A Helping Hand

There aren’t many paintings of the army on the march during the advance into Russia, most are on the better known retreat.  By marching, I mean moving in mass along the road.  One exception is Albrecht Adam‘s painting of a scene he witnessed.

General Pino’s Division on the March
16 July 1812
by Albrecht Adam

General Pino’s Division on the March
“Despite the Viceroy’s [Prince Eugène de Beauharnais] every effort to preserve order in his corps [IV], and to seek to maintain the troops well fed and in condition, there were many soldiers who, as they marched through the deserts of Lithuania, were subject to the most cruel privations.  The burden of want fell, in particular, on Pino’s division as this unit was acting as rearguard.  There was no lack of meat but the scarcity of bread was greatly felt.  Soldiers were soon reduced to such a state that you could see them literally collapse by the roadside unable to continue despite their every effort.”

“One evening as we trotted alongside a column of Italians dragging itself along, we saw one such unfortunate collapse into the dusty sands of the road.  A grenadier, who had been marching next to him, vainly sought to persuade his comrade to move.  Finally, an officer, mounted on a poor pony, arrived and convinced the man to march on to the next shelter.  Taking the soldier’s haversack, and that of the grenadier, he trotted on whilst the grenadier, carrying his musket as well as his own, supported his exhausted comrade.  The two of them staggered on as the column continued its lugubrious march.”

“I could not resist sketching such a moving scene.”

Source:
Napoleon’s Army in Russia: The Illustrated Memoirs of Albrecht Adam, 1812; Edited by Jonathan North

Sleeping Under the Stars

One thing people may not realize is that the Grande Armée did not use tents on the Russian campaign.  As hard as it may be for us to imagine, according to John R. Elting in Swords Around A Throne, Napoleon did not approve of tents.  “It is much better for the soldier to bivouac because he can sleep with his feet to the fire, which quickly dries out the ground on which he lies  A few boards or a little straw shelter him from the wind…”

“Tents attract the attention of the enemy’s staff and make known your numbers and the position you occupy.  But of an army bivouacking in two or three lines, nothing is perceived in the distance except the smoke, which the enemy confounds with the mist of the atmosphere.  He cannot count the fires.”

Elting points out that tents also require time to pitch and strike as well as hundreds of additional wagons for transport.

As for what it was like to sleep out in the open, he quotes Elzéar Blaze: “When you are in bivouac in the face of the enemy, everyone goes to bed completely clothed, everyone sleeps, so to speak, with their eyes open…. Sometimes we went a month without taking off our boots…. When the weather is cold, everyone sleeps close to the fire, but you grill one one side and freeze on the other.”

The Emperor Gives Promotions

From Captain Coignet’s memoirs we have the story of how Napoleon promoted him to Lieutenant.  Coignet was in the Imperial Guard Grenadiers, Napoleon’s body guards.  The chasseurs of the guard had been sent ahead.  “On the 13th of July, he issued an order for twenty-two non-commissioned officers to be sent to him, for promotion to lieutenancies in the line.  As the chasseurs had all gone off, all the promotions fell to us.  We had to be on the square at two o’clock to be presented to the Emperor.  At noon I was passing by with my package of letters, for distribution, under my arm; Major Belcourt grasped my arm, and, pressing it heartily, said, ‘My man, you will be a lieutenant of the line before today is over.'”

“Thank you, but I do not wish to return to the line.”

“I tell you, you will wear a lieutenant’s epaulets today; and I give you my word that if the Emperor puts you into the line, I will manage to have you returned to the guard.  So not a word; be on the square at two o’clock, without fail.”

“At two o’clock the Emperor came to review us; all twenty-two of us were there, standing in line.  Beginning at the right-hand man, and looking every one of those fine-looking non-commissioned officers all over from head to foot, he said to General Dorsenne, ‘These will make fine regimental officers.'”

“When he came to me, he saw that I was the smallest of them all, and the major said to him, ‘This is our instructor; he does not wish to go into the line.'”

“‘What!  you do not wish to go into the line?'”

“‘No, sire; I wish to remain in your guard.'”

“‘Very well, I will appoint you to my minor staff.'”  Then, turning to his chief of staff, Count Monthyon, he said, ‘Take this little ‘grouser,’ and let him be attached to the minor general staff.’  How glad I was to remain near the Emperor!  I did not suspect that I was leaving paradise for hell; but I later found that it was so.”

