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diff --git a/34400.txt b/34400.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1f00683 --- /dev/null +++ b/34400.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13513 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Napoleon's Marshals, by R. P. Dunn-Pattison + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Napoleon's Marshals + +Author: R. P. Dunn-Pattison + +Release Date: November 23, 2010 [EBook #34400] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NAPOLEON'S MARSHALS *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +NAPOLEON'S MARSHALS + + + + +[Illustration: MARSHAL NEY COVERING THE RETREAT +FROM THE PAINTING BY YVON AT VERSAILLES] + + + + +NAPOLEON'S +MARSHALS + +BY + +R. P. DUNN-PATTISON, M.A. + +LATE LIEUTENANT ARGYLL AND SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS, AND +SOMETIME LECTURER AT MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD + +WITH TWENTY ILLUSTRATIONS + +METHUEN & CO. +36 ESSEX STREET W.C. +LONDON + + + + +First Published in 1909 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + +INTRODUCTION ix + +SYNOPSIS OF THE MARSHALS xviii + + I. LOUIS ALEXANDRE BERTHIER, MARSHAL, PRINCE OF + WAGRAM, SOVEREIGN PRINCE OF NEUCHATEL AND + VALANGIN 1 + + II. JOACHIM MURAT, MARSHAL, KING OF NAPLES 23 + + III. ANDRE MASSENA, MARSHAL, DUKE OF RIVOLI, PRINCE + OF ESSLING 49 + + IV. JEAN BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE, MARSHAL, PRINCE + OF PONTE CORVO, KING OF SWEDEN 72 + + V. JEAN DE DIEU NICOLAS SOULT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF + DALMATIA 93 + + VI. JEAN LANNES, MARSHAL, DUKE OF MONTEBELLO 117 + + VII. MICHEL NEY, MARSHAL, DUKE OF ELCHINGEN, PRINCE + OF MOSKOWA 141 + + VIII. LOUIS NICOLAS DAVOUT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF AUERSTAeDT, + PRINCE OF ECKMUeHL 162 + + IX. JACQUES ETIENNE JOSEPH ALEXANDRE MACDONALD, + MARSHAL, DUKE OF TARENTUM 183 + + X. AUGUSTE FREDERIC LOUIS VIESSE DE MARMONT, + MARSHAL, DUKE OF RAGUSA 200 + + XI. LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET, MARSHAL, DUKE OF ALBUFERA 219 + + XII. LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR, MARSHAL 231 + + XIII. BON ADRIEN JEANNOT DE MONCEY, MARSHAL, DUKE + OF CONEGLIANO 245 + + XIV. JEAN BAPTISTE JOURDAN, MARSHAL 251 + + XV. CHARLES PIERRE FRANCOIS AUGEREAU, MARSHAL, DUKE + OF CASTIGLIONE 259 + + XVI. GUILLAUME MARIE ANNE BRUNE, MARSHAL 268 + + XVII. ADOLPHE EDOUARD CASIMIR JOSEPH MORTIER, MARSHAL, + DUKE OF TREVISO 278 + + XVIII. JEAN BAPTISTE BESSIERES, MARSHAL, DUKE OF ISTRIA 286 + + XIX. CLAUDE VICTOR PERRIN, MARSHAL, DUKE OF BELLUNO 296 + + XX. EMMANUEL DE GROUCHY, MARSHAL 305 + + XXI. FRANCOIS CHRISTOPHE KELLERMANN, MARSHAL, DUKE + OF VALMY 316 + + XXII. FRANCOIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE, MARSHAL, DUKE OF + DANTZIG 322 + + XXIII. NICOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF + REGGIO 333 + + XXIV. DOMINIQUE CATHERINE DE PERIGNON, MARSHAL 344 + + XXV. JEAN MATHIEU PHILIBERT SERURIER, MARSHAL 349 + + XXVI. PRINCE JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI, MARSHAL 354 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + +MARSHAL NEY COVERING THE RETREAT _Frontispiece_ + (From the painting by Yvon at Versailles. Photo Neurdein) + + FACING PAGE + +ALEXANDRE BERTHIER, PRINCE OF WAGRAM 4 + (From an engraving after the painting by Pajou _fils_) + +JOACHIM MURAT, AFTERWARDS KING OF NAPLES 24 + (From the painting by Gerard at Versailles. Photo Neurdein) + +ANDRE MASSENA, PRINCE OF ESSLING 51 + +JEAN BAPTISTE BERNADOTTE, KING OF SWEDEN 74 + (From an engraving after the painting by Hilaire le Dru) + +JEAN DE DIEU SOULT, DUKE OF DALMATIA 96 + (From a lithograph by Delpech after the painting by Rouillard) + +JEAN LANNES, DUKE OF MONTEBELLO 120 + (From an engraving by Amedee Maulet) + +MICHEL NEY, PRINCE OF MOSKOWA 142 + (From an engraving after the painting by F. Gerard) + +LOUIS NICOLAS DAVOUT, PRINCE OF ECKMUeHL 167 + (From an engraving after the painting by Gautherot) + +JACQUES ETIENNE MACDONALD, DUKE OF TARENTUM 184 + (From a lithograph by Delpech) + +AUGUSTE DE MARMONT, DUKE OF RAGUSA 202 + (From an engraving after the painting by Muneret) + +LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET, DUKE OF ALBUFERA 220 + (From an engraving by Pollet) + +GOUVION ST. CYR, COUNT 233 + (From an engraving after the painting by J. Guerin) + +JEAN BAPTISTE JOURDAN 252 + (After a drawing by Ambroise Tardieu) + +CHARLES PIERRE AUGEREAU, DUKE OF CASTIGLIONE 260 + (From an engraving by Ruotte) + +BRUNE 268 + (From an engraving after the painting by F. J. Harriet) + +ADOLPHE EDOUARD MORTIER, DUKE OF TREVISO 280 + (From an engraving after the painting by Lariviere) + +EMMANUEL DE GROUCHY, MARQUIS 306 + (From an engraving after the painting by Rouillard) + +FRANCOIS CHRISTOPHE KELLERMANN, DUKE OF VALMY 318 + (From an engraving after the painting by Ansiaux) + +NICOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT, DUKE OF REGGIO 332 + (From an engraving after the painting by Robert le Fevre) + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +It is a melancholy but instructive fact to remember that, in the opinion +of him whom nature had adorned with the greatest intellect that the +world has yet seen, selfishness and self-interest lie at the root of all +human action. "For," as Napoleon said, "in ambition is to be found the +chief motive force of humanity, and a man puts forth his best powers in +proportion to his hopes of advancement." It was on this cynical +hypothesis therefore, with a complete disregard of those higher +aspirations of self-sacrifice and self-control which raise man above the +mere brute, that the Corsican adventurer waded through seas of blood to +the throne of France, and then attempted, by the destruction of a +million human beings, to bind on his brow the imperial crown of Western +Europe. In spite of loud-sounding phrases and constitutional +sleight-of-hand, none knew better than Napoleon that by the sword alone +he had won his empire and by the sword alone he could keep it. Keen +student of history, it was not in vain that again and again he had read +and re-read the works of Caesar, and pondered on the achievements of +Charlemagne and the career of Cromwell. The problem he had to solve was, +how to conceal from his lieutenants that his dynasty rested purely on +their swords, to bind their honours so closely to his own fortune that +they should ever be loyal; so to distribute his favours that his +servants should never become so great as to threaten his own position. +It was with this object in view that at the time he seized for himself +the imperial crown he re-established the old role of Marshal of France, +frankly confessing to Roederer that his reason for showering rewards on +his lieutenants was to assure to himself his own dignity, since they +could not object to it when they found themselves the recipients of such +lofty titles. But, with the cunning of the serpent, while he gave with +one hand he took away with the other. He fixed the number of Marshals at +sixteen on the active list and added four others for those too old for +active service. Hence he had it in his power to reward twenty hungry +aspirants, while he robbed the individuals of their glory, since each +Marshal shared his dignity with nineteen others. Plainly also he told +them that, lofty though their rank might appear to others, to him they +were still mere servants, created by him and dependent for their +position on him alone. "Recollect," he said, "that you are soldiers only +when with the army. The title of Marshal is merely a civil distinction +which gives you the honourable rank at my court which is your due, but +it carries with it no authority. On the battlefield you are generals, at +court you are nobles, belonging to the State by the civil position I +created for you when I bestowed your titles on you." It was on May 19, +1804, that the _Gazette_ appeared with the first creation of Marshals. +There were fourteen on the active list and four honorary Marshals in the +Senate. Two batons were withheld as a reward for future service. The +original fourteen were Berthier, Murat, Moncey, Jourdan, Massena, +Augereau, Bernadotte, Soult, Brune, Lannes, Mortier, Ney, Davout and +Bessieres; while on the retired list were Kellermann, Lefebvre, +Perignon, and Serurier. The list caused much surprise and +dissatisfaction. On the one hand there were those like Massena who +received their congratulations with a grunt and "Yes, one of fourteen." +On the other hand were those like Macdonald, Marmont, Victor, and many +another, who thought they ought to have been included. An examination of +the names soon explains how the choice was made. Except Jourdan, who was +too great a soldier to be passed over, all those who could not forget +their Republican principles were excluded. Massena received his baton as +the greatest soldier of France. Berthier, Murat, and Lannes had won +theirs by their talents, as much as by their personal devotion. Soult, +Ney, Davout, and Mortier were Napoleon's choice from among the coming +men, who in the camps of the Army of the Ocean were fast justifying +their selection. Bessieres was included because he would never win it at +any later date, but his doglike devotion made him a priceless +subordinate. Augereau and Bernadotte received their batons to keep them +quiet. The names of Moncey, Brune, Kellermann, Perignon, and Serurier +were intimately connected with glorious feats of the republican armies, +and so, though only fortunate mediocrities, they were included in the +first creation, while Lefebvre, the republican of republicans, now under +the glamour of Napoleon's power, was placed on the list as a +stalking-horse of the extreme members of his party. At the time of the +first creation, of the great soldiers of the Republic, Moreau was +branded as a traitor; Hoche, Marceau, Kleber, Desaix, and Pichegru were +dead; Carnot, the organiser of victory, was a voluntary exile; while +staunch blades like Leclerc, Richepanse, Lecourbe, Macdonald, Victor, +St. Cyr, and Suchet were all more or less in disgrace. By the end of the +Empire, death and the necessity of rewarding merit added to the list of +Marshals until in all twenty-six batons were granted by the Emperor. In +1808 Victor was restored to favour and received his baton. After Wagram, +Macdonald, Oudinot, and Marmont received the prize, while the Spanish +War brought it to Suchet, and the Russian campaign to St. Cyr. In 1813 +the Polish prince, Poniatowski, was sent his truncheon on the field of +Leipzig, while last of all, in 1815, Grouchy was promoted to one of the +vacancies caused by the refusal of many of the Marshals to cast off +their allegiance to the Bourbons. + +It was a popular saying in the Napoleonic army that every private +soldier carried in his knapsack a Marshal's baton, and the early history +of many of these Marshals bears out this saying. But while the +Revolution carried away all the barriers and opened the highest ranks to +talent, be it never so humble in its origin, the history of the Marshals +proves that heaven-born soldiers are scarce, and that the art of war, +save in the case of one out of a million, can only be acquired by years +of patient work in a subordinate position. Of the generals of the +revolutionary armies only four, Moreau, Mortier, Suchet, and Brune, had +no previous military training, and of these four, Moreau and Suchet +alone had claim to greatness. The rough unlettered generals of the early +years of the war soon proved that they could never rise above the +science of the drill-sergeant. Once discipline and organisation were +restored there was no room for a general like the gallant Macard, who, +when about to charge, used to call out, "Look here, I am going to dress +like a beast," and thereon divest himself of everything save his leather +breeches and boots, and then, like some great hairy baboon, with strange +oaths and yells lead his horsemen against the enemy. A higher type was +required than this Macard, who could not understand that because an +officer could sketch mountains he could not necessarily measure a man +for a pair of boots. + +Of the twenty-six Marshals, nine had held commissions ranging from +lieutenant-general to lieutenant in the old royal army, one was a Polish +Prince, an ex-Austrian officer, while one had passed the artillery +college but had refused to accept a commission; eleven had commenced +life as privates in the old service, and of these, nine had risen to the +rank of sergeant; and four had had no previous military training. It +must also be remembered that the standard of the non-commissioned rank +in the royal army just before the Revolution was extremely high. The +reforms of St. Germain and the popularity of the American War had +enticed into the ranks a high class of recruits, with the result that +the authorities were able to impose tests, and no private could rise to +the rank of corporal, or from corporal to sergeant, without passing an +examination. Further, since the officers of the ancient regime left the +entire organisation, discipline, and control in the hands of the +non-commissioned officers, and seldom, if ever, visited their companies +either in barracks or on the parade ground, the non-commissioned +officers, in everything save actual title, were really extremely +well-trained officers. It was this class which really saved France when +the old officers emigrated and the incapable politicians in Paris did +their best to ruin the army. Hence it was that, without prejudice to the +service, a sergeant might one day be found quietly obeying the orders of +his company officer, and the next day with the rank of lieutenant-colonel +commanding his battalion. + +The art of war can only be truly learned in the field, and the officers +of the French army had such an experience as had never fallen to the lot +of any other nation since the days of the Thirty Years' War. With +continuous fighting winter and summer, on every frontier, military +knowledge was easily gained by those who had the ability to acquire it, +and the young generals of brigade, with but three years' service in +commissioned rank, had gone through experiences which seldom fall to the +lot of officers with thirty years' service. The cycle of war seemed +unending. From the day on which, in 1792, France hurled her declaration +of war on Austria, till the surrender of Paris, in 1814, with the +exception of the year of peace gained at Amiens, war was continuous. It +began with a light-hearted invasion of France by Austria and Prussia in +September, 1792, which ended in the cannonade of Valmy, when Dumouriez +and Kellermann, with the remnant of the old royal army, showed such a +bold front that the Allies, who had never expected to fight, lost heart +and ran home. The Austro-Prussian invasion sealed the King's +death-warrant, and France, in the hands of republican enthusiasts, went +forth with a rabble of old soldiers and volunteers to preach the +doctrine of the Equality of Man and the Brotherhood of Nations. But the +sovereigns of Europe determined to fight for their crowns, and the +licence of the French soldiers and the selfishness of these prophets of +the new doctrine of Equality soon disgusted the people of the Rhine +valley; so the revolutionary mob armies were driven into France, and for +two years she was busy on every frontier striving to drive the enemy +from her soil. It was during these years that the new French army arose. +The volunteers were brigaded with the old regular battalions, the ranks +were kept full by calling out all fit to bear arms, and the incompetent +and unfortunate were weeded out by the guillotine. By 1795 France had +freed her own soil and had forged a weapon whereby she could retaliate +on the Powers who had attempted to annex her territory in the hour of +her degradation. The Rhine now became her eastern frontier. But +Austria, whose Archduke was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, would not +give up the provinces seized from her; so from 1795 to 1797, on the +headwaters of the Danube and in Italy, the representative of the Feudal +Ages fought the new democracy. It was the appearance of the great +military talent of Bonaparte which decided the day. On the Danube the +Austrians had found that under the excellent leading of the Archduke +Charles they were fit to defeat the best French troops under capable +generals like Jourdan and Moreau. But the military genius of Bonaparte +overbore all resistance, and when peace came, practically all Italy had +been added to the dominion of France. Unfortunately for the peace of +Europe, the rulers of France had tasted blood. They found in the +captured provinces a means of making war without feeling the effects, +for the rich pillage of Italy paid the war expenses. But, grateful as +the Directors were to Bonaparte for thus opening to them a means of +enriching themselves at the expense of Europe, they rightly saw in him a +menace to their own power, and gladly allowed him to depart on the +mission to Egypt. From Egypt Bonaparte returned, seized the reins of +government, and saved France from the imbecility of her rulers, and, by +the battle of Marengo, assured to her all she had lost in his absence. +Unfortunately for France the restless ambition of her new ruler was not +satisfied with re-establishing the Empire of the West and reviving the +glories of Charlemagne, but hankered after a vast oversea dominion, to +include America and India. Hence it was that he found in Great Britain +an implacable enemy ever stirring up against him European coalitions. To +cover his failure to wrest the dominion of the sea from its mistress, +Napoleon turned his wrath on Austria, and soon she lay cowed at his feet +after the catastrophe at Ulm and the battle of Austerlitz. Austria's +fall was due to the lethargy and hesitation of the courts of Berlin and +St. Petersburg. But once Austria was disposed of, Prussia and Russia met +their punishment for having given her secret or open aid. The storm fell +first on Prussia. At one fell swoop on the field of Jena, the famed +military monarchy of the great Frederick fell in pieces like a potter's +vessel. From Prussia the invincible French legions penetrated into +Poland, and after Eylau and Friedland the forces of Prussia and Russia +could no longer face the enemy in the field. The Czar, dazzled by +Napoleon's greatness, threw over his ally Prussia and at Tilsit made +friends with the great conqueror. In June, 1807, it seemed as if Europe +lay at Napoleon's feet, but already in Portugal the seeds of his ruin +had been sown. The Portuguese monarch, the ally of Great Britain, fled +at the mere approach of a single Marshal of the Emperor. The apparent +lethargy of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and the +unpopularity of the Spanish Bourbons tempted Napoleon to establish his +brother on the throne of Spain. It was a fatal error, for though the +Spanish people might despise their King, they were intensely proud of +their nationality. For the first time in his experience the Corsican had +to meet the forces of a nation and not of a government. The chance +defeat of a French army at Baylen was the signal for a general rising +throughout the Peninsula, and not only throughout the Peninsula, but for +the commencement of a national movement against the French in Austria +and Germany. England gladly seized the opportunity of injuring her enemy +and sent aid to the people of Spain. Austria tried another fall with her +conqueror, but was defeated at Wagram. Wagram ought to have taught the +Emperor that his troops were no longer invincible as of old, but, blind +to this lesson, he still attempted to lord it over Europe and treated +with contumely his only friend, the Czar. Consequently, in 1812, while +still engaged in attempting to conquer Spain, he found himself forced to +fight Russia. The result was appalling; out of half a million troops who +entered Russia, a bare seventy thousand returned. Prussia and Austria at +once made a bid to recover their independence. Napoleon, blinded by +rage, refused to listen to reason, and in October, 1813, was defeated by +the Allies at Leipzig. Even then he might have saved his throne, but he +still refused to listen to the Allies, who in 1814 invaded France, and, +after a campaign in which the Emperor showed an almost superhuman +ability, at last by sheer weight of numbers they captured Paris. Thereon +the French troops refused to fight any longer for the Emperor. Such is a +brief outline of what is called the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, +the finest school the world has yet seen for an apprenticeship in the +trade of arms. + + + + +SYNOPSIS OF THE MARSHALS + + +Name. |Born. |Marshal. |Titles. |Died. |Age. +----------------+---------+---------+-------------------+----------------+ +Berthier, |Nov. 20, |May 19, |Prince of Neuchatel|Accident, |62 + Louis | 1753 | 1804 | and Valangin, | June 1, 1815 | + Alexandre | | | Mar. 15, 1806; | | + | | |Prince of Wagram, | | + | | | Dec. 31, 1809 | | + | | | | | +Murat, Joachim |Mar. 25, | " |Prince, |Shot at Pizzo, |48 + | 1767 | | Feb. 1, 1805; | Oct. 13, 1815 | + | | |Grand Duke of Berg,| | + | | | Mar. 15, 1806; | | + | | |King of Naples, | | + | | | Aug. 1, 1808 | | + | | | | | +Moncey, |July 31, | " |Duke of Conegliano,|Natural cause, |88 + Bon Adrien | 1754 | | July 2, 1808 | April 20, 1842| + Jeannot de | | | | | + | | | | | +Jourdan, |April 29,| " |Count, Mar. 1, 1808|Natural cause, |71 + Jean Baptiste | 1762 | | | Nov. 1833 | + | | | | | +Massena, Andre |May 6, | " |Duke of Rivoli, |Natural cause, |61 + | 1756 | | April 24, 1808; | April 4, 1817 | + | | |Prince of Essling, | | + | | | Jan. 31, 1810 | | + | | | | | +Augereau, |Oct. 21, | " |Duke of |Natural cause, |59 + Charles Pierre| 1757 | | Castiglione, | June 12, 1816 | + Francois | | | April 26, 1808 | | + | | | | | +Bernadotte, |Jan. 26, | " |Prince of |Natural cause, |81 + Jean Baptiste | 1763 | | Ponte Corvo, | Mar. 8, 1844 | + Jules | | | June 5, 1806; | | + | | |Crown Prince | | + | | | of Sweden, | | + | | | Aug. 21, 1810; | | + | | |King, Feb. 18, 1818| | + | | | | | +Soult, Jean de |Mar. 29, | " |Duke of Dalmatia, |Natural cause, |82 + Dieu Nicolas | 1769 | | June 29, 1808 | Nov. 26, 1851 | + | | | | | +Brune, Guillaume|May 13, | " |Count, Mar. 1, 1808|Murdered |52 + Marie Anne | 1763 | | |at Avignon, | + | | | | Aug. 2, 1815 | + | | | | | +Lannes, Jean |April 11,| " |Duke of Montebello,|Died of wounds |40 + | 1769 | | June 15, 1808 |at Vienna, | + | | | | May 31, 1809 | + | | | | | +Mortier, Adolphe|Feb. 13, | " |Duke of Treviso, |Killed by |67 + Edouard | 1768 | | July 2, 1808 |infernal machine| + Casimir Joseph| | | |at Paris, | + | | | | July 28, 1835 | + | | | | | +Ney, Michel |Jan. 10, | " |Duke of Elchingen, |Shot at Paris, |46 + | 1769 | | May 5, 1808; | Dec. 7, 1815 | + | | |Prince of Moskowa, | | + | | | Mar. 25, 1813 | | + | | | | | +Davout, |May 10, | " |Duke of Auerstaedt, |Natural cause, |53 + Louis Nicolas | 1770 | | July 2, 1808; | June 1, 1823 | + | | |Prince of Eckmuehl, | | + | | | Nov. 28, 1809 | | + +Bessieres, |Aug. 6, | " |Duke of Istria, |Killed |45 + Jean Baptiste | 1768 | | May 28, 1809 |at Luetzen, | + | | | | May 1, 1813 | + | | | | | +Kellermann, |May 28, | " |Count, |Natural cause, |85 + Francois | 1735 | | Mar. 1, 1808; | Sept. 13, 1820| + Christophe | | |Duke of Valmy, | | + | | | May 2, 1808 | | + | | | | | +Lefebvre, |Oct. 15, | " |Count, |Natural cause, |65 + Francois | 1755 | | Mar. 1, 1808; | Sept. 14, 1820| + Joseph | | |Duke of Dantzig, | | + | | | Sept. 10, 1808 | | + | | | | | +Perignon, |May 31, | " |Count, |Natural cause, |64 + Dominique | 1754 | | Sept. 6, 1811 | Dec. 25, 1818 | + Catherine de | | | | | + | | | | | +Serurier, |Dec. 8, | " |Count, |Natural cause, |77 + Jean Mathieu | 1742 | | Mar. 1, 1808 | Dec. 21, 1819 | + Philibert | | | | | + | | | | | +Victor, |Dec. 7, |July 13, |Duke of Belluno, |Natural cause, |77 + Victor Claude | 1764 | 1807 | Sept. 10, 1808 | Mar. 1, 1841 | + Perrin | | | | | + | | | | | +Macdonald, |Nov. 17, |July 12, |Duke of Tarentum, |Natural cause, |75 + Jacques | 1765 | 1809 | Dec. 9, 1809 | Sept. 7, 1840 | + Etienne Joseph| | | | | + Alexandre | | | | | + | | | | | +Oudinot, |April 25,| " |Count, |Natural cause, |80 + Nicolas | 1767 | | July 2, 1808; | Sept. 13, 1847| + Charles | | |Duke of Reggio, | | + | | | April 14, 1810 | | +Marmont, Auguste| | | | | + Frederic Louis|July 20, | " |Duke of Ragusa, |Natural cause, |78 + Viesse de | 1774 | | June 28, 1808 | July 23, 1852 | + | | | | | +Suchet, |Mar. 2, |July 8, |Count, |Natural cause, |56 + Louis Gabriel | 1770 | 1811 | June 24, 1808; | Jan. 3, 1826 | + | | |Duke of Albufera, | | + | | | Jan. 3, 1813 | | + | | | | | +Gouvion St. Cyr,|April 13,|Aug 27, |Count, May 3, 1808 |Natural cause, |66 + Laurent | 1764 | 1812 | | Mar. 17, 1830 | + | | | | | +Poniatowski, |May 7, |Oct. 17, | -- |Drowned |51 + Joseph, Prince| 1762 | 1813 | |in Elster, | + | | | | Oct. 19, 1813 | + | | | | | +Grouchy, |Oct. 23, |April 17,|Count, |Natural cause, |81 + Emmanuel de | 1766 | 1815 | Jan. 28, 1809 | May 29, 1847 | + | | | | | +----------------+---------+---------+-------------------+----------------+-- + + + + +NAPOLEON'S MARSHALS + +I + +LOUIS ALEXANDRE BERTHIER, MARSHAL, PRINCE OF WAGRAM, SOVEREIGN PRINCE OF +NEUCHATEL AND VALANGIN + + +To be content ever to play an inferior part, to see all honour and +renown fall to the share of another, yet loyally to efface self and work +for the glory of a friend, denotes a sterling character and an +inflexibility of purpose with which few can claim to be endowed. Nobody +doubts that, if it had not been for Napoleon, Berthier, good business +man as he was, could never have risen to the fame he attained; still it +is often forgotten that without this admirable servant it is more than +doubtful if the great Emperor could have achieved all his most splendid +success. Berthier, controlled by a master mind, was an instrument beyond +price. Versed in the management of an army almost from his cradle, he +had the gift of drafting orders so clear, so lucid, that no one could +possibly mistake their meaning. His memory was prodigious, and his +physical endurance such that he appeared never to require rest. But +above all he alone seemed to be able to divine the thoughts of his great +master before they were spoken, and this wonderful intuition taught him +how, from a few disjointed utterances, to unravel Napoleon's most daring +conceptions and work out the details in ordered perfection. Napoleon +called his faithful Achates a gosling whom he had transformed into an +eagle, but history proclaims that long before the name of Bonaparte was +known beyond the gate of the military academy at Brienne, Berthier had +established a record as a staff officer of the highest promise; while, +before the young Corsican first met him in Italy, the future +major-general of the Grand Army had evolved that perfect system of +organisation which enabled the conqueror of Italy to control every +movement and vibration in the army, to be informed of events as soon as +they happened, and to be absolutely sure of the despatch and performance +of his orders. + +Alexandre Berthier had seen twenty-three years' service in the old royal +army before the Revolution broke out in 1789. Born on November 20, 1753, +at the age of thirteen he received his commission in the engineers owing +to his father's services in preparing a map of royal hunting forests. +But the boy soon forsook his father's old regiment, for he knew well +that the highest commands in the army seldom if ever fell to the +scientific corps. When in 1780 the French Government decided to send out +an expeditionary corps to assist the revolted colonies in their struggle +with Great Britain, Berthier, after serving in the infantry and cavalry, +was employed as a staff captain with the army of Normandy. Eager to see +active service, he at once applied to be attached to the expedition, and +offered, if there was no room for an extra captain, to resign his rank +and serve as sub-lieutenant. Thanks to powerful family influence and to +his record of service his desire was gratified, and in January, 1781, he +found himself with the French troops in America employed on the staff of +General Count de Rochambeau. Returning from America in 1783 with a +well-earned reputation for bravery and ability, Captain Berthier was one +of the officers sent to Prussia under the Marquis de Custine to study +the military organisation of the great Frederick. Continuously employed +on the staff, he had the advantage of serving as brigade major at the +great camp of instruction held at Saint Omer in 1788, and in that year +received as a reward for his services the cross of Saint Louis. The year +1789 saw him gazetted lieutenant-colonel, and chief of the staff to +Baron de Besenval, commanding the troops round Paris. + +When, after the capture of the Bastille, Lafayette undertook the work of +organising the National Guard, he at once bethought him of his old +comrade of American days, and appointed Berthier assistant +quartermaster-general. Berthier found the post well suited to him; +inspired by the liberal ideas which he had gained in America, he threw +himself heart and soul into the work. Soon his talent as an organiser +became widely recognised; many prominent officers applied to have him +attached to their command, and, after holding several staff +appointments, he was entrusted in 1791 with the organisation and +instruction of the thirty battalions of volunteers cantonned between the +Somme and Meuse. When war broke out in 1792 he was despatched as +major-general and chief of the staff to his old friend Rochambeau, and +when the Count resigned his command Berthier was specially retained by +Rochambeau's successor, Luckner. But the Revolution, while giving him +his chance, nearly brought about his fall. His intimate connection with +the nobles of the old royal army, his courage in protecting the King's +aunts, and his family connections caused him to become "suspect." It was +in vain that the leaders at the front complained of the absolute +disorder in their forces, of the necessity of more trained staff +officers and of their desire for the services of the brilliant soldier +who had gained his experience in war time in America and in peace time +in Prussia. In vain Custine wrote to the Minister of War, "In the name +of the Republic send Berthier to me to help me in my difficulties," in +vain the Commissioners with the army reported that "Berthier has gained +the esteem and confidence of all good patriots." Vain also was the +valour and ability he showed in the campaign against the Royalists in +La Vendee. Bouchotte, the incapable, the friend of the brutish, +blockheaded Hebert, the insulter of the Queen, the destroyer of the +army, decreed that his loyalty to the Republic was not sincere, and by a +stroke of the pen dismissed him; thus during the whole of the year 1793 +the French army was deprived of the service of an officer who, owing to +his powers of organisation, was worth fifty thousand of the butcher +generals. + +In 1795, with the fall of the Jacobins, Berthier was restored to his +rank and sent as chief of the staff to Kellermann, commanding the Army +of the Alps, and before the end of the year the staff work of +Kellermann's army became the pattern for all the armies of the Republic. +When in March, 1796, Bonaparte was appointed commander of the Army of +Italy, he at once requisitioned Berthier as the chief of the staff, and +from that day till April, 1814, Berthier seldom if ever left the future +Emperor's side, serving him with a patience and cheerfulness which +neither ill-will nor neglect seemed to disturb. Though over forty-two +years of age and sixteen years older than his new chief, the chief of +the staff was still in the prime of his manhood. Short, thick-set and +athletic, his frame proclaimed his immense physical strength, while his +strong alert face under a mass of thick curly hair foretold at a glance +his mental capacity. + +A keen sportsman, in peace he spent all his leisure in the chase. Hard +exercise and feats of physical endurance were his delight. Fatigue he +never knew, and on one occasion he was said to have spent thirteen days +and nights in the saddle. To strangers and officials he was silent and +stern, but his aloofness of manner hid a warm heart and a natural +sincerity, and many a poor officer or returned emigre received secret +help from his purse. Though naturally of a strong character, his +affection and respect for his great commander became the dominating note +in his career; in fact, it might almost be said that, in later years, +his personality became merged to such an extent in that of Napoleon that +he was unable to see the actions of the Emperor in their proper +perspective. From their first meeting Bonaparte correctly guessed the +impression he had made on his new staff officer, and aimed at increasing +his influence over him. Meanwhile he was delighted with him, he wrote to +the Directory, "Berthier has talents, activity, courage, character--all +in his favour." Berthier on his side was well satisfied; as he said to a +friend who asked him how he could serve a man with such a temper, +"Remember that one day it will be a fine thing to be second to +Bonaparte." So the two worked admirably together. + +[Illustration: ALEXANDRE BERTHIER, PRINCE OF WAGRAM +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY PAJOU FILS] + +Bonaparte kept in his own hands the movement of troops, the direction of +skirmishes and battles, commissariat, discipline, and all communications +from the Government. Berthier had a free hand in the organisation and +maintenance of the general staff, the headquarter staff, and the +transmission of orders, subject to inspection by Bonaparte; he also had +to throw into written form all verbal orders, and he alone was +responsible for their promulgation and execution. It was his ability to +work out in detail and to reduce into clear, lucid orders the slightest +hint of his commander which, as Napoleon said later, "was the great +merit of Berthier, and was of inestimable importance to me. No other +could possibly have replaced him." Thanks to Berthier's admirable +system, Bonaparte was kept in touch with every part of his command. One +of the first principles laid down in the staff regulations was, "That it +was vital to the good of the service that the correspondence of the army +should be exceedingly swift and regular, that nothing should be +neglected which might contribute to this end." To ensure regularity of +communication, divisional commanders and officers detached in command of +small columns were ordered to report at least twice a day to +headquarters. With each division, in addition to the divisional staff, +there were officers detached from the headquarters staff. All important +despatches had to be sent in duplicate; in times of great danger +commanding officers had to send as many as eight different orderly +officers each with a copy of despatches. + +But it was not only as an organiser and transmitter of orders that +Berthier proved his usefulness to his chief. At Lodi he showed his +personal courage and bravery among the band of heroes who forced the +bridge, and Bonaparte paid him a fine tribute when he wrote in his +despatches, "If I were bound to mention all the soldiers who +distinguished themselves on that wonderful day, I should be obliged to +mention all the carabiniers and grenadiers of the advance guard, and +nearly all the officers of the staff; but I must not forget the +courageous Berthier, who on that day played the part of gunner, trooper, +and grenadier." At Rivoli, in addition to his staff duties, Berthier +commanded the centre of the army, and fought with a stubbornness beyond +all praise. By the end of the campaign of 1796 he had proved that he was +as great a chief of the staff as Bonaparte was a great commander. +Doubtless it is true that before the commencement of a campaign an army +possesses in itself the causes of its future victory or defeat, and the +Army of Italy, with its masses of enthusiastic veterans and the +directing genius of Bonaparte, was bound to defeat the Austrians with +their listless men and incompetent old generals; but, without the zeal, +activity, and devotion which Berthier transfused through the whole of +the general staff, success could not have been so sudden or so complete. + +After Leoben the conqueror of Italy employed his trusty friend on +numerous diplomatic missions in connection with the annexation of Corfu +and the government of the Cisalpine republic. Meanwhile he was in close +communication with him in regard to the proposed descent on England and +the possible expedition to the East. To Berthier, if to any one, +Bonaparte entrusted his secret designs, for he knew that he could do so +in safety. Accordingly, in 1798, finding an invasion of England +impossible at the moment, he persuaded the Directory to send Berthier to +Italy as commander-in-chief, his object being to place him in a position +to gather funds for the Egyptian expedition. From Italy Berthier sent +his former commander the most minute description of everything of +importance, but he found the task difficult and uncongenial, and prayed +him "to recall me promptly. I much prefer being your aide-de-camp to +being commander-in-chief here." Still he carried out his orders and +marched on Rome, to place the eight million francs' worth of diamonds +wrung from the Pope to the credit of the army. From Rome he returned +with coffers well filled for the Egyptian expedition, but leaving behind +him an army half-mutinous for want of pay; his blind devotion to +Bonaparte hid this incongruity from his eyes. + +As in Italy in 1795 so in Egypt, Berthier was Bonaparte's right-hand +man, methodical, indefatigable, and trustworthy. But even his iron frame +could scarcely withstand the strain of three years' continuous active +service, the incessant office work day and night, and the trials of an +unaccustomed climate. After the battle of the Pyramids he fell sick, and +before the Syrian expedition, applied to return to France. Unkind +friends hinted that he longed for his mistress, Madame Visconti, but +Bonaparte, knowing that it was not this but sheer overstrain which had +caused his breakdown in health, gave him the desired leave and made all +arrangements for his journey home. However, at the moment of departure +Berthier's love for his chief overcame his longing for rest, and, in +spite of ill-health, he withdrew his resignation and set out with the +army for Syria. As ever, he found plenty of work, for even in the face +of the ill-success of the expedition, Bonaparte determined to administer +Egypt as if the French occupation was to be for ever permanent; and +Berthier, in addition to his ordinary work, was ordered to edit a +carefully executed map from the complete survey which was being made of +the country. + +It was to Berthier that Bonaparte first divulged his intention of +leaving Egypt and returning to France, and his determination to upset +the Directory. Liberal by nature, but essentially a man of method and a +disciplinarian, the chief of the staff was quite in accord with his +commander's ideas on the regeneration of France, and loyally supported +him during the _coup d'etat_ of the 18th Brumaire. Thereafter the First +Consul appointed his friend Minister of War, a position that gave full +scope to his talents. All the administrative services had at once to be +reorganised, the frontier fortresses garrisoned and placed in a state of +defence, and the army covering the frontiers supplied with food, pay, +equipment, and reinforcements, while the formation of the secret Army of +Reserve was a task which alone would have occupied all the attention of +an ordinary man; in fact, the safety of France hung on this army. +Consequently, since, by the constitution, the First Consul was unable +himself to take command in the field, in April, 1800, he transferred +Berthier from the War Office to the head of this most important force. +It is not generally known that the idea of the passage of the Alps by +the St. Bernard Pass actually originated with Berthier, and had first +been projected by him as early as 1795. So it was at the execution of +what was really his own idea that for two months Berthier slaved. At +times even his stout heart quailed, as when he wrote to the First +Consul, "It is my duty to complain of the position of this army on which +you have justly spent so much interest, and which is paralysed because +it can only rely on its bayonets, on account of the lack of ammunition +and means to transport the artillery." Incessant work and toil were at +last rewarded; but when the Army of the Reserve debouched on the +Austrian lines of communication, the First Consul appeared in person, +and, though nominally in command, Berthier once again resumed his +position of chief of the staff. Without a murmur he allowed Bonaparte to +reap all the glory of Marengo, for he knew that without the First +Consul, however excellent his own dispositions were, they would have +been lacking in the driving power which alone teaches men how to seize +on victory. After Marengo, Berthier was despatched as Ambassador +Extraordinary to Madrid, "to exhort Spain by every possible means to +declare war on Portugal, the ally of England." The result of this +mission was eminently successful; a special treaty was drawn up and +Spain sold Louisiana to France. By October the ambassador was once again +back in Paris at his old post of Minister of War--a post which he held +continuously during peace and war till August, 1807. The position was no +light one, for even during the short years of peace it involved the +supervision of the expedition to San Domingo, the defence of Italy, the +reorganisation of the army, and the re-armament of the artillery, in +addition to the ordinary routine of official work. Moreover, the +foundations of the Consulate being based on the army, it was essential +that the army should be efficient and content, and consequently the +French soldier of that day was not, as in other countries, neglected in +peace time. The officers in command of the troops were constantly +reminded by the War Minister that "the French soldier is a citizen +placed under military law"--not an outcast or serf, whose well-being and +comfort concern no one. + +On the establishment of the Empire Berthier, like many another, received +the reward for his faithfulness to Napoleon. Honours were showered upon +him. The first to receive the Marshal's baton, he was in succession +created senator by right as a dignitary of the Empire, grand officer of +the palace and grand huntsman to the crown, while at the coronation he +carried the imperial globe. But though the Emperor thus honoured, and +treated him as his most trustworthy confidant, the cares of state to +some extent withdrew Napoleon from close intimacy with his old +companion. At the same time the Marshal was insensibly separated from +his former comrades-in-arms by his high rank and employment, which, +while it tended to make him more the servant than the friend of the +Emperor, also caused him to be regarded as a superior to be obeyed by +those who were formerly his equals. At all times a strict +disciplinarian, and one who never passed over a breach of orders, the +Marshal, as voicing the commands of the Emperor, gradually began to +assume a stern attitude to all subordinates, and spared neither princes +or marshals, when he considered that the good of the service required +that they should be reprimanded and shown their duty. So strong was the +sense of subordination in the army and the desire to stand well with +Napoleon, that even the fiery Murat paid attention to orders and +reprimands signed by Berthier in the name of the Emperor. + +Meanwhile the work of the War Minister increased day by day. The +organisation and supervision of the Army of the Ocean added considerably +to his work, which was much interfered with by visits of inspection in +company with the Emperor, or far-distant expeditions to the frontiers +and to Italy for the coronation at Milan. + +On August 3rd, 1805, the Emperor created the Marshal major-general and +chief of the staff to the Army of the Ocean, and himself assumed command +of the Army and held a grand review of one hundred thousand men. +Everybody thought that the moment for the invasion of England had +arrived. Berthier, and perhaps Talleyrand, alone knew that Austria, not +England, was the immediate quarry, and all through August the +major-general was busy working out the routes for the concentration of +the various corps in the valley of the Danube; whilst at the same time +as War Minister he was responsible for the supervision of all the troops +left in France and in garrison in Italy, Belgium, Holland, and Hanover. +Consequently he had to divide his staff into two sections, one of which +he took with him into the field, the other remaining in Paris under an +assistant who was capable of managing the ordinary routine, but who had +to forward all difficult problems to the War Minister in the field. Even +during the drive to the frontier there was no abatement of the strain; +during the journey the Emperor would give orders which had to be +expanded and written out in the short stoppages for food and rest. By +day the major-general travelled in the Emperor's carriage; at night he +always slept under the same roof with him, to be ready at any moment, in +full uniform, to receive his commands and expand and dictate them to his +clerks. Everyone knew when the major-general was worried, for he had a +habit of biting his nails when making a decision or trying to solve a +problem, but otherwise he never showed any sign of feeling, and whether +tired or troubled by the Emperor's occasional outbursts of temper, he +went on with his work with the methodical precision of an automaton. To +belong to the general staff when Berthier was major-general was no bed +of roses, no place for gilded youth, for with Napoleon commanding and +Berthier directing, if there was often fighting there was plenty of +writing; if there was galloping on horseback by day, to make up for it +by night there were hours of steady copying of orders and no chance of +laying down the pen until all business was finished. Thanks to this +excellent staff work, Napoleon's ambitious plans were faithfully +accomplished, the Austrians were completely taken in by the +demonstration in the Black Forest, the French columns stepped astride of +their communications on the Danube, and Mack was forced to surrender at +Ulm. But Ulm was only the commencement of the campaign, and even after +Austerlitz Napoleon pursued the enemy with grim resolution. This was one +of the secrets of his success, for, as Berthier wrote to Soult, "The +Emperor's opinion is that in war nothing is really achieved as long as +there remains something to achieve; a victory is not complete as long as +greater success can still be gained." + +After the treaty of Pressburg, on December 27, 1805, Napoleon quitted +the army and returned to Paris, leaving the major-general in command of +the Grand Army with orders to evacuate the conquered territory when the +terms of the treaty had been carried out by the Austrians; but the +Emperor retained the real control, and every day a courier had to be +despatched to Paris with a detailed account of every event, and every +day a courier arrived from Paris bearing fresh orders and instructions. +For Napoleon refused to allow the slightest deviation from his orders: +"Keep strictly to the orders I give you," he wrote; "execute punctually +your instructions. I alone know what I want done." Meanwhile the +major-general was still War Minister and had to supervise all the more +important business of the War Office; while he also found time to edit +an official history of the campaign of 1805, and to superintend the +execution of a map of most of the Austrian possessions. The work was +immense, but Berthier never flagged, and the Emperor showed his +appreciation of his zeal when on March 30th, 1806, he conferred on him +the principality of Neuchatel with the title of Prince and Duke, to hold +in full possession and suzerainty for himself, his heirs and successors, +with one stipulation, that he should marry. He added that the Prince's +passion for Madame Visconti had lasted too long, that it was not +becoming to a dignitary of the Empire, and that he was now fifty years +old and ought to think of providing an heir to his honours. The Prince +Marshal never had time to visit personally his principality, but he sent +one of his intimate friends, General Dutaillis, to provide for the +welfare of his new subjects, and to the best of his ability he saw that +they were well governed, while a battalion of picked troops from +Neuchatel was added to the Imperial Guard. But, orders or no orders, +the Prince could never break himself free from the trammels of his +mistress, and Napoleon gave him but little leisure in which to find a +congenial partner, so that it was not till after Tilsit, in the brief +pause before the Peninsular War, that Berthier at last took a wife. His +chosen Princess was Elizabeth, the daughter of William, Duke of Bavaria, +brother of the King. She was married with all due solemnity in March, +1808, and though the exigencies of war gave her but little opportunity +of seeing much of her husband, affection existed between them, as also +between Berthier and his father-in-law, the Duke of Bavaria. All cause +of difficulty was smoothed over by the fact that in time the Princess +herself conceived an affection for Madame Visconti. + +By September, 1806, the Grand Army had evacuated Austria, and the Prince +Marshal was hoping to return to Paris when suddenly he was informed by +the Emperor of the probability of a campaign against Prussia. On the +23rd definite orders arrived indicating the points of assembly; by the +next day detailed letters of instructions for every corps had been +worked out and despatched by the headquarters staff. Napoleon himself +arrived at Wuerzburg on October 2nd, and found his army concentrated, but +deficient of supplies. At first his anger burst out against the chief of +the staff, but a moment's reflection proved to him that there was not +sufficient transport in Germany to mass both men and supplies in the +time he had given, and he entirely exonerated Berthier, who by hard work +contrived in three days to collect sufficient supplies to allow of the +opening of the thirty days' campaign which commenced with Jena and ended +by carrying the French troops across the Vistula. The fresh campaign in +the spring of 1807 was attended by an additional difficulty, there +existed no maps of the district, and the topographical department of the +staff was worked off its legs in supplying this deficiency. Meanwhile, +during the halt after Pultusk, the major-general was busy re-clothing +and re-equipping the army and hurrying up reinforcements; while in +addition to the work of the War Office he had to supervise the French +forces in Italy and Naples. After Tilsit, as after Pressburg, Napoleon +hurried back to France and left the Prince of Neuchatel to arrange for +the withdrawal of the Grand Army, and it was not till July 27th that +Berthier at last returned to Paris. + +The Prince came back more than ever dazzled by the genius of the +Emperor; not even Eylau had taught him that there were limits to his +idol's powers. But with more than eight hundred thousand men on a war +footing, with divisions and army corps scattered from the Atlantic to +the Niemen, from Luebeck to Brindisi, it was impossible for one man to be +at once chief of the staff and Minister of War. Accordingly, on August +9th the Emperor made General Clarke Minister of War, and, to show that +this was no slight on his old friend, on the same day he created the +Prince of Neuchatel Vice-constable of France. For the next three months +Berthier was able to enjoy his honours at his home at Grosbois, or in +his honorary capacity at Fontainebleau, but in November the Emperor +carried him off with him to Italy on a tour of inspection. During the +whole of this holiday in Italy the Prince was busy elaborating the +details of the coming campaign in Spain, and it was the Spanish trouble +which cut short his honeymoon, for on April 2nd he had to start with the +Emperor for Bayonne. From the outset the Prince warned the Emperor that +the question of supplies lay at the root of all difficulties in Spain; +but Napoleon clung to his idea that war should support war, and Berthier +knew that it was hopeless to attempt to remove a fixed idea from his +head, and, still believing in his omnipotence, he thought all would be +well. Meanwhile, as the summer went on, it was not only Spain that +occupied the Prince's attention, for the conquest of Denmark had to be +arranged, and the passes in Silesia and Bohemia carefully mapped, in +view of hostilities with Prussia or Austria. Early in August Berthier +was at Saint Cloud making arrangements to reinforce Davout in Silesia, +owing to the growing hostility of Austria, when, on the 16th, arrived +the news that Joseph had had to evacuate all the country west of the +Ebro. But Napoleon and Berthier could not go to his help until after the +imperial meeting at Erfurt in September. However, on reaching Spain, the +magic of the Emperor's personality soon restored the vigour and prestige +of the French arms. Still the Prince Marshal could not hide from himself +that all was not as it used to be; Napoleon's temper was more uncertain, +and the Marshals, smarting under reprimands, were not pulling together. +When the Emperor returned to France, after having missed "the +opportunity of giving the English a good lesson," he left Berthier +behind for a fortnight "to be sure that King Joseph had a proper +understanding of everything." But trouble was bound to come, for the +Emperor himself was breaking his own canon of the importance of "the +unity of command" by nominally leaving Joseph in control of all the +troops in Spain, but at the same time making the Marshals responsible to +himself through the major-general. + +In 1809 Napoleon made another grave mistake. He had calculated that +Austria could make no forward movement before April 15th, and +accordingly he sent Berthier early in March to take temporary command of +the Grand Army, with instructions to order Davout to concentrate at +Ratisbon and Massena at Augsburg. His idea was that there would be ample +time later to order a concentration on either wing or on the centre. But +the Austrians were ready quite a fortnight before he had calculated. The +major-general kept him well informed of every movement of the enemy, and +pointed out the dangerous isolation of Davout. Still the Emperor did not +believe the Austrian preparations were so forward; and a despatch from +Paris, written on April 10th, which arrived at headquarters at +Donauwoerth on the 11th, ordered the major-general to retain Davout at +Ratisbon and move his own headquarters there, "and that in spite of +anything that may happen." Unfortunately, a semaphore despatch sent a +few hours later, when Napoleon had really grasped the situation, went +astray and never reached Berthier. The Prince of Neuchatel understood as +clearly as any one the dangerous position of Davout; the Duke of Eckmuehl +himself thought that the major-general was trying to spoil his career by +laying him open to certain defeat; depression spread through all the +French corps. But after years of blind devotion to his great chief +Berthier could not steel himself to break distinct orders, emphasised as +they were by the expression "in spite of whatever may happen," and a +great catastrophe was only just averted by the arrival of Napoleon, who +at once ordered Davout to withdraw and Massena to advance. Berthier +himself was visited by the full fury of the Emperor's anger. But the +cloud soon passed, for Berthier was as indispensable as ever, and more +so when, after the failure at Aspern-Essling, immense efforts had to be +made to hurry up troops from every available source. At the end of the +campaign the Emperor justly rewarded his lieutenant by creating him +Prince of Wagram. + +Once again Napoleon left Berthier to arrange for the withdrawal of the +army, and it was not till December 1st that the Prince of Wagram +regained Paris and took up the threads of the Peninsular campaign. His +stay there was short, for by the end of February he was back again in +Vienna, this time not as major-general of a victorious army, but as +Ambassador Extraordinary to claim the hand of the Archduchess Marie +Louise for his master, the Emperor Napoleon, and to escort her to her +new home. For the next two years the Prince remained at home at Grosbois +or on duty at Fontainebleau, but in spite of great domestic happiness he +was much worried by the terrible Spanish war. No one saw more clearly +that every effort ought to be made to crush the English, but he was +powerless to persuade the Emperor, and he had to endure to the full all +the difficulties arising from breaking the "unity of command." No one +understood better what hopeless difficulties would arise when Napoleon +ordered him to write, "The King will command the army.... The Guard does +not form part of the army." To add to these troubles, it became more and +more evident that Germany was riddled with secret societies and that war +with Russia was inevitable. So it was with a sigh of relief that in +January, 1812, he received the order to turn his attention from Spain +and resume his functions as major-general of the Grand Army. Not that he +desired further active service; like many another of the Emperor's +soldiers, he mistrusted the distant expedition to Russia, and feared for +the honour and safety of France. Already in his sixtieth year, there was +little he could gain personally from war. As he said to Napoleon, "What +is the good of having given me an income of sixty thousand pounds a year +in order to inflict on me the tortures of Tantalus? I shall die here +with all this work. The simplest private is happier than I." The +Emperor, knowing the attitude of many of his Marshals, and