Through Russian Snows: A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XII
BORODINO
Barbarously as the French army behaved on its advance to Smolensk,things were even worse as they left the ruined town behind them andresumed their journey towards Moscow. It seemed that the hatred withwhich they were regarded by the Russian peasantry was now even more thanreciprocated. The destruction they committed was wanton and wholesale;the villages, and even the towns, were burnt down, and the whole countrymade desolate. It was nothing to them that by so doing they addedenormously to the difficulties of their own commissariat; nothing thatthey were destroying the places where they might otherwise have foundshelter on their return. They seemed to destroy simply for the sake ofdestruction, and to be animated by a burning feeling of hatred for thecountry they had invaded.
Since the days of the thirty years' war in Germany, never had war beencarried on in Europe so mercilessly and so destructively. As he saw theruined homes or passed the bodies of peasants wantonly shot down, JulianWyatt regretted bitterly that he had not been content to remain aprisoner at Verdun. Battles he had expected; but this destruction ofproperty, this warring upon peaceful inhabitants, filled him withhorror; his high spirits left him, and he no longer laughed and jestedon the march, but kept on the way in the same gloomy silence thatreigned among the greater part of his companions. When half way toMoscow a fresh cause of uneasiness manifested itself. The Russians nolonger left their towns and villages for the French to plunder and burn,but, as they retreated, themselves applied fire to all the houses, witha thoroughness and method which showed that this was not the work ofstragglers or camp-followers, but that it was the result of a settledplan. At last news came that the Russians had resolved to fight apitched battle at Borodino, and the spirits of the army at once rose.
Napoleon halted them for two days, in order that they might rest andreceive provisions from the baggage trains following. On the 4th ofSeptember they marched forward as before, in three columns, preceded byMurat's cavalry, which brushed aside the hordes of Cossack horse.Half-way to Gratz, a Russian division stoutly held for some time aheight up which the road wound, but after some sharp fighting was forcedto retreat.
The Russian position at Borodino was a strong one. The right was coveredby the rivulet of Kolocza, which was everywhere fordable, but ranthrough a deep ravine. Borodino, a village on the banks of this rivulet,formed their centre, and their left was posted upon steeply risingground, almost at right angles with their right. Borodino itself--whichlay on the northern side of the Kolocza--was not intended to be held inforce. The rivulet fell into the river Moskwa half a mile beyondBorodino. Field-works had been thrown up at several points, and near thecentre were two strong redoubts commanding Borodino and the high-road.Other strong works had been erected at important points.
PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF BORODINO.]
Considerably in advance of the general line of the position a strongwork had been erected; this it was necessary to take before the mainposition could be attacked, and at two in the afternoon of the 5th,Napoleon directed an assault to be made upon this redoubt. It wasobstinately held by the Russians. They were several times driven out,but, as often, reinforcements came up, and it was captured by them;and finally, after holding it until nightfall, they fell back to theirmain position, the loss having been heavy on both sides. The next daywas spent by Napoleon in reconnoitring the Russian position and decidingthe plan of attack. Finally he determined to make a strong demonstrationagainst the village of Borodino, and, under cover of this, to launch hiswhole army upon the Russian left wing. On the morning of the 7th,Napoleon posted himself on an eminence near the village of Chewardino.Near the spot, earthworks were thrown up during the night for theprotection of three batteries, each of twenty-four guns. Davoust and Neywere to make a direct attack on the enemy's left. Poniatowski was toendeavour to march through the woods and gain the rear of the Russianposition. The rest of the force were to keep the Russian centre andright in check. The Imperial Guard formed the reserve.
On the Russian side Bagration's army formed the left, Beningsen's thecentre, and Barclay's the right. The French force numbered about150,000, the Russian from 80,000 to 90,000. The French had a thousandguns, the Russians 640. At six in the morning of the 7th of Septemberthe French batteries opened fire along the whole line, and the Russiansat once replied. The roar of artillery was incessant, and ere long therattle of musketry swelled the din, as Davoust launched the division ofDesaix, and Ney that of Campans, against three small redoubts in frontof the Russian position. Impetuous as was the assault, the Russiansreceived it with unflinching courage; two of the Russian generals werewounded, but the assault was repulsed. Ney moved up another division,and after severe fighting the redoubts were carried. They were held,however, but a short time, for Woronzow led forward his grenadiers insolid squares, and, supporting the advance by a charge of cavalry,recaptured them, and drove the French back across the ravine in front ofthem.
There was now a short pause in the attack, but the roar of artillery andmusketry continued unbroken. Poniatowski now emerged from the wood, andfell upon the Russian left rear, capturing the village of Outitska.Touchkoff, a brother of the general who had been captured at Loubino,who commanded here, fell back to a height that dominated the village andthe ground beyond it, and maintained himself until mid-day. On theFrench left, where the Viceroy Beauharnois commanded, the advance wasstubbornly opposed, and the French artillery was several times silencedby the guns on the eminence. At last, however, the Russians were drivenacross the rivulet, and the French occupied Borodino. Leaving a divisionof infantry to protect his rear, the Viceroy crossed the stream andadvanced against a great battery in front of the village of Gorki.Davoust and Ney remained motionless until nine o'clock, as Napoleonwould not forward the reinforcements they had asked for until he learnedthat Poniatowski had come into action, and that the Viceroy had crossedthe stream and was moving to the attack of the Russian centre. Now,reinforced by the division of Friant, they moved forward.