 

“The Wealth and Comfort of the Landowner”

On the night of July 11, 1812, Albrecht Adam with IV Corps, spent the night near the headquarters of the Corps commander, Prince Eugène.  Adam thought the courtyard of the castle there would make a “…fitting subject for a painting… as such buildings are relatively rare in this region.”

In the Courtyard of Holzany Castle,
Headquarters of the Viceroy of Italy
11 July 1812
by Albrecht Adam

In the Courtyard of Holzany Castle,
Headquarters of the Viceroy of Italy
“The castle walls ring living quarters inhabited by an old landowner.  The grounds boast a pretty garden, laid out in the English style, and the castle’s estates are fertile and lush.  There was also a stud farm, boasting excellent Polish stock, and all of this announced to the world the wealth and comfort of the landowner.”

Source:
With Napoleon in Russia: The Illustrated Memoirs of Albrecht Adam, 1812; Edited by Jonathan North

Feeding the Army on the March

In George F. Nafziger’s book, Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia, he writes that Napoleon is unfairly criticized for the lack of provisions for the army during the Russian campaign.
Foraging on the move rather than relying on a supply train had worked for the French army’s advantage for many years.  Napoleon was aware of the poor foraging situation he would find in Russia.  The French studied the Russian campaign of Sweden’s Charles the XII and knew about the Russian’s scorched earth tactic.
Napoleon began accumulating supplies in depots a year prior to the invasion.  To move the provisions, Napoleon planned on using wagons and increasing their capacity by adding two more horses to the usual four.  This reduced the need for wagons.  When rains hit, however, the wagons sank in the poor Russian roads and could not keep up with the advancing army.
Napoleon’s plan was to engage the enemy quickly and not advance as far as Moscow, making a long supply train unnecessary.  The Russians, however, refused to stand and fight and Napoleon continued to advance, stretching his supply train.

The Viceroy of Italy’s Camp

This account from Albrecht Adam describes some of the conditions faced on the march.

The Viceroy of Italy’s Camp,
Wielke-Solezniki
Night of 8 to 9 July 1812
by Albrecht Adam

The Viceroy of Italy’s Camp, Wielke-Solezniki
“On the 8th we were hit by such a terrible storm that the Viceroy [Prince Eugène de Beauharnais] and his entire staff were obliged to call a halt to their march along the main road even though they were but three miles from Imperial Headquarters.  They did this in an attempt to escape the torrential rain.  Horses could make no further progress and anyone attempting to ride soon ground to a halt.  Eventually, the march was resumed and we arrived at Headquarters soaked to the skin and absolutely exhausted.  Fortunately, a beautiful summer’s evening gave us respite and this probably persuaded the Viceroy to sleep beneath the stars rather than risk a night in a dirty house prey to vermin.”

“One of the Prince’s aides-de-camp, General Triaire, lies next to him on a simple wooden bed with a mattress of straw.  A soldier from the Guards of Honour stands sentinel next to the fire.”

Source;
Napoleon’s Army in Russia: The Illustrated Memoirs of Albrecht Adam, 1812; Edited by Jonathan North

Russian Snows at Napoleon’s tomb

I’m back now from a trip to France with my daughter and step-son.  It was a school trip so it was a whirlwind experience without time to see anything in-depth.  Due to a fortunately timed, but unplanned, bathroom break during a bus tour of Paris on the first day, I was able to have myself photographed with a copy of Russian Snows: Coming of Age in Napoleon’s Army at Napoleon’s tomb.

Scott Armstrong with copy of Russian Snows:Coming of Age in Napoleon’s Army at Napoleon’s tomb.
June 26, 2012.

Thank you to my charming and patient daughter, Helen,  for making the hurried tour of the tomb with me and taking the picture before we had to be back on the tour bus.

The book I am holding is the copy I gave to my son, Nathaniel, who did not accompany us on the trip.  He’ll be able to say he has a copy of a book that was in the presence of the Emperor.

Now that I’m back, I’ll begin posting more 200th anniversary accounts of the invasion of Russia.

