NAPOLEON, BERTHIER, MURAT, AND RAPP (IN THE ORDER NAMED) ROUND CAMP FIRE
Russian peasants brought in prisoners by French Chasseurs-à-cheval
From the picture by Verestchagin
On the 22nd Napoleon heard from Oudinot that Chichagov had captured Borisov and that he himself was on the way to retake it. The Emperor replied in a somewhat incoherent letter, instructing him to seize a point of passage, and interspersing orders and intelligence with agitated appeals to the Marshal’s energy and devotion. The last were not needed. Oudinot’s intellectual capacity was not great, but his devotion was undoubted, and he never served Napoleon so well as in the terrible days that followed.
Oudinot on the 23rd picked up Dombrowski and the remains of his force. He placed the remains of his cavalry at the head of the advance, with Legrand’s division in support; and in the afternoon fell upon Pahlen near Lochnitza. The Russians were taken entirely by surprise, largely apparently because of their leader’s negligence, and, veterans as they were, broke and fled headlong. They poured in mad panic into Borisov just as Chichagov and his staff were dining. Everybody seems to have lost his head, and the place was abandoned in haste and complete disorder. All the baggage which had crossed the river was left behind as the prey of the 2nd Corps—much to its benefit. Voïnov hurried up 4 battalions, which occupied the houses near the bridge, and enabled the panic-stricken mob to crowd across in safety. The bridge was then broken, and despite their really brilliant success the passage of the river was closed to the French. The Russians had lost in their panic flight about 1000 men in all and a quantity of baggage, including the Admiral’s camp service and portfolio; but no guns were lost—probably rather owing to good fortune than good management. Langeron sneers bitterly at his chief, but the fault was obviously that of Pahlen and his advance-guard, who should not have permitted themselves to be surprised by a small force of cavalry.
On November 23rd Napoleon with his leading troops reached Bobr, a town of 300 houses, about 35 miles from Borisov. Victor was falling back towards the road from Chereia, and on this day Billard’s brigade of Partouneaux’s division had a sharp encounter with Wittgenstein’s advance-guard under Vlastov. Billard was driven back with considerable loss, which was, however, much exaggerated by the Russians, though a battalion of the 126th Regiment was completely destroyed. Wittgenstein might have done much more, but he was very circumspect and timid, and Clausewitz hints that he was not greatly disposed to co-operate cordially with Chichagov. The latter expected him to unite with his own army behind the river, according to the Tzar’s directions; and so also did Napoleon, who ordered Victor to endeavour to bar his march on Zembin. The Marshal could not obey, for he was already too far south, having acted upon previous instructions given when Napoleon was still uncertain as to the point at which he should cross the Berezina. Otherwise Napoleon till the last dangerously underestimated Wittgenstein’s strength, and wrote as if Victor could easily defeat him.
At Bobr Napoleon received the crushing news of the failure to save the bridge of Borisov. All now depended upon the bridging of the river. Eblé, with his pontonniers and his inestimable convoy of implements, was ordered forward, while General Chasseloup was directed also to the Berezina with all the sappers and artificers who could be collected, but they were without forges and almost destitute of ordinary hand tools. Stringent orders were given to destroy superfluous vehicles and hand over their horses to the artillery. Needless to say, they were generally evaded. Davout was directed to hold firm as long as possible in order to give the miserable mob of non-combatants time to escape. It would have been better had the humane order never been issued. Most of the non-combatants were doomed, and the lives of devoted officers and soldiers were wasted in protecting them. At Bobr d’Alorna rejoined with the garrison of Mohilev. His 1500 men and the remains of the 5th Corps and Claparède’s division were united to the relics of the 3rd Corps, thus giving Ney a force of about 6000 men and 30 guns.
Oudinot also, on the banks of the Berezina, was doing his best. He was, as usual with Napoleon’s generals, timid of responsibility; but having made up his mind he acted with excellent judgment. Having obtained, despite all difficulties, information as to the points of passage, he, about midday on the 24th, selected Studianka, and directed thither his small, ill-trained, and ill-equipped force of artificers. He informed Napoleon frankly of the difficulty of his task; the enemy were keenly watching the course of the river. To distract Chichagov he made demonstrations above and below Borisov, and noted that the Russians seemed inclined to expect the French advance rather below than above. Napoleon, after a conference with Generals Dode and Jomini, who knew the course of the river, also decided to force a passage above Borisov, and indicated the ford at Veselovo, 15 miles above that town. When the order arrived, however, the Marshal had already selected Studianka.
The frost, which had ceased since the 18th, was now setting in again. On the one hand, the slightly alleviated misery in the army now again began to increase. On the other, it hardened the low, marshy banks of the Berezina and enabled the French to transport their artillery and trains. Opposite to Studianka, about a mile from the right bank, ran the Borisov-Zembin road, by which the army must defile in order to gain the Minsk-Vilna highway at Molodechno. Behind Studianka the ground rose, and artillery could be placed in position to command the low opposite bank. Studianka itself was a fair-sized village, and its houses afforded timber useful for the construction of bridges.
We must now turn to Chichagov, who has been made by Russians the scapegoat for the escape of Napoleon. In the first place, he believed that Napoleon had 70,000 or 80,000 men against his 32,000. Next, he had been informed by Wittgenstein that Napoleon was, in his opinion, retreating in the direction of Bobruisk. The Admiral was confirmed in this by intelligence that Austrian cavalry scouts were on the Minsk-Bobruisk road. Chichagov’s dispositions in these circumstances were perfectly sound. Chaplitz, who had been watching the upper Berezina for some time, remained near Brelova, nearly opposite Studianka; while Voïnov and Sabaniev, with Pahlen’s rallied force, were concentrated round Borisov, ready to act in force in any direction.
On the 25th he received a despatch from Kutuzov. It was not a direct order, but, coming from the commander-in-chief, it naturally had great weight with the Admiral. It suggested that Napoleon would probably move southward towards Bobruisk to cross the lower Berezina. At the same time, Major-General O’Rourke and Colonel Lukovkin reported that they had found Polish troops lower down (these were Dombrowski’s belated detachments).