For an hour the Russians held their advanced works, and then were forcedto fall back; and the French, following up their advantage, crossed aravine and occupied the village of Semianotsky, which had been partiallydestroyed on the previous day by the Russians, so that if captured itwould afford no cover to the French. It was but for a short time thatthe latter held it. Coming up at the head of his grenadiers, Touchkoffdrove them out, recrossed the ravine, and recaptured the advance worksthey had before so obstinately contested. In turn the French retook thethree redoubts; but, again, a Russian division coming up wrested theposition from them, and replanted their flag there. Napoleon, seeingthat no impression could be made on the Russian left, now sent ordersto the Viceroy to carry the great redoubt before Gorki. In spite of thedifficulties presented by the broken ground, the three French divisionspressed forward with the greatest gallantry, and, heedless of the stormof grape poured upon them, stormed the redoubt. But its late defenders,reinforced by some battalions from Doctorow's corps, dashed forward torecover the position, and fell with such fury upon the French that theregiment that had entered the redoubt was all but annihilated, and theposition regained, while at the same moment two regiments of Russiancavalry fell upon reinforcements pressing forward to aid the defenders,and threw them into disorder.
The Viceroy now opened fire on the redoubt with all his artillery,inflicting such loss upon the defenders that it was soon necessary torelieve them with a fresh division. Ney, finding it impossible to carryand hold the three redoubts in front of him, directed Junot to endeavourto force his way between the main Russian left and Touchkoff's division;but he was met by Prince Eugene's Russian corps, which brought hisadvance to a standstill. Junot's presence there, however, acted as asupport to Poniatowski, who, covered by the fire of forty pieces ofcannon, advanced against Touchkoff's division. For a time he gainedground, but the Russian general, bringing up all his troops, assumed theoffensive, and, driving Poniatowski back, recovered the lost ground. Thebrave Russian leader, however, was mortally
The Russians, perceiving the magnitude of the movement, despatched largereinforcements to the defenders, and at the same time, to effect adiversion, sent the greater portion of their cavalry round to menacethe French rear at Borodino. Three hundred Russian guns opposed the fourhundred of the French, and amidst the tremendous roar of the guns, thegreat mass of French infantry hurled themselves upon the Russians. For atime no impression could be made, so sternly and fiercely did theRussians fight, but Bagration, their commander, with several othergenerals, were badly wounded and forced to retire. Konownitsyn assumedthe command, but the loss of the general, in whom they placed implicitconfidence, told upon the spirits of his troops, and Konownitsyn wasforced to abandon the three redoubts, and to take up a new positionbehind Semianotsky, where he re-established his batteries and checkedthe progress of the enemy.
A portion of the French cavalry now made a desperate attempt to breakthrough the Russian left, but two regiments of the Imperial Guard,throwing themselves into squares, maintained their position until fiveregiments of Russian cuirassiers came up and forced their assailantsback. At this critical moment the great mass of Russian cavalry that hadbeen sent round to attack the Viceroy fell upon his rear, drove hiscavalry into the village with great loss, and pressed the infantry sohard that the Viceroy himself had to take refuge in one of his squares.Having thus succeeded in distracting the enemy's attention, arrestinghis tide of battle, and giving time to the Russians to reform and planttheir batteries afresh, the Russian cavalry withdrew. The Viceroyrecrossed the stream again, and prepared to make another attack upon thegreat bastion he had before captured, and the whole line again advanced.While the Viceroy attacked the great redoubt in front, Murat sent adivision of his cavalry round to fall upon its rear, and, although sweptby artillery and infantry fire, the brave horsemen carried out theirobject, although almost annihilated by the fire of the defenders of theredoubt.
The French infantry took advantage of the attention of the defendersbeing diverted by this attack, and with a rush stormed the work; thefour Russian regiments who held it fought to the last, refusing alloffers of quarter, and maintaining a hand-to-hand conflict untilannihilated. The Russian artillery, in the works round Gorki, swept theredoubt with their fire, and under its cover the infantry made repeatedbut vain attacks to recapture it, for their desperate bravery wasunavailing against the tremendous artillery fire concentrated upon them,while the French on their part were unable to take advantage of theposition they had gained. Napoleon, indeed, would have launched histroops against the works round Gorki, but his generals represented tohim that the losses had already been so enormous, that it was doubtfulwhether he could possibly succeed, and if he did so, it could only bewith such further loss as would cripple the army altogether.
At three o'clock Napoleon, whose whole army, with the exception of theImperial Guard, had been engaged, felt that nothing further could bedone that day, and ordered the battle to cease. He had gained the threeredoubts on the Russians' left and the great redoubt captured by theViceroy, but these were really only advanced works, and the mainposition of the Russians still remained entirely intact. At night theFrench retired from the positions they had won, to those they hadoccupied before the battle begun, retaining possession only of thevillage of Borodino. The loss of the combatants during the two days'fighting had been nearly equal, no less than 40,000 men having beenkilled on each side, a number exceeding that of any other battle inmodern times. Napoleon expected that the Russians would again givebattle next morning, but Kutusow, contrary to the opinion of most of hisgenerals, decided on falling back. Beningsen, one of his best officers,strongly urged him to take up a position at Kalouga, some seventy milesto the south of Moscow. The position was a very strong one. Napoleoncould not advance against Moscow, which was in a position to offer along and determined resistance, until he had driven off the Russianarmy. At Kalouga they could at any moment advance on to his line ofcommunication, cut off all his supplies, and isolate him from France.
