Book: History of the Expedition to Russia

C >> Count Philip de Segur >> History of the Expedition to Russia




As to them, it might be said, that, knowing his pride, and become
hopeless of subduing him, except by means of himself, these monarchs and
their people only humbled themselves before him, in order to aggravate
the disproportion of his elevation, and by so doing, to dazzle his moral
vision. In their assemblies, their attitude, their words, even the tone
of their voice, attested his ascendancy over them. All were assembled
there for his sake alone! They scarcely hazarded an objection, so
impressed were they with the full conviction of that superiority, of
which he was himself too well aware. A feudal lord could not have
exacted more of his vassal chiefs.

His levee presented a still more remarkable spectacle! Sovereign princes
came to it in order to wait for an audience of the conqueror of Europe.
They were so intermingled with his officers, that the latter were
frequently warning each other to take care, and not to crowd upon these
new courtiers, who were confounded with them. It was thus that the
presence of Napoleon made distinctions disappear; he was as much their
chief as ours. This common dependency appeared to put all around him on
a level. It is probable that, even then, the ill-disguised military
pride of several French generals gave offence to these princes, with
whom they conceived themselves raised to an equality; and, in fact,
whatever may be the noble blood and rank of the vanquished, his victor
becomes his equal.

The more prudent among us, however, began to be alarmed; they said, but
in an under-tone, that a man must fancy himself more than human to
denaturalize and displace every thing in this manner, without fearing to
involve himself in the universal confusion. They saw these monarchs
quitting the palace of Napoleon with their eyes inflamed, and their
bosoms swoln with the most poignant resentment. They pictured them,
during the night, when alone with their ministers, giving vent to the
heartfelt chagrin by which they were devoured. Every thing was
calculated to render their suffering more acute! How importunate was the
crowd which it was necessary to pass through, in order to reach the gate
of their proud master, while their own remained deserted! Indeed, all
things, even their own people, appeared to betray them. While boasting
of his good fortune, was it not evident that he was insulting their
misfortunes? They had, therefore, come to Dresden in order to swell the
pomp of Napoleon's triumph--for it was over them that he thus triumphed:
each cry of admiration offered to him was a cry of reproach to them; his
grandeur was their humiliation, his victory their defeat.

Doubtless they, in this manner, gave vent to their bitter feelings; and
hatred, day after day, sank more deeply into their hearts. One prince
was first observed to withdraw precipitately from this painful position.
The Empress of Austria, whose ancestors General Buonaparte had
dispossessed in Italy, made herself remarked by her aversion, which she
vainly endeavoured to disguise; it escaped from her by an involuntary
impulse, which Napoleon instantly detected, and subdued by a smile: but
she employed her understanding and attraction in gently winning hearts
to her opinion, in order to sow them afterwards with the seeds of her
hatred.

The Empress of France unintentionally aggravated this fatal disposition.
She was observed to eclipse her mother-in-law by the superior
magnificence of her costume: if Napoleon required more reserve, she
resisted, and even wept, till the emperor, either through affection,
fatigue, or absence of mind, was induced to give way. It is also
asserted that notwithstanding her origin, remarks calculated to wound
German pride escaped that princess, in extravagant comparisons between
her native and her adopted country. Napoleon rebuked her for this, but
gently; he was pleased with a patriotism which he had himself inspired;
and he fancied he repaired her imprudent language by the munificence of
his presents.

This assemblage, therefore, could not fail of irritating a variety of
feelings: the vanity of many was wounded by the collision. Napoleon,
however, having exerted himself to please, thought that he had given
general satisfaction: while waiting at Dresden the result of the marches
of his army, the numerous columns of which were still traversing the
territories of his allies, he more especially occupied himself with his
political arrangements.

General Lauriston, ambassador from France at Petersburgh, received
orders to apply for the Russian emperor's permission to proceed to
Wilna, in order to communicate definitive proposals to him. General
Narbonne, aid-de-camp of Napoleon, departed for the imperial
head-quarters of Alexander, in order to assure that prince of the
pacific intentions of France, and to invite him to Dresden. The
archbishop of Malines was despatched in order to direct the impulses of
Polish patriotism. The King of Saxony made up his mind to the loss of
the grand duchy; but he was flattered with the hope of a more
substantial indemnity.

