I was at the camp of Boulogne when the third war with Austria broke
out. The French were passing the Rhine. The remnants of the enemy's
army, which had been beaten and nearly cut to pieces, shut themselves
up in Ulm, and they were immediately summoned to surrender. The
account of this negotiation, which was conducted by M. de Segur, so
well pourtrays the confusion and anxiety of the unfortunate general,
that I cannot refrain from inserting it here. The following is M. de
Segur's own statement.
“Yesterday, the 24th of Vendemiaire (16th of Oct.), the Emperor
desired me to attend him in his closet. He directed me to proceed to
Ulm, and to prevail on General Mack to surrender in five days, or, if
he absolutely required six, I was to allow him that time: I received
no other instructions. The night was dark; a terrible hurricane arose
and the rain poured in torrents: it was necessary to travel by cross
roads, and to adopt every precaution for avoiding the marshes, in
which man, horse, and mission, might all have come to an untimely end.
I had almost reached the gates of the city without finding any of our
advanced parties. All had withdrawn: sentinels, videttes, out-posts,
all had placed themselves under shelter. Even the parks of artillery
were abandoned; no fires, no stars were visible. I wandered about for
three hours before I could find a general: I passed through several
villages, and interrogated all whom I met; but without receiving any
satisfactory answer.
“At length I found an artillery trumpeter, beneath a cassoon, half
buried in mud, and stiff with cold. We approached the ramparts of
Ulm. Our arrival had doubtless been expected; for M. de Latour, an
officer, who spoke French very well, presented himself on the first
summons. He tied a bandage over my eyes, and made me climb over the
fortifications. I remarked to my guide that the extreme darkness of
the night rendered it unnecessary to blindfold me; but he replied
that it was a custom that could not be dispensed with. We seemed to
have walked a considerable way. I entered into conversation with my
guide; my object was to ascertain what number of troops were shut up
in the city. I inquired whether we were far from the residences of
General Mack and the Archduke. 'They are close at hand,' replied my
guide. I concluded that all the remains of the Austrian army were
in Ulm, and the sequel of the conversation confirmed me in this
conjecture. At length we reached the inn where the general-in-chief
resided. He was a tall elderly man, and the expression of his pallid
countenance denoted a lively imagination. His features were disturbed
by a feeling of anxiety which he endeavoured to conceal. After
exchanging a few compliments, I told him my name; and then entering
upon the subject of my mission, I informed him that the Emperor
had sent me to invite him to surrender, and to settle with him the
conditions of the capitulation. These words evidently offended him;
and at first he seemed disinclined to listen to me further: but I
insisted on being heard; and I observed that having been received,
I, as well as the Emperor, might naturally suppose that he knew
how to appreciate his condition. But he replied, sharply, that his
situation would soon be changed, as the Russian army was advancing
to his assistance; that we should be placed between two fires, and
it would then be our turn to capitulate. I replied, that situated
as he was, it was not surprising he should be ignorant of what was
passing in Germany; but that I must inform him Marshal Bernadotte was
in possession of Ingolstadt and Munich, and that he had his advance
posts on the Inn, where the Russians had not yet shewn themselves.
'May I be the greatest ——,' exclaimed General Mack, angrily, 'if I
am not positively informed that the Russians are at Dachau! Do you
think to impose on me thus? Do you take me for a boy? No, Monsieur de
Segur, if I receive not assistance within eight days, I consent to
surrender my fortress, on condition that my troops shall be prisoners
of war, and my officers prisoners on parole. Eight days will allow
time for affording me assistance; and I shall thus fulfil my duty.
