Jean Comte Rapp
Memoirs of General Count Rapp, First aide-de-camp to Napoleon
CHAPTER XXX
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.
CHAPTER XXXI
The Russian army retreated towards the capital: it made some resistance at Mojaisk, and arrived at Moscow. We took this city without striking a blow. Murat entered it in the train of the Cossacks, discoursed with their chiefs, and even gave a watch to one of them. They were expressing the admiration which his courage excited in them, and the dejection that a series of misfortunes produces, when some discharges of musquetry were heard: it was from a few hundred citizens who had taken arms. They themselves put an end to this useless firing, and continued their retreat.
Napoleon entered the next day. He fixed his quarters in the Kremlin, with a part of his guard, and the persons of his household; but we were so badly accommodated that I was obliged to take another lodging. I settled myself at some distance, in a house which belonged to a member of the Nareschkin family. I arrived at four o'clock in the afternoon. The town was still complete: the custom-house alone was a prey to the flames, which devoured it before any Frenchman appeared; but night came on—it was the signal for the fire. Left and right, every where there was a blaze; public buildings, temples, private property, all were in flames. The conflagration was general—nothing was to escape. The wind blew with violence; the fire made rapid progress. At midnight the blaze was so terrific, that my aides-de-camp waked me; they supported me; I reached a window from which I beheld the spectacle, which was becoming frightful. The fire was advancing towards us: at four o'clock I was informed that I must remove from my quarters. I left them; a few moments after, the house was reduced to ashes. I ordered them to conduct me in the direction of the Kremlin; every thing was in confusion. I returned back and went to the quarters of the Germans. A house belonging to a Russian General had been appointed for me; I hoped to be able to stay there to recover from my wounds; but when I arrived, volumes of fire and smoke were already issuing from it. I did not go in; I returned once more to the Kremlin. On the road I perceived some Russian artisans and soldiers, who were dispersed about in the houses, and were employed in setting fire to them: our patroles killed some of them in my presence, and arrested a considerable number. I met Marshal Mortier. "Where are you going?" said he to me. "The fire drives me out from wherever I fix my quarters: I am now determined to go to the Kremlin."—"Every thing there is in confusion, the fire is increasing in every direction; rather go from it."—"Where can one retreat?"—"To my hotel; my aide-de-camp will conduct you." I followed him; the house was close to the foundling hospital. We got there with difficulty; it was already in flames. I determined again to go to the Kremlin. I passed the Moskowa to fix myself opposite to the palace, which was yet untouched. I met in my road General Laribossière, accompanied by his son, who was ill; Talbouet joined us: we all quartered ourselves in the houses placed on the banks of the river. My landlord was an honest hatter, who felt for my situation, and bestowed all possible care on me. I was just settled with this worthy artisan, when the fire shewed itself on every side. I quitted in haste: the quays are narrow; if I had delayed, I could not have escaped with my carriage. We crossed the water, and established ourselves in the open air behind the walls of the Kremlin; this was the only means of getting any rest. The wind was still blowing with increasing violence, and it fed the flames. I removed once more, for the last time: I withdrew to the neighbourhood of one of the barriers; the houses were detached and scattered, the fire could not reach them. The one that I occupied was small, convenient, and belonged to a Prince Gallitzin. I supported while I remained there, during fifteen days, at the least a hundred and fifty refugee inhabitants.
Napoleon was, in his turn, obliged to retreat before the flames. He quitted the Kremlin, and fixed his head-quarters out of the town, in a palace where he took up his residence. He did not stay there long; he returned to the palace of the Czars as soon as the fire was extinguished. He sent, almost every morning, General Narbonne to inquire after me. This General, like many others of our army, was very uneasy. He often said to me, that the Emperor was wrong in calculating on peace; that we were not in a condition to dictate conditions; that the Russians had not sacrificed their capital to accept of disadvantageous terms. "They are amusing us, in order to take their revenge, and to have fairer sport."
