The Memoirs of General the Baron de Marbot

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I remained for a whole month resting at Louchonski, which helped
to heal the wound I had received at Jakoubowo. We were very
comfortable in our camp from the material point of view, but very
worried about the events at Moscow, and it was only on rare
occasions that we had news from France. At last I had a letter in
which my dearest Angelique told me she had given birth to a boy.
My joy at this was mixed with sadness, for I was a long way from
my family, and although I could not foresee all the dangers to
which I would soon be exposed, I could not pretend that there
were not many obstacles to be overcome before our reunion.

About the middle of September, Marshal Saint-Cyr sent me on a
rather delicate mission. It had two objectives: first to find out
what the enemy were up to in the region round Newel and then to
return via Lake Ozerichtchi in order to get in touch with Count
Lubenski, one of the few Poles who were willing to do anything to
shake off the Russian yoke. The Emperor who, although unwilling
to proclaim the re-establishment of the former Poland, wanted to
organise the areas already conquered into departments, had
received many refusals from the noblemen to whom he had proposed
to confide the administration; but having been assured of Count
Lubenski's patriotism, His Majesty had nominated him Prefect of
Witepsk. As this nobleman lived in an isolated spot outside the
area under French control, it was difficult to inform him of his
nomination and to ensure his safe arrival. Napoleon had therefore
ordered that a body of light cavalry should be sent to the Count.

Detailed to undertake this mission, with three hundred men of my
regiment, I picked the boldest and best-mounted men and having
provided them with bread, cooked meat and vodka, as well as other
necessities, I left the camp on the 14th of September, taking
with me Lorentz to act as interpreter.

The life of a partisan is perilous and very tiring. One avoids
the main roads and hides by day in the forest without daring to
make a fire. One takes from a hamlet food and fodder to be eaten
several leagues away to confuse enemy spies; one marches all
night, sometimes arriving at different point from that intended
and one is constantly on the look-out. Such was the life I led
when I found myself with no more than three hundred men, in a
huge area which I did not know, out of touch with the French army
and approaching that of the Russians, a numerous detachment of
whom I might encounter at any time. It was a difficult situation,
but I had confidence in myself and in the men who followed me, so
I went forward resolutely, skirting by two or three leagues the
road which runs from Polotsk to Newel.

Nothing much of interest happened to us. It is sufficient to say
that thanks to the information given to us by the peasants, who
hated the Russians, we made a tour round Newel, avoiding all the
enemy positions, and after eight days, or rather eight nights, of
marching we came to the shore of Lake Ozerichtchi, where there is
the magnificent chateau which at that time belonged to Count
Lubenski. I shall never forget the scene which greeted us on our
arrival before this ancient and vast manor. It was a splendid
autumn evening. The family of the Count had gathered to celebrate
his birthday and to rejoice in the capture of Moscow by Napoleon,
when some servants ran to announce that the chateau was
surrounded by soldiers on horseback, who had posted sentries and
guards and were now entering the courtyards. It was thought that
these were the Russian police who had come to arrest the Count,
and he, a man of great courage, was waiting calmly to be taken to
the prison of St. Petersburg, when his son, who out of curiosity
had opened a window, came to say that the troopers were speaking
French.

On hearing this, the Count and his family followed by a crowd of
servants rushed out of the chateau and gathered on an immense
peristyle. When I mounted the steps, he advanced towards me with
arms outstretched to embrace me, and declaimed in theatrical
tones a most fulsome welcome. Not only did the Count embrace me,
but his wife and daughters did the same, then the almoner, the
tutors and governesses came to kiss my hand, and the domestic
staff touched my knee with their lips. I was greatly astonished
at these various honours, and accepted them with all the gravity
I could muster. I had thought the whole performance was over
when, at a word from the Count, they all knelt down and commenced
to pray.

When we re-entered the chateau, I handed the Count his
appointment as Prefect of Witepsk, adorned with the signature of
the French Emperor, and asked him if he accepted it. "Yes!" he
cried "and I am ready to go with you." The Countess was equally
enthusiastic, and it was agreed that the Count with his eldest
son and two servants would leave with me. I gave them an hour to
get ready, which time was employed in giving my men a good
supper, which they had to eat on horseback because of my fear of
a surprise attack. Having said our farewells, we left to go and
sleep in a forest four leagues from there, where we stayed hidden
all the next day. At night we continued our march, but to put off
our trail any of the enemy who might have been warned of our
presence in the area, I took a different route to that by which I
had come, and going by paths and at times across country, after
five days I reached Polotsk. It was as well that I had taken a
different route, because I learned later from some merchants who
lived in Newel that the Russians had sent a regiment of Dragoons
and 600 Cossacks to wait for me at the source of the Drissa, near
a village I had passed on my way in.