But I shall receive aid, I am certain!'—'Allow me to repeat, General,
that we are masters not only of Dachau, but of Munich also: besides,
allowing your supposition to be correct, if the Russians be really
at Dachau, five days will enable them to advance and attack us, and
these five days his Majesty is willing to grant you.'—'No, Sir,'
replied the Marshal, 'I demand eight days. I can listen to no other
proposition; I must have eight days; that period is indispensable to
my responsibility.'—'Then,' resumed I, 'the whole difficulty consists
in settling the difference between five and eight days. But I cannot
conceive why your Excellency should attach so much importance to this
point, seeing that the Emperor is before you, at the head of 100,000
men; and that the corps of Marshal Bernadotte and General Marmont are
sufficient to retard for three days the advance of the Russians, even
supposing them to be where they are really very far from being.'—'They
are at Dachau,' repeated General Mack.—'Well, Baron! be it so: and
even allowing them to be at Augsburgh, we should only be the more
ready to come to an agreement with you. Do not force us to carry Ulm
by assault; for then, instead of waiting five days, it will be but
a morning's work for the Emperor to gain possession of it.'—'Sir,'
replied the General-in-chief, 'do not imagine that fifteen thousand
men are so easily subdued. The conquest will cost you dear.'—'Perhaps
a few hundred men,' I replied; 'while Germany will reproach you with
the loss of your army and the destruction of Ulm; in short, with
all the horrors of an assault, which his Majesty seeks to prevent,
by the proposition which he has charged me to make to you.'—'Rather
say,' exclaimed the Marshal, 'that it will cost you ten thousand
men! The strength of Ulm is known.'—'It consists in the heights
which surround it, and which are in our possession.'—'Come, come,
Sir, it is impossible that you can be ignorant of the strength of
Ulm!'—'Certainly not, Marshal; and I am the better able to appreciate
it, now that I am within the walls of the city.'—'Well, Sir,' resumed
the unfortunate General, 'you see men ready to defend themselves to
the utmost extremity, should your Emperor refuse to grant them an
armistice of eight days. I can hold out for a considerable time. Ulm
contains 3000 horses, which, rather than surrender, we will eat,
with as much pleasure as you would were you in our place.'—'Three
thousand horses!' I exclaimed: 'alas, Marshal! you must look forward
to dreadful misery before you can think of trusting to so pitiful a
resource.'
“The Marshal eagerly assured me, that he had provisions for ten
days; but I believed no such thing. Day was beginning to dawn, and
the negotiation was no farther advanced than at the commencement of
our interview. I might have granted six days; but General Mack so
obstinately insisted on eight, that I concluded the concession of a
single day would be useless. I would not incur the risk, and I rose
to depart, saying, that my instructions required me to return before
day-light; and, in case my proposition should be rejected, to transmit
to Marshal Ney the order for commencing the attack. Here General Mack
complained of the conduct of the Marshal towards one of his flags
of truce, whose message he had refused to hear. I availed myself of
this circumstance to remark, that the Marshal's temper was hasty,
impetuous, and ungovernable; that he commanded the most numerous
corps, and that which was nearest the city; that he impatiently
awaited the order to commence the assault, which order I was to
transmit to him on my departure from Ulm. The old General, however,
was not intimidated; he insisted on being allowed an interval of eight
days, and urged me to make the proposal to the Emperor.
“Poor General Mack was on the point of signing his own ruin, and that
of Austria. But notwithstanding his desperate situation, in which he
must have suffered the most cruel anxiety, he still refused to yield:
he preserved his presence of mind, and maintained the dispute in
an animated way. He defended the only thing that he could defend,
namely, time. He sought to retard the fall of Austria, of which he had
himself been the cause, and wished to procure her a few days longer
for preparation: when lost himself, he still contended for her. His
character, which was political rather than military, led him to exert
cunning in opposition to power. He was bewildered amidst a crowd of
conjectures.
“About nine in the morning of the 25th, I rejoined the Emperor at
the Abbey of Elchingen, where I rendered him an account of the
negotiation. He appeared quite satisfied; and I left him. He however
desired me to attend him again; and finding that I did not come at
the very moment, he sent Marshal Berthier to me, with a written copy
of the propositions which he wished me to induce General Mack to sign
immediately. The Emperor granted the Austrian General eight days,
reckoning from the date of the 23d, the first day of the blockade;
thus their number was in reality reduced to six, which I might at
first have proposed, but which I would not concede.
“However, in case of obstinate refusal, I was authorized to date the
eight days from the 25th, and thus the Emperor would still have gained
a day by the concession. The object was to enter Ulm speedily, in
order to augment the glory of the victory by its rapidity; to reach
Vienna before the town should recover from the shock, or the Russian
army could be in a situation to act; and, finally, our provisions were
beginning to fail us, which was another reason for urging us on.
“Major-General Marshal Berthier intimated to me, that he would
approach the town; and that if the conditions were agreed on, he
should be glad if I would procure his admittance.
“I returned to Ulm about noon. The precautions which had been observed
on my first visit were again repeated; but on this occasion I found
General Mack at the gate of the city. I delivered to him the Emperor's
ultimatum, and he withdrew to deliberate upon it with several of his
Generals, among whom I observed a Prince of Lichtenstein, and Generals
Klénau and Ginlay. In about a quarter of an hour, he returned, and
again began to dispute with me respecting the date. He mistook some
particular point in the written propositions, and this induced him
to believe that he would obtain an armistice of eight whole days,
reckoning from the 25th. In a singular transport of joy, he exclaimed,
“M. de Segur! my dear M. de Segur! I relied on the Emperor's
generosity; and I have not been deceived. Tell Marshal Berliner
I respect him. Tell the Emperor, that I have only a few trifling
observations to make; and that I will sign the propositions you have
brought me. But inform his Majesty, that Marshal Ney has behaved ill
to me—that he has treated me most disrespectfully. Assure the Emperor,
that I relied on his generosity.” Then, with increased warmth of
feeling, he added, “Monsieur de Segur, I value your esteem: I attach
importance to the opinion that you may entertain of me. I wish to show
you the paper I had signed; for I assure you my determination was
fixed.” So saying, he unfolded a sheet of paper, on which were written
these words: _Eight days, or death!_ signed, _Mack_.
