greatly chance influences the affairs of men and empires. We have
seen Marshal Bernadotte failing in his duty and standing aside at
Jena when Marshal Davout was fighting, not far from him, against
infinitely superior forces. Well! This disgraceful conduct served
to place him on the throne of Sweden. This is how it came about.
After the battle of Jena, the Emperor, although furious with
Bernadotte, ordered him to pursue the enemy because the corps
which he commanded, not having fired a shot, was in better shape
for battle than those who had suffered losses. Bernadotte then
set out on the track of the Prussians whom he defeated first at
Halle and then at Lubeck, with the help of Marshal Soult. Now as
chance would have it, at the very hour when the French were
attacking Lubeck, some ships carrying a division of infantry
which King Gustave IV of Sweden had sent to the aid of the
Prussians entered the harbour. The Swedish troops had scarcely
disembarked when, attacked by the French and abandoned by the
Prussians, they were obliged to surrender to Bernadotte.
Bernadotte, I can assure you, had, when he wished, the most
engaging manner and very much wanted to appear before foreigners
as a "Gentleman." To this end, he treated the Swedish officers in
the most benevolent manner. After according them an honourable
capitulation, he returned to them their horses and their baggage,
saw to their needs and invited to his quarters the
commander-in-chief, Count Moerner, as well as the generals and
senior officers; he loaded them with kindnesses and courtesies to
such an extent that, on their return to their country, they
spread everywhere praise for the magnanimity of Marshal
Bernadotte.
Some years later a revolution broke out in Sweden; King Gustave,
whom a mental disorder had rendered unfit to rule, was removed
from the throne and replaced by his aged uncle, the Duke of
Sudermanie. As this new monarch had no children, the States
Assembly, in order to designate a successor, chose the Prince of
Holstein-Augustenburg, who took the title of Prince Royal. But he
did not long enjoy this dignity, for he died in 1811 after a
short illness, which was put down to poison. The states gathered
once more to elect a new heir to the throne. They were hesitating
between several German princes who put themselves forward as
candidates when Count Moerner, one of the most influential
members of the states, and the former commander of the Swedish
division captured at Lubeck in 1806 by the French, proposed
General Bernadotte, whose generous conduct he recalled. He
praised also Bernadotte's military talents, and observed that the
marshal was allied, through his wife, to Napoleon, whose support
could be most useful to Sweden. A crowd of officers who had also
been captured at Lubeck, joined their voices to that of General
Moerner, and Bernadotte was elected almost unanimously as
successor to the King of Sweden, and mounted the throne a few
years later.
We shall see, further on, how Bernadotte, carried to the steps of
a foreign throne by the fame which he had acquired at the head of
French troops, displayed a lack of gratitude towards his native
country. But now let us return to Prussia.
In one month the main forces of this kingdom, formerly in such a
flourishing condition, had been destroyed by Napoleon, whose
armies occupied the capital and the greater part of the
provinces, and had already reached the Vistula, that great
barrier between northern and central Europe. Marshal Augereau's
corps remained for a fortnight in Berlin to reinforce the Guard
during the long stay which the Emperor made in the town, and left
about the middle of November, heading first for the Oder, which
we crossed at Kostrzyn, and then on to the Vistula whose bank we
reached at Bromburg (?Bydgoszcz). We were now in Poland, the
poorest and nastiest country in Europe...! After the Oder, no
more made roads: we marched on loose gravel or appalling mud.
Most of the land was uncultivated and the few inhabitants we came
across were dirty to a degree which defies the imagination. The
weather which had been magnificent during October and the first
part of November became frightful. We no longer saw the sun, it
rained or snowed continually; food became short; no more wine,
almost never any beer, and what there was atrociously bad; muddy
water, no bread, and billets we had to share with cattle and
pigs. The soldiers used to say, "How dare the Poles call this a
country?"