After reporting to Marshal Saint-Cyr and presenting to him Count
Lubenski, I went back to the camp at Louchonski, where I rejoined
General Castex and the rest of my unit. My expedition had lasted
for thirteen days, during which time we had suffered fatigue and
privation; but I was bringing my men back in good shape. We had
not been obliged to fight since any small bands of the enemy we
did encounter fled when they saw us.

The journey which Count Lubenski had taken with us had allowed me
to assess his character. He was a well educated man, capable and
patriotic, but one whose enthusiasm was inclined to cloud his
judgement when it came to considering how best to re-build
Poland. Nevertheless, if all his compatriots had shown his
vigour, and had taken up arms on the arrival of the French,
Poland might have regained its freedom in 1812; but, with few
exceptions, they remained profoundly apathetic.

After leaving Polotsk, the Count went to take up his post as
prefect. He did not keep the position for long, for a month had
hardly passed before the French army, having left Moscow passed
through Witepsk on its retreat. Compelled by this disaster to
abandon his prefecture and to shelter from the vengeance of the
Russians, he took refuge in Galicia, in Austrian Poland, where he
had large landholdings. He lived there peacefully until 1830 when
he returned to Russian Poland to take up arms against the Czar. I
do not know what happened to him after this uprising, but I have
been told by some of his countrymen that he went back to Galicia.
He was a good patriot and a fine man.

A few days after our return to Louchonski, I was greatly
surprised by the arrival of a detachment of thirty troopers
belonging to my regiment. They had come from Mons and had, in
consequence, travelled through Belgium, the Rhenish provinces,
all of Germany and part of Prussia and Poland, and had come more
than 400 leagues under the command of a simple N.C.O. However not
a man had fallen out and not a horse was injured. That shows the
sort of stuff of which the troopers of the 23rd were made.

Chap. 16.

On about the 12th of October, 2nd Corps, which since the 18th of
August had been living in peace and plenty in and around Polotsk,
had to prepare itself to run once more the dangers of war. We
learned that Admiral Tchitchakoff, commander-in-chief of the
Russian army in Walachia, having made peace with the Turks
through the intervention of the English, was heading for Moghilew
with the intention of getting in the rear of Napoleon who, still
nursing the hope of concluding a treaty with Alexander, had not
yet left Moscow. One might be astonished that Prince
Schwartzenberg, who with thirty thousand Austrians, our allies,
was supposed to be watching over the Russian forces in Walachia,
had allowed them to pass, but that is what happened. Not only had
the Austrians failed to block the road taken by the Russians,
which they could have done, but instead of following behind them,
they had stayed comfortably in their cantonments.

Napoleon had trusted too much in the good faith of the generals
and ministers of his father-in-law, the Emperor of Austria, in
giving them the responsibility of covering the right flank of the
Grande Armee. Whatever excuses are offered, there can be, in my
opinion, no escaping the fact that this was flagrant treachery on
their part, and history will condemn them for it.

While on our right the Austrians were allowing passage to the
Russian troops coming from Turkey, the Prussians, who had so
unwisely been placed on our left wing, were preparing to do a
deal with the enemy, and that almost openly, without concealment
from Marshal Macdonald, whom the Emperor had put at their head to
ensure their fidelity. As soon as these foreigners learned that
the occupation of Moscow had not led to a peace, they foresaw the
disasters which would befall the French army, and all their
enmity towards us was rekindled. They did not break out in open
revolt, but Marshal Macdonald's orders were obeyed with
reluctance, and the Prussians encamped near Riga could at any
moment join Wittgenstein's Russians to crush 2nd Corps camped
round Polotsk.

