Napoleon now decided to pass the Beresina higher up, at Studzianska, and forthwith threw himself into the huge forests which border the river, adopting every stratagem by which his enemies could be puzzled as to the immediate object of his march. His 12,000 brave and determined men were winding their way amidst these dark woods, when suddenly the air around them was filled with sounds which could only proceed from the march of some far greater host. They were preparing for the worst when they found themselves in the presence of the advanced guard of the united army of Victor and Oudinot, who, although they had been defeated by Witgenstein, still mustered 50,000 men, completely equipped and hardly shaken in discipline.
Napoleon now continued his march on Studzianska, employing, however, all his wit to confirm the belief among the Russians that he meant to pass the Beresina at a different place, and this with so much success that the Russian rear-guard abandoned a strong position commanding the river, during the very night which preceded the Emperor's appearance there.
Two bridges were erected, and Oudinot had passed over before Tchaplitz, in command of the Russian rear-guard, perceived his mistake, and returned again toward Studzianska. Discovering that the passage had already begun, and that in consequence of the narrowness of the only two bridges, it must needs proceed slowly, Tchichagoff and Witgenstein now arranged a joint plan of attack. Platoff and his indefatigable Cossacks joined Witgenstein arriving long before the rear-guard of Napoleon could pass the river. The French that had made the passage were attacked by Tchaplitz, and being repelled by Oudinot left them in unmolested possession, not only of the bridges on the Beresina, but of a long train of wooden causeways extending for miles beyond the river over deep and dangerous morasses which but a few sparks were needed to ignite and destroy.
Victor with the rear division, consisting of 8,000 men, was still on the eastern side when Witgenstein and Platoff appeared on the heights. The still numerous retainers of the camp, crowds of sick, wounded, and women, and the greater part of the artillery were in the same situation.
When the Russian cannon began to open upon this multitude, crammed together near the bank, and each anxiously expecting the turn to pass, a shriek of utter terror ran through them, and men, women, horses and wagons rushed pell-mell upon the bridges. The larger of these, intended solely for wagons and cannon, ere long broke down precipitating all that were upon it into the dark and half-frozen stream. "The scream that arose at this moment," says one that heard it, "did not leave my ears for weeks; it was heard clear and loud over the hurrahs of the Cossacks, and all the roar of artillery."
The remaining bridge was now the only resource, and all indiscriminately endeavored to gain a footing on it; exposed to the incessant shower of Russian cannonade they fell and died in thousands. Victor stood his ground bravely until late in the evening, and then conducted his division over the bridge. Behind was left a great number of the irregular attendants besides those soldiers who had been wounded during the battle, and guns and baggage-carts in great quantities. The French now fired the bridge and all those were abandoned to their fate. The Russian account states that when the Beresina broke up in the Spring 36,000 bodies were found in the bed of the river.
On the 3d of December Napoleon reached Morghoni, and announced to his marshals that the news he had received from Paris at Smolensk concerning Mallet's attempt to overthrow his government by announcing the death of the Emperor, and the uncertain relations with some of his allies, rendered it indispensable for him to quit his army without further delay and return to Paris with all possible speed. They were now, he said, almost within sight of Poland; they would find plenty of everything at Wilna. It was his business to prepare at home the means of opening the next campaign in a manner worthy of the great nation.
At Morghoni, on the 5th, the garrison at Wilna met the Emperor and then, having intrusted to these fresh troops, the protection of the rear, and given the chief command to Murat, he finally bade adieu to the rulers of his host. He set off in a sledge at midnight, accompanied by Caulaincourt, whose name he assumed. Having narrowly escaped being taken by a party of irregular Russians at Youpranoni, the Emperor reached Warsaw at nightfall on the 10th of December. Here he met his ambassador, the Abbé de Pradt, to whom he said, "I quit my army with regret; but I must watch Austria and Prussia, and I have more weight on my throne than at headquarters. The Russians will be rendered fool-hardy by their successes. I shall beat them in a battle or two on the Oder, and be on the Niemen again within a month—Monsieur L'Ambassadeur, from the sublime to the ridiculous there is but a step."
Resuming his journey, Napoleon reached Dresden on the evening of the 14th of December, where the King of Saxony visited him, and reassured him of his fidelity. He then resumed the road to his capital and arrived at the Tuileries on the 18th, late at night, after the Empress had retired.
The remnant of the Grand Army meanwhile moved on towards France in straggling columns. They passed the Niemen at Kowno, and the Russians did not pursue them into Prussian territory. Here about 1000 men in arms, and perhaps 20,000 more utterly demoralized, were received with compassion. They took up their quarters and remained for a time unmolested, in and near Konigsberg. The French army crossed the Niemen on the ice, on the 13th of December, defended still by Ney, who had to fight with the Russians in Kowno. He now fought at the head of only thirty men and was the last individual of the French army who left Russian territory, as he did so he threw his musket into the river defying the enemy with his last breath. When he came up with General Dumas in Prussian Poland he was scarcely recognizable, and on being asked who he was replied, with eyes red and glaring, "I am the rear-guard of the Grand Army; I have fired the last musket shot on the bridge of Kowno!"