CAMPAIGN OF ITALY.—THE EMPEROR’S OPINION OF GENERAL
DROUOT.—ON THE BATTLE OF HOHENLINDEN.
26th.—The Emperor sent for me and my son, and set us to look over the Moniteur, for the purpose of comparing and completing the manuscript of the Campaigns of Italy.
The Emperor, though he had announced his intention of doing so, had not yet resumed his dictations, and I rejoiced at a circumstance which promised at length to excite renewed interest.
Our business was to select from the Moniteur all the reports and official letters, for the purpose of vouchers. The Emperor wished them to be properly classed, and desired us to make an estimate of their extent, in order that he might be able to calculate at once the space they would occupy when printed, reminding me at the same time that these were henceforth my own affairs; that I should only be serving myself for the future. Delightful words, to which the tone of his voice, his familiar air, and his whole expression, imparted even more value than was conveyed in their meaning!
To-day, during dinner, the Emperor again reviewed the character of his Generals. He passed an eulogium on several of them, the greater number of whom are now no more. He bestowed the highest praise on the talents of General Drouot. Every thing in life is a problem, said he; it is only by what is known that we can come at what is unknown. He observed that he knew to a certainty that General Drouot possessed every quality necessary to make a great General. He had sufficient reasons for supposing him superior to many of his Marshals. He had no hesitation in believing him capable of commanding 100,000 men. “And perhaps,” added he, “he was far from thinking so himself, which, after all, can only be regarded as an additional good quality.”
He again alluded to the prodigious valour of Murat and Ney, whose courage, he said, so often outstripped their judgment. Such is the enigma, said he, of certain actions in certain individuals: the inequality between disposition and understanding explains all.
The conversation turned on the battle of Hohenlinden. The Emperor remarked that “it was one of those great triumphs that are brought about by chance, and obtained without plan. Moreau, he repeated, was destitute of invention; he was not sufficiently decided; and, therefore, he was most fit to be employed on the defensive. Hohenlinden was a confused sort of affair; the enemy had been unexpectedly attacked amidst his own operations, and was conquered by troops whom he had already broken and nearly destroyed. The merit rested chiefly with the troops and generals of the partial corps, who had been most exposed to danger, and who had fought like heroes.”
When speaking of the campaigns of Italy, we observed to the Emperor that the rapid succession of his daily victories, which filled the mouth of fame, must have been a source of great delight to him.—"By no means," replied he. “At least they were supposed to have been so by those who were at a distance from the scene of conflict.”—"That may be; those who were at a distance knew only our success; they knew nothing of our situation. If those victories could have procured me pleasure, I should have enjoyed repose. But I had always the aspect of danger before me, and the victory of to-day was speedily forgotten through the obligation of gaining another to-morrow."
I recollect having heard a distinguished General (Lamarque) deliver a very characteristic opinion of Moreau. Lamarque had been much attached to Moreau, and had for a long time served under him. He was endeavouring to make me understand the different tactics of Moreau and Napoleon. He said:—"Had their two armies been in presence, and there had been sufficient time to move, I would have entered the ranks of Moreau, which were sure to be managed with the utmost regularity, precision, and calculation. On these points, it was impossible to excel, or even to equal, Moreau. But if the two armies had to approach from points a hundred leagues distant from each other, the Emperor would have routed his adversary three, four, or five times over, before the latter could have had time to look about him."