Plainly, Marshal Saint-Cyr's position was becoming difficult. He,
however, did not seem perturbed, and as impassive as ever, he
issued calmly and clearly the orders for an obstinate defence.
All the infantry was concentrated in the town and the entrenched
camp. Several bridges were added to those already uniting the two
banks of the Dvina. The sick and the non-combatants were sent to
Old Polotsk and Ekimania, fortified posts on the left bank. The
Marshal did not consider he had enough troops to dispute the open
ground with Wittgenstein, who had received powerful
reinforcements from St. Petersburg, so he did not keep more than
five squadrons with him, of which he took one from each regiment
of light cavalry. The rest went over to the other bank.

On the 16th of October the enemy scouts appeared before Polotsk,
the aspect of which had greatly changed, partly because of the
huge, newly established, entrenched camp and partly because of
the numerous fortifications which covered the open country. The
biggest and strongest of these was a redoubt called the Bavarian.
The unhappy remnant of General de Wrede's force asked if they
might defend this redoubt, which they did with much courage.

The fighting began on the 17th and went on all day without
Marshal Saint-Cyr being forced out of his position. This angered
General Wittgenstein, who attributed the hold-up to his officers
not having distinguished between the stronger and weaker of our
defence works, and wishing to inspect them himself, he boldly
approached them. This devotion to duty nearly cost him his life,
for Major Curely, one of the finest officers in the army, having
spotted the General, dashed forward leading a squadron of the
20th Chasseurs, who sabred some of the escort while he, forcing
his way to General Wittgenstein, put the point of his sword to
his throat and forced him to surrender.

Having effected the capture of the enemy commander, Major Curely
should have retired swiftly, between two redoubts, and taken his
prisoner into the entrenched camp; but the Major was too keen,
and seeing that the General's escort was about to attempt his
rescue, he thought it would be more creditable if he could keep
his prisoner in spite of all their efforts. Wittgenstein then
found himself in the middle of a group fighting for the
possession of his person. In the course of the struggle Curely's
horse was killed, several of our Chasseurs dismounted in order to
pick up their leader, and, in the confusion this created,
Wittgenstein made off at the gallop, calling for his men to
follow.

When this event became generally known throughout the army, it
gave rise to much debate. Some maintained that Major Curely
should have killed Wittgenstein as soon as his escort returned to
fight for his rescue, others thought that having accepted his
surrender, Curely was not entitled to do so. Others again,
thought that, having once surrendered, Wittgenstein should not
have tried to escape. Whatever the rights or wrongs of these
arguments may be, when Curely was presented to the Emperor during
the crossing of the Beresina, where General Wittgenstein caused
us many losses, Napoleon said to him, "This would probably not
have happened if you had used your right to kill Wittgenstein at
Polotsk, when the Russians were trying to take him from you." In
spite of this reproach, merited or not, Curely became a colonel
shortly after, and a general in 1814.

To return now to Polotsk where the enemy, repelled on the 17th,
returned to the attack on the 18th, in so much greater numbers
that, after suffering very heavy losses, Wittgenstein's men
captured the entrenched camp. Saint-Cyr, at the head of Legrand's
and Maison's divisions, drove them out at bayonet point. Seven
times the Russians returned to the attack, and seven times the
French and the Croats drove them off, to remain finally in
control of all their positions.

Although now wounded, Saint-Cyr continued to direct his troops.
His efforts were crowned with success, for the enemy left the
field and retired into the nearby forest. 50,000 Russians had
been defeated by 15,000 of our men. There was rejoicing in the
French camp, but on the morning of the 19th we heard that General
Steinghel with 14,000 Russians had just crossed the Dvina above
Disna and was moving up the left bank to get behind Polotsk,
seize the bridges and trap Saint-Cyr's force between his own and
Wittgenstein's. And indeed it was not long before Steinghel's
advance-guard appeared, heading for Ekimania, where there were
the division of Cuirassiers and the regiments of Light Cavalry
from each of which the Marshal had retained only one squadron at
Polotsk.

At once we were all on horseback and we drove off the enemy, who
would in the end have gained the upper hand, for they were being
strongly reinforced, while we had no infantry support until
Saint-Cyr sent us three regiments taken from the divisions who
were protecting Polotsk. However, at this point Steinghel, who
had only to make a little effort to reach the bridges, stopped
short, while on the other side of the river, Wittgenstein did the
same. It seemed that the two Russian generals, after combining to
draw up an excellent plan of attack, were unwilling to put it
into operation, each one leaving it to the other to overcome the
French.