The advice was excellent, but Kutusow, who was even more unfitted thanBarclay for the post of commander-in-chief, refused to adopt thiscourse, and fell back towards Moscow, followed by the French. Thesufferings of the latter had already become severe--the nights weregetting very cold, the scarcity of food was considerable, the greaterpart of the army was already subsisting on horse-flesh, the warmclothing, which was becoming more and more necessary, was far in therear, their shoes were worn out, and it was only the thought that theywould have a long period of rest and comfort in Moscow, that animatedthem to press forward along the fifty miles of road between Borodino andthat city.
Julian had passed through the terrible battle unscathed. It seemed tohim, when fighting had ceased for the day, that it was almost miraculousa single man should have survived that storm of fire. While the fighthad actually been going on, the excitement and the ardour of battle hadrendered him almost insensible to the danger. With the soldiers as withtheir generals the capture of the three small redoubts became, as theday went on, a matter on which every thought was bent, every energyconcentrated; it was no longer a battle between French and Russians, buta struggle in which each man felt that his personal honour wasconcerned. Each time that, with loud cheering, they stormed theblood-stained works, they felt the pride of victory; each time that,foot by foot, they were again forced backwards, there was rage in everyheart and a fierce determination to return and conquer.
In such a struggle as this, when men's passions are once involved,death loses its terror; thickly as comrades may fall around, those whoare still erect heed not the gaps, but with eyes fixed on the enemy infront of him, with lips set tightly together, with head bent somewhatdown as men who struggle through a storm of rain, each man presses onuntil a shot strikes him, or he reaches the goal he aims at. At such atime the fire slackens, for each man strives to decide the struggle,with bayonet or clubbed musket. Four times did Julian's regiment climbthe side of the ravine in front of the redoubts, four times were theyhurled back again with ever-decreasing numbers, and when at last theyfound themselves, as the fire slackened, masters of the position, themen looked at each other as if waking from some terrible dream, filledwith surprise that they were still alive and breathing, and faint andtrembling, now that the exertion was over and the tremendous strainrelaxed. When they had time to look round, they saw that but one-fourthof those who had, some hours before, advanced to the attack of theredoubt of Chewardino remained. The ground around the little earthworkswas piled thickly with dead Frenchmen and Russians, and ploughed up bythe iron storm that had for eight hours swept across it. Dismountedguns, ammunition boxes, muskets, and accoutrements were scatteredeverywhere. Even the veterans of a hundred battles had never witnessedsuch a scene, had never gone through so prolonged and terrible astruggle. Men were differently affected, some shook a comrade's handwith silent pressure, some stood gazing sternly and fixedly at the lineswhere the enemy still stood unconquered, and tears fell down many abronzed and battle-worn face; some sobbed like children, exhausted bytheir emotions rather than their labours.
The loss of the officers had been prodigious. Eight generals were killedand thirty wounded, and nearly two thousand officers. The colonel andmajors of Julian's regiment had fallen, and a captain, who was but sixthon the list when the battle began, now commanded. Between three o'clockand dusk the men were engaged in binding up each other's wounds, eatingwhat food they carried in their haversacks, and searching for more inthose of the fallen. Few words were spoken, and even when the order cameto evacuate the position and retire to the ground they had left thatmorning, there was not a murmur; for the time no one seemed to care whathappened, or what became of him. Once on the ground where they were tobivouac, fresh life was infused into their veins. The chill
"Well, comrade, so you too have gone through it without a scratch,"Julian's friend, the sergeant, said to him. "Well, you will never seesuch a fight again if you grow gray in the service. Where are those whoscoffed at the Russians now? They can fight, these men. It was a battleof giants. No one could have done more than we did, and yet they did asmuch; but to-morrow we shall win."
"What! do you think we shall fight again to-morrow?"
"That is for the Russians to say, not for us. If they stand we mustfight them again. It is a matter of life and death for us to get toMoscow. We shall win to-morrow, for Napoleon will have to bring up theImperial Guard, 20,000 of his best troops, and the Russians put theirlast man into the line of battle to-day, and, never fear, we shall win.But I own I have had enough of it. Never before have I hoped that theenemy in front of us would go off without a battle, but I do so now. Wewant rest and quiet. When spring comes we will fight them again asoften as they like, but until then I for one do not wish to hear a gunfired."
"I am sure I do not, sergeant," Julian agreed; "and I only hope that weshall get peace and quiet when we reach Moscow."
"Oh, the Russians will be sure to send in to ask for terms of peace assoon as we get there," the sergeant said confidently.
"I hope so, but I have great doubts, sergeant. When people are ready toburn their homes rather than that we should occupy them, to desert allthat they have and to wander away they know not where, when they willfight as they fought to-day, I have great doubts whether they will talkof surrender. They can bring up fresh troops long before we can. Theywill have no lack of provisions. Their country is so vast that they knowthat at most we can hold but a small portion of it. It seems to me thatit is not of surrender they will be thinking, but of bringing up freshtroops from every part of their empire, of drilling and organizing andpreparing for the next campaign. I cannot help thinking of what wouldhappen to us if they burnt Moscow, as they have burned half a dozentowns already."
"No people ever made such a sacrifice. What, burn the city they considersacred!--the old capital every Russian thinks of with pride! It nevercan be, but if they should do so, all I can say is, God help us all. Fewof us would ever go back to France."
"So it seems to me, sergeant. I have been thinking of it lately, andafter the way in which the Russians came on, careless of life, under thefire of our cannon to-day, I can believe them to be capable ofanything."