French vs. German Foragers

In yesterday’s post, we read about the animosity between the French and German troops in Ney’s IIIrd Corps.  Today’s post is an interesting observation about the differences between French and German foragers.  The observer states that the French were much better foragers than the Germans.  The interesting thing is that the observer was German, a Württemberger, General graf von Scheler.  Von Scheler was also in Ney’s Corps, the same Corps as yesterday’s eyewitness.

In a report to the King of Bavaria, von Scheler discussed why the German troops suffered more than the French from lack of rations:  “The principle cause by far lies in the different natures of the German and French soldier.  Already when we crossed the Vistula all regular food supply and orderly distribution ceased, and from there as far as Moscow not a pound of meat or bread, not a glass of brandy was taken through legal distribution or regular requisition.  Beyond the Vistula, as soon as the few stocks of food had been exhausted, the order of the day was at once issued: ‘Let each man take wherever he can find it, and live as well or as badly as he can manage.’ ”

“At this point the difference between the German and French soldier became very apparent, and to the serious disadvantage of the former.  In this repect the French soldier revealed an extraordinary knack and on these exhausting detachments lived only for the good of his comrades, almost ignoring his own welfare…”

“The Germans were quite different…  Too many detachments were required for each to be led by an officer … And so the soldier, left to his own devices, thought first of filling his own belly when he found anything to eat.  In the actual hunt for food he was much too slow…  Instead of being content with a quick refreshment, he wanted first to cook everything properly…  As a result he was late, could not overtake the regiment, which had received orders to march in the meantime; and he either turned marauder and stayed in the rear, or else threw his booty away to lighten his load, and rejoined the regiment with little or nothing.”

“…there remained no other method, unfortunately, except to leave most of the supplies to chance or to the zeal of individuals, because the sending-out of detachments had to be abandoned, seeing that a number of men vanished to no purpose, whereas the French foraging parties returned well-laden to camp.”

“… the temperament of the German soldier was not suited to conducting this foraging with the same cunning, speed, self-sacrifice, and camaraderie as were required when swift marches and few halts were customary.”

Faber du Faur, an artillery officer and artist, also served with the Württemberg contingent in the IIIrd Corps.  He did a painting showing troops foraging Near Eve on June 29.  The following description accompanies the painting:  “There has never been a campaign in which tropps have relied so much on living off the land, but it was the way it was done in Russia that caused such universal suffering – for the soldiers of the army as well as for the inhabitants.  Because of its rapid marches and its enormous size, the army faced a dearth of everything and it was impossible to procure event the barest necessity.”

“It was around this time that we reached Eve that one can date the start of this

Near Eve, 9 June
By Faber du Faur

fatal requisitioning and the destruction of the surrounding countryside, which, naturally, had devastating consequences.  Every day, as we broke camp, we could see clouds of marauders and isolated bodies of troops make off in all directions, setting off to find the barest of essentials.  They would return to camp in the evening, laden with their booty.”

“Inevitably, this kind of behavior made an unfortunate impression on Lithuania, which had so long been under the yoke of Russia and, instead of any benefit from its new alliance, saw only the pillaging and oppression wrought by its new allies.  In addition, discipline was sapped, and tolerating or turning a blind eye to these misdemeanors, whether or not they really benefited the troops, only speeded up the destruction of this potentially formidable army.”

Sources: 1812: Naplolen’s Defeat in Russia Antony Brett-James

With Napoleon in Russa: The Illustrated Memoirs of Major Faber du Faur Edited and Translated by Jonathan North

 

A Crowded Road

The purpose of this blog is to tell about what daily life on the campaign was like for the soldiers who experienced it.  Two things that are often overlooked are the fact that the French made up only about half of the 500,000 strong Grandé Armée.  The rest was made up of countries that had been conquered by France and its allies.

