Through Russian Snows (35 page)

Day by day the numbers dwindled away. The safety of the French army thus
far was chiefly due to the vacillation, if not the absolute treachery,
of Kutusow. Moving on by roads well supplied with provisions, and
perfectly acquainted with the movements of the enemy, he was able to
outmarch them, and several times had it absolutely in his power to
completely overwhelm the broken remains of Napoleon's army. But, in
spite of the entreaties of the generals and the indignation of the army,
he obstinately refused to give the order. The French army no longer
travelled by a single road; sometimes the corps were separated from each
other by great masses of Russian troops. Numerous detached battles were
fought; but in each of these the French troops, although suffering
heavily, displayed their old courage, and either by hard fighting cut
their way through obstacles, or managed by long and circuitous marches
to evade them.

Napoleon's plans, which, if carried out, would have saved the army, were
brought to nought by the incapacity of the generals charged with the
duty. The vast depôts and stores that had been formed at various points
fell successively into the hands of the various Russian armies now
operating against the French. Bridges of vital importance on the line of
retreat were captured and destroyed, and repeated defeats inflicted upon
the armies that should have joined Napoleon as he fell back. Everywhere
fatal blunders were made by the French commanders, and it seemed as if
Heaven had determined to overthrow every combination formed by
Napoleon's sagacity, in order that the destruction of his army should be
complete. The army of Macdonald, that should have joined him, was itself
warmly pressed by the forces of Wittgenstein and the garrison of Riga,
which had been greatly reinforced. Schwarzenberg, with the Austrian
army, fell back without striking a blow; for the Austrians, in view of
the misfortunes that had befallen Napoleon, were preparing to cast off
their alliance with him; and to aid in his discomfiture, Wittgenstein
was ordered by Alexander to withdraw at once from his operations against
Macdonald and to march upon Borizov on the Berezina, the point towards
which Napoleon was making; while Admiral Tchichagow, with the army of
the Danube, that had been engaged in watching the Austrians, was to
march in the same direction, and also interpose to cut off the French
retreat.

NEY'S RETREAT

Ney's corps, as usual, had remained at Smolensk as the rear-guard of the
army. The rest and abundance of food did much to restore their
morale
.
Ney had utilized the time they remained there to see that the arms were
examined, and new ones served out from the magazines in place of those
found to be defective. A certain amount of clothing was also served out
to the troops, and discipline restored. The numerous stragglers
belonging to the divisions that had gone on were incorporated with his
regiments, and all prepared for the toilsome and dangerous march before
them. They believed that at Krasnoi they should come up with the main
body of the army. But Krasnoi had already fallen, and the enemy were
mustering thickly along the road.

"We have a rough time before us, Jules," one of the veterans said. "I
should not say as much to any of the youngsters, but your spirits seem
proof against troubles. You see, in the first place, we know really
nothing of what is going on. For the last four days we have heard the
sound of cannon in the air. It is a long way off, and one feels it
rather than hears it; but there has certainly been heavy and almost
constant fighting. Well, that shows that there are Russians ahead of
us. Never was I in a country before where we could get no news. It is
all guess-work. There may be 50,000 Russians already between us and
Davoust's division, and there may be only a handful of Cossacks. It is a
toss-up. Nothing seems to go as one would expect in this country. We are
at a big disadvantage; for the skill of our generals is thrown away when
they are working altogether in the dark.

"Do you know, this reminds me a good deal of our pursuit of your army to
Corunna; only there I was one of the hunters, while here we are the
hunted. When we entered the towns they had quitted we heard that they
were altogether disorganized—a mere rabble of fugitives. But whenever
we came up to them they turned round and fought like their own
bull-dogs; and never did they make a stronger stand than they did when
we came up at last and caught them at Corunna. There was the army we had
been told was a disorganized mass standing in as good order, and with as
firm a front, as if they had but just landed from their ships. And it
was not in appearance only. They had 16,000 men; we had 20,000. They had
only six or eight cannon, having embarked the remainder on board their
ships; we had over fifty guns; and with Soult in command of us, there
was not a man but regarded the affair as being as good as over, and
considered that the whole of them would fall into our hands. Well, it
wasn't so. We were on higher ground than they were, and soon silenced
their little guns; and the village of Elvira, in front of their
position, was carried without difficulty.