CHAPTER XXXII
Moscow was destroyed: the occupation of its ruins was neither safe nor advantageous: we were too far removed from our wings; we could not procure subsistence, and we had no interest in guarding the ruins. Every one was of opinion that we must not remain there, but it was not agreed what it was best to do. The King of Naples proposed to march towards Kaluga, to destroy there the only establishments which Russia possessed, and to return and go into cantonments on the Boristhenes. The Cossacks could not be followed to the extremity of the world; the longest flight must have its end; we were ready for fighting, but we did not wish to persevere longer in a chase. Such was the purport of the proclamation that he recommended before putting the army in motion. The Viceroy thought, on the contrary, that we should march towards the Russians, give them battle, and push them on Petersburg, and then march for Riga: we could thus have rejoined Macdonald, and afterwards established ourselves on the Dwina. Others presented other plans; all were good—all were practicable; but the Emperor had some particular information; he would have judged correctly, if the Russians had not received inspirations from England. Much fault has been found with this delay: it is an error, since events have condemned it; but those who exclaim against it were not in the secret of our affairs or negotiations; they may, without too much modesty, believe that the sagacity of that great man was not below that which Nature has given to them. He was deceived; we have felt the consequences; perhaps one day it will be known what combinations misled him. However that may be, we delayed, we negotiated, we gave battle; we decided nothing. The army of Moldavia was continuing its movement; it was advancing, but it was not yet known in what line it was to act. Some pretended that it would unite with Kutusow, others feared that it would march upon our rear. We were uncertain of what was preparing; the Emperor himself was not free from uneasiness, but he knew to a man what troops he had in echelon from the Rhine to Moscow; he thought his calculations safe; he confined himself to the despatching of instructions: those that he addressed to the Duke de Belluno are worth citing. They prove what kind of slumber it was that he has been reproached with.
Napoleon to the Major-General
"My cousin, inform the Duke de Belluno that I have not yet given orders for his movement, because that depends on the movement of the enemy: that the Russian army from Moldavia, consisting of three divisions, or twenty thousand men strong, infantry, cavalry, and artillery included, passed the Dnieper in the beginning of September; that it may march towards Moscow to reinforce the army under the command of General Kutusow, or towards Volhinia to reinforce that of Tormasoff; that General Kutusow's army, beaten at the battle of Moskowa, is at present on the Kaluga, which would lead us to believe that it expects reinforcements which might come from Moldavia, by the road of Kiow; that, in this case, the Duke de Belluno would receive orders to join the great army, either by the road of Jelnia and Kaluga, or any other; that if, on the contrary, the twenty thousand men from Moldavia relieve Tormasoff, this reinforcement will raise Tormasoff's force to forty thousand men; but that our right, under the command of Prince Schwartzenberg, would be still of equal force—as that Prince, with the Austrians, Poles, and Saxons, has about forty thousand men; that moreover I have demanded of the Emperor of Austria, that the corps which the Austrian General Reuss commands at Leinberg should move; and that Prince Schwartzenberg should receive a reinforcement of ten thousand men; that, on the other side, the Emperor Alexander reinforces as much as he can the garrison of Riga, and the corps of Wittgenstein, in order to dislodge Marshal Saint-Cyr from Polozk, and the Duke of Tarentum from Riga and Dünaburg; that letters which came from Prince Schwartzenberg, dated the 24th, would tend to prove that the army of Moldavia, instead of coming towards Moscow, has reached the army of Tormasoff and reinforced it; that it is necessary then to know what will be done; that, in this state of things, I desire that the Duke de Belluno will canton his corps from Smolensko to Orsza; that he will keep up an exact correspondence by all the estafettes with the Duke de Bassano, in order that that Minister may write to him and give him all the news that he shall have from different parts; that he will send a steady, discreet, and intelligent officer to General Schwartzenberg and General Regnier; that this officer shall learn from General Schwartzenberg what is passing, and from General Regnier the true state of affairs; that he will regularly correspond with the Governor of Minsk; and lastly, that he will send agents in different directions to know what is passing; that the division of Gerard shall be placed on the side of Orsza, where it will be four or five days' march from Minsk, three from Witepsk, four or five from