The other is that Russia didn’t have a lot of roads.  Marching a few hundred thousand soldiers (with wagons, artillery, cavalry, etc….) down the same narrow, unpaved road and there are bound to be disputes that break down among national lines.  Following is an account from an unnamed artillery lieutenant serving with troops from Würtemberg [Confederation of the Rhine, now part of Germany] in Ney’s IIIrd Corps:

Wurttemberg artillery piece

“Not only the 3rd Corps was on the march, but often the Imperial Guard as well and sometimes several other corps, all on the same road which, on top of all this, was frequently almost impassable for artillery.  As a result serious disagreements were caused every day by the extreme difficulty in observing a regular order of march.  The artillery was particularly bad in this respect, because if anything broke on a wagon or a gun, or if a horse had to be unharnessed on account of exhaustion, the vehicle in question would be cut off by the troops behind, and it was perhaps evening before it reached the bivouac and could rejoin its battery.  Under these circumstances the French infantry were so unpleasant and brutal that their officers, so as to prevent an unfortunate, godforsaken gun from travelling near, let alone in front of them, would more often than not have bayonets leveled at the leading horses and strike the soldiers of the train.  On our side this behavior aroused intense hatred and bitterest resentment…”

The officer wrote that his brigade often marched on the flank of the corps and sometimes, the artillery would not be able to follow them the whole way and would be obliged to return to the main road.

“…When we did this, nobody wanted to let us into the column, and we had to try and secure a tiny place on the road by dint of asking pleasantly, sometimes with insults and oaths, often at sword-point.  I can honestly say that none of the hardships and dangers of this campaign irked me half as much as this daily bickering and squabbling on the march.  As I was the only officer in the battery who spoke French, it always fell to me to conduct these wrangles.”

Source: 1812: Napoleon’s Defeat in Russia by Antony Brett-James

Family Feud

When Napoleon crossed into Russia, he was hoping to defeat each of the Russian  armies in turn.  His youngest brother, Jérôme, King of Westphalia, was in

Positions on June 23, 1812
Source: Napoleon in Russia: The 1812 Campaign by Alan Palmer

command of an army to the south of Napoleon’s main body and opposite Prince Bagration’s 40,000 strong army.  Jérôme had twice as many troops.

He explained this when he wrote to Jerôme from Königsberg on 15th June;

“As soon as I shall have crossed the Niemen, I shall perhaps resolve to advance on Vilna. I shall then present my flank to the army of Bagration. It will then be essential that you should follow him up closely so that you may take part in the operation I shall make against that army. If I should succeed in separating it from other Russian troops, so as to fall on its right flank, you should be able to attack it at the same time that I do”.

And again on 21st June;

“You are to lean on the centre. In case the enemy turned your right, your line of operations would be on Königsberg. Try to have the Poles reach Augustovo the 23rd, and send a vanguard on Grodno with a lot of light troops. Send forward your bridge in that direction. It is probable that I shall give you the order to move on Grodno with all your army… You will be in continuity with the army, so that everything can act together as a mass, and we will then operate against Bagration according to the position he will occupy.”

Jérôme did capture Grodno, but for the next three days, Napoleon heard nothing from his brother.  When a courier did arrive on July 3, the only information he had was that Jérôme had dismissed General Dominique-Joseph-René Vandamme for suspected embezzlement (or perhaps armed robbery).  Napoleon was furious that this was the only news he received and responded the next day:

“I can only show my displeasure at the little information you have sent me… My operations are held up for lack of news from Grodno… It is impossible to wage war like this.  You think and talk of nothing but trifles.  I am sorry to see how petty all your interests are… You are compromising the success of the whole campaign on the right flank.  It is impossible to wage war like this.”

Meanwhile, Bagration’s army was slipping away and Jérôme did little to stop him.  Through Marshal Berthier, Napoleon rebuked his brother again: “…the fruits of my maneuvers and the most magnificent chance in the war have been lost through…  strange ignorance of the elementary principles of strategy.”

Napoleon secretly authorized Marshal Davout, commander of I Corps, to take command of Jérôme’s VII Corps if he thought he had caught Bagration.  On July 13, Davout thought that he had done just that and informed Jérôme that he was taking command of his troops.  Napoleon, however, had neglected to tell his brother of this arrangement and Jérôme was furious.  He halted his army, dispatched a letter to Napoleon saying that he had “resolved not to serve under anyone but him,” and a few days later returned to Westphalia, accompanied by his bodyguard.

Bagration escaped.

Sources:

Dodge, TA (2008) Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia, First Published 1904-07. Frontline Books (and imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd), Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK. 286 pp.  Thank you to James Fisher for providing this information.

Napoleon in Russia: The 1812 Campaign, Alan Palmer