"Suddenly their reserve marched round, fell on our flank, and threatened
our great battery that was in position there. They drove us out of
Elvira, and for a time held us in check altogether. The fight round
there became very hot; but they pushed forward and continued to attack
us so desperately that they partly rolled our left up, and if it had not
been that night set in—the fight had not begun until two
o'clock—things would have gone very badly with us, for we were falling
back in a great deal of confusion. There was a river behind us with but
a single bridge by which we could retreat, and I can tell you we were
glad indeed when the English ceased to press us and the firing stopped.
All night their picket-fires burned, and we were expecting to renew the
battle in the morning, when we found that their position was deserted,
and that they were embarking on board their ships. That shows that
although troops may be greatly disorganized in a retreat they do not
fight any the worse when you come up to them.

"The English had practically no guns, they had no cavalry, they were
inferior in numbers, and yet they beat us off. Their back was against a
wall. You see, they knew that if they didn't do it there was nothing but
a French prison before them. It is the same thing with us, lad; we don't
want to fight—we want to get away if we can. But if we have got to
fight we shall do it better than ever, for defeat would mean death; and
if a soldier has got to die, he would a thousand times rather die by a
musket-ball or a bayonet-thrust than by cold and hunger. There is one
thing in our favour, the country we have to cross now is for the most
part forest; so we shall have wood for our bivouacs, and if we have to
leave the road it will cover our movements and give us a chance of
making our way round the enemy. You will find that child a heavy burden,
Jules. I do not blame you for bringing her along with you, but when
things come to such a pass as this a man needs every ounce of his
strength."

"I am aware of that," Jules said, looking at Stephanie as she stood
laughing and talking with some of the soldiers at a fire close by; "but
I believe that I shall save her. I cannot help thinking she would never
have given that little cry which met my ears as I passed by the broken
carriage, if it had not been meant that she should be saved. To all
appearance she was well-nigh insensible, and she would have suffered no
more pain. It would have been a cruel instead of a kind action to save
her, when she was already well-nigh dead. I firmly believe that, whoever
falls during the struggle that may be before us, that child will get
through safely and be restored to her parents. I don't say that I think
that I myself shall go through it, but my death does not necessarily
mean hers. If she falls into the hands of the peasants, and tells them
who she is, they may take care of her for the sake of getting a reward,
and she may in time be restored to her friends. At any rate, as long as
I have strength to carry her I shall assuredly do so; when I cannot, I
shall wrap her in my cloak and shall lie down to die, bidding her sit
wrapped up in it till she sees some Russians approaching. She will then
speak to them in their own language and tell them who she is, and that
they will get a great reward from her parents if they take care of her
and send her to them."

"You are a good fellow, comrade—a man with a heart. I trust that,
whoever gets out of this alive, you may be one of them. To most of us it
matters little one way or the other. We have had our share of good luck,
and cannot expect that the bullets will always avoid us. Now let us turn
in, for we march at daybreak. At any rate, we may think ourselves lucky
to have had five days' rest here, with no more trouble than was needed
to keep the Russians from occupying that place across the river."

Julian called Stephanie to him, lay down by the side of his comrade near
the fire, and was soon fast asleep. They were under arms before daylight
broke, and in a few minutes were on the way. They had marched but half a
mile when a series of tremendous explosions were heard—the magazines
left behind at Smolensk had been blown up, together with such buildings
as the fire had before spared. 112 guns had been left behind, there
being only sufficient horses remaining to draw twelve. The fighting
force was reduced to 7000 combatants, but there were almost as many
stragglers, more or less armed, with them. The march led by the side of
the Dnieper, and they bivouacked that night at Korodnia. The next day
they arrived at a point within four miles of Krasnoi, where, on a hill,
fronted by a deep ravine, 12,000 Russians, with forty guns, had taken up
their position.