Meantime, ever since the first days of meeting, surprise was expressed
at the absence of the King of Prussia from the imperial court; but it
was soon understood that he was prohibited from coming. This prince was
the more alarmed in proportion as he had less deserved such treatment.
His presence would have been embarrassing. Nevertheless, encouraged by
Narbonne, he resolved on making his appearance. When his arrival was
announced to the emperor, the latter grew angry, and at first refused to
see him:--"What did this prince want of him? Was not the constant
importunity of his letters, and his continual solicitations sufficient?
Why did he come again to persecute him with his presence? What need had
he of him?" But Duroc insisted; he reminded Napoleon of the want that he
would experience of Prussia, in a war with Russia; and the doors of the
emperor were opened to the monarch. He was received with the respect due
to his superior rank. His renewed assurances of fidelity, of which he
gave numerous proofs, were accepted.

It was reported at that time, that this monarch was led to expect the
possession of the Russo-German provinces, which his troops were to be
commissioned to invade. It is even affirmed that, after their conquest,
he demanded their investiture from Napoleon. It has been added, but in
vague terms, that Napoleon allowed the Prince-Royal of Prussia to aspire
to the hand of one of his nieces. This was to be the remuneration for
the services which Prussia was to render him in this new war. He
promised, so he expressed himself, that he would go and sound her. It
was thus that Frederick, by becoming the relation of Napoleon, would be
enabled to preserve his diminished power; but proofs are wanting, to
show that the idea of this marriage seduced the King of Prussia, as the
hope of a similar alliance had seduced the Prince of Spain.

Such at that time was the submission of sovereigns to the power of
Napoleon. It offers a striking example of the empire of necessity over
all persons, and shows to what lengths the prospect of gain and the fear
of loss will lead princes as well as private persons.

Meanwhile, Napoleon still waited the result of the negotiations of
Lauriston and of Narbonne. He hoped to vanquish Alexander by the mere
aspect of his united army, and, above all, by the menacing splendour of
his residence at Dresden. He himself expressed this opinion, when, some
days after, at Posen, he said to General Dessolles, "The assemblage at
Dresden not having persuaded Alexander to make peace, it was now solely
to be expected from war."

On that day he talked of nothing but his former victories. It seemed as
if, doubtful of the future, he recurred to the past, and that he found
it necessary to arm himself with all his most glorious recollections, in
order to confront a peril of so great a magnitude. In fact, then, as
since, he felt the necessity of deluding himself with the alleged
weakness of his rival's character. As the period of so great an invasion
approached, he hesitated in considering it as certain; for he no longer
possessed the consciousness of his infallibility, nor that warlike
assurance which the fire and energy of youth impart, nor that feeling of
success which makes it certain.

In other respects, these parleys were not only attempts to preserve
peace, but an additional _ruse de guerre_. By them he hoped to render
the Russians either sufficiently negligent, to let themselves be
surprised, dispersed, or, if united, sufficiently presumptuous to
venture to wait his approach. In either case, the war would be finished
by a _coup-de-main_, or by a victory. But Lauriston was not received.
Narbonne, when he returned, stated, "that he had found the Russians in a
state of mind as remote from dejection as from boasting. From their
emperor's reply to him, it appeared that they preferred war to a
dishonourable peace; that they would take care not to expose themselves
to the hazards of a battle against too formidable an enemy; and that, in
short, they were resolved on making every sacrifice, in order to spin
out the war, and to baffle Napoleon."

This answer, which reached the emperor in the midst of the greatest
display of his glory, was treated with contempt. To say the truth, I
must add, that a great Russian nobleman had contributed to deceive him:
either from mistaken views, or from artifice, this Muscovite had
persuaded him, that his own sovereign would recede at the sight of
difficulties, and be easily discouraged by reverses. Unfortunately, the
remembrance of Alexander's obsequiousness to him at Tilsit and at Erfurt
confirmed the French emperor in that fallacious opinion.