The next morning it was found that the Russian lines were deserted. Sothe French army set forward again on its march, and on the morning ofthe 14th arrived within sight of Moscow. Kutusow had at one time seemeddisposed to fight another battle in front of the city, and had given asolemn promise to its governor that he should have three days' notice ofany change in his determination, and so allow time for him to carry outhis intention to evacuate the town, when the municipal authorities were,methodically and officially, to proceed to destroy the whole city byfire. This promise Kutusow broke without giving any notice whatever. Onthe 13th, at a council of war, he overruled the objections of hisgenerals, and determined to retreat, his arguments being that the groundwas unsuited for defensive operations; that the defeat of the onedisciplined army would endanger the final success of the war; and thatit was for Russia, not for any one city, they were fighting.
The argument was not without reason; but, if he had resolved not tofight again, he should have accepted the advice to take up a position onNapoleon's flank. Had he done this, the French could have made noadvance, and Moscow would have been saved from destruction.
As the army began its passage through the capital the exodus of theinhabitants commenced. Already the wealthier classes had removed theireffects, and the merchants the greater part of their goods. Now thewhole population poured out into the streets, and thousands of carts andvehicles of all descriptions, packed closely with household furniture,goods, and effects of all kinds, moved towards the gates. Out of 200,000inhabitants 180,000 left the city, with 65,000 vehicles of every kind.In addition to these were enormous quantities of fugitives from everytown and village west of Smolensk, who had hitherto accompanied thearmy, moving through the fields and lanes, so as to leave the roadsunencumbered for the passage of the guns and trains.
Every Russian peasant possesses a roughly-made cart on two or fourwheels, and as their belongings were very scanty, these, as a rule,sufficed to hold all their property. The greater portion of thefugitives had passed out of the city at two o'clock in the afternoon,and shortly afterwards Murat with his cavalry passed across the river bya ford and entered the town. A few desperate men left behind openedfire, but were speedily overpowered and killed, but a number ofcitizens, mad with fury, rushed so furiously upon Murat and his staff,that he was obliged to open fire upon them with a couple of light guns.
At three o'clock Napoleon arrived with his guards, expecting to be meton his arrival by the authorities of the city with assurances of theirsubmission and prayers for clemency for the population. He was astoundedwith the silence that reigned everywhere, and at hearing that Moscow hadbeen evacuated by the population. Full of gloomy anticipations heproceeded to the house Murat had selected for him. Strict orders wereissued against pillage, and the army bivouacked outside the city. Thetroops, however, were not to be restrained, and as soon as it was darkstole away and entered the town in large numbers and began the work ofpillage. Scarcely had they entered when in various quarters fires brokeout suddenly. The bazaar, with its ten thousand shops, the crownmagazines of forage, wines, brandy, military stores, and gunpowder werespeedily wrapped in flames. There were no means of combating the fire,for every bucket in the town had been removed by the orders of thegovernor.
Many a tale of strange experience in all parts of Europe was told aroundthe camp-fires of the grenadiers of the Rhone that evening. Several ofthe younger men had been among those who had gone into Moscow in searchof plunder. They had returned laden with goods of all sorts, and but fewwithout a keg of spirits. The colonel had foreseen this, and had calledthe sergeants together.
"My braves," he said, "I am not going to punish anyone for breakingorders to-night. If I had been carrying a musket myself I have no doubtthat I should have been one of those to have gone into the town. Aftersuch a march as we have had here, it is only natural that men shouldthink that they are entitled to some fun; but there must be nodrunkenness. I myself shall be at the quarter-guard, and six of you willbe there with me. Every bottle of spirits brought in is to beconfiscated. You will take it in your charge, and serve out a goodration to every man in the regiment, so that those who have done theirduty and remained in camp shall fare as well as those who have brokenout. I have no doubt there will be sufficient brought in for all. Whatremains over, you can serve out as a ration to-morrow. It is good to bemerry, but it is not good to be drunk. The grenadiers have done theirshare of fighting and deserve their share of plunder, but do not letpleasure go beyond the line of duty. Give a good ration to each man,enough to enjoy the evening, and to celebrate our capture of Moscow, butnot enough to make them noisy. It is like enough that the general willbe round to-night to see how things are going on, and I should wish himto see us enjoying ourselves reasonably. Anything else that is broughtin, with the exception of spirits, can be kept by the men, unless ofcourse there is a general order issued that all plunder is to be givenup."
As fully half the regiment were away, and as every man brought back oneor more bottles or kegs of spirits, the amount collected at thequarter-guard was very considerable. Those of the men who, on comingback, showed any signs of intoxication were not allowed a share, buthalf a litre of spirits was served out to every other man in theregiment; and although a few
"I have marched into a good many capitals," the old sergeant said. "Iwas with the first company that entered Madrid. I could never make outthe Spaniards. At one time they are ready to wave their hats and shout"Viva!" till they are hoarse. At another, cutting your throat is toogood for you. One town will open its gates and treat you as theirdearest friends, the next will fight like fiends and not give in tillyou have carried the last house at the point of the bayonet. I was fondof a glass in those days; I am fond of it now, but I have gained witenough to know when it is good to drink. I had a sharp lesson, and Itook it to heart."
"Tell us about it, comrade," Julian said.
"Well it was after Talavera. We had fought a hard battle there with theEnglish, and found them rough customers. The Spaniards bolted likesheep. As soldiers, they are the most contemptible curs in the world.They fought well enough in the mountains under their own leaders, but assoldiers, why, our regiment would thrash an army of 15,000 of them. TheEnglish were on the top of the hill--at least at the beginning therewere a few of them up there, and we thought that it would be an easy jobto drive them off, but more came up, and do what we would, we could notmanage it; so it ended with something like a drawn battle. We claimedthe victory, because they fell back the next morning, and they claimedit because they had repulsed all our attacks. However, we reaped thebenefit; they really fell back, because those rascally Spaniards theywere fighting for, starved them; and, besides that, we had two otherdivisions marching to interpose between them and Portugal, and that oldfox Wellington saw that unless he went off as fast as he could, he wouldbe caught in a trap.