Polozk; that the other division, which shall be between Orsza and Smolensko, shall be in a condition to give it speedy assistance; and that lastly, the third division shall be near Smolensko. That, by this means, his corps d'armée will rest itself, and be able easily to find subsistence; that it will be necessary to station it above the route, in order to leave the great communications free for the troops which arrive; that in this position he will be equally able to march upon Minsk, or upon Wilna, if the centre of our communications and of our depôts be threatened; or if Marshal Saint-Cyr should be driven from Polozk, or to execute the order that he might receive to return to Moscow by the road of Jelnia and of Kaluga—if the taking of Moscow and the new state of things should determine the enemy to reinforce himself with a portion of the troops from Moldavia; that the Duke de Belluno will thus form the chief reserve, to go either to the relief of Schwartzenberg and cover Minsk, or to the assistance of Marshal Saint-Cyr and cover Wilna, or to Moscow to reinforce the main army. That General Dombrowski, who has a division of 8000 infantry, and 12,000 Polish horse, is under his orders, which will increase his corps d'armée to four divisions; that the brigade of reserve from Wilna, composed of four Westphalian regiments, of two battalions from Hesse-Darmstadt, which towards the end of the month will arrive from Swedish Pomerania, and of eight pieces of cannon, will also be under his orders; that, in fine, in the course of November, two new divisions will assemble;—the one at Warsaw, that is, the thirty-second division, which will be augmented by three battalions from Wurtsburg, and will remain under the command of General Durutte; the other at Kœnigsberg, that is, the thirty-fourth, which was in Pomerania under the orders of General Morand, and which, also increased by some battalions, will be commanded by General Loison. Thus, whether it be necessary to march to the assistance of Prince Schwartzenberg, or to the assistance of Marshal Saint-Cyr, the Duke de Belluno will always assemble a mass of forty thousand men; that, as the correspondence by estafette is quick, I always give my orders; and that it would only be in the event of Minsk or Wilna being threatened or menaced, that the Duke de Belluno should march of his own authority to protect these two grand depôts of the army; that the Duke de Belluno, having the general command over all Lithuania and the governments of Smolensko and of Witepsk, should every where accelerate the progress of the administration, and especially take efficacious measures that the requisitions for corn and forage be carried into effect; that there are ovens at Mohilow, at Orsza, at Rasasna, and at Dubrowna; that he must get a great deal of biscuit ready, and put himself in a situation to have thirty days' provisions secured for his corps, without taking any thing from the military transports, or from the convoys which may be passing for the army. The Duke de Belluno will take care to keep up a correspondence at Witepsk: he is at liberty to send troops to support that point, and to maintain himself there; he can then go in person to Mohilow, to Witepsk, or Smolensko, to know the ground, and to expedite the administration. If, by any accident, the communication with Moscow should be intercepted, he would take care to send cavalry and infantry to open it again."
We had no longer either food or forage; men and horses were alike exhausted; retreat became indispensable. A question arose as to the means of carrying away our wounded. I began to be able to walk; on the 13th I went to the palace: Napoleon asked with kindness in what state my wounds were, how I was going on. He showed me the portrait of the King of Rome, which he had received at the moment we were going to begin the battle of the Moskowa. He had shown it to most of the Generals. I had to carry orders; the battle began; we had other things to attend to. He wished now to make me amends; he looked for the medallion, and observed, with a satisfaction which betrayed itself in his eyes:—"My son is the finest child in France."
A moment after, a memorial was brought from the Intendant-general, who required forty-five days to remove the wounded. "Forty-five days! he is deceived. If nothing were done, part would get well and part would die; there would only be the remainder to remove; and experience proves, that three months after a battle there remains but the sixth part of the wounded. I wish to remove them; I will not let them remain here exposed to the brutality of the Russians." We perceived from the saloon the workmen who were busy in taking away the cross of the great Ivan. "Do you see what a flock of ravens hover around that lump of old iron? Do they think to hinder us from taking it away? I will send that cross to Paris, I will have it placed on the dome of the Invalids."
It was the 18th of October; the departure was fixed for the 19th. My wound was not quite closed up. I mounted on horseback to see if I could bear the motion.