The Emperor himself was disillusioned, for having come intending
to rebuild Poland, he had hoped that the whole population of this
vast country would rise as one man at the approach of the French
army. But nobody budged...! In a vain attempt to rouse some
Polish enthusiasm, the Emperor had invited the famous General
Kosciusko, the leader of the last insurrection, to come and join
him, but Kosciusko stayed peacefully in Switzerland, to where he
had retired, and to the reproaches which were addressed to him,
he replied that he knew the heedless and unstable character of
his compatriots too well to hope that they would ever free
themselves, even with French help. Unable to attract Kosciusko,
the Emperor tried to make use of his renown by addressing to the
Poles a proclamation in the name of this old warrior. Not one of
them took up arms, although our troops occupied several provinces
and even the capital. The Poles were not willing to rebel until
Napoleon had declared the re-establishment of Poland, and he was
not willing to do this until they had risen against their
oppressors, which they did not do.
While 7th Corps was in Bromburg, Duroc, the grand marshal of the
palace, arrived in the middle of the night at Marshal Augereau's
headquarters. I was sent for and told to prepare myself to
accompany Marshal Duroc, who was going as an envoy to the King of
Prussia at Graudentz, and who needed an officer to replace his
aide-de-camp, whom he had just sent to Posnan with despatches for
the Emperor. I had been chosen because it was remembered that the
previous August I had been on a mission to the Prussian court and
that I knew almost all the officers and the court usages.
I was soon ready. The marshal of the palace took me in his
carriage and we went down the left bank of the Vistula, occupied
by French troops, to cross the river by ferry opposite Graudentz.
We took lodgings in the town and then presented ourselves at the
citadel, where all the royal family of Prussia had taken refuge
after loosing four fifths of their state. The Vistula separated
the two armies. The king seemed calm and resigned; the queen,
whom I had seen not long ago looking so lovely, was greatly
changed and seemed overcome by grief. She could not conceal from
herself the fact that having urged the king to declare war, she
was the principal cause of the misfortunes of her country, whose
citizens raised their voices against her. The Emperor could not
have sent a more acceptable envoy to the king than Marshal Duroc,
who had held the post of ambassador in Berlin, and was well known
to both the king and queen who appreciated his pleasant
personality. I was too small a personage to be of any account;
however the king and queen recognised me and greeted me with a
few polite words.
I found the Prussian officers attached to the court had greatly
modified the arrogant attitude they had displayed in August.
Their recent defeat had changed their opinion of the French army;
nevertheless I did not wish to take advantage of this and I
carefully avoided mentioning Jena and our other victories. The
affairs which Marshal Duroc had to discuss with the King of
Prussia related to a letter which this monarch had sent to
Napoleon, requesting a peace. The meeting lasted for two days
which I occupied in reading, and walking on the gloomy parade
ground of the fortress. I did not wish to go up onto the
ramparts, although one enjoys from there an admirable view of the
Vistula, for fear that I might be suspected of examining the
defence works and armaments.
In the battles which had taken place from Jena to the Vistula,
the Prussians had taken about a hundred of our men prisoner, whom
they employed on the earthworks of the fortress in which they
were confined. Marshal Duroc had charged me with the task of
distributing some aid to these poor devils, who were doubly
unhappy in that they could see from the height of the fortress
the French troops from whom they were separated only by the
Vistula. This proximity, and the comparison of their position
with that of their comrades, free and happy on the left bank, led
a French prisoner, one of the elite cavalrymen of the 3rd
Dragoons by the name of Harpin, to attempt to escape. This was no
easy matter, for one had first to get out of the fortress and
then to cross the Vistula; but what cannot be achieved by a
determined man? Harpin, who was employed by the master carpenter
to pile timber, had made, secretly, a little raft; he had taken a
long rope and, at night, had lowered the raft to the foot of the
rampart, and had then descended himself by the same means. He had
already put his raft in the water and was preparing to embark
when he was surprised by a patrol, taken back to the fort and
confined to a dungeon. The next day the Prussian commandant, in
accordance with the common custom of the Prussian army, condemned
Harpin to fifty strokes of the cane. It was useless for Harpin to
claim that as a Frenchman he should not be subject to Prussian
regulations, his status as a prisoner made this complaint void.
