The sovereigns had fixed on the conditions of the armistice. Every
fortress was to be revictualled once in five days, and to have a
league of ground beyond its lines; but the Duke of Wurtemberg took on
himself to elude this engagement. He contested my statement of our
positions; he disputed about the limits. After several conferences,
we came to a provisional arrangement, and we remitted the question to
persons appointed to settle it. There then arose new difficulties;
at one time they alleged want of provisions, at another want of
conveyance. The allowances, at all times incomplete, were constantly
in arrears; at last they were entirely suspended. The Duke stood in
need of a pretext; he found one: he pretended that we had broken the
truce, because we had done justice on some band of robbers which
infested our rear. His letter, which could have been transmitted to me
in two hours, was two days before it reached me. So many subterfuges
made me indignant: I went straight to the point; I told him that I
would have no more tergiversation, and that he must fight or fulfil
the conditions stipulated on. He replied by talking of the cause of
nations and of kings. This language was curious; I expressed to him
how much it astonished me, coming from the mouth of a prince, whose
sovereign had been our ally for five years, and whose brother was
still fighting for us. This last example touched him a little. He
replied peevishly, “That a Russian General-in-chief did not think
himself inferior in any respect to a king of the Confederation, since
it only depended on the Emperor Alexander to raise him to that
dignity, and that then he might be a king as well as another; that he
would, however, only be so under this slight condition, that it should
not be at the expense of any power or person.”
The troops ran to arms: but the Duke was unwilling to take the
consequences of this rupture. He offered to continue the supplies.
They ought to have been sent on the 24th, but they did not come
till the 26th, and were never complete. Tainted meat, and flour so
very bad that we did not venture to make any use of it till we had
made experiments on it, were the only provisions that the Russians
furnished us with. They were not more faithful as to the quantity: we
did not receive above two-thirds of what was guaranteed to us by the
treaty.
The Prince de Neuchâtel told me that it was necessary to hold out till
the month of May following. The thing was quite impossible; I had
neither provisions nor troops sufficient for so prolonged a defence. I
pointed it out to him; my despatch was precise. Every thing that was
possible we were ready to undertake, but good intentions do not create
means.
“Dantzic, June 16, 1813.
“My Prince,
“I received the letter which your Highness did me the honour to
write me from Neumark, of the 5th of June. M. Planat has also
sent me a collection of _Moniteurs_, containing the detail of the
decisive battles gained by Napoleon over the combined forces. I
had had, from the day before M. Planat's arrival, intelligence
of the brilliant successes of the armies of Napoleon. This good
news has produced on the garrison the best effect: it has seen
that I had not flattered it with vain hopes; and the patience and
courage of which it has given proofs have found the reward that
they were entitled to expect.
“The armistice has also been transmitted to me, and I write
to your Highness particularly on this subject. I ought not to
conceal that this suspension of arms, in the state things are in,
must be more disadvantageous than advantageous to the garrison;
for disease still occasions us a loss of 1100 men a month, the
consequence of which will be that by the 1st of August we shall
have lost 1700 men.
“Our provisions, moreover, will be consumed; and, if the Duke of
Wurtemberg does not show a better disposition towards us than he
has done, we shall not be able to save, as otherwise we should
have done, a part of the provisions that he is bound to furnish
us. Till the month of October my situation will not give me any
uneasiness, but beyond that period it will be a painful one
indeed; for we shall want men to defend the immense range of our
fortifications, provisions for the defenders, and we shall have
no more to hope for from resources within or without.
“The account of the composition for the rations since the
blockade will shew your Highness that I have carried into
execution, in the distribution of the provision, the rigid
economy which our situation demanded, and that to this end I
have employed all the resources of which I could avail myself:
but these resources are exhausting; and it would be useless to
reckon on those which might be derived from the expulsion of
the inhabitants; indeed, it is only necessary, in order to be
convinced of this painful truth, to recollect that two years ago
Napoleon called by requisition on the inhabitants of Dantzic,
for 600,000 quintals of corn—an order which was most rigorously
carried into execution. At that time only 23,000 quintals were
left for the subsistence of its inhabitants. Since that period
they have lived on this quantity, and some trifling portions
which had been concealed from the strictest searches.
“I have given above an account of the loss which disease still
produces every month. The accounts of the situation of the
troops present an effective force of 20,558 men; which supposes,
according to the estimates (but too accurate) which I have
already given, that the garrison will be reduced, at the end of
the armistice, to 20,000 men, from which number must be deducted
at least 2,000 who will be in the hospitals, even supposing that
want does not increase the ravages of disease. What would be
our condition, then, by the month of May, when the progress of
mortality which the actual state of things supposes will have
mowed down so many of our men? It results from the calculation
which we are able to make, (admitting that winter diseases do
not materially increase the number of deaths, and allowing for
a loss of 1000 only per month,) that the sum total of the loss
would be, by the 1st of May, 8000 men, omitting altogether those
who may perish in actions, or who may die from the consequence
of their wounds. There would only remain, then, by the month
of May, an effective force of 11,000 men, of whom there will
certainly be 3000 in the hospitals: how is it possible to defend
fortifications so extensive with so feeble a garrison?