The French position was now highly critical, for on the right
bank they were pressed back by an army three time their strength
towards a town built entirely of wood and a sizeable river, with
no means of retreat except the bridges which were threatened by
Steinghel's troops on the left bank.

All the generals urged Saint-Cyr to order the evacuation of
Polotsk, but he wanted to wait for nightfall, because he felt
sure that the 50,000 Russians who faced him were waiting only for
his first backward move to throw themselves on his weakened army
and create a state of disorder in the ranks. So he stayed where
he was, and took advantage of the extraordinary inactivity of the
enemy generals to wait for the onset of the dark, which was
hastened, luckily, by a thick fog which prevented the three
armies from seeing one another. The Marshal seized this
favourable opportunity to effect his withdrawal.

The large number of guns and some cavalry squadrons who had
remained on the right bank, had already crossed the bridges in
silence, and the infantry were about to follow, their movement
invisible to the enemy, when the men of Legrand's division,
unwilling to leave their huts for the benefit of the Russians,
set them on fire. The two other divisions, believing that this
was an agreed signal, did the same and in an instant the whole
line was aflame. This great conflagration having alerted the
Russians to our retreat, all their guns opened up; their mortars
set fire to the suburbs and the town itself, toward which their
columns charged. However, the French, mainly Maison's division,
disputed every foot of ground, for the fires lit the place as if
it were day.

Polotsk was burned to the ground. The losses on both sides were
considerable. Nevertheless our retreat was carried out in an
orderly fashion: we took with us those of our wounded whom it was
possible to carry; the rest, together with a great many Russians,
perished in the flames.

It seemed that there was a complete lack of co-operation between
the leaders of the two enemy armies, for during this night of
fighting Steinghel stayed peacefully in his camp, and made no
more effort to support Wittgenstein than the latter had made to
support him on the previous day. It was only when Saint-Cyr,
after evacuating the place, had put himself beyond the reach of
Wittgenstein by burning the bridges, that Steinghel, on the
morning of the 20th, deployed his troops to attack us. But the
French force was now united on the left bank, and Saint-Cyr
mounted an assault against Steinghel, who was overcome with the
loss of more than 2000 men killed or captured.

In the course of these fierce engagements, over four days and a
night, the Russians had six generals and 10,000 men killed or
wounded, while the losses of the French and their allies did not
amount to more than 5,000, a huge difference which can be
attributed to the superior firepower of our troops, particularly
the artillery. The advantage which we had in respect of numbers
was in part compensated for by the fact that the wounds which
Marshal Saint-Cyr had suffered would deprive the army of a leader
in whom it had entire confidence. It was necessary to replace
him. The Comte de Wrede claimed that his position as commander in
chief of the Bavarian Corps entitled him to command the French
divisional generals, but they refused to obey a foreigner. So
Saint-Cyr, although in much pain, agreed to remain in control of
the two army corps, and ordered a retreat towards Oula, in order
to reach Smoliany and thus protect on one side the road from
Orscha to Borisoff by which the Emperor was returning from
Moscow.

This retreat was so well organised that Wittgenstein and
Steinghel, who, after repairing the bridges across the Dvina,
were following our trail with 50,000 men, did not dare to attack
us, although we had no more than 12,000 combatants; and they
advanced only fifteen leagues in eight days. As for the Comte de
Wrede, his injured pride led him to refuse to accept
instructions, so he marched off on his own, with the thousand
Bavarians which he had left and a brigade of French cavalry which
he had acquired by subterfuge, having told General Corbineau that
he had received orders to this effect, which was not the case.
His presumption was soon punished: he was attacked and defeated
by a Russian division. He then retired without authorisation to
Wilna, from where he reached the Nieman. The Corbineau brigade
refused to go with him and returned to join the French army, for
whom its return was a piece of good fortune, as you will see when
we come to the crossing of the Beresena.

Ordered by the Emperor, Marshal Victor, Duc de Bellune, at the
head of the 9th Army Corps consisting of 25,000 men, half of whom
came from the Confederation of the Rhine, hurried from Smolensk
to join Saint-Cyr for the purpose of driving Wittgenstein back
across the Dvina. This project would have certainly been carried
out if Saint-Cyr had been in overall command; but Victor was the
more senior of the two marshals and Saint-Cyr was unwilling to
serve under his orders, so the evening before their union which
took place at Smoliany on the 31st of October, he declared that
he could no longer continue the campaign and handing over the
command to General Legrand, he set off to return to France. The
departure of Saint-Cyr was regretted by the troops who, although
they disliked him personally, gave him credit for his courage and
his outstanding military talent. Saint-Cyr could have been a
first class army commander if he had been less egoistic and if he
had taken the trouble to gain the affection of officers and men
by caring for their welfare. No man, however, is perfect.

