which stood on some high ground, and by the light of the flames I
could easily distinguish the enemy column, consisting of Grodno
Hussars. I had with me about a thousand brave men, and with a cry
of "Vive L'Emperor!" we charged at the gallop towards the
Russians who, taken by surprise by this fierce and unexpected
attack, turned tail and rushed in disorder to the ford. There
they came face to face with a regiment of dragoons who, being
part of their brigade, had followed them and were just emerging
from the river. This resulted in the most fearful confusion which
enabled our men to kill many of the enemy and take many horses.
The Russians tried to recross the ford in a mob to escape from
the fire which my men aimed at them from the bank and a number of
them were drowned. Our surprise attack had so startled the enemy
who had thought to find us asleep, that they put up no
resistance, and I was able to return to our bivouac without
having to regret the death or wounding of any of our number. The
break of day disclosed the field of battle covered by some
hundreds of dead or wounded Russians. I left the wounded in the
care of the inhabitants of the village near which we had spent
the night, and took to the road to rejoin Marshal Oudinot, with
whom I caught up that same evening. The Marshal gave me a hearty
welcome and complemented the regiment on their conduct.
2nd Corps continued its march up the left bank of the Dvina and
in three days arrived opposite Polotsk. There we learned that the
Emperor had at last left Wilna, where he had spent twenty days,
and was heading for Vitepsk, a town of some size, which he
intended to make his new centre of operations.
On quitting Wilna, the Emperor had left the Duc de Bassano as
governor of the province of Lithuania, and General Hogendorp as
military commander. Neither of these two officials was suited to
organising the rear echelons of an army. The Duc de Bassano, a
former diplomat and private secretary, knew nothing about
administration, while the Dutchman Hogendorp, who spoke little
French, and had no idea of our military regulations and customs,
was not likely to have much success with those French who passed
through Wilna or with the local nobility. So the resources
available in Lithuania were of no help to our troops.
The town of Polotsk is situated on the right bank of the Dvina.
Its houses are built of wood and it is dominated by a very large
and splendid college, at that time occupied by the Jesuits,
almost all of whom were French. It is surrounded by an earthwork
fortification, having at one time undergone a siege during the
war waged by Charles XII against Peter the Great. The corps
commanded by Ney, Murat and Montbrun, in order to get from Drissa
to Witepsk, had built a pontoon bridge across the Dvina opposite
Polotsk, which they left for Oudinot's corps, which was going to
take the road for St. Petersburg. It was from here that 2nd Corps
took a different direction to that of the Grande Armee, which we
did not see again until the following winter, at the crossing of
the Beresina.
It would require several volumes to describe the manoeuvres and
the battles of that part of the army which followed the Emperor
to Moscow. I shall therefore limit myself to describing the
salient events as they occur.
On the 25th of July, there took place near to Ostrovno an
advance-guard action, in which our infantry were successful, but
where several regiments of cavalry were too hastily engaged by
Murat. The 16th Chasseurs was amongst this number, and my
brother, who commanded a squadron, was captured. He was taken far
beyond Moscow to Sataroff, on the Volga, where he joined Colonel
Saint-Mars and Octave de Segur. They helped each other to bear
the boredom of captivity, to which my brother was already
accustomed, as he had spent several years in the prisons and
hulks of Spain. The fortunes of war treated us both differently;
Adolphe was captured three times but never wounded, while I was
often wounded but never captured.
While the Emperor, now in control of Wilna, tried in vain to
manoeuvre the Russian army into a decisive battle, Oudinot's
corps, having crossed the Dvina at Polotsk, established itself in
front of this town, facing the numerous troops of General
Wittgenstein, who formed the enemy right wing. Before I describe
the events which took place on the banks of the Dvina, I should,
perhaps, acquaint you with the composition of 2nd Corps.
