborhood of Smolensk.
Napoleon was excessively annoyed on learning of the enemy's retreat, and in spite of the overpowering heat ordered immediate pursuit. Count Pahlen, however, at the head of the Russian cavalry, protected their main body, while at the same time retiring before us. After a day's work as fatiguing for the troops as a long engagement, Napoleon returned to Vitebsk, where he encamped several days, in order to rest his soldiers, and rebuild the store-houses, everywhere overthrown by the Russians, who also destroyed the crops and every kind of forage. Up to this point, in spite of his able combinations, the plan of campaign decided upon by Napoleon at Wilna was a complete failure; and by the persistent retreat of the Russians, the circle of his operations had to be constantly increased. The immense space spread out before us, solitary and vacant; and for the future it was impossible to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces. On our side Marshal Davout had just joined the great army; and the emperor took advantage of this combination of the greater part of our forces to inspect his troops. In every regiment, except the old guard, the leaders were struck with consternation at the results ascertained by the roll-call.
It is a good thing to know the cost of enterprises begun in folly and pursued through excessive difficulties, whatever may have been the superior genius, the consummate foresight and experience, of the general. Ney counted 36,000 men as they crossed the Niemen, but only 22,000 were in line at Vitebsk. The King of Naples had lost 7000 men out of 28,000. The young guard had seen 10,000 men disappear out of 28,000. Prince Eugène reckoned 45,000 on the banks of the Dwina, and entered Kowno with 40,000. Even Davout, the most skilful in drilling and managing his soldiers, saw his 72,000 men diminished by 20,000. In King Jerome's division, 22,000 were wanting, the number formerly being nearly 100,000 men. The emperor still had at his disposition 255,000 soldiers; but Macdonald on the Baltic, and Oudinot at Polotsk, ought still to have 60,000, and General Reynier remained on the Dnieper with a body of 20,000 soldiers. Napoleon already spoke of calling Marshal Victor, with his 30,000 men of reserve, cantoned between the Niemen and the Rhine. Thirty thousand Austrians advanced towards Minsk under the orders of Prince Schwartzenberg. The emperor sent orders to Paris to despatch all his guard still left in the depots. He rejected the idea of an establishment on the Dnieper and Dwina being a sufficient result of the campaign. Better than all his lieutenants he at last foresaw the dangers and difficulties of the work which he had undertaken, which he still wished, but which he was anxious to finish in a brilliant manner. Europe was waiting for the news of a victory. Napoleon had reached the centre of the Russian empire, but without a battle. The prestige of his glory and his power demanded a decisive blow; and the emperor prepared for it at Vitebsk.
Marshal Macdonald, however, had taken possession of Courland, after one battle before Mittau. The Russians everywhere retreated before him, evacuating even the stronghold of Dunaburg. The marshal laid siege to Riga, but his forces were insufficient to guard this vast territory, and he in vain asked for reinforcements. Everywhere the men succumbed under the extent of the task imposed upon them. Marshal Oudinot, who formerly supported Macdonald at Polotsk, had crossed the Dwina, and was advancing, by the emperor's orders, against Count Wittgenstein. After a brilliant engagement at Jakoubowo on the 20th July, he found it prudent to retreat upon the Drissa. On the 1st August there was another successful battle, but the troops were tired, and had lost many men; the enemy were threatening. Oudinot returned to Polotsk, requiring rest and more soldiers, like Macdonald. The marshal did not succeed in demolishing the entrenched camp at Drissa, as he had been instructed to do.
On the south-east, in the upper part of the course of the Bug, General Reynier found himself at last obliged to retreat, in order to protect the grand duchy of Warsaw, and invade Volhynia. This expedition was at first intended for the Austrians, but the will of the Emperor Francis, as well as that of Napoleon, called them to head-quarters; and Reynier's forces were to replace them in the posts which they held.
Nevertheless, the Russian General Tormazoff threatened the grand duchy, after taking possession of Kobrin, which was badly defended by the Saxons. The Diet of Warsaw took alarm. A large number of wealthy Poles collected their most valuable property, and crossed to the left bank of the Vistula. They asked assistance from the Abbé Pradt, who was as disturbed as the Poles. He wrote to Wilna, where Bassano was installed as the emperor's representative, and at the same time addressed himself to General Reynier. The latter having called Prince Swartzenberg to his assistance, they both advanced upon the Bug, thus protecting the grand duchy, without being able to rejoin the grand army or support the general movement. Admiral Tchitchakoff had just signed the peace with the Turks, and was expected to come to Tormazoff's assistance.
Following Marshal Davout's advice, after mature consideration the emperor resolved at Vitebsk to advance with his main body from the banks of the Dwina upon those of the Dnieper, cross the latter at Rassasna, and ascend quickly to Smolensk. He reckoned upon finding the town without defence, and then by a sudden movement taking the Russian in flank, and so at last inflicting upon his enemies a great military disaster. The movements of the French army were to be concealed from the enemy behind the forests abounding everywhere. It was important to conceal our march from the Russians, who were about to form their junction at Smolensk.
The Emperor Napoleon was not alone in his enthusiastic ardor for battle. Prince Bagration was, like him, fervently wishing for the moment of conflict. The soldiers of high rank who were of Russian birth and manners, were greatly vexed and prejudiced against Barclay de Tolly, and his prudent tactics, every day accusing him of cowardice, and suspecting his patriotism. Born of a Scottish family which had long been settled in Russia, Barclay was ardently devoted to his adopted country, and could scarcely endure their unjust reproaches. The passion of the Russian generals at last gained the day, and the council of war resolved to take the offensive against the French cantonments. The projected march of our armies was unknown to the enemy when, on the 9th August, their vanguard made an attack upon General Sebastiani, who was badly defended. He at once called General Montbrun, and they both charged the Russian squadrons forty times in the course of the day, and then fell back upon Marshal Ney's forces. The Russians observed the solidity of our lines, saw the large force under Prince Eugène, and believed there were indications of a march towards St. Petersburg. Barclay took advantage of the uneasiness which he saw around him, and fell back upon Smolensk. The Emperor Napoleon now commenced the march.
On the morning of the 14th August, the whole army had crossed the Dnieper. With 175,000 men under the flags, an immense artillery, wagons and innumerable troops, the vast solitude of the ancient Borysthenes was suddenly transformed into a camp. The march continued towards Smolensk: before Krasnoe, after a rather keen fight, General Névéroffskoi was driven back to the town of Korytnia. Nearly all the corps had rejoined the emperor when, on the 16th August, the advance guard debouched before Smolensk. At a single glance of the eye, the generals were convinced that the town was in a state of defence. A useless attempt was made to take the citadel by storm; Ney, who had imprudently advanced, fell into an ambush, and was only with difficulty rescued by his light cavalry. The Russians were already seen occupying the heights on the right bank of the Dnieper, in the suburbs, and above the new town. Barclay had taken up his position there, and a large force occupied the old town on the left bank, both parts of the town being connected by a bridge. Prince Bagration had advanced beyond Smolensk, to protect the banks of the Dnieper, and prevent Napoleon, on crossing the river, from attacking the town and its defenders from behind.
Though the taking of Smolensk formed no part of his original plan, Napoleon was obliged to make the attack. The possession of that ancient and venerable town had great importance in the eyes of Russians. Nevertheless the emperor had the river sounded some distance off, hoping to find a ford which would allow of a surprise. It was impossible to throw over bridges, on account of the nearness of Prince Bagration, whose troops lay on the banks of the Kolodnia, a tributary of the Dnieper; and, so far as these observations were taken, the river was not fordable. Napoleon waited for a day, hoping that Barclay would leave the heights of the new town to offer him battle; and, on the Russian making no movement, the assault was ordered.
The fighting was continued a whole day on the 17th. The suburbs of the old town were in our hands, but the old enclosure, with its irregular brick towers, still resisted our attack. The Russians no longer made sallies, but defended themselves heroically behind the walls. Most of the emperor's lieutenants had been opposed to the siege, and Murat, it is said, wished to be killed. He went to a part which was incessantly battered by the guns from the ramparts, and said to his aides-de-camp, "Leave me alone here." Napoleon gave orders to cease the assault. Marshal Davout sent a party to reconnoitre, General Haxo braving a storm of fire to discover the weak point of the enclosure: and the attack was to begin again next morning at daybreak. "I must have Smolensk," said the emperor.
The Russians had already seen Napoleon's obstinacy, and felt that they could no longer repulse the efforts of our arms. The bombshells had already set fire to several parts, and during the night the whole of the town was in flames, kindled by the Russians. Their battalions were withdrawn, and the old town gradually evacuated. Barclay de Tolly prepared to follow their example. At sunrise Davout entered without difficulty into Smolensk in flames. The women and children, collected in the ancient Byzantine cathedral, seemed the mere remnant of a wretched population. Many men had fled; and the bridge, which joined both banks, being cut, the Russian army had started before us on the road to Moscow, without any possibility of our at once pursuing them. Napoleon passed on horseback through the smoking and blood-stained streets. Surgeon Larrey, faithful to the sentiments of humanity which always distinguished him, had the Russian wounded collected as well as the French.
The emperor looked gloomy and discontented. Though victorious, the army was depressed: the first town taken by assault, burnt before them by the determined hatred of its defenders, seemed to the soldiers a sinister omen. They were all tired of a war which imposed upon them unheard-of efforts without any glory coming to console them with its accustomed intoxication. "The war is not a national one," said Count Daru recently at Vitebsk; "the importation of a few English goods into Russia, or even the rising of the Polish nation, is not a sufficient reason for so remote an enterprise. Neither your troops nor your generals understand the necessity of it. Let us stop while at least there is still time."
The same advice was repeated at Smolensk, on that bank of the river gained by such bravery, and difficult to leave without danger, in order to plunge into an unknown and hostile country, far from the reinforcements which were still being prepared in Germany. Before attacking Smolensk, Napoleon said to Prince Eugène, "We are going to give battle, and then we shall see Moscow." "Always Moscow! Moscow will be our ruin," muttered the Viceroy of Italy as he left the emperor. Nearly all the military leaders felt the same fears.
Marshal Ney rushed with his troops in pursuit of Barclay, and overtook two Russian columns on the plain of Valoutina behind a small muddy stream, over which they had to throw a bridge. Here a keenly contested fight cost us the life of General Gudin, when obstinately carrying the passage at the point of the bayonet. Our columns were embarrassed in their attack by the marshy ground. The Russians kept their positions till night; and when at last obliged to quit the plateau more than 13,000 to 14,000 of both sides lay dead on the field of battle. The enemy's columns resumed their retreat, and continued to intercept our route to Moscow.
Thus, without a single check to diminish the prestige of our arms—after constantly defeating the Russians in the partial engagements which had taken place—after occupying, without fighting or taking by assault, every place in our way, we found ourselves, after two months' campaigning, with an army less by a half, in the very heart of Russia, unable to reach the enemy, who were retreating without running away—further than when at Wilna from that peace, desired by all, which Napoleon wished to impose under glorious circumstances immediately after a victory. The pacific messages of the Emperor Alexander had long accompanied our invasion of his states. Now they ceased, and the sudden summer of the north was soon about to disappear. "That would make a fine station for a cantonment," said Count Lobau, the heroic General Mouton, as he looked at the position and old walls of Smolensk. The emperor made no reply.
