At that moment the shouts of "_Vive l'Empereur_" broke from thousands
of throats behind us. Buche, who stood near me in a corner of the
loft, shouted with all the rest of his comrades, "_Vive l'Empereur!_"
I leaned over his shoulder and saw all the cavalry of our right wing;
the cuirassiers of Milhaud, the lancers and the chasseurs of the Guard,
more than five thousand men--advancing at a trot. They crossed the
road obliquely and went down into the valley between Hougoumont and
Haie-Sainte. I saw that they were going to attack the squares of the
English, and that our fate was to be decided.
We could hear the voices of the English artillery officers, giving
their orders, above the tumult and the innumerable shouts of "_Vive
l'Empereur_."
It was a terrible moment when our cuirassiers crossed the valley; it
made me think of a torrent formed by the melting snows, when millions
of flakes of snow and ice sparkle in the sunshine. The horses, with
the great blue portmanteaux fastened to their croups, stretched their
haunches like deer and tore up the earth with their feet, the trumpets
blew their savage blasts amidst the dull roar as they passed into the
valley, and the first discharge of grape and canister made even our old
shed tremble. The wind blew from the direction of Hougoumont, and
drove the smoke through all the openings; we leaned out to breathe, and
the second and third discharges followed each other instantly.
I could see through the smoke that the English, gunners had abandoned
their cannon and were running away with their horses, and that our
cuirassiers had immediately fallen upon the squares, which were marked
out on the hill-side by the zig-zag line of their fire.
Nothing could be heard but a grand uproar of cries, incessant clashing
of arms and neighing of horses, varied with the discharge from time to
time, and then new shouts, new tumult and fresh groans. A score of
horses with their manes erect, rushed through the thick smoke which
settled around us, like shadows; some of them dragging their riders
with one foot caught in the stirrup.
And this lasted more than an hour.
After Milhaud's cuirassiers, came the lancers of Lefebvre-Desnoettes,
after them the cuirassiers of Kellerman, followed by the grenadiers of
the Guard, and after the grenadiers came the dragoons. They all
mounted the hill at a trot, and rushed upon the squares with drawn
sabres, shouting, "_Vive l'Empereur!_" in tones which reached the
clouds. At each new charge it seemed as if the squares must be
overthrown; but when the trumpets sounded the signal for rallying and
the squadrons rushed pell-mell back to the edge of the plateau to
re-form, pursued by the showers of shot, there were the great red
lines, steadfast as walls, in the smoke.
Those Englishmen are good soldiers, but then they knew that Bluecher was
coming to their assistance with sixty thousand men, and no doubt this
inspired them with great courage.
In spite of everything, at six o'clock we had destroyed half their
squares, but the horses of our cuirassiers were exhausted by twenty
charges over the ground soaked with rain. They could no longer advance
over the heaps of dead.
As night approached, the great battle-field in our rear began to be
deserted; at last the great plain where we had encamped the night
before was tenantless, only the Old Guard remained across the road with
shouldered arms, all had gone--on the right against the Prussians, on
the left against the English. We looked at each other in terror.
It was already growing dark, when Captain Florentin appeared at the top
of the ladder, and placing both hands on the floor, he said in a grave
voice, "Men, the time has come to conquer or die!"
I remembered that these words were in the proclamation of the Emperor,
and we all filed down the ladder. It was still twilight, but all was
gray in the devastated court; the dead were lying stiff on the
dung-heap and along the walls.
The captain formed our men on the right side of the court, and the
commandant of the other battalion ranged his on the left; our drums
resounded through the old building for the last time, and we filed out
of the little rear door into the garden, stooping one after the other
as we went through.
The walls of the garden outside had been knocked down, and all along
the rubbish, men were binding up their wounds--one his head, another
his arm or his leg. A cantiniere with her donkey and cart, and with a
great straw hat flattened on her back--was there too in a corner. I do
not know what had brought the wretched creature there. Several
sorry-looking horses were standing there, exhausted with fatigue, with
their heads hanging down, and covered with blood and mud.
What a difference between them now, and in the morning. Then the
companies were half destroyed, but still they were companies.
Confusion was coming. It had taken only three hours to reduce us to
the same condition we were in at Leipzig at the end of a year. The
remains of the two battalions still formed only one line, in good
order, and I must admit that we began to be anxious.
When men have tasted nothing for twenty-four hours, and have exhausted
all their strength by fighting all day, the pangs of hunger seize them
at night, fear comes also, and the most courageous lose hope. All our
great retreats, with their horrors, are traceable to the want of food.
For in spite of everything we were not conquered; the cuirassiers still
held their position on the plateau, and from all sides over the thunder
of cannon, over all the tumult, the cry was heard, "The Guard is
coming!" Yes, the Guard was coming at last! We could see them in the
distance on the highway, with their high bear-skin caps, advancing in
good order.
Those who have never witnessed the arrival of the Guard on the
battle-field, can never know the confidence which is inspired by a body
of tried soldiers; the kind of respect paid to courage and force.
The soldiers of the Old Guard were nearly all old peasants, born before
the Republic; men five feet and six inches in height, thin and well
built, who had held the plough for convent and chateau; afterward they
were levied with all the rest of the people, and went to Germany,
Holland, Italy, Egypt, Poland, Spain, and Russia, under Kleber, Hoche,
and Marceau first, and under Napoleon afterward. He took special care
of them and paid them liberally. They regarded themselves as the
proprietors of an immense farm, which they must defend and enlarge more
and more. This gained them consideration; they were defending their
own property. They no longer knew parents, relatives, or compatriots;
they only knew the Emperor; he was their God. And lastly they had
adopted the King of Rome, who was to inherit all with them, and to
support and honor them in their old age. Nothing like them was ever
seen, they were so accustomed to march, to dress their lines, to load,
and fire, and cross bayonets, that it was done mechanically in a
measure, whenever there was a necessity. When they advanced, carrying
arms, with their great caps, their white waistcoats and gaiters, they
all looked just alike; you could plainly see that it was the right arm
of the Emperor which was coming. When it was said in the ranks, "The
Guard is going to move," it was as if they had said, "The battle is
gained."
But now, after this terrible massacre, after the repulse of these
furious attacks, on seeing the Prussians fall on our flank, we said,
"This is the decisive blow."