“I was thunderstruck at the joyful expression which animated his
countenance. I was unable to account for the puerile triumph he
evinced at so vain a concession. When on the point of sinking, to what
a frail twig did the poor General cling, in the hope of preserving
his own reputation, the honour of his army, and ensuring the safety
of Austria! He took my hand, pressed it cordially, and suffered me to
depart from Ulm without being blindfolded: he moreover allowed me to
introduce Marshal Berthier into the fortress without the observance
of the usual formalities; in short, he appeared perfectly delighted.
He started, in the presence of Marshal Berthier, another argument
respecting the dates. I explained the mistake that had occurred; and
the matter was to be referred to the Emperor. In the morning the
General assured me that he had provisions for ten days; but I had
already intimated to his Majesty, that he appeared to have a very
short supply; which, indeed, proved to be the case, for that very day
he solicited permission to have provision conveyed to the fortress.
“Mack, on finding that his position was turned, conceived, that by
throwing himself into Ulm and remaining there, he would draw the
Emperor beneath the ramparts, where he hoped to detain him, and thus
favour the flight of his other corps in different directions. He
thought he had sacrificed himself, and this idea served to uphold
his courage. When I entered upon my negotiations with him, he was of
opinion that our army was drawn up before Ulm, and unable to move. He
made the Archduke and Werneck secretly quit the city. One division
attempted to escape to Memmingen; another was flying to the mountains
of Tyrol: all were either actually made prisoners, or were on the
point of being taken.
“On the 27th, General Mack came to see the Emperor at Elchingen: all
his illusions had vanished.
“His Majesty, to convince him of the uselessness of detaining us
longer before Ulm, described to him all the horrors of his situation.
He assured him of our success on every point; informed him that
Werneck's corps, all his artillery, and eight of his Generals had
capitulated; that the Archduke himself was in danger, and that no
tidings had been received of the Russians. All this intelligence
came like a thunderbolt on the General-in-chief: his strength failed
him, and he was obliged to support himself against the wall of the
apartment. He was overpowered by the weight of his misfortune. He
acknowledged the extremity to which he was reduced; and frankly told
us, that the provisions in Ulm were exhausted. He however said, that
instead of 15,000 men, there were 24,000 fighting men, and 3000
invalids; but that all were plunged into the deepest confusion,
and that every moment augmented the dangers of their situation. He
added, that he was convinced all hope had vanished, and he therefore
consented to surrender Ulm on the following day (the 28th) at three
o'clock.
“On quitting his Majesty's presence, he saw some of our officers; and
I heard him say, 'It is mortifying to be disgraced in the estimation
of so many brave men: however, I have in my pocket my opinion, written
and signed, in which I refused to have my army parcelled out. But I
did not command; the Archduke John was there.' It is very possible
that Mack was obeyed only with reluctance.
“On the 23th, 33,000 Austrians surrendered themselves prisoners.
They defiled before the Emperor. The infantry threw down their arms
on the other side of the ditch; the cavalry dismounted, laid down
their arms, and delivered up their horses to our cavalry on foot. The
troops, while surrendering their arms, shouted 'Vive l'Empereur!' Mack
was present: he said to the officers, who had addressed him without
knowing who he was, 'You see before you the unfortunate Mack!'”
I was at Elchingen with Generals Mouton and Bertrand when Mack came to
present his respects to Napoleon. “I flatter myself, Gentlemen,” said
he to us, as he passed through the saloon of the aide-de-camp on duty,
“that you do not cease to regard me as a brave man, though I have been
obliged to capitulate with a force so considerable: it was difficult
to resist the manœuvres of your Emperor; his plans have ruined me.”
Napoleon, who was overjoyed at his success, sent General Bertrand
to examine the returns of the army that was in Ulm. He brought
intelligence that there were 21,000 men in the city: the Emperor
could not believe this. “You speak their language,” said he to me;
“go and ascertain the truth.” I went; I interrogated the commanders
of corps, the generals, and the troops; and, from the information
thus collected, I learned that the garrison contained 26,000 men fit
for service. Napoleon, on hearing this, said, “I was mad, and that
the thing was impossible.” However, when the army defiled before us,
its number, as M. de Segur had stated, amounted to 33,000 men, and
nineteen generals: the cavalry and artillery were superb.