Marshal Oudinot, who commanded the Corps, had under his orders no
more than 44,000 men, divided into three divisions of infantry,
commanded by Generals Legrand, Verdier and Merle. There were two
brigades of light cavalry. The first, composed of the 23rd and
the 24th regiments of Chasseurs, was commanded by General Castex,
an excellent officer on all counts. The second was formed of the
7th and 20th Chasseurs and the 8th Polish Lancers, commanded by
General Corbineau, a brave but dull-witted officer. These
brigades were not combined into a single division, but were
employed wherever the Marshal thought necessary.
The 24th Chasseurs, with which my regiment was brigaded, was a
first class unit which would have done very well if there had
been a bond of sympathy between the men and their commander.
Unfortunately Colonel A... was very hard on his subordinates who,
for their part, disliked him. This state of affairs led General
Castex to travel and camp with the 23rd, and to unite his field
kitchen with mine, even though he had once served in the 24th.
Colonel A..., big, skillful and always perfectly mounted, showed
up well in engagements featuring the "arme blanche", but was
thought not to be so keen on those in which fire-arms and
artillery were involved. In spite of this, the Emperor recognised
in him qualities which made him undoubtedly the best light
cavalry officer in our European armies. No one had a better eye
for country. Before he set out, he could predict where there
would be obstacles not shown on the map, and where streams, roads
and even paths would lead to, and deduce from enemy movements
forecasts which were almost always correct. In all the aspects of
war, great or small, he was remarkably adept. The Emperor had
often used him for reconnaissance in the past and had recommended
him to Marshal Oudinot, who frequently called him into
consultation; with the result that many of the laborious and
dangerous jobs fell to my regiment.
Chap. 8.
Hardly had the various army corps which had preceded us into
Polotsk left to join the Emperor at Witepsk, when Oudinot,
collecting his troops into a single immense column on the road to
St. Petersburg, marched to attack Wittgenstein's army, which we
believed was positioned ten leagues from us, between two little
towns named Sebej and Newel. At the end of the day we made our
bivouac on the banks of the Drissa. This tributary of the Dvina
is no more than a rivulet at the coaching inn of Siwotschina,
where it is crossed by the main road to St. Petersburg; and
where, as there is no bridge, the Russian government has instead
cut back the steep banks between which the stream runs to make a
gently sloping approach, and has paved its bed to the same width
as the road, thus creating a passable ford. To the right and left
of the ford, however, troops and vehicles cannot cross, because
of the steepness of the banks. I mention this because three days
later this spot was the scene of a brisk engagement.
The next day, the 30th, my regiment being on duty, I took my
place at the head of the advance-guard and, followed by the whole
army corps, I crossed the ford through the Drissa. The heat was
most oppressive, and in the dust-covered corn fields at the side
of the road one could see two large areas where the grain had
been flattened and crushed, as if a roller had been dragged over
it, indicating the passage of a large column of infantry.
Suddenly, near the coaching inn of Kliastitsoui, these signs
disappeared from the main road, and could be seen to the left on
a wide side-road which led to Jacoubovo. It was evident that the
enemy had turned off the road to Sebej at this point and was
preparing to attack our left flank. This seemed to me to be a
serious matter, so I halted our troops and sent a message to warn
my general. The Marshal, however, who usually kept in view of the
advance-guard, had seen that I had halted. He came along at the
gallop and in spite of the opinions of Generals Castex and
Lorencez, he ordered me to continue up the main road. I had
scarcely gone a league when I saw coming towards me a calische
drawn by two post-horses....I stopped it and I saw a Russian
officer who, overcome by the heat, was lying full-length on its
floor. This young man, the son of the nobleman who owned the
coaching inn of Kliastitsoui which I had just passed, was one of
Wittgenstein's aides-de-camp, and was returning from St.
Petersburg with the reply to some despatches which the general
had sent to the government. You may imagine his surprise when,
startled out of his sleep, he found himself surrounded by our
bearded chasseurs, and saw not far away the numerous columns of
French soldiers. He could not understand why he had not
encountered Wittgenstein's army, or at least some of his scouts,
between Sebej and the spot where we were; but his astonishment
confirmed the opinion held by General Castex and me that
Wittgenstein, to lay a trap for Oudinot, had suddenly quitted the
road to St. Petersburg to attack the left flank and the rear of
the French force. In fact, it was not long before we heard the
sound of artillery and gun-fire.