himself +feeling the strain of this immense enterprise, was unusually irritable. +Consequently relations at headquarters were often strained, and the +Marshals were angry at the severe reprimands to which they were +subjected. The controlling leaders being out of gear the machine did not +run smoothly: there was nothing but friction and tension. The Marshals +were inclined to attribute their disgrace to the ill-will of Berthier +and not to the temper of Napoleon. Particularly was this the case with +Davout, who since 1809 had suspected that Berthier desired to ruin his +reputation. Accordingly the Prince of Eckmuehl set down the succession of +reprimands which were hurled at his head to the machinations of the +major-general, and not, as was the case, to Napoleon's jealousy of him, +because people had prophesied he would become King of Poland. This +misunderstanding was most unfortunate, for it prevented Berthier from +effecting a reconciliation between Davout and the Emperor. Hence +Napoleon was driven more and more to trust to the advice of the rash, +unstable King of Naples. The major-general's lot through the campaign +was most miserable. Working day and night to supervise the organisation +of the huge force of six hundred thousand men; mistrusted by his former +comrades; blamed for every mishap by the Emperor, whatever the fault +might be, he had to put up with the bitterest insults, and while working +as no other man could work, to endure such taunts as, "Not only are you +no good, but you are in the way." Everything that went wrong "was the +fault of the general staff, which is so organised that it foresees +nothing," whether it was the shortcomings of the contractors or the +burning of their own magazines by the Russians. But what most moved +Napoleon's anger against the chief of the staff was that Berthier, with +"the parade states" before him, emphasising the enormous wastage of the +army, constantly harped on the danger of pressing on to Moscow. So +strained became the relations between them, that for the last part of +the advance they no longer met at meals. But during the hours of the +retreat the old friendship was resumed. Berthier bore no malice, and +showed his bravery by himself opposing the enemy with musket and +bayonet; and on one occasion, with Bessieres, Murat, and Rapp, he saved +the Emperor from a sotnia of Cossacks. + +When Napoleon quitted the army at Vilna he left the major-general behind +to help the King of Naples to withdraw the remnant of the Grand Army. +Marching on foot through the deep snow, with fingers and nose +frostbitten, the sturdy old veteran of sixty endured the fatigue as well +as the hardiest young men in their prime; and in addition to the +physical fatigue of marching, had to carry out all the administrative +work, and bear the moral responsibility for what remained of the army; +for the King of Naples, thinking of nothing but how to save his own +crown, when difficulties increased, followed the example of Napoleon and +deserted his post. Thereon the major-general took on himself to nominate +Prince Eugene as Murat's successor. But in the end his health gave way, +and the Emperor himself wrote to Prince Eugene telling him to send the +old warrior home. + +Berthier reached Paris on February 9th, much broken down in health; but +his wonderful physique soon enabled him to regain his strength, and by +the end of March he was once again hard at work helping the Emperor to +extemporise an army. With his complete knowledge of this force, no one +was more astonished than Berthier at the successes of Luetzen and +Bautzen, and no one more insistent in his advice to the Emperor to +accept the terms of the Allies during the armistice; but he advised in +vain. Then followed the terrible catastrophe of Leipzig, due undoubtedly +to Berthier's dread of acting without the express orders of the Emperor. +The engineer officer charged with preparing the line of retreat reported +that the one bridge across the Elster was not sufficient. The +major-general, knowing that the Emperor desired to hide any signs of +retreat from the Allies, replied that he must await the Emperor's +orders, so, when, after three days' fighting, the retreat could no +longer be postponed, a catastrophe was inevitable. + +Yet, in spite of everything, the Emperor refused to acknowledge himself +beaten, and by the commencement of 1814 was once again ready to take the +field, though by now the Allies had invaded France. Loyal as ever, +Berthier worked his hardest; but he once again incurred the Emperor's +anger by entreating him to accept the terms offered him at Chatillon. +Still, when the end came and Napoleon abdicated, Berthier remained at +his side, and it was only when the Emperor had released his Marshals +from their allegiance that on April 11th he sent in his adhesion to the +new government. When all save Macdonald had deserted the fallen Emperor, +Berthier stayed on at Fontainebleau, directing the withdrawal of the +remnants of the army, and making arrangements for the guard which was to +accompany Napoleon to Elba. But though he remained with him until the +day before he started for Elba, Berthier refused to share his exile, and +at the time Napoleon was magnanimous enough to see that, owing to his +age and the care of his children, he could not expect such a sacrifice. + +So far, the Prince had done all that honour and affection could demand +of him. But, unfortunately for his fame, instead of withdrawing into +private life, he listened to the prayers of his wife, who keenly felt +the loss of her title of "Serene Princess." It was at her desire that he +continued to frequent the Bourbon court and actually accepted the +captaincy of one of the new companies of royal guards. This and the fact +that, as senior of the Marshals, Berthier had led his fellow Marshals to +meet the King at Compiegne, caused the Prince of Wagram to be regarded +as a traitor by Napoleon and the Imperialists. Moreover, the Prince +Marshal now saw in Napoleon the disturber of the peace of Europe, so +when the Emperor suddenly returned from Elba he withdrew from France, +and retired to Bamberg, in his father-in-law's dominions. + +It is commonly supposed that Berthier committed suicide, but the medical +evidence shows that his fall was probably the result of giddiness +arising from dyspepsia. It was on June 1st that the accident happened. +He was watching a division of Russian troops passing through the town, +and was much distressed by the sight, and heard to murmur, "My poor +country!" Ever interested in soldiers, he got on a chair on the balcony +before the nursery windows to get a better view of the troops, and while +doing so lost his balance and fell to the ground. + +For the moment the tragic death of the Marshal was the talk of Europe, +but only for the moment, for the fate of the world was hanging on the +issues of the great battle which was imminent in Belgium. If the Prince +of Wagram had been there, it is more than conceivable that the scales +would have fallen other than they did; for it was the indifferent staff +work of Soult and the bad drafting of orders which lost the French the +campaign. Of this, Napoleon was so firmly convinced that he never could +efface it from his memory; again and again he was heard saying, "If +Berthier had been here I should never have met this misfortune." The +Emperor, in spite of the fact that in 1814 he had told Macdonald that +Berthier could never return, was convinced that he would, and had told +Rapp that he was certain he would come back to him. It was this failure +to return which so embittered the fallen Emperor against the Prince of +Wagram, and led to those cruel strictures on his character to which he +gave vent at St. Helena. Moreover, Napoleon, so great in many things, +was so jealous of his own glory that he could be mean beyond words. Even +in the early years when he heard people praising Berthier's work in +1796, he told his secretary, Bourrienne, "As for Berthier, since you +have been with me, you see what he is--he is a blockhead." At St. +Helena, forgetting his old opinions, "Berthier has his talents, +activity, courage, character--all in his favour." Forgetting that he +himself had taught Berthier to be imperious, he derided his rather +pompous manner, saying, "Nothing is so imperious as weakness which feels +itself supported by strength. Look at women." Berthier, with his +admirably lucid mind, great physique, methodical powers and ambition, +would have made his name in any profession. He undoubtedly chose to be +second to Napoleon; he served him with a fidelity that Napoleon himself +could not understand, and he won his great commander's love and esteem +in spite of the selfishness of the Corsican's nature. "I really cannot +understand," said Napoleon to Talleyrand, "how a relation that has the +appearance of friendship has established itself between Berthier and +me. I do not indulge in useless sentiments, and Berthier is so +uninteresting that I do not know why I should care about him at all, and +yet when I think of it I really have some liking for him." "It is +because he believes in you," said the former bishop and reader of men's +souls. It was this belief in Napoleon which in time obsessed the Prince +of Wagram's mind, which killed his own initiative and was responsible +for his blunders in 1809 and at Leipzig, and turned him into a machine +which merely echoed the Emperor's commands. "Monsieur le Marechal, the +Emperor orders." "Monsieur, it is not me, it is the Emperor you ought to +thank." These hackneyed phrases typified more than anything else the +bounds of the career which the Marshal had deliberately marked out for +himself. In Berthier's eyes it was no reproach, but a testimony to his +own principles, "that he never gave an order, never wrote a despatch, +which did not in some way emanate from Napoleon." It was this which, +with some appearance of truth, pointing to his notable failures, allowed +Napoleon to say of him at St. Helena, "His character was undecided, not +strong enough for a commander-in-chief, but he possessed all the +qualities of a good chief of the staff: a complete mastery of the map, +great skill in reconnaissance, minute care in the despatch of orders, +magnificent aptitude for presenting with the greatest simplicity the +most complicated situation of an army." + + + + +II + +JOACHIM MURAT, MARSHAL, KING OF NAPLES + + +Stable-boy, seminarist, Marshal, King, Murat holds the unchallenged +position of Prince of Gascons: petulant, persevering, ambitious and +vain, he surpasses D'Artagnan himself in his overwhelming conceit. The +third son of an innkeeper of La Bastide Fortuniere in upper Quercy, +Joachim Murat was born on March 25, 1767. From his earliest childhood +Joachim was a horse-lover and a frequenter of the stables; but his +parents had higher aims for their bright, smiling, intelligent darling, +and destined him for the priesthood. The young seminarist was highly +thought of by the preceptors at the College of Saint Michel at Cahors +and the Lazarist Fathers at Toulouse; but neither priest nor mother had +truly grasped his dashing character, and one February morning in 1787 +Joachim slipped quietly out of the seminary doors and enlisted in the +Chasseurs of the Ardennes, who were at the moment billeted in Toulouse. +Two years later this promising recruit, having fallen foul of the +military authorities, had to leave the service under a cloud. A post as +draper's assistant was a poor exchange for the young soldier, who found +the cavalry service of the royal army scarcely dashing enough, but the +Revolution gave an outlet which Murat was quick to seize. For three +years the future King harangued village audiences of Quercy on the +iniquities of caste and the equality of all men; so that when, in +February, 1792, the Assembly called for volunteers for the "Garde +Constitutionnelle" of Louis XVI., what better choice could the national +guard of Montfaucon make than in nominating Joachim Murat, the handsome +ex-sergeant of the Chasseurs of the Ardennes? + +In Paris, Joachim soon found that the royal road to success lay in +denouncing loudly all superior officers of lack of patriotism. Soon +there was no more brazen-voiced accuser than Murat. In the course of a +year he worked his way out of the "Garde Constitutionnelle," and by +April, 1793, he had attained the rank of captain in the 12th Chasseurs. +Meanwhile, he had been selected as aide-de-camp by General d'Ure de +Molans. Having seen no service, he owed his appointment largely to his +conceit and good looks. Blue-eyed, with an aquiline nose and smiling +lips; with long chestnut curls falling over his well-poised head; +endowed with great physical strength, shown in his strong, supple arms +and in the long flat-thighed legs of a horseman, he appeared the most +perfect type of the dare-devil, dashing cavalry soldier. The moderate +republican general, d'Ure de Molans, was useful to him for a time, but +the young Gascon saw that the days of the extremist were close at hand; +accordingly, he allied himself with an adventurer called Landrieux, who +was raising a body of cut-throats whose object was plunder, not +fighting. The Convention, which had licensed Landrieux to raise this +corps of patriotic defenders of the country, accepted his nomination of +Murat as acting lieutenant-colonel. But they soon fell out, for Murat +had the audacity to try and make these patriots fight instead of merely +seeking plunder. The consequence of this quarrel was that, early in +1794, he found himself accused as a ci-devant noble. Imprisoned at +Amiens, and brought before the Committee of Public Safety, in a fit of +republican enthusiasm he changed his name to Marat. But this did not +save him, and he owed his life to a deputation from his native Quercy, +which proved both his humble birth and his high republicanism. + +[Illustration: JOACHIM MURAT, AFTERWARDS KING OF NAPLES +FROM THE PAINTING BY GERARD AT VERSAILLES] + +The 13th Vendemiaire was the turning-point in Murat's life, for on that +day, for the first time, he came in contact with his future chief, the +young General Bonaparte, and gained his attention by the masterly way he +saved the guns at Sablons from the hands of the Royalists. The future +Emperor ever knew when to reward merit, and on being appointed to +command the army in Italy he at once selected him as his aide-de-camp. +So far he had seen little or no war service. But the campaign of 1796 +proved that Bonaparte's judgment was sound, for by the end of the year +there was no longer any necessity for Murat to blow his own trumpet. In +the short campaign against the Sardinians he showed his talent as a +cavalry leader by his judgment in charges at Dego and Mondovi. He had no +cause to grumble that he was not appreciated, for his general selected +him to take to Paris the news of this victorious campaign and of the +triumphant negotiations of Cherasco. He returned from Paris in May as +brigadier-general, in time to take part in the crossing of the Mincio +and to rob Kilmaine of some of his honours. The commander-in-chief still +kept him attached to the headquarter staff, and constantly employed him +on special service. His enterprises were numerous and varied--one week +at Genoa on a special diplomatic mission, a week or two later leading a +forlorn attack on the great fortress of Mantua, then commanding the +right wing of the army covering the siege, he showed himself ever +resourceful and daring. But during the autumn of 1796 he fell under the +heavy displeasure of his chief, for at Milan and Montebello Josephine +had shown too great favour to the young cavalry general. Murat +accordingly had no scruples in intriguing with Barras against his chief. +But his glorious conduct at Rivoli once again brought him back to +favour, and Bonaparte entrusted him with an infantry brigade in the +advance on Vienna, and later with a delicate independent mission in the +Valtelline. But Murat, unlike Lannes, Marmont, and Duroc, was not yet +indispensable to Bonaparte, and accordingly was left with the Army of +Italy when the general returned in triumph to Paris. It was mainly owing +to Massena's enthusiastic report of his service in the Roman campaign, +at the close of 1797, that he was selected as one of the supernumerary +officers in the Egyptian expedition. + +So far, Murat had not yet been able to distinguish himself above his +comrades-in-arms. Massena, Augereau, Serurier, and Laharpe left him far +in the rear, but Egypt was to give him the chance of proving his worth, +and showing that he was not only a dashing officer, but a cavalry +commander of the first rank. He led the cavalry of the advance guard in +the march up the Nile, and was present at the battle of the Pyramids and +the taking of Cairo. But so far the campaign, instead of bringing him +fresh honours, nearly brought him disgrace; for he joined the party of +grumblers, and was one of those who were addressed in the famous +reprimand, "I know some generals are mutinous and preach revolt ... let +them take care. I am as high above a general as above a drummer, and, if +necessary, I will as soon have the one shot as the other." + +On July 27, 1798, Murat was appointed governor of the province of +Kalioub, which lies north of Cairo; to keep order among his turbulent +subjects his whole force consisted of a battalion of infantry, +twenty-five cavalrymen, and a three-pounder gun. His governorship was +only part of the work Bonaparte required of him, for he was constantly +away organising and leading light columns by land or river, harrying the +Arabs and disbanded Mamelukes, sweeping the country, collecting vast +depots of corn and cattle, remounting the cavalry--proving himself a +past master in irregular warfare. So well did he do his work that the +commander-in-chief selected him to command the whole of the cavalry in +the Syrian expeditionary force. Thanks to his handling of his horsemen, +the march through Palestine occasioned the French but little loss. +During the siege of Acre he commanded the covering force, and pushed +reconnaissances far and wide. So feared was his name that the whole +Turkish army fled before him on the banks of the Jordan, and left their +camp and immense booty in the hands of the French. But though he had +thus destroyed the relieving force, Acre, victualled by the English +fleet, still held out, and Bonaparte had to retreat to Egypt. + +It was at Aboukir that Murat consolidated his reputation as a great +commander. The Turkish general had neglected to rest the right flank of +his first line on the sea, and Murat, seizing his opportunity, fell on +the unguarded flank with the full weight of his cavalry, and rolled the +unfortunate Turks into the water. Thereafter, by the aid of a battery of +artillery, the centre of the second line of the Turkish army was broken, +and the French horse dashing into the gap, once again made short work of +the enemy, and their leader captured with his own hands the Turkish +commander. Bonaparte, in his despatch, did full justice to his +subordinate. "The victory is mainly due to General Murat. I ask you to +make him general of division: his brigade of cavalry has achieved the +impossible." Murat himself was much distressed at being wounded in the +face, as he feared it might destroy his good looks; however, he soon had +the satisfaction of writing to his father: "The doctors tell me I shall +not be in the least disfigured, so tell all the young ladies that even +if Murat has lost some of his good looks, they won't find that he has +lost any of his bravery in the war of love." + +His grumbles forgiven, Murat left Egypt among the chosen band of +followers of whose fidelity Napoleon was assured; his special mission +was to gain over the cavalry to the side of his chief. He it was who, +with Leclerc, on the 18th Brumaire, forced his way into the Orangerie at +the head of the grenadiers and hurled out the deputies. The First +Consul rewarded him amply, appointing him inspector of the Consular +Guard, and, later still, in preference to his rival, Lannes, gave him in +marriage his sister Caroline. Murat had met Caroline Bonaparte at +Montebello during the Italian campaign of 1796, and had at once been +struck by her beauty. Like many another cavalier, he had a flame in +every country, or rather, in every town which he visited. But by 1799 +the gay Gascon saw that it was time to finish sowing his wild oats, +since destiny was offering him a chance which falls to the lot of few +mortals. It was by now clear that the First Consul's star was in the +ascendant. Already his family were reaping the fruits of his success. +Ambition, pride and love were the cords of the net which drew the +willing Murat to Caroline. As brother-in-law to the First Consul, +Joachim felt secure against his bitter rival, Lannes. To add point to +this success, he knew that the victor of Montebello was straining every +nerve to gain this very prize. Moreover, Fortune herself favoured his +suit. Bonaparte had offered the hand of Caroline to the great General +Moreau, but the future victor of Hohenlinden refused to join himself to +the Corsican triumph. To cover his confusion the First Consul was glad +to give his sister's hand to one of his most gallant officers, +especially as by so doing he once and for all removed the haunting fear +of an intrigue between him and Josephine. Accordingly, on January 25, +1800, Murat and Caroline were pronounced man and wife in the temple of +the canton of Plailly, by the president of the canton. Though Caroline +only brought with her a dot of forty thousand francs, she stood for what +was better still, immense possibilities. + +Murat's honeymoon was cut short by the Marengo campaign. In April he +started, as lieutenant-general in command of the cavalry, to join the +Army of the Reserve at Dijon. Once the corps of Lannes had, by the +capture of Ivrea, secured the opening into Italy, the cavalry were able +to take up their role, and with irresistible weight they swept down the +plains of Lombardy, forced the river crossings, and on June 2nd entered +Milan. Thence the First Consul despatched his horsemen to seize +Piacenza, the important bridge across the Po, the key of the Austrian +lines of communication. Murat, with a few troops, crossed the river in +some twenty small rowing-boats, and, dashing forward, captured the +bridge head on the southern bank, and thus secured not only the peaceful +crossing of his force, but the capture of the town and the immense +Austrian depots. At Marengo the cavalry acted in separate brigades, and +the decisive stroke of the battle fell to the lot of the younger +Kellermann, whose brilliant charge decided the day in favour of the +French. The despatches only mentioned that "General Murat's clothes were +riddled by bullets." + +So far Murat had always held subordinate commands; his great ambition +was to become the commander-in-chief of an independent army. His wife, +Caroline, and his sister-in-law, Josephine, were constant in their +endeavours to gain this distinction for him from the First Consul. But +it was not till the end of 1800 that they succeeded; and then only +partially, for in December the lieutenant-general was appointed +commander of a corps of observation, whose headquarters were at Milan, +and whose duty was to overawe Tuscany and the Papal States. His campaign +in central Italy is more noticeable for his endeavours to shake himself +free from the control of General Brune, the commander-in-chief of the +Army of Italy, than for any very brilliant manoeuvres. Tuscany and the +Papal States were easily conquered, and the King of Naples was only too +glad to buy peace at Foligno. Italy lay at the feet of the French +general, but what was most gratifying of all, after his successful +negotiation with the King of Naples, the First Consul tacitly accepted +the title which his brother-in-law had assumed of commander-in-chief of +the Army of Naples. Murat had the satisfaction of having under his +orders Lieutenant-General Soult, three generals of division and four +generals of brigade. For the moment his Gascon vanity was satiated, +while his Gascon greed was appeased by substantial bribes from all the +conquered countries of the Peninsula. The "commander-in-chief" was +joined at Florence in May, 1801, by his wife, Caroline, and his young +son, Achille, born in January, whom he found "charming, already +possessed of two teeth." In the capital of Tuscany Murat gravely +delivered to the inhabitants a historical lecture on their science, +their civilisation, and the splendour of their state under the Medici. +He spent the summer in visiting the watering-places of Italy. In August +the First Consul raised him to the command of the troops of the +Cisalpine Republic, and he retained this post for the next two years, +and had his headquarters in Milan, making occasional expeditions to +Paris and Rome, and on the whole content with his position, save for +occasional quarrels with Melzi, the president of the Italian Republic. +Their jurisdictions overlapped and the Gascon would play second fiddle +to no one save to his great brother-in-law. + +In January, 1804, the First Consul recalled Murat to Paris, nominating +him commandant of the troops of the first military division and of the +National Guard, and Governor of the city. Bonaparte's object was not so +much to please his brother-in-law as to strengthen himself. He was +concentrating his own family, clan, and all his most faithful followers +in readiness for the great event, the proclamation of the Empire. Men +like Lannes, whose views were republican, were discreetly kept out of +the way on foreign missions; but Murat, as Bonaparte knew, was a pliant +tool. As early as 1802 he had hotly favoured the Concordat, and had had +his marriage recelebrated by Cardinal Consalvi; and both Caroline and +Joachim infinitely preferred being members of the imperial family of +the Emperor of the French to being merely relations of the successful +general and First Consul of the French Republic. They were willing also +to obey the future Emperor's commands, and to aid him socially by +entertaining on a lavish scale, and their residence in Paris, the Hotel +Thelusson, became the centre of gorgeous entertainments. While Murat +strutted about in sky-blue overalls, covered with gold spangles, +invented new uniforms, and bought expensive aigrettes for his busby, his +wife showed her rococo taste by furnishing her drawing-room in red satin +and gold, and her bedroom in rose-coloured satin and old point lace. +They had their reward. Five days after the proclamation of the Empire, +after a furious scene, Napoleon conceded the title of Imperial Highness +to his sister with the bitter words: "To listen to you, people would +think that I had robbed you of the heritage of the late King, our +father." Meanwhile the Governor of Paris had received his Marshal's +baton, and in the following February was created senator, prince, and +Grand Admiral of France. + +The rupture of the peace of Amiens did not affect the life of the +Governor of Paris; for two years he enjoyed this office, with all its +opportunities of ostentation and display. But in August, 1805, the +approaching war with Austria caused the Emperor to summon his most +brilliant cavalry leader to his side. In that month he despatched him, +travelling incognito as Colonel Beaumont, to survey the military roads +into Germany, and especially to study the converging roads round +Wuerzburg, and the suitability of that town as an advance depot for an +army operating on the Danube. From Wuerzburg Murat travelled hurriedly +through Nuremberg, Ratisbon, and Passau, as far as the river Inn, +returning via Munich, Ulm, the Black Forest, and Strassburg. Immediately +on his return the Emperor appointed him "Lieutenant of the Empire, and +commandant in his absence" of all the troops cantonned along the Rhine, +and of such corps of the Grand Army as reached that river before +himself. When war actually broke out Murat's duty was to mask, with his +cavalry in the Black Forest, the turning movement of the other corps of +the Grand Army which were striking at the Austrian rear. Once the +turning movement was completed the Prince was entrusted with the command +of the left wing of the army, which included his own cavalry division +and the corps of Lannes and Ney. Excellent as he was as cavalry +commander in the field, Murat had no head for great combinations. +Instead of profiting by the advice of those able soldiers, Lannes and +Ney, he spent his time quarrelling with them. He accordingly kept his +troops on the wrong side of the Danube, with the result that in spite of +Ney's brilliant action at Elchingen, two divisions of the Austrians +under the Archduke Ferdinand escaped from Ulm. Prince Murat, however, +retrieved his error by his brilliant pursuit of the escaped Austrians, +and by hard riding and fighting captured quite half of the Archduke's +command. + +Impetuosity, perseverance, and dash are undoubtedly useful traits in the +character of a cavalry commander, and of these he had his fair share. +But his jealousy and vanity often led him astray. During the advance +down the Danube, in his desire to gain the credit of capturing Vienna, +he lost touch completely with the Russians and Austrians, who had +retreated across the Danube at Krems, and he involved the Emperor in a +dangerous position by leaving the unbeaten Russians on the flank of his +line of communications. But the Prince quickly made amends for his +rashness. The ruse by which he and Lannes captured the bridge below +Vienna was discreditable no doubt from the point of view of morality. It +was a direct lie to tell the Austrian commander that an armistice had +been arranged and the bridge ceded to the French. But the fact remains +that Murat saved the Emperor and the French army from the difficult and +costly operation of crossing the broad Danube in the face of the +Allies. A few days later the Prince's vanity postponed for some time the +culminating blow, for although he had so successfully bluffed the enemy, +he could not realise that they could deceive him, and believing their +tales of an armistice, he allowed the Allies to escape from Napoleon's +clutches at Hollabruenn. At Austerlitz the Prince Marshal covered himself +with glory. In command of the left wing, ably backed by Lannes, he threw +the whole weight of his cavalry on the Russians, demonstrating to the +full the efficacy of a well-timed succession of charges on broken +infantry, and giving a masterly lesson in the art of re-forming +disorganised horsemen, by the use he made of the solid ranks of Lannes' +infantry, from behind which he issued again and again in restored order, +to fall on the shaken ranks of the enemy. At Austerlitz he was at his +best. His old quarrel with Lannes was for the moment forgotten; his +lieutenants, Nansouty, d'Hautpoul, and Sebastiani, were too far below +him to cause him any jealousy. The action on the left was mainly one of +cavalry, in which quickness of eye and decision were everything, where a +fault could be retrieved by charging in person at the head of the staff, +or by a few fierce words to a regiment slightly demoralised. Rapidity of +action and a self-confidence which on the battlefield never felt itself +beaten were the cause of Murat's success. + +It was the fixed policy of Napoleon to secure the Rhine valley, so that +never again would it be possible for the Austrians to threaten France. +To gain this end he originated the Confederation of the Rhine, grouping +all the small Rhineland states in a confederation of which he himself +was the Protector, and binding the rulers of the individual states to +his dynasty, either by marriage or by rewards. As part of this scheme +the Emperor allotted to Murat and Caroline the duchies of Cleves and +Berg, welding them into one province under the title of the Grand Duchy +of Berg. Thus the Gascon innkeeper's son became in 1806 Joachim, Prince +and Grand Admiral of France, and Grand Duke of Berg. He gained this +honour not as Murat, the brilliant cavalry general, but as Prince +Joachim, the brother-in-law of the Emperor Napoleon. The Grand Duke and +the Grand Duchess did not, however, reside long in their capital, +Duesseldorf; they infinitely preferred Paris. In their eyes Berg was but +a stepping-stone to higher things, a source of profit and a pretext for +exalting themselves at the expense of their neighbours. The Grand Duke +entrusted the interior management of the Duchy to his old friend Agar, +who had served him well in Italy, and who later became Count of Mosburg. +Any prosperity which the Grand Duke enjoyed was entirely due to the +financial ability of Agar. Murat, however, kept foreign affairs in his +own hands. As Foreign Minister, by simply taking what he wanted, he +added considerably to the extent of his duchy. But, like all Napoleon's +satellites, he constantly found his position humiliating, for in spite +of his tears and prayers, he had continually to see his duchy sacrificed +to France. It was no use to complain that Napoleon had taken away the +fortress of Wesel, which had been handed over to the Grand Duchy by +special treaty by the King of Prussia, for, as Queen Hortense wisely +asked him, "Who had really made that treaty? Who had given him the +duchy, the fortress, and everything?" + +In September, 1806, Murat's second and last visit to Duesseldorf was +brought to an abrupt close by the opening of the Prussian campaign. On +the eve of the battle of Jena his cavalry covered forty miles and +arrived in time to give the enemy the coup-de-grace on the following +day, driving them in flight into Weimar. Then followed the famous +pursuit across Prussia, in which Murat captured first-class fortresses +with cavalry regiments, and divisions of infantry with squadrons of +horse, and ended by seizing Bluecher and the whole of the Prussian +artillery on the shore of the Baltic at Luebeck. But though his cavalry +had thus wiped the Prussian army out of existence, the war dragged on, +for, as in 1805, the Russians had entered the field. In November the +Emperor despatched his brother-in-law to command the French corps which +were massing round Warsaw. The Grand Duke read into this order the idea +that he was destined to become the King of a revived Poland; accordingly +he made a triumphant entry into Warsaw in a fantastic uniform, red +leather boots, tunic of cloth of gold, sword-belt glittering with +diamonds, and a huge busby of rich fur bedecked with costly plumes. The +Poles greeted him with enthusiasm, and Murat hastened to write to the +Emperor that "the Poles desired to become a nation under a foreign King, +given them by your Majesty." While the Grand Duke dreamed of his Polish +crown, the climate defeated the French troops, and when the Emperor +arrived at the front the Prince had to lay aside his royal aspirations. +But in spite of his disappointment he was still too much of a Frenchman +and a soldier to allow his personal resentment to overcome his duty to +his Emperor, and he continued to hope that by his daring and success he +might still win his Polish crown. At Eylau he showed his customary +bravery and his magnificent talent as a cavalry leader, when he saved +the shattered corps of Augereau by a successful charge of over twelve +thousand sabres. At the battle of Heilsberg the celebrated light +cavalryman, Lasalle, saved his life, but a few minutes later the Grand +Duke was able to cry quits by himself rescuing Lasalle from the midst of +a Russian charge. Unfortunately for Murat, the prospective alliance with +Russia once and for all compelled Napoleon to lay aside all thought of +reviving the kingdom of Poland, and when the would-be King arrived with +a Polish guard of honour and his fantastic uniform, he was met by the +biting words of the Emperor: "Go and put on your proper uniform; you +look like a clown." + +After Tilsit the disappointed Grand Duke returned to Paris, where his +equally ambitious wife had been intriguing with Josephine, Talleyrand +and Fouche to get her husband nominated Napoleon's successor, in case +the accidents of the campaign should remove the Emperor. But Napoleon +had no intention of dying without issue. Thanks to his brother-in-law's +generosity, Murat was able to neglect his half-million subjects in Berg +and spend his revenues right royally in Paris. But early in 1808 his +ambition was once again inflamed by the hope of a crown--not a revived +kingship in Poland, but the ancient sceptre of Spain. Napoleon had +decided that the Pyrenees should no longer exist, and that Portugal and +Spain should become French provinces ruled by puppets of his own. Junot +already held Portugal; it seemed as if it needed but a vigorous movement +to oust the Bourbons from Madrid. Family quarrels had already caused a +revolution in Spain. Charles had fled the kingdom, leaving the throne to +his son Ferdinand. Both had appealed to Napoleon; consequently there was +a decent pretext for sending a French army into Spain. On February 25th +Murat was despatched at a few hours' notice, with orders to take over +the supreme command of all the French corps which were concentrating in +Spain, to seize the fortresses of Pampeluna and St. Sebastian, and to +advance with all speed on Madrid, but he was given no clue as to what +the Emperor's ulterior object might be. He was ordered, however, to keep +the Emperor daily informed of the state of public opinion in Spain. +Prince Joachim very soon perceived that King Charles was rejected by +everybody, that the Prime Minister, the Prince of Peace, was extremely +unpopular, and that Ferdinand was weak and irresolute: it seemed as if +he would follow the example of the King of Portugal, and would flee to +the colonies when the French army approached his capital. The only +disquieting feature of the situation was the constant annihilation of +small parties of French soldiers and the brutal murder of all +stragglers. On March 23rd the French army entered Madrid. All was +tranquil. Meanwhile the ex-King Charles had retired to Bayonne, and, by +the orders of the Emperor, the Prince of Peace was sent there also, +whereupon King Ferdinand, fearing that Napoleon might take his father's +part, hurried off to France. At Bayonne both the claimants to the +Spanish throne surrendered their rights to the Emperor, while at Madrid, +Murat, hoping against hope, played the royal part and kept the +inhabitants quiet with bull-fights and magnificent fetes. So far the +Spaniards, though restless, were waiting to see whether the French were +friends, as they protested, or in reality stealthy foes. The crisis came +on May 2nd, when the French troops were compelled to evacuate Madrid on +account of the fury of the populace at the attempted abduction of the +little Prince, Don Francisco. Murat showed to the full his indomitable +courage, fighting fiercely, not only for his Emperor, but for the crown +which he thought was his. Bitter indeed were his feelings when he +received a letter dated that fatal day, May 2nd, informing him that +Joseph was to be King of Spain, and that he might choose either Portugal +or Naples as his kingdom. In floods of tears he accepted Naples, but so +cruel was the blow that his health gave way, and instead of hurrying off +to his new kingdom he had to spend the summer drinking the waters at +Bareges; his sensitive Gascon feelings had completely broken down under +the disappointment, and, for the time being, he was physically and +morally a wreck. + +Murat was in no hurry to commence his reign, and his subjects showed no +great anxiety to see their new ruler. But when King Joachim Napoleon, to +give him his new title, arrived at Naples he was received with +unexpected warmth. The new monarch, with his striking personality and +good looks, at once captivated the hearts of his fickle Southern +subjects. Joseph had been prudent and cold, Joachim was ostentatious and +fiery. The Neapolitans had never really cared for their Bourbon +sovereigns. Some of the noblesse had from interest clung to the old +dynasty, but the greater part of the nobility cared little who ruled +them so long as their privileges were not interfered with. Among the +middle class there was a strong party which had accepted the doctrines +of the French Revolution. The lower class were idle and lazy, and +willing to serve any sovereign who appealed to them by ostentation. The +people who really held the key of the hearts of the mass of the +population were the clergy. Joseph, with his liberal ideas, had +attempted to free the people from clerical thraldom. Joachim, however, +with his Southern instincts, refused to deny himself the use of such a +powerful lever, and quickly ingratiated himself with his new subjects. +From the moment that he arrived at Naples the new King determined, if +not to rule Naples for the Neapolitans, at least, by pretending to do +so, to rule Naples for himself and not for Napoleon. It is not, +therefore, surprising that before the close of the year 1808 friction +arose, which was further increased by the intrigues of Talleyrand and +Fouche. These ministers, firmly convinced that Napoleon would never +return from the Spanish war, had decided that in the event of his death +they would declare Murat his successor rather than establish a regency +for the young son of Louis Napoleon, the King of Holland. + +In pursuance of the plan of winning his subjects' affections Joachim had +at once called to his aid Agar, who had so successfully managed the +finances of the Grand Duchy of Berg. The difficulties of finance in +Naples were very great, and with Agar the King had to associate the +subtle Corsican, Salicetti, who had so powerfully contributed to the +rise of Napoleon. Taxation in Naples was heavy, for the Neapolitans had +to find the money for the war with their old dynasty, which was +threatening them from Sicily, aided by the English fleet. To secure the +kingdom against the Sicilians and English, a large Neapolitan army of +thirty thousand troops had to be maintained along with an auxiliary +force of ten thousand French. Moreover, the Neapolitans had to pay for +having a King like Joachim and a Queen Consort like Caroline. The royal +household alone required 1,395,000 ducats per annum. To meet this heavy +expense the ministers had to devise all sorts of expedients to raise +money. Regular taxation, monopolies, mortgages, and loans barely +sufficed to provide for the budget. Still the King managed to retain his +popularity, and in his own way attempted to ameliorate the lot of his +subjects. He introduced the Code Napoleon. He founded a military +college, an artillery and engineer college, a naval college, a civil +engineer college and a polytechnic school. He also instituted primary +schools in every commune, and started an Ecole Normale for the training +of teachers. He expanded the staff of the University and established an +Observatory and Botanical Garden at Naples. He attempted to conciliate +the Neapolitan noblesse by gradually dismissing his French ministers and +officers and appointing Neapolitan nobles in their place. At the same +time he abolished feudal dues and customs. He also attempted to develop +industries by giving them protection. Above all, by the strict measures +of his minister Manhes he established peace in the interior by breaking +down the organised system of the freebooters and robbers. As time went +on he found that the clergy and monks were too heavy a burden for his +kingdom to bear, and, at the expense of his popularity, he had to cut +down the numbers of the dioceses and parishes and abolish the religious +orders. + +From the first the new King grasped the fact that his kingdom would +always be heavily taxed, and his throne insecure as long as the +Bourbons, backed by the English, held Sicily. His plan of campaign, +therefore, was to drive his enemy out of the smaller islands, and +thereafter to demand the aid of French troops and make a determined +effort against Sicily. In October, 1808, by a well-planned expedition, +he captured the island of Capri, and caused the English commander, Sir +Hudson Lowe, to capitulate. It was not till the autumn of 1810, however, +that he was ready for the great expedition. Relying on the traditional +hatred of the people of Messina for the Bourbons, he collected a strong +force on the Straits, and waited till the moment when, after a gale, the +English fleet had not yet arrived from the roads of Messina. On the +evening of September 17th he sent away his advance guard of two thousand +men in eighty small boats. Cavaignac, the commander of this force, +secured the important villages of Santo Stefano and Santo Paolo. But at +the critical moment the commander of the French division, acting +according to the Emperor's orders, refused to allow his troops to cross. +Before fresh arrangements could be made the English fleet reappeared on +the scene, and Cavaignac and his force were thus sacrificed for no +purpose. Joachim, as time showed, never forgave the Emperor for the +failure of his cherished plan. + +By the commencement of 1812, the coming Russian campaign overshadowed +all other questions. Murat, who had earnestly begged to be allowed to +share the Austrian campaign of 1809, was delighted to serve in person. +But as King of Naples he refused to send a division of ten thousand men +to reinforce the Grand Army, "as a Frenchman and a soldier he declared +himself to the core a subject of the Emperor, but as King of Naples he +aspired to perfect independence." It was this double attitude which, +from the moment Murat became King, clouded the relations between him and +Napoleon. But nevertheless, once he rejoined the Emperor at Dantzig, he +laid aside all his royal aspirations and became the faithful dashing +leader of cavalry. + +During the advance on Moscow the cavalry suffered terribly from the +difficulties of constant reconnaissances and want of supplies, but in +spite of this Murat urged the Emperor not to halt at Smolensk, but to +push on, as he believed the Russians were becoming demoralised. Scarce a +day passed without some engagement in which the King of Naples showed +his audacity and his talent as a leader. Notwithstanding, Napoleon, +angry at the constant escape of the Russians, declared that if Murat had +only pursued Bagration in Lithuania he would not have escaped. This +reproach spurred on the King of Naples to even greater deeds of bravery, +and so well was his figure known to the enemy that the Cossacks +constantly greeted him with cries of "Hurrah, hurrah, Murat!" At the +battle of Moskowa he and Ney completely overthrew the Russians, and if +Napoleon had flung the Guard into the action, the Russian army would +have been annihilated. In spite of the losses during the campaign, when +the French evacuated Moscow Murat had still ten thousand mounted troops, +but by the time the army had reached the Beresina there remained only +eighteen hundred troopers with horses. When the Emperor deserted the +Grand Army, he left the King of Naples in command, with orders to rally +the army at Vilna. But Murat saw that it was impossible to re-form the +army there, and accordingly ordered a retirement across the Niemen, a +line which he soon found it was impossible to hold. On January 10, 1813, +came the news that the Prussians had actually gone over to the enemy. It +seemed as if Napoleon was lost, and Murat thereupon at once deserted the +army, and set out in all haste for Italy, thinking only of how to save +his crown. + +The King arrived in Naples bent on maintaining his crown and on allowing +no interference from the Emperor. But in spite of this he could not +decide on any definite line of action. He was afraid the English and +Russians would invade his country, but on the other hand his old +affection for Napoleon, and a sort of sneaking belief in his ultimate +success, prevented him from listening to the insidious advice of the +Austrian envoy, whom the far-seeing Metternich had at once sent to +Naples. If Napoleon had not in his despatch glorified Prince Eugene's +conduct to the disparagement of the King of Naples, if he had only +vouchsafed some reply to the King's persistent letters of inquiry +whether he still trusted his old comrade and lieutenant, Murat would +have thrown himself heart and soul into the melee on the side of his old +friend. But in April Napoleon quitted Paris for the army in Germany +without sending one line in reply to these imploring letters. Meanwhile +on April 23rd came a letter from Colonel Coffin suggesting the +possibility of effecting an entente between the English and Neapolitan +Governments, or at any rate a commercial convention. Thereupon Murat +sent officers to enter into negotiations with Lord William Bentinck, who +represented the English Government in Sicily. All through the summer the +negotiations were continued, but Murat, in spite of the guarantee of the +throne of Naples which the English offered, could not break entirely +with his Emperor and benefactor. Still Napoleon, in his blindness, +instead of attempting to conciliate his brother-in-law, allowed articles +to his disparagement to appear in the _Moniteur_. Nevertheless Murat at +bottom was Napoleon's man. Elated by the Emperor's success at Luetzen and +Bautzen, although he refused to allow the Neapolitan troops to join the +Army of Italy under Prince Eugene, he hurried off in August to join the +French army at Dresden. There a reconciliation took place between the +brothers-in-law. But after the defeat at Leipzig King Joachim asked and +obtained leave to return to his own dominions. + +His presence was needed at home, for in Italy also the war had gone +against the French. Prince Eugene had had to fall back on the line of +the Adda, and the defection of the Tyrol had opened to the Allies the +passes into the Peninsula. Murat, in his hurry, had to leave his coach +snowed up in the Simplon Pass and proceed on horseback to Milan, where +he halted but a few hours to write a despatch to the Emperor, which +practically foretold his desertion. He declared that if he, instead of +Eugene, was entrusted with the defence of Italy, he would at once march +north from Naples with forty thousand men. He had indeed never forgotten +the slight put upon him by the article in the _Moniteur_, after the +Russian campaign, and he was ready to sacrifice even his kingdom if only +he could revenge himself on his enemy, Eugene. As Napoleon would not +grant him this request, he determined to humiliate Eugene, and, at the +same time, to save his crown by negotiating with the enemy. On reaching +Naples, he found that his wife, who hitherto had been an unbending +partisan of the French, had entirely changed her politics and was now +pledged to an Austrian alliance. The King was ever unstable, vanity +always governed his conduct: the Queen was always determined, governed +solely by a cold, calculating ambition. Negotiations were at once opened +with the Austrians. The King protested "that he desired nothing in the +world so much as to make common cause with the allied Powers." He +promised that he would join them with thirty thousand troops, on +condition that he was guaranteed the throne of Naples, and that he +should have the Roman States in exchange for Sicily. Meanwhile he +addressed an order of the day to his army, stating that the Neapolitan +troops should only be employed in Italy. This of course did not commit +him either to Napoleon or the Austrian alliance. Meanwhile the Emperor +had despatched Fouche to try to bind his brother-in-law to France, but +that distinguished double-dealer merely advised the Neapolitan King to +move northwards to the valley of the Po with all his troops, and there +to wait and see whether it would be best to help the French, or to enter +France with the Allies, and perhaps the Tuileries as Emperor. + +Joachim Napoleon quietly occupied Rome and pushed forward his troops +towards the Po, using the French magazines and depots, but still +negotiating with the Austrians, and, at the same time, holding out +hopes to the purely Italian party. For the national party of the +Risorgimento were striving hard to seize this opportunity to unite Italy +and drive out the foreigner, and no one seemed more capable of carrying +out their policy than the popular King of Naples. The Austrians +flattered the hopes of "young Italy" by declaring in their proclamation +that they had only entered Italy to free her from the yoke of the +stranger, and to aid the King of Naples by creating an independent +kingdom of Italy. Still Murat hesitated on the brink. As late as the +27th of December he wrote to the Emperor proposing that Italy should be +formed into two kingdoms, that he should govern all the peninsula south +of the Po, and that the rest of the country should be left to Eugene. +Three days later the Austrian envoy arrived with the proposals of the +Allies. But he could not yet make up his mind, and, moreover, the +English had not yet guaranteed him Naples. In January, however, these +guarantees were given, and against his will he had to sign a treaty. +Scarcely was the writing dry when he began to negotiate with Prince +Eugene. He used every artifice to prevent a collision between the French +and Neapolitan troops. When the campaign opened his troops abandoned +their position at the first shot, while he himself took good care not to +reach the front until the news of Napoleon's abdication arrived. + +But Murat's conduct had alienated everybody. The French loathed him for +his duplicity; the Allies suspected him of treachery, and the party of +the Risorgimento looked on him as the cause of their subjection to the +foreigner; for the Austrian victory had not brought Italy unity and +independence, but had merely established the fetters of the old regime. +During the remainder of 1814 the lot of the King of Naples was most +unenviable. The restored Bourbons of France and Spain regarded him as +the despoiler of the Bourbon house of Sicily. Russia had been no party +to the guarantee of his kingdom. England desired nothing so much as his +expulsion. Austria alone upheld him, for she had been the chief party to +the treaty; but Metternich was waiting for him to make some slip which +might serve as a pretext for tearing up that treaty. Even the Pope +refused the bribe which the King offered him when he proposed to restore +the Marches in return for receiving the papal investiture. In despair +Murat once again entered into negotiations with the Italian party. A +general rising was planned in Lombardy, but failed, as the Austrians +received news of the proposed cession of Milan. With cruel cunning they +spread the report that the King of Naples had sold the secret. +Henceforward Murat had no further hope. Foreigners, Italians, priests, +carbonari and freemasons, all had turned against him. + +Such was the situation when on March 8, 1815, the King heard that +Napoleon had left Elba. As usual he dealt double. He at once sent a +message to England that he would be faithful, while at the same time he +sent agents to Sicily to try to stir up a revolt against the Bourbons. +As soon as the news of Napoleon's reception in France arrived, he set +out at the head of forty thousand troops, thinking that all Italy would +rise for him. But the Italians mistrusted the fickle King; the Austrian +troops were already mobilised, and accordingly, early in May, the +Neapolitan army fled homewards before its enemies. King Joachim's +popularity was gone. A grant of a constitution roused no enthusiasm +among the people. City after city opened its gates to the enemy. +Resistance was hopeless, so on the night of May 19th the King of Naples, +with a few hundred thousand francs and his diamonds, accompanied by a +handful of personal friends, fled by sea to Cannes. But the Emperor +refused to receive the turncoat, though at St. Helena he bitterly +repented this action, lamenting "that at Waterloo Murat might have given +us the victory. For what did we need? To break three or four English +squares. Murat was just the man for the job." After Waterloo the poor +King fled before the White Terror, and for some time lay hid in +Corsica. There he was given a safe conduct by the Allies and permission +to settle in Austria. But the deposed monarch could not overcome his +vanity. He still believed himself indispensable to Naples. Some four +hundred Corsicans promised to follow him thither. The filibustering +expedition set out in three small ships on the 28th of September. A +storm arose and scattered the armada, but in spite of this, on October +7th, the ex-King decided to land at Pizzo. Dressed in full uniform, amid +cries of "Long live our King Joachim," the unfortunate man landed with +twenty-six followers. He was at once arrested, and on October 13th tried +by court martial, condemned to death, and executed a few hours later. + +Joachim Murat met his death like a soldier. As he wrote to his wife, his +only regret was that he died far off, without seeing his children. Death +was what he courted when landing at Pizzo, for he must have known how +impossible it was for him to conquer a kingdom with twenty-six men. +Still, he preferred to die in the attempt to regain his crown rather +than to spend an ignoble old age, a pensioner on the bounty of his +enemies. Murat died as he had lived, brave but vain, with his last words +calling out, "Soldiers, do your duty: fire at my heart, but spare my +face." + +The King of Naples owed his elevation entirely to his fortunate marriage +with the Emperor's sister; otherwise it is certain he would never have +reached such exalted rank, for Napoleon really did not like him or trust +him, and had a true knowledge of his ability. "He was a Paladin," said +the Emperor at St. Helena, "in the field, but in the Cabinet destitute +of either decision or judgment. He loved, I may rather say, adored me; +he was my right arm; but without me he was nothing. In battle he was +perhaps the bravest man in the world; left to himself, he was an +imbecile without judgment." Murat was a cavalry leader pure and simple. +His love of horses, his intuitive knowledge of exactly how much he +could ask from his horsemen, his reckless bravery, his fine +swordsmanship, his dashing manners, captivated the French cavalry and +enabled him to "achieve the impossible." Contrary to accepted opinion +Napoleon