He had already been taken to the wooden frame to which he was to
be attached, and two soldiers were preparing to administer the
flogging when, having gone to fetch a book from Marshal Duroc's
coach, which was standing in the parade ground, I saw Harpin
struggling with some Prussians who were trying to tie him up.
Indignant at the sight of a French soldier about to be subjected
to a flogging, I ran towards him, my sabre in my hand, and
threatened to kill the first man to strike a blow! ... Marshal
Duroc's coach was guarded by one of Napoleon's couriers, known in
every post house in Europe as "Moustache." This man, of herculean
strength and the courage to face anything, had accompanied the
Emperor on twenty fields of battle. When he saw me in the middle
of the Prussians he hurried to me, and on my instructions, he
fetched four loaded pistols which were in the coach. We untied
Harpin; I armed him with two of the pistols and put him in the
coach, where I placed "Moustache" next to him. I then told the
commandant that as this coach belonged to the Emperor, whose arms
it bore, it was a sacred place of safety for the French Dragoon,
entry to which was forbidden to all Prussians under penalty of a
bullet in the head, and I told Harpin and "Moustache" to fire on
anyone who attempted to get into the coach. The commandant,
seeing me so determined, abandoned his prisoner for the moment to
go and get orders from his superiors. Then, leaving Harpin and
"Moustache" in the coach with pistols in their hands, I went to
the king's quarters and begged one of the aides-de-camp to go and
tell Marshal Duroc that I needed to speak to him about a matter
which could not wait. Duroc came out and I told him what had
happened.
When he heard that they wanted to flog a French soldier, he
shared my indignation. He returned to the king to whom he
protested warmly, adding that if the sentence were to be carried
out, the Emperor by way of reprisal would flog not only the
soldiers but also the Prussian officers who were his prisoners.
The king was a humane man; he ordered that the dragoon Harpin
should be released, and to please Napoleon, from whom he was at
that moment asking peace, he offered to Marshal Duroc to release
to him all the prisoners if he would undertake to send back a
similar number of Prussians. Duroc having accepted this offer, I
went with one of the aides-de-camp to announce the news to the
prisoners, who were overjoyed. We embarked them straight away and
an hour later they were across the Vistula and amongst their
brothers in arms.
Marshal Duroc and I left Graudentz the next night; he approved of
my conduct and told me later that he had given an account of it
to the Emperor, who also approved, and who warned the Prussians
that if they flogged French soldiers he would have all Prussian
officers who fell into his hands, shot!
I rejoined 7th Corps at Bromburg, and we went up the left bank of
the Vistula towards Warsaw. Marshal Augereau's headquarters were
established at Mallochiche. The Emperor arrived at Warsaw on the
19th December, and prepared to cross the Vistula. 7th Corps then
went down the left bank once more to Utrata, where for the first
time on this campaign we saw the Russian outposts on the opposite
bank.
Chap. 32
The River Vistula is fast-flowing and very wide; one expected,
because of this that the Emperor would halt his winter operations
there and, protected by the river, would put his troops into
winter quarters until the spring. This however was not to be.
Marshal Davout's and Marshal Lannes' corps crossed the river at
Warsaw, Marshal Augereau and his men crossed at Utrate, from
where we went on to the banks of the Ukra, a tributary of the Bug
and the Vistula. The entire French army having crossed this last
river, found itself face to face with the Russians, against whom
the Emperor ordered an attack on the 24th December. A thaw and
rain made movement extremely difficult on the clay soil, for
there are no metalled roads in this country.
I shall not describe all the actions which were fought that day
to force a passage across the Bug; I shall restrict myself to
saying that Marshal Augereau, given the task of securing the
crossing of the Ukra, ordered General Desjardins to attack with
his division, Kolozomb, and General Heudelet to attack Sochocyzn.
The marshal directed the attack on Kolozomb in person. The
Russians, after burning the bridge which had existed at this
spot, had raised earthworks on the opposite bank which they
defended with cannons and numerous infantry; but they had
neglected to destroy a store of planks and beams which was on the
right bank, at which we had arrived. Our sappers made use of this
material to construct a temporary bridge in spite of a lively
fire which killed several men of the 14th Line regiment, which
was at the head of our columns.