He remained till the 29th of May at Dresden, proud of the homage which
he knew how to appreciate, exhibiting to Europe princes and kings,
sprung from the most ancient families of Germany, forming a numerous
court round a prince deriving all distinction from himself. He appeared
to take a pleasure in multiplying the chances of the great game of
fortune, as if to encircle with them, and render less extraordinary,
that which placed him on the throne, and thus to accustom others as well
as himself to them.




CHAP. II.


At length, impatient to conquer the Russians, and escape from the homage
of the Germans, Napoleon quitted Dresden. He only remained at Posen long
enough to satisfy the Poles. He neglected Warsaw, whither the war did
not imperiously call him, and where he would have again been involved in
politics. He stopped at Thorn, in order to inspect his fortifications,
his magazines, and his troops. There the complaints of the Poles, whom
our allies pillaged without mercy, and insulted, reached him. Napoleon
addressed severe reproaches, and even threats, to the King of
Westphalia: but it is well known that these were thrown away; that their
effect was lost in the midst of too rapid a movement; that, besides, his
fits of anger, like all other fits, were followed by exhaustion; that
then, with the return of his natural good humour, he regretted, and
frequently tried, to soften the pain he had occasioned; that, finally,
he might reproach himself as the cause of the disorders which provoked
him; for, from the Oder to the Vistula, and even to the Niemen, if
provisions were abundant and properly stationed, the less portable
foraging supplies were deficient. Our cavalry were already forced to cut
the green rye, and to strip the houses of their thatch, in order to feed
their horses. It is true, that all did not stop at that; but when one
disorder is authorized, how can others be forbidden?

The evil augmented on the other side of the Niemen. The emperor had
calculated upon a multitude of light cars and heavy waggons, each
destined to carry several thousand pounds weight, through a sandy
region, which carts, with no greater weight than some quintals, with
difficulty traversed. These conveyances were organized in battalions and
squadrons. Each battalion of light cars, called _comtoises_, consisted
of six hundred, and might carry six thousand quintals of flour. The
battalion of heavy vehicles, drawn by oxen, carried four thousand eight
hundred quintals. There were besides twenty-six squadrons of waggons,
loaded with military equipages; a great quantity of waggons with tools
of all kinds, as well as thousands of artillery and hospital waggons,
one siege and six bridge equipages.

The provision-waggons were to take in their loading at the magazines
established on the Vistula. When the army passed that river, it was
ordered to provide itself, without halting, with provisions for
twenty-five days, but not to use them till they were beyond the Niemen.
In conclusion, the greater part of these means of transport failed,
either because the organization of soldiers, to act as conductors of
military convoys, was essentially vicious, the motives of honour and
ambition not being called into action to maintain proper discipline; or
chiefly because these vehicles were too heavy for the soil, the
distances too considerable, and the privations and fatigues too great;
certain it is that the greater number of them scarcely reached the
Vistula.

The army, therefore, provisioned itself on its match. The country being
fertile, waggons, cattle, and provisions of all kinds, were swept off;
every thing was taken, even to such of the inhabitants as were necessary
to conduct these convoys. Some days after, at the Niemen, the
embarrassment of the passage, and the celerity of the first hostile
marches, caused all the fruits of these requisitions to be abandoned
with an indifference only equalled by the violence with which they had
been seized.

The importance of the object, however, was such as might excuse the
irregularity of these proceedings. That object was to surprise the
Russian army, either collected or dispersed; in short, to make a
_coup-de-main_ with 400,000 men. War, the worst of all scourges, would
thus have been shortened in its duration. Our long and heavy
baggage-waggons would have encumbered our march. It was much more
convenient to live on the supplies of the country, as we should be able
to indemnify the loss afterwards. But superfluous wrong was committed as
well as necessary wrong, for who can stop midway in the commission of
evil? What chief could be responsible for the crowd of officers and
soldiers who were scattered through the country in order to collect its
resources? To whom were complaints to be addressed? Who was to punish?
All was done in the course of a rapid march; there was neither time to
try, nor even to find out the guilty. Between the affair of the day
before, and that of the following day, how many others had sprung up!
for at that time the business of a month was crowded into a single day.

Moreover, some of the leaders set the example; there was a positive
emulation in evil. In that respect, many of our allies surpassed the
French. We were their teachers in every thing; but in copying our
qualities, they caricatured our defects. Their gross and brutal plunder
was perfectly revolting.