believed "that cavalry, if led by equally brave and resolute +men, must always break infantry." Consequently we find that at +Austerlitz, Jena, and Eylau, the decisive stroke of the day was in each +case given by immense bodies of some twenty thousand men under the +command of Murat, whose genius lay in his ability to manoeuvre these +huge bodies of cavalry on the field of battle, and in the tenacity with +which he clung to and pursued a beaten enemy. But this was the sum total +of his military ability. He had no conception of the use of the other +arms of the service, and never gained even the most elementary knowledge +of strategy. When trusted with anything like the command of a mixed body +of troops he proved an utter failure. Before Ulm he nearly ruined +Napoleon's combination by failing to get in contact with the enemy. In +the later half of the campaign of 1806 he hopelessly failed to make any +headway against the Russians east of the Vistula. In the retreat across +the Niemen he proved himself absolutely incapable of reorganising a +beaten force. As a king, Murat was full of good intentions towards his +people, but his extravagance, his vanity, his indecision cost him his +crown. As a man he was generous and extraordinarily brave. In the +Russian campaign he used to challenge the Cossacks to single combat, and +when he had beaten them he sent them away with some medal or souvenir of +himself. He was a good husband, and lived at peace and amity with his +wife, and was exceedingly fond of his children. His faults were +numerous; he was by nature intensely jealous, especially of those who +came between him and Napoleon, and he stooped to anything whereby he +might injure his rivals, Lannes and Prince Eugene. His hot Southern +blood led him into numerous quarrels. Although extremely arrogant, at +bottom he was a moral coward, and before the Emperor's reproaches he +scarcely dared to open his mouth. But his great fault, through which he +gained and lost his crown, was his vanity. Vanity, working on ambition +and an unstable character, is the key to all his career. His blatant +Jacobinism, his intrigue with Josephine, his overtures to the Directors, +his underhand treatment of his fellow Marshals, his discontent with his +Grand Duchy, his subtle dealings in Spain, his system of government in +Naples, his opposition to Napoleon's schemes, his dissimulation and +desertion, his almost theatrical bravery, and his very death were due to +nothing save extravagant vanity. + + + + +III + +ANDRE MASSENA, MARSHAL, DUKE OF RIVOLI, PRINCE OF ESSLING + + +Andre Massena, "the wiliest of Italians," was born at Nice on May 6, +1758, where his father and mother carried on a considerable business as +tanners and soap manufacturers. On his father's death, when Andre was +still but a small boy, his mother at once married again. Thereon Andre +and two of his sisters were adopted by their uncle Augustine, who +proposed to give his nephew a place in his business. But Andre's +restless, fiery nature could not brook the idea of a perpetual +monotonous existence in the tanyard and soap factory, so at the age of +thirteen he ran away from home and shipped as a cabin boy; as such he +made several voyages in the Mediterranean, and on one occasion crossed +the Atlantic to Cayenne. But, in spite of his love of adventure, the +life of a sailor soon began to pall, and on August 18, 1775, at the age +of seventeen, he enlisted in the Royal Italian regiment in the French +service. There he came under the influence of his uncle Marcel, who was +sergeant-major of the regiment; thanks to his advice and care he made +rapid strides in his profession, and received a fair education in the +regimental school. In later years the Marshal used to say that no step +cost him so much trouble or gave him such pleasure as his promotion to +corporal; be that as it may, promotion came rapidly, and with less than +two years' service he became sergeant on April 15, 1777. For fourteen +years Massena served in the Royal Italians, but at last he retired in +disgust. Under the regulations a commission was unattainable for those +who were not of noble birth, and the officers of the regiment had taken +a strong dislike to the sergeant, whom the colonel constantly held up as +an example, telling them, "Your ignorance of drill is shameful; your +inferiors, Massena, for example, can manoeuvre the battalion far +better than any of you." On his retirement Massena lived at Nice. To +occupy his time and earn a living he joined his cousin Bavastro, and +carried on a large smuggling business both by sea and land; he thus +gained that intimate knowledge of the defiles and passes of the Maritime +Alps which stood him in such good stead in the numerous campaigns of the +revolutionary wars, while the necessity for keeping a watch on the +preventive men and thus concealing his own movements developed to a +great extent his activity, resource, and daring. So successful were his +operations that he soon found himself in the position to demand the hand +of Mademoiselle Lamarre, daughter of a surgeon, possessed of a +considerable dowry. When the revolutionary wars broke out the Massenas +were established at Antibes, where they did a fair trade in olive oil +and dried fruits; but a respectable humdrum existence could not satisfy +the restless nature of the ex-sergeant, and in 1791 he applied for a +sub-lieutenancy in the gendarmerie, and it is to be presumed that, on +the principle of setting a thief to catch a thief, he would have made an +excellent policeman. It was at this moment that the invasion of France +by the monarchs of Europe caused all patriotic Frenchmen to obey the +summons to arms. Massena gladly left his shop to serve as adjutant of +the volunteers of the Var. His military knowledge, his erect and proud +bearing, his keen incisive speech, and absolute self-confidence in all +difficulties soon dominated his comrades, and it was as +lieutenant-colonel commanding the second battalion that he marched to +the frontier to meet the enemy. Lean and spare, below middle height, +with a highly expressive Italian face, a good mouth, an aquiline nose, +and black sparkling eyes, from the very first Massena inspired +confidence in all who met him; but it was not till he was seen in action +that the greatness of his qualities could best be appreciated. As +Napoleon said of him at St. Helena, "Massena was at his best and most +brilliant in the middle of the fire and disorder of battle; the roar of +the cannon used to clear his ideas, give him insight, penetration, and +gaiety.... In the middle of the dead and dying, among the hail of +bullets which swept down all around him, Massena was always himself +giving his orders and making his dispositions with the greatest calmness +and good judgment. There you see the true nobility of blood." In the +saddle from morning till night, absolutely insensible to fatigue, ready +at any moment to take the responsibility of his actions, he returned +from the first campaign in the Riviera as major-general. During the +siege of Toulon he commanded the "Camp de milles fourches," which +included the company of artillery commanded by Bonaparte, and +distinguished himself by taking the forts of Lartigues and St. +Catharine, thus earning his step as lieutenant-general while his future +commander was still a major in the artillery. In the campaign of 1794 it +was Massena who conceived and carried out the turning movement which +drove the Sardinians from the Col de Tenda, while Bonaparte's share in +the action merely consisted of commanding the artillery. As the trusted +counsellor of Dumerbion, Kellermann, and Scherer, for the next two +years, the lieutenant-general was the inspirer of the successive +commanders of the Army of Italy. He it was who, amid the snow and +storms, planned and carried out the combinations which gained for +Scherer the great winter victory at Loano, and thus first taught the +French the secret, which the English had grasped on the sea and +Napoleon was to perfect on land, of breaking the enemy's centre and +falling on one wing with overwhelming force. The campaign of 1796 for +the time being altered the current of Massena's military life. Before +the young Corsican's eagle gaze even the impetuous Italian quailed, and +from being the brain of the officer commanding the army he had to revert +to the position of the right arm and faithful interpreter of orders. Two +things, however, compensated Massena for the change of role, for +Bonaparte gave his subordinate fighting and glory with a lavish hand, +and above all winked at, nay, rather encouraged, the amassing of booty; +and wealth more even than glory was the desire of Massena's soul. + +[Illustration: ANDRE MASSENA, PRINCE OF ESSLING] + +At the very commencement of the campaign Massena committed a fault which +almost ruined his career. After defeating the enemy's advance guard near +Cairo, hearing by chance that the Austrian officers had left an +excellent dinner in a neighbouring inn, he and some of his staff left +his division on the top of a high hill and set off to enjoy the good +things prepared for the enemy. At daybreak the enemy attempted a +surprise on the French position on the hill, and the troops, without +their general and staff, were in great danger. Fortunately, Massena had +time to make his way through the Austrian skirmishers and resume his +command. He was greeted by hoots and jeers, but with absolute +imperturbability he reorganised his forces and checked the enemy. But +one battalion was isolated on a spur, from which there seemed no way of +escape save under a scorching flank fire. Massena made his way alone to +this detached post, scrambling up the steep slope on his hands and +knees, and, when he at last reached the troops, remembering his old +smuggling expedients, he showed them how to glissade down the steep part +of the hill, and brought them all safely back without a single casualty. +This escapade came to Bonaparte's ears, and it was only Massena's great +share in the victory of Montenotte which saved him from a court-martial. + +Bonaparte, at the commencement of the campaign, had ended a letter of +instructions to his lieutenant with the words "Watchfulness and bluff, +that is the card," and well Massena learned his lesson. Montenotte, the +bridge of Lodi, the long struggle at Castiglione, the two fights at +Rivoli and the marshes of Arcola proved beyond doubt that of all the +young conqueror of Italy's lieutenants, none had the insight, activity, +and endurance of Massena. But empty flattery did not satisfy him, for as +early as Lonato, greedy for renown, he considered his success had not +been fully recognised. In bitter anger he wrote to Bonaparte: "I +complain of your reports of Lonato and Roveredo, in which you do not +render me the justice that I merit. This forgetfulness tears my heart +and throws discouragement on my soul. I will recall the fact under +compulsion that the victory of Saintes Georges was due to my +dispositions, to my activity, to my sangfroid, and to my prevision." +This frank republican letter greatly displeased Bonaparte, who, since +Lodi, had cherished visions of a crown, and to realise this desire had +begun to issue his praise and rewards irrespective of merit, and to +appeal to the private soldier while visiting his displeasure on the +officers. But Massena's brilliant conduct at the second battle of +Rivoli, for the moment, blotted out all rancour, for it was Massena who +had saved the day, who had rushed up to the commander of the shaken +regiment, bitterly upbraiding him and his officers, showering blows on +them with the flat of his sword, and had then galloped off and brought +up two tried regiments of his own invincible division and driven back +the assailants; from that moment Bonaparte confirmed him in the title of +"the spoilt child of victory." In 1797 Bonaparte gave his lieutenant a +more substantial reward when he chose him to carry the despatches to +Paris which reported the preliminary treaty of Leoben; thus it was as +the right-hand man of the most distinguished general in Europe that the +Italian saw for the first time the capital of his adopted country. + +In choosing Massena to carry to Paris the tidings of peace, it was not +only his prestige and renown which influenced Bonaparte. For Paris was +in a state of half suppressed excitement, and signs were only too +evident that the Directory was unstable; accordingly the wily Corsican, +while despatching secret agents to advance his cause, was careful to +send as the bearer of the good news a man who was well known to care for +no political rewards, and who would be sure to turn a deaf ear to the +insidious schemes of those who were plotting to restore the monarchy, or +to set up a dictatorship, and were searching for a sovereign or a Caesar +as their political views suggested. It was for these reasons and because +he was tired of Massena's greed and avarice that Bonaparte refused to +admit him among those chosen to accompany him to Egypt. Massena saw +clearly all the secret intrigue of the capital, and found little +pleasure in his newly gained dignity of a seat among the Ancients, for +he was extremely afraid of a royalist restoration, in which case he +feared "our honourable wounds will become the titles for our +proscription." + +Tired of Paris, in 1798, he was glad to accept the command of the French +corps occupying Rome when its former commander, Berthier, was called +away to join the Egyptian expedition. On his arrival at Rome, to take +over his new command, he found himself face to face with a mutiny. The +troops were in rags and badly fed, their pay was months in arrear, and +meanwhile the civil servants of the Directory were amassing fortunes at +the expense of the Pope, the Cardinals, and the Princes of Rome. +Discontent was so widespread that the new general at once ordered all +troops, save some three thousand, to leave the capital. Unfortunately +Massena's record was not such as to inspire confidence in the purity of +his intentions. Instead of obeying, the officers and men held a mass +meeting to draft their remonstrance to the Directory. In this document +they accused, first of all, the agents who had disgraced the name of +France, and ended by saying, "The final cause of all the discontent is +the arrival of General Massena. The soldiers have not forgotten the +extortions and robberies he has committed wherever he has been invested +with the command. The Venetian territory, and above all Padua, is a +district teeming with proofs of his immorality." In the face of such +public feeling Massena found nothing for it but to demand a successor +and throw up his command. + +But with Bonaparte in Egypt and a ring of enemies threatening France +from all sides, the Directors, whose hands were as soiled as Massena's, +could ill spare the "spoilt child of victory." Accordingly, early in +1799 the general found himself invested with the important command of +the Army of Switzerland. This was a task worthy of his genius and he +eagerly accepted the post, but refused to abide by the stipulations the +Directors desired to enforce on him, as, according to their plan, the +Army of Switzerland was to form part of the Army of the Rhine commanded +by Joubert. Massena had obeyed Bonaparte, but he had no intention of +playing second fiddle to any other commander, and, after some stormy +interviews and letters, he at last had his way. As the year advanced it +became more and more evident that on the Army of Switzerland would fall +the full brunt of the attack of the coalition, for Joubert was defeated +by the Archduke Charles at Stockach and thrown back on the Rhine, +Scherer was defeated in Italy at Magnano, and by June the Russians and +Austrians had begun to close in on Switzerland. It was clear that, if +the French army were driven out of Switzerland, both the Rhine and the +Maritime Alps would be turned, and the enemy would be in a strong +position from which to invade France. On Massena, therefore, hung all +the hopes of the Directory. Fortunately for France, the general was +admirably versed in mountain warfare. Well aware of the difficulty of +keeping up communication between the different parts of his line of +defence, Massena skilfully withdrew his outposts, as the enemy pressed +on, with the intention of concentrating his troops round Zurich, thereby +covering all the possible lines of advance. But early in the summer his +difficulties were further increased by the rising of the Swiss +peasantry; luckily, however, the Archduke Charles advanced most +cautiously, while the Aulic Council at Vienna, unable to grasp the vital +point of the problem, stupidly sent its reserve army to Italy to +reinforce the Russians under Suvaroff. By June 5th the Archduke had +driven in all the outlying French columns, and was in a position to +attack the lines of Zurich with his entire force. Thanks, however, to +Massena's courage and presence of mind, the attack was driven off, but +so overwhelming were the numbers of the enemy that during the night the +French army evacuated Zurich, though only to fall back on a strong +position on Mount Albis, a rocky ridge at the north end of the lake, +covered on one flank by the lake and on the other by the river Aar. The +two armies for the time being lay opposite to each other, too exhausted +after the struggle to recommence operations. The Archduke Charles +awaited the arrival from Italy of Suvaroff, who was to debouch on the +French right by the St. Gothard Pass. But fortune, or rather the Aulic +Council at Vienna, once again intervened and saved France. The Archduke +Charles was ordered to leave fifty-five thousand Russians under +Korsakoff before Zurich and to march northwards and across the Rhine. +Protests were useless; the Court of Vienna merely ordered the Archduke +to "perform the immediate execution of its will without further +objections." But even yet disaster threatened the French, for Suvaroff +was commencing his advance by the St. Gothard. But Massena at once +grasped the opportunity fortune had placed in his power by opposing him +to a commander like Korsakoff, who was so impressed by his own pride +that he considered a Russian company equal to an Austrian battalion. On +September 26th, by a masterly series of manoeuvres, the main French +force surprised Korsakoff and drove him in rout out of Zurich. Suvaroff +arrived just in time to find Massena in victorious array thrust in +between himself and his countrymen, and was forced to save himself by a +hurried retreat through the most difficult passes of the Alps. + +The campaign of Zurich will always be studied as a masterpiece in +defensive warfare. The skilful use the French general made of the +mountain passes, the methods he employed to check the Archduke's advance +on Zurich, the care with which he kept up communications between his +different columns, the skilful choice of the positions of Zurich and +Mount Albis, his return to the initiative on every opportunity, and his +masterly interposition between Korsakoff and Suvaroff, alone entitle him +to a high place among the great commanders of history, and Massena was +rightly thanked by the legislature and hailed as the saviour of the +country. + +Six weeks after the victory of Zurich came the 18th Brumaire, and +Napoleon's accession to the consulate. Massena, a staunch republican, +was conscious of the defects of the Directory, but could not give his +hearty consent to the coup d'etat, for he feared for the liberty of his +country. Still, he said, if France desired to entrust her independence +and glory to one man she could choose none better than Bonaparte. The +latter, on his side, was anxious to retain Massena's affections, and at +once offered him the command of the Army of Italy. But the conqueror of +Zurich foresaw that everything was to be sacrificed to the glory of the +First Consul, and it was only after great persuasion, profuse promises, +and appeals to his patriotism that he undertook the command, with the +stipulation that "I will not take command of an army condemned to rest +on the defensive. My former services and successes do not permit me to +change the role that I have heretofore played in the wars of the +Republic." The First Consul replied by giving Massena carte blanche to +requisition whatever he wanted, and promised him that the Army of Italy +should be his first care. But when Massena arrived at Genoa he +discovered, as he had suspected, that Bonaparte's promises were only +made to be broken; for he found the troops entrusted to his care the +mere shadow of an army, the hospitals full, bands of soldiers, even +whole battalions, quitting their posts and trying to escape into France, +and the officers and generals absolutely unable to contend with the mass +of misery and want. In spite of his able lieutenants, Soult and Suchet, +he could make no head against the Austrians in the field, and after some +gallant engagements was driven back into Genoa, where, for two months, +he held out against famine and the assaults of the enemy. While the +wretched inhabitants starved, the troops were fed on "a miserable ration +of a quarter of a pound of horse-flesh and a quarter of a pound of what +was called bread--a horrible compound of damaged flour, sawdust, starch, +hair-powder, oatmeal, linseed, rancid nuts, and other nasty substances, +to which a little solidity was given by the admixture of a small portion +of cocoa. Each loaf, moreover, was held together by little bits of wood, +without which it would have fallen to powder." A revolt, threatened by +the inhabitants, was checked by Massena's order that an assemblage of +over five persons should be fired on, and the approaches to the +principal streets were commanded by guns. Still he refused to surrender, +as every day he expected to hear the cannon of the First Consul's army +thundering on the Austrian rear. One day the hopes of all were aroused +by a distant roar in the mountains, only to be dashed by finding it to +be thunder. It was simply the ascendancy of Massena's personality which +prolonged the agony and upheld his authority, and in bitter earnestness +the soldiers used to say, "He will make us eat his boots before he will +surrender." At last the accumulated horrors shook even his firm spirit, +and on June 4th a capitulation was agreed on. The terms were most +favourable to the French; but, as Lord Keith, the English admiral, said, +"General, your defence has been so heroic that we can refuse you +nothing." However, the sufferings of Genoa were not in vain, for Massena +had played his part and held the main Austrian force in check for ten +days longer than had been demanded of him; thus the First Consul had +time to fall on the enemies' line of communication, and it may be truly +said that without the siege of Genoa there could have been no Marengo. +Massena had once again demonstrated the importance of the individual in +war; as Bonaparte wrote to him during the siege, "In such a situation as +you are, a man like you is worth twenty thousand men." In spite of this, +at St. Helena, the Emperor, ever jealous of his own glory, affected to +despise Massena's generalship and endurance at Genoa, and blamed him for +not taking the offensive in the field, forgetting the state of his army +and the paucity of his troops. But at the moment he showed his +appreciation of his services by giving him the command of the army when +he himself retired to Paris after the victory of Marengo. Unfortunately +Massena's avarice and greed were unable to withstand the temptations of +the position, and the First Consul had very soon to recall him from +Italy and mark his displeasure by placing him on half-pay. + +For two years the disgraced general brooded over his wrongs in +retirement, and showed his attitude of mind by voting against the +Consulate for life and the establishment of the Empire. The gift of a +Marshal's baton did little to reconcile him to the Emperor, for, as he +scoffingly replied to Thiebault's congratulations, "Oh, there are +fourteen of us." So uncertain was the Emperor of his Marshal's +disposition that, on the outbreak of the war with Austria, Massena alone +of all the greater Marshals held no command. But with the prospect of +heavy fighting in Italy the Emperor could not afford to entrust the +Italian divisions to a blunderer, and he once again posted Massena to +his old command. The Austrians had occupied the strong position of +Caldiero, near the marshes of Arcola, and the French in vain attempted +to force them from it, but the success of the Emperor on the Danube at +last compelled the Archduke John to fall back on Austria. The Marshal at +once commenced a spirited pursuit, and ultimately joined hands with the +Grand Army, south of the Danube. + +After the treaty of Pressburg Napoleon despatched Massena to conquer +Naples, which he had given as a kingdom to his brother Joseph. With +fifty thousand men the Marshal swept through Italy. In vain the gallant +Queen Caroline armed the lazzaroni; Capua opened its gates, Gaeta fell +after twelve days' bombardment, and Joseph entered Naples in triumph. +Calabria alone offered a stern resistance, and this resistance the +French brought upon themselves by their cruelty to the peasantry, whom +they treated as brigands. Unfortunately his success in Naples was once +again tarnished by his greed, for the Marshal, by selling licences to +merchants and conniving at their escape from the custom-house dues, +amassed, within a few months of his entering Naples, a sum of three +million francs. Napoleon heard of this from his spies, and, writing to +him, demanded a loan of a million francs. The Duke of Rivoli replied +that he was the poorest of the Marshals, and had a numerous family to +maintain and was heavily in debt, so he regretted that he could send him +nothing. Unfortunately, the Emperor knew where he banked in Leghorn, and +as he refused to disgorge a third of his illicit profits, the Emperor +sent the inspector of the French Treasury and a police commissary to the +bank, and demanded that the three millions, which lay at his account +there, should be handed over. The seizure was made in legal form; the +banker, who lost nothing, was bound to comply with it. Massena, on +hearing of this misfortune, was so furious that he fell ill, but he did +not dare to remonstrate, knowing that he was in the wrong, but he never +forgave the Emperor: his titles and a pension never consoled him for +what he lost at Leghorn, and, in spite of his cautious habits, he was +sometimes heard to say, "I was fighting in his service and he was cruel +enough to take away my little savings which I had invested at Leghorn." + +From what he called a military promenade in Italy the Marshal was +summoned early in 1807 to the Grand Army in Poland, and was present in +command of one of the army corps at Pultusk, Ostralenka, and Friedland. +In 1808 he received his title of Duke of Rivoli and a pension of three +hundred thousand francs per annum, but in spite of this he absented +himself from the court. When Joseph was given the crown of Spain he +requested his brother to send Massena to aid him in his new sphere, but +the Emperor, full of mistrust, refused, while the Marshal himself had no +great desire to serve in Spain. When it was clear that Austria was going +to seize the occasion of the Spanish War once again to fight France, +Napoleon hastened to send the veteran Duke of Rivoli to the army on the +Danube. At Abensberg and Eckmuehl, for the first time since 1797, he +fought under the eye of Napoleon himself. "Activite, activite, vitesse," +wrote the Emperor, and well his lieutenant carried out his orders. +Following up the Five Days' Fighting, Massena led the advance guard to +Vienna, and commanded the left wing at Aspern-Essling. Standing in the +churchyard at Aspern, with the boughs swept down by grapeshot crashing +round him, he was in his element; never had his tenacity, his resource, +and skill been seen to such advantage. But in spite of his skill and the +courage of his troops, at the end of the first day's fighting his +shattered forces were driven out of the heap of smoking ruins which +marked all that remained of Aspern. On the morning of the second day he +had regained half of the village when news came that the bridge was +broken, and that he was to hold off the Austrians while communication +with the Isle of Lobau was being established. The enemy, invigorated by +the news of the success of their plan for breaking the bridges, strained +every nerve to annihilate the French force on the left bank of the +river, but Massena, Lannes, and Napoleon worked marvels with their +exhausted troops. The Duke of Rivoli seemed ubiquitous: at one moment on +horseback and at another on foot with drawn sword, wherever the enemy +pressed he was there animating his troops, directing their fire, +hurrying up supports; thus, thanks to his exertions, the Austrians were +held off, the cavalry and the artillery safely crossed the bridge, and +the veteran Marshal at midnight brought the last of the rear-guard +safely to the Isle of Lobau, where, exhausted by fatigue, the troops +fell asleep in their ranks. + +The death of Lannes threw Napoleon back on the Duke of Rivoli, who for +the time became his confidant and right-hand man. It was Massena who +commanded at Lobau and made all the arrangements for the crossing before +Wagram. The Emperor and his lieutenant were indefatigable in the care +with which they made their preparations. On one occasion, wishing to +inspect the Austrian position, dressed in sergeants' greatcoats, +attended by a single aide-de-camp in the kit of a private, they went +alone up the north bank of the island and took their coats off as if +they wanted to bathe. The Austrian sentinels, seeing, as they thought, +two French soldiers enjoying a wash, took no notice of them, and thus +the Emperor and the Marshal were able to determine the exact spot for +launching the bridges. On another occasion, while they were riding round +the island, the Marshal's horse put its foot into a hole and fell, and +injured the rider's leg so that he could not mount again. This +unfortunate accident happened a few days before the battle of Wagram, so +the Duke of Rivoli went into battle lying in a light caleche, drawn by +four white horses, with his doctor beside him changing the compresses +on his injured leg every two hours. During the battle Massena's corps +formed the left of the line. While Davout was carrying out his great +turning movement, it was the Duke of Rivoli who had to endure the full +fury of the Austrians' attack. In the pursuit after the battle he +pressed the enemy with his wonted activity. At the last encounter at +Znaim he had a narrow escape, for hardly had he got out of his carriage +when a cannon-ball struck it, and a moment later another shot killed one +of the horses. + +After the treaty of Vienna the Marshal, newly created Prince of Essling, +retired to rest at his country house at Rueil, but the Emperor could not +spare him long. In April, 1810, within eight months, he was once again +hurried off on active service, this time to Spain, where Soult had been +driven out of Portugal by Sir Arthur Wellesley, and Jourdan and Joseph +defeated at Talavera. The Emperor promised the Prince of Essling ninety +thousand troops for the invasion of Portugal, and placed under his +command Junot and Ney. The Marshal did his best to refuse the post; he +knew the difficult character of Ney and the jealousy of Junot, and he +pointed out that it would be better to reorganise the army of Portugal +under generals appointed by himself. Berthier replied that "the orders +of the Emperor were positive, and left no point in dispute. When the +Emperor delegated his authority obedience became a duty; however great +might be the pride of the Dukes of Elchingen and Abrantes, they had +enough justice to understand that their swords were not in the same line +as the sword of the conqueror of Zurich." Still, the Prince foresaw the +future, and appealed to the Emperor himself, but the Emperor was +obdurate. "You are out of humour to-day, my dear Massena. You see +everything black, yourself and your surroundings. To listen to you one +would think you were half dead. Your age? A good reason! How much older +are you now than at Essling? Your health? Does not imagination play a +great part in your weakness? Are you worse than at Wagram? It is +rheumatism that is troubling you. The climate of Portugal is as warm and +healthy as Italy, and will put you on your legs.... Set out then with +confidence. Be prudent and firm, and the obstacles you fear will fade +away; you have surmounted many worse." Unfortunately for the Marshal, +his forebodings were truer than the Emperor's optimism. On arriving at +Salamanca his troubles began. Delays were inevitable before he could +bring into order his unruly team. Junot and Ney were openly +contemptuous, Regnier hung back, and was three weeks late in his +arrangements. Meanwhile, all that Massena saw of the enemy, whom the +Emperor had in past years stigmatised as the "slow and clumsy English," +confirmed him in his opinion that the campaign was going to prove the +most arduous he had ever undertaken. + +In spite of everything, operations opened brilliantly for the French. +Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida fell without the English commander making any +apparent effort to relieve them. On September 16th the invasion of +Portugal commenced. But losses, disease, and garrison duty had already +reduced his troops to some seventy thousand men, and the French found +"an enemy behind every stone"; while, as the Prince of Essling wrote, +"We are marching across a desert; women, children, and old men have all +fled; in fact, no guide is to be found anywhere." Still the English fell +back before him, and he was under the impression that they were going to +evacuate Portugal without a blow, although he grasped the fact that it +was the immense superiority of the French cavalry which had prevented +the "sepoy general" making any effort to relieve the fortresses. But on +September 26th Massena found that the English had stayed their retreat, +and were waiting to fight him on the rocky ridge of Busaco. +Unfortunately for his reputation, he made no reconnaissance of the +position, and, trusting entirely to the reports of Ney, Regnier, and +Junot, who asserted the position was much less formidable than it +looked, sustained a heavy reverse. After the battle his lieutenants +urged him to abandon the invasion of Portugal; but the veteran refused +such timorous advice, and, rousing himself, soon showed the energy which +had made his name so famous at Zurich and Rivoli. Turning the position, +the French swept down on Portugal, while the English hurriedly fell back +before them. What caused Massena most anxiety was the ominous desertion +of the countryside. He was well aware of the bitter hatred of the +Portuguese, and knew that his soldiers tortured and hung the wretched +inhabitants to force them to reveal hidden stores of provisions, but it +was not until October 10th, when the French had arrived within a few +miles of the lines of Torres Vedras, that he learned of the vast +entrenched camp which the English commander had so secretly prepared for +his army and the inhabitants of Portugal. Massena was furious, and +covered with accusations the Portuguese officers on his staff. "Que +diable," he cried, "Wellington n'a pas construit des montagnes." But +there had been no treachery, only so well had the secret been kept that +hardly even an officer in the English army knew of the existence of the +work, and as Wellington wrote to the minister at Lisbon on October 6th, +"I believe that you and the Government do not know where the lines are." +For six weeks the indomitable Marshal lay in front of the position, +hoping to tempt the English to attack his army, now reduced to sixty +thousand men. But Wellington, who had planned this victorious reply to +the axiom that war ought to feed war, grimly sat behind his lines, while +the English army, well fed from the sea, watched the French writhe in +the toils of hunger. Massena was now roused, and as his opponent wrote, +"It is certainly astonishing that the enemy have been able to remain in +this country so long.... It is an extraordinary instance of what a +French army can do." At last even Massena had to confess himself beaten +and fall back on Santarem. The winter passed in a fruitless endeavour on +the part of the Emperor and the Marshal to force Soult, d'Erlon, and +Regnier to co-operate for an advance on Lisbon by the left bank of the +Tagus. Meanwhile, in spite of every effort, the French army dwindled +owing to disease, desertion, and unending fatigue. So dangerous was the +country that a despatch could not be sent along the lines of +communication without an escort of three hundred men. The whole +countryside had been so swept bare of provisions that a Portuguese spy +wrote to Wellington saying, "Heaven forgive me if I wrong them in +believing they have eaten my cat." + +By March, 1811, it became clear that the French could no longer maintain +themselves at Santarem; but so skilful were Massena's dispositions that +it was three days before Wellington realised that at last the enemy had +commenced their retreat. Never had the genius of the Marshal stood +higher than in this difficult retirement from Portugal. With his army +decimated by hunger and disease, with the victorious enemy always +hanging on his heels, with his subordinates in open revolt, and a +Marshal of France refusing to obey orders in the face of the enemy, he +lost not a single gun, baggage-wagon or invalid. Still, the morale of +his army was greatly shaken; as he himself wrote, "It is sufficient for +the enemy to show the heads of a few columns in order to intimidate the +officers and make them loudly declare that the whole of Wellington's +army is in sight." When the Marshal at last placed his wearied troops +behind the fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, he found his +difficulties by no means at an end. The Emperor, who "judged men only by +results," wrote him a letter full of thinly-veiled criticism of his +operations, while he found that the country round the fortresses was +now included in the command of the northern army under Bessieres. +Accordingly he had to apply to that Marshal for leave to revictual and +equip his troops. Meanwhile Wellington proceeded to besiege Almeida. + +By the end of April, after a vigorous correspondence with Bessieres, +Massena had at last reorganised his army and was once again ready to +take the field against the English. Reinforced by fifteen hundred +cavalry of the Guard under Bessieres, at Fuentes d'Onoro he surprised +the English forces covering the siege of Almeida; after a careful +reconnaissance at dawn on May 5th he attacked and defeated the English +right, and had it not been for the action of Bessieres, who spoiled his +combination by refusing to allow the Guard to charge save by his orders, +the English would have been totally defeated. Massena wished at all +hazards to continue the fight on the morrow, but his principal officers +were strongly opposed to it. Overborne by their counsels, after lying in +front of the position for three days he withdrew to Ciudad Rodrigo. It +was through no fault of his that he was beaten at Fuentes d'Onoro; +Wellington himself confessed how closely he had been pressed when he +wrote: "Lord Liverpool was quite right not to move thanks for the battle +of Fuentes, though it was the most difficult I was ever concerned in and +against the greatest odds. We had nearly three to one against us +engaged: above four to one of cavalry: and moreover our cavalry had not +a gallop in them, while some of that of the enemy were quite fresh and +in excellent order. If Bony had been there we should have been beaten." + +Soon after the battle Massena was superseded by Marmont, and retired to +Paris. The meeting with the Emperor was stormy. "Well, Prince of +Essling," said Napoleon, "are you no longer Massena?" Explanations +followed, and the Emperor at last promised that once again he should +have an opportunity of regaining his glory in Spain. But Fate willed +otherwise. After Salamanca, when Marmont was recalled, Massena set out +again for Spain, only to fall ill at Bayonne and to return home and try +to restore his shattered health at Nice. In 1813 and 1814 he commanded +the eighth military district, composed of the Rhone Valley, but he was +getting too old to take strenuous measures and was glad to make +submission to the Bourbons. + +Very cruelly the new Government placed an affront on the Marshal by +refusing to create him a peer of France under the plea that he was an +Italian and a foreigner, but in spite of this the Prince remained +faithful during the first part of the Hundred Days, and only went over +to Napoleon when he found that the capital and army had recognised the +Emperor. At Paris the Emperor greeted him with "Well, Massena, did you +wish to serve as lieutenant to the Duke of Angouleme and fight me ... +would you have hurled me back into the sea if I had given you time to +assemble your forces?" The old warrior replied: "Yes, Sire, inasmuch as +I believed that you were not recalled by the majority of Frenchmen." +Ill-health prevented the Marshal from actively serving the Emperor. But +during the interval between Napoleon's abdication and the second +restoration it fell to the Marshal's lot to keep order in Paris as +Governor and Commander of the National Guard. The new Government, to +punish him for the aid he had given to the Emperor, nominated him one of +the judges of Marshal Ney. This was the last occasion the Prince of +Essling appeared in public. Suspected as a traitor by the authorities, +weighed down by the horror of Ney's death and the assassination of his +old friend Brune, and racked by disease, after a lingering painful +illness the conqueror of Zurich breathed his last at the age of +fifty-nine on April 4, 1817. Even then the ultra royalists could not +conceal their hatred of him. The War Minister, Clarke, Duke of Feltre, +his old comrade, now turned furious legitimist, had hitherto withheld +the Marshal's new baton, and it was only the threat of Massena's +son-in-law, Reille, to place on the coffin the baton the Marshal had +received from the Emperor which at last forced the Government to send +the emblem. + +Great soldier as he was, Massena's escutcheon was stained by many a +blot. His avarice was disgusting beyond words, and with avarice went a +tendency to underhand dealing, harshness, and malice. During the Wagram +campaign the Marshal's coachman and footman drove him day by day in a +carriage through all the heat of the fighting. The Emperor complimented +these brave men and said that of all the hundred and thirty thousand men +engaged they were the bravest. Massena, after this, felt bound to give +them some reward, and said to one of his staff that he was going to give +them each four hundred francs. The staff officer replied that a pension +of four hundred francs would save them from want in their old age. The +Marshal, in a fury, turned on his aide-de-camp, exclaiming, "Wretch, do +you want to ruin me? What, an annuity of four hundred francs! No, no, +no, four hundred francs once and for all"; adding to his staff, "I would +sooner see you all shot and get a bullet through my arm than bind myself +to give an annuity of four hundred francs to any one." The Marshal never +forgave the aide-de-camp who had thus urged him to spend his money. His +harshness was also well known, and the excesses of the French troops in +Switzerland, Naples, and Portugal were greatly owing to his callousness; +in the campaign in Portugal he actually allowed detachments of soldiers +to set out with the express intention of capturing all girls between +twelve and twenty for the use of his men. But while oblivious to the +sufferings of others, as a father he was affectionate and indulgent. As +he said after Wagram of his son Prosper, "That young scamp has given me +more trouble than a whole army corps;" so careful was he of his safety +that he refused during the second day of the battle to allow him to +take his turn among the other aides-de-camp; but the young Massena was +too spirited to endure this, and Napoleon, hearing of the occurrence, +severely reprimanded the Marshal. Staunch republican by profession, +blustering and outspoken at times, he was at bottom a true Italian, and +knew well how to use the delicate art of flattery. Writing in 1805 to +the Minister of War, he thus ends a despatch: "I made my first campaign +with His Majesty, and it was under his orders that I learned what I know +of the trade of arms. We were together in the Army of Italy." Again, +when at Fontainebleau he had the misfortune to lose an eye when out +pheasant shooting, he attacked Berthier as the culprit, although he knew +full well that the Emperor was the only person who had fired a shot. + +But in spite of all this meanness and his many defects, he must always +be remembered as one of the great soldiers of France, a name at all +times to conjure with. Both Napoleon and Wellington have paid their +tribute to his talents. At St. Helena the fallen Emperor said that of +all his generals the Prince of Essling "was the first," and the Duke, +speaking to Lord Ros of the French commanders, said, "Massena gave me +more trouble than any of them, because when I expected to find him weak, +he generally contrived somehow that I should find him strong." The +Marshal was a born soldier. War was with him an inspiration; being all +but illiterate, he never studied it theoretically, but, as one of his +detractors admits, "He was a born general: his courage and tenacity did +the rest. In the best days of his military career he saw accurately, +decided promptly, and never let himself be cast down by reverses." It +was owing to this obstinacy combined with clear vision that his great +successes were gained, and the dogged determination he showed at Zurich, +Loano, Rivoli and Genoa was no whit impaired by success or by old age, +as he proved at Essling, Wagram, and before the lines of Torres Vedras. +Like his great commander, none knew better than the Prince of Essling +that fortune must be wooed, and, as Napoleon wrote to him, "It is not to +you, my dear general, that I need to recommend the employment of +audacity." In spite of his ill success in his last campaign, to the end +the Prince of Essling worthily upheld his title of "The spoilt child of +victory." + + + + +IV + +JEAN BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE, MARSHAL, PRINCE OF PONTE CORVO, KING OF +SWEDEN + + +Gascony has ever been the mother of ambitious men, and many a ruler has +she supplied to France. But in 1789 few Gascons even would have believed +that ere twenty years had passed one Gascon would be sitting on the +Bourbon throne of Naples and a second would be Crown Prince of Sweden, +the adopted son of the House of Vasa. + +Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, the son of a petty lawyer, was born at Pau on +January 26, 1763. At the age of seventeen he enlisted in the Royal +Marine regiment and passed the next nine years of his life in garrison +towns in Corsica, Dauphine and Provence. His first notable exploit +occurred in 1788, when, as sergeant, he commanded a section of the +Marines whose duty it was to maintain order at Grenoble during the +troubles which preceded the outbreak of the Revolution. The story goes +that Bernadotte was responsible for the first shedding of blood. One +day, when the mob was threatening to get out of hand, a woman rushed out +of the crowd and caught the sergeant a cuff on the face, whereon the +fiery Gascon ordered his men to open fire. In a moment the answer came +in a shower of bricks. Blood had been shed, and from that moment the +people of France declared war to the death on the old regime. Impetuous, +generous, warm-hearted and ambitious, for the next three years Jean +Baptiste pursued a policy which is typical of his whole career. Ready +when at white heat of passion to take the most extreme measures, even to +fire on the crowd, in calmer moments full of enthusiasm for the Rights +of Man and the well-being of his fellows; spending long hours haranguing +his comrades on the iniquity of kingship and the necessity of taking up +arms against all of noble birth, yet standing firm by his colonel, +because in former days he had done him a kindness, and saving his +officers from the mutineers who were threatening to hang them; watching +every opportunity to push his own fortunes, Bernadotte pursued his way +towards success. Promotion came rapidly: colonel in 1792, the next year +general of brigade, and a few months later general of division, he owed +his advancement to the way in which he handled his men. Naturally great +neither as tactician or as strategist, he could carry out the orders of +others and above all impart his fiery nature to his troops; his success +on the battlefield was due to his personal magnetism, whereby he +inspired others with his own self-confidence. But with all this +self-confidence there was blended in his character a curious strain of +hesitation. Again and again during his career he let "I dare not" wait +upon "I would." Gascon to the backbone, full of craft and wile, with an +eye ever on the future, at times he allowed his restless imagination to +conjure up dangers instead of forcing it to show him the means to gain +his end. When offered the post of general of brigade, and again when +appointed general of division, he refused the step because he had +divined that Jacobin would persecute Girondist, that ultra-Jacobin would +overthrow Jacobin, and that a reaction would sweep away the +Revolutionists, and he feared that the generals of the army might share +the fate of those who appointed them. After his magnificent attack at +Fleurus, he was at last compelled to accept promotion by Kleber, who +rode up to him and cried out, "You must accept the grade of general of +brigade here on the field of battle, where you have so truly earned it. +If you refuse you are no friend of mine." Thereon Bernadotte accepted +the post, considering that he could, if necessary, prove that he had not +received it as a political favour. The years 1794-6 saw Bernadotte on +continuous active service with the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, now in +the Rhine valley, now in the valley of the Danube. Every engagement from +Fleurus to Altenkirchen added more and more to his reputation with the +authorities and to his hold on the affection of his men. "He is the God +of armies," cried his soldiers, as they followed him into the fire-swept +zone. His courage, personality and physical beauty captivated all who +approached him. Tall, erect, with masses of coal black hair, the great +hooked nose of a falcon, and dark flashing eyes indicating Moorish blood +in his veins, he could crush the soul out of an incipient revolt with a +torrent of cutting words, and in a moment turn the mutineers into the +most loyal and devoted of soldiers. During the long revolutionary wars +he always kept before him the necessity of preparing for peace, and +found time to educate himself in history and political science. It was +with the reputation of being one of the best divisional officers of the +Army of the Sambre and Meuse, and a political power of no small +importance, that, at the end of 1796, Bernadotte was transferred with +his division to the Army of Italy, commanded by Bonaparte. From their +very first meeting friction arose. They were like Caesar and Pompey, "the +one would have no superior, the other would endure no equal." Bonaparte +already foresaw the day when France should lie at his feet; he +instinctively divined in Bernadotte a possible rival. Bernadotte, +accustomed to the adulation of all with whom he came in contact, felt +the loss of it in his new command, where soldiers and officers alike +could think and speak of nobody save the conqueror of Italy. Yet neither +could afford to break with the other, neither could as yet foretell +what the future would bring forth, so amid an occasional flourish of +compliments, a secret and vindictive war was waged between the two. As +commander-in-chief, Bonaparte, for the time being, held the whip hand +and could show his dislike by severe reprimands. "Wherever your division +goes, there is nothing but complaints of its want of discipline." +Bernadotte, on his side, anxious to win renown, would appeal to the +"esprit" of his soldiers of the Sambre and Meuse, and would spoil +Bonaparte's careful combinations by attempting a frontal attack before +the turning movement was effected by the Italian divisions. By the end +of the campaign it was clear to everybody that there was no love lost +between the two. After Leoben Bonaparte was for the moment the supreme +figure in France. As plenipotentiary at Leoben and commander-in-chief of +"the Army of England" he could impose his will on the Directory. +Bernadotte, in disgust at seeing the success of his rival, for some time +seriously considered withdrawing from public life, or at any rate from +France, where his reputation was thus overshadowed. Among various posts, +the Directory offered him the command of the Army of Italy, but he +refused them all, till at last he consented to accept that of ambassador +at Vienna. Vienna was for the time being the pole round which the whole +of European politics revolved, and accordingly there was great +possibility there of achieving diplomatic renown. But scarcely had the +new ambassador arrived at his destination when he heard of Bonaparte's +projected expedition to Egypt. He at once determined to return to +France. He felt that his return ought to be marked by something which +might appeal to the populace. Accordingly he adopted a device at once +simple and effective. + +[Illustration: JEAN BAPTISTE BERNADOTTE, KING OF SWEDEN +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY HILAIRE LE DRU] + +Jacobin at heart when his interest did not clash with his principles, he +had from his arrival at Vienna determined to show the princes and +dignitaries of an effete civilisation that Frenchmen were proud of their +Revolution and believed in nothing but the equality of all men; he +refused to conform to court regulations and turned his house into a club +for the German revolutionists. His attitude was of course resented, and +there was considerable feeling in Vienna against the French Embassy. It +only required, therefore, a little more bravado and a display of the +tricolour on the balcony of the Embassy to induce the mob to attack the +house. Immediately this occurred Bernadotte lodged a complaint, threw up +his appointment, and withdrew to France as a protest against this +"scoundrelly" attack on the honour of his country and the doctrine of +the equality of men. + +On his arrival at Paris he found the Directory shaken to its foundation. +Sieyes, the inveterate constitution-monger, who saw the necessity of "a +man with a head and a sword," greeted him joyfully; the banishment of +Pichegru, the death of Hoche, the disgrace of Moreau, and the absence of +Bonaparte had left Bernadotte for the moment the most important of the +political soldiers of the Revolution. Acting on Sieyes's advice, +Bernadotte refused all posts offered him either in the army or in the +Government and awaited developments. Meanwhile he became very intimate +with Joseph Bonaparte, who introduced him to his sister-in-law, Desire +Clary. The Clarys were merchants of Marseilles, and Desire had for some +time been engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte, who had jilted her on meeting +Josephine. Desire, very bitter at this treatment, accepted Bernadotte, +as she said in later life, "because I was told that he was a man who +could hold his own against Napoleon." This marriage was a master-stroke +of policy; it at once gave Bernadotte the support of the Bonaparte +family, for Bonaparte in his way was still fond of Desire, and at the +same time it gave Bernadotte a partner who at bottom hated Napoleon with +a rancour equal to his own. After the disasters in Italy and on the +Danube, on July 2, 1799, Bernadotte, thinking the time was come, +accepted the post of Minister of War. He speedily put in the field a +new army of one hundred thousand men, and by his admirable measures for +the instruction of conscripts and for the collection of war material he +was in no small way responsible, not only for Massena's victory of +Zurich, but, as Napoleon himself confessed, for the triumph of Marengo. + +His term of office, however, was short, for his colleagues intrigued +against him. Sieyes desired a man who would overthrow the Directory and +establish a dictatorship: Barras was coquetting with the Bourbons. +Bernadotte himself talked loudly of the safety of the Republic, but had +not the courage to jump with Sieyes or to crouch with Barras. Oppressed +by doubt, his imagination paralysed his action, and his personality, +which only blazed when in movement, became dull. Still trusting his +reputation and thinking that he was indispensable to the Directory, he +tendered his resignation, hoping thus to check the intrigues of Sieyes +and Barras. To his surprise it was at once accepted, and he found +himself a mere nonentity. + +On September 14th Bernadotte resigned, on October 9th Napoleon landed at +Frejus. During the Revolution of the 18th Brumaire Bernadotte remained +in the background. Desiring the safety of France by the reorganisation +of the Directory, hating the idea of a dictatorship, jealous of the +success of his rival, he refused to join the stream of generals which +hurried to the feet of the conqueror of Italy and Egypt. Bonaparte, who +could read his soul like a book, attempted to draw his rival into his +net, but, as ever, the Gascon could not make up his mind. At first he +was inclined to join in the conspiracy, but at last he refused, and told +Bonaparte that, if the Directory commanded him, he would take up arms +against those who plotted against the Republic. Still, even on the +eventful day he hesitated, and appeared in the morning among the other +conspirators at Bonaparte's house, but not in uniform, thinking thus to +serve both parties. + +During the years which succeeded the establishment