Marshal Oudinot, although taken by surprise by this unexpected
attack, extricated himself quite well from the tight spot in
which he had landed himself. Ordering his columns to left face,
he presented a line to the attacker, who was repulsed so
vigourously that he did not care to renew the attack that day,
and retired to Jakoubovo. Wittgenstein's cavalry had, however,
enjoyed a considerable success, for they had captured, in the
French rear, some thousand men and some of our equipment; amongst
other things, all our mobile forges. This was a serious loss,
which was felt badly by the cavalry of 2nd Corps throughout the
whole of the campaign. After this engagement, Oudinot's troops
having taken up their position, Castex was ordered to return to
Kliastitsoui, to guard the point at which the road branched,
where we were joined by General Maison's infantry. The Russian
officer held prisoner in the house belonging to his father did us
the honours with good grace.
In expectation of a major battle on the following day, the
commanders of both armies had made their dispositions, and, at
daybreak, the Russians attacked the inn at Kliastitsoui, which
constituted the French right wing. Although in these
circumstances both our regiments would be in action, the regiment
on duty would be in the first rank, and it was the turn of the
24th Chasseurs. To avoid any possibility of hesitation, General
Castex placed himself at the head of the regiment, and falling
rapidly on the Russians, he overran them and took 400 prisoners
without suffering many casualties. He was in the forefront of the
attack, and his horse was killed by a bayonet thrust. In the
resultant fall his foot had been trodden on, and he was unable
for several days to lead the brigade. His place was taken by
Colonel A....
The Russian battalions which the 24th had just defeated were
immediately replaced by others which, emerging from Jacoubovo,
marched rapidly towards us. The Marshal ordered A... to attack
them, and we were told to advance, which we did without delay.
Having arrived at the front line, we arranged ourselves in battle
order and advanced toward the Russians, who awaited us
resolutely. As soon as we were within range, I ordered the
charge...! It was carried out with the greatest vigour, for my
troopers, as well as displaying their usual courage, were aware
that their comrades of the 24th were watching their every move.
The Russians made what I consider to be the fatal mistake of
discharging all their weapons at once by firing a volley, which,
badly aimed, killed only a few men and horses: continuous fire
would have been much more devastating. They then needed to
reload, but we did not give them time; our excellent horses,
galloping at full speed, hit them with such force that many of
them were knocked to the ground. A good number got to their feet
and attempted to defend themselves with their bayonets against
the sabres of our Chasseurs, but after suffering a great many
casualties they fell back, then broke ranks, and a good number
were killed or captured as they fled towards a cavalry regiment
which had come to their aid. This was the Grodno Hussars.
I have noticed that when a unit has defeated another, it always
maintains its superiority. I saw here a further proof of this,
for the Chasseurs of the 23rd hurled themselves on the Grodno
Hussars, as if they were easy prey, having previously beaten them
soundly in a night battle at Drouia, and the Hussars, having
recognised their enemy, took to their heels. This regiment,
during the rest of the campaign, invariably faced the 23rd, who
always retained their ascendancy. While these events were taking
place on our right wing, the infantry on the left and in the
centre had attacked the Russians who, defeated everywhere, had
abandoned the field of battle and at nightfall they went to take
up a position about a league away. Our army took possession of
the area which it occupied, between Jakoubovo and the road
junction at Kliastitsoui. There was much celebration that night
in the brigade bivouacs, on account of our victory. My regiment
had captured the flag of the Tamboff infantry, and the 24th had
also taken that of the Russian unit which they had overcome; but
their satisfaction was diminished by the knowledge that two of
their squadron commanders had been wounded, both of whom,
however, made a rapid recovery and served throughout the rest of
the campaign.
