The wings were composed of Italians and Poles; Napoleon acted on the
left of the enemy's masses. Beyond this we had no precise information;
women, children, old people, cattle, all had disappeared; there
was not a person left who could give us the least information. Ney
marched towards the enemy, and broke through them with that force,
that impetuosity, of which he had given so many proofs. We carried
the three redoubts which supported the enemy. He came up with fresh
troops; confusion began in our ranks; we gave up two of these works;
the last even was in danger. The Russians already crowned the crest of
the ditches. The King of Naples sees the danger, flies to the spot,
alights from his horse, enters, mounts the parapet; he calls and
animates the soldiers. The redoubt is strengthened, the fire becomes
terrible, the assailants dare not try the assault. Some squadrons
appear; Murat mounts his horse, charges, routs the columns scattered
over the plain. We retake the retrenchments, and finally establish
ourselves in them. This trait of boldness decided the fate of the day.
General Compans had just been wounded; I went to take the command of
his division. It made a part of the corps d'armée of Marshal Davoust.
It had already taken one of the intrenched positions of the enemy;
it had also suffered much. I consulted, on my arrival, with Marshal
Ney, whose right I supported. Our troops were in confusion, we rallied
them, we rushed headlong on the Russians, we made them expiate their
success. Neither discharges of cannon nor musquetry could stop us.
The infantry, the cavalry, charged with fury from one extremity of
the line to the other. I had never before seen such carnage. We had
inclined too much towards the right; the King of Naples remained
alone, exposed to the havoc of the batteries of Seminskoe. He had
nothing but cavalry; a deep ravine separated him from the village:
it was not easy to take it, but it was necessary to do so under
pain of being swept away by the grape-shot. General Belliard, who
only perceives a screen of light cavalry, conceives the design of
driving it off and moving by the left on the redoubt. “Run to Latour
Maubourg,” Murat said to him; “tell him to take a brigade of French
and Saxon cuirassiers, to pass the ravine, to put all to the sword,
to arrive at full gallop at the back of the redoubt, and to spike all
the cannon. If he should fail, let him return in the same direction.
You shall place a battery of forty pieces of cannon and a part of
the reserve to protect the retreat.” Latour Maubourg put himself in
movement, routed, dispersed the Russians, and made himself master of
the works. Friant came up to occupy them. All the reserve passed,
and established itself on the left of the village. There remained a
last retrenchment, which took us in flank and commanded our position.
The reserve had taken one, it thought that it could take another.
Caulincourt advanced, and spread far and wide confusion and death. He
falls suddenly on the redoubt, and gets possession of it. A soldier
hidden in an embrasure stretched him dead. He slept the sleep of the
brave; he was not a witness of our disasters.
Every thing was in flight; the fire had ceased, the carnage had
paused. General Belliard went to reconnoitre a wood situated at
some distance. He perceived the road which converged on us; it was
covered with troops and convoys, which were retreating. If they had
been intercepted, all the right of the enemy's army had been taken in
the segment in which it was placed. He came and informed Murat of
it. “Run and give an account of it to the Emperor,” said the Prince.
He went, but Napoleon did not think the moment come. “I do not see
sufficiently clear on my chess-board; I expect news from Poniatowski.
Return, examine, come back.” The General returned, indeed, but it
was too late. The Russian guard was advancing; infantry, cavalry,
all were coming up to renew the attack. The General had only time to
collect a few pieces of cannon. “Grape-shot, grape shot, and nothing
but grape shot,” he said to the artillerymen. The firing began; its
effect was terrible; in one instant the ground was covered with dead.
The shattered column was dissipated like a shadow. It did not fire one
shot. Its artillery arrived a few moments after; we got possession
of it. The battle was gained, but the firing was still terrible. The
balls and shots were pouring down by my side. In the space of one
hour I was struck four times, first with two shots rather slightly,
then with a bullet on the left arm, which carried away the sleeve of
my coat and shirt close to the skin. I was then at the head of the
sixty-first regiment, which I had known in Upper Egypt. There were a
few officers present who were there; it was rather singular to meet
here. I soon received a fourth wound; a ball struck me on my left hip
and threw me headlong from my horse:—it was the twenty-second. I was
obliged to quit the field of battle; I informed Marshal Ney of it, his
troops were mixed with mine.
General Dessaix, the only general of that division who was not
wounded, succeeded me; a moment after he had his arm broken; Friant
was not wounded till afterwards.
I was dressed by the surgeon of Napoleon, who also came himself
to visit me. “Is it, then, always your turn? How are things going
on?” “Sire, I believe that you will be obliged to make your guard
charge.” “I shall take good care not to do so. I do not wish to see it
destroyed. I am sure to gain the battle without its taking a part.”
It did not charge in effect, with the exception of thirty pieces of
cannon, which did wonders.
The day ended; fifty thousand men lay on the field of battle. A
multitude of generals were killed and wounded: we had forty disabled.
We made some prisoners, took some pieces of cannon: this result did
not compensate for the losses which it had cost us.