But the emperor was desirous to have order kept in the middle of
disorder. Pressed by the accusing reproaches of two allied nations, two
names were more especially distinguished by his indignation. In his
letters are found these words; "I have suspended generals ---- and ----. I
have suppressed the brigade ----; I have cashiered it in the face of the
army, that is to say, of Europe.--I have written to ----, informing him
that he ran great risks of being broke, if he did not take care." Some
days after he met this ----, at the head of his troops, and still
indignant, he called to him, "You disgrace yourself; you set the example
of plunder. Be silent, or go back to your father; I do not want your
services any further."

From Thorn, Napoleon descended the Vistula. Graudentz belonged to
Prussia; he avoided passing it; but as that fortress was important to
the safety of the army, an officer of artillery and some fireworkers
were sent thither, with the ostensible motive of making cartridges; the
real motive remained a secret; the Prussian garrison, however, was
numerous, and stood on its guard, and the emperor, who had proceeded
onward, thought no more of it.

It was at Marienburg that the emperor again met Davoust. That marshal,
whether through pride, natural or acquired, was not well pleased to
recognize as his leader any other individual than the master of Europe.
His character, besides, was despotic, obstinate, and tenacious; and as
little inclined to yield to circumstances as to men. In 1809, Berthier
was his commander for some days, during which Davoust gained a battle,
and saved the army, by disobeying him. Hence arose a terrible hatred
between them: during the peace it augmented, but secretly; for they
lived at a wide distance from each other, Berthier at Paris, Davoust at
Hamburgh; but this Russian war again brought them together.

Berthier was getting enfeebled. Ever since 1805, war had become
completely odious to him. His talent especially lay in his activity and
his memory. He could receive and transmit, at all hours of the day and
night, the most multiplied intelligence and orders; but on this occasion
he had conceived himself entitled to give orders himself. These orders
displeased Davoust. Their first interview was a scene of violent
altercation; it occurred at Marienburg, where the emperor had just
arrived, and in his presence.

Davoust expressed himself harshly, and even went so far as to accuse
Berthier of incapacity or treachery. They both threatened each other,
and when Berthier was gone, Napoleon, influenced by the naturally
suspicious character of the marshal, exclaimed, "It sometimes happens
that I entertain doubts of the fidelity of my oldest companions in arms;
but at such times my head turns round with chagrin, and I do my utmost
to banish so heart-rending a suspicion."

While Davoust was probably enjoying the dangerous pleasure of having
humbled his enemy, the emperor proceeded to Dantzic, and Berthier, stung
by resentment, followed him there. From that time, the zeal, the glory
of Davoust, the exertions he had made for this new expedition, all that
ought to have availed him, began to be looked upon unfavourably. The
emperor had written to him "that as the war was about to be carried into
a barren territory, where the enemy would destroy every thing, it was
requisite to prepare for such a state of things, by providing every
thing within ourselves:" Davoust had replied to this by an enumeration
of his preparations--"He had 70,000 men, who were completely organized;
they carried with them twenty-five days' provisions. Each company
comprised swimmers, masons, bakers, tailors, shoemakers, armourers, and
workmen of every class. They carried every thing they required with
them; his army was like a colony; hand-mills followed. He had
anticipated every want; all means of supplying them were ready."

Such great exertions ought to have pleased; they, however, displeased;
they were misrepresented. Insidious observations were overheard by the
emperor. "This marshal," said they to him, "wishes to have it thought
that he has foreseen, arranged, and executed every thing. Is the
emperor, then, to be no more than a spectator of this expedition? Must
the glory of it devolve on Davoust?"--"In fact," exclaimed the emperor,
"one would think it was he that commanded the army."

They even went further, and awakened some of his dormant fears: "Was it
not Davoust who, after the victory of Jena, drew the emperor into
Poland? Is it not he who is now anxious for this new Polish war?--He who
already possesses such large property in that country, whose accurate
and severe probity has won over the Poles, and who is suspected of
aspiring to their throne?"