When a unit endeavours to outflank an enemy, it risks being
itself outflanked. This is what happened to Wittgenstein, for on
the night of the 29th, having left the St. Petersburg road to
attack the left and rear of the French army, he had compromised
his line of communication, which Oudinot could have cut
completely if he taken full advantage of the victory achieved on
the 30th. The Russian situation was made worse by the fact that
while facing a victorious army which barred its line of retreat,
it learned that Marshal Macdonald, having crossed the Dvina and
taken the fort of Dvinaberg, was advancing on the Russian rear.
To get out of this difficulty, Wittgenstein had, during the night
after the battle, made a cross-country detour which took his army
back on to the St. Petersburg road at a point beyond the inn at
Kliastitsoui. Since, however, he was afraid that the French
troops who were in that area might fall on his force during this
flank move, he decided to prevent them from doing so by himself
attacking them with superior strength, while the bulk of his army
regained the route to St. Petersburg and reopened his
communications with Sebej.
The next day, the 31st of July, my regiment came on duty at dawn,
when it could be seen that part of the army which we had defeated
the day before had avoided our right wing and was in full flight
towards Sebej, while the remainder were about to attack us at
Kliastitsoui. All of Marshal Oudinot's troops were immediately
stood to, but while the generals were arranging them in battle
order, a strong column of Russian Grenadiers attacked our allies,
the Portuguese, and reduced them to complete disorder; they then
turned on the large and solid coaching inn, an important point
which they were about to take, when Marshal Oudinot, always in
the forefront of any action, hurried to my regiment, which was
already at the outposts, and ordered me to try to stop or at
least slow down the enemy advance until the arrival of our
infantry which was approaching rapidly. I took my regiment off at
the gallop, and ordering the trumpeter to sound the charge, I
struck the right of the enemy line obliquely, which greatly
hindered the ability of their infantry and Grenadiers to fire on
us, and they were about to be cut down, for they were already in
disorder, when either spontaneously or under the orders of their
officers, they made an about turn and ran for a large ditch which
they had left behind them. They all scrambled into it and from
its cover they directed a continuous fire at us. Immediately I
had six or seven men killed and some twenty wounded, and was hit
by a stray ball in the left shoulder. My troopers had their blood
up, but they could not attack men whom it was physically
impossible to reach. At this moment General Maison arrived with
his infantry and having ordered me to withdraw behind his
columns, he attacked the ditch from both ends and all its
defenders were either killed or made prisoner.
As for me, with a painful wound, I was taken back to the inn and
removed, with difficulty, from my horse. The good Dr. Parot, the
regimental surgeon, came to dress my injury, but he had scarcely
started this when he was forced to break off. There was a new
Russian assault and a hail of ball fell about us, so that we had
to remove ourselves out of range of the fire. The doctor found
that my injury was serious and could have been fatal if the thick
braiding of my epaulet, through which the ball had passed, had
not deflected it and lessened its force. The blow had been
sufficiently heavy to knock me back almost onto my horse's
crupper, so that the officers and troopers who were following me
thought I had been killed, and I would have fallen if my
orderlies had not supported me. The dressing was very painful,
for the ball was embedded in the bone at the point where the
upper arm joins the collar-bone. To get it out the wound had to
be enlarged and you can still see the big scar.
I can promise you that if I had been already a colonel, I would
have joined the many wounded who were being sent back to Polotsk,
and after crossing the Dvina I would have sought some Lithuanian
town where I might be cared for; but I was only a squadron
commander and at any time the Emperor could arrive at Witepsk and
hold a revue, at which he would award nothing except to those who
were present, bearing arms. This custom which at first may seem
cruel, was based nevertheless on the interest of the service, for
it encouraged the wounded not to remain in hospital any longer
than was necessary, and to rejoin their units as soon as they
were fit enough to do so. In view of the above, my success in
action against the enemy, my recent wound received in combat, and
my devotion to the regiment, all compelled me not to go away; so
I stayed in spite of the severe pain which I was suffering, and
having put my arm in a sling as well as I could, and had myself
hoisted onto horseback, I rejoined my regiment.