He was hesitating or reflecting, because he waited. On our right, General Reynier and Prince Schwartzenberg, with the Saxons and Austrians, had dislodged the Russians from the important position of Gorodeczna at several leagues from Kobrin; thus opening, with considerable difficulty, the intercepted road to the grand duchy. On the left, Marshal Oudinot, hurt at the emperor severely blaming him because when victorious he took the position of the conquered, had advanced against Count Wittgenstein, although the Russians would not accept battle. The marshal again fell back on the Drissa and Polota; a strong detachment, however, covered the latter river, and on the Russians presenting themselves for the attack they were repulsed. Oudinot was wounded, and the command devolved upon General Gouvion St. Cyr, who was also slightly wounded. On the 18th August, having resolved to give battle, he directed his troops from a small Polish carriage, which was overturned in the thick of the conflict, and the general was trodden under foot. In spite of the exhaustion of the soldiers, and their leader's pain and ill-health, the feigned retreat which had deceived the Russians, as well as the battle itself, were crowned with brilliant success. After the battle of Polotsk, Wittgenstein was compelled to withdraw, and Gouvion St. Cyr received at last his marshal's baton. His instructions were to guard the Dwina, while Macdonald was kept before Riga, unable to take it or raise the siege. The two corps were now deprived of communication, as soon as the main body was still further removed from its wings, now isolated on the right and left. The emperor was resolved to leave Smolensk, and at every cost pursue the battle which was running from him. Davout and Murat, always at the head of the army, and perpetually at strife in their military operations, agreed, however, in affirming that the Russians certainly showed a real intention of fighting. Napoleon went himself towards Dorogobouje.
A last effort was attempted by those about him to make him stop at Smolensk. General Rapp, just arrived from Germany, could not conceal his emotion and astonishment. "The army has only marched a hundred leagues since the Niemen," said he. "I saw it before crossing, and already everything is changed. The officers, arriving by posting from the interior of France, are frightened at the sight which meets their eyes. They had no conception that a victorious march without battles could leave behind it more ruins than a defeat." "You have left Europe, as it were, have you not?" said Murat and Berthier. "Should Europe rise against your Majesty, you will only have your soldiers for subjects, and your camp for empire; nay, the third of that even being foreign, will become hostile." Napoleon granted the truth of the facts. "I am well aware that the state of the army is frightful. From Wilna half of them could not keep up, or were left behind; and today there are two thirds. There is therefore no more time to lose. Peace must be had at any cost, and it is in Moscow. Besides, this army cannot now halt; its composition and disorganization are now such that it is kept up by movement alone. One can advance at its head, but cannot stop or retreat. It is an army of attack, not of defence; an army of operation, not of position. I shall strike a great blow, and all will rally."
When leaving Smolensk, on the 24th August, with his guard, the emperor had not yet come to a final decision as to his advance, but all his measures were taken with that result in view, and his skilful lieutenants were not deceived. Marshal Victor was already on his way to Wilna, and Napoleon sent him orders to march at once towards Smolensk. Two divisions of the army of reserve, left in Germany under the orders of Marshal Augereau, were summoned to Lithuania. When the emperor learned, on arriving at Dorogobouje, that the enemy was again escaping from him, he concluded that General Barclay was ready to fight him, and was seeking for a favorable position. "We are told that he awaits us at Wiazma," wrote Napoleon to the Duke of Bassano on 26th August; "we shall be there in a few days. We shall then be half-way between Smolensk and Moscow, and forty leagues, I believe, from Moscow. If the enemy is beaten there, nothing can protect that great capital, and I shall be there on the 5th September."
The day was in fact come, and the battle which Napoleon had so long desired was at last to be offered, given, and gained—with no other result except more deeply involving us in a desperate enterprise and consummating our ruin. The Russians having evacuated Wiazma, it was only at Ghjat that the emperor at last felt certain of encountering the enemy. The command of the Muscovite armies had changed hands: the cry raised since the beginning of the campaign against Barclay's prudent tactics, at last overbore the Czar's confidence in that able general, and old Kutusof had been placed at the head of the troops. Keenly patriotic, and long engaged in the struggle against the man who had conquered him at Austerlitz, the new general-in- chief appealed to all the national and religious passions by which his soldiers were animated. "It is in the faith," said he, "that I wish to fight and conquer; it is in the faith that I wish to conquer or die, and that my eyes shall see victory. Soldiers, think of your wives and children who claim your protection; think of your emperor who is looking upon you; and before to-morrow's sun has disappeared, you shall have written your piety and fidelity upon the fields of your country with the blood of the aggressor and his legions." The priests, clothed in their most sumptuous robes, were already carrying the holy images at the head of the regiments, while the soldiers knelt down to receive absolution. The French army was near.
The emperor having been ill for several days, his assistants found him depressed and undecided at the very moment when he was at last attaining the object of his desires. There was still a constant quarrel between Murat and Davout. The marshal blamed the King of Naples for imposing too much work upon the cavalry, and forbade the infantry of the advanced guard to manoeuvre without his express orders. The complaints of his lieutenants reached Napoleon, but he made no more efforts to reconcile them. Having a fixed ill-will against Davout, he compelled him to place under Murat's orders one of his divisions which had been refused to the King of Naples. The emperor had shown more ill-temper than usual; and on one occasion he said to Berthier himself, the most devoted of his old friends "And you, too, are you one of those who wish to stop? As you are only an old woman, you may go back to Paris. I can do very well without you." For several days the Prince of Neuchâtel refused to appear at the emperor's table.
The imperial staff had now left Wiazma. When occupying that small town, Napoleon had himself run after and horsewhipped some soldiers who were pillaging and destroying a shop. He pursued his journey under the blue sky and an exhausting heat, listening to the simple talk of a young Cossack, who had been taken prisoner that very morning amongst the Russian soldiers who had lagged behind. Lelorgne d'Ideville, the excellent interpreter who attended the emperor, put questions to the soldier. "Nobody wishes to keep Barclay," said the young Cossack; "they say that there is another general. They would all have been beaten long ago but for the Cossacks. No matter, there is going to be a great battle. If it takes place within three days, the French will gain it; but, if it is delayed longer, God only knows what will happen. It seems the French have a general called Bonaparte, who has always conquered all his enemies. Perhaps he will not be so fortunate this time; they are waiting for large reinforcements in order to make a stand." The emperor having made a sign, Lelorgne leant over towards the young Cossack's saddle and said, "That is General Bonaparte beside you—the Emperor Napoleon." The soldier opened his eyes and looked at the face of the great conqueror whose name had, like some tale of wonder, reached even his savage tribe: he said nothing, when Napoleon gave orders that he should be restored to liberty.
The weather becoming bad, the rain fell in torrents, and rendering the march of the army difficult, many soldiers left the ranks to pillage, their provisions being short; and the emperor bitterly reproached his lieutenants with a state of things which they could not prevent. "The army is in that way threatened with destruction," wrote Napoleon, "even from Ghjat. The number of prisoners made by the enemy amounts every day to several hundred. Let the Duke of Elchingen know that he is daily losing more men than if we were fighting, and that it is therefore necessary that the foraging expeditions should be better managed, and the men should not go so far away."
Order was not restored in the army when, on the 5th September, it debouched upon the plain of Borodino. Following the table-lands extending between the Baltic and Black Sea, we descended the slopes by which the Moskwa on the left, and the Protwa on the right, flow towards the Oka, a tributary of the Volga. The rain ceasing, Napoleon was encouraged by the appearance of the sky to hope for fine weather. At one time he thought of returning towards Smolensk; but when the sun reappeared he cried, "The lot is cast; let us set out." He at last found himself face to face with the Russians.
General Kutusof had taken advantage of the natural position. Entrenched on the left behind the river Kolocza, he had raised a series of earthen redoubts, furnished with a formidable artillery, to defend the small heights at the foot of which were extended the Russian battalions. The course of the river changing its direction at the point where the village of Borodino was placed, the heights were there protected only by hollows. It was this position which Napoleon first gave orders to attack, in order to carry a detached redoubt placed on a mamelon. Our troops had scarcely arrived, and night was approaching, but after a very severe engagement the advanced work of Schwardino remained in our power. The whole of the 6th of September was spent in reconnoitring. Several of the corps had not yet joined the main body. Marshal Davout proposed to cross the thick curtain of forest extending on the left of the Russian army, and by taking the old Moscow road, turn the enemy's positions and seize their troops between two fires. Napoleon refused, thinking this movement too dangerous. He himself seemed disturbed and ill at ease; with his head in hand, and deeply plunged in thought, he all at once tore himself from his meditations to make sure of the execution of some orders. "Are you confident of victory?" he asked General Rapp, abruptly. "Certainly," replied he, "but with much bloodshed." "Ah! that is true," said the emperor. "But I have 80,000 men; if I lose 20,000, I shall enter Moscow with 60,000; the soldiers who have fallen behind will join us, and then the marching battalion. We shall be stronger than before the battle." In enumerating his forces, Napoleon did not reckon his cavalry or the guard. He was still ill, being under an attack of fever, but it was with a voice of the greatest firmness that he again harangued his troops. "Soldiers!" said he, "this is the battle which you have so much wished for. The victory now depends upon yourselves. It is necessary for you; it will give us abundance, good quarters in winter, and a ready return to our own country. Behave as you did at Austerlitz, Friedland, Vitebsk, and Smolensk, and so that the most remote posterity may quote your conduct this day. Let them say of you, 'He was at that great battle under the walls of Moscow!'"
On the 7th, before daybreak, Napoleon was already on the battlefield, near the redoubt which had been gained on the evening of the 5th. The troops had received orders to look their very best. Stretching his hand towards the sky the emperor exclaimed, "See! it is an Austerlitz scene!" The bright rays, however, were in the soldiers' faces, and the Russians had more advantage from their brilliancy than we. At seven o'clock the combat broke out on the left: Prince Eugène carried the village of Borodino, but his troops, being too eager, crossed the bridge instead of breaking it down, and were crushed under the fire of the enemy's artillery, placed on the heights of Gorki. The attack became general—so passionate and violent, that on both sides they scarcely took time to manoeuvre. For the first time in his long career as head of an army, the emperor remained in the rear, looking on the struggle without taking part in it, yet opposing the eager demands of his generals for reinforcements. "If there is a second battle to-morrow, what troops shall I give it with?" he replied to Berthier, who entreated him to send assistance to Murat and Ney, on their carrying the enemy's redoubts. Generals fell on every side, dead or severely wounded. They hurriedly bound up the wounds of Marshal Davout, who was seriously hurt; and Rapp, wounded for the twenty-second time in his life, was carried before the emperor. "Always Rapp!" said Napoleon; "and what is going on over there?" "Sire, they want the guard, in order to put an end to it," replied the general's aide-de-camp. "No," retorted the emperor, "I won't have them destroyed. It is not when 800 leagues from home that one risks his last resource."