It is not easy to say whether the pride of Napoleon was shocked by
seeing that of his lieutenants encroaching so much on his own; or
whether, in the course of this irregular war, he felt himself thwarted
more and more by the methodical genius of Davoust; certain it is, the
unfavourable impression against him struck deeper; it was productive of
fatal consequences; it removed from his confidence a bold, tenacious and
prudent warrior, and favoured his predilection for Murat, whose rashness
was much more flattering to his ambitious hopes. In other respects,
these dissensions between his great officers did not displease Napoleon;
they gave him information; their harmony would have made him uneasy.

From Dantzic the emperor proceeded, on the 12th of June, to Koenigsberg.
At that place ended the inspection of his immense magazines, and of the
second resting-point and pivot of his line of operations. Immense
quantities of provisions, adequate to the immensity of the undertaking,
were there accumulated. No detail had been neglected. The active and
impassioned genius of Napoleon was then entirely directed towards that
most important and difficult department of his expedition. In that he
was profuse of exhortations, orders, and even money, of which his
letters are a proof. His days were occupied in dictating instructions on
that subject; at night he frequently rose to repeat them again. One
general received, on a single day, six despatches from him, all
distinguished by the same solicitude.

In one, these words were remarked, "For masses like these, if
precautions be not taken, the grain of no country can suffice." In
another, "It will be requisite for all the provision-waggons to be
loaded with flour, bread, rice, vegetables, and brandy, besides what is
necessary for the hospital service. The result of all my movements will
assemble 400,000 men on a single point. There will be nothing then to
expect from the country, and it will be necessary to have every thing
within ourselves." But, on the one hand, the means of transport were
badly calculated; and, on the other, he allowed himself to be hurried on
as soon as he was put in motion.




CHAP. III.


From Koenigsberg to Gumbinnen, he reviewed several of his armies;
conversing with the soldiers in a gay, frank, and often abrupt style;
well aware that, with such unsophisticated and hardy characters,
abruptness is looked upon as frankness, rudeness as force, haughtiness
as true nobility; and that the delicacy and graces which some officers
bring with them from the salons are in their eyes no better than
weakness and pusillanimity; that these appear to them like a foreign
language, which they do not understand, and the accents of which strike
them as ridiculous.

According to his usual custom, he promenaded before the ranks. Knowing
in which of his wars each regiment had been with him, at the sight of
the oldest soldiers he occasionally halted; to one he recalled the
battle of the Pyramids; another he reminded of Marengo, Austerlitz,
Jena, or Friedland, and always by a single word, accompanied by a
familiar caress. The veteran who believed himself personally recognized
by his emperor, rose in consequence in the estimation of his junior
companions, who regarded him as an object of envy.

Napoleon, in this manner, continued his inspection; he overlooked not
even the youngest soldiers: it seemed as if every thing which concerned
them was to him matter of deep interest; their least wants seemed known
to him. He interrogated them: Did their captains take care of them? had
they received their pay? were they in want of any requisite? he wished
to see their knapsacks.

At length he stopped at the centre of the regiment; there being apprised
of the places that were vacant, he required aloud the names of the most
meritorious in the ranks; he called those who were so designated before
him, and questioned them. How many years' service? how many campaigns?
what wounds? what exploits? He then appointed them officers, and caused
them to be immediately installed, himself prescribing the forms;--all
particularities which delighted the soldier! They told each other how
this great emperor, the judge of nations in the mass, occupied himself
with them in their minutest details; that they composed his oldest and
his real family! Thus it was that he instilled into them the love of
war, of glory and himself.

The army, meantime, marched from the Vistula to the Niemen. This last
river, from Grodno as far as Kowno, runs parallel with the Vistula. The
river Pregel, which unites the two, was loaded with provisions: 220,000
men repaired thither from four different points; there they found bread
and some foraging provisions. These provisions ascended that river with
them, as far as its direction would allow.

When the army was obliged to quit the flotilla, its select corps took
with them sufficient provisions to reach and cross the Niemen, to
prepare for a victory, and to arrive at Wilna. There, the emperor
calculated on the magazines of the inhabitants, on those of the enemy
and on his own, which he had ordered to be brought from Dantzic, by the
Frischhaff, the Pregel, the Deine, the canal Frederic, and the Vilia.

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