of the Consulate, +Bernadotte waged an unending subterranean war against Napoleon. Scarcely +a year passed in which his name was not connected with some conspiracy +to overthrow the First Consul. Of these Napoleon was well advised, but +Bernadotte was too cunning to allow himself to be compromised +absolutely. However much he might sympathise with the conspirators and +lend them what aid he could, he always refused to sign his name to any +document. Accordingly, although on one occasion a bundle of seditious +proclamations was found in the boot of his aide-de-camp's carriage, the +charge could not be brought home. On another occasion, when it was +proved that he had advanced twelve thousand francs to the conspirator +Cerrachi, he could prove that it was the price he had paid the artist +for a bust. In spite of the fact that no definite proof could be brought +against him, the First Consul could easily, if he chose, have produced +fraudulent witnesses or have had him disposed of by a court-martial, as +he got rid of the Duc d'Enghien. Napoleon waited his time. He was afraid +of a Jacobin outbreak if he made a direct attack against him. Further, +Bernadotte had a zealous friend and ally in Joseph Bonaparte. So when +pressed to take stern measures against his enemy, Napoleon always +refused to do so, partly from policy, partly because of his former love +for Desire, and partly from the horror of a scandal in his family, which +might weaken his position when he seized the imperial throne. +Accordingly he attempted in every way to conciliate his rebellious +subject, and at the same time to place him in positions where he could +do no political harm. Together with Brune and Marmont, he made him a +Senator. He offered him the command of the Army of Italy, and, when +Bernadotte refused and demanded employment at home, he posted him to the +command of the division in Brittany, with headquarters at Rennes. But +the First Consul found that Rennes, far off as it was, was too close to +Paris; accordingly he tried to tempt his Jacobin general by important +posts abroad. He proposed in succession the embassy at Constantinople, +the captain-generalcy at Guadaloupe, and the governorship of Louisiana, +but Bernadotte refused to leave France. At last, early in 1803 Napoleon +nominated him minister to the United States. Three times the squadron of +frigates got ready to accompany the new minister, but each time the +minister postponed his departure. Meanwhile war broke out with England, +and Bernadotte was retained in France as general on the unattached list, +owing to the efforts of Joseph. + +On the establishment of the Empire Napoleon included Bernadotte's name +among the number of the Marshals, partly to please his brother Joseph +and to maintain the prestige of his family and partly, as in the case of +Augereau, Massena and Jourdan, to win over the staunch republicans and +Jacobins to the imperial regime. For the moment the Emperor achieved his +object. The ex-Jacobin, proud of his new title and luxuriating in his +lately acquired estate of Grosbois, was actually grateful; but still, +Gascon-like, he wanted more and complained he had not enough to maintain +his proper state. Napoleon, hearing of this from Fouche, exclaimed: +"Take from the public treasury enough to put this right. I want +Bernadotte to be content. He is just beginning to say he is full of +attachment for my person; this may attach him more." But a few days +later the Marshal revealed his true feelings when, talking of Napoleon +to Lucien, he said, "There will be no more glory save in his presence +and by his side and through his means, and unfortunately all for him." + +Though the Emperor had promoted him to honour, it was no part of his +scheme to allow to remain in Paris a man who, as Talleyrand said, "was +capable of securing four cut-throats and making away with Napoleon +himself if necessary, a furious beast, a grenadier capable of all and +everything, a man to be kept at a distance at all cost." Accordingly the +Marshal very soon found himself sent to replace Mortier in command of +the "Army of Hanover." + +For fifteen months Bernadotte administered Hanover, and the subtle +courtesy he showed to friend and foe alike made him as usual the adored +of all with whom he came in contact. But whatever he did, the Emperor +still suspected him, and gave the cue to all, that Bernadotte was not to +be trusted and was no soldier. Napoleon always took care that Bernadotte +should never have under his command French soldiers. His troops in 1805 +were Bavarians; in 1807, Poles; in 1808, a mixture of Dutch and +Spaniards; and in 1809, of Poles and Saxons. Berthier, working out the +Emperor's ideas, and himself also hating Bernadotte, took care that in +the allotment of duties the disagreeable and unimportant tasks should +fall to the Marshal. In spite of the inferiority of his troops, +Bernadotte as usual distinguished himself in the hour of battle. At +Austerlitz, at the critical moment, he saw that unless the centre was +heavily supported Napoleon's plan of trapping the Russians must fail, so +without waiting orders he detached a division towards the northern +slopes of the plateau, and thus materially assisted in winning the day. +But though quickwitted and alert on the battlefield, he never shone in +strategy. In the movements which led up to a battle he was always slow +and inclined to hesitate, and his detractors seized on this fault to +declare, with Napoleon's connivance, that he was a traitor to the +Emperor and to France. An incident of the campaign of 1806 gave the +Marshal's enemies an excellent opening for showing their dislike. +Napoleon, thinking he had cornered the whole Prussian army at Jena on +the night of October 13th, sent orders to Bernadotte to fall back from +Naumburg and get across the Prussian line of retreat. In pursuance of +these orders the Marshal left Naumburg at dawn on the morning of the +14th and marched in the direction of Apolda, which he reached, in spite +of the badness of the roads, by 4 p.m., and thereby captured about a +thousand prisoners. But Napoleon had been mistaken in his calculations; +the main Prussian force was not at Jena, but at Auerstaedt, where it was +most pluckily engaged and beaten by Davout, who at once sent to ask aid +of Bernadotte; but the Marshal, according to Napoleon's definite orders, +pursued his way to Apolda. The Emperor, to vent his dislike against +Bernadotte and to cover up his own mistake, asserted that he had sent +him orders to go to Davout's assistance, but a careful examination of +the French despatches proves that no such document existed; in fact, the +official despatches completely exonerate Bernadotte. Before the campaign +was finished, Napoleon had to give the Marshal the praise he merited, +when, aided by Soult and Murat, he at last forced Bluecher to surrender +with twenty-five thousand men and all the Prussian artillery at Luebeck. +At Eylau Bernadotte's ill luck once again pursued him, for the staff +officers sent to order him to march to the field of battle were taken by +the enemy. This misfortune gave another opportunity to his detractors, +and again the Emperor lent his authority to their false accusations. +While secretly countenancing every attack on the Marshal, the Emperor, +for family reasons, was loth to come to an open breach. On June 5, 1806, +he had created him Prince of Ponte Corvo, a small principality in Italy +wedged in between the kingdom of Naples and the Papal States; his reason +for so doing he explained in a letter to his brother Joseph, the King of +Naples. "When I gave the title of duke and prince to Bernadotte, it was +in consideration of you, for I have in my armies many generals who have +served me better and on whose attachment I can count more. But I thought +it proper that the brother-in-law of the Queen of Naples should hold a +distinguished position in your country." It was for this reason also +that, after the treaty of Tilsit, the Emperor presented the Prince with +vast domains in Poland and Hanover. + +During the interval between the peace of Tilsit and the outbreak of the +war with Austria in 1809, the Prince of Ponte Corvo returned to his duty +of administering Hanover. Pursuing his former policy of ingratiating +himself with everybody, he renewed his old friendships with all classes, +and gained the goodwill of his neighbours in Denmark and Swedish +Pomerania, showing a suavity which was in marked contrast to rigid +disciplinarians of the school of Davout. Such conduct, however, did not +gain the approval of the Emperor, whose policy was, by enforcing the +continental system, to squeeze to death the Hanseatic towns, which were +England's best customers. + +The Marshal was so keenly aware of the displeasure of the Emperor and +the hatred of many of his advisers, especially of Berthier, the chief of +the staff, that he actually asked to be placed on half pay at the +commencement of the campaign of 1809, but the Emperor refused his +request. He had determined to end the unceasing struggle between himself +and Bernadotte. The battle of Wagram gave him his opportunity. On the +first day of the battle, the Marshal had severely criticised, in the +hearing of some of his officers, the methods the Emperor had adopted for +crossing the Danube and attacking the Archduke Charles, boasting that if +he had been in command he would by a scientific manoeuvre have +compelled the Archduke to lay down his arms almost without a blow. Some +enemy told the Emperor of this boast. On the next day Bernadotte's corps +was broken by the Austrian cavalry and only saved from absolute +annihilation by the personal exertion of the Marshal and his staff, who, +by main force, stopped and re-formed the crowd of fugitives. The Emperor +arrived on the scene at the moment the Marshal had just succeeded in +staying the rout, and sarcastically inquired, "Is that the scientific +manoeuvre by which you were going to make the Archduke lay down his +arms?" and before the Marshal could make reply continued, "I remove you, +sir, from the command of the army corps which you handle so badly. +Withdraw at once and leave the Grand Army within twenty-four hours; a +bungler like you is no good to me." Such treatment was more than the +Marshal's fiery temperament could stand, and accordingly, contrary to +all military regulations and etiquette, he issued a bulletin without the +authority of the Emperor praising the Saxon troops, and thus magnifying +his own importance. The Emperor was furious, and sent a private +memorandum to the rest of the Marshals declaring that, "independently of +His Majesty having commanded his army in person, it is for him alone to +award the degree of glory each has merited. His Majesty owes the success +of his arms to the French troops and to no foreigners.... To Marshal +Macdonald and his troops is due the success which the Prince of Ponte +Corvo takes to himself." It seemed as if Bernadotte's career was +finished. + +The Emperor found he had no longer any reason to fear him, and for the +moment determined to crush him completely. So when he heard that Clarke +had despatched the Prince to organise the resistance to the English at +Flushing, he at once superseded him by Bessieres. But the prospect of an +alliance by marriage with either Russia or Austria once again caused the +Emperor to reflect on the necessity of avoiding scandal and discord in +his own family; accordingly he determined to try and propitiate the +Marshal by sending him as his envoy to Rome. To a born intriguer like +Bernadotte, Rome seemed to spell absolute exile, and accordingly, in the +lowest of spirits, he set about to find excuse to delay his journey, +little thinking that fortune had turned and was at last about to raise +him to those heights of which he had so long dreamed. Long before, in +1804, at the time of the establishment of the Empire, he had secretly +visited the famous fortune-teller, Mademoiselle Lenormand, who had told +him that he also should be a king and reign, but his kingdom would be +across the sea. His boundless ambition, stimulated by Southern +superstition, had fed itself on this prophecy, even when the breach with +Napoleon seemed to close the door to all hope. + +In May, 1809, a revolution in Sweden had deposed the incapable Gustavus +IV. and set up as King his uncle Charles, Duke of Sudermania. The new +King, Charles XIII., was old and childless. Accordingly the question of +the succession filled all men's minds. With Russia pressing in on the +east and Denmark hostile on the west, it was important to find some one +round whom all might rally, by preference a soldier. It was of course +obvious that France, the traditional ally of Sweden, dominated Europe. +Accordingly the Swedes determined to seek their Crown Prince from the +hands of Napoleon. Now, of all the Marshals, Bernadotte had had most to +do with the Swedes. At Hamburg he had had constant questions to settle +with the Pomeranians. At the time of Bluecher's surrender at Luebeck he +had treated with great courtesy certain Swedish prisoners. It seemed +therefore to the Swedish King's advisers that the Prince of Ponte Corvo, +the brother-in-law of King Joseph, the hero of Austerlitz, was the most +suitable candidate they could find. Napoleon, however, was furious when +he heard that a deputation had arrived to offer the position of Crown +Prince of Sweden to Bernadotte. Too diplomatic to refuse to allow the +offer to be made, he set to work at once secretly to undermine the +Marshal's popularity in Sweden, and while pretending to leave the +decision to Bernadotte himself, assured his friends that the Marshal +would never dare to accept the responsibility. But Napoleon had +miscalculated. Some kind friend informed the Marshal of what the Emperor +had said, and, as Bernadotte himself admitted, it was the taunt, "He +will never dare," which decided him to accept the Swedish offer. Before +the Crown Prince elect quitted France the Emperor attempted to place on +him the condition that he should never bear arms against him; but +Bernadotte, foreseeing the future, refused to give any such promise, +and at last the Emperor gave in with the angry words, "Go; our destinies +will soon be accomplished!" + +The Crown Prince took with him to Sweden his eldest son, who had +curiously, by the whim of his godfather, Napoleon, been named Oscar. But +his wife, Desire, could not tear herself away from Paris, where she had +collected a coterie of artists and writers; her salon was greatly +frequented by restless intriguers like Talleyrand and Fouche. Woman of +pleasure as she was, the gaiety of Paris was the breath of her nostrils. +Accordingly the Crown Princess remained behind, as it were the hostage +for the Prince's good behaviour, but in reality a spy and secret +purveyor of news hostile to Napoleon. + +On landing in Sweden the Crown Prince took all by storm. His good looks, +his affability, his great prestige and his apparent love for his new +country created an enthusiasm almost beyond belief. But while everything +seemed so favourable the crafty Gascon from the first foresaw the +dangers which beset his path. Napoleon hated him. Russia looked on him +with distrust and desired to absorb Sweden. England and the other Powers +mistrusted him as the tool of the Emperor. Accordingly, the moment he +landed at Gothenburg the Prince clearly defined the line he intended to +pursue, exclaiming, "I refuse to be either the prefect or the +custom-house officer of Napoleon." This decision meant a complete +reversal of Swedish foreign policy and a breach with France. Fortunately +for Bernadotte the old King, Charles XIII., was only too glad to leave +everything to his adopted son. Since it was impossible to make a +complete volte face in a moment, the Crown Prince was content to allow +the Swedes to taste to the full the misery of trying to enforce the +continental system. For he knew what disastrous effect a war with +England would have on Swedish trade, and he foresaw that his subjects +would soon be glad to accept any policy whereby their sea-borne commerce +might be saved. While the Swedes were learning the folly of fighting +the mistress of the sea, the Crown Prince had time to make his plans, so +that when the moment arrived he might step forward as the saviour of the +country. It was quite clear that a breach with France must mean the loss +of Pomerania and all hope of regaining the lost provinces on the +southern shores of the Baltic. But Bernadotte determined to find in +Norway a _quid pro quo_ for Pomerania. To force Russia, the hereditary +foe of Sweden, to make her hereditary ally, Denmark, grant Norway to +Sweden, would be a master-stroke of diplomacy, while an alliance with +Russia would guarantee the Swedish frontiers and would bring peace with +England, because Russia was on the point of breaking with the +continental system. The Swedes would thus gain Norway and recover their +sea-borne trade, while the Crown Prince would be acknowledged as the +legitimate heir of the royal house of Vasa and no longer regarded as an +interloper, a mere puppet of Napoleon. + +Success crowned the efforts of the elated Gascon. The Czar, with the +prospect of a French invasion at his door, was delighted beyond measure +to find in Sweden an ally instead of a foe. In August, 1812, he invited +the Crown Prince to Russia and the treaty of Aboe was signed, whereby +Russia promised to lend her aid to Sweden to gain Norway as the price of +her help against France; a little later a treaty was concluded between +England and Sweden. The Crown Prince returned from Aboe full of relief; +not only was he now received into the inner circle of legitimate +sovereigns, but the Czar had actually volunteered that if Napoleon fell +"I would see with pleasure the destinies of France in your hands." +Alexander had kindled a flame which never died as long as Bernadotte +lived. The remainder of his life might be summed up as an effort to gain +the crown of France, followed by a period of vain regrets at the failure +of his hopes. + +On returning to Stockholm the Crown Prince found himself surrounded by +a crowd of cosmopolitan admirers, the most important of whom was Madame +de Stael, who regarded him as the one man who could restore France to +prosperity. His flatterers likened him to Henry IV. and harped on the +fact that he also came from Bearn. But in France men cursed the +traitorous Frenchman who was going to turn his sword against his +country, and his name was expunged from the list of the Marshals and +from the rolls of the Senate, while the Emperor bitterly regretted that +he had not sent him to learn Swedish at Vincennes, the great military +prison. When, in accordance with his treaty obligations, early in 1813 +the Crown Prince of Sweden landed at Stralsund to take part in the war +against Napoleon, his position was a difficult one. The one object of +the Allies was to overthrow Napoleon, the one object of the Crown Prince +was to become King of France on Napoleon's fall. The Allies therefore +had to beat the French troops, but the Crown Prince would ruin his hopes +if French soldiers were beaten by the troops under his command. It was +clear that Napoleon could only be overcome by the closest co-operation +of all the Allies. Accordingly the Czar and the King of Prussia summoned +the Crown Prince to a conference at Trachenberg in Silesia and did their +best to gratify his pride. The plan of campaign was then arranged, and +the Prince returned to command the allied forces in Northern Germany. At +St. Helena the Emperor declared that it was Bernadotte who showed the +Allies how to win by avoiding all conflict with himself and defeating +the Marshals in detail. With great bitterness he added, "He gave our +enemies the key to our policy, the tactics of our armies, and showed +them the way to the sacred soil of France." Be this as it may, his +conduct during the campaign justified the suspicion with which he was +regarded by friend and foe. Only three times did the Prince's army come +in contact with the forces of the Emperor. At Grosbeeren and Dennewitz, +where his divisional officers fought and won, the Prince kept +discreetly in the rear. At Leipzig he held back so long that the French +army very nearly escaped. It was the taunt of his chief of the staff, +"Do you know that the soldiers say you are afraid and do not dare to +advance?" which at last forced him into battle. But while thus he +offended his allies, he gained no respect from his former countrymen. He +had always believed that his presence alone was sufficient to bring over +the French troops to his side, but his first attempt ought to have +shattered this delusion. At Stettin, during the armistice, he entered +the fortress and tried to seduce the governor, an ex-Jacobin and +erstwhile friend. As he left the town a cannon was fired and a ball +whistled past his ear. He at once sent a flag of truce to demand an +explanation for this breach of the etiquette of war, whereon his friend +the ex-Jacobin replied, "It was simply a police affair. We gave the +signal that a deserter was escaping and the mainguard fired." In spite +of this warning and many other indications, Bernadotte failed to +understand how completely he had lost his influence in France, and while +the Allies were advancing on Paris his secret agents were busy, +especially in Southern France, trying to win the people to his cause. +Keeping well in the rear of the invading armies, he entirely neglected +his military duties and passed his time listening to the reports of +worthless spies. The result of his intrigues was that he quite lost +touch with the trend of events at the front, and when Paris fell, +instead of being on the spot, he was far away. The Czar, long disgusted +with his delays, no longer pressed his suit, and finding an apparent +desire for a Bourbon restoration, accepted the return of that house. So +when the Crown Prince came to Paris he found nothing for it but to make +his best bow to the Bourbons and slink away home to gain what comfort he +could in the conquest of Norway. Thus once again was Sieyes' saying +proved correct: "He is a blackbird who thinks himself an eagle." + +On his return home his Swedish subjects gave their Crown Prince a very +warm welcome. They knew of none of his intrigues or tergiversations, +they only saw in him the victorious conqueror of Napoleon, who, by his +successful campaigns, was bringing peace and prosperity to Sweden, by +his diplomacy had acquired Norway, and by his clever huckstering had +gained twenty million francs for ceding to France the isle of +Guadaloupe, of which Sweden had never taken possession, and another +twelve millions for parting with the lost Pomeranian provinces. But in +spite of his popularity at home the Crown Prince had much to make him +anxious abroad. At the Congress of Vienna a strong party backed the +claims of the deposed Gustavus IV., and it was only the generous aid of +the Czar which defeated this conspiracy. Further, the attitude of the +Powers clearly showed him how precarious was the position of an intruder +among the hereditary rulers of Europe. Consequently, when Napoleon +returned from Elba the Prince exclaimed: "The cause of the Bourbons is +for ever lost," and for a moment thought of throwing in his lot with the +Emperor. But the sudden defeat of Murat came as a warning, and he +hastened to offer the aid of twenty-six thousand troops to the Allies. +Though outwardly in accord with them, the Crown Prince secretly hoped +for the victory of Napoleon; to his intimates he proclaimed that +"Napoleon was the first captain of all ages, the greatest human being +who had ever lived, superior to Hannibal, to Caesar, and even to Moses." +Whereat the Crown Princess, who had at last rejoined her husband in +Sweden, replied: "You ought to exclude Moses, who was the envoy of God, +whereas Napoleon is the envoy of the Devil." + +The news of Waterloo once again drove the Prince's ideas into their old +current. Surely France must now recognise that he alone could save her; +but the second restoration dashed his hopes to the ground. Yet hope +springs eternal in the human breast, and Bernadotte, year by year, +watched the trend of French politics with an anxious eye. Even as late +as the Revolution of 1830 he still thought it was possible that France +might call him to be her ruler, and he never lost the chance of doing +the Bourbons an ill-turn. In spite of these intrigues, save for an +appeal lodged in 1818 against the high-handed conduct of the Quadruple +Alliance in interfering between Sweden and Denmark, Bernadotte's +European career really ended with the fall of Napoleon. As Charles XIV. +he ascended the Swedish throne on February 18, 1818, on the death of his +adoptive father. As King he pursued the same policy as Crown Prince, +alliance with Russia. His internal policy was based on the principle of +maintaining his dynasty at all costs. With this object, in Sweden he +ruled more or less as a benevolent despot, consulting his States General +as little as possible, paying the greatest attention to commerce and +industry, and opening up the mines and waterways of the country. In +Norway, however, where the Storthing had long enjoyed great powers, he +ruled as a liberal constitutional monarch, and with such good fortune +did he and his successors pursue their policy that of all the diplomatic +expedients arranged at the Congress of Vienna, the cession of Norway to +Sweden stood the test of time the longest, and it was not till 1906 that +the principle of nationality was at last enforced in Scandinavia. + +Though Charles XIV. made no attempt to interfere in European politics, +the princes of Europe could never shake off their dislike of him, +standing as he did as the one survival of Napoleon's system. When the +time came for his son Oscar to seek a bride, the Swedish proposals were +met with scorn in Denmark and Prussia, and even in Mecklenburg-Anhalt +and Hesse-Cassel. As the Austrian envoy at the Swedish court whispered +to his English colleague, "All Europe would see the fall of these people +here without regret." Consequently the Swedish King was driven to seek a +bride for his son from Napoleon's family, and eventually the young +Prince married the daughter of Eugene Beauharnais, the old ex-Viceroy of +Italy, Napoleon's stepson. + +Charles XIV., a man of regrets, spent the remainder of his life buried +in the memories of the past. He seldom got up till late in the day, +dictating his letters and receiving his ministers in bed. When he was +dressed, he spent some hours going over his private affairs and revising +his investments, for he feared to the end that he might be deprived of +his crown. In the evening he entertained the foreign representatives and +held his courts, after which he passed the small hours of the night with +his particular cronies fighting and re-fighting his battles, and proving +how he alone could have saved Europe from the misery of the Napoleonic +wars. He died on March 3rd, 1844, at the age of eighty, having given his +subjects the precious boon of twenty-five years of peace. + +In spite of his brilliant career, Bernadotte must ever remain one of the +most pathetic figures in history. He stands convicted as a mere +opportunist, a man who never once possessed his soul in peace and who +was incapable of understanding his own destiny. So much was this the +case that in his latter days the old Jacobin, now a crowned King, really +believed he was speaking the truth when he said that along with +Lafayette he was the only public man, save the Count of Artois, who had +never changed since 1789. He saw no inconsistency between the +declaration of his youth, "that royalty was a monster which must be +mutilated in its own interest," and his speech as an old man to the +French ambassador, "If I were King of France with an army of two or +three hundred thousand men I would put my tongue out at your Chamber of +Deputies." He was Gascon to the backbone, and his tongue too often +betrayed his most secret and his most transient thoughts. For the moment +he would believe and declare that "Napoleon was not beaten by mere men +... he was greater than all of us ... the greatest captain who has +appeared since Julius Caesar.... If, like Henry IV., he had had a Sully +he would have governed empires." Then, thinking of himself as Sully, he +would gravely add, "Bonaparte was the greatest soldier of our age, but I +surpassed him in powers of organisation, of observation and +calculation." Yet with it all he had many of the qualities which go to +make a man great. His personal magnetism was irresistible, he had +consummate tact, a keen eye for intrigue, a clear vision to pierce the +mazes of political tangles, and considerable strength of purpose backed +by an intensely fiery nature. Frank and generous, he inclined naturally +to a liberal policy, but his innate selfishness too often conquered his +generous principles. It was this conflict between his liberal ideas and +his personal interest which caused that fatal hesitation which again and +again threatened to spoil his career and which made him so immensely +inferior to Napoleon. To gain his crown he willingly threw over his +religion and became a Lutheran; to keep his crown he was ready to +sacrifice his honour. As a Swedish monarch he thought more of the +interests of his dynasty than of the interests of his subjects, but he +was far too wily to show this in action. Posing as a patriot King and +boasting of his love for his adopted country, he ever remained at heart +a Frenchman. + +When in 1840 the remains of the great Emperor were transferred to Paris, +he mournfully exclaimed to his representative: "Tell them that I who was +once a Marshal of France am now only a King of Sweden." + + + + +V + +JEAN DE DIEU NICOLAS SOULT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF DALMATIA + + +Of all the Marshals of Napoleon, perhaps none is better known to +Englishmen than Jean de Dieu Soult. His long service in the Peninsula, +ending with the stern fighting in the Pyrenees and the valley of the +Garonne, and the prominent part he took in French politics during the +years of the Orleanist monarchy, made his name a household word in +England. The son of a small notary of St. Amand, a little-known town in +the department of the Tarn, Soult was possessed of all the fervour of +the South and the cunning and tenacity of a Gascon. Born on March 29, +1769, he early distinguished himself by his precocity and his quickness +of perception. Although handicapped by a club-foot he determined to be a +soldier, and at the age of sixteen he enlisted in the Royal Infantry +regiment. His intelligence marked him out for the rank of sergeant, and +in 1791 he was sent as sub-lieutenant and drill instructor to a +battalion of volunteers of the Haut Rhin. In spite of his lameness and +his slight frame, the young sub-lieutenant was possessed of a physique +capable of withstanding the greatest fatigue and hardship, and spurred +on by ambition, he never shirked a task which might add to his +reputation. Consequently, he was soon chosen captain by his comrades, +and once war broke out he speedily rose. At the battle of +Kaiserslautern, the storm of the lines of Weissenburg and the siege of +Fort Louis, he forced himself to the front by his gallantry and his +rapid coup d'oeil. But it was the battle of Fleurus which once and for +all established his reputation. Soult was by then colonel and chief of +the staff to General Lefebvre. The gallant Marceau's battalions were +hurled back in rout by the enemy, and their chief in agony rushed up to +Lefebvre crying out for four battalions of the reserve that he might +regain the ground he had lost. "Give them to me," he exclaimed, "or I +will blow out my brains." Soult quietly observed that he would thereby +only the more endanger his troops. Marceau, indignant at being rebuked +by a young staff officer, roughly asked, "And who are you?" "Whoever I +am," replied Soult, "I am calm, which you are not: do not kill yourself, +but lead your men to the charge and you shall have the four battalions +as soon as we can spare them." Scarcely had he uttered these words than +the Austrians fell with fury on Lefebvre's division. For hours the issue +hung in the balance, and at last even the stubborn Lefebvre began to +think of retreat. But Soult, calmly casting a rapid glance over the +field, called out, "If I am not mistaken from what I judge of the +enemy's second line, the Austrians are preparing to retreat." A few +moments later came the order to advance from Jourdan, the +commander-in-chief, and thanks to Soult's soundness of judgment, the +divisions of Marceau and Lefebvre were charging the enemy instead of +fighting a rear-guard action to cover a rout. After the battle, the +generous Marceau sought out Soult. "Colonel," said he, "forgive the +past: you have this day given me a lesson I shall never forget. It is +you in fact who have gained the battle." Soult had not long to wait for +his reward, for in 1794 he was promoted general of brigade. + +During the campaign of 1795 Soult was entrusted with a light column of +three battalions of infantry and six squadrons of cavalry, and was +constantly employed as an advance or rear guard. On one occasion, while +covering the retreat at Herborn, his small force was surrounded by four +thousand Austrian cavalry. Summoned to surrender, he indignantly +refused, and forming his infantry in two columns with the cavalry in the +interval between them, during five hours he beat off repeated charges of +the enemies' horse and fought his way back to the main body without +losing a single gun or a single colour. Ten days later he added to this +triumph by inflicting the loss of two thousand men on the enemy in the +mountain combat at Ratte Eig, when both sides struggled to gain the +heights knee-deep in snow. During the campaigns of 1796 and 1797, Soult +increased his reputation amid the marches and counter-marches and +battles in the valleys of the Rhine and the Danube. But it was in +Switzerland that he laid most firmly the foundation of his future +success, for there he gained the friendship and goodwill of Massena, and +it was the conqueror of Zurich who first called Bonaparte's attention to +the sterling qualities of the future Duke of Dalmatia, telling the First +Consul that "for judgment and courage Soult had scarcely a superior." In +1800 Massena took his trusty subordinate with him to Italy as +lieutenant-general of the centre of the army. During the fierce struggle +which ended in the Austrians driving the French into Genoa, the +lieutenant-general was seen at his best, exposing his person in a way he +seldom did later, and showing that strategic insight and power of +organisation for which he was so celebrated. On one occasion, when +cornered by Bellegarde, he was summoned to surrender. The Austrian +parlementaire pointed out that it was hopeless to continue the struggle +as he had neither provisions nor ammunition. To this Soult replied: +"With bayonets and men who know how to use them, one lacks nothing," and +in spite of every effort of the enemy, with the "white arm" alone he cut +his way into Genoa. During the siege he was Massena's right hand, ever +ready with shrewd advice, the soul of every sortie, till unluckily he +was wounded at the combat of Monte Cretto, and captured by the +Austrians, whose prisoner he remained till after Marengo. + +[Illustration: JEAN DE DIEU SOULT, DUKE OF DALMATIA +FROM A LITHOGRAPH BY DELPECH AFTER THE PAINTING BY ROUILLARD] + +On the establishment of the Consulate, Soult, whose politics rested +solely on personal ambition and not on principle, at once divined the +aims of Bonaparte. Thanks to Massena's warm introduction and his own +reputation, he found himself cordially received by the First Consul. +Honours were showered upon him. He was one of the four trusted +commandants of the Consular Guard, and when Napoleon began to organise +his forces for the struggle with England, he entrusted Soult with the +command of the important army corps at Boulogne. The First Consul could +have made no better selection. Under his rough exterior Soult hid great +powers of business, a keen perspicacity, and much tact. Quick-witted, +with a subtle, restless spirit, he had great strength of character, and +his ambition spurred him on to a diligence which knew neither mental nor +physical fatigue. But in spite of his cold air and self-restraint, he +loved the pleasures of the table, and was passionately fond of women, +while his wife exercised a complete domination over him, and before her +he quailed like a child. In war he had the keen imagination and quick +penetration of a great strategist. His special forte was the planning of +vigorous enterprises. But he preferred to direct rather than to lead. +Though his courage was undoubted, as he grew older he was chary of +risking his person, and had not the dashing qualities of Lannes and Ney. +As an administrator he was the equal of Davout. Once entrusted with the +command of the army corps at Boulogne, the young general of thirty-five +laid aside all thoughts of personal pleasure and ease and set himself to +manufacture a fighting machine which should be the most perfect of its +time. Never was such attention shown to details of administration and +instruction, and the discipline of the corps at Boulogne was the +severest that French troops had ever undergone. As might be expected, +there were many grumbles, and soon rumours and complaints reached the +First Consul, who himself remonstrated with his lieutenant, telling him +that the troops would sink under such treatment; but he was greeted with +the reply, "Such as cannot withstand the fatigue which I myself undergo +will remain at the depots: but those who do stand it will be fit to +undertake the conquest of the world." Soult was right in his estimate, +for in spite of the demands he made on their endurance, he had won their +love and admiration; the weak and the grumblers fell out, and when war +was declared his corps marched to the front, a body of picked men with +absolute confidence in their leader. In spite of the fact that he had +never held an independent command, there was no surprise when he was +included among the number of the Marshals, for his brilliant record, his +selection as commandant of the Guard, his success at Boulogne, and the +favour which the First Consul had long shown to him, had marked him out +as one of the coming men. The campaign of 1805 bore witness to the +justness of the Emperor's choice. It has often been said, and indeed +Wellington himself lent credit to the dictum, that Soult was primarily a +strategist and no tactician, but at Austerlitz he showed that calm +capacity to read the signs of the conflict, and that knowledge of when +and where to strike, which had first brought him to the front in the +days of Fleurus. Entrusted with the command of the centre, in spite of +the entreaties of his subordinates and even the commands of the Emperor, +he refused to open his attack until he saw that the Russian left was +hopelessly compromised. Thanks to his clearness of foresight, when once +he launched his attack he not only put the issue out of doubt, but +completely overwhelmed the Russians. Their left was surrounded and +annihilated while the centre and right were driven from the field in +complete rout. At the moment when the Marshal was directing the movement +which wrested from the enemy the key of the position, Napoleon and his +staff arrived on the scene. The Marshal explained his manoeuvre and +asked the Emperor for orders. "Carry on, carry on, my dear Marshal," +said the Emperor; "you know quite as well as I do how to finish the +affair." Then, stretching out his arms to embrace him, he cried out, "My +dear Marshal, you are the finest tactician in Europe." After the treaty +of Pressburg Soult's corps remained as part of the army of occupation in +the valley of the Danube, and in 1806 formed one of the corps of the +Grand Army during the Prussian War. At Jena he had the satisfaction of +playing an important part in the battle, for when Ney's rash advance had +compromised the situation, it was he who checked the victorious rush of +the enemy. But later the Marshal had bitter cause to repent these +triumphs won over his rival. Already the enemy of Berthier, and +consequently often misrepresented to the Emperor, Soult now incurred the +bitter hatred of Ney; and what the enmity of Berthier and Ney meant he +found to his cost during the Peninsular War. Immediately after Jena the +Marshal was detached in pursuit of the Prussians, and on the day +following defeated Marshal Kalkreuth at Greussen and proceeded to +blockade Magdeburg. From Magdeburg he hurried off to join in the pursuit +of Bluecher, and aided by Bernadotte he cornered the crafty old Prussian +at Luebeck. But brilliant as his performance was, he did not gain the +credit he deserved, for on the day of the action Murat arrived and took +over the command, arrogating to himself all the honours of the +surrender. The Marshal was justly indignant, but, bitterly as he +resented the injustice, he was too politic to storm at the Emperor like +Marshal Lannes. In the terrible campaign in Poland the Marshal added to +his laurels. At Eylau, when Augereau had been routed, Davout checked, +and Ney and Bernadotte not yet arrived on the field, it was he who +warned the Emperor against showing any signs of retreat. "Beware of +doing so, Sire," he exclaimed; "let us remain the last on the field and +we shall have the honour of the day: from what I have seen I expect the +enemy will retreat in the night." The advice was sound, and the Marshal, +during the night following the battle, had the pleasure of being the +first to perceive that the enemy was retreating, and it was his +aide-de-camp who carried the news to headquarters. Well it was for the +Emperor that he accepted Soult's advice, for the terrible carnage in the +snow had taken the heart out of the troops, and a retreat would have +soon degenerated into a rout. So shaken was the French morale, that +when, on the next day, the Emperor rode down the lines, instead of being +greeted with cries of "Long live the Emperor," he was received with +murmurs of "Peace and France," and even "Peace and Bread." During the +final advance Soult had his share of the hard fighting at Heilsberg, but +he escaped from the horrors of Friedland, as he had been detached to +occupy Koenigsberg. After the peace of Tilsit, the Marshal's corps was +cantonned round Stettin, and it was there that in 1808 he received the +title of Duke of Dalmatia. The selection of this name caused the Duke +much annoyance, for instead of receiving a title which should recall one +of his great exploits, as had Ney, Davout, Lannes, Kellermann, and +Massena, his designation was chosen from a country with which he had not +the smallest connection, and thus he found himself on a par with +Bessieres, Maret and Caulaincourt. What he hankered after was the title +of Duke of Austerlitz, but the Emperor refused to share the glories of +that day. In spite of the huge dotation he received, the Marshal added +this supposed slight to the many grudges he bore his master. + +From Stettin the Duke of Dalmatia was summoned in September, 1808, to +attend the Conference at Erfurt, and from there he was hurriedly +despatched to Spain. The Emperor was much displeased with many of his +corps commanders, and so on the arrival of the Duke he ordered him to +take over from Marshal Bessieres the command of the second corps. Soult +was delighted at the prospect of service. Full of zeal, he set out for +his new command, and pushing on in spite of all obstacles, he arrived at +his headquarters alone on a jaded post-horse twenty-four hours before +his aides-de-camp. A few days later he dashed to pieces the semblance of +a Spanish army at Gamoral and occupied Burgos, where he was unable to +prevent his new command from sacking the town and inflicting every +possible horror on the inhabitants. From Burgos the Emperor despatched +him to the north-west, and thus it was that the cavalry of Sir John +Moore's army surprised Soult's outpost at Sahagun. The Emperor could +scarcely believe that an English army had actually dared to advance +against his troops, but he at once ordered Soult to co-operate with the +divisions he led in person from Madrid, and when he found that the +English were bound to escape, he handed over the command to the Marshal. +The French suffered almost as much as the English in the terrible +pursuit, and it was the tried soldiers of both armies who at last met +face to face at Corunna. After the battle Soult wrote to the Emperor +that without fresh reinforcements he could effect nothing against the +English, but when later he found that the enemy had evacuated Corunna, +he claimed that he had won a victory. With a generosity that must be +placed to his credit, he took great care of the grave of his adversary, +Sir John Moore, and erected a monument with the inscription, "Hic +cecidit Johannes Moore dux exercitus Britannici in pugna Januarii xvi. +1809, contra Gallos a duce Dalmatiae ductos." + +Before leaving for France the Emperor had drawn up a cut and dried plan +for the systematic conquest of the whole Peninsula. The pivot of the +whole scheme rested on the supposed ability of Soult to overrun Portugal +and drive the British out of Lisbon by February 16, 1809. Unfortunately, +Napoleon left one factor out of his calculations, and that the most +important, namely, the feelings of the Spanish and Portuguese +populations. The Duke of Dalmatia very soon perceived the Emperor's +mistake, but, anxious not to be accused of shirking his task and of +allowing himself to be stopped by what were termed bands of ill-armed +peasants, he started on his expedition to conquer the kingdom of +Portugal with but three thousand rounds for his guns and five hundred +thousand cartridges for his infantry, carried on the backs of mules, for +owing to the state of the roads in the north-west corner of the +Peninsula wheel traffic was impossible. In spite of the difficulties of +transport and the murmurs of many of his officers, the indefatigable +Marshal hurled all obstacles aside and with sixteen thousand troops +forced his way into Oporto on March 29th, six weeks behind his scheduled +time. But there he had to call a halt, for he had not the men nor the +material for a further advance on Lisbon. The situation was by no means +reassuring. To reach Oporto he had been obliged to cut himself adrift +from his base, and he had no tidings of what was happening in the rest +of the Peninsula. During April he set himself to conciliate the people +of Portugal and at the same time to try and get into touch with the +other French corps in Spain. The Marshal's attempt at conciliation was +on the whole successful, but his kindness resulted in an unsuspected +turn in the situation. A movement was started among a certain section of +the Portuguese nobility and officials to offer the crown of Portugal to +the Marshal. The Duke of Dalmatia, greedy and ambitious but ever +cautious, was of opinion that though the Emperor might disapprove of the +idea, he would accept a fait accompli. Accordingly he secretly +sanctioned the movement, and allowed placards to appear in Oporto +stating that "the Prince Regent, by his departure to Brazil, had +formally resigned the crown, and that the only salvation of Portugal +would be that the Duke of Dalmatia, the most distinguished of the pupils +of the great Napoleon, should ascend the vacant throne." Further, he +actually, on April 19th, ordered his chief of the staff to send a +circular to commanding officers inviting their co-operation in his +seizure of the crown, stating that by so doing they would in no way be +disloyal to the Emperor. Luckily for the Marshal, the arrival of Sir +Arthur Wellesley and the English army, before the plot could succeed, +once and for all blew aside this cloudy attempt at kingship. For the +Emperor, on hearing of the affair, although he pardoned the Marshal, +saying, "I remember nothing but Austerlitz," still wrote in the same +despatch "that it would have been a crime, clear lese majeste, an attack +on the imperial dignity," and added that it was no wonder that the army +grew discontented, since the Marshal was working, not for France, but +for himself, and that disobedience to the Marshal's orders was quite +justified. For once, then, the Marshal, usually so clever and cautious, +had allowed ambition to run away with prudence. Meanwhile the military +situation grew day by day more disquieting. In the French army there was +a section of the officers ready to declare against the Empire whenever a +chance occurred, and one of them, Argenton by name, actually entered +into a treasonable negotiation with Sir Arthur Wellesley. It was thanks +to the discovery of this plot that the Marshal first got information of +his enemies' projected advance. + +With thirty thousand English marching against him and Spanish and +Portuguese forces across the main line of retreat, it was impossible to +expect to hold Oporto, and accordingly the Marshal began preparations +for withdrawal. But having secured, as he thought, all the boats on the +Douro, he concluded that he could only be attacked by a force ferried +across at the river mouth by the boats of the English fleet. +Consequently he kept no watch up stream. So complete was the surprise +that an hour after the enemy had effected a landing above the town the +Marshal, who had been up all night, was still in bed; his staff were +quietly breakfasting when an officer galloped up with the news of the +crossing. Soult could do nothing else but give the order to retreat by +whatever means possible, and it was fortunate for the French that the +pursuit was not pushed harder. But once he had grasped the situation he +made amends for his previous neglect of supervision and showed himself +the Soult of Austerlitz and Eylau. Sacrificing his baggage, his guns, +and his military chest, guided by a Spanish pedlar, he made a most +astounding march through the rugged region of Tras os Montes. Crossing +lofty passes, forcing gorges in the teeth of hostile bands of peasantry +and guerillas, by hard fighting and magnificent marching he brought his +troops to safety. The campaign of Oporto did not add to the Marshal's +reputation; his political ambition was the cause of all the disaster, +for it prevented him from supervising his subordinates' operations. It +was his fault that there was no proper road for retreat and that he was +surprised by the English army. Still, though he had committed great +faults, he had shown a surprising ability in extricating himself from +their consequences. + +When Soult reached Lugo, in Spain, he found his rival Ney, from whom he +begged stores and equipments, and with whom he was bound to confer on +the general situation. Ney at first magnanimously granted the Marshal's +requests. But unfortunately the men of Ney's corps greeted the armed +rabble which followed Soult's standards with jeers and execrations, and +the quarrel spread from the men to the officers and at last to the +Marshals; so fierce were Ney's taunts that Soult actually drew his sword +and a duel was with difficulty averted. Thereafter Soult, while +promising to co-operate with Ney in the pacification of Galicia, +actually did nothing and seriously compromised his rival, whereon Ney +refused to obey any orders given by the Duke of Dalmatia. Such was the +situation when a summons from Madrid called the two Marshals to the +succour of Joseph, who was threatened by the combined armies of Cuesta +and Sir Arthur Wellesley in the valley of the Tagus. The Marshals +arrived in time to save Madrid, but not in time to surround the Allies, +who escaped south across the Tagus, and the one chance of success the +Spanish offered them was lost, since Soult, eager for personal +aggrandisement, attacked Albuquerque before Marshal Victor had time to +arrive on the scene of action. The consequence of this was far-reaching, +for Victor, like Ney, refused in future to work in conjunction with +Soult. Moreover, when a council was held to decide on the next +operations, and Soult, wisely, no doubt, insisted that at Lisbon lay the +key to the situation, all the other Marshals voted against his scheme, +as each one determined that he would not be made subordinate to the Duke +of Dalmatia. Soult accordingly had to content himself with occupying the +valley of the Tagus, while the other Marshals returned to the districts +which had been allotted to them before the allied advance on Madrid. + +While contemplating this unsatisfactory situation the Duke of Dalmatia +was rejoiced to receive a despatch from the Emperor appointing him +major-general of the forces in Spain in place of Jourdan and entrusting +him with the invasion of Andalusia. Before setting out for the South, +Soult had the satisfaction of completely routing the Spaniards at Ocana. +It was early in 1810 that he entered Andalusia and seized Seville, +Granada, and Malaga. The Marshal found himself in the congenial position +of absolute ruler of the richest provinces of Spain. But though the +important towns fell easily, and with them the accumulated riches of +centuries, the people remained sullenly hostile, and bands of armed +peasantry hung ever on the rear and flanks of the French columns, and +stragglers and despatch-riders were found by the roadside with their +throats cut. To meet this situation, at the Emperor's orders Soult +issued a proclamation setting forth that whereas Joseph Bonaparte was +King of Spain and no Spanish Government existed, all Spaniards taken in +arms were rebels against his Catholic Majesty and would be immediately +shot. The Cortes from Cadiz replied by at once issuing a +counter-proclamation stating that for every Spaniard executed and for +every house burned three Frenchmen should be hung. Still, in spite of +this war of reprisals, the French gradually tightened their grip on +Southern Spain, and soon Cadiz remained the only important fortress +still in the hands of the enemy. The Marshal found it was impossible to +take this important position by storm, and contented himself with +masking it by a strong corps under Marshal Victor. Meanwhile he was +busily engaged in organising the new government of Andalusia, and so +successful were his efforts that neither the Spanish Government at Cadiz +or the constant incursions of Spanish and British armies were able to +shake his hold on that province. But wise and successful as were his +methods, the glory of his rule was darkened by his harshness and greed. +The churches and convents were ruthlessly despoiled of their treasures, +and many a fine Murillo and Velasquez was despatched to Paris to +decorate his salons. + +In the eyes of the Duke of Dalmatia, Andalusia was a vast reservoir of +wealth which might be used as a base from which a well-equipped force +could threaten Lisbon, the real focus of all the opposition to the +French domination of the Peninsula. It was in pursuance of this plan +that he conciliated the municipal authorities, strengthened the police, +and built up huge reserve magazines by a system of imposts so carefully +arranged that they should not unduly press on the Spanish population. +But unfortunately for the Duke's schemes they ran counter to those of +King Joseph. For the Marshal determined to use the wealth of his rich +provinces for the special object of an attack on the British power at +Lisbon, but Joseph desired that the revenue thus acquired should be sent +to assist him to maintain his kingly state. Soult, strong in his +position as major-general and backed by the Emperor's approval, refused +to listen to the demands of the King, and there began a struggle which +did more than anything else to bring about the fall of the Napoleonic +kingdom of Spain. In spite of the fact that the Marshal gradually wore +down the guerillas, actually raised and trained large bodies of Spanish +troops, built up vast magazines and arsenals at Seville, exploited the +lead mines at Linares and the copper mines of the Rio Tinto, established +foundries for military accessories, and fitted out privateers, the +jealousy of Joseph brought the Marshal's great schemes to nought. + +The continual and vexatious demands of the King acted in a most +unfortunate way on Soult's character, for this stupid opposition so +irritated his hard and egotistical nature that he saw in every scheme +not planned by himself a desire to belittle his glory. Unfortunately for +his own reputation and the success of the French arms, he allowed this +feeling to obscure his judgment, and he refused to give more than a +half-hearted co-operation to any measures not actually suggested by +himself. Thus it was that, in spite of the commands of the Emperor and +the entreaties of Joseph, he refused to make any attempt to co-operate +with Massena in his advance on Portugal until it was too late. Then, +when he actually did advance, he showed all his old energy and skill, +for in fifty days he mastered four fortresses and invested a fifth, he +captured twenty thousand prisoners and killed or dispersed ten thousand +men; but he disregarded the main objective, the expulsion of the English +from Lisbon, and contented himself with the siege of Badajoz, and thus, +while winning a fortress, he lost a kingdom. From want of his +co-operation Massena was forced to retreat, and the grip of the English +on the Peninsula was more firmly established than ever. + +Badajoz was soon to prove itself a place of ill omen for Soult, for a +few months later, when an Anglo-Portuguese army under Beresford laid +siege to it, he was forced to come to its rescue. It was in the attempt +to relieve this fortress that the terrible battle of Albuera was fought. +At the commencement of the fight the Marshal, by a masterly manoeuvre, +threw himself across the allied right flank and seized the hill that +dominated the position, and it looked as if the allied lines were bound +to be crumpled up. But a brigade of English infantry stood firm amid the +rout, and with measured volleys checked the victorious advance of the +elated French. Soult, by every effort of voice and gesture, attempted to +force his veterans to face the foe, but in vain. "Nothing could conquer +that astounding