During this long day this was Napoleon's constant reply to all the leaders of divisions who believed they held in their hands the foretaste of victory, or who saw officers and soldiers slaughtered around them. Napoleon was waiting for a propitious moment, to decide himself the success of the day. "It is too soon," he repeated several times; "the hour for me to join in the fight personally is not yet come; I must see the whole chess-board more clearly." The reserve artillery, however, had been authorized to advance, and crowned the heights which had just been taken from the Russians. The enemy's cavalry came to dash against that unsurmountable obstacle; their infantry fell in dense files, without withdrawing or breaking. For two hours the Russian regiments remained exposed to this terrible fire. Marshal Ney at last turned what were left of this heroic corps, commanded by Prince Bagration. The struggle gradually ceased in the plain; the heights remained partially in the hands of the Russians; Prince Eugène used his utmost endeavors to take the great redoubt; and Prince Poniatowski was unable to force the old Moscow road. In vain did Murat and Ney demand loudly for the advance of the guard, still remaining motionless. For a moment the arguments of General Belliard seemed to take effect, and the order to march was given to the young guard. Count Lobau was already putting them in motion under the pretext of rectifying their lines, but Kutuzoff, till then motionless and inactive, had anticipated Napoleon in his final determination, and throwing forward his cavalry of reserve, the forces again formed in the plain, and a charge of the enemy, came pouring upon the divisions which held it. The emperor stopped the guard, forbidding an operation which, though recently likely to be successful, was now dangerous from the delay. The gap made in the centre of the Russian army by the untiring efforts of Murat and Ney was now closed up; the Russians again occupied their outer works; their ardor and courage never slackened under the fire of our artillery. The great redoubt, however, having been carried, and the Moscow road being abandoned, the generals who still miraculously survived after having a hundred times exposed their lives, asked to try a supreme effort to throw back the enemy and drive him into the Moskwa. Napoleon left his post, and came to inspect himself the point of attack. Marshal Bessières was not disposed to risk the guard; and Napoleon once more resisted all urgent demands. He instructed Marshal Mortier to occupy the field of battle with the young guard; and night being come, the battle at last ceased. "I do not ask you to advance, or commence any engagement," repeated Napoleon twice; and calling back the Marshal as he was going off, "You thoroughly understand? Keep the battle-field, without advancing or retreating, whatever may happen." The Russians had not yet evacuated all their positions, and the conquered and conquerors, both equally heroic, were extended in confusion on the plain. Several Russian detachments threw up a rampart of dead bodies. When on the morrow General Kutuzoff effected his brave retreat, he left no soldiers lagging behind, and the wounded who died on the march were religiously buried. The Emperor Alexander's army left 60,000 dead or dying on the plain of Borodino—or the battle-field of the Moskwa, as Napoleon himself named that terrible day. Prince Bagration was killed.
The battle of the Moskwa caused in our ranks 30,000 dead and wounded. Ten generals had succumbed, including Montbrun and Caulaincourt, brother of the Duke of Vicenza. Thirty-nine general officers were wounded: and ten colonels killed, and twenty-seven wounded. Three days were scarcely sufficient to attend to the dead and wounded. The abbey of Kolotskoi and the neighboring villages were converted into provisional hospitals, under the direction of General Junot, commandant of the Westphalians. The emperor had advanced towards Mojaisk, and Murat followed with his decimated regiments. Napoleon refused Davout the command of the advanced guard. The town was attacked on the 9th: some attempts had been made to set it on fire, but the walls and houses were still standing when the emperor fixed his abode there for several days. It was there that he reviewed the state of his losses on the 7th. He had gone over the battlefield, showing more emotion and compunction than usual at the sight of the frightful carnage which had signalized the battle. Only 800 prisoners remained in our hands. The soldiers well knew that the number of captives was an indisputable sign of the importance of a victory. They beheld with terror the heaps of their enemies' corpses. "They all prefer death to being taken!" said they. "Eight days of Moscow," exclaimed the emperor, "and the enemy will not be seen again." He still remained ill and moody, however; and on the previous evening wrote to Marshal Victor, "The enemy when attacked in the heart no longer attends to his extremities; tell the Duke of Belluna to direct everything, battalions, squadrons, artillery, and isolated men, upon Smolensk, so that he may come from there to Moscow."
It was indeed upon Holy Moscow, the traditional capital of old Russia, that the hopes of Napoleon were now concentrated, hoping there to conclude a peace, and finish a war which he himself felt to be above human strength. Several weeks previously the Czar had left Moscow and returned to St. Petersburg, whence he watched at a distance, and without military skill, the defence of his empire. He upheld the courage of his subjects, however, and had personally obtained from them great sacrifices. The lords assembled round him, in the cradle and tomb of nobility, as they called Moscow, had voted the levy of every tenth serf, armed, equipped, and supplied with three months' provisions. The merchants offered the emperor half their wealth. On the approach of the French, and while waiting for the defence of the old capital, the orders of Rostopchin, the governor, forbade the evacuation of the town. Women, children, old men, on carts and carriages, loaded with goods, money, and furniture, slowly removed from the town, where their husbands, sons and brothers still remained. "The less fear the less danger," said the governor. Kutuzoff's proclamations at first represented the battle of Borodino as a disputed combat, which left the Russian army standing, and capable of defending Moscow; but when their battalions appeared before the gates of the capital the sad truth struck the eyes of all. Whatever it might cost the invader, the national army was beaten, and Moscow could not repulse an attack. There was an immediate and constantly-increasing rush to leave the place. Popular rumor described the French as fierce monsters, worthy of that emperor whom Alexander himself had portrayed as a "Moloch, with treason in his heart and loyalty on his lips, come to efface Russia from the surface of the world."
In his real heart Kutuzoff had decided what to do. Skilful and cunning, without presence of mind or great courage on the field of battle, he could direct the operations of a campaign, and choose the proper mode of leading his country's enemies to their downfall. Nevertheless, he held a council of war, being determined to make the other generals share the weight of a terrible responsibility. Must they defend Moscow by a second battle in open field, wait for the enemy behind the walls, and dispute with him, foot by foot, the possession of the town? Must they abandon the capital, and, as it was recommended by Barclay de Tolly, always bravely true to his original purpose, retreat to Vladimir, and thus cover the road to St. Petersburg? All these proposals were proposed, and keenly discussed. Several spoke in favor of immediate and unflinching resistance, who would have bitterly regretted the adoption of their advice. At last the old general rose: he had listened to all their speeches without speaking, and only shook his head, to signify, as it were, his strong conviction that whether his head were good or bad, it had to make the final decision of the question.
He gave his orders, which showed great skill and prudence. The army was to pass through Moscow without halting, without assisting in any preparation for resistance, or joining in any skirmish even when on the rearguard; then falling back upon Riazan, it was, after several days, to occupy the road to Kalouga, and thus intercept the way to the French, while preserving communication with the provinces in the south of the empire, which are the richest and most fertile. The troops at once began to defile. Behind them long convoys hurried to escape the French. Five sixths of the population had quitted the town when the columns of those wounded in the battle of Borodino appeared at their doors, and they were obliged to crowd their hospitals and churches with 15,000. By abandoning their capital the Russians entrusted these wretches to the pity of their enemies.
The governor of Moscow, Count Rostopchin, had not yet left the town. On the previous evening he trusted to the assurances of Kutuzoff, that the capital would be keenly defended. "There will be fighting in the streets," said he, in his proclamations. "The courts are already closed, but that does not matter; there is no need of courts to do justice to ruffians. I shall soon give you the signal; take care to provide yourselves with hatchets, and especially three-pronged forks, for a Frenchman does not weigh more than a sheaf of corn. I shall have mass said for the wounded, and holy water to hasten their cure. I shall then join General Kutuzoff, and we shall soon set about sending those guests to the devil, forcing them to give up the ghost, and reducing them to powder."
Kutuzoff, nevertheless, withdrew, not less resolute, but more skilful than Count Rostopchin. It was then that the latter conceived an idea, the responsibility of which, as well as the honor, rests entirely upon him. Nobody was consulted; and it is not known whether the Emperor Alexander, with some anticipation of gloomy fate crossing his mind, may not have beforehand granted the dread authority to the governor of his capital. For several days inflammable substances had been collected in the garden of his palace. At the moment of leaving the town, Rostopchin ordered the prisons to be opened, and the hideous crowd of condemned prisoners jostled and mixed with the half-frantic citizens who were fleeing before the French. The governor retained two prisoners—one a Frenchman, lately come to Moscow to earn a living; the other, a Russian, and both accused of having acted as agents of the enemy. "Go," said Rostopchin to the Frenchman, "you have been ungrateful but you have the right to prefer your country; you are now again free, go back to your own people. As for you," he added, turning to the Russian, "let even your own father be your judge." An old merchant came near, tottering under the weight of his grief. "You may speak to him and bless him," said the governor. "Me bless a traitor!" exclaimed the old man; and, raising his hands to heaven, he cursed his son, who was immediately beheaded. The mob showed their keen vindictiveness in their treatment of his body.
Count Rostopchin at last left Moscow, letting all precede him, like the captain who hesitates to abandon the sinking ship. He had given all his instructions. All the baggage all the wealth, he took with him, were the fire engines of that great city, which was nearly entirely built of wood. "Of what use are those in the country?" asked Colonel Wolzogen, with astonishment. "I have my reasons," replied the governor; then, leaving the last friends who still accompanied him, he turned round, and pointing with his finger to Moscow, and then touching the sleeve of his coat, he said, "I take away nothing except what is on my back." He went towards his country house at Voronovo.
Meantime, however, the French advanced guard were approaching Moscow. Several slight skirmishes had taken place during the march, and Kutuzoff succeeded in protecting his retreat. When Murat appeared at the head of the first columns, General Miloradovitch, who commanded the Russian rearguard, made a verbal agreement with the King of Naples to suspend hostilities for several hours, for the protection of the troops, and the safety of the citizens. Murat agreed to it, limiting himself to the pursuit of the Russians when they should have completed their evacuation of Moscow.
The soldiers, as well as the generals and Napoleon himself, were delighted at the distant sight of that town, illuminated by the rays of the setting sun, which brought into full relief the Oriental brilliance of its palaces and churches. "Moscow! Moscow!" they repeated from one end of the ranks to the other. The emperor added to the enthusiastic expression of his troops another thought: "Not a moment too soon!" he muttered.
The great conqueror was deceived, and divine justice punished more completely than he anticipated his guilty ambition and insatiable pride. The dense ranks of the French soldiers presented themselves before the gates of the capital, without any one coming to open them. Several ragged wretches, with gloomy looks appeared on the turrets of the Kremlin and fired a few shots; but while passing along the streets of Moscow, among palaces mixed with cottages—before golden-domed churches, adorned with paintings of a thousand colors—our soldiers wondered, and felt uneasy at the solitude which reigned around them. "What is become of them?" they asked. It was not thus that the French army had entered Berlin or Vienna. "Let the head men of the town be brought to me!" ordered the emperor. The population of Moscow had no longer any head men. Those who hid themselves in terror in the houses, or wept in the churches, felt themselves at the mercy of the ruffians whom the governor, by quitting Moscow, had let loose upon them. The door of the Kremlin had to be burst open with cannon-balls before the old palace of the Czars could be rid of the wretches who had shut themselves up in it. Napoleon took possession of it, without at first fixing his abode there, curious to admire its barbarous magnificence, not yet subjected to the influence of French elegance like the houses of the rich merchants already occupied by his generals. The whole army gazed with delight upon this strange and long-anticipated sight. On the 15th September, 1812, the Emperor Napoleon and his soldiers passed through the streets of Moscow, deserted, but still standing. They examined the concentric quarters, like a series of ramparts round the Kremlin; the old or Chinese town, the centre of Oriental commerce; the white town, with its broad streets and gilt palaces, the quarter of the great nobles and rich merchants; and all round the privileged districts: the "land town," composed of villages and gardens, interspersed with magnificent houses.
All the military posts were chosen, On the north-west, south-west, and south-east, between the roads to Riazan and Vladimir, the forces of Prince Eugène, Davout, Poniatowski, and Ney had taken their quarters. The guard occupied the Kremlin. Soldiers and generals enjoyed the luxury which had been preceded by the cruel privation of the months immediately preceding. "We have provisions for six months," said the soldiers.
