In direct pursuit of Napoleon, Kutuzov sent forward the various flying columns and Cossack detachments, and a special force under Yermólov, consisting of the Chasseurs of the Guard, six battalions of Dokhturov’s corps, 2 regiments of Cossacks and 12 guns. The united force of these detachments may be estimated at 20,000 men and 40 guns. The vanguard of Miloradovich, which was to follow in support, totalled also about 20,000 men. A regiment of Chasseurs had been left to garrison Smolensk. With the rest of the army Kutuzov marched slowly to Kopys, which he reached on the 24th, Miloradovich being about two marches farther on, and Yermólov and Platov were in advance of the vanguard. Kutuzov left the guns of 12 batteries at Kopys, using their men and horses to complete weakened units, and detailed to escort them the remains of the light cavalry of the Guard. On the 26th he left Kopys with a force reduced now to about 40,000 men and 200 guns. Napoleon was already at the Berezina, and for all practical purposes the Russian Grand Army was off the board at the decisive moment. What was worse, though his information was naturally out of date, Kutuzov still endeavoured to control the operations of Chichagov and Wittgenstein.
Chichagov on the Berezina was in a state of great uncertainty. His army was not now more than 33,000 strong, and his 10,000 cavalry were almost useless on the wooded and marshy banks of the river. He was without information of the main armies later than the evacuation of Moscow. On the evening of the 21st the Comte de Rochechouart, one of the Admiral’s French émigré staff-officers, found among Bronikowski’s half-burnt papers a despatch from Victor, stating that Napoleon would probably reach Borisov on the 23rd. The news must have been something of a shock to Chichagov, since he naturally expected to be attacked by greatly superior numbers. His conduct at this juncture has been sharply criticised, yet one does not well see what else he could have done. He moved forward the advance-guard, now commanded by Major-General Pahlen II, towards Lochnitza, on the Orsha road, to give warning of any hostile advance, established his head-quarters in Borisov, and kept the bulk of his force on the right bank of the river. His errors appear to have been that he allowed too much of his baggage trains to cross, and permitted a large detachment of his cavalry to disperse to forage; the latter step may, however, have been necessary. The point is that Chichagov was ignorant of the deplorable condition of the Moscow army, and rather expecting to be himself attacked.
Wittgenstein, on his side, possessed very scanty information about the general state of affairs, and his staff estimated Napoleon’s strength as at least 60,000. The result was that his movements were extremely slow and circumspect.
In other words, while the destruction of the remnant of Napoleon’s forces was inevitable if all his adversaries showed energy, it was already becoming apparent that this would not be the case, and that he would have an opportunity of escaping.
Napoleon learned of the fall of Minsk while on the march to Orsha, and despatched orders to Oudinot to march to Borisov to secure the passage. On the 20th Victor was directed to cover the march on Borisov, which he was to reach on the 26th.
Oudinot was timed to arrive on the 24th, and since he had only about 50 miles to march, the Emperor did not imagine the position to be desperate. Oudinot, perhaps more alive to it, reached Borisov on the 23rd. On the 22nd he was rejoined by Corbineau, who, after a skirmish with Chernishev’s Cossacks, found himself cut off from Borisov by Chichagov’s army, and was guided by a peasant to a ford at Studianka, about 8 miles higher up.
Napoleon, with the Guard and head-quarters, left Orsha on the 20th and arrived on the 22nd at Tolochin. There were in the place considerable stores, and Napoleon halted for 24 hours. There he was joined by Ney with the relics of his command, Davout now resuming rear-guard duty. Platov occupied Orsha on the afternoon of the 21st. He captured 21 abandoned guns, some stores, a mass of trains, and thousands of sick and wounded, all of whom perished. The Russians had not the means of succouring them, even had they possessed the will to do so.
Junot and Zayonczek, with the remains of the 5th and 8th Corps and the dismounted cavalry, were in advance; then came the Guard and head-quarters, Ney, Eugène and Davout. Davout may have had remaining about 6000 men, Eugène perhaps 3000, Ney 1500, Junot and Zayonczek possibly each 1000; to the former were attached about 1000 dismounted horsemen. The Guard may have been 9000 infantry and artillery and 1500 cavalry strong. A few hundred only of the line cavalry still retained horses. It was with the greatest difficulty that the fighting troops could force their way through the helpless horde of stragglers and disarmed fugitives which covered the road. The armed soldiers themselves presented a miserable spectacle. A mournful silence reigned in the shattered ranks; the men plodded along mechanically, huddling themselves in their rags; little was heard save the shuffling of feet in the snow and slush. Vaudoncourt records his feelings of horror when he met the advance-guard and saw the dismounted Cuirassiers, ragged, bare-footed, emaciated, wretched beyond belief, dragging themselves painfully along the roads.
An incident typical of the absolute callousness to which misery had reduced everyone is related by Lejeune, who had succeeded Romœuf as Davout’s chief-of-staff. At Krupki, near Borisov, Davout’s staff found two babies in the house occupied by them. Lejeune begged the Marshal’s steward to try and give them a little broth. None was forthcoming, and the steward at last, distressed by the continued wailing of the little creatures, drowned them! Wilson, too, tells how the Grand Duke Constantine, out of sheer humanity, as he declared, “put out of his misery” a stripped and perishing French officer.