"They got a good start of us, but we followed, and three nights afterTalavera two companies of us were quartered for the night in the villageright out on the flank of the line we were following. Well, I got holdof a skin of as good wine as ever I drank. Two or three of us stole outto enjoy it quietly and comfortably, and so thoroughly did we do it,that I suppose I somehow mistook my way back to my quarters, wanderedaside, and then lay down to sleep. I must have slept soundly, for Iheard neither bugle nor drum. When I awoke the sun was high, and therewas a group of ugly-looking Spaniards standing near me. I tried to jumpup on to my feet, but found that my arms and legs were both tied.However, I managed to sit up and looked round. Not a sign of our uniformwas there to be seen; but a cloud of dust rising from the plain, maybeten miles away, showed where the army had gone.
"Well, I gave it up at once. A single French soldier had never foundmercy at the hands of the Spaniards, and I only wondered that they hadnot cut my throat at once, instead of taking the trouble to fasten meup. I knew enough of their language to get along with, and, putting asbold a face as I could on it, I asked them what they had tied me up for.They laughed in an unpleasant sort of way, and then went away. 'Let mehave a drink of water,' I said, for my throat was nearly as dry as afurnace. They paid no attention, and till sunset left me there in thefull heat of the sun. By the time they came back again I was half madwith thirst. I supposed then, as I have supposed ever since, that theydid not cut my throat at once, because they were afraid that some otherdetachment might come along, and that if they found my body or a pool ofblood, they would, as like as not, burn the village over their heads.Anyhow at sunset four men came, cut the ropes from my feet, and told meto follow them. I said that I would follow willingly enough if theywould give me a drink of water first, but that if they didn't they mightshoot me if they liked, but not a step would I walk.
"They tried kicking and punching me with their guns, but finding that Iwas obstinate, one of them called to a woman down by the village tobring some water. I drank pretty near a bucketful, and then said I wasready to go on. We went up the hill and then on some ten miles to avillage standing in the heart of a wild country. Here I was tied to apost. Two of them went away and returned in a few minutes with a manthey called El Chico. I felt before that I had not much chance, but Iknew now that I had none at all, for the name was well enough known tous as that of one of the most savage of the guerilla leaders. He abusedme for ten minutes, and told me that I should be burnt alive nextmorning, in revenge for some misconduct or other of a scouting party ofours. I pointed out that as I was not one of that scouting party it wasunfair that I should be punished for their misdeeds; but, of course, itwas of no use arguing with a ruffian like that, so he went away, leavingme to my reflections.
"I stood all night with my back to that post. Two fellows with musketskept guard over me, but even if they hadn't done so I could not have gotaway, for I was so tightly bound that my limbs were numbed, and thecords felt as if they were red hot. In the morning a number of womenbrought up faggots. El Chico himself superintended their arrangement,taking care that they were placed in a large enough circle round me thatthe flames would not touch me; so that, in fact, I should be slowlyroasted instead of burned. I looked about in the vague hope one alwayshas that something might occur to save me, and my heart gave a jump whenI saw a large body of men coming rapidly down a slope on the other sideof the village. They were not our men, I was sure, but I could not seewho they were; anyhow there might be someone among them who wouldinterpose to save me from this villain.
"Everyone round me was too interested in what was going on to noticeanything else; and you may be sure that I did not look that way again,for I knew well enough that if the guerilla had noticed them he wouldshoot me at once rather than run any risk of being baulked of hisvengeance. So it was not until they began to enter the village thatanyone noticed the new arrivals. A mounted officer, followed by fourtroopers, dashed down ahead and rode up to us, scattering the crowdright and left. I saw at once by his uniform that he was an Englishofficer, and knew that I was saved. I fancy I must have been weak, for Ihad had nothing to eat the day before, and had been tied up all night.For a time I think I really fainted. When I recovered some soldiers hadcut my bonds, and one was pouring some spirits down my throat. TheEnglish officer was giving it hot to El Chico.
"'You dog!' he said, 'it is you, and the fellows like you, who bringdiscredit on your country. You run like sheep when you see a Frenchforce under arms. You behave like inhuman monsters when, by chance, asingle man falls into your power. I have half a mind to put you againstthat wall there and have you shot; or, what would meet your desertsbetter, hang you to yonder tree. Don't finger that pistol, youscoundrel, or I will blow your brains out. Be off with you, and thankyour stars I did not arrive ten minutes later; for if I had come toolate to save this poor fellow's life, I swear to you that I would havehung you like a dog. Who is the head man of the village?'"
A man stepped forward.
"'What do you mean, sir,' said the officer sternly, 'by permitting thisvillain to use your village for his atrocities? As far as I can see youare all as bad as he is, and I have a good mind to burn the whole placeover your ears. As it is, I fine the village 800 gallons of wine, and4000 pounds of flour, and 10 bullocks. See that it is all forthcoming ina quarter of an hour, or I shall set my men to help themselves. Not aword! Do as you are ordered!'
"Then he dismounted, and was coming to me, when his eye fell on ElChico. 'Sergeant,' he said to a non-commissioned officer,' take fourmen and march that fellow well outside the village, and then stand andwatch him; and see that he goes on, and if he doesn't, shoot him.' Thenhe came over to me. 'It is well that I arrived in time, my lad,' he saidin French.' How did you get into this scrape?'