On the morning of the 16th fire broke out in a spirit-warehouse, and some hours afterwards in a magnificent bazaar which was filled with valuable goods. The officers blamed for it the stupidity of a drunken soldier. They at once battled with the fire, but the wind was contrary, and the wealth heaped up in the warehouses became a prey to the flames and pillage, which it was impossible to prevent. The fire soon spread even to the neighborhood of the Kremlin, and the sparks, carried by the equinoctial breeze, fell from all parts on the gilded roofs. The courts of the palace being crowded with artillery wagons, and the cellars heaped up with ammunition which the Russians had neglected to take with them, a horrible catastrophe seemed imminent. The generals had great difficulty in persuading Napoleon to leave the Kremlin. The imperial guard, acting as firemen, inundated incessantly the roofs and walls. The fire-engines of the city were searched for in vain. Soon there was a rumor spread that incendiaries had been arrested in several quarters.
The emperor ordered these wretches to be brought before him. They were proud of the terrible mission with which they had been entrusted, taking a delight in the fatal disorder produced under their hands, pillaging and murdering in the houses which they delivered up to the flames. They all made a bold declaration of the orders they had received, and underwent unflinchingly the extremest punishment. The poor population, who had remained concealed in the lowest haunts of the capital, now fled in terror, the women carrying with them their children, the men dragging behind them the most valuable of their household goods, or the shameful results of pillaging the shops. The flames extended from street to street, house to house, church to church: thrice the wind seemed to fall, and thrice it changed its direction, driving the fire into quarters previously untouched. The Kremlin remained always surrounded by fire. The imperial guard had not quitted the palace. The army carried their cantonments outside the town. When scarcely fallen into the hands of the conquerors, Moscow succumbed before a more powerful enemy, enrolled for the defence of the country. Palaces and huts were both become uninhabitable, and the hospitals, filled with wounded Russians, had perished in the flames. The emperor quitted Moscow, and took up his quarters at Petrowskoi. For three days the conflagration remained alone in possession of the capital.
The wind falling, was succeeded by rain. The fire everywhere brooded under the dead ashes, ready to burst out afresh at the contact of air; but the spectacle had lost its avenging beauty. The roofs left standing were relieved against the columns of smoke. The Kremlin still rose majestic, and almost untouched, as if protecting the city against its various enemies. The soldiers soon began to steal from their cantonments into the streets; and in the cellars of the houses, under heaps of rubbish, protected by walls blackened with the flames, they found provisions collected by households for the winter; valuable clothes; plate which had been carefully concealed in hiding-places which no longer existed; objects of art, of which the finders did not know the value; strong drink, which they madly used to intoxicate themselves. After the fire, in spite of the efforts of the officers, Moscow was delivered up to pillage.
So much disorder and mad prodigality shocked all the Emperor Napoleon's instincts of order and government. Returning hastily to Moscow, he repressed by his mere presence the outrages of the soldiers. Regular search was everywhere organized for the collection of provisions buried under the ruins, and bringing them into stores. The resources collected in a few days were sufficient to supply the troops for a long time. Forage alone was wanting, and companies were formed for the purpose of scouring the country round Moscow. The prices offered to the peasantry for their stock was expected to encourage them to supply the markets of the capital. Napoleon even considered the interests of the wretches who wandered, defenceless and houseless, in the streets of Moscow, or timidly glided into the town at the opening of the gates to look for those they had been compelled to abandon, and the remainder of their property concealed under ruined walls. Huts were erected to shelter them.
The desire for peace daily took stronger possession of Napoleon's mind, and he had already authorized several indirect overtures. On the 20th September he thus wrote the Czar:
"My brother, having learned that the brother of your Imperial Majesty's minister was at Moscow, I sent for him, and had some conversation with him. I requested him to wait upon your Majesty, and acquaint you with my sentiments. The handsome and superb city of Moscow no longer exists. Rostopchin has had it burnt. Four hundred incendiaries were taken in the act; and having all declared that they had lighted the fire by order of that governor and the director of police, they were shot. The fire at last seems to have ceased. Three fourths of the houses are burnt, and one fourth remain. Such conduct is atrocious, and serves no purpose. Was the intention to deprive us of some resources? But those resources were in the cellars, which the fire could not reach. Besides, why destroy one of the finest towns of the world, and the work of ages, to accomplish so paltry an object? It is the procedure followed since Smolensk, and it has reduced 600,000 families to beggary. The fire-engines of Moscow were broken or carried off, and some arms from the arsenal given to ruffians, who could not be driven from the Kremlin without using cannon. Humanity, the interests of your Majesty and this great city, demanded that it should have been entrusted to my keeping, since it was deserted by the Russian army. They ought to have left administrations, magistrates, and civil guards. That is what was done at Vienna twice, at Berlin, and Madrid; and what we have ourselves done at Milan, when Souwarof entered. Incendiarism causes pillage, the soldier abandoning himself to it to rescue what is left from the flames. If I thought such things were done by your Majesty's orders, I should not write you this letter; but I consider it impossible that, with your principles, heart, and sense of justice, you have authorized such excesses, unworthy of a great sovereign and a great nation. While carrying away the fire-engines from Moscow, they left 150 field cannon, 60,000 new muskets, 1,600,000 infantry cartridges, more than 200 tons of powder, 150 tons of saltpetre, and also of sulphur, etc.
"I made war upon your Majesty without animosity. A letter from you before or after the last battle would have stopped my march, and I should have been ready to forego the advantage of entering Moscow. If your Majesty still retains aught of your former sentiments, you will take this letter in good part. In any case, you must feel indebted to me for giving an account of what is taking place in Moscow."
When thus writing to the Emperor Alexander, Napoleon well knew that the material disasters of the burning of Moscow were exceeded by the moral results, and that the ruins of the capital were a proclamation to the French army, to Russia, and to the whole of Europe, of the implacable resolution of the old Muscovites. Rostopchin himself had written on the iron door of his splendid country-house at Voronovo: "For eight years I have been improving this estate, and have lived here happy in the bosom of my family. The inhabitants of this estate, to the number of 1720, leave it at your approach, and I set fire to my house that it may not be polluted by your presence. Frenchmen, I have left you my two houses in Moscow, with contents worth half a million of roubles. Here you will find nothing but ashes."
The hatred which he had excited against the invader was afterwards to fall back upon himself. Count Rostopchin driven from Russia by the execration of all those whom he had ruined, was compelled to take refuge in France, where he died in peace, honored by his former enemies. He had nevertheless rendered to Russia one of those terrible services excused by a state still half barbarous, and that violent patriotism by which the soul is possessed in presence of foreign invasion. He revived in the Russian people the unconquerable ardor of resistance. Moscow on fire was an appeal to the eyes and hearts of all.
Napoleon understood this well. Besides, other difficulties were becoming extreme. Time was passing; no reply arrived from St. Petersburg, and the emperor's overtures made to Kutuzoff by Lauriston remained without result. The attempt to continue hostilities was unsuccessful, General Sebastiani having been deceived as to the direction taken by Kutuzoff, and, after following him in vain for two or three days, compelled to return to Moscow. Murat being again put in command of the advanced guard, met the enemy on the Pakra, after being joined by Marshal Bessières. In spite of the cries of his army, who were furious at the burning of Moscow, and wished to march to battle, Kutuzoff slowly retreated before the French generals, and finally pitched his camp at Taroutino on the road to Kaluga. Two cavalry engagements terminated successfully for our arms. Napoleon's lieutenants waited for his orders. A sort of armistice reigned between the two armies. Murat had several times seen Kutuzoff; and the Russian officers overwhelmed him with attentions. He showed himself in favor of peace, concluded by him and through his exertions. The Cossack chiefs celebrated his exploits, one of them surnaming him the "hetmann." Kutuzoff had sent Prince Wolkonsky to St. Petersburg, with instructions to communicate to the Czar the pacific advances which had been made. Alexander replied on the 21st October: "All the opinions which you have received from me, all the determinations expressed in the orders addressed to you by me—everything ought to convince you that my resolution is immovable, and that at the present moment no proposal of the enemy can make me think of terminating the war, and so failing in the sacred duty of avenging our outraged country."
Before the Emperor Alexander thus expressed his resolution of listening to no offers of peace, his enemy had already evacuated Moscow—beginning, whatever pain it cost him and whatever care he took to conceal it, a retrograde movement, which was soon to be the consummation of his ruin. Napoleon long hesitated as to what route he should take. By advancing upon Kaluga in pursuit of Kutuzoff he should plunge further into Russia, towards regions where he should be without winter-quarters and communication with the rear. By resuming the road to Poland, as all his lieutenants wished, he should tacitly admit his defeat. He conceived the idea of making the Duke of Belluna march upon St. Petersburg, reckoning that, on his arrival and while threatening the capital and court, he could effect an oblique movement northwards by Woskresensk, Wolokolamsk, and Bieloi, and then concentrate all his forces at Smolensk. Winter being past, Napoleon would then be in a position to attack St. Petersburg in earnest. To satisfy his own mind, the emperor wrote out this plan before speaking of it to the generals, who were waiting, full of serious thought, to know his determination.
They all opposed Napoleon's new plans; all repeating that he did not take into account the hardships of the army, that he over-reckoned the strength of the corps, that the soldiers were incapable of any fresh effort. He went over, with Count Lobau, the statistics of the different regiments and the detachments in charge of generals at a distance. "There, six thousand." "Four thousand, sire," said the general. "Ten thousand here." "Five at the most." "You are perhaps right," the emperor admitted. But on coming to sum up the total of his resources, he always went back to his first inaccurate reckoning, the truthful and blunt obstinacy of Lobau being unable to overcome his master's voluntary illusions. Nevertheless, Napoleon understood that he could now no longer, by the mere superiority of his genius, take his lieutenants along with him without discussion or hesitation. He did not insist upon marching northwards. Count Daru's proposal was to spend the winter in Moscow. From his administrative experience, he concluded that their supplies were sufficient for the army, while the troops should thus be spared all the hardships and difficulties of travelling. In spring, all the army corps would be again brought together, there would be a rising in Lithuania, and the emperor could complete his conquest. Napoleon turned toward his faithful servant, and looked upon his energetic features, his robust figure, and the resolution which shone in his looks. "My dear Daru," said he, "that advice is lion- like, but I should require lions to put it in execution. You are right, Moscow is not a military position, it is a political position. Yet what would be said in Paris? what would become of France during that long absence, without possible communication? No, it is impossible. Austria and Prussia would take advantage of it to betray me."