“I have already given orders for the construction of works
intended to defend the entrance of Mottlaw, an extremely weak
point when the rivers are frozen. I am going on besides with
every thing which can secure my communication, but, I repeat, men
are wanting for the defences. Your Highness must not doubt that,
if it becomes necessary, I will do every thing which honour and
my devotion to the Emperor can suggest, to maintain myself in
some point or other of Dantzic.
“The state of the magazines will prove to your Highness that
our resources are very limited. You will, no doubt, think that
I shall manage them with all the care which the desire to make
an honourable defence inspires me with: it is with this object
in view that I have added to the commission for the management
of provisions, which the law has appointed in places in a state
of siege, a considerable number of members in addition to those
which it requires.
“I have put them under the presidency of the General of the
division Count Heudelet. This commission is instructed to lay
before me all the measures which may tend to economy and to the
welfare of the soldiers; it has rendered great service, and I am
sorry that I did not give it at an earlier period the attributes
which it now possesses.
“The article of finances merits very particular attention on
the part of the Emperor and your Highness. All the funds which
have been left at my disposal have been consumed, and I have been
obliged to have recourse to a forced loan, which I imposed on
all those who were still able to yield any thing. This loan has
been put into execution with great severity towards those who
pretended not to be able to contribute to the common defence;
but notwithstanding all the pains which were taken in respect
to this, and all the measures which were resorted to in order
to conduce to similar results, up to the present time, only
1,700,000 francs have been raised, and there will be great
difficulty in levying the rest.
“The expenses of the pay of the army, those of the constructions
in the engineer department, as well as those which concern
manual labour (for all the materials which are in the place
will be taken, as has been done for these two months past, by
requisition, to be paid for on demand at the raising of the
blockade); the sums for the artillery; those for the hospitals,
for the different branches of the service, for provisions, that
is to say, in short, for every thing that is necessary for manual
and daily labour; for the constructions in the marine department,
clothing—all these expenses, of which I have ordered an estimate
to be made, amount to more than 900,000 francs per month.
“A foreign commercial house has offered to provide funds here,
provided that the paymaster-general guarantee him reimbursement
at Paris. It would be a great security of tranquillity, if I saw
this affair settled; but I should prefer that the funds were sent
to me, for otherwise some circumstance might happen which would
stop the stipulated payment in the second month. Your Highness is
well aware that there are no means of dispensing with punctual
payment of all the expenses alluded to above, especially with a
garrison composed like the one which I command; I beseech you,
then, to solicit from his Majesty measures which may secure the
payment of the sums which I stand in absolute need of.
“I ought not to close without observing to your Highness that
the quantity of powder which now remains in our magazines is not
nearly in proportion to what would be necessary for a siege.
“To conclude, Monseigneur, I have thought it right to make
beforehand all the observations which occur to my mind on the
insufficiency of men for the defence, on the inadequacy of
the means of subsistence, on the funds necessary to meet our
expenses, in short, on our supplies in every department which
are at all in proportion to our approaching wants. I beseech your
Highness, then, to lay before the Emperor the painful situation
in which we shall be placed, if his Majesty does not come to our
aid. What remains of the garrison is in other respects excellent,
and the performance of its part may be relied on, by means of a
few rewards well applied for unlimited devotion. It will do all
that the Emperor can expect from his best soldiers, and will
justify the confidence which his Majesty has placed in it, and
the favour which he has bestowed on it by placing it among the
number of the corps of his Grand Army.
“I am, &c.
(Signed) “COUNT RAPP.”
The armistice was meanwhile approaching its termination. The troops,
the ammunition, the artillery for the siege were arriving in abundance
before the place. We soon had 300 pieces of cannon of large calibre,
and 60,000 fighting troops before us. The disproportion was immense;
but we had conquered when enfeebled by disease, we might hope to
conquer again. Nothing but the means of subsistence was wanting.
The Russians were so convinced of this that they gave chase to the
smallest craft which went fishing. Their gun-boats had even captured
some of the craft which had not gone beyond the limits. I immediately
despatched a flag of truce to the Admiral. I represented to him that
the sea ought to be free for a league from the shore, and that I
should know how to make the conditions of the armistice respected,
if they again attempted to infringe them. He promised to conform to
the conditions, and no more to molest our boats. He did not, indeed,
molest them; but that very evening he carried off our unfortunate
fishermen, who had retired, without suspicion of what was to happen,
to their huts. He dreaded the abundance which a few pounds of fish
would produce in the fortress. The peasants and the course of the
waters were not better treated. They entrapped the former, and turned
the latter in another direction. It appeared to them as if every
thing was put in motion to get us food; that it was coming on us in
every direction. It was in vain for me to protest; indeed, never
were pretences or excuses wanting. At last the Prince of Wolkonski
announced to me the recommencement of hostilities; I received this
news with sincere satisfaction. Our relations were too disagreeable
for me not to desire to see them ended.