"'It was wine did it, sir. I drank too much at our bivouac in a villagedown the plain, and did not hear the bugles in the morning, and got leftbehind. When I awoke they had tied me up, and they kept me lying in thesun all day, not giving me as much as a drop of water. At sunset theymarched me up here and tied me to that post, and El Chico told me that Ishould be roasted in the morning; and so it certainly would have been ifyou had not come up.'
"I learned that he was a Colonel Trant. He commanded a force ofPortug
"'I don't want to keep you prisoner, my man,' he said. 'In the firstplace, I don't wish to be troubled with looking after you; and in thesecond, you cannot be considered as a prisoner of war, for you wereunarmed and helpless when we found you. Now, we are going to march allnight. I am not going to tell where we are going; but I think it likelythat we shall pass within sight of your camp-fires, and in that case Iwill leave you to make your way down to them, and will hand you backyour musket and pouch, which you may want if you happen to fall in witha stray peasant or two.'
"I had noticed that they had taken along my musket and pouch, which hadbeen brought up by the fellows that guarded me. They were strapped on toa mule's pack, of which they had about a couple of dozen with them, butI little thought the gun was going to be given me again.
"'Monsieur le Colonel,' I said, 'I thank you from my heart. I shouldhave felt disgraced for ever if I were to go into the camp unarmed. Now,I shall be able to go in with my head erect, and take my punishment forhaving got drunk, and failing to fall in at the assembly, like a man. Onthe honour of a French soldier, I swear that I shall for ever regard theEnglish as the most generous of foes.'
"It was noon when we started, and at nine o'clock at night, as we werekeeping along high up on the hills, I saw our bivouac fires. A minute ortwo later, the colonel rode up.
"'There are your fires, lad,' he said. 'I don't fancy there is anyvillage between us and the spot where your people are encamped. However,as there is a moon, you will be able to avoid one if you come upon it;and seeing you are armed, any peasants you may meet will scarcelyventure to attack you within musket-shot of your own lines. Here is anote I have written to the colonel of your regiment telling him of theplight I found you in, and expressing a hope that what you have gonethrough may be considered a sufficient punishment for your indulgence intoo much wine. Good-night.'
"Well, I got down safely enough. Of course, when I got to our line ofpickets, I was challenged, and sent in a prisoner. In the morning I wastaken before the colonel. He rated me soundly. I can tell you. When hehad finished, I saluted and handed him the note. He read it through, andhanded it to the major.
"'A letter from the enemy,' he said. 'It is from Trant, who must be agood fellow as well as a brave soldier, as we know to our cost. Tell memore about this, Rignold.'
"I told him.
"'I agree with the Englishman,' he said. 'You have had a lesson thatwill last you all your life. I wish I had means of sending an answerback to this English colonel, thanking him for his generous treatment.If he ever falls into our hands, I will take care that this action ofhis shall be brought to the general's notice. You can go.'
"Well, you see, that lesson has lasted all my life; and I am certainlynot likely to forget it here, where the peasants are every bit as savageas the Spaniards. But as for the English, though I have fought with themhalf a dozen times since, and have been beaten by them too, I havealways had a liking for them. That was one reason why I took to you,youngster, from the first."
"They fight well, do they?" one of the other sergeants asked. "I neverwas in Spain, but I thought from the bulletins that we generally beatthem."
"Bulletins!" growled Rignold, "who can believe bulletins? We have got soaccustomed to writing bulletins of victory that when we do get thrashedwe can't write in any other strain. Why, I tell you that we who havefought and conquered in Italy and Austria, in Prussia and on the Rhine,have learned to acknowledge among ourselves, that even our best troopswere none too good when it came to fighting the English. I fought adozen battles against them, and in not one of them could I honestly saythat we got the best of it. Talavera was the nearest thing. But we werefairly thrashed at Busaco and Salamanca. Albuera we claimed as a drawnfight, but such a drawn fight I never wish to share in again. The dayhad been going well. The Spaniards of course bolted, horse and foot. Butat last matters cleared up, and we advanced against them in heavycolumns. Soult called up all the reserves. We had captured six of theirguns. Our columns had crowned the hill they held, and we cheered loudly,believing that the battle was won, when an English brigade in line fellupon us. Our guns swept them with grape, and that so terribly that for atime they fell into confusion. But to our astonishment they rallied, andcame down on us. We were four to one, but we were in columns, and strovein vain to form into line to meet them. Volley after volley swept awaythe head of our formation. Soult exposed himself recklessly. Officersand men ran forward, and we kept up a fire that seemed as if it mustdestroy them, and yet on they came, cheering incessantly. Never did Isee such a thing. Never did any other man there see such a thing. Theycame down upon us with the bayonet. We strove, we fought like madmen;but it was in vain, and we were hurled down that hill in utterconfusion.
"We heard afterwards that of the 6000 British soldiers who began theday, but 1800 stood unwounded at the end. They had with them 24,000Spaniards, but, of course, we never counted them as anything, and theydid their allies more harm than good by throwing them into confusion intheir flight. We had 19,000 infantry, all veteran troops, mind you, andyet we could not storm that hill, and drive those 6000 Englishmen offit. We lost over 8000 men, and that in a battle that lasted only fourhours. Our regiment suffered so that it was reduced to a third of itsnumber. We fought them again at Salamanca, and got thrashed there; soonafter that we were sent back to France to fill up our ranks again, and Ifor one was glad indeed when we were sent to the Rhine and not back toSpain; for I tell you I never want to meet the English again in battle.Borodino was bad enough, and for stubborn, hard fighting, the Russianshave proved themselves as tough customers as one can want to meet; butthe English have more dash and quickness. They manoeuvre much morerapidly than do the Russians, and when they charge, you have either gotto destroy them or to go."