The emperor came back to the idea of marching upon Kaluga, and driving Kutuzoff from the camp of Taroutino, summoning the Duke of Belluna to join him in order to keep up communications with Smolensk, at the same time leaving Marshal Mortier in the Kremlin with 10,000 men to occupy and preserve Moscow. Preparations were being made for this purpose, when, on the 18th of October, cannon were heard on the road which Napoleon was making ready to follow, and speedily one of Murat's aides-de-camp appeared. The King of Naples, who had long complained of the isolation in which he was left, was careless in his guard, and had been attacked by Kutuzoff at Winkowo. The Russian army taking advantage of all the delays which gradually diminished our forces, had increased theirs; and their general had 100,000 men at his disposal, when he yielded to the urgent request of his lieutenants, and all at once made an attack with two corps upon our positions. Murat's personal courage and skill in the field partly compensated for the faults of his imprudence. He repulsed the enemy's attack, and fell back upon Voronovo, continuing to cover the road to Moscow. Kutuzoff, however, held our positions, and the King of Naples lost the greater part of his cavalry. Napoleon immediately resolved to march to the enemy. According to the plan already decided upon, Mortier fixed his quarters at the Kremlin, over the mines laid ready to blow up the citadel and palace of the Czars. All the rest of the army defiled through the open gates of the city, recently so eagerly longed for, and now only occupied for thirty-seven days, which had been full of agitation and terror. The long trains of carriages, the soldiers' booty heaped upon the wagons or their shoulders, the furs fastened to their haversacks or arms, were all proof enough that the troops were no more deceived than the generals as to the possibility of a return to Moscow. The Duke of Trevisa's friends and comrades looked upon him as a man condemned beforehand to death, and sorrowfully bade him adieu without shaking his courage. The French families formerly settled in Moscow fled from the anger of the Russians, and joined the march of their fellow-countrymen. The long train on its march seemed more like a convoy defiling, than the progress of an army advancing against the enemy. Napoleon, however, had not yet said anything to imply that the evacuation was final; he was marching against Kutuzoff, whom he wished to chastise, and, if possible, crush. Before leaving Moscow, his last instructions were devoted to the defence of the Kremlin.
It was on the morning of the 20th October that the emperor left the city, in fine autumnal weather which prevented any one from yet anticipating the rigors of winter. On reaching the castle of Troitskoi, he was struck with a new idea; Kutuzoff held the old Kaluga road, and a battle was necessary to dislodge him; and the French, even if victorious, would lose men and be encumbered with a crowd of wounded. The new road to Kaluga was protected by Broussier's division, and had not been cut up by the passage of troops; if it were possible to deceive Kutuzoff by a sudden detour to the right, and to gain the new road, Kaluga would be reached without a battle, and the positions for winter secured. The occupation of Moscow must now no longer be insisted upon, and Mortier immediately instructed to leave Moscow and join them. Having made up his mind, the emperor in the evening sent his orders to the Duke of Trevisa: "My cousin," said Napoleon to the Marshal Berthier, "give orders to the Duke of Trevisa to put on march, to- morrow, at daybreak, all the tired and lame soldiers of the corps of Prince Eckmühl and the viceroy, of the foot-cavalry, and the young guard, and to direct the whole upon Mojaisk. On the 22nd or 23rd, at two o'clock in the morning, he will set fire to the brandy storehouse, the barracks, and the public buildings, except the Foundling Hospital. [Footnote: This establishment, founded by the dowager empress, had been patronized by Napoleon. The governor General Toutelmine, had been one of the agents of his communications with St. Petersburg.] He will have the palace of the Kremlin set on fire. He will take care that all the guns are broken into pieces, that powder is placed under the towers of the Kremlin, that all the gun-carriages are broken, as well as the wagon wheels.
"When these orders are attended to, and the Kremlin is on fire in several places, the duke will leave the Kremlin, and advance on the Mojaisk road. At four o'clock, the officer of artillery appointed to that duty will blow up the Kremlin, according to instructions.
"On the march he will burn all carriages left behind, use every endeavor to bury all the dead, and burn all the muskets he can find. On reaching the Gallitzin palace, he will take the Spanish and Bavarians stationed there, and put fire to the ammunition wagons, and everything which cannot be removed. He will collect all the commanders of posts, and order the garrisons to fall back.
"He will reach Mojaisk on the 25th or 26th, and there receive further orders to put himself in communication with the army. He will naturally leave a strong advanced guard of cavalry on the Mojaisk road.
"He will be particular in remaining in Moscow till he has himself seen the Kremlin blown up; and also in setting fire to the governor's two houses and that of Rasomowsky."
Thus Napoleon himself put hands to that burning of Moscow with which he had recently blamed the Russians, and the originator of which he did not forget to punish even then! The march upon Kaluga was already begun, and one of Prince Eugène's divisions, being in advance, had already occupied Malo-Jaroslawetz, on the Lougea. General Delzons, who was in command, was engaged in repairing the bridges, when Kutuzoff was informed of the direction which the French seemed to take. General Doctoroff at once advanced with a large body, and Kutuzoff raised his cantonments to follow him.
The small town of Malo-Jaroslawetz was built on a chain of heights, of which the Russians at once took possession, cannonading the French, who in their turn dislodged them. Six times was the town taken and retaken, the fire of the burning houses combining with the cannon-balls to repulse the combatants on both sides. Seven French generals fell on the field towards evening; yet, in spite of the keen determination of the Russian recruits, who had scarcely arms or clothes, the ruins of the town remained in our hands. When the emperor arrived on the banks of the Lougea with the main army, he beheld a sight as painful in proportion to its extent as had been the plain of Borodino. Many of the corpses were scorched by the fire. Ten thousand men fell on both sides. The emperor saw that all future movements implied new and terrible battles. The generals appointed to reconnoitre, considered the enemy's positions impregnable; and on Napoleon himself going to take observations he narrowly escaped being taken by a body of Cossacks, who surprised him when crossing the Lougea. General Rapp had only time to get him out of the way of those troublesome enemies, bands of whom incessantly harassed the army. A council was held in a ruined hut on the banks of the small river.
The emperor was still inclined to attempt a march towards Kaluga, for the sake of the battle, victory, and consequent rest in a rich district not yet exhausted. The generals were as confident as their chief in the success of our arms, but they thought that the loss of 20,000 men and a charge of 10,000 wounded would themselves constitute a check in presence of the Russian army, constantly recruited by new forces. A retreat to Mojaisk, and thence to Smolensk, was decided upon. The attempt on Kaluga had cost ten days, and exhausted the greater part of the provisions brought from Moscow, and it was now necessary to submit to a retreat pure and simple. Marshal Davout proposed to effect this by a new road, which should still supply some resources for the troops; but his advice was not listened to. A passionate desire for return, and terror of the frightful evils which threatened the army, had seized all those men who were recently so daring, and ready to try any danger. Napoleon still hesitated. "What do you think about it, Mouton?" he asked Count Lobau, standing beside him. "That as quickly as possible, and by the shortest road, we must get out of a country where we have stayed too long," was the immediate reply of the hero of so many battles. The emperor hung down his head. In his inmost soul he felt himself beaten.
The whole army also felt itself beaten, and every heart was filled with dejection. Already, during the march from Moscow to Malo-Jaroslawetz, many carriages and badly harnessed wagons were left behind; but the train was still enormous, accompanied by defenceless women and children. The wounded of the last battle had been distributed amongst the different wagons and carts. The dying were abandoned to their wretched fate on the battle- field, under the cold rain which began to fall, or in the huts to which they had been carried. The army left Malo-Jaroslawetz on the 27th October, marching to Vereja, where Marshal Mortier rejoined them after accomplishing his terrible mission. The ground was still quaking under his feet when he left Moscow, bringing with him all the wounded. Such was the emperor's express order, though the army convoys were already insufficient for that necessary duty.
Mortier brought to Napoleon a prisoner, Count Wintzingerod, who had fallen into his hands during the second burning of Moscow. That general was in command of a body of partisans, and believed the French had evacuated the capital. The emperor's anger burst forth against this German on finding him in the Russian ranks. "You belong to no country!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I have always found you among my enemies—with the Austrians when I fought with Austria, with the Russians when Austria became my ally. Yet by birth you belong to the Rhenish Confederation; you are a traitor—I have the right to judge you. You will be tried by court-martial." Then pointing to Count Narischkin, Wintzingerod's aide-de-camp, "This young man does you too much honor by serving with you."
The general made no reply, even by the slightest movement or gesture. The emperor's staff looked on in silence, and the French officers tried by their attentions to make the prisoner forget the treatment. Every one knew the cause of so much bitterness rising from Napoleon's heart to his lips. For the first time in his life the conqueror was retreating.
He was retreating, and every day of their march made them feel more and more the terrible difficulty, while proving its necessity. Napoleon marched at the head of his army with his staff, without joining the main body of the troops, or troubling himself about the fatigue and difficulty experienced at every step by Marshal Davout, who had been appointed to command the rear-guard and protect the retreat. General Grouchy's cavalry were already exhausted, and could not assist him in this painful duty. The marshal's old foot-soldiers alone remained—those who had so long fought under his orders, having been formed under his strict and severe discipline, and loving him while they feared him. At every stage Davout found some carriage or cart had disappeared, left behind by the exhausted horses and drivers, and he heard the cries of the wretched wounded men, henceforward delivered up to the lances of the Cossacks or the severities of the approaching winter. He saw unrolling and lengthening out before him that train behind the army, despised by the soldiers remaining under arms, and reinforced every day by laggards from all the corps. He was the last to arrive at the hindmost posts after the troops defiling past had eaten up all the resources of the villages and farms, burnt the shelters, and sacked what they were unable to carry off. The complaints and demands of the distinguished chief of his rear-guard made no impression on Napoleon. "March quicker!" he kept repeating, without admitting the marshal to see him, without ever going himself towards the rear of his army—apparently indifferent to the sufferings he had produced, absorbed in gloomy silence, surrounded by his lieutenants equally dejected. When passing Borodino, where the battle-field was still covered with the corpses, of which savage beasts were in undisputed possession, the rear-guard were still further encumbered by the transport of the wounded, who had formerly been left at Kolotskoi. Those whose wounds did not allow them to be removed were entrusted by Dr. Larrey to the cares of the Russians, whom he had cured. The army left Ghjat on the 1st November.
In spite of what was constantly being left behind from the baggage train, the difficulty of the march daily increased on account of fatigue, the want of horses, and the rigor of the climate. Marshal Davout often found himself compelled to blow up artillery wagons which he could not take further with him; and the cannon which were still dragged on became for the most part useless. Immediately before him marched Prince Eugène's forces. The viceroy, young and courageous, had not yet gained consummate experience of war: the marshal urged him to make haste first in crossing the Czarewo-Zaimitché and afterwards in the suburbs of Wiazma. Kutuzoff, at first deceived as to our movements, had advanced southwards after the battle of Malo-Jaroslawetz, but soon changed his direction and marched upon Wiazma. A preliminary engagement near the bridge of Czarewo had opened a passage for us. Then the march was again interrupted before Wiazma. The Russian army occupied the ground on the left of the road. Prince Eugène's forces, embarrassed by the convoy, had an engagement with the enemy on the morning of the 2nd November, and the cannon were making havoc in his ranks when Davout came to his assistance, and General Gerard making a dash at the enemy's artillery, quickly cleared the road again. At the noise of the cannon Marshal Ney halted in his march, and advanced behind a small tributary of the Wiazma. The battle began so vigorously on the part of our old soldiers that General Miloradowitch, who commanded the Russians, did not dare longer to intercept their retreat. The regiments defiled into Wiazma, but still continued firing. General Morand, who was in command of the last battalions, was not rid of the pursuing enemy till he reached the very camp, his soldiers presenting their bayonets. The troops, who had thus gained another victory, encamped in the woods, with no resource except the dying horses, which they slaughtered as they required them, roasting the joints at the bivouac fires. The exhausted soldiers slept.
Marshal Ney, in his turn, had charge of the rear-guard. The emperor felt himself condemned by the stern and impassible judgment of Davout, whom he had left alone to bear the heaviest burden; and he blamed the slowness of his movements for the unfortunate battle of Wiazma, and the responsibility of all the hardships undergone by the rear-guard. Like Massena in Portugal, Davout found himself in disgrace because he was blamed with faults which he had not committed, and which he was unable to rectify.