infantry. No sudden burst of undisciplined valour, no +nervous enthusiasm weakened the stability of their order: their flashing +eyes were bent on the dark columns in their front, their measured tread +shook the ground, their dreadful volleys swept away the head of every +formation, their deafening shouts overpowered the discordant cries that +broke from all parts of the tumultuous crowd as slowly, and with a +horrid carnage, it was pushed by the incessant vigour of the attack to +the farthest edge of the hill. In vain did the French reserve mix with +the struggling multitude to sustain the fight: their efforts only +increased the immediate confusion, and the mighty mass, breaking off +like a loosened cliff, went headlong down the steep. The rain flowed +after in a stream discoloured by blood: and eighteen hundred unwounded +men, the remnant of six thousand unconquerable British soldiers, stood +triumphant on the fatal hill." Thus Napier describes the battle of +Albuera. So nearly a magnificent victory for the French: turned by +British valour into a defeat. But it was not only the valour of the +enemy which cost Soult his success, it was his own errors. The +commencement of the attack was a magnificent conception, but the Marshal +failed to understand the tactics of his enemy, and it was his blind +attempt to crush the line with heavy columns which allowed the English +musket fire to annihilate his dense masses. After the cessation of the +combat he committed another great fault. Though his attack had been +beaten back, it was known that the Allies had suffered much more +severely than the French, and on the strength of this he claimed a +"signal victory"! But instead of holding his ground he withdrew a day +later, whereas if he had shown a confident front Beresford would have +been bound to retire, and Badajoz would have been relieved. After the +battle of Albuera, Soult was reinforced by the Army of Portugal under +Marmont; but discord soon broke out between the two Marshals, the Duke +of Dalmatia maintaining that the way to attack Lisbon was from his own +base in the south, and the Duke of Ragusa advocating the northern route. +After lying together for some time the two armies separated, and Soult +moved south to complete his operations against Cadiz and Gibraltar. It +was while the Marshal was thus engaged, early in 1812, that the Duke of +Wellington suddenly captured Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, and was thus +able, after defeating Marmont at Salamanca, to march in the summer on +Madrid. Soult replied to Joseph's summons to come to his help by telling +him that his best policy was to join him in Andalusia and make a +counter-stroke at Lisbon. But the King refused to listen to this wise +advice, so the Marshal was obliged to give up all his achievements and +go to Joseph's help. Meanwhile the King wrote complaining to the +Emperor, but Napoleon replied that Soult was the "only military head" in +Spain, and could not be moved. But after more bickering, early in 1813, +Joseph wrote to say that if the Marshal remained in Spain he himself +must leave the country, and the Emperor, anxious to regain his military +prestige, so weakened by the Russian campaign, was glad to summon the +Duke of Dalmatia to the Grand Army. But Soult's gloomy prophecy was soon +fulfilled that "the loss of Andalusia and the raising of the siege of +Cadiz are events that will be felt throughout the whole of Europe." The +Marshal's service at the head of the Imperial Guard was terminated by +the news of the fatal battle of Vittoria; for the Emperor immediately +hurried him back to try to prevent the English from forcing the barrier +of the Pyrenees. + +The Duke of Dalmatia gladly accepted the mission, in spite of the +repugnance of the Duchess, who hated Spain, where, as she said, "nothing +is got but blows." So hearty was her dislike of the country that she +actually went to the Emperor saying her husband was too shattered in +health for the task. But she met with a stern rebuff: "Madam," said +Napoleon, "recollect I am not your husband; if I were, you should +conduct yourself very differently." + +The campaign of the Pyrenees bore ample testimony to the wisdom of the +confidence the Emperor had placed in the power of his lieutenant. With +marvellous sagacity Soult reorganised the scattered relics of the French +armies, and within ten days of his arrival at headquarters he was ready +to assume the offensive, and actually all but surprised the Duke of +Wellington at Sorauren. But great as were his strategical powers and his +methods of organisation, he was no match for Wellington on the field of +battle, and step by step he was forced back into France. Round Bayonne +he showed his complete mastery of the art of war by the admirable way he +used his command of the inner lines always to oppose the enemy's attack +by superior force. Then, when retreat was inevitable, instead of falling +back towards Paris, he withdrew south, thus forcing his adversary to +divide up his army; for the English had to detach a strong division to +cover their communications at Bordeaux. During the retreat, again and +again Soult turned at bay, at Orthez and many another good position; +but Wellington ever outmanoeuvred him on the field, and even turned +him out of the seemingly impregnable position of Toulouse. Never was a +retreat more admirably carried out. Every opportunity afforded by the +ground, every advantage of position was seized on, to use to the full +the French dash in the attack. No more admirable illustration can be +found of the truth that the essence of defence lies in a vigorous local +offence. Wellington himself bore testimony to Soult's virtues, +maintaining that of the Marshals he was second only to Massena. + +With the Restoration the Marshal at once accepted the change of +government and gave his adhesion to the Bourbons. His general reputation +and the high place he held in the opinion of Wellington and others +caused the King in the December of 1814 to appoint him Minister of War. +Such was his position when news arrived of Napoleon's landing at Frejus. +The Duke of Dalmatia did all in his power to organise resistance to the +Emperor's advance, but he had many enemies, and the King, listening to +their advice, replaced him as minister by Clarke, Duke of Feltre. Soult +then retired to his country estate at Villeneuve-l'Etang, near Saint +Cloud. On his arrival at Paris, the Emperor at once sent for him, but at +first he refused to go to court. Ultimately, finding the Emperor's cause +in the ascendant, he cast aside hesitation and threw in his lot with +him. It has been said that the Duke betrayed the Bourbons and was privy +to the Emperor's return, but this is a calumny. Napoleon at St. Helena +said, "Soult did not betray Louis, nor was he privy to my return. For +some days he thought that I was mad, and that I must certainly be lost. +Notwithstanding this, appearances were so against him, and without +intending it, his acts turned out to be so favourable to my project, +that, were I on his jury and deprived of what I know, I should have +condemned him for having betrayed Louis. But he really was not privy to +it." The Emperor joyfully accepted the Marshal's adherence and made him +one of his new peers, and when war was imminent, on the advice of +Davout, he created him major-general and chief of the staff. This +selection was unfortunate; good strategist and organiser, he was not the +man the Emperor required. Berthier, who had not half his military +ability, had made an excellent chief of the staff, because he had the +rare quality of effacing his own ideas and acting simply as the recorder +and expander of those of Napoleon. But Soult was accustomed to think for +himself, and his mind was unable to attune itself to the mind of the +Emperor. Further, from long experience, Berthier was accustomed to fill +up gaps in the Emperor's orders in the way he intended, but Soult had +never so far worked in close co-operation with Napoleon, and after years +of independent command was more accustomed to give orders to his own +chief of the staff than to work out minutiae for another. Consequently, +all through the Waterloo campaign the staff work was badly done. Orders +were faultily drafted, mistakes were made in their despatch, and the +Emperor was constantly bewailing the loss of "that brute Berthier." A +typical example of the friction which arose between the Emperor and his +new major-general occurred when, at Waterloo, Napoleon asked Soult if he +had sent to Grouchy intelligence of the approach of the Prussians; the +Marshal replied, "Yes, I have sent an officer." "One officer!" cried +Napoleon; "ah! if only my poor Berthier had been here, he would have +sent six." To add to these troubles, Soult was unfortunately hated by +the officers of the army, who regarded him with grave suspicion. But +though the Marshal must bear his share in the disaster of Waterloo, it +is only fair to add that the morning of the battle he, and he alone, +warned the Emperor of the magnitude of the coming struggle, and +entreated him to recall at least a portion of Grouchy's command. The +Emperor roughly rejected his advice with the words, "You think that +because Wellington defeated you he must be a great general. I tell you +that he is a bad general, that the English are bad troops, and that this +will be the affair of a dejeuner." The Marshal, with the memory of many +a battle with these "poor troops" from Oporto to Toulouse, could only +sorrowfully say, "I hope so." + +On the second Restoration the Duke of Dalmatia found himself included +among the proscribed, and for three years he retired to the Duchy of +Berg, the home of his wife, during which time he occupied himself in the +composition of his Memoirs. But in May, 1819, he was recalled to France, +and soon found means of ingratiating himself with the Bourbons. In +January, 1820, his Marshal's baton and his other honours were restored +to him, and he entered the field of politics. With his vast income, +acquired from the spoils of nearly every country in Europe, he +maintained his high rank in lordly fashion. A visitor who in 1822 went +to see his famous collection of pictures thus describes him: "We were +received by the Marshal, a middle-sized though somewhat corpulent +personage of from fifty to sixty years of age, whose dark curling hair +rendered somewhat conspicuous the bald patch in the middle of his head, +while his sunburnt complexion accorded well with his dark intelligent +eye. His plain stock, plain dark coat and loose blue trousers, which, +capacious as they were, could not hide his bow-legged form, obviously +suggested the soldier rather than the courtier, the Marshal rather than +the Duke; though if I had encountered such a figure in London I should +rather have guessed him an honest East or West Indian captain." The +Marshal knew well how to win favour with the new Government, and when +the reactionaries attempted to restore the ancient position of the +Church, no one was more regular in his attendance at Church festivals +and processions than the Duke of Dalmatia, who always appeared with an +enormous breviary carried before him, though people were unkind enough +to say that it would be more to the purpose if he restored some of the +vast plunder of the churches and monasteries of Spain. + +With the fall of the Bourbon dynasty in 1830 the subtle old soldier at +once gave his adherence to the Orleanists, and was appointed Minister of +War; and it was thanks to his energy and wisdom that the numerous +revolts which threatened the early days of the new regime were stamped +out. Soult, like Wellington, hated the idea of civil war, but knew that +strong measures were the best means to prevent bloodshed, so when, as at +Lyons, it was essential to strike, he took good care to have the +necessary force at hand. A year later, when the Commune threatened to +raise its head in Paris, he overawed the mob by the sudden mobilisation +of eighty thousand troops. The weakness of the Government and the +courage and decision the Marshal showed during the emeute caused Louis +Philippe on October 18, 1832, to entrust him with the headship of the +administration. The Marshal proved how often a strong soldier may be a +weak politician, and in 1834 he resigned office. But during his term of +office he did not forget the needs of the army, as his measures for +recruiting, military pensions, and the training of officers prove. When, +again, in 1839 Paris was seething with discontent, the King sent for the +Marshal, and under his iron hand order was easily re-established. But +the old soldier was no orator, and was listened to more from respect for +his character than the cogency of his arguments, and when the crisis was +passed he was soon glad to resign his appointment; and though always +taking an active part, and ever ready to give his advice to his +sovereign, he never again held office. In 1838 the Duke of Dalmatia +visited London as representative of France at the Coronation of Queen +Victoria, and once again met his old opponent, the Duke of Wellington. +Lady Salisbury thus describes their meeting: "The Duke and Soult met in +the music-room at the Queen's concert for the first time for many years, +and shook hands. Soult's appearance is different from what I expected: +he is a gentlemanlike old man with rather a benevolent cast of +countenance, such as I should have expected in William Penn or +Washington: tall and rather stooping, the top of the head bald.... The +Duke, though the lines on his face are deeper, has a fresher colour and +a brighter eye." + +The Duke of Dalmatia clung to the Orleanist dynasty till the end, and +attended the last council held by Louis Philippe. He had a special +liking for the Citizen Monarch, who reciprocated this affection, and had +in 1847 re-established for the veteran the title of Marshal General of +France, a designation held previously only by Turenne, Villars, and +Saxe. With the fall of the dynasty he appeared no more in public, and at +last, on November 26, 1857, he died at his chateau at St. Amand in his +eighty-second year. + +"Soult is able but too ambitious." Thus Napoleon appreciated the Duke of +Dalmatia when discussing the characters of his Marshals. But Soult was +possessed of a crafty caution which seldom if ever allowed his ambition +to hinder the success his ability deserved. Cold and calculating by +nature, he knew exactly where to draw the line. The attempt to seize the +throne of Portugal was the only occasion on which he seemed to throw +caution to the winds, and those who knew him best were so astounded at +his lack of circumspection that they could scarcely believe that he +himself approved of the proclamations which appeared in Oporto. The +hard, crafty nature of the Marshal was responsible for his many enemies +among the officers of the army. His own staff never loved him, much as +they marvelled at his indefatigable industry and his suppleness of mind, +which permitted him to turn with ease from the highest political and +strategic problems to the drudgery of administrative details, and bring +to bear on all questions the cold, hard light of lucid reasoning. He +could attract men to him by sheer admiration of his ability, but he +could make no real friends, for those who came in contact with him soon +discovered that he only thought of what he could make out of them, and +then that he would drop them without the slightest regret. Sprung from +the lower ranks of society, the Marshal had all the cunning and avarice +of the typical bourgeois, and though he had the capacity to overcome his +want of education, he had not the power to eradicate these inherent +strains of character. Though not so rapacious as Massena, the Duke of +Dalmatia never withheld his hand when plunder offered itself and his +home in Paris was decorated with magnificent objects of art filched from +nearly every country in Europe. But though he allowed himself the luxury +of taking what seized his fancy, he sternly repressed marauding on the +part of his officers and men. Hence it was that, like Suchet, he was +able to subdue the provinces committed to his charge and win the respect +and obedience of the Spaniards. His methodical mind hated the idea of +disorder; administration came to him as Nature's gift. Under his rule +Andalusia gained a prosperity she had never before known. But we must +remember that his success in this province was due not only to his great +gift of administration, but also to his ambition, for it was the driving +power of self-interest which supplied the energy which oiled the wheels +of his system; for the Marshal hoped with the resources of Andalusia to +supply the material and means to drive the English from Lisbon without +the co-operation of King Joseph or the other French commanders. In +striking contrast to the aversion with which he was regarded by his own +fellow-countrymen was the feeling of admiration with which he was viewed +by his foes, and notably by his English adversaries in the Peninsula. +They only saw the results of his great versatility and resource, and his +acts of courtesy to those who fell into his power; while the discipline +he maintained among his troops stood in striking contrast to the conduct +of many of the other French commanders. Moreover, the Marshal was too +politic to be cruel, and it was easy to guess that his proclamation +against the Spaniards was really the work of the Emperor. That this was +the case was borne out by the following letter written by Berthier at +Napoleon's dictation: "Let the Duke of Dalmatia know that I learn with +indignation that some of the prisoners taken at Ocana have been released +and their arms restored to them. When I witness such behaviour I ask, +'Is this treason or imbecility?' Is it then only French blood that is to +flow in Spain without regret and without vengeance?" As a soldier the +Marshal stands high among his compeers. In spite of his defeats at +Oporto, Albuera, and Toulouse, throughout his career he clearly showed +that he had the essential quality of a great commander, the ability to +see and the capacity to perform what was possible with the material at +hand. His strategic insight was great, he had a magnificent eye for +country and the power of calmly surveying a field of battle, but, as +Wellington pointed out, he had one great fault, for though "he knew how +to bring his troops to the field, he did not know so well how to use +them when he had brought them up." Thus it was that at Sorauren, after +he had surprised Wellington and upset the whole of the English strategic +plans, he was unable to win the battle which was necessary to reap the +harvest of his labours. But the passage of the Pyrenees, the operations +round Bayonne, and the retreat on Toulouse, will always be studied as +examples of the most perfect military operations of their type. They +show to the full the secret of the Marshal's success as a soldier, the +blending of ardour with method and dash with caution. As a politician +the Duke of Dalmatia met with little success; his methods were those of +a dictator rather than those of a statesman. When the hour of action was +passed he invariably showed weakness. But whatever were his faults, it +must be laid to his credit that throughout the reign of Louis Philippe +he lent all the weight of his great name and reputation to the +maintenance of order at home and peace abroad. + + + + +VI + +JEAN LANNES, MARSHAL, DUKE OF MONTEBELLO + + +Jean Lannes, the future Duke of Montebello, was born on April 10, 1769, +the year which saw the birth of many famous soldiers, Napoleon, +Wellington, Ney, and Soult. He was the fourth son of a peasant +proprietor of Lectourne, a little town on the slopes of the Pyrenees. +His family had long been settled in the commune of Omet, in the +department of the Gironde. The first to rise to any sort of distinction +was Jean's eldest brother, who showed at an early age such ability that +the episcopal authorities of Lectourne educated him, and in due time he +became a priest. It was to his brother, the abbe, that the young Jean +owed such elements of learning as he possessed. But the pressure of need +compelled his father to indenture him at an early age to a dyer in +Lectourne. The young apprentice was of middle height, very well built, +amazingly active, and able to bear the utmost fatigue. His face was +pleasant and expressive, his eyes small and keen. Behind those eyes lay +a brain of extraordinary activity, which was controlled by a boundless +ambition. Enthusiastic and passionate, Lannes' spirit could brook but +little control. Action was the zest of his life. Administration and +control came to him not as Nature's gifts, but as the result of his +great common sense, which guided his ambition along the paths which led +to success. A nature which could not endure the dullness of the dyer's +trade in Lectourne could, however, compel the young soldier during the +severest campaigns to give up part of his night's rest to study and to +the expansion of his knowledge beyond the elements of reading, writing, +and arithmetic, all the learning his brother, the abbe, had had time to +impart to him. Even in the later years of his life the successful +Marshal strove by midnight toil to educate himself up to the position +his military talents had won for him. + +Jean Lannes had already had a taste of the soldier's life before the +outbreak of the revolutionary wars. But his uncontrollable temper had +brought this short military experience to an abrupt end, and he had been +compelled to return to his work at Lectourne after being wounded in a +duel. His employer had greeted his return with the words, "There is not +the price of a drink to be made in the trade. Return to the army; you +may perhaps become captain." But Jean Lannes did not need such advice to +drive him to the path of glory. In June, 1792, the Government of France +called for volunteers to resist the coming invasion of the Duke of +Brunswick's army. Lannes enlisted in the second battalion of the +volunteers of Gers, and was at once elected sub-lieutenant by his +fellow-citizens. This promotion he owed partly to his former military +experience, partly to his personal magnetism, and partly to his extreme +political opinions. + +When Spain declared war on France the two battalions of Gers were sent +to form part of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. There Lannes gained +his first practical military experience. Both armies were extremely +ill-led, ill-disciplined, and ill-equipped. Consequently there was a +great deal of desultory hand-to-hand fighting, in which the young +sub-lieutenant distinguished himself by his courage and talent. He +enjoyed himself hugely fighting all day and dancing all night, when he +could spare the time from his books. When military knowledge was almost +entirely absent in the army, promotion came quickly to those who +distinguished themselves by courage and zeal. On September 25, 1793, +Lannes was promoted lieutenant. A month later, on October 21st, he was +made captain of the grenadier company. Two months later, on Christmas +Day, at the express desire of his chief, General Davout, he was given +command of his battalion, and appointed colonel on the staff and acting +adjutant-general. This distinction he gained for his brilliant conduct +at Villelongue. Summoned from his bed in hospital to command the advance +guard of five hundred men, he moved towards the main redoubt of the +Spanish lines, and, refusing to be bluffed by the proposal of an +armistice, captured the redoubt by a dashing charge. After the action he +once again retired to hospital. His next exploit was the delicate +mission entrusted to him by General Dugommier of releasing a great +number of French emigres who had been captured in battle, and who +otherwise would have fallen victims to the popular fury. While devoting +himself to his military duties he yet found time to fall in love. When +in hospital at Perpignan, at the end of 1793, he had met Mademoiselle +Meric, the daughter of a wealthy banker of that town; the friendship +very soon developed into an ardent passion, and on March 19, 1795, the +young couple were united, and the marriage seemed very advantageous for +the young soldier of fortune, who was barely twenty-five. + +After the treaty of Basle the battalions of Gers were brigaded with the +old 53rd (regiment d'Alsace), and formed part of the troops which +Scherer took to reinforce the Army of Italy in the summer of 1795. +Accordingly, Lannes had the good fortune to take part in the battle of +Loano, and once again greatly distinguished himself and was specially +mentioned in despatches. + +But during the winter of 1795-6 his successful career nearly came to an +untimely end, for on the reorganisation of the army, along with many +other officers, he was placed on half pay. Fortunately, at the moment +he was retiring dejected to France, Bonaparte assumed command of the +Army of Italy. The new general felt he could ill spare a capable officer +like Lannes, and consequently he retained him provisionally. The young +colonel immediately justified his action. At the critical moment of the +Austrian counter-attack at Dego, Lannes cleared the village by a brisk +bayonet charge. Thereon Bonaparte gave him command of two battalions of +grenadiers and one of carbineers, which formed part of his permanent +advance guard under General Dallemagne. From this time onward Lannes had +found his proper role. As nature had intended Marshal Ney for the +command of a rear guard, and Murat for the command of cavalry, so she +had equipped Lannes with those qualities which are specially required by +the commander of an advance guard. Wiry and strong, he never knew what +it was to be tired, and, never sparing himself, he never spared his men; +his kind and cheery disposition and his personal magnetism carried all +before him. His fiery enthusiasm swept aside all difficulties; his +inventive genius ever showed him the way to surmount all obstacles. When +danger was most pressing Lannes was there, the first to head the charge, +the first to rally the discomfited. Never had Fortune a more zealous +wooer. At Lodi he was the first man on the bridge. Later, at the head of +three hundred men, he re-established order in Lombardy; at one time +especially attached to the headquarter staff, at another hurried off to +suppress some outbreak in the rear, at another repelling a determined +sortie from Mantua, more and more, day by day, he made himself +indispensable to his young chief. At the battle of Bassano, of the five +flags wrested from the enemy Lannes captured two with his own hands. +Wounded slightly at Bassano and more seriously at Governolo, he yet +managed to creep out of hospital in time to take his place beside +Bonaparte at Arcola. Early in the battle he received two flesh wounds, +and had to retire to have them dressed. Scarcely were they bandaged +when the news arrived that Augereau's division had received a severe +check. Oblivious of his wounds, he leapt on his horse and arrived at the +head of his columns in time to see Augereau and Bonaparte, flag in hand, +vainly attempting to rally their soldiers, only to be swept off the +embankment into the marsh. But Lannes headed his grenadiers, and +charging home on the Austrians, swept them back to the bridge-head, +receiving in the charge yet another wound. + +[Illustration: JEAN LANNES, DUKE OF MONTEBELLO +FROM AN ENGRAVING BY AMEDEE MAULET] + +During the early months of 1797 he commanded a column at Bologna, and +was present at the capitulation of Mantua. Thereafter he commanded the +advance guard of Victor's army which invaded the Papal States. In front +of Ancona he met with a characteristic adventure. Making a +reconnaissance with two or three officers and half a dozen troopers, he +suddenly found himself in the presence of three hundred of the enemy's +cavalry. Their commander at once ordered his men to draw their swords +preparatory to a charge. Whereon Lannes rode up to him and told him to +order his men to return their swords, dismount, and lead their horses +back to their headquarters. The officer obeyed. By sheer force of +character Lannes thus dominated the situation and saved the lives of +himself and his escort. After the preliminaries of peace at Leoben, +Bonaparte employed him on several confidential missions, in which his +impetuosity led him at times into difficulties, and the +commander-in-chief was forced to write to the French Minister at Genoa, +"I have heard the reply that Lannes made to you. He is hot-headed, but a +good fellow, and brave. I must write to him to tell him to be more civil +to a minister of the Republic." + +Africa has often proved the grave of great military reputations. +Napoleon himself only escaped the usual doom by deserting his army and +suddenly appearing as a _deus ex machina_ in the stormy field of +politics at Paris. But though so fatal to those in supreme command, +Africa has sometimes been the school from which the young officers have +returned with enhanced reputations. It was from the companions who had +stood the test of the fiery trial in Egypt and Syria that Bonaparte +later selected his most trusted Marshals. + +On May 19, 1798, Lannes sailed for Egypt in the _Orient_ as an +unattached general of brigade on the headquarter staff. For his +successful action at the head of one of the assaulting columns in Malta +he was appointed to the command of a brigade in Kleber's division. He +took part in the capture of Alexandria, the march on Cairo, and the +battles of Chebrass and the Pyramids; but it was not so much his success +in these engagements which enhanced his worth in Bonaparte's eyes, as +the fact that Lannes alone of all the general officers in Egypt did not +share in the grumbling and depression which threatened to cripple the +army after its arrival at Cairo. Soldiers and officers alike had but one +desire--to return home. Lannes secretly informed Bonaparte of the plans +of those who led the discontent, and, in the words of Murat, "sold the +cocoanut." Thus he gained the future Emperor as his life-long friend and +Murat as his life-long enemy. When in February, 1799, Bonaparte started +for Syria, he took with him Lannes in command of Menou's division. + +When Bonaparte found that his military reputation was likely to suffer +by a more prolonged stay in Egypt, and above all that France was now +ready to accept the rule of a dictator, he deserted his army in Egypt, +leaving Kleber, whom he hated, in command; he took with him his most +trustworthy officers, Lannes, Murat, Marmont, Andreossy, and Berthier, +ordering Desaix to follow. The return to France, so longed for by most, +was less agreeable to Lannes: while in hospital after the battle of +Aboukir he had heard that his wife had given birth to a son whose father +he could not be. Consequently one of his first acts on his return was to +divorce her. But Bonaparte gave him little time to bewail his +misfortune, for he relied on him, with Berthier, Murat, and Marmont, to +debauch the army and bring it over to his side. Berthier's business was +to win over the general staff, Murat the cavalry, Marmont the artillery, +and Lannes the infantry. Shortly after the coup d'etat General Lannes +was appointed commandant and inspector of the Consular Guard in +preference to Murat. But this was a hollow victory over his rival, for +when, after the Marengo campaign, these life-long enemies met in open +rivalry for the hand of Caroline Bonaparte, the First Consul's sister, +Murat, aided by Josephine, became the accepted suitor, and Lannes had to +submit to see his hated rival in quick succession the brother-in-law of +Napoleon, a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, the crowned King of Naples, +and, most bitter of all, the confidential friend of his idol. + +It was in the Marengo campaign that the general had his first +opportunity of distinguishing himself as an independent commander, and +winning the renown which the victory of Montebello inseparably connects +with his name. When Bonaparte made his famous march into Italy with the +Army of the Reserve, he appointed Lannes to command the advance guard. +The whole success of the operations depended on the rapidity with which +they were carried out, for the First Consul, in his endeavour to get +astride the Austrian line of communication, was exposing his flank to +the enemy, and the French army, if beaten, had no other line of retreat +save the terrible defiles of the Alps. Accordingly, Napoleon's selection +of Lannes to command the advance guard is the highest possible testimony +to his military ability. The battle of Montebello was Lannes's first +independent engagement. In it he showed his genius for war. If he had +allowed the Austrians to reoccupy Stradella he would have ruined the +whole of Napoleon's scheme of operations, but, though his force was only +a third of the enemy's, he remembered the advantage that comes to the +assailant; instead of waiting in an entrenched position, he attacked, +and by his indomitable courage and tenacity, and his tactical ability, +he kept the enemy pinned to his entrenchments until the arrival of fresh +troops under Victor enabled him to pulverise his foe. The battle was one +of the finest of the campaign. "The bones," said Lannes, "cracked in my +division like glass in a hailstorm." + +At Marengo Lannes had to reverse his usual role and fight a rear-guard +action, for during the early part of the engagement the French were +outnumbered by thirty thousand men against eighteen thousand, and yet +the general was able to report: "I carried out my retirement by +successive echelons under a devastating fire of artillery, amid +successive charges of cavalry. I had not a single gun to cover my +retreat, and yet it was carried out in perfect order." The soldier who +in the hour of success was full of impetuosity and elan, in the hour of +retreat was able to inspire his troops with stubborn courage and +unfailing self-confidence, which did much to secure the victory. + +After Marengo came a period of peace. Lannes, as commander of the +Consular Guard, had his headquarters in Paris, and, owing to his +official position, was constantly in touch with Bonaparte. But, +necessary as he was in war time, his companionship during peace was not +altogether congenial to the First Consul, and as time went on it became +almost distasteful. Although happily married to Mademoiselle Louise +Antoinette Gueheneuc, the daughter of a senator, he felt himself +aggrieved that Bonaparte had not supported his suit with Caroline, and +was extremely jealous of many of the First Consul's friends. The +constant bickering between Lannes and Murat never ceased. Moreover +Lannes, as an out-and-out republican, treated the First Consul in a +frank spirit of camaraderie, relying on his services at Arcola and +Montebello. This Bonaparte not unnaturally resented. The increased +ceremonial of the court and the prospect of the Concordat were abhorrent +to the stern republicans, but necessary to establish the divinity which +should at least seem to surround a throne. Relations became so strained +that Bonaparte was soon glad to seize on any excuse to dismiss Lannes +from his post. Murat and his tool Bessieres provided him with a +plausible reason. Lannes, by nature happy-go-lucky and no financier, +wishing no doubt to please the First Consul, spent his money freely in +lavish entertainment at his Paris house, and equipped the guard in most +gorgeous uniforms. To meet these expenses he overdrew his account with +the military authorities by more than three hundred thousand francs. +Murat, hearing of this from Bessieres, brought it to the First Consul's +notice. Bonaparte at once summoned Lannes, rated him soundly, and +commanded him immediately to refund the money. Murat was delighted; he +thought that his enemy was certain to be disgraced. In his difficulty +Lannes turned to his old friend and former chief, Augereau, who at once +lent him the money and refused to take any security. But although he was +thus able to refund the money, Bonaparte dismissed him from the command +of the Guard. Still, remembering his war service and thinking that he +might be useful again later, he did not disgrace him utterly, but at the +end of 1801 sent him as ambassador to Portugal. + +Lannes's diplomatic career was at first not very successful. English +influence was all-powerful at Lisbon and the new envoy had not the +talent to counteract it. In the autumn of 1802, thinking himself +slighted by the Portuguese authorities, without consulting Talleyrand, +he suddenly withdrew from Lisbon and returned to France. But at Orleans +he received an angry message from Bonaparte forbidding him to return to +Paris. The First Consul meanwhile addressed peremptory messages to the +court of Lisbon about the supposed insult offered to his ambassador. +Thereon the Portuguese Foreign Minister apologised and Lannes returned. +Angry as Bonaparte was at the moment, he confessed later that Lannes' +soldierly impetuosity had served the cause of France better than the +skilfulness of a consummate diplomat. For from this time onwards French +influence began to increase at Lisbon, Lannes was courted by the +minister, and the Prince Regent himself stood godfather to his son. The +story goes that after the ceremony the Prince Regent took the ambassador +into a salon of the palace where the diamonds from Brazil were stored, +and then gave him a handful, saying, "That is for my godson," then a +second handful for the mother, and a third for himself. Whatever the +truth of the story, the fact remains that Lannes returned to France a +rich man, able not only to repay his loan to Augereau but to indulge in +fresh extravagance. + +From Lisbon the ambassador was summoned to attend the coronation of the +Emperor and to take his place among the Marshals. But he was not yet +received back into full favour by the Emperor, and had to return to his +embassy at Lisbon. It was not till March 22, 1805, that he was recalled +to France to command the right wing of the Army of the Ocean, which, +when war broke out between Austria and France, became the Grand Army. +The fifth corps under Lannes reached the Rhine at Kehl on September +25th. Napoleon's scheme of operations was, by making vigorous +demonstrations in the direction of the Black Forest, to persuade the +Austrians that he was advancing in force in that direction, while all +the time his wings were sweeping round the Austrian rear and cutting +their line of communication on the Danube, in the direction of Ratisbon. +The task of deceiving the Austrians was performed to perfection by Murat +with the reserve cavalry and Lannes's corps. Immediately after Mack's +surrender at Ulm, the Emperor detached Lannes and Murat in pursuit of +the Archduke Ferdinand, who had successfully broken through the ring of +French troops. Lannes's infantry tramped sturdily behind Murat's +cavalry, and fighting proceeded day and night. The soldiers marched +thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen hours a day, and captured in five days +fifteen thousand men with eleven colours, one hundred and twenty-eight +guns, and six hundred limbers and provision wagons. + +During the rapid advance down the Danube on Vienna, the fifth corps +continued in close support of Murat's cavalry. Vienna capitulated and +the Marshals pressed on to seize the bridge before the city. The defence +of the bridge had been entrusted to General Auersperg, with seven +thousand men. The bridge was commanded by a battery of artillery, and +the engineers were preparing to blow it up when Murat, Lannes, and +Bertrand arrived. The three general officers quietly walked down to the +bridge and shouted out to the Austrian picquets that an armistice had +been arranged. Thereon the commander of the picquet proceeded to +withdraw his men and sent word to Auersperg. Meanwhile the three +officers strolled unconcernedly across, while a considerable way behind +them a strong body of Lannes's infantry followed. When the French +generals reached the Austrian end they found a sergeant of engineers +actually proceeding to fire the fuse. Lannes caught him by the arm and +snatched the match from his hand, telling him that it was a crime to +blow up the bridge, and that he would be disgraced if he did such a +thing. Then the two Marshals ran up to the officers commanding the +artillery, who, growing restive at the continual advance of the French +infantry, were preparing to open fire. Meanwhile Auersperg himself +arrived, and the Marshals told him the same tale, affirming that the +French were to occupy the bridge-head. Uncertain, like his subordinates, +and but half convinced, he allowed himself to be bluffed, and thus +Napoleon secured without dispute the crossing of the Danube. The +boldness and audacity of the scheme so successfully carried out by Murat +and Lannes, difficult as it is to condone from a moral point of view, +brings out with great clearness the audacity, sangfroid, and +resourcefulness of both these Marshals. + +The successful crossing of the Danube was soon followed by the decisive +battle of Austerlitz. The battle was brought on by Napoleon impressing +the Allies with the idea that it was possible to slip past the French +left flank and surround him, much as he had surrounded Mack at Ulm. For +this purpose the right under Davout was drawn back and concealed by +skilful use of the ground. The centre under Soult and the left under +Lannes were to hold their ground until the Russian left was absolutely +compromised, when Soult was to push forward, and, seizing the commanding +hill of Pratzen, to cut the Russian force in two, while Lannes and Murat +were to fall with all their weight on the isolated Russian right. For +once Murat and Lannes laid aside their jealousy and worked hand in hand, +and the success of the French left was due to the perfect combination of +infantry and cavalry. Of the Russian right, seven thousand five hundred +were made prisoners, and two colours and twenty-seven pieces of +artillery were captured. But hardly had the battle ceased when +bickerings broke out again, and Lannes, thinking Napoleon did not +appreciate him, sent in his resignation, which the Emperor, much to his +surprise, accepted. + +The Marshal spent the greater part of the year 1806 in retirement at his +native town of Lectourne, where he was joyfully received by his +erstwhile neighbours and friends. He was always popular with his +fellow-citizens, not only because of his republican ideas and his +unaffected simplicity, but because he never forgot those who at any time +had befriended him--a man who had once lent him a thousand francs was +presented with a beautiful house and garden; the old soldier who had +carried him out of the trenches at St. Jean d'Acre was established as a +local postmaster, and received a small property and an annuity, and the +Marshal never passed the house without going in, taking a meal with +him, and making presents to the wife and children. On one occasion +Lannes was attending a big official reception at Auch. On his way, he +passed a peasant whom he recognised as one of the playfellows of his +boyhood; strongly moved, the Marshal, when he arrived at the prefecture, +asked the prefect if he might invite one of his friends to the luncheon. +The prefect was charmed, but much surprised when an aide-de-camp +returned with the peasant, whom Lannes embraced, placed by his side, and +soon set at ease. + +But war once again caused the Emperor to summon his fiery lieutenant. +Lannes took command of the fifth corps on October 5, 1806, and five days +later had the satisfaction of beating a strong Prussian force at +Saalfeld. From Saalfeld the Marshal pushed on towards Jena, near which +town, early on October 13th, his scouts came in contact with a large +Prussian force under Hohenlohe. His small force was in considerable +danger, but Napoleon at once hurried up all possible reinforcements. The +Prussians held an apparently impregnable position on the Landgrafenberg, +a precipitous hill which commanded the town. But during the night a +local pastor pointed out to the French a track, which led up to the +summit, which the Prussians had neglected to occupy. Working all night, +the French sappers made a road up which guns could be hauled by hand, +and on the morning of the 14th the corps of Lannes, Augereau, and the +Guard were safely drawn up on the plateau of the Landgrafenberg, while +Ney and Soult continued the line to the north. A heavy mist overhung the +field of battle, and Hohenlohe was confident that he was only opposed by +the fifth corps, and his surprise was immense when the fog lifted and he +found himself confronted by the French army. The battle commenced by +Lannes seizing the village of Vierzehn Heiligen. While the Prussians +were fully occupied in attempting to hold this village, Napoleon threw +his flanks round them, and the battle ended in the annihilation of +Hohenlohe's army. In the evening Napoleon learned that on the same day +Davout had completely defeated the main Prussian army at Auerstaedt. +Thereon he sent forward his various corps to seize all the important +fortresses of Prussia, and detailed Lannes to support Murat in pursuit +of the Prussian troops under Hohenlohe and Bluecher, which retreated in +the direction of the Oder. If the battle of Jena had been followed by +peace, as had happened after Austerlitz in the previous year, it is more +than probable that once again Lannes would have thrown up his command, +for when the bulletin appeared, the part that his corps had taken was +almost entirely neglected. The Marshal's letter to his wife showed that +he was vexed beyond words with his treatment by Napoleon, and he started +out in the worst of tempers to support Murat. But he was too keen a +soldier to let his personal grievances interfere with his active work, +and, although he gave vent to his spleen in the usual recriminations, he +performed his work to admiration. So hard did he push his infantry, +marching sixty miles in forty-eight hours, that he was never more than +five miles behind the light cavalry, and it was owing to his effective +support that, on October 28th, Murat was able to surround Hohenlohe and +force him to surrender at Prinzlow. But, in spite of this, Murat in his +despatch never mentioned the name of Lannes. It took all Napoleon's tact +to smooth the Marshal's ruffled temper, and it was only the prospect of +further action which ultimately prevented him from throwing up his +command in high dudgeon. + +By the beginning of November the theatre of war was virtually +transferred from Prussia to Poland. As after Ulm, so after Jena, the +Russians appeared on the scene too late to give effective aid to their +allies, but in sufficient time to prevent the war from ending. Napoleon, +who always had an intense esteem for the Marshal's common sense and +military ability, asked him at this time to furnish a confidential +report on the possibilities of Poland as a theatre of war, and the +Marshal, with his keen insight into character, replied, "I am convinced +that if you attempt to make the Poles rise on our behalf, within a +fortnight they will be more against us than for us." + +The French troops crossed the Vistula at Warsaw, and encountered "the +fifth element, mud." Led by Murat, unable to make headway in mud up to +their knees, baffled by the Fabian tactics of the Russians, and lacking +the mighty brain of their Emperor, the Marshals fought without +co-operation, each for his own glory. Lannes was as bad as the rest, +showing in his refusal to give due praise to his brother generals for +their help at Pultusk the same petty spirit of which he had complained +in Murat. During the long winter weeks spent in cantonments along the +Vistula, the Marshal was ill with fever, in hospital at Warsaw, and was +not able to return to the head of his corps in time for the bloody +battle of Eylau. During May he commanded the covering force at the siege +of Dantzig, and was summoned thence to take part in the last phase of +the campaign. The Russian General, Bennigsen, allowed himself to be +outgeneralled by Napoleon, and the French were soon nearer Koenigsberg +than the Russians. Bennigsen made desperate efforts to retrieve his +mistake, and on June 13th actually managed to throw himself across the +Alle at Friedland, just at the moment that Lannes arrived on the scene. +The Marshal at once saw his opportunity. The Russians were drawn up with +the Alle at their backs, so that retreat was impossible, and only +victory could save them. The Marshal's design, therefore, was to hold +the enemy till the main French army arrived. Bennigsen made the most +determined efforts to throw him off, attempting to crush him by superior +weight of horsemen and artillery. But the Marshal held on to him grimly, +and by magnificent handling of Oudinot's grenadiers, the Saxon horse, +and Grouchy's dragoons, he maintained his position in spite of all the +Russian efforts during the night of June 13th. On the morning of the +14th, with ten thousand troops opposed to forty thousand, he fought for +four hours without giving ground, skilfully availing himself of every +bit of wood and cover, till at last reinforcements arrived. When the +main French columns were deployed, Lannes, with the remnant of his +indomitable corps, had a brief period of rest. But during the last phase +of the battle the enemy made a desperate effort to break out of the trap +through his shattered corps, and once again the Marshal led his troops +with invincible elan, and drove the Russians right into the death-trap +of Friedland. + +Tilsit followed, and Napoleon showered honours on his trusty +lieutenants. On June 30, 1807, he gave to Lannes the principality of +Sievers in the department of Kalish, and on March 19, 1808, he conferred +on him a greater honour when he created him Duke of Montebello in memory +of his famous victory. + +The Duke of Montebello spent his days of peace for the most part at +Lectourne. He was summoned thence in October, 1808, to accompany the +Emperor to Erfurt, and there the Czar Alexander made a special hero of +his old adversary of Austerlitz, Pultusk, and Friedland, and presented +him with the grand cordon of the Order of St. Andrew. + +The period between Tilsit and Erfurt gave Lannes the last peaceful days +that he ever spent, for from Erfurt he was hurried off again to war, +this time to Spain. As usual when there was hard fighting in prospect, +Napoleon knew that he could ill afford to do without his most trusty and +able lieutenant. But Lannes had but little enthusiasm for the Spanish +War. His reputation stood so high that there was little chance of +enhancing it, and by now the fire-eating republican soldier was settling +down into a quiet country gentleman, who preferred the domestic circle +and the pleasure of playing the grand seigneur before an audience of +friends to the stir of the camp and the pomp of the court. But he was +too well drilled in soldierly instincts to refuse to serve when +summoned by his chief, and accordingly, much against his will, he set +out on what he expected to be a short inglorious campaign of a couple of +months against a disorganised provincial militia. + +Lannes accompanied the Emperor on his journey to Spain, attached to the +headquarter staff without any definite command, for the Emperor knew +that all was not well with the armies there, but he could not, until he +had himself looked into the question, decide where he could use to the +best advantage the great administrative and tactical ability of the Duke +of Montebello. During the hurried crossing of the mountains of Tolosa +the Marshal had the misfortune to be thrown from his horse. So severe +were the injuries he received that it seemed impossible to take him +beyond Vittoria, but Larrey, the Emperor's surgeon, ordered him to be +wrapped in the bloody skin of a newly killed sheep; so successful was +the prescription that the Marshal was soon able to follow the Emperor +and rejoin headquarters. On his arrival the Emperor sent him to take +over Moncey's corps of thirty-five thousand men, with orders to attack +Castanos's forty-nine thousand at Tudela, while Ney, with twelve +thousand, worked round the Spanish rear. On the morning of November 28th +Lannes attacked the Spaniards at Tudela and won an easy victory, for the +Aragonese, under Palafox, thought only of Saragossa, and the Valencians +and Andalusians, under Castanos, of their line of retreat to the south. +Lannes, seeing the exaggerated length of the Spanish position, at once +divined the reason, and drove home an overwhelming attack against their +weak centre. Successful as the battle was, it had not the far-reaching +effects Napoleon had desired, for, owing to the mountainous nature of +the ground, Ney was unable to get across the Spanish line of retreat; +however, the enemy lost four thousand men at Tudela and, what was more +important, all their artillery. + +The battle of Tudela opened the road to Madrid. But when Napoleon +arrived there, instead of driving the remnants of the Spanish armies +before him and sweeping down to Seville, he found that there was a +pressing danger in the north. To give the scattered Spaniards a chance +of rallying, Sir John Moore was making a bold advance on Madrid, and was +close to Salamanca. Napoleon at once ordered Lannes to hand over his +corps to Moncey and to join headquarters. The corps of Ney and a part of +Victor's corps were sent off to oppose the English, and on December 28th +Napoleon and the Duke of Montebello set out to overtake them. The +weather was awful, and the passage of the mountain passes in face of the +blizzards of snow tried the endurance of the troops to the uttermost. +Lannes, in spite of the fact that he had not entirely recovered from his +fall, joined Napoleon in setting an example to the troops. At the head +of the column marched the Emperor with one arm linked to Lannes and the +other to Duroc. When completely worn out by the unaccustomed efforts and +by the weight of their riding-boots, the Emperor and Lannes at times +took a brief rest on the limber of a gun carriage, and then got down and +marched again. + +When Napoleon handed over the pursuit to Soult, he despatched the Duke +of Montebello to take command of the corps of Junot and Moncey at +Saragossa. On his arrival, on January 22, 1809, the Marshal found that +the garrison of Saragossa was in much better heart than the besiegers, +for on the west the third corps, owing to illness and fatigue, numbered +barely thirteen thousand, and Gazan's division across the Ebro, before +the eastern suburb, was scarcely seven thousand strong, while the total +strength of the garrison was almost sixty thousand. Consequently Junot +and Gazan were seriously contemplating raising the siege. Lannes's first +duty was to restore the morale of the troops; to reprimand the general +officers, who had been slack in their duty; to set an example to them by +his fiery diligence, which refused to let him go to bed once during the +whole of the first week he was before Saragossa; to restore the courage +of the troops by daily exposing his life in the trenches, and, when +necessary, reconnoitring in person with the utmost sangfroid right up to +the Spanish positions; supervising hospitals, reorganising commissariat, +planning with the engineer officers new methods of sap--in a word, to be +everywhere and to do everything. Nothing can more clearly illustrate +Napoleon's dictum, "A la guerre les hommes ne sont rien, c'est un homme +qui est tout." Within five days of Lannes's taking over command the +whole complexion of the situation had altered. The French were making +the most resolute assaults with irresistible elan, carrying out the most +difficult street-fighting with the greatest zest, sapping, mining, and +blowing up convents and fortified posts, fighting above ground and below +ground, suffering the most terrible losses, yet ever eager to fight +again. By February 11th, thanks to the new morale of the troops, and to +the fact that dysentery and enteric were playing havoc in the garrison, +Lannes had captured house by house the western half of the town, and had +arrived at the Corso. But once again murmurings broke out among the +French troops, who had by now lost a fourth of their numbers, and at the +same time a strong force of Spaniards under Palafox's brothers +threatened to overwhelm Suchet, who was covering the siege. Lannes +proved superior to all difficulties; by his fiery speeches and tact he +reanimated both officers and men, pointing out to them the triumph they +had already won in penning in fifty thousand Spaniards with a mere +handful. Then, hurrying off with reinforcements for Suchet, he dug the +covering force into an entrenched position on the heights of Villa +Mayor, and four days later was back at Saragossa in time to superintend +the attack across the Corso. On February 18th the French captured the +suburb on the left bank of the river, and thus placed the inner town +between two fires. + +Disease and the success of their enemies had taken all the heart out of +the Spanish defence, and on February 20th Palafox surrendered. Between +December 21st and February 21st the Spanish losses had been fifty-four +thousand dead from wounds and disease, and Saragossa itself was but a +heap of crumbling ruins. Lannes did all in his power to alleviate the +sufferings of the unfortunate inhabitants, yet in spite of all his +efforts another ten thousand died within the next month. Unfortunately +also for his reputation the Marshal, acting on distinct orders from +Napoleon, treated his military prisoners with extreme severity and +executed two of the most prominent. The great strain of the siege told +heavily on the health of the Marshal, who had never completely recovered +from his accident near Tolosa; accordingly, after refitting the corps +under his command, he handed them over to Mortier and Junot, and at the +end of March set out for Lectourne. But his stay there was short, for +Napoleon, with the Spanish and Austrian wars on his hands, could not +afford to do without his assistance. + +By April 25th Lannes found himself once again at the post of danger, but +this time on the Danube, at the battle of Abensberg. As he himself said, +the