The planks of the bridge were not yet fastened and were wobbling
under the feet of our infantrymen, when the colonel of the 14th,
M. Savary, brother of the Emperor's aide-de-camp, risked crossing
on horseback, in order to put himself at the head of his men; but
he had scarcely reached the bank when a Cossack, arriving at the
gallop, plunged a lance into his heart and disappeared into the
woods! This was the fifth colonel of the 14th who had been killed
by the enemy! You will see later the fatal destiny which always
accompanied this unfortunate regiment. The passage of the Ukra
was secured, the guns captured and the Russians put to flight.
Desjardins' division occupied Sochoczyn, where the enemy had
repulsed the attack by Heudelet's division, a repulse which was
of no consequence, as it was necessary only to secure one
crossing. General Heudelet however, out of misplaced pride, had
ordered the attack to be renewed and was once more driven off
with the loss of some thirty men killed or wounded, among them a
highly thought of engineer officer. I have always disapproved of
the contempt for men's lives which sometimes leads generals to
sacrifice them to their desire to see their names in the
bulletins.
On the 25th of December, the day following the crossing of the
Ukra, the Emperor, pushing the Russians before him, headed for
Golymin, having with him the Guard, Murat's cavalry and the corps
of Davout and Augereau, the last of whom led the column. Marshal
Lannes went off in the direction of Pultusk. There were on this
day some minor encounters with the enemy who were retreating with
all speed. We slept in bivouac amongst the trees.
On the 26th, 7th Corps set out once more in pursuit of the
Russians. We were at a time of year when the days are at their
shortest, and in this part of Poland at the end of December, it
starts to get dark about two-thirty in the afternoon. It was made
more gloomy as we approached Golymin by a fall of snow mixed with
rain. We had not seen the enemy since morning when, on our
arrival at the village of Kuskowo, very close to Golymin, our
scouts, who had seen in the obscurity a large body of troops
which a marsh prevented them from approaching, came to warn
Marshal Augereau, who ordered Colonel Albert to go and
reconnoitre, escorted by twenty-five mounted Chasseurs, whom he
placed under my command.
The mission was difficult for we were in the middle of a huge,
bare plain where one could easily become lost. The ground,
already muddy, was intersected by areas of bog which the poor
light prevented us from seeing clearly; so we advanced with
caution, and found ourselves within twenty-five paces of a line
of troops. We thought at first that this must be Davout's corps,
which we knew was in the neighbourhood, but as no one answered
our challenge, we had no doubt that these were enemy troops.
However, to make quite sure, Colonel Albert ordered me to send
one of my best-mounted troopers up to the line which we could
distinguish in the murk: for this task I picked a bemedalled
corporal named Schmit, a man of proven courage. He, having gone
alone to within ten paces of a regiment whose headgear he
recognised as Russian, fired a shot from his carbine into the
middle of it and came back smartly.
To account for the silence which the Russians had maintained up
till then, I must tell you that this unit had become separated
from the main body of the army, which it was trying to rejoin,
and had lost its way in the vast plains, which it knew to be
occupied by French troops who were heading for Golymin. The
Russian generals, in the hope that they might pass close to us in
the obscurity without being recognised, had forbidden their men
to speak, and in the event of an attack, even the wounded were to
make no outcry. This was an order which only Russian troops would
have obeyed so punctiliously that when Colonel Albert, to warn
Marshal Augereau that we were in the presence of the enemy,
ordered the twenty-five troopers to fire, not a cry nor a word
was heard, and no one fired back!
We then saw, in spite of the poor light, a body of about a
hundred horsemen who were advancing silently to cut off our
retreat. We should have made off at the gallop to rejoin our
columns, but some of our troopers having become stuck in the mud,
we were forced to proceed less rapidly, although pursued by the
Russians, who fortunately had the same trouble as we did. A fire
which had broken out in a nearby farm lit up the ground and the
Russians began to gallop, which compelled us to do likewise. A
new danger arose in that we had left from General Desjardins'
division and were returning to General Heudelet's, who had not
seen us leave and opened fire on us; so that we were being driven
from behind by the Russians, while a hail of bullets in front
wounded several of our men and some horses. It was no use
shouting "We are French. Don't shoot!" The firing continued, and
one cannot blame the officers who took us for the advance guard
of a Russian column who were using French, which is widely
understood among foreigners, in order to deceive them in the
darkness which had now fallen. We were having a bad time, when it
occurred to me to call out by name to the generals, colonels and
battalion commanders of Heudelet's division, names which they
would know could not be known to the enemy. This was a success
and we were at last received into the French line.