Meantime they had approached Smolensk. Alarming news awaited Napoleon at Dorogobouje. He had long reckoned on the assistance of the 9th corps, which Marshal Victor was bringing him from Germany. Scarcely had the new troops arrived at Smolensk, according to the emperor's order, than they found themselves obliged to go to the assistance of our left wing, which was threatened by Count Wittgenstein. A large reinforcement had joined the Russian army at this point. After a conference at Abo, in Finland (28th August, 1812), between the Prince Royal of Sweden and the Emperor Alexander, the Russian forces promised to Bernadotte for the conquest of Norway had advanced from Finland into Livonia. Marshal Macdonald was compelled to abandon the siege of Riga in order to support the Prussians on the lower Dwina. Marshal St. Cyr, in his turn, found himself threatened on the 18th October by forces superior to his own, and had fought a second battle before Polotsk, and successfully defended the town; but when attacked by Wittgenstein and the forces arrived from Finland, on both banks of the Dwina, he was compelled to withdraw behind the Oula (connected with the Berezina by the Lepel canal). Being severely wounded in the last engagement, he had given up the command to Marshal Oudinot, who was anxiously waiting for Marshal Victor's arrival. The approach of Admiral Tchitchakoff was already announced; returned from Turkey with a large army, the negotiator of the treaty of Bucharest had, with Tormazoff's assistance, driven General Reynier and Prince Schwartzenberg behind the marshes of Pinsk; and, after leaving General Sacken with 25,000 men to keep the allies in check, was now advancing towards the upper Berezina, to support Count Wittgenstein. Thus, on reaching Smolensk, Napoleon was about to find the place almost destitute of troops, while the left wing was in very great danger, attacked at the same time by Wittgenstein, the Finland troops, and Tchitchakoff. The supplies even were smaller than was expected, on account of the difficulty of conveyance. The soldiers were delighted as they came near Smolensk. The emperor knew that the halt must be short; nevertheless, he ordered Victor to join Oudinot immediately in order to make a joint attack upon Wittgenstein; and wrote General Reynier and the Austrians to pursue Admiral Tchitchakoff. He also asked for one of the divisions of Marshal Augereau to be sent from Germany; and separating the troops which still remained, in order to facilitate the food-supply during their journey, he continued his march upon Smolensk, whilst Prince Eugène took the road for Doukhowtchina, with instructions to protect Vitebsk if necessary.
The main army resumed its march on the 6th November. On the 7th and 8th the cold became so keen, and the ice on the roads so dangerous, that the horses could not advance, and it was necessary to leave behind some cannon. On the 9th the viceroy reached the banks of the Vop, a small stream which in winter becomes a rapid torrent, its channel being already choked with ice. Before the engineers had completed a bridge, the crowd of the soldiers and runaways rushed headlong upon it and broke it down. The cavalry forded the stream, the troops following them with the water up to their shoulders. The field-pieces, the baggage, and ammunition-wagons, one after another crushed down the banks and ploughed through the channel, frequently plunging into the mire, and being left there. It became impossible to cross; and the wretches who were following the army found themselves left behind, and delivered up to the vengeance of the Russians or the cruelties of the Cossacks, who ran up in eager hordes. In despair and terror, they struggled to cross the river, leaving behind them the wagons which still afforded them some supplies, and many perished. Even the soldiers who had fallen behind the army pillaged the baggage which had been abandoned on the bank. Blood flowed also in the midst of this horrible confusion, for the Cossacks, eager for booty, joined with the disbanded soldiers. Some brave men several times braved the dangers of crossing the stream to save the lives of the defenceless women and children.
On reaching Doukhowtchina, Prince Eugène learned that Vitebsk had fallen into the hands of Wittgenstein. Thus the cruel day's march just made by the army of Italy proved useless. The viceroy set fire to the small town where he found temporary shelter and a few supplies, and then advanced towards Smolensk, where Napoleon had arrived on the evening of the 9th.
There also there was nothing but discontent, dejection, and, for a short time, disorder. The emperor had only allowed the guard to enter the town, and both lodgings and provisions were reserved for this favorite corps, the only remnant saved from shipwreck, who had only undergone the hardships of the campaign without any share in the battles. The mob of camp-followers, deaf to discipline, forced open the gates, and general pillage had commenced when the emperor's order was modified. The troops lay down in the streets and squares, overpowered by fatigue, and fell down exhausted beside the fires which had been lighted. Then arrived Prince Eugène's troops, more decimated than all the others by the frightful disaster on the banks of the Vop. Marshal Ney had been fighting since they left Dorogobouje, sustaining all his soldiers by his indomitable courage and the steadiness of his physical and mental energy, playing in turns the part of general, captain, and soldier, seizing the musket as it fell from the hands of a dying grenadier to fire, himself, upon the enemy, and purposely slackening the march of the rear-guard in order to give time to all to reach Smolensk. The news brought there from all quarters, like bulletins of some deadly agony, no longer allowed even the soldiers the vain hope of several days of rest. General Hilliers, who had advanced according to orders on the Jelnia road, was surprised by the Russians, and having lost 2000 men, returned to Smolensk, to find himself degraded in the eyes of all the army, and was sent back to France, to be tried there by court-martial. Prince Schwartzenberg was doubtful, he said, about leaving Warsaw unprotected; and Admiral Tchitchakoff advanced unchecked, and was already threatening Minsk, where the great bulk of our supplies was collected together. Victor and Oudinot had not dared to risk a decisive engagement; and the two Russian armies were about to combine in order to bar our passage over the Berezina, the only way of safety to return to Poland. There was not a moment more to be lost in effecting that fatal junction. The emperor resolved to march immediately towards Vilna, still intending to make an attack upon Admiral Tchitchakoff, and entrusting the leaders of his left wing with the duty of at last defeating Wittgenstein. But by one of those blunders which seemed to indicate some failure in his genius and foresight, he ordered the marshals to follow him one after another; and taking no account of Kutuzoff's army, he left Smolensk on the 14th November. Prince Eugène, Davout, and Ney were to evacuate their cantonments on the 15th, 16th, and 17th respectively, and the gallant leader of the rear-guard was to bury the cannon, destroy the ammunition, and blow up the walls surrounding the town. The great army by this time scarcely amounted to 36,000 fighting men; and the cavalry, entirely under the orders of General Latour-Maubourg, only counted 1800 horse. Napoleon followed on the left bank the road from Smolensk to Orscha, without taking the precaution to place between him and General Kutuzoff the rapid current of the Dnieper. He was soon to pay dearly for this fault. Scarcely had he reached Krasnoe than he found General Sebastiani, who had preceded him, blockaded in a church by a body of the enemy. Kutuzoff was approaching with 50,000 soldiers, and making ready, with the assistance of several bands of Cossacks, to cut our long columns. On his march Napoleon found at every step ambulance-wagons, and those of runaways, half buried in the snow, and still containing frozen corpses. The emperor halted to wait for those corps which were to rejoin him, and were seriously exposed by their isolation. Prince Eugène had already forced a passage before Krasnoe upon the Lossmina, being therefore compelled to sacrifice Broussier's division, which remained in battle order, threatening the Russian army with a renewal of the attack upon the heights which had been vainly attempted on the evening before. All the rest of the main army succeeded in escaping, with the assistance of the darkness, and the snow, which deadened the noise of the footsteps. The troops left in the rear could only be saved by the approach of Davout and Ney.
On this occasion, once more, Napoleon recovered that unconquerable resolution which had carried him to the summit of power. Determined not to leave his army and lieutenants, he marched before them on the Smolensk road with his guards, who were henceforward subjected to all the hazards of battle. The village Koutkowo, occupied by the Russians, was retaken, the emperor himself being on foot, because the icy ground made riding impossible. The Russian batteries ploughed up the ground held by the French, and the noise of the battle was heard. Davout was at hand, after rallying the poor remainder of the Broussier division, and the artillery with Generals Lariboisière and Eblé; and dashing in dense columns with his four divisions upon General Miloradowitch, who defended the valley of the Lossmina, he soon opened a bloody passage, and rejoined the guard grouped round Napoleon. Krasnoe was thus surrounded by a semicircle of our troops, disputing the enemy's positions step by step; but Admiral Tormazoff was now on our rear, in order to hold the Orscha road. The emperor saw that he should be speedily hemmed in, and resolved to resume his march, without waiting for Ney's regiments. He thus devoted him to certain loss; but in the stern necessity which compelled him, Napoleon had not the courage to accept the responsibility of the act which he was about to accomplish. Ordering Mortier to start with the guards, he imposed on Davout the double duty of waiting for Ney and not separating himself from Mortier. In presence of these contradictory instructions, and with an overwhelming sense of their responsibility, Davout made an effort to hold his ground, his divisions having replaced on the plateau of Krasnoe the regiments of the young guard, which had now begun defiling towards Orscha. Napoleon marched in front with the old guard, undergoing as they went a deadly fire from the Russians. Tormazoff's columns seemed to wait for the final orders to cut the passage of what were left of the great army. Kutuzoff resisted the urgent advice of Tormazoff as well as the arguments and excitement of General Wilson, who had been sent to him by the English Government. "You think the old man is a fool," he said repeatedly, "that he is timid, and without energy: you are young, and don't understand. If Napoleon turned back, none of us dare meet him; he is still terrible. If I bring him back to the Berezina, ruined and without an army, I shall have accomplished my task." Thus protected by the terrible renown of his name, the emperor advanced to Liady.
Davout resisted to the last moment; but Marshal Mortier, who was hurrying to leave Krasnoe, urged him to start. The roads were about to be barred; the bullets were falling in showers on the little town; the marshal's three divisions only amounted to 5000 men, and all the rest of the army were being withdrawn. As he left the plateau of Krasnoe, Mortier ordered the guard to keep step. "You hear, soldiers?" cried General Laborde; "the general orders the ordinary step. Slow time, soldiers. March!" It was in the same way that Davout's troops defiled, constantly turning round to fire at the squadrons of the enemy's cavalry, closely pursuing them. When the exhausted corps were again brought together at Liady, the faces of all were still more gloomy than on the previous evening. Besides their physical sufferings, there was now added the burden of a bitter regret. Their desertion of Marshal Ney weighed on the consciences of all.
Ney had been warned neither of the danger which threatened him nor of the isolation in which he was to be left, because a courier sent by Davout was taken by the enemy. When he came face to face with Kutuzoff's army, before Krasnoe, he still felt sure of passing there, where his comrades had gone before him. A determined attack under a rain of shot having been unsuccessful, the marshal saw the uselessness of the attempt, and without for an instant losing his presence of mind or his courage, he resolved to effect a movement during the night towards the Dnieper, cross the river, and escape by the right bank, in order to regain the main army. "But if the Dnieper is not frozen, what shall we do?" said some of the officers. "It will be frozen!" retorted the general, curtly; "besides, frozen or not, we shall do as we can—but we shall cross."
They did cross, to the profound astonishment of the Russians, who believed the general and his soldiers were at last caught, and to the unspeakable delight of the forces collected at Orscha. Prince Eugène and Marshal Mortier took up their positions in front of their companions-in-arms, saved by a determination and courage really marvellous. Only 1200 men rejoined the army, out of 7000 forming the third corps when they left Smolensk. On the plateau of Krasnoe, in the skirmishes against the Cossacks of Platow, and by the sides of the ice-covered roads, Ney had everywhere left dead bodies, wounded and dying men, besides men overpowered by the hardships and incapable of any effort.