first rumour of war always made him shiver, but as soon as he had +taken the first step forward he had no thought but for his profession. +But, much as he would have liked to dally at Lectourne, and much as he +grumbled at Napoleon's overweening ambition once at the front he was the +dashing soldier of the first Italian campaign. He arrived in time to +take his share in the five days' fighting at Abensberg, Landshut, +Eckmuehl, and Ratisbon. At Ratisbon he had an opportunity of showing that +time had had no effect on his spirit; after two storming parties had +been swept away, he called for volunteers for a third attempt: none +stepped forward, and he himself rushed to seize a ladder. His staff held +him back; but the lesson was not in vain: volunteers crowded to seize +the scaling ladders, led by two of the Marshal's aides-de-camp, and +soon the walls of Ratisbon were crowned with French soldiers and the +town was won. + +Napoleon himself accompanied Lannes on the march to Vienna, and the +Marshal was perfectly happy. Murat was absent, and there was no evil +influence to cloud his friendship with his great chief. Once again +Vienna succumbed without a shot, but this time the Austrians took care +that there was no bridge over which Napoleon might cross the Danube. +Accordingly, the Emperor determined to bridge the river below Vienna, +making use of the Isle of Lobau, which lay two-thirds of the way across. +The bridge from the south bank to Lobau was built under the personal +supervision of the Emperor and Lannes, and on one occasion when they +were reconnoitring in person they both fell into the river, and the +Marshal, who was out of his depth, was pulled out by the Emperor +himself. + +By May 20th the French army was concentrated in Lobau, and on May 21st a +crossing was effected by several bridges, and assured by Massena +occupying the village of Aspern and Lannes that of Essling. By the +morning of the 22nd the mass of the French army had reached the north +bank of the river. Napoleon, who perceived that the Austrian line was +too extended to be strong, gave the command of the centre to Lannes with +orders to sally forth from between the villages of Aspern and Essling +and break the enemy's centre. In spite of a devastating artillery fire, +the Marshal carried out his orders to perfection, making skilful use of +his infantry and cavalry. He had actually forced back the Austrians when +he was recalled by Napoleon, who had just heard that the enemy had +succeeded in breaking the bridge by sending huge masses of timber down +the swollen river. Lannes retreated slowly on Essling, his troops +suffering severely from the re-formed Austrian batteries. While thus +holding the foe in check the Marshal was struck on the knee by a cannon +ball which ricocheted off the ground just in front of him. He was +removed to the rear, and the doctors decided that it was necessary to +amputate the right leg. The Marshal bore the operation well. He was +moved to Vienna, and sent for the celebrated mechanician, Mesler, to +make him a false leg, but unfortunately the hot weather affected the +wound and mortification set in. The Emperor, in spite of his anxieties, +came daily to visit him, and the dying hero had the last consolation of +seeing how much he was valued by his august master and friend. The end +came soon. On May 30th the Duke of Montebello died, and Napoleon, on +hearing the news, with tears in his eyes cried out, "What a loss for +France and for me!" + +The death of Lannes removed the first of Napoleon's chosen Paladins, +and, in the opinion of the Emperor himself, perhaps the greatest soldier +of them all. At St. Helena the fallen Emperor thus appraised his old +comrade: "Lannes was a man of extraordinary bravery. Calm under fire, he +possessed a sure and penetrating coup d'oeil; he had great experience +in war. As a general he was infinitely superior to Moreau and Soult." +But high as this eulogy is, the fact remains that Lannes was lucky in +the time of his death: Fortune had not yet set her face against +Napoleon's arms, and he was spared the terrors of the Russian retreat, +the terrible fighting at Leipzig, and the gloom and misery of the winter +campaign in France. That Lannes would have emerged superior to these +trials his previous career affords strong reason to presume. Yet, +brilliant as were his actions at Montebello, Saalfeld, Pultusk, and +Tudela, masterly as were his operations at the siege of Saragossa, they +only prove the Marshal's command of the technique of tactics. As Davout +has pointed out, the Duke of Montebello had never an opportunity of +showing his ability in the field of grand tactics or in the higher +conceptions of strategy; he was a past master in the art of +manoeuvring twenty-five thousand infantry, but he had never the +opportunity of devising and carrying out a complete campaign, involving +the handling of hundreds of thousands of men and the successful solution +of problems both military and political. "The Roland of the French Army" +had by nature many qualities which go to form a great soldier. His +bravery was undoubted; before Ney he was called "the Bravest of the +Brave." He had personal qualities which inspired his troops with his own +courage and elan. He had the military eye, and a mind of extraordinary +activity, which worked best when under the pressure of necessity and +danger. He was physically strong and able to endure fatigue, and he had +great capacity for taking pains. But his temper was often at fault, +causing him to burst into fits of uncontrollable rage, while from +jealousy he was apt to sulk and refuse to co-operate with his fellows. +If an officer failed to grasp his meaning he would storm at him, and +attempt himself to carry out the task. But on one occasion he heard the +Emperor cry out, "That devil Lannes possesses all the qualities of a +great commander, but he will never be one, because he cannot master his +temper, and is constantly bickering with his subalterns, the greatest +fault that a commander can make." From that day forward Lannes made the +resolution to command his temper, and, in spite of his nature, his +self-control became extraordinary. But though he conquered this +weakness, he never overcame his jealousy of his fellow Marshals and +generals. Again and again he threw up his command because he thought he +was slighted or that others were preferred to him. At times he broke out +into violent tirades against the Emperor himself, and on one occasion, +in his jealousy, told him that Murat, his brother-in-law, was "a +mountebank, a tight-rope dancer." Napoleon remonstrated with him, +exclaiming, "It is I alone who give you both glory and success." Lannes, +livid with anger, retaliated, "Yes, yes; because you have marched up to +your ankles in gore on this bloody field, you think yourself a great +man; and your emplumed brother-in-law crows on his own dunghill.... +Twelve thousand corpses lying on the plain to keep the field for your +honour ... and yet to deny me--to me, Lannes--my due share in the +honours of the day!" On the day before his death he could not resist +humiliating his hated enemy, Bessieres, whom Napoleon had put under his +command, and he actually insulted him on the field of battle by sending +a junior aide-de-camp to tell the Marshal "to charge home," implying +that he was shirking his duty. + +As a man, Lannes was warm-hearted and beloved by his family, his staff, +and his men. Rough diamond as he was, he was truly one of nature's +gentlemen. He never forgot a friend, though he seldom if ever forgave an +enemy. His sympathies were essentially democratic; himself one of the +people, he believed thoroughly in republican ideas. Outspoken to a +fault, he would flare out against Napoleon himself, but one kind word +from his great chief would cause him to forget all his bitterness. His +impetuosity and his republican ideals of equality were, naturally, +extremely offensive on occasions to the Emperor and the new nobility, +and Lannes, in spite of all his efforts, was too genuine to conceal his +hatred of all flunkeyism. It was this Gascon self-confidence, blended +with singular amiability of character, which, while it offended the +court, attached to the Marshal his soldiers and the provincial society +of Lectourne, where even to this day the name of the Duke of Montebello +is held in the most affectionate esteem and regard. + + + + +VII + +MICHEL NEY, MARSHAL, DUKE OF ELCHINGEN, PRINCE OF MOSKOWA + + +"Go on, Ney; I am satisfied with you; you will make your way." So spoke +a captain of hussars to a young recruit who had attracted his attention. +The captain little thought that the zealous stripling would one day +become a Marshal of France, the Prince of Moskowa, and famed throughout +Europe as the "Bravest of the Brave." Still, the youth had presentiments +of future greatness. Born on January 10, 1769, the son of a poor cooper, +of Sarrelouis, more German than French, Michel Ney, at the age of +fifteen, was possessed with the idea that he was destined for +distinction. His father and mother tried to persuade him to become a +miner, but nothing would please the high-spirited boy save the life of a +soldier. Accordingly on February 1, 1787, he tramped off to Metz and +enlisted as a private in the regiment known as the Colonel General's +Hussars. Physically strong, unusually active, by nature a horseman, he +soon attracted the attention of his comrades by his skill in menage and +his command of the sabre, and was chosen to represent his regiment in a +duel against the fencing master of another regiment of the garrison. +Unfortunately for Ney, the authorities got wind of the affair in time to +prevent any decision being arrived at, and the young soldier was +punished for breaking regulations by a term of imprisonment; but no +sooner was he released than he again challenged his opponent. This time +there was no interference, and Ney so severely wounded his adversary +that he was unable to continue his profession. Though he thus early in +his career distinguished himself by his bravery, tenacity, and disregard +of rules, it must not for a moment be thought that he was a mere +swashbuckler. With the determination to rise firmly before his eyes, he +set about, from the day he enlisted, to learn thoroughly the rudiments +of his profession, and to acquire a knowledge of French and the faculty +of reading and writing; thus he was able to pass the necessary tests, +and quickly gained the rank of sergeant. Ney was fortunate in that he +had not to spend long years as a non-commissioned officer with no +obvious future before him. The Revolution gave him the opportunity so +long desired by Massena and others, and it was as lieutenant that he +started on active service with Dumouriez's army in 1793. Once on active +service it was not long before his great qualities made themselves +recognised. Though absolutely uncultivated, save for the smattering of +reading and writing which he had picked up in the regimental school, and +to outward appearances rather heavy and stupid, in the midst of danger +he showed an energy, a quickness of intuition, and a clearness of +understanding which hurled aside the most formidable obstacles. Physical +fear he never knew; as he said, when asked if he ever felt afraid, "No, +I never had time." In his earliest engagements at Neerwinden and in the +north of France, he foreshadowed his future career by the extraordinary +bravery and resource he showed in handling his squadron of cavalry +during the retreat, on one occasion, with some twenty hussars, +completely routing three hundred of the enemy's horse. This achievement +attracted the attention of General Kleber, who sent for Captain Ney and +entrusted him with the formation of a body of franc-tireurs of all arms. +The franc-tireurs were really recognised brigands. They received no pay +or arms and lived entirely on plunder, but were extremely useful for +scouting and reconnaissance, and collected a great deal of information +under a dashing officer. From this congenial work Ney was summoned in +1796 to command the cavalry of General Coland's division in the Army of +the Sambre and Meuse. There he distinguished himself by capturing +Wuerzburg and two thousand of the enemy with a squadron of one hundred +hussars. After this exploit General Kleber refused to listen to his +remonstrances and insisted on his accepting his promotion as general of +brigade. At the commencement of the campaign of 1797 Ney had the +misfortune to be taken prisoner at Giessen. While covering the retreat +with his cavalry, he saw a horse artillery gun deserted by its men. +Galloping back by himself, he attempted to save the piece, but the +enemy's horse swept down and captured him. His captivity was not long: +his exchange was soon effected, and he returned to France in time to +join in the agitation against the party of the Clicheans, the only +occasion he actively interfered in politics. + +[ILLUSTRATION: MICHEL NEY, PRINCE OF MOSKOWA +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY F. GERARD] + +On the re-opening of the war in 1799 Ney was sent to command the cavalry +of the Army of the Rhine. The campaign was notable for an exploit which +admirably illustrates the secret of his success as a soldier. The town +of Mannheim, held by a large Austrian garrison, was the key of Southern +Germany. The French army was separated from this fortress by the broad +Rhine. The enemy was confident that any attempt on the fortress must be +preceded by the passage of the river by the whole French army. But Ney, +hearing that the enemy's troops were cantonned in the villages +surrounding the town, saw that if a small French force could be smuggled +across by night, it might be possible to seize the town by a +coup-de-main. The most important thing to ascertain was the exact +position of the cantonments of the troops outside the fortress and of +the various guards and sentinels inside the town. So important did he +consider this information that he determined to cross the river himself +and reconnoitre the position in person. Accordingly, general of division +as he was, he disguised himself as a Prussian, and trusting to his early +knowledge of German, he crossed the river secretly, and carefully noted +all the enemy's preparations, running the risk of being found out and +shot as a spy. The following evening, with a weak detachment, he again +crossed the river, attacked the enemy's guards with the bayonet, drove +back a sortie of the garrison, and entered the town pell-mell with the +flying enemy; and under cover of the darkness, which hid the paucity of +his troops, he bluffed the enemy into surrender. The year 1800 brought +him further glory under Massena and Moreau, and he became known +throughout the armies of France as the "Indefatigable." + +After the Treaty of Luneville, the First Consul summoned Ney to Paris, +and won his affection by the warmth with which he received him. On his +departure Bonaparte presented him with a sword. "Receive this weapon," +he said, "as a souvenir of the friendship and esteem I have towards you. +It belonged to a pasha who met his death bravely on the field of +Aboukir." The sword became Ney's most treasured possession: he was never +tired of handling it, and he never let it go out of his sight; but he +little thought what ill luck it would bring him later, for it was this +famous sword which, in 1815, revealed to the police his hiding-place, +and thus indirectly led him to death. The relations between Ney and the +First Consul soon became closer. The general married a great friend of +Hortense Beauharnais, Mademoiselle Auguie, the daughter of Marie +Antoinette's lady in waiting. Sure of his devotion and perceiving the +sternness with which he obeyed orders, in 1802 the First Consul +entrusted him with the subjugation of Switzerland. The Swiss army fled +before him, and a deputation, charged to make their submission to +France, arrived in his camp with the keys of the principal towns. The +general met them, listened courteously to their words of submission, +then with a wave of the hand refused the keys. With that insight which +later led him to warn Napoleon against attempting to trample on the +people of Spain and Russia, he replied to the deputation, "It is not the +keys I demand: my cannon can force your gates; bring me hearts full of +submission, worthy of the friendship of France." Soon afterwards, with +Soult and Davout, Ney was honoured with the command of one of the corps +in the army which the First Consul was assembling for the invasion of +England. In selecting him for this important post Napoleon showed that +power of discrimination which contributed so greatly to his success. +For, save in the raid into Switzerland, Ney had not yet been called upon +to deal with complicated questions of administration and finance. His +reputation rested purely on his extraordinary dash and bravery in the +face of the enemy and his power of using to the full the elan which lies +latent in all French armies. For when not in touch with the enemy he was +notoriously indolent. He never made any attempt to learn the abstract +science of war, and until stirred by danger his character seemed to +slumber. Others judged him as the Emperor did at St. Helena when he +said, "He was the bravest of men; there terminated all his faculties." +But, in spite of this limitation in his character, Napoleon employed him +again and again in positions of responsibility, for he knew that Ney's +word once passed was never broken, that his devotion to France and to +its ruler was steadfast, that in spite of his peevishness and his fierce +outbursts of temper and bitter tirades, when it came to deeds there +would be no wavering. Consequently the First Consul availed himself +gladly of his great reputation for bravery, considering that hero +worship did more to turn the young recruits into soldiers than the +greatest organising and administrative talents. Moreover, Napoleon kept +an eye on the composition of the staff of his Marshals and generals, and +he knew that Ney had in Jomini, the chief of his staff, a man of +admirable talent and sagacity, who would turn in their proper direction +the sledge-hammer blows of the "Bravest of the Brave." + +With the creation of the Empire Ney was included among the Paladins of +the new Charlemagne and received his Marshal's baton, the Grand Cross of +the Legion of Honour, and the Order of the Christ of Portugal. But the +new Marshal cared little for the life of a courtier, much as he prized +his military distinctions. Banquets and feasting offered little +attraction to the hero, and he despised riches and rank. "Gentlemen," +said he one day to his aides-de-camp, who were boasting of their +families and rich appointments, "Gentlemen, I am more fortunate than +you: I got nothing from my family, and I esteemed myself rich at Metz +when I had two loaves of bread on the table." Accordingly, no young +subaltern thirsting for glory was happier that Marshal Ney when, in +August, 1805, the order came to march on Austria. The campaign, so +suddenly commenced, brought the Marshal the hard fighting and the glory +he loved so well. In the operations round Ulm, he surpassed himself by +the tenacity with which he stuck to the enemy, and, thanks to the skill +of Jomini, his errors only added to his fame, and the combat of +Elchingen became immortal when Napoleon selected this name as a title +for the Marshal when he created him Duke. During the fighting which +penned the Austrians into Ulm two sides of the Marshal's character were +clearly seen--his extraordinary bravery and his jealousy. The Emperor, +anxious for the complete success of his plans, despatched an officer to +command Ney to avoid incurring a repulse and to await reinforcements. +The aide-de-camp found him in the faubourg of the town amongst the +skirmishers. He delivered his message, whereupon the Marshal replied, +"Tell the Emperor that I share the glory with no one; I have already +provided for a flank attack." In September, 1806, Ney was ordered to +march to Wuerzburg to join the Grand Army for the war against Prussia. +The campaign gave him just those opportunities which he knew so well +how to seize, and before the end of the war the Emperor had changed his +sobriquet from the "Indefatigable" to the "Bravest of the Brave." But +glorious as his conduct was, his rash impetuosity more than once +seriously compromised Napoleon's plans. At Jena his rashness and his +jealousy of his fellow Marshals caused him to advance before the other +corps had taken up their positions. His isolated attack was defeated by +the Prussians, and it took the united efforts of Lannes and Soult to +rally his shattered battalions and snatch victory from the enemy. But +his personal bravery at Jena, his brilliant pursuit of the enemy, the +audacity with which he bluffed fourteen thousand Prussians to surrender +at Erfurt, and his capture of twenty-three thousand prisoners and eight +hundred cannon at the great fortress of Magdeburg made ample amends for +his errors. + +But glorious as was his success, his impetuosity soon brought him into +further disgrace. Detached from the main army on the Lower Vistula in +the spring of 1807, he advanced against a mixed force of Prussians and +Russians before Napoleon had completed all his plans. The Emperor was +furious, and Berthier was ordered to write that, "The Emperor has, in +forming his plans, no need of advice or of any one acting on his own +responsibility: no one knows his thoughts; it is our duty to obey." But +to obey orders when in contact with the enemy was just what the fiery +soldier was unable to do, and the Emperor, recognising this full well, +ordered his chief of the staff to write that "His Majesty believes that +the position of the enemy is due to the rash manoeuvre made by Marshal +Ney." When the main advance commenced the Marshal was summoned to rejoin +the Grand Army. He did not arrive in time to take any prominent share in +the bloody battle of Eylau; in spite of every exertion, his corps only +reached the field of battle as darkness set in. The sight of the awful +carnage affected even the warworn Marshal, and made him exclaim, "What +a massacre!" and, as he added, "without any issue." Friedland was a +battle after Ney's own heart. He arrived on the field at the moment +Napoleon was opening his grand attack, and with his corps he was ordered +to assault the enemy's left. Hurling division after division, by +hand-to-hand fighting he drove the enemy back from their lines, and +flung them into the trap of Friedland, there to fall by hundreds under +the fierce fire of the French massed batteries. It was his sangfroid +which was responsible for the devotion with which the soldiers rushed +against the enemy. At the beginning of the action some of the younger +grenadiers kept bobbing their heads under the hail of bullets which +almost darkened the air. "Comrades," called out the Marshal, who was on +horseback, "the enemy are firing in the air; here am I higher than the +top of your busbies, and they don't hurt me." + +After the peace of Tilsit, Ney, soon Duke of Elchingen, had a year's +repose from war, but in 1808 he was one of those summoned to retrieve +the errors arising from Napoleon's mistaken calculation of the Spanish +problem. The selection was an unfortunate one. Accustomed to the +ordinary warfare of Central Europe, at his best in the melee of battle, +in Spain, where organised resistance was seldom met, where the foe +vanished at the first contact, the Marshal showed a hesitation and +vacillation strangely in contrast with his dashing conduct on the +battlefield. Fine soldier as he was, he lacked the essentials of the +successful general--imagination and moral courage. He was unable to +discern in his mind's eye what lay on the other side of a hill, and the +blank which this lack of imagination caused in his mind affected his +nerves, and made him irresolute and irritable. Moreover, in Spain, the +success of the Emperor's plans depended on the loyal co-operation of +Marshal with Marshal. But unfortunately Ney, obsessed by jealousy, was +most difficult to work with; as Napoleon himself said, "No one knew what +it was to deal with two men like Ney and Soult." From the very outset +of his career in Spain he showed a lack of strategic insight and a want +of rapidity of movement. Thus it was that he was unable to assist Lannes +in the operations which the Emperor had planned for the annihilation of +the Spaniards at Tudela. His heart was not in the work, and he made no +attempt to hide this from Napoleon. When the Emperor before leaving +Spain reviewed his troops, and told him that "Romana would be accounted +for in a fortnight; the English are beaten and will make no more effort; +that all will be quiet here in three months," the Duke of Elchingen +boldly told him, "The men of this country are obstinate, and the women +and children fight; I see no end to the war." It was with gloomy +forebodings, therefore, that he saw the Emperor ride off to France. But +what increased his dislike of the whole situation was that his +operations were made subservient to those of Soult, his old enemy and +rival. The hatred which existed between the two was of long standing, +and had burned fiercely ever since the days of Jena, when Soult had been +mainly instrumental in retrieving the disaster threatened by Ney's +impetuosity. It came to a head when, after the Duke of Dalmatia's +expulsion from Portugal, the armies of the two Marshals met at Lugo. +Soult's corps arrived without cannon or baggage, a mere armed rabble, +and Ney's men jeered at the disorganised battalions. The Marshals +themselves took sides with their men. Matters were not improved when +Joseph sent orders that Ney was to consider himself under Soult, and, +though Napoleon himself confirmed the decision, it brought no peace +between the rival commanders. All through the Talavera campaign there +was perpetual discord, and it was Ney's hesitation, arising from +vacillation or jealousy, which prevented Soult from cutting off the +English retreat across the Tagus. + +After the battle of Wagram, Massena was despatched to Spain to command +the Army of Portugal. The Duke of Elchingen showed to his new chief the +same spirit of disobedience and hatred of control. At times slack and +supine in his arrangements, as in the preparations for the siege of +Ciudad Rodrigo and in his want of energy after the siege of Almeida, at +other times upsetting his superiors' plans by his reckless impetuosity, +he was a subordinate whom no one cared to command. Still, when it came +to actual contact with the foe, no officer was able to extract so much +from his men, and his defeat of Crawford's division on the Coa and his +dash at Busaco were quite up to his great reputation. Before the lines +of Torres Vedras his ill-humour broke out again. He bitterly opposed the +idea of an assault, and he grumbled at being kept before the position. +In fact, nothing that his chief could order was right. It was to a great +extent owing to the conduct of the Duke of Elchingen that Massena was at +last compelled to retreat. As he wrote to Berthier, "I have done all I +could to keep the army out of Spain as long as possible ... but I have +been continually opposed, I make bold to say, by the commanders of the +corps d'armee, who have roused such a spirit amongst officers and men +that it would be dangerous to hold our present position any longer." +When, however, the retreat was at last ordered, Ney showed to the full +his immense tactical ability. Although the army was greatly demoralised +during the retreat through Portugal, he never lost a single gun or +baggage wagon. As Napier wrote, "Day after day Ney--the indomitable +Ney--offered battle with the rear guard, and a stream of fire ran along +the wasted valleys of Portugal, from the Tagus to the Mondego, from the +Mondego to the Coa." As often as Wellington with his forty thousand men +overtook the Marshal with his ten thousand, he was baffled by the +tactical cleverness with which his adversary compelled him to deploy his +whole force, only to find before him a vanishing rear guard. But while +displaying such brilliant ability, the Duke of Elchingen would take no +orders from his superior, and when Massena told him to cover Almeida +and Ciudad Rodrigo, he flatly refused and marched off in the opposite +direction. Thereon the Prince of Essling was compelled to remove him +from his command, and wrote to Berthier, "I have been reduced to an +extremity which I have earnestly endeavoured to avoid. The Marshal, the +Duke of Elchingen, has arrived at the climax of disobedience. I have +given the sixth corps to Count Loison, senior general of division. It is +grievous for an old soldier who has commanded armies for so many years +to arrive at such a pass ... with one of his comrades. The Duke of +Elchingen since my arrival has not ceased to thwart me in my military +operations.... His character is well known, I will say no more." Thus +Ney returned to France in disgrace with his comrades, and hated by his +enemies owing to the licence he allowed his soldiers. + +The Emperor, however, much as he insisted on blind obedience to his own +orders, soon forgave the Duke of Elchingen, and heaped his wrath on the +unfortunate Massena, whom he held responsible for the failure of the +campaign in Portugal. Accordingly, when in 1812 he planned his Russian +campaign, he entrusted Ney with the command of the third corps. Under +the personal eye of Napoleon, the Duke of Elchingen was a different man +to the Ney of Spain. At Smolensk he showed his old brilliancy, and after +the battle he opposed the further advance into Russia, maintaining that +so far the Russians had never been beaten but only dislodged, that the +peasants were hostile, and once again reminding the Emperor of his +failure in Spain. It was with great disapprobation that he heard +Napoleon accept Caulaincourt's advice, and determine to advance to +Moscow. "Pray heaven," he said, "that the blarney of the ambassador +general may not be more injurious to the army than the most bloody +battle." Gloomy as were his forebodings, they had no effect on his +conduct when he met the enemy, and he won for himself the title of +Prince of Moskowa in the hard-fought battle outside the walls of Moscow. +But it is the retreat that has made his name so glorious. After the +first few days he was entrusted with command of the rear guard, and as +demoralisation set in he alone was able to keep the soldiers to their +duty. At Krasnoi his feeble corps of six thousand men was surrounded by +thirty thousand Russians. The main body was beyond recall. When summoned +to lay down his arms, he replied, "A Marshal of France never +surrenders," and closing his shattered columns, he charged the enemy's +batteries and drove them from the field. For three days he struggled on +surrounded by the foe. On one occasion when the enemy suddenly appeared +in force where least expected, his men fell back in dismay, but the +Marshal with admirable presence of mind ordered the charge to be beaten, +shouting out, "Comrades, now is the moment: forward! they are ours." At +last, with but fifteen hundred men left, he regained the main body near +Orcha. When Napoleon heard of their arrival, he rushed to meet the +Marshal, exclaiming, "I have three hundred million francs in my coffers +at the Tuileries; I would willingly have given them to save Marshal +Ney." He embraced the Duke, saying "he had no regret for the troops +which were lost, because they had preserved his dear cousin the Duke of +Elchingen." At the crossing of the Beresina, Ney once again covered +himself with glory, and through the remainder of the terrible retreat he +commanded the rear guard, and was the last man to cross the Niemen at +Kovno and reach German soil. General Dumas, one of the officers of the +general staff, relates how he was resting in an inn at Gumbinnen, when +one evening a man entered clad in a long brown cloak, wearing a long +beard, his face blackened with powder, his whiskers half burned by fire, +but his eyes sparkling with brilliant lustre. "Well, here I am at last," +he said. "What, General Dumas, do you not know me?" "No; who are you?" +"I am the rear guard of the Grand Army--Marshal Ney. I have fired the +last musket on the bridge of Kovno: I have thrown into the Niemen the +last of our arms, and I have walked hither, as you see, across the +forests." + +The campaign of 1813 saw the Duke of Elchingen once again at the +Emperor's side. At Luetzen, his corps of conscripts fought nobly: five +times the gallant Ney led them to the attack; five times they responded +to the call of their leader. As he himself said, "I doubt if I could +have done the same thing with the old grenadiers of the Guard.... The +docility and perhaps inexperience of those brave boys served me better +than the tried courage of veterans. The French infantry can never be too +young." But at Bautzen he showed another phase of his character. +Entrusted with sixty thousand men with orders to make a vast turning +movement, his timidity spoiled the Emperor's careful plans. So +hesitating and uncertain were his dispositions that the Allies had ample +time to meet his attack and quietly withdrew without being compromised, +leaving not a cannon or a prisoner in the hands of the French. Well +might the Emperor cry out, "What, after such a butchery no results? no +prisoners?" But in spite of Ney's lack of strategic skill and his +well-known vacillation when confronted with problems he did not +understand, Napoleon was forced to employ him on an independent command. +After Oudinot was beaten at Grosbeeren, he despatched him to take +command of the army opposed to the mixed force of the Allies under +Bernadotte, which was threatening his communications from the direction +of Berlin. But Ney was no more successful than Oudinot. His dispositions +were even worse than those of the Duke of Reggio, and at Dennewitz, +night alone saved his force from absolute annihilation, while he had to +confess to nine hundred killed and wounded and fifteen thousand taken +prisoners. He but wrote the truth in his despatch to the Emperor, "I +have been totally beaten, and still do not know whether my army has +reassembled." At Leipzig also he was responsible for the want of success +during the first day of the battle, and spent the time in useless +marching and counter-marching; in this case, however, the faulty orders +he received were largely responsible for his errors. But all through the +campaign he felt the want of the clear counsel of the born strategist +Jomini, his former chief of the staff, who had gone over to the Allies. + +During the winter campaign in 1814 in France no one fought more fiercely +and stubbornly than the Duke of Elchingen. When the end came and Paris +had surrendered, he was one of those who at Fontainebleau refused to +march on Paris, in spite of the cries of the Guard "To Paris!" Angered +by the tenacity with which the Marshals protested against the folly of +such a march, the Emperor at last exclaimed, "The army will obey me." +"No," replied Ney, "it will obey its commanders." Macdonald, who had +just arrived with his weary troops, backed him up, exclaiming, "We have +had enough of war without kindling a civil war." Thereon Napoleon was +induced to sign a proclamation offering to abdicate; and Caulaincourt, +Macdonald, and Ney set out for Paris to try and get terms from the Czar. +Once in the capital the Marshal seemed to despair of his commission. +Feeble and irresolute, he was easily gained over by Talleyrand, and at +once made his formal adhesion to the provisional government. When the +commissioners returned to the Emperor, he saw but too clearly that his +day was done. "Oh," he exclaimed, "you want repose; have it then; alas! +you know not how many disappointments and dangers await you on your beds +of down." + +The Emperor's prophecy was but too true. Though honours were showered +upon him, the peace which followed the restoration of the Bourbons +brought but little satisfaction and enjoyment to the Duke of Elchingen. +Accustomed to the bustle and hurry of a soldier's life, he was too old +to acquire the tastes of a life of tranquillity. Books brought him no +satisfaction, since he could scarcely read; society frightened him, and +his plain manners and blunt speech shocked the salons of Paris and +grated on the nerves of the courtiers. By nature ascetic, he hated +dissipation. Moreover, his family life was by no means happy. His wife, +ambitious, fond of luxury and pleasure, was unable to share his pursuits +and tastes, and worried her husband with childish complaints of loss of +prestige at the new court. Consequently the blunt old soldier was only +too glad to leave her at his hotel in Paris, and bury himself in his +estate in the country, where field sports offered him a recreation he +could appreciate, and his old comrades and country neighbours afforded +him a society at least congenial. + +From this peaceful life at Coudreaux the Marshal was suddenly summoned +on March 6, 1815, to Paris. On arriving there he was met by his lawyer, +who informed him of Napoleon's descent on Frejus. "It is a great +misfortune," he said; "what is the Government doing? Who are they going +to send against that man?" Then he hurried off to the Minister of War to +receive his instructions. He was ordered to Besancon to take command of +the troops there, and to help oppose Napoleon's advance on Paris. Before +starting for his headquarters he went to pay his respects to the King, +and expressed his indignation at the Emperor's action, promising "to +bring him back in an iron cage." On arriving at his command he found +everything in confusion, and the soldiers ready at any moment to declare +for the Emperor. Ney had but one thought, and that to save the King. In +reply to a friend who told him that the soldiers could not fight the +Emperor, he replied, "They shall fight; I will begin the action myself, +and run my sword to the hilt in the breast of the first who hesitates to +follow my example." But when he arrived, on the evening of the 13th, at +Lons la Saulnier he was met by the news that on all sides the troops +were deserting, and that the Duke of Orleans and Monsieur had been +compelled to withdraw from Lyons. That same evening emissaries arrived +from Napoleon alleging that all the Marshals had promised to go over, +and that the Congress of Vienna had approved of the overthrow of the +Bourbons, assuring the Marshal that the Emperor would receive him as on +the day after the battle of Moskowa. While but half convinced by these +specious arguments and a prey to doubt, news arrived that his vanguard +at Bourg had deserted, and that the inhabitants of Chalons-sur-Saone had +seized his artillery. In his agony he exclaimed to the emissaries, "It +is impossible for me to stop the water of the ocean with my own hand." +On the morrow he called the generals of division to give him counsel; +one of them was Bourmont, a double-dyed traitor who deserted Napoleon on +the eve of Waterloo; the other was the stern old republican warrior +Lecourbe. They could give him but little advice, so at last the fatal +decision was made, and Ney called his troops together and read the +proclamation drawn up by Napoleon. + +Scarcely had he done so than he began to perceive the enormity of his +action. Meanwhile he wrote an impassioned letter to Napoleon urging him +to seek no more wars of conquest. It might suit the Emperor's policy to +cause the Marshal to desert those to whom he had sworn allegiance, but +he mistrusted men who broke their word, and though he received Ney with +outward cordiality, he saw but little of the "black beast," as he called +him, during the Hundred Days, for the Duke of Elchingen, full of remorse +and shame, hid himself at Coudreaux. It was not till the end of May that +Napoleon summoned him to Paris, and greeted him with the words, "I +thought you had become an emigre." "I ought to have done it long ago," +replied the Marshal; "now it is too late." Still the Emperor kept him +without employment till on June 11th he sent him to inspect the troops +around Lille, and from there summoned him to join the army before +Charleroi on the afternoon of June 15th. Immediately on his arrival he +was put in command of the left wing of the army, composed of Reille and +d'Erlon's corps, and received verbal orders to push northwards and +occupy Quatre Bras. The Marshal's task was not an enviable one. He had +to improvise a staff and make himself acquainted with his subordinates +and at the same time try and elucidate the contradictory orders of his +old enemy Soult, now chief of the staff to the Emperor. Accordingly, +when on the evening of the 15th his advance guard found Quatre Bras held +by the enemy, he decided to make no attack that night. But on the +morning of the 16th he made a still greater error. For not only did he +neglect to make a reconnaissance, which would have showed him that he +was opposed by a mere handful of troops, but, slothful as ever, he +omitted to give orders for the proper concentration of his divisions, +which were strung out along sixteen miles of road. A day begun thus +badly was bound to bring difficulties. But these difficulties were +enormously increased in the afternoon. After three despatches ordering +him to carry Quatre Bras with all his force, he received a fourth +written by Soult at Napoleon's order telling him to move to the right to +support Grouchy in his attack on the Prussians, ending with the words, +"The fate of France is in your hands, therefore do not hesitate to move +according to the Emperor's commands." To add further to his +difficulties, d'Erlon's corps was detached from his command without his +knowledge. In this distracted condition, the Marshal lost all control +over himself, calling out, "Ah, those English balls! I wish they were +all in my belly!" Thus it was, mad with rage, that he rode up to +Kellermann, calling out, "We must make a supreme effort. Take your +cavalry and fling yourself upon the English centre. Crush them--ride +them down!" But it was too late. Wellington himself with thirty thousand +men now held Quatre Bras. The Marshal had himself to thank for his want +of success, for if he had been less slothful in the morning, the battle +would have been won before the contradictory orders could have had any +effect on his plans. On the morning of the 17th the dispirited Prince of +Moskowa took no steps to find out what his enemy was doing, although he +received orders from the Emperor at ten o'clock to occupy Quatre Bras if +there was only a rear guard there. Accordingly the English had ample +time to retreat. When Napoleon hurried up in pursuit at 2 p.m. he +greeted his lieutenant with the bitter reproach, "You have ruined +France!" But though the Emperor recognised that he was no longer the Ney +of former days, he still retained him in his command. At Waterloo the +Marshal showed his old dash on the battlefield. The left wing was hurled +against the Allies with a vehemence that recalled the Prince of +Moskowa's conduct in the Russian campaign. But, impetuous as ever, +finding he could not crush the stubborn foe with his infantry, he rushed +back and prematurely ordered up 5,000 of the cavalry of the Guard. "He +has compromised us again," growled his old enemy Soult, "as he did at +Jena." "It is too early by an hour," exclaimed the Emperor, "but we must +support him now that he has done it." The mistake was fatal to +Napoleon's plans. In vain the French cavalry charged the English +squares, still unshaken by artillery and infantry fire. Meanwhile the +Prussians appeared on the allied left. The Emperor staked his last card, +and ordered the Guard to make one last effort to crush the English +infantry. Sword in hand the gallant Prince of Moskowa led the +magnificent veterans to the attack. But the fire of the English lines +swept them down by hundreds. A shout arose, "La garde recule." Ney, the +indomitable, in vain seeking death, was swept away by the mass, his +clothing in rags, foaming at the mouth, his broken sword in his hand, +rushing from corps to corps, trying to rally the runaways with taunts of +"Cowards, have you forgotten how to die?" At one moment he passed +d'Erlon as they were swept along in the rush, and screamed out to him, +"If you and I come out of this alive, d'Erlon, we shall be hanged." Well +it had been for him if he could have found the death he so eagerly +sought. Five horses were shot under him, his clothes were riddled with +bullets, but he was reserved for a sinister fate. + +The Marshal returned to Paris and witnessed the capitulation and second +abdication. Thereafter he had thoughts of withdrawing to Switzerland or +to America. But unfortunately he considered himself safe under the terms +of the capitulation, and, anxious to clear his name for the sake of his +children, he remained hidden at the chateau of Bessonis, near Aurillac, +waiting to see what the attitude of the Government would be. There he +was discovered by a zealous police official, who caught sight of the +Egyptian sabre Napoleon had presented to him in 1801. He was at once +arrested and taken to Paris. The military court appointed to try him +declared itself unable to try a peer of France. Accordingly the House of +Peers was ordered to proceed with his trial, and found him guilty by a +majority of one hundred and sixty-nine to nineteen. The Marshal's +lawyers tried to get him off by the subterfuge that he was no longer a +Frenchman, since his native town, Sarrelouis, had been taken from +France. But Ney would hear of no such excuse. "I am a Frenchman," he +cried, "and will die a Frenchman." Early on the following day, December +7, 1815, the sentence was read to the prisoner. The officer entrusted +with this melancholy duty commenced to read his titles, Prince of +Moskowa, Duke of Elchingen, &c. But the Marshal cut him short: "Why +cannot you simply say 'Michel Ney, once a French soldier and soon to be +a heap of dust'?" At eight o'clock in the morning the Marshal, with a +firm step, was conveyed to the place of execution. To the officer who +prepared to bandage his eyes he said, "Are you ignorant that for +twenty-five years I have been accustomed to face both ball and bullet?" +Then, taking off his hat, he said, "I declare before God and man that I +have never betrayed my country. May my death render her happy. Vive la +France!" Then, turning to the soldiers, he gave the word, "Soldiers, +fire!" + +Thus, in his forty-seventh year, the Prince of Moskowa, a peasant's son, +but now immortal as the "Bravest of the Brave," expiated his error. Pity +it was that he had not the courage of his gallant subordinate at Lons la +Saulnier, who had broken his sword in pieces with the words, "It is +easier for a man of honour to break iron than to infringe his word." +Looking backward, and calmly reading the evidence of the trial, it is +clear that Ney set out in March, 1815, with every intention to remain +faithful to the King. But his moral courage failed him; and the glamour +of his old life, and the contact with the iron will of the great +Corsican, broke down his principles. To some the punishment meted out to +him seemed hard; but when the Emperor heard of his execution he said +that he only got his deserts. "No one should break his word. I despise +traitors. Ney has dishonoured himself." And the Duke of Wellington +refused to plead for the Marshal, for he said "it was absolutely +necessary to make an example." But the clearest proof of the justice of +the penalty was the fact that from the fatal day at Lons la Saulnier the +Marshal was never himself again, and he who, during those terrible days +in Russia, had been able to sleep like a little child, never could sleep +in peace. + +Among the Marshals of Napoleon, Ney, with his title of the "Bravest of +the Brave," and his magnificent record of hard fighting, will always +appeal to those who love romance. But, great fighter as he was, he was +not a great general. At times, at St. Helena, Napoleon, remembering his +mistakes at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, used to say that he ought not to +have made him a Marshal, for he only had the courage and honesty of a +hussar, forgetting his words in Russia, "I have three hundred millions +francs in my coffers at the Tuileries; I would willingly have given them +to save Marshal Ney." But, cruel as it may seem, perhaps the Emperor +expressed his real opinion of him when he said, "He was precious on the +battlefield, but too immoral and too stupid to succeed." In action he +was always master of himself, but as Jomini, his old chief of the staff, +wrote of him, "Ney's best qualities, his heroic valour, his rapid coup +d'oeil, and his energy, diminished in the same proportion that the +extent of his command increased his responsibility. Admirable on the +battlefield, he displayed less assurance not only in council, but +whenever he was not actually face to face with the enemy." In a word, he +lacked that marked intellectual capacity which is the chief +characteristic of great soldiers like Hannibal, Caesar, Napoleon, and +Wellington. + + + + +VIII + +LOUIS NICOLAS DAVOUT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF AUERSTAeDT, PRINCE OF ECKMUeHL + + +There was an old saying in Burgundy that "when a Davout comes into the +world, another sword has leaped from the scabbard"; but so finely +tempered a weapon as Louis Nicolas had never before been produced by the +warrior nobles of Annoux, though the line stretched back in unbroken +descent to the days of the first Crusades. Born at Auxerre on May 18, +1770, the future Marshal was destined for the service, and at the age of +fifteen entered the Royal Military School at Paris. In the fatal year +1789 he received his commission in the Royal Champagne regiment of +cavalry stationed at Hesdin, but his period of service with the royal +army was short. From his boyhood, young Davout was one of those whom it +was impossible to drive, who, while they submit to no authority, are as +clay in the hands of the master mind who can gain their affections. His +turbulent spirit had early become captivated by the specious +revolutionary logic of a brilliant young lawyer, Turreau, who, a few +years later, became his stepfather. Full of burning zeal for his new +political tenets, chafing under the dull routine of garrison life, +despising his mediocre companions, the young sub-lieutenant soon found +himself in trouble, and was dismissed from the service for the part he +took in aiding the revolutionaries in their attempts to seduce the +privates and non-commissioned officers from their allegiance to their +sovereign. His return to civil life was but brief, for, when in 1791 the +Prussian invasion summoned the country to arms, Louis Nicolas enlisted +in the Volunteers of the Yonne, and owing to his former military +training was at once elected lieutenant-colonel. + +The Volunteers of the Yonne formed part of the corps opposed to the +Austrians in the Low Countries, and owing to the stern discipline of +their lieutenant-colonel, became distinguished as the most reliable of +all the volunteers raised in 1791. Davout adopted the same plan which +proved so effective among the Scotch regiments during the eighteenth +century: keeping in close communication with the local authorities of +the Yonne, and rewarding or punishing his men by posting their names +with their records in the various cantons from which they were drawn. +After fighting bravely under Dumouriez, it fell to the lot of the +battalion to attempt to capture that general, when, after the battle of +Neerwinden, he tried to betray his army to the Austrians. Soon after +this the lieutenant-colonel had to throw up his command when the +Convention decreed that no ci-devant noble could hold a commission; but +Davout's record was so strongly republican that his friend Turreau had +little difficulty in getting him reinstated in his rank, and sent to +command a brigade of cavalry in the Army of the Moselle. Except for two +years during which he was at home on parole, after the capture of +Mannheim, the general was on active service in the Rhine valley till the +peace of Campo Formio in 1797. During these years he steadily added to +his reputation as a stern commander and a stubborn fighter, and as such +attracted the attention of Desaix, who introduced him early in 1798 to +Bonaparte. The future Emperor saw at a glance that this small, stout, +bald-headed young man had qualities which few others possessed. +Accordingly he took him with him to Egypt. Like all who met the young +Napoleon, Davout fell entirely beneath his spell. In spite of the fact +that he was not included among the few friends whom Bonaparte selected +to return with him in 1800, his enthusiasm for the First Consul +increased day by day. Returning to France with Desaix, just before the +Marengo campaign, he at once hastened to Paris to congratulate the new +head of the Government. Davout's republicanism had received many shocks. +Like all other honourable men, he had hated and loathed the Terror. +Moreover, he had seen on service how little the preachers of the +equality of man carried out their doctrine in practice. As early as 1794 +we find him writing to a friend: "Ought we to be exposed to the tyranny +of any chance revolutionary committee or club?... Why are not all +Frenchmen witnesses of fraternity and of the republican virtues which +reign in our camps; we have no brigands here, but have we not plenty at +home?" Bonaparte knew well that Davout was not only his enthusiastic +personal follower, but also thoroughly approved of the coup d'etat of +the 18th Brumaire, and in his desire for peace and stability at home +would warmly back him up in his scheme of founding a tyranny under the +guise of an Imperial Republic. Accordingly the First Consul published a +most flattering account of him in the official _Moniteur_, and gave him +command of the cavalry of the Army of Italy, under General Brune. In +June, 1801, after the treaty of Lueneville, in pursuance of his plan of +congregating his friends at headquarters, he recalled him to Paris as +inspector-general of cavalry. + +It was while thus employed that Davout met his wife, Aimee Leclerc. +Aimee, a sister of that Leclerc who married Pauline Bonaparte, had been +educated at Madame Campan's school in Paris, along with the young +Beauharnais and Bonapartes, and was the bosom friend of Caroline and +Hortense. From many points of view the marriage was extremely +appropriate; for although the Davouts belonged to the old nobility, and +Aimee's father was only a corn merchant of Poitou, he had prospered in +his business, and had been able to give his daughter an excellent +education. The marriage brought Davout into close connection with the +First Consul's family, and was successful from a worldly and a domestic +point of view. The future Marshal was deeply attached to his wife, and +spent every moment with her which he could snatch from his military +duties. When absent on service scarcely a day passed on which he did not +write to her, and his happiness was completely bound up in her welfare +and that of his large family. The year following their marriage the +Davouts bought the beautiful estate of Savigny-sur-Orge for the sum of +seven hundred thousand francs. This was a great strain on their rather +limited resources, and for some years they had to practise strict +economy. + +In September, 1803, the general was summoned to Bruges to command a +corps of the Army of the Ocean, which later became the third corps of +the Grand Army. There, in close communication with his great chief, he +began to show those traits which made him respected as the most +relentless and careful administrator of all the Marshals of France. His +energy was indefatigable; everything had to undergo his personal +scrutiny, be it the best means of securing the embarkation of a company +in one of the new barges or the careful inspection of the boots of a +battalion: for Davout, like Wellington, knew that a soldier's marching +powers depended on two things, his feet and his stomach, and every man +in the third corps had to have two pairs of good boots in his valise and +one on his feet. Secrecy also, in his eyes, was of prime importance; he +was quick to give a lesson to all spies, or would-be spies, in Belgium, +and it was with stern exultation in his duty that he wrote to the First +Consul, "Your orders for the trial of the spy (Buelow) will be carried +out, and within a week he will be executed." Day by day, as he gained +experience, the indefatigable soldier drew on him the approbation of +the First Consul, and it was with no sense of favouritism that Napoleon, +when he became Emperor, nominated him among his newly-created Marshals, +although in the eyes of the army at large he had not yet done enough to +justify this choice. + +The campaign of 1805 gave the Marshal his first opportunity of handling +large bodies of troops of all arms in the field, and, though it did not +bring him into such conspicuous notice as Murat, Lannes, Soult and Ney, +it justified Napoleon in his selection of him as worthy of the Marshal's +baton. In the operations round Ulm, Davout proved himself an excellent +subordinate, whose corps was ever ready, at full strength, in the field, +and at the hour at which it had been ordered, while the Marshal's stern +checking of marauding was a new feature in French military discipline, +and one which no other Marshal could successfully carry out without +starving his troops. But it was Austerlitz which taught the students of +war the true capabilities of this rising officer. There the Emperor, +relying on his stubborn, methodical character, entrusted him with a duty +which eminently suited his genius: he chose his corps as the screen to +cover the trap which he set for the Russian left, and all day long it +had to fight a stern rear-guard action against overwhelming odds, until +it had tempted the enemy into dissipating his forces, and so weakening +his centre that his left and right were defeated in detail. After +Austerlitz, Davout was entrusted with the pursuit of the left wing of +the Allies. Flushed with victory, the third corps pushed the +disorganised enemy in hopeless rout, and it seemed as if the +annihilation of the