GENERAL PRINCE BAGRATION, COMMANDER OF THE SECOND RUSSIAN ARMY IN 1812
Next day Bagration started Borozdin with the divisions of Neverovski and Prince Karl of Mecklenburg on the road to Bobruisk. He kept the 7th Corps still at Nesvizh to give the men another day’s rest, and held back Voronzov’s division to support Platov if necessary, reinforcing the latter with one regiment of infantry and three of cavalry, under Major-General Vassilchikov.
Platov had already evacuated Mir and drawn back towards Nesvizh. On the 10th he was attacked by Rosniecki, and a cavalry action on a large scale ensued. Rosniecki had with him six regiments—some 3300 lances and sabres, while Tyskiewicz’s brigade, about 1200 more, was at Mir. Platov and Vassilchikov had at their immediate disposal at least 2000 regular cavalry and 3000 Cossacks. Rosniecki’s first two brigades, including that of Turno, and Vassilchikov’s regulars crashed together in a furious hand-to-hand combat, with fairly equal fortune; but the third brigade coming up in support was enveloped by a cloud of Cossacks and broken. Thereupon the whole division was forced to give ground, hotly pressed by the Russian Hussars, Dragoons and Cossacks. A complete rout was only averted by the gallant advance of Tyskiewicz’s brigade, which covered the retreat and enabled the broken regiments to rally near Mir. The Russians thereupon drew off. They had suffered considerably, and two Cossack colonels had been killed. But the Poles had lost over 700 men, and it may be imagined that the morale of the Polish army was considerably shaken.
On the 11th Raievski and Voronzov evacuated Nesvizh and marched some 20 miles to Romanovo, while Platov fell back on Nesvizh. On the 12th Bagration made another long march to Slutsk, while Platov followed to Romanovo.
At Slutsk Bagration learned that French troops had been located at Svislocz on the Berezina, about 27 miles north of Bobruisk. The inference was that Davout was marching to anticipate him at the latter place. He sent forward Raievski at once to the threatened fortress with the 7th Corps and some cavalry and Cossacks, while the 8th waited at Slutsk for the arrival of Platov.
Romanovo lay on the small river Morvez, which was there spanned by a bridge. The advance-guard of Jerome’s army was formed on the 14th, as before, by Rosniecki’s division and Tyskiewicz’s brigade; Latour-Maubourg, with the German and Polish Cuirassiers forming the rest of his cavalry corps, was following some distance to the rear. Platov had part of his force in advance of the bridge, and as Tyskiewicz’s brigade came on it was suddenly charged, cut up and driven back. The Russians then retired across the bridge, and Rosniecki, following, plunged into a heavy cross-fire from Platov’s infantry regiment and horse artillery, and only extricated himself with severe loss. The whole division was thrust back in disorder until it reached Latour-Maubourg and his cuirassier division. The Polish losses had been very heavy; the 1st Chasseurs had been practically destroyed. Platov took 300 prisoners. He knew better than to expose his irregulars and light horsemen to the charge of the Saxon and Westphalian Cuirassiers and retired in the night to Slutsk. This released Borozdin, who followed in the track of Raievski; and in this way the Second Army, Raievski leading and Platov bringing up the rear, arrived at Bobruisk, where it was completely concentrated on the 18th. It had suffered much from fatigue and sickness during its long and painful marches, and Bagration felt it necessary to use six of the weak reserve battalions in the fortress to recruit his depleted regiments. But the Second Army was at least safe. A glance at the map will show that all the way from Nesvizh it had the Pinsk morasses on its right; and had Jerome and Davout been able to combine their attacks, the result to it might well have been fatal.
In following Bagration on his march to Bobruisk the course of events elsewhere has been somewhat anticipated. On July 14th King Jerome had thrown up his command. A little previously he had quarrelled with Vandamme, who commanded the 8th Corps under him. Vandamme was a man whose general character is entitled to no kind of respect. His conduct in Germany had been abominable. He was, however, a thorough soldier, and could not endure Jerome’s easy-going ideas of military discipline. The consequence was an open quarrel and the supersession of Vandamme. Napoleon, who knew his insubordinate disposition, did not traverse Jerome’s action. But the delay at Grodno and the failure to close with Bagration kindled his wrath, all the more so since his own immediate operations had miscarried. He vented his rage and disappointment in two violently abusive letters, and Jerome left the army.
As regards the degree of blame which attaches to Jerome, it is obvious that, but for the ill-advised order to march upon Drissa, Bagration would have been in no danger. He left Volkovisk on June 28th; Jerome did not even reach Grodno until the 30th. The vile Polish roads, rendered worse by the rain, made marching extremely difficult. A rest may well have been necessary for the over-worked and ill-fed troops; and Jerome was obliged to wait until Reynier had been relieved by the slowly advancing Austrians. Owing to the orders which he had received from head-quarters, Bagration all but marched into the midst of the forces manœuvring to intercept him. It is clear that, had Jerome moved eastward from Grodno at once, he would have pressed his antagonist hard. On the other hand, he had to take into account the harassed state of his troops, their lack of adequate supplies, the miserable roads, the absence of Reynier, the slowness of Schwarzenberg, and last, not least, the hidden Russian army of Tormazov, which might prove very formidable. Napoleon in his place would probably have taken the risk of an advance of Tormazov on Warsaw. Jerome did not, and, indeed, seeing his position as a subordinate, could not, do so. It is possible that he did not act with all the vigour which circumstances demanded; but in that case the blame must be laid at the door of Napoleon for appointing to a vitally important command a man who lacked the necessary qualifications for it. Napoleon also was directing manœuvres on the basis of hypotheses which might, and in fact did, prove unfounded. He appears rather to have ignored geographical and climatic conditions; he was certainly ill-informed as to distances. Finally he was committing the same error which had already cost him dear in Spain, in endeavouring to direct complicated strategic manœuvres from a distance; and the optimism which was becoming a mental disease with him badly affected his calculations.
The Emperor, apparently believing that Bagration was stronger than was actually the case, and that he might break northward, directed Eugène with the 4th Corps on July 7th in the track of Davout; but soon becoming aware that his intelligence was false, recalled him to Smorgoni, where he arrived on the 12th. On the 14th Eugène left to support the advance on Drissa, marching by way of Vileika, where the magazines captured by Colbert afforded supplies. Nevertheless food was invariably scanty. The wretched roads wore out the men, who fell sick or straggled in numbers. The horses fared still worse, and many died. St. Cyr, meanwhile, had marched by Novi Troki to Vilna, whence he was directed by Glubokoïe also on Drissa. The march of the unhappy Bavarians will later be alluded to. On July 11th Napoleon ordered Mortier with part of the Guard also upon Glubokoïe, and next day the first detachment of the Head-quarters Staff was directed thither. De Fezensac, who was with this detachment, notes that the Young Guard were already suffering from the effects of the tropical heat, scanty rations and fatigue—especially the newly formed “Flanqueurs-Chasseurs.” Yet Napoleon in a letter of the 11th suggests that Mortier can live on the country!