Through Russian Snows: A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow by G. A. Henty

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  THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS

  G.A.HENTY]

  SERGEANT JULIAN WYATT RECEIVES THE CROSS OF THE LEGION OFHONOUR.]

  THROUGH RUSSIAN SNOWS

  A STORY OF

  NAPOLEON'S RETREAT FROM MOSCOW

  BY

  G.A. HENTY

  Author of "Beric the Briton," "One of the 28th," "Condemned as a Nihilist," "For Name and Fame," "In the Heart of the Rockies," etc.

  _WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY W.H. OVEREND AND THREE MAPS_

  NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1902

  COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

  THE CAXTON PRESS NEW YORK.

  PREFACE

  There are few campaigns that, either in point of the immense scale uponwhich it was undertaken, the completeness of its failure, or theenormous loss of life entailed, appeal to the imagination in so great adegree as that of Napoleon against Russia. Fortunately, we have in thenarratives of Sir Robert Wilson, British commissioner with the Russianarmy, and of Count Segur, who was upon Napoleon's staff, minutedescriptions of the events as seen by eye-witnesses, and besides thesethe campaign has been treated fully by various military writers. I haveas usual avoided going into details of horrors and of acts of crueltyand ferocity on both sides, surpassing anything in modern warfare, andhave given a mere outline of the operations, with a full account of thestern fight at Smolensk and the terrible struggle at Borodino. I wouldwarn those of my readers who may turn to any of the military works for afurther history of the campaign, that the spelling of Russian places andnames varies so greatly in the accounts of different writers, thatsometimes it is difficult to believe that the same person or town ismeant, and even in the narratives by Sir Robert Wilson, and by LordCathcart, our ambassador at St. Petersburg, who was in constantcommunication with him, scarcely a name will be found similarly spelt. Imention this, as otherwise much confusion might be caused by those whomay compare my story with some of these recognized authorities, orfollow the incidents of the campaign upon maps of Russia.

  Yours sincerely,

  G.A. HENTY.

  CONTENTS

  CHAP. PAGE

  I. TWO BROTHERS, 11

  II. BEFORE THE JUSTICES, 30

  III. IN A FRESH SCRAPE, 48

  IV. THE SMUGGLER'S CAVE, 67

  V. FOLLOWING A TRAIL, 84

  VI. A COMMISSION, 103

  VII. A FRENCH PRISON, 122

  VIII. PISTOL PRACTICE, 140

  IX. A DUEL, 158

  X. SMOLENSK, 177

  XI. WITH THE RUSSIAN ARMY, 195

  XII. BORODINO, 213

  XIII. WITH THE REAR-GUARD, 242

  XIV. NEY'S RETREAT, 263

  XV. IN COMFORTABLE QUARTERS, 292

  XVI. AN UNEXPECTED MEETING, 309