A thick mist covered the lower ground, and the advance of the French was
not perceived by the enemy until they were within a short distance of
its crest. Then the forty guns poured a storm of grape into the leading
regiment. The survivors, cheering loudly, rushed forward at the
batteries, and had almost reached them, when a heavy mass of Russian
infantry flung themselves upon them with the bayonet, and after a short
but desperate struggle hurled them down the hill again. The Russian
cavalry charged them on the slope, and swept through their shattered
ranks. Ney, ignorant that Napoleon had already left Krasnoi, and that
the whole Russian army barred his way, made another effort to force a
passage. He planted his twelve guns on a height above the ravines, and
sent forward several companies of sappers and miners to endeavour to
carry the battery again. Gallantly they made their way up the hill
through a storm of fire. But the Russians again fell upon them in great
force, and few indeed were enabled to make the descent of the hill and
rejoin their comrades.

Darkness had set in now, and Ney, finding it impossible to make his way
further, and feeling sure that had the Emperor been still at Krasnoi he
would have sent a force to his assistance, fell back into the forest.
His position was a desperate one; the scanty supply of provisions with
which they had started was exhausted, and they were in an unknown
country, surrounded by foes, without a guide, without carriage for the
wounded, without an idea of the direction in which to march. The Russian
general sent in two flags of truce, offering him terms of capitulation
which would save the life of himself and of his brave soldiers. Ney,
however, was not yet conquered. He detained the messengers with the
flags of truce, lest they might take news to their general of the
position of his force, and then, with all capable of the exertion,
continued his march. They passed in silence within half a mile of the
Cossack fires, and reaching a village on the Dnieper, attempted the
passage; but the ice broke under the first gun, and it was necessary to
abandon the whole of the artillery and every vehicle.

Before the entire body had passed, the Cossacks, attracted by the sound
made by the troops marching across the ice, arrived and captured several
hundred prisoners, for the most part stragglers. In a village further on
they found temporary rest, surprising a few Cossacks and capturing their
horses, which afforded a ration to the troops; but on the next morning a
great swarm of Cossacks appeared on the plain and opened a heavy
artillery fire. Unable to advance in that direction the column turned
towards a wood on its left, but as it was about to enter the refuge, a
battery concealed there poured a volley of grape into them. The column
hesitated, but Ney dashed to the front, and they rushed forward and
drove the battery from the wood. All day they continued their march
through the forest, until, coming upon a village, they obtained a few
hours' rest and shelter and some food.

It had been a terribly heavy day, for the snow here was not, as on the
road, trampled down, and the marching was very heavy. Julian had carried
the child the greater part of the day. The grenadiers had not been
actively engaged, as they formed the rear-guard, and several times his
friend the sergeant relieved him of Stephanie's weight.

"This is better luck than I looked for, comrade," he said as they cooked
the food they had found in the village, filled their pipes, and sat down
by a blazing fire. "
Peste!
I was frightened as we crossed the river
last night. We knew the ice was not strong, and if it had given way as
we crossed, not a man upon it would have reached the other side.
However, it turned out for the best, and here we are again, and I
believe that we shall somehow get through after all. Ney always has good
luck. There is never any hesitation about him. He sees what has to be
done and does it. That is the sort of man for a leader. I would rather
serve under a man who does what he thinks best at once, even if it turns
out wrong, than one who hesitates and wants time to consider. Ney has
been called 'the child of victory,' and I believe in his star. Anyone
else would have surrendered after that fight yesterday, and yet you see
how he has got out of the scrape so far. I believe that Ney will cross
the frontier safe, even if he carries with him only a corporal's guard."