Russians was certain. Meanwhile, unknown to the +Marshal, the Emperor had accepted the Czar's demands for an armistice. +Davout first heard of the cessation of hostilities from the enemy, but, +remembering Murat's mistake, he refused to halt his troops. "You want to +deceive me," he said to the flag of truce; "you want to make a fool of +me.... I am going to crush you, and that is the only order I have +received." So the third corps pushed on, and it was only the production +of a despatch in the handwriting of the Czar himself that caused the +victor at last to stay his hand. + +[Illustration: LOUIS NICOLAS DAVOUT, PRINCE OF ECKMUeHL +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY GAUTHEROT] + +Though Davout emerged from the Austrian campaign with the reputation in +the army of having at last earned his Marshal's baton, to the general +public he still appeared as "a little smooth-pated, unpretending man, +who was never tired of waltzing," but the campaign of 1806 made him +nearly the best known of all the Marshals. Auerstaedt was a masterpiece +of minor tactics. Napoleon, thinking that he had before him at Jena the +whole of the Prussian army, summoned to his aid Bernadotte, and thus +left Davout with a force of twenty-three thousand men isolated on his +right wing, with orders to push forward and try to get astride of the +enemy's line of retreat. + +It was in pursuance of this order that early in the morning of October +14, 1806, the Marshal, at the head of the advance guard of his corps, +crossed the river Saale at Koesen and proceeded to seize the defile +beyond the bridge through which ran the road to Naumberg. True to his +motto of never leaving to another anything which he could possibly do +himself, he had personally, on the previous evening, carefully +reconnoitred the line of advance, and knew the importance of the village +of Hassenhausen at the further end of the defile. Hardly had his advance +guard seized this position and the heights commanding the road, when +through the fog they saw approaching the masses of the enemy's cavalry; +the fiery Prussian commander, Bluecher, at once hastened to the attack, +and again and again led his horsemen to the charge. Meanwhile Brunswick +counter-ordered the retreat of the infantry and artillery. Soon the +whole of the Prussian army, forty-five thousand strong, was engaged in +the attempt to crush the small French force. But the Marshal was in his +element, carefully husbanding his resources only to hurl them into the +fray at the critical moment; feinting at his enemy's flanks; utilising +every feature of the ground to prolong his resistance; galloping from +square to square, his uniform black from powder, his cocked hat carried +off by a bullet, encouraging his troops with short, sharp words, crying +out, "The great Frederick believed that God gave the victory to the big +battalions, but he lied; it is the obstinate people that win, and that's +you and your general." From six in the morning the battle raged, but +towards mid-day the Prussians, finding that they could make no +impression on the enemy, began to slacken their attack. Davout seized +the psychological moment to order his whole line to advance. Thereon the +King of Prussia commanded his forces to retire, leaving a strong rear +guard under Kalkreuth to prevent the French pursuit. But the French were +in no condition to carry on an active pursuit, for out of twenty-three +thousand men engaged they had lost almost eight thousand killed or +wounded. It is quite true that man for man the French soldier in 1806 +was superior in intelligence and patriotism to the Prussian, that the +French staff was infinitely superior to the Prussian staff, and that +there was no comparison between the morale of the two armies; but that +alone does not explain how an army half the size of the enemy, caught as +it was in the act of deploying from a defile, not only was not beaten +absolutely, but actually defeated the superior force. The secret of the +French success at Auerstaedt lay in the character of their general. It +was Davout's careful reconnaissance, his quickness to perceive in +Hassenhausen the key of the position, his careful crowning of the +heights covering the defile, the masterly way in which, while massing +his men in the open to resist Bluecher's fierce charges, he at the same +time contrived so to expand his line as to threaten the flanks of his +vastly superior foe, his indomitable courage in throwing his last +reserve into the firing line, and his audacious counter-attack the +moment he saw the Prussians wavering, which saved his force from what +at the time looked like annihilation, and by sheer downright courage +and self-confidence turned defeat into victory. + +Pleased as the Emperor was at his lieutenant's victory, and much as he +admired the way in which his subordinate had copied his own methods, +showing that inflexibility of purpose, absolute disregard of the opinion +of others, and unswerving belief in his own capacity which he knew were +the factors of his own success, it did not suit his policy that a +subordinate should attract the admiration of the army at large. +Accordingly in his bulletins he glossed over the part played by Davout +and belittled his success, but in his private letters he warmly praised +the Marshal's courage and ability. Further, to reward him for lack of +official praise, he gave the third corps the place of honour at the +grand march past held at Berlin, when the inhabitants of the capital of +Frederick the Great saw for the first time, with mingled hatred and +surprise, "the lively, impudent, mean-looking little fellows" who had +thrashed their own magnificent troops. On the following day the Emperor +inspected the third corps, and thanked the officers and men for the +great services they had rendered him, and paid a tribute to "the brave +men I have lost, whom I regret as it were my own children, but who died +on the field of honour." Pleased as the Marshal was with this somewhat +tardy acknowledgment of his achievement, he was in no way inflated with +pride; as General Segur says of him: "Those who knew him best say that +there was a sort of flavour of a bygone age in his inflexibility; stern +towards himself and towards others, and above all in that stoical +simplicity, high above all vanity, with which he ever strode forward, +with shoulders square, and full intent to the accomplishment of his +duty." But though success brought no pride in its train, it brought its +burdens: the jealousy of the other Marshals was barely concealed, and as +Davout wrote to his wife, "I am more than ever in need of the Emperor's +goodwill ... few of my colleagues pardon me the good fortune the third +corps had in beating the King of Prussia." + +A winter spent in Poland amid these jealousies and far from his family +was only endurable because of his attachment to the service and person +of the Emperor. Immediately on entering the country which he was to +govern for the next two years, the Marshal summed up the situation at a +glance, and told the Emperor that the nobility would throw cold water on +all schemes unless the French guaranteed them their independence. + +With the spring of 1807 came the last phase of the war. At Heilsberg, +Davout fought well, and two days later took his part in the great battle +of Eylau, the most bloody of all Napoleon's battles. Bennigsen, the +Russian commander, had turned at bay on his pursuers. On the morning of +February 8th the French corps came hurrying up from all sides at the +Emperor's commands. It was not, however, till mid-day that the third +corps arrived on the scene of the action. Heavy snow blizzards obscured +the scene, but the struggle raged fiercely on all sides, the Russians +fighting like bulls, as the French said. The Emperor, on Davout's +arrival, placed his corps on the right and ordered him to advance, but +the enemy's cavalry and artillery effectually barred his way. All day +long the contest lasted, men fighting hand to hand in a confused melee. +All day long Davout, with obstinate courage, clung to the village which +he seized in the morning, whence he threatened the Russian line of +retreat. When night came he still held his position; at last the +Emperor, fearing a renewal of the fight on the next day, gave orders at +eight o'clock for the third corps to fall back on Eylau. But the +Marshal, hearing of the commencement of the Russian retreat, disobeyed +the Emperor, and thus, by his bold front, in conjunction with Soult, he +was mainly instrumental in causing the enemy to leave the field. If +Davout had been less obstinate, the French would have had to fight +another battle on the following day, but thanks to him they were spared +this fate, and the twenty-five thousand dead and wounded Frenchmen had +not spent their blood in vain. The third corps escaped the horrors of +Friedland, as it had been detached to intercept the enemy's line of +retreat in the direction of Koenigsberg, and Tilsit saw the end of +Davout's second campaign against the Russians. + +But peace did not bring the opportunity of returning to his beloved +France and the joys of home life; the Emperor in peace, as in war, could +not spare the great administrative capacity, the stern discipline, and +the rigid probity of the Marshal. "It is quite fair that I should give +him enormous presents," said the Emperor, "for he takes no perquisites." +So Davout found himself established nominally as commander of the army +of occupation, and really as special adviser to the Government of the +newly constituted Grand Duchy of Warsaw. It was a situation that +required infinite tact, patience, and a stern will. The Poles longed for +a restored kingdom of Poland. The Emperor could not grant this without +offending his new friend the Czar, who, with the Emperor of Austria, +looked with suspicion on the experiment of creating a Grand Duchy. So on +one side the Marshal had to try to inspire confidence in the Poles by +pretending that the Grand Duchy was merely a temporary experiment in the +larger policy of restoring the kingdom, while on the other hand he had +to assure the Austrians and Russians that nothing was further from the +Emperor's thoughts than creating a power at Warsaw dangerous to them. +Meanwhile there was plenty of occupation in getting provisions for his +troops in a land always poor and but lately devastated by war, and in +attempting to maintain order in a country full of adventurers where +police were unknown. It was useless to attempt to get assistance from +the Government, for there was no organisation, no division of duties +among the different ministers, and nobody knew what his own particular +business was. The situation was well summed up in a caricature which +showed the ministers nicely dressed in their various uniforms but +without heads. It was well for the new Government that they had at their +side such a stern, disinterested adviser as Davout, ready to take the +initiative and accept the responsibility of any act which he thought +good for the community. Under his supervision the ministers' spheres of +action were duly arranged: the state was saved from bankruptcy by +importing bullion from Prussia and deporting the adventurers who were +filling their own coffers by draining the money from the country. The +monks who preached against the Government and fanned popular discontent +were three times given twenty-four hours' notice to put their houses in +order, and then quietly escorted across the frontier. A strong Polish +force was raised, armed and equipped by Prince Poniatowski under the +Marshal's supervision. As a reward for his labours the Emperor granted +Davout three hundred thousand francs to buy a town house in Paris, and +followed this up, in May, 1808, by creating him Duke of Auerstaedt. But +what pleased the Marshal more than all was that the Emperor allowed the +Duchess to join him at Warsaw. This was a politic move, for the Emperor, +knowing well the secret intention of Austria, could not afford to +withdraw the warden of the marches from his outpost at Warsaw; but by +sending the Duchess of Auerstaedt to Poland he kept his faithful +lieutenant content. However, the Duchess's visit to Poland was not a +long one. By September, 1808, it became certain that Austria was making +immense efforts to recover her possessions, and accordingly Napoleon +very wisely began to concentrate his troops in Central Europe, and the +Duke of Auerstaedt's corps was recalled to Silesia in October, and was +incorporated with the French troops in Prussia under the designation of +the Army of the Rhine. + +During the winter the Marshal was fully occupied in forcing Prussia to +drain to the last dregs her cup of humiliation: extorting from her the +immense ransom Napoleon had laid on her, and crushing her attempts at +regeneration by hounding out of the country the patriotic Stein and his +band of fellow-workers. From his cantonments round Berlin Davout was +summoned in 1809 to take part in another struggle with Austria. The +campaign opened disastrously for the French. The Archduke Charles +commenced operations earlier than Napoleon had calculated, and +accordingly the Grand Army found itself under the feeble command of the +chief of the staff. Berthier, in blind obedience to the Emperor, who had +misread the situation, was compelled to neglect the first principles of +war and to attempt to block all possible lines of advance instead of +concentrating in a strategic position. In consequence of this, the Duke +of Auerstaedt, in spite of his official protests, found himself at +Ratisbon, isolated from the rest of the army, with no support within +forty miles. From this dangerous position he was saved by the arrival of +the Emperor at headquarters, who, recognising his own mistakes, +immediately ordered a concentration on Abensberg. The retreat, or rather +the flank march, in the face of eighty thousand Austrians under the +Archduke Charles, was successfully carried out, thanks to the stubborn +fighting of the troops and the lucky intervention of a tremendous +thunderstorm, which forced the enemy to give up their attack at the +critical moment when the French were crossing a difficult defile. Two +days later the Emperor once again tested Davout's stubborn qualities, +entrusting him with the duty of containing the main Austrian force while +he disposed of the rest of the enemy. The result was the three days' +fighting at Eckmuehl; during the first two, Davout, unaided, held his own +till on the third the Emperor arrived with supports and gave the +Austrians the coup-de-grace, but rewarded the Marshal for his tenacity +by bestowing on him the title of Prince of Eckmuehl. + +Though his corps was not actually engaged at the battle of +Aspern-Essling the Marshal had a large share in preventing a complete +catastrophe. As soon as he heard of the breaking of the bridge he set +about to organise a flotilla of boats, and it was thanks to the supplies +of ammunition thus ferried across that the French troops on the north +bank were able to hold their own and cover the retreat to the Isle of +Lobau. While both sides were concentrating every available man for the +great battle of Wagram, Davout was entrusted with the task of watching +the Archduke John, whose army at Pressburg was the rallying point for +the Hungarians. The moment the French preparations were complete, the +Marshal, leaving a strong screen in front of the Archduke, swiftly fell +back on the Isle of Lobau, and by thus hoodwinking the Archduke gave the +Emperor an advantage of fifty thousand troops over the enemy. The Prince +of Eckmuehl's duty at the battle of Wagram was to turn the left flank of +the enemy and, while interposing his corps between the two Archdukes, at +the same time to threaten the enemy's rear and give an opportunity to +the French centre to drive home a successful attack. It was a most +difficult and dangerous operation, for at any moment the Archduke John +might appear on the exposed right flank. Whilst Davout was marching and +fighting to achieve his purpose, the main battle went against the +French. The left and centre were thrown back, and it seemed as if the +Austrians were bound to capture the bridge at Enzerdorff. Amid cries of +"All is lost!" the French reserve artillery and baggage trains fled in +confusion. But relief came at the critical moment, for the Prince of +Eckmuehl, hurling his steel-clad cuirassiers on the unbroken Austrian +foot, losing nearly all his generals in the desperate hand-to-hand +fighting on the slopes of the Neusiedel, at last gained the top of the +plateau and forced the enemy to throw back his left flank and weaken his +centre. The moment the Emperor saw the guns appear on the summit of the +Neusiedel, he launched Macdonald's corps against the Austrian centre and +sent his aide-de-camp to Massena to tell him "to commence the attack ... +the battle is gained." But Davout was unable to pursue his advantage +over the enemy's left, for at the moment he gained the top of the +plateau news arrived that Prince John's advance guard was in touch with +his scouts; accordingly he halted and drew up in battle formation, ready +at any moment to face the Hungarian troops should they attempt to attack +his rear. Fortunately for the French the Archduke John forgot that an +enemy is never so weak as after a successful attack, and instead of +hurling his fresh troops on the weakened and disorganised French, he +halted, and withdrew after dark towards Pressburg. When, during the +pursuit of the battle, the Archduke Charles sent in a flag of truce +offering to discuss terms, the Emperor called a council of war. There +was a certain amount of difference of opinion, but Davout was for +continuing the fight, pointing out that "once master of the road from +Bruenn, in two hours it would be possible to concentrate thirty thousand +men across the Archduke's line of retreat." The Marshal's arguments +seemed about to prevail when news arrived that Bruyere, commanding the +cavalry, was seriously wounded. Thereon the Emperor changed his mind, +crying out, "Look at it: death hovers over all my generals. Who knows +but that within two hours I shall not hear that you are taken off? No; +enough blood has been spilled; I accept the suspension of hostilities." + +After the evacuation of the conquered territories the Marshal was +appointed to command the Army of Germany. His duties were to enforce the +continental system and to keep a stern eye on Prussia. The marriage with +Marie Louise for the time being relieved tension in Central Europe, and +accordingly in 1810 Davout was able to enjoy long periods of leave. He +was present as colonel-general of the Guard at the imperial wedding, and +at the interment of Lannes's remains in the Pantheon, and he did his +turn of duty as general in attendance on the imperial household. His +letters to his wife throw an interesting light on the imperial menage. +The officers in attendance were supplied with good, comfortable rooms +and food, but had to find their own linen, plates, wax candles, +firewood, and kitchen utensils; in a postscript he adds, "Not only must +you send me all the above, but add towels, sheets, pillow-cases, &c.; +until these arrive I have to sleep on the bare mattress." + +In 1811 the growing hostility of Russia required the attendance of the +Prince of Eckmuehl at the headquarters of his command. Napoleon knew well +that nobody would be quicker to discern any secret movement hostile to +his interests than the man who in 1808 had done so much to check the +regeneration of Prussia by enforcing his orders, playing on the Prussian +King's fears and exposing the cleverness of the proposals of the +patriotic Stein. The Marshal reached his headquarters at Hamburg early +in February, and soon found his hands full. It was no longer a question +of so disposing the corps committed to his care that he might cripple +the English, "who since the time of Cromwell have played the game of +ruining our commerce," but of preparing a mixed force of French, Poles, +and Saxons, amounting to one hundred and forty thousand, for the +contingencies of a war with Russia, or for the absolute annihilation of +Prussia. To no other of his Marshals did the Emperor entrust the command +of one hundred and forty thousand troops, and consequently the old +enmities and jealousies broke out with renewed force. It was whispered +that the Marshal's income from his investments, pay, and perquisites was +over two million francs a year; that nobody in the imperial family had +anything like as much, and people said it was better to be a Davout than +a Prince Royal. The Prince disregarded all the annoying scandal his wife +sent him from Paris, and quietly busied himself with preparing transport +and equipping magazines for the coming war, diversified by an occasional +thundering declaration informing the King of Prussia that his secret +schemes were well known to the French authorities. But the subterranean +jealousies bore their fruit. Nobody had a good word to say for Davout, +and there was nobody to take his part. Most disastrously for the Grand +Army the misunderstanding which existed between Berthier and Davout +prevented their co-operation; and thus during the Russian campaign the +rash empty-headed Murat had greater weight with Napoleon than Davout, +the cautious yet tenacious old fighter. Accordingly at the battle of +Moskowa, when Napoleon had his last chance of annihilating the Russians, +he refused to listen to the Marshal, who pleaded to be allowed to turn +the Russian left during the night. "No," said the Emperor, "it is too +big a movement; it will take me too much off my objective and make me +lose time." Davout, sure of the wisdom of this advice, once again +renewed his arguments, but the Emperor rudely interrupted him with "You +are always for turning the enemy; it is too dangerous a movement." So +the battle of Moskowa was a disastrous victory, opening as it did the +gates of Moscow without the annihilation of the Russian armed forces in +the field. But it was greatly due to the Marshal that it was a victory +at all, for the Russians fought with the greatest stubbornness; nearly +all the French generals were wounded or killed, and at one moment a +panic seized the troops. Then it was that the Prince of Eckmuehl himself +rallied the broken battalions and led them to the charge. In spite of a +wound in the pit of his stomach, with bare head and uniform encrusted +with mud and blood, he forced his weary soldiers against the foe and, as +at Auerstaedt, by sheer indomitable courage, compelled his troops to beat +the enemy. His corps bore its share in the horrors of the retreat from +Moscow, forming for some time the rear guard. + +When Napoleon deserted the relics of the Grand Army at Vilma the +Marshal's difficulties naturally increased, for his enemy Murat was now +in command, and, as he wrote to his wife earlier in the campaign, "I am +worth ten times as much when the Emperor is present, for he alone can +put order into this great complicated machine." But the King of Naples +did not long retain his command: he had not Davout's confidence in +Napoleon and was disgusted with the ill-success of the campaign and +afraid of losing his crown. The Marshal, ever loyal to the Emperor, +would listen to none of the Gascon's diatribes, and told him plainly, +"You are only King by the grace of Napoleon and by the blood of brave +Frenchmen. You can only remain King by Napoleon's aid, and by remaining +united to France. It is black ingratitude which blinds you." So Murat +went off to Italy to plan treason, and Davout returned to Germany to +place his life and reputation at the Emperor's service. + +It fell to the Marshal's lot in 1813 to hold Northern Germany as part of +the plan of campaign whereby the advance of the Allies was to be +checked. The Emperor had determined to make an example of the town of +Hamburg, to teach other German cities the fate to be expected by those +who deserted him. His orders were that all those who had taken any share +in the desertion were to be arrested and their goods sequestrated, and +that a contribution of fifty million francs was to be paid by the towns +of Luebeck and Hamburg. The Marshal carried out his orders. Hamburg +writhed impotent at his feet and the "heavy arm of justice fell on the +canaille." Only in the case of the contribution did he make any +deviation from the Emperor's wishes, as it was inexpedient to drive all +the wealthy people out of the state. In pursuance of the Emperor's +plans, by the winter of 1813 Davout had made Hamburg impregnable. He had +laid in huge supplies, and built a bridge of wood two leagues long +joining Haarburg and Hamburg. With a garrison of thirty thousand men, +danger threatened from within rather than from without, for Napoleon's +bitter punishment of Hamburg, ending as it did with the seizure of eight +million marks from the funds of the city bank, had made the name of +France stink in the nostrils of the inhabitants. The Marshal was +determined to hold the town to the last. In December, when provisions +began to fail, the poor were banished from the city; those who refused +to go were threatened with fifty blows of the cane. "At the end of +December people without distinction of sex or age were dragged from +their beds and conveyed out of the town." During the siege the Russian +commander, Bennigsen, attempted by means of spies and proclamations to +raise a rebellion in the fortress, but Davout's grip was too firm to be +shaken, and a few executions cooled the ardour of the spies. It was not +till April 15th that the Marshal was informed by a flag of truce of the +fall of the Empire; not certain of the truth of the news, he refused to +give up his command. At last, on April 28th, official news arrived from +Paris, and on the following day the fifteen thousand men who remained of +the original garrison of thirty thousand swore allegiance to the +Bourbons and mounted the white cockade. + +On May 11th General Gerard arrived to relieve Davout of his command. On +his arrival in France the Prince of Eckmuehl found himself charged with +having fired on the white flag after being informed of Napoleon's +abdication, of appropriating the funds of the Bank of Hamburg, and of +committing arbitrary acts which caused the French name to become odious. +His reply was first that until he had received official information of +the fall of the Empire it was his duty to take measures to prevent +Hamburg being surprised; that the appropriation of the funds of the bank +was the only means of finding money to hold Hamburg; that he was not +responsible for the continental system, and as a soldier he had only +obeyed commands; that as a matter of fact he had contrived to have the +heavy contribution lightened, and lastly, that during the siege he had +only had two spies shot and one French soldier executed for purloining +hospital stores. But in spite of his defence and the prayers of his +fellow Marshals Louis refused to allow Davout to take the oath of +allegiance, and accordingly when, in 1815, Napoleon returned from Elba, +the Prince of Eckmuehl alone of all the Marshals could hasten to the +Emperor without a stain on his honour. + +Immediately on his return the Emperor made a great call on the +faithfulness of his friend, and told him he had chosen him as Minister +of War. The Marshal begged for service in the field, but the Emperor was +firm; Davout alone had held to him and all others had the Bourbon taint. +Still the Marshal refused, pleading his brusque manners and well-known +harshness; but at last the Emperor appealed to his pity, pointing out +that all Europe was against him, and asking him if he also was going to +abandon his sovereign. Thereon the Marshal accepted the post. It was no +light burden that he had undertaken, prince of martinets though he was, +to regenerate an army scattered to the winds. Everything was +lacking--men, horses, guns, transports, stores, and ammunition. Yet he +worked wonders, and by the beginning of June the Emperor had a field +army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, with another quarter of a +million troops in formation in France. On the return of the Emperor to +Paris after the disaster at Waterloo the Marshal in vain besought him to +dissolve the assemblies and proclaim a dictatorship, but Napoleon's +spirit was broken and the favourable moment passed by. Meanwhile, the +Emperor remained in idleness at Malmaison, and by the 28th of June the +Prussians arrived near Paris with the intention of capturing him; but +the Prince of Eckmuehl warded off the danger by barricading or burning +the bridges across the Seine and manoeuvring sixty thousand troops in +front of Bluecher. Thanks to this Napoleon escaped to Rochfort, and owed +his safety to Davout, for Bluecher had sworn to catch him, dead or alive. + +On the evacuation of Paris the Marshal withdrew westwards with the +remnant of the imperial army, now called the Army of the Loire. But as +soon as Louis had once again ascended the throne he relieved Davout, +making Gouvion St. Cyr Minister of War and Macdonald commander of the +Army of the Loire. The Marshal spent some months in exile, but was +allowed to return to France in 1816. However the mutual distrust between +him and the Bourbons could not be overcome, and, although he took the +oath of allegiance and received the cross of St. Louis, he never +attempted to return to public life, and died of an attack of pleurisy on +June 1, 1823. + +The causes of the success of the Prince of Eckmuehl are easy to +ascertain: acute perception, doggedness of purpose, and a devotion which +never faltered or failed, are gifts which are bound to bring success +when added to an exceptional run of good fortune. Among the Marshals +there were many, no doubt, who had as quick a perception and as vivid an +imagination as Davout, but there was no one who had his massive +doggedness and determination, and Bessieres alone perhaps surpassed him +in personal devotion to the Emperor. Much as we may see to blame in his +untiring hounding down of the patriot Stein in Prussia, in his cruel +exactions in Hamburg, and in the remorseless way he treated spies and +deserters, we must remember that he did it all from motives of +patriotism. Moreover, we cannot fail to admire a man who made it a +principle, when he had received rigorous orders, to accept all the odium +arising from their performance because he considered that, since the +sovereign is permanent and the officials are changeable, it is important +that officials should brave the temporary odium of measures which are +but temporary. In his opinion the phrase, "If the King only knew," was a +precious illusion which was one of the foundation-stones of all +government: thus it was that in carrying out severe orders the Marshal +never attempted to shield himself behind the name of the Emperor. + +It was therefore from a spirit of patriotism, as the servant of the +French Emperor, that Davout pressed relentlessly on those who tried to +shake off the yoke of France. Stern as his nature was, he did not +disguise from himself that his policy bore hardly on the conquered, for +when Napoleon asked him, "How would you behave if I made you King of +Poland?" he replied, "When a man has the honour to be a Frenchman, he +must always be a Frenchman," but he added, "From the day on which I +accepted the crown of Poland I would become entirely and solely a Pole, +and I would act in complete contradiction to your Majesty if the +interests of the people whose chief I was demanded that I should do so." +As a soldier and an administrator, though he is rightly called the +prince of martinets, yet nothing was more abhorrent to his eyes than red +tape. Efficiency was everything, and efficiency he considered was only +to be gained by personal inspection of detail considered in relation to +existing conditions, and not by blind obedience to hard and fast rules. +It was this habit of mind and readiness for all contingencies which won +for him his titles of Duke of Auerstaedt and Prince of Eckmuehl, and made +him the right-hand man of the great Emperor, who confessed that, "If I +am always prepared, it is because before entering on an undertaking, I +have meditated for long and foreseen what may occur. It is not genius +which reveals to me suddenly and secretly what I should do in +circumstances unforeseen by others: it is thought and meditation." + + + + +IX + +JACQUES ETIENNE JOSEPH ALEXANDRE MACDONALD, MARSHAL, DUKE OF TARENTUM + + +Jacques Etienne Joseph Alexandre Macdonald, Duke of Tarentum, was the +son of a Uist crofter, Macachaim. The Macachaims of Uist were a far-off +sept of the Macdonalds of Clanranald. The future Marshal's father was +educated at the Scots College in Paris, and was for some time a tutor in +Clanranald's household. Owing to his knowledge of French he was +entrusted with the duty of helping Flora Macdonald to arrange the escape +of Prince Charles. He accompanied the Prince to France, and obtained a +commission in Ogilvie's regiment of foot. In 1768 Vall Macachaim, or +Neil Macdonald, as he was called in France, retired on a pension of +thirty pounds a year. On this pittance he brought up his family at +Sancerre. The future Marshal was born at Sedan on November 17, 1765. He +was educated for the army at a military academy in Paris, kept by a +Scotchman, Paulet, but, owing to bad mathematics, he was unable to enter +the Artillery and Engineering School. This failure came as a bitter blow +to the keen young soldier, who, after reading Homer, already imagined +himself an Achilles. But in 1784 his chance came; the Dutch, threatened +by the Emperor Joseph II., had to improvise an army, and Macdonald +accepted a pair of colours in a regiment raised by a Frenchman, the +Count de Maillebois. A few months later the regiment was disbanded, as +the Dutch bought the peace they could not gain by arms. The young +officer, thus thrown on his own resources, was glad to accept a +cadetship in Dillon's Irish regiment in the French King's service, and +at the moment the Revolution broke out he was a sub-lieutenant in that +corps. Owing to emigration and the fortune of war, promotion came +quickly. Macdonald also was lucky in having a friend in General +Beurnonville, on whose staff he served till he was transferred to that +of Dumouriez, the commander-in-chief. As a reward for his services at +Jemmappes and elsewhere he was made lieutenant-colonel, and early in +1793 his friend Beurnonville, who had become War Minister, gave him his +colonelcy and the command of the Picardy regiment, one of the four +senior corps of the old French infantry. The young colonel of +twenty-eight could not expect to be always so favoured by fortune. +Dumouriez's failure at Neerwinden and subsequent desertion to the Allies +cast a cloud of suspicion on his protege at a moment when to be +suspected was to be condemned. Luckily, some of the Commissioners from +the Convention could recognise merit, but Macdonald spent many anxious +months amid denunciations and accusations from those who grudged him his +colonelcy. To his intense surprise he was at last summoned before the +dread Commissioners and told that, for his zeal, he was to be promoted +general of brigade. Overcome by this unexpected turn of fortune, he +wished to refuse the honour, and pleaded his youth and inexperience, and +was promptly given the choice of accepting or becoming a "suspect" and +being arrested. Safe for the moment, Macdonald threw himself heart and +soul into his new duties, but still denunciations and accusations were +hurled against him. Fresh Commissioners came from the Assembly, and it +was only their fortunate recall to Paris that saved the general from +arrest. Then came the decree banishing all "ci-devant" nobles. +Macdonald, fearing after this order that if he met with the slightest +check he would be greeted with cries of treachery, demanded written +orders from the new Commissioners confirming him in his employment. +These were refused, as also his resignation, with the curt reply, "If +you leave the army we will have you arrested and brought to trial." In +this dilemma he found a friend in the representative Isore, who, struck +by his ability and industry, took up his cause, and from that moment +Macdonald had nothing to fear from the revolutionary tribunal. + +[Illustration: JACQUES ETIENNE MACDONALD, DUKE OF TARENTUM +FROM A LITHOGRAPH BY DELPECH] + +In November, 1794, he was quite unexpectedly gazetted general of +division in the army of Pichegru, and took part in the winter campaign +against Holland, where he proved his capacity by seizing the occasion of +a hard frost to cross the Vaal on the ice and surprise the +Anglo-Hanoverian force at Nimeguen. A few days later, during the general +advance, he captured Naarden, the masterpiece of the great engineer +Cohorn. Proud of his success, he hastened to inform the +commander-in-chief, Pichegru, and was greeted by a laugh, and, "Bah! I +pay no attention now to anything less than the surrender of provinces." +The blase commander-in-chief a week or two later himself performed the +exploit of capturing the ice-bound Dutch fleet with a cavalry brigade +and a battery of horse artillery. + +After serving on the Rhine in 1796 Macdonald was transferred in 1798 to +the Army of Italy, and sent to Rome to relieve Gouvion St. Cyr. When war +broke out between France and Naples, the troops in Southern Italy were +formed into the Army of Naples under Championnet. The commander-in-chief +overrated the fighting qualities of the Neapolitan troops and thought it +prudent to evacuate Rome. Macdonald was entrusted with this duty, and +was further required to cover the concentration of Championnet's army. +The hard-headed Scotchman had, however, gauged to a nicety the morale of +the Neapolitan army, and, although he had but five thousand troops +against forty thousand Neapolitans, under the celebrated Austrian +general Mack, he engaged the enemy at Civita Castellana, defeated them, +followed them up, drove them out of Rome and over the frontier, and +practically annihilated the whole force. Unfortunately he wrote a +comical account of the operations to his chief, who, having no sense of +humour, felt that his evacuation of Rome had, to say the least of it, +been hurried and undignified. Championnet therefore greeted his +victorious lieutenant with the words, "You want to make me pass for a +damned fool," and no explanations could appease his rage. So bitter +became the quarrel that Macdonald had to resign his command. + +By February, 1799, Championnet had fallen into disgrace with the +Directory, and Macdonald was gazetted in his place commander-in-chief. +When he arrived in Naples and took up his command the situation seemed +quiet. But the far-seeing soldier read the signs of the times. The elite +of the French army was locked up in Egypt. Austria and Russia were bent +on extinguishing France and her revolutionary ideas. Accordingly the +general at once set about quietly concentrating his troops to meet an +invasion of Northern Italy by the Allies. With his keen military insight +he desired to evacuate all Southern Italy, retaining only such +fortresses as could be well supplied. But the principle of keeping +everything gained the day. Still, on the news of Scherer's defeat at +Magnano by the impetuous Suvaroff, the Army of Naples was ready at once +to start for the north, and set off to try and pick up communication +with General Moreau, who was re-forming the Army of Italy at Genoa. The +idea was that a concentrated movement should be made against the Allies +through the Apennines. Unfortunately there existed a bitter rivalry +between the Army of Italy and the Army of Naples. Consequently on June +17th Macdonald found himself with twenty-five thousand men near +Piacenza, in the presence of the enemy, with no support save two +divisions of the Army of Italy, which had come in from Bologna, and +whose commanders were jealous of his orders. Still there was always the +hope that Moreau might after all be coming to his assistance, and +accordingly he determined to stand and fight. In the action of June +17th, owing to the lack of co-operation from one of the attached +divisions, the general was ridden over by a division of the enemy's +cavalry. Carried about in a litter, he directed all movements during the +18th, and held the enemy at bay along the mountain torrent of the +Trebbia. On the 19th he determined to take the initiative, but, owing to +the collapse of the attached division which formed his centre, he had to +fall back on his old position, which he held throughout the whole day. +During the three days' fighting on the Trebbia the French had lost a +third of their men and nearly all their officers. Still, early on the +morning of the 20th the retreat was effected in good order, save that +one of the attached divisions under Victor started so late that it was +overtaken by the enemy and abandoned all its guns. But Macdonald at once +returned to its aid and saved the artillery, for, as he sarcastically +wrote to Victor, "he found neither friends nor foes." Both sides had run +away. + +The battle of the Trebbia brought into notice the sterling qualities of +the French commander, and when he was recalled to Paris he found that +military opinion was on his side and that Bonaparte himself highly +approved of his conduct. "Thenceforward the opinion of my amphitryon was +settled in my favour!" Macdonald's next employment was in command of the +Army of the Grisons, whose duty was to cover Moreau's right rear in his +advance down the Danube, and to keep up communication with the Army of +Italy in the valley of the Po. It was in the performance of this duty +that the Army of the Grisons crossed the Spluegen Pass in winter in spite +of glaciers and avalanches, a feat immeasurably superior to Bonaparte's +task in crossing the much easier Great St. Bernard Pass, after the +snows had melted. Unfortunately for Macdonald, Bonaparte believed him to +belong to Moreau's faction. After Hohenlinden the future Emperor, who +was afraid that Moreau's glory would outshine his own, placed all that +general's friends on the black book. Further, owing to his +outspokenness, Talleyrand had conceived a hatred of the hero of the +Spluegen. Accordingly, he found himself in deep disgrace. First he was +exiled as ambassador at Copenhagen, then his enemies tried to get him +sent to Russia in the same capacity, but he refused to go, and for the +next few years lived the life of a quiet country gentleman on his estate +of Courcelles le Roi. Like most of the generals, Macdonald was by now +comparatively well off, for the French Government, on the conquest of a +country, had allowed its generals to take what works of art they chose, +after the Commissioners had selected the best for the national +collection at the Louvre. The general's share as commander-in-chief at +Naples had been valued by experts at thirty-four thousand pounds. +Unfortunately, however, this booty and many masterpieces which he had +bought himself were all lost in the hurried march north that ended in +the battle of the Trebbia. + +It was not till 1809 that Macdonald was summoned from his retreat. In +that year the Emperor needed every soldier of ability, with the Spanish +ulcer eating at his vitals and the war with Austria on his hands. +Accordingly, at a day's notice, he was ordered to hurry off to Italy to +help Napoleon's stepson, Prince Eugene, who was opposed by an Austrian +army under the Archduke John. + +On arriving in Italy the old soldier found that Prince Eugene, +unaccustomed to an independent command, had opened the gate of Italy to +the Austrians by his impetuous action at Sacile. The French troops were +in complete disorganisation, and the slightest activity on the part of +the Austrians would have turned the retreat into a rout. Prince Eugene, +who was without a spark of jealousy, and in reality a man of +considerable character, greeted his mentor with delight. Macdonald at +once pointed out that it was unnecessary to retire as far as Mantua, +because the Archduke would not venture to penetrate far into Italy until +a decision had been arrived at between the main armies on the Danube. +Under his careful supervision, order and discipline were restored among +the French troops on the line of the Adige. The news of the French +success at Eckmuehl and Ratisbon automatically cleared the Austrians out +of Northern Italy. During the pursuit the general had to impose on +himself the severest self-control, because, though Prince Eugene +invariably accepted his advice, the disaster at Sacile had for the time +broken his nerve, and, again and again, he spoiled his mentor's best +combinations by ordering a halt whenever the enemy appeared to be going +to offer any resistance. It was hard indeed to accept subsequent +apologies with a courteous smile, when it was success alone that would +win back the Emperor's favour. But at last patience had its reward: +while the viceroy himself pursued the main force of the enemy, he +detached his lieutenant with a strong corps to take Trieste and to pick +up communication with Marmont, who was bringing up the army of Dalmatia. +Macdonald was given carte blanche. Trieste and Goerz were taken; the +junction with Marmont was speedily effected, and the combined forces +hurried on towards Vienna. The great entrenched camp at Laybach blocked +the way. Macdonald had not the necessary heavy artillery with which to +capture it. He determined therefore to make a threatening demonstration +by day and slip past it by night. But at ten o'clock in the evening a +flag of truce arrived offering a capitulation. "You are doing wisely," +said the imperturbable Scotchman; "I was just going to sound the +attack." + +At Gratz he overtook Prince Eugene's army at the moment that the ill +news of the battle of Aspern-Essling arrived. Then came the summons to +hurry to the assistance of the Emperor. After marching sixty leagues in +three days the Army of Italy arrived at nine o'clock at night on July +4th at the imperial headquarters at Ebersdorf. During that night it +crossed the Danube, under cover of the terrific thunderstorm which hid +the French advance from the Austrians. On the afternoon of July 5th it +fell to the lot of Macdonald to attempt to seize the plateau which +formed the Austrian centre. As the general well knew, the Emperor had +been mistaken in thinking that the enemy were evacuating their position; +still, he had to obey orders, and night alone saved his cruelly shaken +battalions. Next day was fought the terrible battle of Wagram. At the +critical moment of the fight, when the Emperor heard that Massena, on +his left wing, was being driven in on the bridge-head, amid the +confusion and rout he ordered Macdonald to attempt by a bold +counter-stroke to break the enemy's centre. The Austrians were advancing +in masses, with nothing in front of them, and the bridge, the only line +of retreat, was threatened. To meet this situation Macdonald deployed +four battalions in line, at the double; behind them he formed up the +rest of his corps in two solid columns, and closed the rear of this +immense rectangle of troops by Nansouty's cavalry. Covered by the fire +of a massed battery of a hundred guns, he discharged this huge body of +thirty thousand troops against the Austrians, and in spite of vast +losses from the enemy's artillery, by sheer weight of human beings he +completely checked the Austrian advance and broke their centre. If the +cavalry of the Guard had only charged home the enemy would have been +driven off the field in complete rout. Still unsupported, the column +continued its victorious career, taking six thousand prisoners and ten +guns, the only trophies of the day. Next morning the hero of Wagram, +lame from the effect of a kick from his horse, was summoned before the +Emperor. + +Napoleon embraced him with the words, "Let us be friends." "Till death," +replied his staunch lieutenant. Then came his reward. "You have behaved +valiantly," continued the Emperor, "and have rendered me the greatest +services, as, indeed, throughout the entire campaign. On the battlefield +of your glory, where I owe you so large a share of yesterday's success, +I make you a Marshal of France. You have long deserved it." + +After the ratification of peace, the Emperor created his new Marshal +Duke of Tarentum, granted him a present of sixty thousand francs, and +presented him with the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour. Having at +last regained the Emperor's favour, the Marshal had never again to +complain of lack of employment. From Wagram he was sent to watch the +army of the Archduke John; thereafter he was appointed +commander-in-chief of the Army of Italy. In 1810 he was despatched to +Spain to take command in Catalonia. Like his fellow Marshals, Macdonald +hated the Spanish war, which was a war of posts, and devoid of glory. +But he showed his versatility by capturing, without artillery, the +stronghold of Figueras. + +It was while suffering from a bad attack of gout after this success that +he was summoned from Spain to Tilsit, to command the corps comprised of +Prussian troops which was to join the Grand Army in its advance into +Russia. As he graphically put it, "I had left my armchair in the +fortress of Figueras, I left one crutch in Paris and the other in +Berlin." The Duke of Tarentum's duty was to guard the tete-du-pont at +Dunaberg, near the mouth of the Dwina; consequently he was spared a +great many of the horrors of the terrible retreat. Still, he had his +full share of troubles, for the Prussians deserted him and went over to +the enemy. So confident was he of the loyalty of his subordinates that +this desertion took him quite unawares, and, in spite of warnings, he +waited for the divisions to rejoin him, declaring that, "My life, my +career, shall never be stained with the reproach that I have committed +the cowardly action of deserting troops committed to my care." +Fortunately his eyes were opened by letters which he intercepted. With a +handful of troops he escaped to Dantzig. On returning to Paris Macdonald +was greeted with a cold reception by the Emperor, who thought that the +desertion of the Prussians was due to his negligence. But the Marshal's +character was soon cleared and a reconciliation followed. In the +campaign of 1813 it fell to the lot of the Duke of Tarentum to watch the +Prussian army under Bluecher in Silesia while the Emperor operated +against the Austrians round Dresden. Whilst thus employed he was +defeated on August 26th at the Katzbach. The Prussians had established +themselves on the heights at Jauer. Macdonald attempted, by a combined +frontal attack and a turning movement, to dislodge them. Unfortunately +the rain came down in torrents, the French artillery became embedded in +the mud, the infantry could not fire, the cavalry could not charge, and +a hurried retreat alone saved the Army from absolute annihilation, for, +as Macdonald wrote in his despatch, "The generals cannot prevent the men +from seeking shelter, as their muskets are useless to them." + +The repulse at the Katzbach did not weaken the Emperor's esteem for the +Marshal, and a few days later he sent to inquire his views of the +general situation. With absolute courage he told the truth. The +situation was hopeless; the only wise course was to evacuate all +garrisons in Germany and retire on the Saale. Unfortunately, such a +retirement would have meant the loss of Napoleon's throne. + +On the third day of the battle of Leipzig, in the midst of the action, +Macdonald was deserted by all the Hessian troops under his command, and, +at the same time, Marshal Augereau, who was supposed to cover his right, +withdrew from the combat. Accordingly, the Marshal retired with the +remnants of his corps to the Elster, only to find the bridge blown up. +Dragged along by the crowd of fugitives, he determined not to fall alive +into the hands of the enemy, but either to drown or shoot himself. More +fortunate, however, than Prince Poniatowski, he managed to cross the +river on his horse. Once safely across, he was greeted by cries from the +other bank, "Monsieur le Marechal, save your soldiers, save your +children!" But there was nothing to be done; no advice could he give +them save to surrender. + +The Duke of Tarentum was mainly instrumental in saving the remnants of +the army which had managed to cross the Elster. Going straight to the +Emperor, he laid the situation before him, ruthlessly tore aside the +tissue of lies with which the staff were trying to cajole him, and, by +his force of will, compelled Napoleon, who for the time was quite +unnerved and mazed, to hurry on the retreat to the Rhine. It was +entirely owing to the Marshal that the Bavarians were brushed aside at +Hanau, and that some few remnants of the great army regained France. + +In the famous campaign of 1814 Macdonald fought fiercely to drive the +enemy out of France. His corps was one of those which the Emperor +summoned to Arcis sur Aube. There again he had to tell Napoleon the +truth and convince him that the enemy were not retreating, but were in +full advance on Paris. When the Emperor tried to retrieve his mistake by +following in the rear, the Marshal was in favour of the bolder course of +advancing into Alsace and Lorraine, and of raising the nation in arms, +and thus starving out the Allies by cutting off their supplies and +reinforcements; and no doubt he was right, for the Czar himself said +that the Allies lost more than three thousand troops in the Vosges +without seeing a single French soldier. + +When Napoleon reached Fontainebleau he found that he had shot his bolt. +So tired were his officers and men of continual fighting that, when +ordered to charge, a general officer in front of his men had called out, +"Damn it, let us have peace!" Consequently when Macdonald and the other +Marshals and generals were informed that the Allies would no longer +treat with Napoleon, they determined to make him abdicate. The Emperor, +on summoning his council, found that they no longer feared him, and +refused to listen to his arguments. Hoping to save the throne for his +son, he despatched Caulaincourt, Ney, Marmont, and Macdonald to the +Czar, offering to abdicate. The best terms the Commissioners could get +from the Czar were that Napoleon must give up all hope of seeing his son +succeed him, but that he should retain his imperial title and should be +allowed to rule the island of Elba. The Czar magnanimously added, "If he +will not accept this sovereignty, and if he can find no shelter +elsewhere, tell him, I say, to come to my dominions. There he shall be +received as a sovereign: he can trust the word of Alexander." + +Ney and Marmont did not accompany the other Commissioners with their +sorrowful terms; like rats they left the sinking ship. But Macdonald was +of a strain which had stood the test of the '45, and his proud Scotch +blood boiled up when the insidious Talleyrand suggested that he should +desert his master, telling him that he had now fulfilled all his +engagements and was free. "No, I am not," was the stern reply, "and +nobody knows better than you that, as long as a treaty has not been +ratified, it may be annulled. After that formality is ended, I shall +know what to do." The stricken Emperor met his two faithful +Commissioners, his face haggard, his complexion yellow and sickly, but +for once at least he felt gratitude. "I have loaded with favours," he +said, "many others who have now deserted and abandoned me. You, who owe +me nothing, have remained faithful. I appreciate your loyalty too late, +and I sincerely regret that I am now in a position in which I can only +prove my gratitude by words." + +After Napoleon started for Elba, Macdonald never saw him again. Like all +his fellow Marshals, except Davout, he swore allegiance to Louis XVIII., +looking on him as the only hope of France, but, unlike the most of them, +he served him loyally, though, as he truly said, "The Government behaved +like a sick man who is utterly indifferent to all around him." As a +soldier and a liberal he could not disguise his repugnance for many of +its measures. As secretary to the Chamber of Peers, he fought tooth and +nail against the Government's first measure, a Bill attempting to +restrict the liberties of the peers. The King summoned the Marshal and +rebuked him for both speaking and voting against the Government, adding, +"When I take the trouble to draw up a Bill, I have good reasons for +wishing it to pass." But the old soldier, who had never feared to speak +the truth to Napoleon himself, was not to be overawed by the attempted +sternness of the feeble Bourbon. He pointed out that if all Bills +presented by the King were bound to pass, "registration would serve +equally well, since to you belongs the initiative," adding with quiet +sarcasm, "and we must remain as mute as the late Corps Legislatif." The +Chancellor stopped him as he left the King's presence, telling him he +should show more reserve and pick his words. "Sir Chancellor," said the +Marshal, "I have never learned to twist myself, and I pity the King if +what he ought to know is concealed from him. For my part, I shall always +speak to him honestly and serve him in the same manner." + +When neglect of the army, the partiality shown to favourites, and the +general spirit of discontent throughout France tempted Napoleon once +again to seize the reins of government, Macdonald was commanding the +twenty-first military division at Bourges. As he says, "The news of the +Emperor's return took away my breath, and I at once foresaw the +misfortunes that have since settled upon France." Placing his duty to +his country and his plighted faith before the longings of his heart, he +remained faithful to the Bourbons. It was the Marshal who at Lyons +vainly endeavoured to aid the Count of Artois to organise resistance to +Napoleon's advance. It was he who showed the King the vanity of Ney's +boast that he would bring back the Emperor in an iron cage, who +impressed on him Napoleon's activity, and who persuaded him to retire +northwards to Lille and there attempt to rally his friends to his aid. +Ministers and King were only too thankful to leave all arrangements to +this cautious, indefatigable soldier, who supervised