Even at Orscha the disorder was so great that it threatened to infect the regiments of the old guard. The emperor harangued them energetically. "Grenadiers," said he, "we are retiring without being conquered by the enemy; let us not be so by ourselves; let us give the example to the army! Several from amongst you have already deserted their eagles, and even their arms. It is to you alone that I address myself to have this disorder stopped. Act justly towards each other. It is to yourselves that I entrust your discipline!" An appearance of order was restored; but the regular distributions were impossible. Famishing wretches, soldiers, and those of the camp-followers who still remained, all rushed upon the provision- stores. Panics also continually increased the tumult. "The Cossacks! There are the Cossacks!" was frequently shouted.
At Orscha, moreover, as well as at Smolensk and Dorogoubouge, ominous news reached the emperor. Tchitchakoff, who had not been pursued by Schwartzenberg, had carried Minsk, one of the most important rallying- points on the Vilna road, and the centre of our principal supplies. The Polish general Bronikowski being unable with 3000 men to defend the place, had joined Dombrowski, who was covering the Dnieper, and both guarded the bridge of Borisow on the Berezina with insufficient forces. Should the bridge fall into the hands of Admiral Tchitchakoff, the army would be blockaded behind the Berezina, or compelled to ascend to its source at the risk of being attacked by Count Wittgenstein. Marshals Victor and Oudinot, with their weak and decimated regiments, could not succeed in dislodging the enemies from their position near Smoliantzy on the Oula. Thus marching a second time over the roads which he had recently trod full of hope, Napoleon found himself threatened on his left by Tchitchakoff holding Minsk, on his right by Wittgenstein and Steinghel; behind him Kutuzoff was advancing; before him it was now doubtful if the Berezina could be crossed. The conception of a last and powerful combination arose in that inexhaustibly fertile mind. He sent to Oudinot the order to march towards the Berezina to support the Poles at Borisow. Victor was to check Wittgenstein, so as to give the great army time to cross the river. Napoleon could then rally the two marshals, whose forces still amounted to 25,000 men; he should attack and recover Minsk, send for Schwartzenberg, and when thus master of all the scattered remnants of his army, make a crushing attack upon the Russian troops, and gain a victory before returning to Poland. With this hope, Orscha was evacuated on the 20th November, under a cold rain, which penetrated the soldiers' clothes, and then froze on their bodies. The emperor ordered the greater part of the convoys to be sacrificed. The leaders of divisions alone kept carriages. The wounded and several fugitive families still followed with great difficulty on carts and wagons.
On the 22nd, at Tolocsin, the emperor learned that, after a keenly-fought battle, the Russians had taken Borisow and the bridge over the Berezina. He dismounted, and showing more uneasiness than he had yet done, called to his side General Dode de la Brunerie, an officer of the engineers, whom he had already distinguished. "They are there!" said he, without further explanation. The general easily divined the emperor's meaning. They both entered a hut, and Napoleon, spreading out his maps on a rickety table, discussed with Dode the resources still at his command. The general's plan was to ascend the course of the Berezina, declaring that he knew several fords, and that they could then advance quickly upon Wilna by Gloubokoi. They might indeed be met by Wittgenstein, but Tchitchakoff covered Borisow, and would be certain to burn the bridge over the Berezina if he saw it threatened.
The emperor listened as he kept looking at his maps. At last something arrested his attention, the sight of a name of ill-omen: "Poltava! Poltava!" he repeated. Then, as if more conscious than ever of the superiority of his glory and destiny over the heroic adventures of King Charles XII., he went up to General Jomini, who had just entered, and said, "When one has never met with defeats, he ought to have them great in proportion to his success." At the same time, while considering vaster plans, now chimerical by reason of the exhaustion and dejection of his troops, he resolved to push on to the Berezina, retake the bridge of Borisow, and throw another over the river in spite of the Russians, and thus, at any cost, recover Wilna by the shortest road. Scarcely was his mind made up, when the means of effecting it were presented. General Corbineau, formerly despatched by General St. Cyr to assist the Bavarians, found himself at liberty on account of their inactivity; and conceiving the idea of rejoining the great army, he crossed the Berezina by a ford which he had long known, and brought Napoleon 700 horse, a valuable reinforcement at such a moment of extreme distress. He learned at the same time, that Marshal Oudinot had driven the Russians from Borisow without being able to prevent them from burning the bridge. He could there check Tchitchakoff, and leave Napoleon time to throw over the ford at Studianka a simple bridge of tressels, which was the only apparatus General Eblé had been able to preserve during their rout. The engineers were secretly and expeditiously ordered to go to this place.
The attempt was one of difficulty and danger, but it was still possible, and offered several chances of success. General Eblé, still indomitable in spite of his age and the fatigues of the campaign, collected his workmen, and made them understand that the fate of the army depended upon their exertions. Exhausted by marching and want of food, the soldiers bravely went into the icy water, and worked incessantly during the 25th and night of the 26th, in the midst of frozen blocks perpetually dashing against them, without time to eat, without rest, without even a dram of spirits. The houses of Studianka having been demolished, their beams were utilized as buttresses and tressels for the bridge; and on the 26th, at daybreak, preparations were made for crossing. The Russians, deceived by a pretended attempt near Borisow, had not moved far from that quarter; General Corbineau had already crossed the ford with his cavalry, to protect the right bank. The hopes and looks of all were concentrated upon the exertions of the bridge-makers, who worked incessantly, and seemed to be unconscious of fatigue. On the right, one of the bridges was at last opened for infantry and cavalry, and they began to defile across; the passage was to occupy two days. When the second bridge was completed, Eblé said to the engineers, "Let half of you lie down on the heaps of straw; the others will watch the passage, and sleep in their turn"—he himself not having had a moment's rest by day or night. The imperfect construction of the bridges caused serious danger; the tressels shaking under the weight of the wagons and cannon; and during the night the bridge intended for the artillery suddenly gave way. The soldiers again went into the water, several times assisted by the general himself, who bravely exposed himself to every hardship and danger. The cold had now become extreme, and the bridge-engineers worked in the midst of large masses of ice; yet the work went on, and the passage was again begun. The emperor was one of the last to reach the right bank; a disorderly crowd of camp-followers and fugitives were huddled together on the left bank, encamped on the frozen marshes, and no authority was sufficient to hasten their movements. Every day the number of soldiers faithful to their colors became smaller and smaller, on account of the general discouragement and relaxation of discipline. Davout himself had not more than 4000 men in his divisions. On Marshal Victor rejoining the remains of the great army between Studianka and Borisow, his troops, though themselves weak and fatigued, were amazed at the pitiful state of their comrades, whom they had not seen for so many months. "Your turn will come," said those who were coming back from Moscow, marching in any order, officers and soldiers mixed together, all equally dejected, even though suffering did not bring all minds to one level. Human nature, often a miserable sight under disaster, then also displays its greatness. Along with a selfishness sometimes brutal, the more noble characteristics of courage and devotion raised their dejected minds. Some of the women saved their children through a thousand hardships; others remained close beside their husbands; soldiers continued loyal to their chiefs; and one officer for a long time carried on his shoulders his half-frozen servant, who in his turn did him the same friendly turn.
The battle which was preparing promised to be a terrible one as Napoleon knew; yet he insisted on leaving at Borisow the Partouneaux division, which belonged to Marshal Victor, hoping at this expense to continue the mistake of Tchitchakoff. The enemy's circle was now closing round that handful of brave men, condemned beforehand. Wittgenstein and Miloradowitch had intercepted the Studianka road. On the evening of the 27th, the Partouneaux division was attacked on both sides, and defended its positions heroically, but without being able to break through. On the morning of the 28th, after being twice summoned by the Russians, the general, in despair, gave himself up a prisoner. Almost at the same moment the second corps, under Oudinot, was attacked by part of Tchitchakoff's army, which had collected at Pahlen, on the left bank of the Berezina. Being soon wounded, as usual, the marshal was replaced in command by Ney, who made a vigorous charge upon the enemy, and drove them back to half-way between Brill and Borisow, and placed over a pass a battery of artillery, which kept the Russians at a distance. Marshal Victor had since morning kept up on the left bank a vigorous fight against Wittgenstein, to cover the passage over the bridges; on the other bank the guards used their cannon against the enemy, who were perpetually driven back by the charges of our cavalry, and perpetually returning to the charge. At nightfall they were still fighting. The Russians, however, withdrew, beaten, but carrying off their wounded, and certain of returning next day, as numerous and daring, against an expiring army, which was sustained only by despair and the tradition of an heroic past.
The soldiers fought and died with courage. The confused mob crowding on the bank of the river also died, but in all the agonies of terror and helplessness. After having for a long time refused to take advantage of the bridges, which lay open, the multitude, terrified by the noise of the cannon and the approach of the enemy, rushed in a body towards the river, heedless of discipline, or the necessity for reserving one road for those on foot and the other for carriages. The throng was so dense that they could not advance; cries were succeeded by cries, and exertions by exertions. Occasionally the hissing of a bullet was heard, as it came to open a horrible gap in the compact mass, who shrank in terror. The weak, drawn into the confused crowd, succumbed, and were trodden under foot, without those that crushed them even observing their fall Night and darkness brought back a moment of calm. Many of the wretches perished in the river when endeavoring to escape. The reaction of unreasonable panic kept from the bridges those who, shortly before, entreated General Eblé with tears to let them pass; nobody would venture in the darkness—the engineers, assisted by their officers, urging those who stayed behind; but they had again lighted their fires on the bank. During that long night of winter the bridges remained deserted and useless, and General Eblé, who had orders to blow them up at daybreak, delayed till eight o'clock, grieved to his very soul by the despair of the crowd, which had again begun to throng the entrances. When at last the fire appeared, with its ominous gleam, both bridges were crowded with carriages, horses, men, women, and children. The wretches plunged into the waters, and struggled vainly against the current. Their cries were mingled with those of the crowd who remained on the bank, now without defence. The Cossacks soon arriving, galloped round this human herd, and pushed them forward with their lances. When they withdrew, loaded with booty, the remains of the army took the road for Smorgoni. At every step Ney and General Maison protected the retreat, and again met the Russians at Molodeczno, after burning the bridges of Zembin. From league to league the march of the army was indicated by a long series of corpses—soldiers who had fallen in the snow without rising again, runaways who had at last succumbed under the weight of their hardships. The emperor was still surrounded by officers, some without soldiers, and generals without officers. The forces who recently rejoined him had in their turn undergone the terrible disorganization by which the whole army was infected. Napoleon saw that every chance was lost, and felt in danger of being hemmed in by the enemy, and falling alive into their hands. He was now in haste to escape finally from the overwhelming realities which urged him on every side. For several days he secretly matured a plan to set out for France alone with several faithfull companions, resolving to leave to his lieutenants the glory and pain of bringing back to Germany, on a hostile though allied land, the shapeless remnant of the great army. In spite of the objections of Daru and the Duke of Bassano, to whom he had spoken and written about it, he held a council at Smorgoni of his marshals—who arrived one after another, wounded, ill, exhausted by fighting, sleepless nights, and constant vigilance, followed only by a few thousands of men. He announced his departure, saying that he handed over the command to the King of Naples, and whom he trusted they would obey the same as himself. Then, shaking hands with some, embracing others, and talking kindly to all, even those whom he had often badly used, he stepped into a sledge during the night of the 5th December, with Caulaincourt, Duroc, Mouton, and Lefebvre- Desnouettes. His lieutenants still looked, as if to see the last trace of him in the darkness: he had disappeared, taking with him the last remnants of hope, and leaving in each of those brave hearts a deep and bitter sense of being cruelly deserted.