The Russian generals, seeing that they were discovered and
wishing to continue their retreat, took a measure of which I
heartily approve, and one which in similar circumstances the
French have never attempted to imitate. The Russians pointed all
their guns at us, and having led away all the horses, they opened
a violent fire to keep us at a distance. During this time they
marched off their columns, and when the ammunition was finished,
the gunners withdrew and left the guns to us. Was not this better
than losing many men in an effort to save the guns, which would
have been continually bogged down and slowed the retreat?
The fierce Russian cannonade became increasingly harmful when it
started several fires in the villages, the spreading light of
which enabled the Russian gunners to pick out the masses of our
troops; in particular the dragoons and Cuirassiers led by Prince
Murat, whose white cloaks made them a target. These units
suffered more losses than the others, and one of our generals of
the Dragoons was cut in two by a cannon-ball. Marshal Augereau,
after taking Kuskowa, entered Golymin, which Marshal Davout was
attacking from the other side. This town was being traversed at
the time by the Russian columns, who, knowing that Marshal Lannes
was marching to cut off their retreat by taking Pultusk, three
leagues from there, were trying to reach that spot before he did
at no matter what cost. So although our soldiers were firing on
them at close range, they did not reply. To do so they would have
had to stop, and minutes were too precious.
Each division and each regiment marched through our fusillade
without a word and without slowing their pace for a moment...!
The streets of Golymin were full of wounded and dying men, yet
one did not hear a sound. It was forbidden! We might have been
shooting at shadows, and it was only when our soldiers attacked
with the bayonet that they convinced themselves that they were
dealing with men. We took thousands of prisoners, while the
remainder marched into the distance.
The marshals deliberated as to whether they should pursue the
enemy, but the weather was so horrible and the night so dark once
one left the neighbourhood of the fires, the men so soaked and
exhausted, that it was decided that they should rest until the
next day.
Golymin being crowded with dead, wounded, and discarded baggage,
Marshals Murat and Augereau, together with some generals and
their staffs, looking for somewhere to shelter from the glacial
rain, established themselves in a huge stable which was near the
town. There, those who could, lay on the dung heap in an attempt
to get warm and to sleep, for we had been on horseback in the
most frightful weather for twenty four hours or more. The
marshals and all the colonels and brass-hats were naturally in
the depths of the stable where it was warmer; as for me, a humble
lieutenant, who came in last, I had to bed down near the doorway,
where I was more or less sheltered from the rain, but exposed to
the freezing wind, since the doorway had no door. The position
was most uncomfortable and added to this I was dying of hunger,
not having eaten since the previous evening. But my lucky star
came once more to my aid. While the well sheltered senior
officers were sleeping in the warm part of the stable, and the
cold was preventing us lieutenants near the doorway from doing
the same, one of Prince Murat's servants arrived. I told him, in
a low voice that his master was asleep; upon this he gave me a
basket containing a roast goose, some bread and some wine, to
give to the prince when he woke, and asked me to tell him that
the mules with the provisions were expected to arrive in an
hour's time. Having said which, he went off to await them.
Loaded with these provisions, I held council in undertones with
Bro, Mainville, and Stoch, who, as badly placed as I, were
shivering with cold and just as hungry. The conclusion reached in
this deliberation was that as Prince Murat was asleep and as his
provisions were due to arrive shortly, he would be able to have a
meal when he woke; while we would be set on horseback and sent
off in all directions without anyone asking if we had eaten or
not; so without straining our consciences too much, we decided to
demolish the contents of the basket, which we did with great
rapidity. I don't know if this was pardonable, but what I do know
is that I have had few meals which I enjoyed more.