"You are right there, comrade," another said. "I was with my regiment,the 5th, at Badajoz. It was a strong place. Phillipson, who was incommand, was a thoroughly good officer. He had strengthened the defencesin every way, and the garrison was 5000 strong. We reckoned we couldhold out for three months anyhow. 15,000 men sat down before us on the17th of March, and began to open trenches against a strong outlyingfort. We made several sorties, and did all we could to hinder them, buton the 25th they stormed the fort. It was defended desperately, but inan hour it was all over. Still, that was only an outlying work. Soultwas known to be advancing to our relief; but he waited to gather aslarge a force as possible, believing, reasonably enough, that we couldhold out a month, while we still calculated on holding out for three.The English worked like demons, and on the 6th of April they had madetwo breaches. We had prepared everything for them. We had planted minesall over the breaches. We had scores of powder barrels, and hundreds ofshells ready to roll down. We had guns placed to sweep them on bothflanks and along the top. We had a stockade of massive beams in whichwere fixed sword blades, while in front of this the breach was coveredwith loose planks studded with sharp iron points.
"Every man behind the stockade had half a dozen spare muskets. A legionof devils could not have taken the place. They did not take it, butnever did mortal men try harder. Even when they felt that it wasabsolutely impossible, they stood there amid that storm of shot andshell, exploding powder barrels, and bursting mines. Two thousand menwere killed
"After all, comrades," another veteran said, "it seems to me that itdoes not make much difference who you have got to fight against, for yousee the generals make things about even. If one of our generals findsthat there are say 50,000 Spaniards marching against him, while hisforce is only 10,000, he gives battle. Well, he won't give battle to50,000 Austrians unless he has got something like 35,000. I should saythat after Borodino he would like to have 40,000, at least, against50,000 Russians. No doubt the English calculate the same way, and, inSpain, we must admit that we always found them ready to fight when, asfar as numbers went, we outmatched them. So I take it that thedifference between the fighting powers of armies is not felt so much asyou would think by each soldier, because allowance for that is made bythe generals on both sides, and the soldiers find themselves alwayshandicapped just in proportion to their fighting powers. So you seethere is a big element of luck in it. The question of ground comes in,and climate, and so on. Now, taking Spain, though 10,000 against 50,000would be fair enough odds in a fight in the open, if a hundred of uswere attacked by 500 Spaniards among the mountains, it would go veryhard with us. And, again, though 1000 Frenchmen might repulse 3000 ofthose Mamelukes if they attacked us in the cool of the morning or in theevening, yet if we were caught in the middle of the day, with the sunblazing down, and parched with thirst, we might succumb. Then, ofcourse, the question of generals counts for a great deal. So you seethat even supposing both sides agree, as it were, as to the fightingpowers of their troops, the element of luck counts for a lot, and beforeyou begin to fight you can never feel sure that you are going to win."
"Well, but we do win almost everywhere, Brison."
"Yes, yes; because we have Napoleon and Ney and Soult and the rest ofthem. We have had to fight hard many and many a time, and if the battlehad been fought between the same armies with a change of generals,things would have gone quite differently to what they did."
"You were with Napoleon in Egypt, were you not?" Julian asked.
"Yes, I was there; and, bad as this desolate country is, I would anyhowrather campaign here than in Egypt. The sun seems to scorch into yourvery brain, and you are suffocated by dust. Drink as much as you will,you are always tormented by thirst. It is a level plain, for the mostpart treeless, and with nothing to break the view but the mud villages,which are the same colour as the soil. Bah! we loathed them. And yet Iought not to say anything against the villages, for, if it had not beenfor one of them, I should not be here now. I will tell you the tale. Twohundred of us had been despatched to seize some of the leading sheiks,who were said to be holding a meeting in some place fifteen miles awayfrom where we were encamped. We had a squadron of horse and a hundred ofour men. We afterwards found that the whole story was a lie, invented toget us into a trap. We were guided by a villainous-looking rogue on acamel, and beyond the fact that we were marching south-east, we had noidea where we were going. Half the cavalry kept ahead. We had marchedfour hours, when, on coming on to the crest of one of the sand-hills, wesaw about half a mile away a little clump of mud huts. Near the foot ofsome high hills to the right were some tents.
"'There it is,' the guide said, pointing to the tents. And the cavalryset off at a gallop, followed by the guide, who soon fell far into theirrear. Just as the cavalry reached the tents, we saw two great masses ofhorsemen appear from behind the sand-hills on either flank, and withloud yells ride down upon them. With a shout of fury we were about tobreak into a run, but the major who was in command said, 'It is useless,comrades. There is but one hope. Make for that village. We can holdthat; and there, if any of our comrades escape, they will find shelter.Double, march.' Off we went, but it was against the grain. We could hearthe cracking of pistols, the shouts of our brave fellows, the yells ofthe Arabs, and our hearts were there; but we felt that the major wasright. There must have been fully a couple of thousand of the Arabs, andwe should have but thrown away our lives. It was a terrible run. Theheat was stifling; the dust rose in clouds under our feet. We couldscarce breathe, but we knew that we were running for life. As we nearedthe village, we heard yells behind us.