Marshal Victor had no sooner gathered 9th and 2nd Corps under his
command than chance offered him the opportunity of achieving a
major victory. Wittgenstein, who was unaware of this union,
relying on his superiority in numbers, had decided to attack us
at a place where his line of retreat would be through some narrow
defiles. It would only have required a combined effort from the
two corps to destroy him, for our troops were now as numerous as
his, were inspired by a better spirit and were keen for action;
but Victor, doubtful perhaps of success on terrain which he was
seeing for the first time, retreated during the night, and having
reached Sienno he put the two units into cantonment in the
district. The Russians also withdrew leaving only some Cossacks
to keep an eye on us. This state of affairs which lasted for the
first fortnight of November did the troops much good, for they
lived well, as the country offered many resources.

One day, Marshal Victor having been told that there was a
considerable enemy force in the area of a certain village,
ordered General Castex to send one of his units to reconnoitre
the place. It was for me to go. We left at dusk and reached the
village without any difficulty. It was situated in a hollow, in
the middle of a huge dried marshland and was entirely peaceful,
the inhabitants whom I interrogated with the aid of Lorentz said
that they had not seen a Russian soldier in the past month, so I
prepared to return to my base. However our return was not as
trouble-free as our journey there had been.

Although there was no mist, the night was extremely dark and I
was afraid of leading the regiment astray on the many embankments
of the marsh, which I had to cross once more; so I took as a
guide one of the villagers who seemed to me to be the least
stupid. My column had been going along in good order for half an
hour, when suddenly I saw camp fires on the slopes overlooking
the marsh. I halted the column and sent two sous-officiers to
have a look. They reported that there was a large force barring
our advance and another in our rear. I could now see fires
between me and the village which I had just left and it appeared
that I had landed, without knowing it, in the middle of an army
corps which was making ready to bivouac for the night. The
number of fires grew, and I estimated that there was a force of
about 50,000 men present and I was in the middle of it, with 700
troopers. The odds were too great, and there seemed only one
thing to do, and that was to gallop along the main embankment, on
which we were, and taking the enemy by surprise, cut a path for
ourselves with our sabres. Once free from the light of the fires,
the darkness would prevent the enemy from following us. I made
sure that all my troops knew what I proposed to do, and I have to
admit that I was very uneasy, for the enemy infantry could take
up their arms at the first cry of warning, and cause us many
casualties.

I was in this state of anxiety when the peasant who was our guide
burst into loud laughter, seconded by Lorentz. I asked them what
they were about, but they did not know enough French to explain
fully. Eventually, however, we understood that these were not
camp fires but marsh fires, or will-of-the-wisp; something none
of us had ever seen before; and so, relieved of one of the
nastiest frights I have ever had, I returned to my camp.

Chap. 17.

After several days I was given a new mission, in which we would
face not marsh fires but the muskets of the Russian dragoons. It
happened that General Castex had gone to visit Marshal Victor,
and the 24th was out on patrol, so that my regiment was alone in
the camp when there arrived two peasants, one of whom I
recognised as Captain Bourgoing, Oudinot's aide-de-camp.

The Marshal, who had gone to Wilna after he had been wounded at
Polotsk on the 18th of August, having heard that Saint-Cyr had
been wounded in his turn on the 18th of October, and had left the
army, decided to rejoin 2nd Corps and take up its command.

Oudinot knew that his troops were somewhere in the region of
Sienno and was heading for that town when, on arriving at Rasna,
he was warned by a Polish priest that a body of Russian dragoons
and some Cossacks was roaming the area. The Marshal knew that
there was a French cavalry unit at Zapole, so he wrote to the
commander of this unit to request a strong escort, and sent the
letter by Captain Bourgoing, who for additional safety disguised
himself as a peasant. It was as well that he did so, for he had
scarcely covered a league when he encountered a large detachment
of enemy cavalry, who, thinking that he was a local inhabitant,
took no notice of him. Soon after this, Captain Bourgoing heard
the sound of gunfire, and increased his pace towards Zapole.