The Emperor Napoleon had fled—selfishly fled. He had escaped from the frightful sight of, and contact with, unlimited pain, incessantly renewed, without respite or issue, the responsibility of which rested entirely upon himself. Secondary faults had been committed by his generals, but he was really, blamable for them all; for he had asked from men more than they could accomplish, without any earnest intention or proper pretext. For the first time in his life he took care, as he left Smorgoni, to address Europe in explanation of his retreat and route. The twenty-ninth bulletin of the great army no longer resounded with the report of brilliant victory. One could read in it the secret humiliation of a pride which admitted of no conqueror but winter, and did not yet confess its lamentable errors. It appeared that the Russians had in no way assisted towards this defeat, which had to be recognized, and that the French army were everywhere victorious. "The army was in good condition on the 6th November," wrote Napoleon, "and till then the weather had been perfect. The cold began on the 7th, and from that time we lost every night several hundred horses, which died during bivouac. Soon 30,000 had succumbed, and our cavalry were all on foot. On the 14th we were almost without cavalry, artillery, and transports. Without cavalry we could gain no information beyond a quarter of a league. Without artillery we could not fight battle, or keep positions steadily. It was necessary to march, to avoid a battle, which the want of supplies made undesirable. It was necessary to occupy a certain space, to avoid being taken in flank, and that without cavalry to gain information and unite the columns. This difficulty, together with the excessive and sudden cold, rendered our position difficult. Some men, whom nature had tempered strongly enough to be above all vicissitudes of fate and fortune, seemed staggered, lost their cheerfulness and good humor, and thought of nothing but disaster and destruction; those whom she has created superior to everything, preserved their cheerfulness and usual disposition, and saw a new glory in the various difficulties to be surmounted.
"The enemy, seeing on the roads traces of the frightful calamity which struck the French army, tried to take advantage of it. Our columns were all surrounded by Cossacks, who, like Arabs in the desert, carried off the trains and carriages which had separated from the army. That despicable cavalry, which comes silently, and could not repulse a company of light- horse soldiers, became formidable under those circumstances. The enemy, however, had reason to repent of every attempt of importance which he made, and after the French army crossed the Borysthenes, at Orscha, the Russian army, being fatigued, and having lost many men, ceased from their attempts. Nevertheless, the enemy held all the passages over the Beresina, a river eighty yards wide, and carrying much ice, with its banks covered with marshes 600 yards long, all rendering it very difficult to cross. The enemy's general placed his four divisions at different points, where he concluded the French army would pass. On the 25th, at daybreak, the emperor, after deceiving the enemy by several feint movements made on the 25th, advanced to the village of Studianka, and, in spite of the presence of one of the enemy's divisions, had two bridges thrown over the river. The Duke of Reggio crossing, attacked the enemy in a battle lasting for two hours; the Russians withdrew to the head of the Borisow bridge. During the whole of the 26th and 27th the army crossed. To say that the army has need of being redisciplined and reformed, and of being re-equipped in cavalry, artillery, and supplies, is to be inferred from the statement just made. Rest is its principal want. Supplies and horses are arriving. General Bourcier has already more than 20,000 new horses in the different depots. The artillery has already repaired its losses. The generals, officers, and soldiers have greatly suffered from fatigue and scarcity. Many have lost their baggage on account of their horses being lost, and several by the Cossacks in ambush. The Cossacks took a number of isolated men—engineers who were surveying, and wounded officers who marched imprudently, preferring to run risks rather than march regularly in the convoys.
"Throughout all those operations, the emperor has always marched in the midst of his guard; the cavalry under the Duke of Istria, and the infantry under the Duke of Dantzig. Our cavalry was deprived of horses to such an extent that the officers who were still mounted had to be collected, to form four companies of 150 men each. Their generals acted as captains; the colonels as under-officers. This sacred squadron, commanded by General Grouchy, and under the orders of the King of Naples, did not lose sight of the emperor in all his movements. The health of his Majesty has never been better."
It was always a part of Napoleon's cunning to mix truth with falsehood, and conceal his lies with an appearance of honor. The "twenty-ninth bulletin of the great army" contained facts which were partly true. He admitted the hardships, and palliated the faults; but he neither gave, nor wished to give, a true idea of the disasters, or a candid statement of the frightful miseries which had ravaged the French battalions, and reduced our army as snow is melted under the sun of summer. There were still too many who had seen those catastrophes, and undertaken to establish the truth of the facts. In Napoleon's mind the evils he had seen, and that he himself had caused, were to leave less permanent impressions. He regretted the destruction of his armies, without wishing to state all their losses. "We left 300,000 men in Russia," said Marshal St. Cyr, in Germany. "No, no!" replied Napoleon; "not so many as that." Then, after a moment's reflection, "Ah! 30,000 at the Moskwa; 7000 here, 10,000 there; and all those who strayed on the marches and have not returned. Possibly you are not far wrong. But then there were so many Germans!" The Germans did not forget it!
The solitary consolation left to the army was that which the emperor had himself presented to Europe—the presence of Napoleon; his physical and mental energy and vigor. His flight from Smorgoni deprived the soldiers of this last resource of their confidence; from that day, as soon as the report spread, despair seized upon the strongest hearts. Nothing is more enduring than the instinctive courage which resists pain and death, because it becomes a man to strive to the last. All the ties of discipline, military fraternity, and ordinary humanity were broken together. I borrow from the recollections of the Duke Fezensac, then colonel of the 4th of the line, the following picture of the horrors which he saw, and of which he has given the story with a touching and manly simplicity:—"It is useless at the present day to tell the details of every day's march; it would merely be a repetition of the same misfortunes. The cold, which seemed to have become milder only to make the passage of the Dnieper and the Berezina more difficult, again set in more keenly than ever. The thermometer sank, first, to from 15 to 18 degrees, then from 20 to 25 degrees (Réaumur), and the severity of the season completed the exhaustion of men who were already half dead with hunger and fatigue. I shall not undertake to depict the spectacle which we looked upon. You must imagine plains as far as the horizon covered with snow, long forests of pines, villages half-burnt and deserted; and through those pitiful districts an endless column of wretches, nearly all without arms, marching in disorder, and falling at every step on the ice, near the carcasses of horses and the bodies of their companions. Their faces bore the impress of utter exhaustion or despair, their eyes were lifeless, their features convulsed, and quite black with dirt and smoke. Sheepskins and pieces of cloth served them for shoes; their heads were wrapped with rags; their shoulders covered with horse-cloths, women's petticoats, and half-burnt skins. Also, when one fell from fatigue, his comrades stripped him before he was dead, in order to clothe themselves with his rags. Each bivouac seemed next day like a battle-field, and men found dead at their side those beside whom they had gone to sleep the night before. An officer of the Russian advance-guard, who was a witness of those scenes of horror —which the rapidity of our flight prevented us from carefully observing— has given a description of them to which nothing need be added: 'The road which we followed,' says he, 'was covered with prisoners who required no watching, and who underwent hardships till then unheard of. Several still dragged themselves mechanically along the road, with their feet naked and half frozen; some had lost the power of speech, others had fallen into a kind of savage stupidity, and wished, in spite of us, to roast dead bodies in order to eat them. Those who were too weak to go to fetch wood stopped near the first fire which they found, and sitting upon one another they crowded closely round the fire, the feeble heat of which still sustained them, the little life left in them going out at the same time as it did. The houses and farms which the wretches had set on fire were surrounded with dead bodies, for those who went near had not the power to escape the flames which reached them; and soon others were seen, with a convulsive laugh rushing voluntarily into the midst of the burning, so that they were consumed also.'"
I hasten to avoid the spectacle of so many sufferings. Yet it is right and proper that children should know what was endured by their fathers. In proportion as the last survivors of the generations who saw and suffered so many evils disappear; we who have in our turn undergone other disasters owe it to them to recount both their glory and their misery. The time will soon come when our descendants in their turn will include in the annals of history the great epochs through which we have lived, struggled, and suffered.
Napoleon crossed Germany like an unknown fugitive, and his generals also made haste to escape. They had at last reached Wilna, alarming Lithuania by their rout, and themselves terror-struck during the halt on ascertaining the actual numbers of their losses, and the state of the disorderly battalions which were being again formed in the streets of the hospitable town. For a long time the crowd of disbanded soldiers, deserters, and those who had fallen behind, were collected together at the gates of Wilna in so dense a throng that they could not enter. Scarcely had the hungry wretches begun to take some food and taste a moment's rest, when the Russian cannon was heard, and Platow's Cossacks appeared at the gates. The King of Naples, heroic on the battle-field, but incapable of efficient command in a rout, took refuge in a suburb, in order to set out from it at break of day. Marshal Ney, the old Marshal Lefebvre, and General Loyson, with the remains of the division which he recently brought back from Poland, kept back the Cossacks for some time, and left the army time to resume its deplorable flight. A large number of exhausted men fell into the hands of the enemy; the fragments of our ruined regiments disappeared piecemeal. At Ponare, where the road between Wilna and Kowno rises, the baggage which they had with great difficulty dragged so far, the flags taken from the enemy, the army-chest, the trophies carried off from Moscow, all remained scattered at the foot of the icy hill, neither horses nor men being able to take them further. The pillagers quarrelled over the gold and silver in the broken coffers, on the snow, in the ditches. Then the Cossacks coming upon them, some of the French fired in defence of treasures which they were no longer able to carry.
When the ruins of the main army at last reached Kowno, where they found supplies of food and ammunition, they were no longer able to make use of it, or to resist the pursuit of the Russians, still keenly determined to drive us from their territory. The generals held a council. In their weariness and despair some gave vent to complaints against Napoleon, and Murat's words were susceptible of a more sinister meaning. Marshal Davout, honorable and unconquerable though still strongly prejudiced against the King of Naples, boldly expressed his indignation against the falling off of the lieutenants whom the emperor had made kings. All with one accord handed over to Ney the command of the rear-guard, and that defence of Kowno which was for a few minutes longer to protect the retreat. General Gerard alone remained faithful to this last despairing effort. When at last he crossed the Niemen with General Ney, on the 114th December, 1812, they were abandoned by all: their soldiers had fled, either scattering before the enemy or stealing away during the night from a useless resistance. When, in Koenigsberg, he overtook the remnant of the staff, Marshal Ney, with haggard looks and clad in rags, entered alone into their room. "Here comes the rear-guard of the great army!" said he bitterly.
The Prussian General York had abandoned Marshal Macdonald, making a capitulation with his forces in presence of the Russians, whose friendly intentions he had been long conscious of. Being disarmed by this neutrality of York's, Macdonald in his turn fell back upon Koenigsberg, pursued by the Russians. The hospitals were ravaged by disease: men who had resisted all fatigues and hardships, such as Generals Lariboisière and Eblé, at last succumbing. Murat withdrew to Elbing, to start soon after for Naples, leaving Prince Eugène in command of the remains of the army. From Paris, where he was already preparing for other battles, the Emperor Napoleon sought for his army in vain. The old guard itself only amounted at Koenigsberg to 1500 men, of whom not more than 500 could carry a musket. When the scattered fragments of the regiments left this last place of refuge, 10,000 sick men were still left in the hospitals.