The interview of Erfurt took place. Napoleon set out for Spain; he
attacked and dispersed all that were opposed to him; and the English
army would have been destroyed had he been enabled to pursue it
himself; but the fourth Austrian war broke out, and he was obliged to
hurry to the assistance of Bavaria. Prince Berthier sent me orders
to rejoin the army. The Emperor was already with it; I found him at
Landshut, just after he had gained the battle of Ratisbonne; I was
not well pleased with my reception: he asked me drily, “How do your
Prussians and Dantzickers get on? You ought to have made the latter
pay me what they owe me. You see we have not all been killed in Spain;
I still have men enough left to beat the Austrians.” I felt the
allusion.
We marched on Vienna. The Emperor became more good-humoured, and
treated me more kindly. The battle of Esslingen took place. Thousands
of brave men lost their lives; Marshal Lannes was disabled; the
cavalry and artillery were destroyed; and the village of Esslingen,
the most important point that remained for us to defend, was inundated
by twenty battalions of Hungarian grenadiers. We could no longer
maintain our station: the enemy had already penetrated into the
square-work which Napoleon had directed to be fortified the day
before. Count Lobau advanced to meet them, and checked their progress;
but they immediately received reinforcements. The Emperor perceived
this, and I was directed to take two battalions of the young guard,
and to hasten to the assistance of our troops: I was to disengage
them, to effect a retreat with them, and to take a position between
the village and the remainder of the guard, on the banks of the
Danube, near the bridge which had been broken. The Austrian columns
advanced from all quarters on this point: our position became most
hazardous. On our left, Massena still occupied Gros Aspern; he had
lost great numbers of his force, but he still maintained his ground.
I placed myself at the head of my two battalions and entered the
village. I drew up my troops in the rear of General Mouton, and went
to deliver to him the Emperor's orders; but the whole of the enemy's
reserve, under the command of the Archduke Charles, deployed at some
distance. “You have,” said I to Count Lobau, “astonished those masses
by your resistance; let us charge them with the bayonet, and drive
them back upon the columns that are advancing: if we succeed, the
Emperor and the army will give us credit for our success; if we fail,
the responsibility will rest with me.”—“With both of us,” replied
the General. Our five battalions moved forward, charged, repulsed,
and dispersed the enemy at the point of the bayonet. We were masters
of the village. The Archduke endeavoured in vain to recover it: five
times he led his troops to the charge, and five times he was defeated.
He experienced immense loss: ours was also considerable. Generals
Mouton and Grosse were wounded; several other officers were killed.
Napoleon was delighted with this affair; he complimented me very
highly, and added, “If ever you did well in not executing my orders,
you have done so to-day; for the safety of the army depended on the
taking of Esslingen.”
Napoleon thought that the people of Vienna were more unfavourable
to us than in our preceding campaigns; he made the remark to me. I
replied that despair had contributed greatly to produce the feeling;
that the people were every where tired of us and of our victories. He
did not like this sort of reflections.
Schill was then traversing Saxony: Napoleon was informed of the
circumstance, and was vexed at it. This was a mode of sounding the
public opinion. Prussia was making a prelude to that insurrectionary
war, which she afterwards maintained against us. I confess, I did
not believe the fact when I heard of it; I entertained too high an
opinion of the national loyalty. I endeavoured to subdue the Emperor's
prejudices; but his suspicions were stronger than any thing I could
say to remove them. Another circumstance contributed to render him
distrustful;—the conduct of the Russians was not more frank than
that of the Prussians; they were shuffling. This want of good faith
rendered him furious: he resolved to be revenged on them; but he
required time for it.
The battle of Wagram took place: I was not engaged in it. Three days
before the battle, I had accompanied Napoleon to the island of Lobau:
I was in one of the Emperor's carriages with General Lauriston. We
were overturned, and I had one of my shoulders dislocated, and three
ribs broken.
The Emperor pursued the enemy as far as Znaim, and returned to
establish himself at Schoenbrunn; where he afterwards learnt the
defeat and death of Schill. This news gave him satisfaction, though
he would have been better pleased had that partisan been taken
prisoner.
During the negotiations there were several conspiracies at Vienna.
Some persons, who were convicted of having been engaged in them, were
condemned to death; two citizens and a Jew were to be executed; I was
fortunate enough to obtain their pardon.
Napoleon was pretty generally in good humour; but the reports
forwarded to him by the police occasionally interrupted his gaiety.
His enemies had spread a ridiculous report of his insanity, which
vexed him. “It is the fauxbourg St. Germain,” said he, “which invents
these fine stories; they will provoke me at last to send the whole
tribe of them to _la Champagne pouilleuse_.”
One day I was soliciting him for the promotion of two officers: “I
will not make so many promotions,” said he; “Berthier has already made
me do too much in that way.” Then, turning to Lauriston; “Lauriston,”
said he, “we did not get on so fast in our time; did we? I continued
for many years in the rank of Lieutenant!”—“That may be, Sire, but
you have since made up famously for your lost time.”—He laughed at my
repartee, and my request was granted.