Chap. 9.
Since I had been wounded, things had changed considerably; our
troops had defeated those of Wittgenstein and taken a great
number of prisoners, but the Russians had reached the St.
Petersburg road and were continuing their retreat to Sebej.
To get to this town from the inn at Kliastitsoui, one must cross
the enormous marsh of Khodanui, in the middle of which the main
road is raised on an embankment made of huge pine trees laid one
next to another. On each side of this causeway is a ditch, or
rather a wide and deep canal, and there is no other route except
by making an exceedingly long detour. The embankment is almost a
league long, but of considerable width, so that, it being
impossible to put flank guards in the marsh, the Russians marched
in dense columns along this artificial road, beyond which our
maps showed open country. Marshal Oudinot, aiming at further
victory, had decided to follow them, and for this reason he had
already despatched on the road to the marsh General Verdier's
infantry, which was to be followed first by Castex's brigade of
cavalry, then the whole army corps. My regiment had not yet
joined the line when I returned to it.
When, in spite of my injury, I took up my place at their head, I
received a general acclamation from both officers and men, which
showed the affection and esteem in which these brave people held
me; I was deeply touched by this, and even more so by the welcome
I received from Major Fontaine. This officer, although both
courageous and competent, was so unambitious that he had remained
a captain for eighteen years, having refused promotion three
times, which he had finally accepted only on a direct order from
the Emperor.
So I once more took command of the 23rd, and began to cross the
marsh behind General Verdier's division, at which the rear unit
of the enemy column fired only a few long range shots while they
were still on the causeway. When, however, our infantry reached
the open country, they saw the Russian army deployed in battle
formation, and were treated to a devastating barrage of artillery
fire. Nevertheless, in spite of their losses the French
battalions continued to advance. Soon they were all off the
embankment and it was the turn of my regiment, at the head of the
brigade, to reach the open ground. Colonel A..., who was the
temporary brigade commander, was not there to give me orders so I
thought it right to remove my regiment from this dangerous spot
and I led them off at the gallop as soon as the infantry gave me
room; however I had seven or eight men killed and a greater
number wounded. The 24th, who followed me, also suffered many
casualties. The same happened to General Legrand's infantry
division; but as soon as they were formed up on the plain,
Marshal Oudinot attacked the enemy lines, and they directed their
artillery fire at several different points so that the exit from
the marsh would have become less perilous for the remainder of
the army, if Wittgenstein had not at that moment attacked with
all his force the units which we had in the open. His superiority
in numbers compelled us to give ground and we were driven back
towards the causeway of the Khodanui. Fortunately the track was
very wide, which allowed us to proceed by platoons. As soon as we
left the plain, the cavalry became more of a hindrance than a
help. The marshal put us in front of the retreat; we were
followed by Verdier's division, whose general had been very
seriously wounded, and General Legrand's division made the
rear-guard. The last brigade of this division, commanded by
General Albert, had to fight a very sharp action while its last
battalions were getting onto the causeway, but once they were
formed into columns General Albert put eight artillery pieces at
the tail end which kept up a continuous fire during the retreat,
so it was the turn of the enemy to suffer heavy casualties. By
contrast, the Russian artillery rarely discharged a shot because
the guns had to be turned round to fire at us and then turned
back to continue the pursuit, a lengthy and difficult operation
on the causeway, so that they did us little damage.
The day was ending when the French troops, having crossed the
marsh, repassed Kliastitsoui and found themselves once more on
the banks of the Drissa, at the ford of Sivotschina which they
had crossed in the morning to follow the Russians who had been
defeated at Kliastitsoui. The Russians had their revenge for
having caused us seven or eight hundred casualties on the plain
beyond the marsh; they now had a sword at our backs. To put an
end to the fighting and allow the army some rest, Marshal Oudinot
led it across the ford to set up camp at Bieloe.