"'A hundred yards further, lads,' the major shouted. We did it, and whenwe reached the first house we halted. Three hundred yards away were adozen of our troopers, followed by a mob of Arabs. The Major facedtwenty men about, and ordered the rest of us to divide ourselves amongthe huts. There were but nine of these. The villagers, who had seen uscoming, had bolted, and we had just got into the houses when we heardthe rear-guard open fire. There was a young lieutenant with thetroopers, and, as they rode in, he ordered them to dismount, and to leadtheir horses into the huts. A moment later the rear-guard ran in. Wefelt for a moment like rats caught in a trap, for, in the hut I was in,there were but two rooms. One had no light but what came in at the door;the other had an opening of about nine inches square, and that notlooking into the street. In a moment, however, we saw that there was aladder leading up to the flat roof, and we swarmed up. These houses areall built with flat roofs made of clay like the walls. Some of them havea parapet about a foot high; some of them none at all. In better-classvillages some of the parapets are a good deal higher; so that the womencan sit there unobserved from the other roofs.
"The hut we were in had a low parapet, and we threw ourselves downbehind it. The street was full of horsemen, yelling and dischargingtheir guns at the doors; but when, almost at the same moment, a rattlingfire broke out from every roof, the scene in the street changed as if bymagic. Men fell from their horses in all directions. The horses plungedand struggled, and so terrible was the _melee_ that, had the housesstood touching each other, I doubt whether a man of those who enteredwould have got out alive. As it was, they rode out through the openings,leaving some sixty or seventy of their number dead in the street. We hadbreathing time now. The whole of the Arab horsemen presently surroundedus, but the lesson had been so severe that they hesitated to makeanother charge into the village. The major's orders, that we were not tothrow away a shot, unless they charged down in force, were passed fromroof to roof round the village. We were ordered to barricade the doorswith anything we could find, and if there was nothing else, we were,with our bayonets, to bring down part of the partition walls and pilethe earth against the door. Each hut was to report what supply of waterthere was in it. This was to be in charge of the non-commissionedofficer, or the oldest soldier if there was not one, and he was to seethat it was not touched at night. It was to be divided equally among allthe huts.
"'You will understand, men,' he shouted from his roof, 'that our livesdepend more upon the water than upon your arms. We could defend thisplace against that horde for a year; but if water fails altogether,there will be nothing to do but to sally out and sell our lives asdearly as we can.' Fortunately, we had still water with us, for it wasnot known whether we should find any on the march, and we had beenordered to leave our kits behind, and to carry, in addition to thewater-bottles, a skin holding about a gallon. In our hut we found eightporous jars, each of which would hold about a couple of gallons. Six ofthem were full. The empty ones we filled up from our skins, for thesejars keep the water wonderfully cool. In none of the other huts had theyfound so good a supply as ours, but all had more or less water; and, ontotalling them up, it was found that there was an average of four jarsin each hut, without, of course, counting that which we had brought. Asthere were a hundred and ten of us, this gave a total sup
"The major ordered that the allowance was to be a pint night and morningfor the first four days. If help did not come at the end of that time,it was to be reduced by half. We could see where the water came from.There was a well-worn path from the village to a hollow about threehundred yards away, and we could see that there was a great hole, and itwas down this that the women went to fill their water-jars. It was aconsolation to us that it was so close, for, if the worst came to theworst, half of us could go down at night and refill the jars. No doubtthey would have to fight their way, but, as the rest could cover them bytheir fire, we felt that we should be able to manage it. For the nextfour days we held the place. We slept during the day. The Arabs did notcome near us then; but as soon as it got dusk they began to crawl up,and flashes of fire would break out all round us.
"Unfortunately, there was no moon, and as they came up pretty nearlynaked, their bodies were so much the colour of the sand that they couldnot be made out twenty yards away. They were plucky enough, for theywould come right in among the houses and fire through the doors, andsometimes a number of them would make a rush against one; but nothingshort of bursting the doors into splinters would have given them anentry, so firmly did the piles of earth hold them in their places. Inthe middle of the fifth day a cloud of dust was seen across the plainfrom the direction in which we came. No one had a doubt that it was aparty sent to our relief, and every man sprang to his feet and swarmedup on to the roof, as soon as the man on watch above told us the news;directly afterwards the major shouted, 'Each man can have a ration ofwater.'
"In a few minutes we saw the Arabs mount and ride off, and it was notlong before five hundred of our cavalry rode into the village. We hadonly lost five men; all had been shot through the head as they werefiring over the parapet. We had each night buried those who fell, and infive minutes after the arrival of the cavalry, were ready to start onour march back. If it had not been for that village, and for thequickness with which the major saw what was the only thing to be done,not a single man would ever have got back to camp to tell what hadhappened. They were brave fellows, those Arabs; and, if well drilled byour officers, would have been grand troops on such an expedition asthis, and would have taught the Cossacks a good many things at their owngame.
"The Egyptian infantry were contemptible, but the Arabs are grandhorsemen. I don't say that in a charge, however well drilled, theycould stand against one of our cuirassier regiments. Men and horseswould be rolled over; but for skirmishing, vidette duty, and foraging,no European cavalry would be in it with them. They are tireless, bothhorses and men, and will go for days on a little water and a handful ofdates; and if the horses can get nothing else, they will eat the datesjust as contentedly as their masters."
Several times as these stories had been told, the group had risen totheir feet to watch the fires that were burning in various parts of thetown, and just as the sergeant brought his story to a close, theassembly sounded.
"I have been expecting that for some time," Brison said. "As ourdivision is nearest to the city, I thought they would be sure to turn usout before long, to put out those fires. They must be the work of someof our rascally camp-followers, or of some of the ruffians of the town,who have been breaking into deserted houses and plundering them. Well,the liquor is finished, and there is always interest in fighting afire."
Five minutes later, the Grenadiers of the Rhone and six other regimentsof their division marched into Moscow to extinguish the flames.