everything. Through +every town the monarch passed he found the same feeling of apathy, the +same tendency among the troops to cry "Vive l'Empereur," the same lack +of enterprise among the officials. Typical of the situation was the +sub-prefect of Bethune, who stood at the door of the royal carriage, one +leg half-naked, his feet in slippers, his coat under his arm, his +waistcoat unbuttoned, his hat on his head, one hand struggling with his +sword, the other trying to fasten his necktie. The Marshal, ever mindful +of Napoleon's activity, had to hurry the poor King, and Louis' +portmanteau, with his six clean shirts and his old pair of slippers, got +lost on the road. This loss, more than anything else, brought home to +the monarch his pitiable condition. "They have taken my shirts," said he +to Macdonald. "I had not too many in the first place; but what I regret +still more is the loss of my slippers. Some day, my dear Marshal, you +will appreciate the value of slippers that have taken the shape of your +feet." With Napoleon at Paris, Lille seemed to offer but little +security, and accordingly the King determined to seek safety in Belgium. +The Marshal escorted him to the frontier and saw him put in charge of +the Belgian troops. Then, promising to be faithful to his oath, he took +an affectionate farewell of the old monarch with the words, "Farewell, +sir; au revoir, in three months!" + +Macdonald returned to Paris and lived quietly in his own house, +refusing to have any intercourse with Napoleon or his ministers. Within +three months came the news of Waterloo. Thereafter, against his will, +but in accordance with orders, he joined Fouche, who had established a +provisional government. Fouche, who knew the importance of outward +signs, sent him off to try and persuade the returning monarch to win +over the army by mounting the tricolour instead of the white cockade. +But the King was obstinate; the Marshal quoted Henry IV.'s famous +saying, "Paris is worth a mass." The King countered with, "Yes; but it +was not a very Catholic one." But though the King would not listen to +his advice he called on him to show his devotion. The imperial army had +to be disbanded--a most unpopular and thankless task, requiring both +tact and firmness. At his sovereign's earnest request, Macdonald +undertook the duty, but with two stipulations: first, that he should +have complete freedom of action; secondly, that he should be in no way +an instrument for inflicting punishment on individuals. Immediately on +taking up his appointment at Bourges, the Marshal summoned all the +generals and officers to his presence, and informed them that, under +Fouche's supervision, a list of proscribed had been drawn up. His advice +was that all on this list should fly at once. That same evening police +officials arrived in the camp to arrest the proscribed; playing on the +fears of the mouchards, he locked them up all night, alleging that it +was to save them from the infuriated soldiery. Thus all the proscribed +escaped; but neither Fouche nor the Duc de Berri cared to bring the old +soldier to task for this action. So the Marshal was left to work in his +own way, and by October 21, 1815, thanks to his firmness and tact, "the +bold and unhappy army, which had for so long been triumphant," was +quietly dissolved without the slightest attempt at challenging the royal +decision. + +The Marshal did not mix much in politics. The King, at the second +Restoration, created him arch-chancellor of the Legion of Honour. This +post gave him considerable occupation, as it entailed the supervision of +the schools for the children of those who had received the Cross, and he +was for long happily employed in looking after the welfare of the +descendants of his late comrades-in-arms. In November, 1830, the plea of +the gout came opportunely at the moment of the commencement of the July +monarchy, and the Marshal resigned the arch-chancellorship and returned +to his estate of Courcelles, where he lived in retirement till his +death, on September 25, 1840, at the age of seventy-five. + +It was a maxim of Napoleon that success covers everything, that it is +only failure which cannot be forgiven. Against the Duke of Tarentum's +name stood the defeats of Trebbia and the Katzbach. But in spite of +this, Napoleon never treated him as he treated Dupont and the other +unfortunate generals. For Macdonald possessed qualities which were too +important to be overlooked. With all the fiery enthusiasm of the Gael, +he possessed to an unusual degree the caution of the Lowland Scot. +Possessed of great reasoning powers and of the gift of seeing clearly +both sides of a question, he had the necessary force of character to +make up his mind which course to pursue, and to persevere in it to the +logical issue. In the crossing of the Vaal, in the fighting round Rome, +in the campaign with Prince Eugene in Italy, before and after Leipzig, +and in his final campaign in France, he proved the correctness of his +judgment and his capacity to work out his carefully prepared +combinations. His defeat at the Trebbia was due to the treachery of the +general commanding one of the attached divisions; the rout at the +Katzbach was primarily due to climatic conditions and to the want of +cohesion among the recently drafted recruits which formed the bulk of +his army. On the stricken field of Wagram, and in the running fight at +Hanau, his inflexible will and the quickness with which he grasped the +vital points of the problem saved the Emperor and his army. + +The only black spot in his otherwise glorious career is the battle of +Leipzig. Long must the cry of "Monsieur le Marechal, save your soldiers, +save your children!" have rung in his ear. For once he had forgotten his +proud boast that he never deserted troops entrusted to his command. Like +the Emperor and his fellow Marshals and most of the generals, for the +moment he lost his nerve; but he could still, though humbly, boast that +he was the first to remember his duties and to try and save the remnant +of the troops who had crossed the Elster. + +Duty and truth were his watchwords. Once only he failed in his duty; +never did he shirk telling the truth. It was this fearless utterance of +the truth more than any connection with Moreau which was the cause of +his long years of disgrace; it was this fearlessness, strange to say, +which, in the end, conquered the Emperor, and which so charmed King +Louis that he nicknamed him "His Outspokenness." + + + + +X + +AUGUSTE FREDERIC LOUIS VIESSE DE MARMONT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF RAGUSA + + +Auguste Frederic Louis Viesse De Marmont, the youngest of Napoleon's +Marshals, was born at Chatillon-sur-Seine on July 25, 1774. The family +of Viesse belonged to the smaller nobility, who from the days of +Richelieu had supplied the officers of the line for the old royal army. +Marmont's father had destined him from the cradle for the military +career, and had devoted his life to training him, both in body and mind, +for the profession of arms. His hours of patience and self-denial were +not thrown away, for, thanks to his early Spartan training, the Duke of +Ragusa seldom knew fatigue or sickness, and owing to this physical +strength was able, without neglecting his professional duties, to spend +hours on scientific and literary work. In 1792 young Marmont, at the age +of eighteen, passed the entrance examination for the Artillery School at +Chalons, and started his military career with his father's oft-repeated +words ringing in his ears, "Merit without success is infinitely better +than success without merit, but determination and merit always command +success." The young artillery cadet had both determination and capacity +and his early career foreshadowed his future success. Aristocratic to +the bone, Marmont detested the excesses of the Revolution; but politics, +during his early years, had little effect on his thoughts, which were +solely fixed on military glory. The exigencies of the revolutionary wars +cut short his student days at Chalons, and before the end of 1792 he was +gazetted to the first artillery regiment. In February, 1793, he saw his +first active service with the Army of the Alps, under General +Kellermann. Owing to the dearth of trained officers, though only newly +gazetted, he performed all the duties of a senior colonel, laying out +entrenched camps and commanding the artillery of the division to which +he was attached. It was with this promising record already behind him +that he attracted Bonaparte's attention at the siege of Toulon by his +admirable handling of the guns under his command, and by his inventive +powers, which overcame all obstacles. From that day the Corsican +destined him for his service, and during the campaign in the Maritime +Alps used him as an unofficial aide-de-camp. So devoted did Marmont +become to the future Emperor, that when Bonaparte was arrested at the +time of Robespierre's fall, he and Junot formed a plan of rescuing their +idol by killing the sentries and carrying him off by sea. + +When Bonaparte returned to Paris Marmont accompanied him, and was +offered the post of superintendent of the gun factory at Moulins. He +contemptuously refused this position, telling the inspector of ordnance +that he would not mind such a post in peace time, but that he was going +to see as much active service as he could while the war lasted, so at +his own request he was posted to the army of Pichegru, which was +besieging Maintz. + +A temporary suspension of hostilities on the Rhine gave him the +opportunity of once again joining his chosen leader, and early in 1796 +he started for Italy on Bonaparte's staff. Lodi was one of the great +days of his life. Early in the action he captured one of the enemy's +batteries, but a moment later he was thrown from his horse and ridden +over by the whole of the cavalry, without, however, receiving a single +scratch. Scarcely had he mounted when he was despatched along the river, +under fire of the whole Austrian force on the other bank, to carry +orders to the commander of the cavalry, who was engaged in fording the +river higher up. Of his escort of five, two were killed, while his horse +was severely wounded, yet he managed to return in time to take his place +among the band of heroes who forced the long bridge in the face of a +storm of bullets and grape. Castiglione added to his laurels, for it was +his handling of the artillery that enabled Augereau to win his great +victory. The Marshal, in his Memoirs, asserts that this short campaign +was the severest strain he ever underwent. "I never at any other time +endured such fatigue as during the eight days of that campaign. Always +on horseback, on reconnaissance, or fighting, I was, I believe, five +days without sleep, save for a few stolen minutes. After the final +battle the general-in-chief gave me leave to rest and I took full +advantage of it. I ate, I lay down, and I slept twenty-four hours at a +stretch, and, thanks to youth, hardiness, a good constitution, and the +restorative powers of sleep, I was as fresh again as at the beginning of +the campaign." + +Though Castiglione thus brought him fresh honours, it nearly caused an +estrangement between him and his chief. For Bonaparte, ever with an eye +to the future, desiring to gain as many friends as possible, chose one +of Berthier's staff officers to take the news of the victory to Paris. +This was a bitter blow to his ambitious aide-de-camp, whose pride was +further piqued because his hero, forgetting that he had not to deal with +one of the ordinary adventurers who formed so large a number of the +officers of the Army of Italy, with great want of tact, had offered him +opportunities of adding to his wealth by perquisites and commissions +abhorrent to the eyes of a descendant of an honourable family. But the +exigencies of war and the thirst for glory left little time for +brooding, and Bonaparte, recognising with whom he had to deal, took the +opportunity of the successful fighting which penned Wuermser into Mantua +to send Marmont with despatches to Paris. As his reward the Minister of +War promoted him colonel and commandant of the second regiment of horse +artillery. A curious state of affairs arose from this appointment, for +promotion in the artillery ran quite independent of ordinary army rank. +Accordingly, the army list ran as follows: Bonaparte, lieutenant-colonel +of a battalion of artillery, seconded as general-in-chief of the Army of +Italy. Marmont, colonel of the second regiment horse artillery, seconded +as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-Colonel Bonaparte, the commander-in-chief +of the Army of Italy. + +[Illustration: AUGUSTE DE MARMONT, DUKE OF RAGUSA +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY MUNERET] + +Marmont hurried back to Italy in time to join Bonaparte's staff an hour +before the battle of Arcola. The Austrians were making their last effort +to relieve the fortress of Mantua, and it seemed as if they would be +successful, as Alvinzi had concentrated forty thousand troops against +twenty-six thousand. The French attempted a surprise, but were +discovered, and for three days the fate of the campaign hung on the +stubborn fight in the marshes of Arcola. It was Marmont who helped to +extricate Bonaparte when he was flung off the embankment into the ditch, +a service which Bonaparte never forgot. Diplomatic missions to Venice +and the Vatican slightly turned the young soldier's head, and his chief +had soon to give him a severe reprimand for loitering among Josephine's +beauties at Milan instead of hastening back to headquarters. But to a +man of Marmont's character one word of warning was enough; his head +governed his heart; glory was his loadstar. Ambitious though he was, he +was essentially a man of honour and fine feelings, and refused the hand +of Pauline Bonaparte for the simple reason that he did not truly love +her. + +A year later he made a love match with Mademoiselle Perregaux, but +differences of temperament and the long separation which his military +career imposed caused the marriage to turn out unhappily, and this lack +of domestic felicity spoiled the Marshal's life and nearly embittered +his whole character, turning him for the time into a self-centred man +with an eye solely to his own glory and a sharp tongue which did not +spare even his own friends. Yet in his early days Marmont was a bright +and cheerful companion and no one enjoyed more a practical joke, getting +up sham duels between cowards or sending bogus instructions to officious +commanders. But fond as he was of amusement, even during his early +career he could find delight in the society of men of science and +learning like Monge and Berthollet. + +After the peace of Campo Formio he accompanied his chief to Paris, where +an incident occurred which illustrates well the character of the two +men. The Minister of War wanted detailed information regarding the +English preparations against invasion, and Bonaparte offered to send his +aide-de-camp as a spy. Marmont indignantly refused to go in such a +capacity, and a permanent estrangement nearly took place. Their +standards had nothing in common; in the one honour could conquer +ambition, in the other ambition knew no rules of honour. + +However, their lust for glory brought them together again, and Marmont +sailed with the Egyptian expedition. He was despatched north to command +Alexandria after the battle of the Pyramids, where his guns had played +so important a part in shattering the Mamelukes. Later he was entrusted +with the control of the whole of the Mediterranean littoral. His task +was a difficult one, but a most useful training for a young commander. +With a tiny garrison he had to hold the important town of Alexandria and +to keep in order a large province; to organise small columns to repress +local risings; to make his own arrangements for raising money to pay his +troops, and consequently to reorganise the fiscal system of the +country; to reconstruct canals and to improvise flotillas of barges to +supply Alexandria with provisions; to keep in touch with the remnant of +the French fleet and thus to try to establish communications with +Europe. He was responsible for resisting any attempt at invasion by the +Turks or the English, and it was mainly owing to his measures that when +the former landed at Aboukir they were destroyed before they could march +inland. While his comrades were gaining military glory in Syria, he was +fighting the plague at Alexandria, learning that patient attention to +detail and careful supervision of the health of his troops were as +important attributes of a commander as dash and courage in the field. + +Marmont quitted Egypt with joy; he had learned many useful lessons, but, +like the rest of the army, he hated the country and the half Oriental +life, and above all, as he said, "seeing a campaign and not taking part +in it was a horrible punishment." On returning to Paris his time was +fully occupied in winning over the artillery to Bonaparte. He had no +false ideas on the subject, for, as he said to Junot before the Egyptian +expedition, "You will see, my friend, that on his return Bonaparte will +seize the crown." As his reward the First Consul gave him the choice of +the command of the artillery of the Guard or a seat as Councillor of +State. Jealous of Lannes, and flattered by the title, he chose the +councillorship, in which capacity he was employed on the War Committee +and entrusted with the reorganisation of the artillery. His first +business was to provide a proper train to ensure the quick and easy +mobilisation of the artillery. After the Marengo campaign he took in +hand the reform of the materiel. Too many different types of guns +existed. Marmont reorganised both the field and the fortress artillery, +replacing the seven old types of guns by three--namely, six-pounders, +twelve-pounders and twenty-four pounders; he also reduced the different +types of wheels for gun carriages, limbers and wagons from twenty-four +to eight, thus greatly simplifying the provision of ammunition and the +work of repair in the field. + +The Marengo campaign added to his prestige as an artillery officer. It +was owing to his ingenuity that the guns were unmounted and pulled by +hand in cradles up the steep side of the mountain and thus safely taken +over the St. Bernard Pass. It was his ingenious brain which suggested +the paving of the road with straw, whereby the much-needed artillery was +forwarded to Lannes by night, without any casualties, right under the +batteries of the fortress of Bard. It was owing to his foresight that +the reserve battery of guns, captured from the enemy, saved the day at +Marengo by containing the Austrians while Desaix's fresh troops were +being deployed, and it was the tremendous effect of his massed battery +which gave Kellermann the opportunity for his celebrated charge. The +First Consul marked his approval by promoting Marmont a general of +division, and thus at the age of twenty-six the young artillery officer +had nearly reached the head of his profession. After Marengo he +continued his work of reorganisation, but before the end of the year he +was once again in Italy, this time as a divisional commander under +Brune, who, being no great strategist, was glad to avail himself of the +brains of the First Consul's favourite: it was thanks to Marmont's plans +that the French army successfully crossed the Mincio in the face of the +enemy and, forced on him the armistice of Treviso. When Moreau's victory +of Hohenlinden induced Austria to make peace, the general was sent to +reorganise the Italian artillery on the same principles he had laid down +for the French. He established an immense foundry and arsenal at Pavia, +and the excellence of his plans was clearly proved in many a later +campaign. From Italy he was recalled to Paris in September, 1802, as +inspector-general of artillery. He threw himself heart and soul into his +new duties, but found time to increase his scientific knowledge and to +keep himself up to date with everything in the political and scientific +world. He keenly supported Fulton's invention of the steamboat, and +pressed it on the First Consul, and to the day of his death he was +convinced that, if the Emperor had adopted the invention, the invasion +of England would have been successful. + +The year 1804 brought him the delight of his first important command. In +February he was appointed chief of the corps of the Army of the Ocean +which was stationed in Holland. He entered on his task with his usual +fervour. His first step was to make friends with all the Dutch +officials, and thus to secure the smooth working of his commissariat and +supply departments; then he turned to the actual training of his troops. +For this purpose he obtained permission to hold a big camp of +instruction, where all the divisions of his corps were massed. So +successful was this experiment that it became an annual institution. But +amid all the pleasure of this congenial work came the bitter moment when +he found the name of so mediocre a soldier as Bessieres included in the +list of the new Marshals and his own omitted. It was a sore blow, and +his appointment as colonel-general of the horse chasseurs and Grand +Eagle of the Legion of Honour did little to mitigate it. The Emperor, +careful as ever to stimulate devotion, later explained to him that a +dashing officer like himself would have plenty of opportunities of +gaining distinction, while this was Bessieres's only chance. But in +spite of this the neglect rankled, and from that day he was no longer +the blindly devoted follower of Napoleon. + +On the outbreak of the Austrian War Marmont's corps became the second +corps of the Grand Army. In the operations ending in Ulm the second +corps formed part of the left wing. After the capitulation it was +detached to cover the French communications from an attack from the +direction of Styria. In the summer of the following year Marmont was +despatched as commander-in-chief to Dalmatia, where he spent the next +five years of his life. Dalmatia had been ceded to France by the treaty +of Pressburg. In Napoleon's eyes the importance of the province lay in +the harbour of Cattaro, which he regarded as an outlet to the Balkan +Peninsula. His intention was to get possession of Montenegro, to come to +an understanding with Ali Pacha of Janina and the Sultan, and oppose the +policy of Russia. But the Russians and Montenegrins had seized Cattaro, +and were threatening to besiege Ragusa. It was to meet this situation +that the Emperor in July, 1806, hastily sent his former favourite to +Dalmatia. The new commander-in-chief found himself, as in Egypt, faced +with the difficulty of supply. Half the army was in hospital from want +of proper nourishment and commonsense sanitation. Having, by his care of +his men, refilled his battalions, he advanced boldly on the enemy, and +drove them out of their positions. This punishment kept the Montenegrins +quiet for the future, and the Russians fell back on Cattaro. From there +he was unable to drive them owing to the guns of their fleet, and it was +not till the treaty of Tilsit that the French got possession of the +coveted port. The French commander's chief difficulty in administering +his province was that which is felt in all uncivilised countries, the +difficulty of holding down a hostile population where roads do not +exist. Otherwise his just but stern rule admirably suited the townsmen +of the little cities on the coast, while order was kept among the hill +tribes by making their headmen responsible for their behaviour, and by +aiding them in attacking the Turks, who had seized certain tracts of +territory and maltreated the inhabitants. But it was not gratitude which +kept the hill-men quiet, so much as the miles of new roads on which the +French commander employed his army when not engaged on expeditions +against restless marauders. During his years in the Dalmatian provinces +Marmont constructed more than two hundred miles of roads, with the +result that his small force was able with ease to hold down the long +narrow mountainous province by the speed with which he could mobilise +his punitive expeditions. Moreover, owing to the increased means of +traffic the peasants were able to find a market for their goods, and the +prosperity of the country increased beyond belief. With prosperity came +contentment: manufactures were established, and the mines and the other +natural resources of the country were exploited to advantage. As the +Emperor of Austria said to Metternich in 1817, when visiting the +province, "It is a great pity that Marshal Marmont was not two or three +years longer in Dalmatia." + +The years spent at Ragusa were probably the happiest of Marmont's life. +His successful work was recognised in 1808, when the Emperor created him +Duke of Ragusa. Each day was full of interest. He was head of the civil +administration and of the judicial and fiscal departments. As +commander-in-chief he was responsible for the health, welfare, and +discipline of the troops, and for the military works which were being +erected to protect the province from Austrian aggression. He had his +special hobby--the roads. Yet in spite of all this business he found +time to put himself in the hands of a tutor and to work ten hours a day +at history, chemistry, and anatomy. To aid him in his studies he +collected a travelling library of six hundred volumes which accompanied +him in all his later campaigns. + +The Austrian campaign of 1809 called him from these congenial labours to +the even more congenial operations of war. The duty of the Army of +Dalmatia was to attempt to cut off the Archduke John on his retirement +from Italy; but the Duke of Ragusa had not sufficient troops to carry +out this operation successfully, although he effected a junction with +the Army of Italy. After a succession of small engagements the united +armies found themselves on the Danube in time to take part in the battle +of Wagram. In reserve during the greater part of the battle, Marmont's +corps was entrusted with the pursuit of the enemy. Unfortunately, either +from lack of appreciation of the situation or from jealousy, their +commander refused to allow Davout to co-operate with him, and +consequently, although he overtook the Austrians, he was not strong +enough to hold them till other divisions of the army came up. However, +at the end of the operations Napoleon created him Marshal. But the Duke +of Ragusa's joy at receiving this gift was tempered by the way it was +given. For the Emperor, angry doubtless at the escape of the Austrians, +told him, "I have given you your nomination and I have great pleasure in +bestowing on you this proof of my affection, but I am afraid I have +incurred the reproach of listening rather to my affection than to your +right to this distinction. You have plenty of intelligence, but there +are needed for war qualities in which you are still lacking, and which +you must work to acquire. Between ourselves, you have not yet done +enough to justify entirely my choice. At the same time, I am confident +that I shall have reason to congratulate myself on having nominated you, +and that you will justify me in the eyes of the army." Unkind critics of +the three new Marshals created after Wagram said that Napoleon, having +lost Lannes, wanted to get the small change for him, but it is only fair +to remember that though Macdonald, Marmont, and Oudinot were all +inferior to Lannes, they were quite as good soldiers as some of the +original Marshals. + +After peace was declared the new Marshal returned to Dalmatia and took +up the threads of his old life. He had won the respect of the +inhabitants and the fear of their foes, the Turks, and save for an +occasional expedition against the brigands or friction with the fiscal +officials, his time passed peaceably and pleasantly. But in 1811 he was +recalled to Paris to receive orders before starting on a new sphere of +duty. Massena, "the spoiled child of victory," had met his match at +Torres Vedras, and Napoleon, blaming the man instead of the system, had +determined to try a fresh leader for the army opposing Sir Arthur +Wellesley. The Emperor did not hide from himself the fact that in +selecting Marmont he was making an experiment, for he told St. Cyr that +he had sent Marmont to Spain because he had plenty of talent, but that +he had not yet tested to the full his force of character, and he added, +"I shall soon be able to judge of that, for now he is left to his own +resources." The new commander of the Army of Portugal set out with the +full confidence that the task was not beyond his powers, and with the +promise of the viceroyalty of one of the five provinces into which Spain +was to be divided. He arrived at the front two days after the battle of +Fuentes d'Onoro, and found a very different state of affairs from what +he had expected. The country was a howling waste covered with fierce +guerillas. The French army, so long accustomed to success, was +absolutely demoralised by repeated disappointments and defeats. It was +necessary to take stringent measures to restore the morale of the troops +before he could call on them to face once more "the infantry whose fire +was the most murderous of all the armies of Europe." + +Accordingly he withdrew from the Portuguese frontier, put his army into +cantonments round Salamanca, and set to work on the difficult task of +collecting supplies from a country which was already swept bare. +Meanwhile he split up his army into six divisions, established direct +communications between himself and the divisional officers, and, to get +rid of the grumblers, gave leave to all officers, who so desired, to +return to France. At the same time he distributed his weak battalions +among the other corps so that each battalion had a complement of seven +hundred muskets. He also broke up the weak squadrons and batteries and +brought up the remainder to service strength. Scarcely was this +reorganisation completed when Soult, who had been defeated at Albuera, +called on Marmont to aid him in saving Badajoz. In spite of his personal +dislike for the Duke of Dalmatia, the Marshal hurried to his aid and for +the time the important fortress was saved. During the rest of the summer +the Army of Portugal lay in the valley of the Tagus, holding the bridge +of Almaraz, and thus ready at any moment to go to the relief of Badajoz +or Ciudad Rodrigo, the two keys of Portugal. When, in the autumn, +Wellington threatened Ciudad Rodrigo, the Marshal, calling to his aid +Dorsenne, who commanded in Northern Spain, at the successful engagement +of El Bodin drove back the advance guard of the Anglo-Portuguese and +threw a large quantity of provisions into the fortress. + +The year 1812 was a disastrous one for the French arms all over Europe. +The Emperor attempted to direct the Spanish War from Paris. In his +desire to secure all Southern Spain, he stripped Marmont's army to +reinforce Suchet in his conquest of Valencia. Accordingly in January the +Marshal was powerless to stop Wellington's dash at Ciudad Rodrigo, and +was unable later to make a sufficient demonstration in Portugal to +relieve the pressure on Badajoz; so both the fortresses fell, and the +Duke of Ragusa was blamed for the Emperor's mistake. He was thereafter +called upon to try to stem the victorious advance of the English into +Spain. Short of men, of horses, and of supplies, he did wonders. Thanks +to his strenuous efforts, supplies were massed at Salamanca, good food +and careful nursing emptied the hospitals and filled the ranks, and the +cavalry was supplied with remounts by dismounting the "field officers" +of the infantry. The month of July saw an interesting duel round +Salamanca between Marmont and Wellington. The two armies were very +nearly equal in numbers, the French having forty-seven thousand men and +the English forty-four thousand. The French had the advantage of a broad +base with lines of retreat either on Burgos or Madrid. The English had +to cover their single line of communication, which ran through Ciudad +Rodrigo. The French had the further advantage that their infantry +marched better than the English. Owing to these causes their commander +was so far able to outgeneral his adversary that by July 22nd he was +actually threatening the English line of retreat. But a tactical mistake +threw away all these strategic advantages. In his eagerness he allowed +his leading division to get too extended, forgetting that he was +performing the dangerous operation of a flank march. Wellington waited +till he saw his opportunity and then threw himself on the weak French +centre and cut the French army in half, thus proving his famous dictum +that the great general is not he who makes fewest mistakes, but he who +can best take advantage of the mistakes of his enemy. Marmont saw his +error as soon as the English attack began, but a wound from a cannon +ball disabled him at the very commencement of the action. This injury to +his arm was so serious that he had to throw up his command and return to +France, and for the whole of the next year he had to wear his arm in a +sling. + +Napoleon, furious with the Marshal for his ill-success, most unjustly +blamed him for not waiting for reinforcements: these actually arrived +two days after the battle. Joseph, however, had told him distinctly that +he was not going to send him any help, and if it had not been for his +tactical blunders, Marmont would undoubtedly have caused Wellington to +fall back on Portugal. But in 1812 the exigencies of war demanded that +France should send forth every soldier, and accordingly in March the +Duke of Ragusa was gazetted to the command of the sixth corps, which was +forming in the valley of the Maine. On taking up this command he found +that his corps was mainly composed of sailors drafted from the useless +ships, and of recruits, while his artillery had no horses and his +cavalry did not exist. With these raw troops he had to undergo some +difficult experiences at Luetzen and Bautzen, but, as the campaign +progressed, he moulded them into shape, and his divisions did good +service in the fighting in Silesia and round Dresden. At the rout after +the battle of Leipzig, Marmont, like most of the higher officers of the +army, thought more of his personal safety than of his honour, and +allowed himself to be escorted from the field by his staff officers. + +But in the campaign of 1814 he made amends for all his former blunders, +and his fighting record stands high indeed. At Saint-Dizier, La +Rothiere, Arcis-sur-Aube, Nogent, Sezanne, and Champaubert, he held his +own or defeated the enemy with inferior numbers in every case. Once only +at Laon did he allow himself to be surprised. When the end came it was +Marmont who, at Joseph's command, had to hand over Paris to the Allies. +Thereafter he was faced with a terrible problem. His army was sick of +fighting, officers and men demanded peace. He had to decide whether his +duty to Napoleon was the same as his duty to France. Unfortunately he +acted hurriedly, and, without informing the Emperor, entered into +negotiations with the enemy. The result was far-reaching, for his +conduct showed Alexander that the army was sick of war and would no +longer fight for Napoleon. It thus cut away the ground of the +Commissioners who were trying, by trading on the prestige of the Emperor +and the fear of his name, to persuade the Czar to accept Napoleon's +abdication on behalf of his son, the King of Rome. The Marshal's enemies +put down his action to ill-will against the Emperor for withholding for +so long the marshalate and for his treatment after Salamanca. But +Marmont asserted that it was patriotism which dictated his action, and +further maintained that Napoleon himself ought to have approved of his +action, quoting a conversation held in 1813. "If the enemy invaded +France," said the Emperor, "and seized the heights of Montmartre, you +would naturally believe that the safety of your country would command +you to leave me, and if you did so you would be a good Frenchman, a +brave man, a conscientious man, but not a man of honour." + +The defection of the Duke of Ragusa came as a bitter blow to Napoleon. +"That Marmont should do such a thing," cried the fallen Emperor, "a man +with whom I have shared my bread, whom I drew out of obscurity! +Ungrateful villain, he will be more unhappy than I." The prophecy was +true. The Duke of Ragusa stuck to the Bourbons and refused to join +Napoleon during the Hundred Days, going to Ghent as chief of the +military household of the exiled King. He returned with Louis to Paris, +and was made major-general of the Royal Guard and a peer of France, in +which capacity he sat as one of the judges who condemned Ney to death. +But men looked askance at him, and from 1817 he lived in retirement, +occupying his leisure in experimental farming, with great injury to his +purse, for his elaborate scheme of housing his sheep in three-storied +barns and clothing them in coats made of skin was most unprofitable. +Retirement was a bitter blow to the keen soldier, but the Bourbon +monarchs clearly understood that the deserter of Napoleon and the judge +of Marshal Ney could never be popular with the army. + +Still, when in July, 1830, discontent was seething, Charles X. +remembered his sterling qualities and summoned him to Paris as governor +of the city. It was an unfortunate nomination, for the Marshal's +unpopularity weakened the bonds of discipline, whilst his eagerness to +show his loyalty caused him to adopt such measures as the King ordered, +irrespective of their military worth. In vain he warned the King that +this was not a revolt but a revolution; the counsels of Polignac were +all powerful. The Marshal's political suggestions were unheeded and his +military plans overridden. The mass of the troops of the line, kept for +long hours without food in the streets, mutinied and went over to the +populace, while those who remained loyal, and the royal guards, instead +of being concentrated and protected by batteries of artillery, were +frittered away in useless expeditions into outlying parts of the city. +After two days' fighting the royalists had to evacuate the city. Thus it +fell to the lot of the Marshal once more to hand over Paris to the foes +of those to whom his allegiance was due. + +The Duke of Ragusa accompanied Charles to Cherbourg and quitted France +in August, 1830, never to return. The remainder of his life was spent in +foreign countries. He made Vienna his headquarters, and from there took +journeys to Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and Italy. Deeply interested in +science and history, he devoted his leisure to writing his Memoirs, to +works on military science, philanthropy, and travel. Thus occupied, +though an exile from his country, he lived a busy, active, and on the +whole useful life till death overtook him at Vienna in 1852. + +Marshal Marmont has been called one of Napoleon's failures, but this +criticism is one-sided and unjust. True it is that his name is +intimately connected with the failure in Spain and with the fall of the +Empire, but to judge his career by these two instances and to neglect +his other work, is to generalise from an insufficient and casual basis. +The Duke of Ragusa owed his marshalate, like many others, to his +intimacy with Napoleon, but unlike several of the Marshals he really +earned his baton. His great powers of organisation, so unstintedly given +to the re-armament of France and Italy, and his work of regeneration in +Dalmatia, together with his military operations in Styria, Spain, and +during the campaign of 1814, mark him out as a soldier of great +capabilities. Organisation was his strong point, but he also possessed +great physical bravery and many of the qualities of a commander. His +love for his profession was great, and not only had he graduated under +Napoleon's eye, but much of his time was spent in studying his calling +from a scientific and historical point of view. As a strategist he +probably stood as high as any of his fellow Marshals, and his operations +in Dalmatia, Spain, and France deserve the careful study of all students +of military history. But he failed as a tactician. Salamanca and Laon +prove not only that he made mistakes and had not the faculty of +retrieving his errors, but above all he lacked the capacity of seizing +on the mistakes of his enemy. In 1811 at El Bodin he had Wellington at +his mercy, but he hesitated to strike, for he could not believe his +great opponent could make the glaring error of leaving his divisions +unsupported. Again and again during his career he showed that lack of +resolution which was responsible for his last catastrophe in Paris, +where he allowed his own judgment to be overruled by King Charles's +personal desires. In a word, he had the gift of a great +quartermaster-general rather than of a commander-in-chief. As a man the +Marshal's character is an interesting study. In youth the thirst for +personal glory and ambition were the dominant traits, and what stability +he had he drew from his proud sense of honour, which refused to allow +him to take plunder or bribes. But responsibility developed many latent +qualities. The desire to keep his troops efficient led him to pay +especial care to their physical well-being, and from doing this as a +duty he learned to do it as a labour of love. As time went on, desire +for personal glory became merged in keen delight in the glory of France, +and hence grew up a patriotism which rightly or wrongly led to the +scenes of 1814 and 1830. Misfortune also had its share in the enlarging +of his character. His unhappy marriage, his bitterness at the +withholding of the marshalate, his unpopularity after 1814, led him to +remember his father's warning that success is not everything, and turned +his attention to the development of those scientific and literary +abilities to which he had always shown strong leanings. Hence, though +the blight of his marriage and his unpopularity, arising from his +desertion of Napoleon, embittered him and caused his Memoirs to teem +with cutting descriptions of his contemporaries and former friends, his +old age, though spent in exile, was soothed by congenial work which +proved "that to the eye of a general he united the accomplishments of a +scholar and the heart of a philanthropist." + + + + +XI + +LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET, MARSHAL, DUKE OF ALBUFERA + + +Louis Gabriel Suchet, the son of a silk manufacturer, was born at Lyons +on March 2, 1770. His father had acquired a certain eminence by his +discoveries in his profession, and had occupied a prominent place in the +municipality of Lyons. Louis Gabriel, who received a sound education at +the College of Isle Barbe, early showed that he inherited his father's +gifts of organisation and research. In 1792 he entered a corps of +volunteer cavalry. His education and ability soon brought him to the +front, and after two years' service he became lieutenant-colonel of the +eighteenth demi-brigade, in which capacity he took part in the siege of +Toulon. There he had the double good fortune to make prisoner General +O'Hara, the English governor of the fortress, and to gain the friendship +of Bonaparte. Suchet and his brother accompanied the future Emperor on +many a pleasant picnic, and the three were well known among a certain +class of Marseilles society. But this was but a passing phase, and soon +the thirst for glory called the young soldier to sterner things. The +campaigns of 1794-5 in the Maritime Alps, the battle of Loano, and the +fierce fights in 1796 at Lodi, Rivoli, Arcola, and Castiglione proved +Colonel Suchet's undaunted courage and ability as a regimental +commander. In 1797, for his brilliant conduct at Neumarkt, in Styria, +Bonaparte gazetted him general of brigade. In his new capacity Suchet +proved that he could not only carry out orders but act in +semi-independence as a column commander, and as a reward for his success +in Switzerland under General Brune he had the honour of carrying +twenty-three captured stands of colours to the Directory. At Brune's +request he was sent back to Switzerland to act as chief of his staff. +Suchet had to a great extent those qualities which go to make an ideal +staff officer. He had a cheery smile and word for everybody, and his +tall upright figure and genial face inspired confidence in officers and +men alike; as a regimental commander and a general of brigade he had a +sound knowledge of the working of small and large corps, and his early +experience as a cavalry officer and his intimate acquaintance with the +officers of the artillery stood him in good stead. He had a natural +aptitude for drafting orders, and his tact and energy commended him to +all with whom he served, but above all he had the secret of inspiring +those around him with his own vehemence and enthusiasm. Brune, Joubert, +Massena, and Moreau all proved his worth, and Moreau only expressed the +opinion of the others when he said to a friend, "Your general is one of +the best staff officers in all the armies of France." As general of +division Suchet acted as chief of the staff to Joubert in Italy in 1799. +Later in the year he commanded one of the divisions of the Army of the +Alps under Massena, and fought against the celebrated Suvaroff. But when +Joubert was hurriedly despatched to Italy he at once demanded to have +Suchet as chief of the staff. On Joubert's death at the battle of Novi, +Suchet served Massena in a similar capacity; the latter was so delighted +with him that he wanted to carry him off to the Army of the Rhine. But +in that disastrous year men of ability could not be spared, and +Bernadotte, as Minister of War, retained him in Italy to aid the new +commander-in-chief "with his clear insight as the public weal demands." +When Massena took command of the Army of Italy in March, he detached +Suchet to cover France on the line of the Var, while he, with the rest +of the army, threw himself into Genoa. The commander-in-chief had +absolute confidence in his lieutenant; he had tried him again and again +in the Swiss campaign, and when Suchet had by a marvellous march escaped +the tangles of the Russians, his only comment had been "I was quite sure +he would bring me back his brigade." The young general acted once again +up to his reputation, and evinced those resources in difficulty, and +that resolution in adversity, which so marked his career. With a mere +handful of troops, by his energy and tactical ability he stemmed the +flood of the Austrian invasion on the Var, and when Napoleon debouched +through the St. Bernard Pass on the enemy's rear, by a masterly return +to the initiative he drove the Austrians before him, and by capturing +seven thousand prisoners he materially lightened the First Consul's +difficulties in the Marengo campaign. Carnot, the War Minister, wrote to +him in eulogistic terms: "The whole Republic had its eyes fixed on the +new Thermopylae. Your bravery was as great and more successful than that +of the Spartans." But in spite of this feat of arms and the unselfish +way he disengaged Dupont from his difficulties at the crossing of the +Mincio, in the campaign which followed Marengo, Suchet found himself +neglected and passed over when the Emperor distributed his new honours +and rewards. In spite of his former friendship and the remembrance of +many a pleasant day spent together in earlier years, Napoleon could not +forgive his stern unbending republicanism. He knew his force of +character too well to think he could influence his opinions by mere +honours, and he determined to see if he could conquer him by neglect. +After holding the office of inspector-general of infantry, Suchet found +himself in 1803 sent to the camp of Boulogne as a mere divisional +commander in Soult's army corps. In the same capacity he loyally served +under Lannes in the Austrian campaign of 1805, and distinguished himself +at Ulm and Austerlitz, where his division had the good fortune to break +the Russian centre. In the following year at Saalfeld and Jena he added +to his reputation, and the Emperor did him the honour of bivouacking in +the middle of his division on the eve of the battle of Jena. Pultusk and +Eylau bore witness to his bravery and address on the battlefield, and +Napoleon began to relent. For his share of the victory of Austerlitz the +Emperor had created him Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour and +presented him with twenty thousand francs; in August, 1807, he gave him +the temporary command of the fifth corps; a few months later he gazetted +him Chevalier of the Iron Crown, and in March, 1808, made him a Count of +the Empire. In 1807 Suchet married one of the Clarys, a relative of +Joseph Bonaparte's wife, and thus to a certain extent bound himself to +the Napoleonic dynasty. Still it was only as a divisional commander of +the fifth corps under Lannes that in 1808 he entered Spain, the scene of +his glory. But when the war brought to light the poor quality of many of +the Marshals, and the approaching conflict with Austria caused him to +withdraw his best lieutenants to the Danube, Napoleon bethought him of +his new relative and former comrade. After the siege of Saragossa he +gave him the command of the third corps, now known as the Army of +Aragon. Suchet's hour of probation had at last arrived. He had so far +shown himself an excellent interpreter of the ideas of others, a man of +energy and resource in carrying out orders; it remained to be seen +whether he could rise to the height of thinking and acting for himself +in the plain of higher strategy. + +[Illustration: LOUIS GABRIEL SUCHET, DUKE OF ALBUFERA +FROM AN ENGRAVING BY POLLET] + +The situation the new general was called on to meet might have depressed +a weaker man. The third corps or Army of Aragon had been severely shaken +by the long, stubborn siege of Saragossa. Many of its best officers and +men were dead or invalided to France; the ranks were full of raw +recruits who had not yet felt the bit of discipline. There were no +magazines, the men's pay was months in arrear, the morale of the troops +was bad; but the General was told that he must expect no reinforcements +and that his army must live off the province of Aragon. To increase his +difficulties further he was informed that, while lending an obedient ear +to all commands from Madrid, he was really to obey orders which came +from the major-general in Paris. Meanwhile, all around him Aragon and +even Saragossa were seething with discontent, and Spanish forces, elated +by partial success, were springing up on all sides. It was thus situated +that Suchet had his first experience of commanding in war, and of +showing that success depends on achieving the object desired with the +means at hand. Luckily for his reputation he fulfilled Napoleon's dictum +that "a general should above all be cool-headed in order to estimate +things at their value: he must not be moved by good or bad news. The +sensations which he daily receives must be so classed in his mind that +each should occupy its appropriate place." Accordingly he at once +grasped the vital points of the problem, and strove to restore the +morale of the troops so that he might be in a position to meet and +overcome the organised forces which were moving against him. His first +step was to hold a review of his new command, and then he proceeded to +visit his troops in their quarters and to get into personal touch with +the officers and men by watching them at their company and battalion +drills, encouraging them and supervising the interior economy of the +various regiments and brigades. His reputation and his personal +magnetism soon began to effect a complete change in his army. But +unfortunately the enemy, fighting in their own country, where every +inhabitant was a spy on their side, knew as well as the general himself +the exact state of the French morale, the position of every unit, and +the strength of each company and squadron. So accurate was their +information that on one occasion, when a battalion was despatched on a +reconnaissance to occupy a small town, and the officer commanding +demanded a thousand rations for his men and a hundred for his horse, the +Alcalde at once replied, "I know that I must furnish rations for your +troops, but I will only supply seven hundred and eighty for the men and +sixty for the horses," as he knew beforehand the exact number of men and +horses in the column. + +The Spanish General Blake, with this wonderful intelligence organisation +at his command, called together his troops, and took the initiative +against the new French commander by advancing towards Saragossa. Suchet, +recognising the importance of utilising to the full the elan which the +French soldier always derives from the sense of attacking, advanced to +meet him near Alcaniz, but Blake easily beat off the French attack. So +demoralised was the Army of Aragon that on the following night, when a +drummer cried out that he saw the Spanish cavalry advancing, an entire +infantry regiment threw down their arms before this phantom charge. The +offender was brought at once before a drumhead court martial and shot, +but with troops in such a condition the French commander very wisely +slowly fell back the next day towards Saragossa. The situation was +extremely critical: a hurried retreat would have roused all Aragon to +the attack; fortunately the morale of the Spanish troops was also none +too good, and Blake waited for reinforcements before advancing. +Meanwhile Suchet spent every hour reorganising his army, visiting with +speedy punishment all slackness, encouraging where possible by praise, +everywhere showing a cheerfulness and confidence he was far from +feeling. Every day the troops were drilled or attended musketry +practice; the ordinary routine of peace was carried out in every detail, +and the civil and military life of Saragossa showed no signs of the +greatness of this crisis. Meanwhile care and attention soon showed their +effect, and when three weeks later the enemy appeared at Maria before +Saragossa, Suchet had under his command a force full of zealous desire +to wipe out its late disgrace and absolutely confident in its general. +Fortunately the Spanish commander, by attempting a wide encircling +movement, weakened his numerical superiority, and Suchet, as usual +assuming the offensive, broke the Spanish centre with his cavalry, +hurled his infantry into the gap, and amid a terrific thunder-shower +drove the Spanish from the field. The battle before Saragossa saved +Aragon for the French, but it did not satisfy their commander, who knew +that "to move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of +victory is the secret of successful war"; accordingly with his now +elated troops he pursued the enemy and attacked them at Belchite. The +Spanish morale was completely broken; a chance shot at the commencement +of the engagement blew up an ammunition wagon, and thereon the whole +army turned and bolted; for the rest of the war, no regular resistance +existed in Aragon. + +The battles of Saragossa and Belchite marked the commencement of a fresh +stage in the conquest of Eastern Spain. From this time onwards Aragon +became the base from which was organised the conquest of Catalonia and +Valencia. It was in pursuance of this scheme that Suchet's next task was +the organisation of the civil government of the ancient kingdom of +Aragon. Fortunately for the commander-in-chief the old local patriotism +burnt strong in the hearts of the Aragonese; jealous of the Castilians, +they placed their love of Aragon far above their love of Spain. Suchet, +an ardent student of human nature, was quick to appreciate how to turn +to his use this provincialism. Loud in his praises of their stubborn +resistance to the French arms, he approached the nobles and former civil +servants and prayed them to lend him their help in restoring the former +glories of the ancient kingdom of Aragon. Meanwhile the people of the +towns and villages were propitiated by a stern justice and a new fiscal +system, which, while it drew more from their pockets, was less +aggravating and inquisitorial than the former method, which exacted a +tax on the sale and purchase of every individual article. Meanwhile the +needs of the French army created a market for both agricultural produce +and for manufactured articles, and hence both the urban and rural +populations, while paying heavier taxes, made greater profits than +formerly. Such was the ability with which Aragon was administered that a +province, which even in its most prosperous days had never contributed +more than four million francs to the Spanish treasury, was able to +produce an income of eight million francs for the pay of the troops +alone, without counting the cost of military operations, and at the same +time to maintain its own civil servants, while works of public utility +were commenced in Saragossa and elsewhere. + +But it was not only from the point of finance that Suchet proved to the +full the maxim that the art of war is nothing but the art of feeding +your troops: his military operations were no whit less remarkable than +his success as a civil administrator. Immediately after Belchite he +swept all the guerillas out of Aragon, and by a carefully thought out +plan of garrisons gave the country that peace and certainty which is +requisite for commerce and agriculture alike. He then proceeded to wrest +from the enemy the important fortresses of Lerida and Mequinenza, which +command the approaches to Catalonia. Suchet's conquest of Aragon, +Catalonia, and Valencia was marked by a succession of brilliant sieges. +Lerida, Mequinenza, Tortosa, the fort of San Felipe, the Col of +Balanquer, Tarragona, Sagunto, and Valencia all fell before his +conquering arm, for Spain had to be won piece by piece. Each forward +step was marked by a siege, a battle to defeat the relieving force, the +fall of the fortress, and its careful restoration as a base for the next +advance. It was not owing to any weakness or want of precaution on the +part of the enemy that Suchet thus captured all the noted fortresses of +central Spain: in every case the Spaniards fought with grim +determination, and the regular Spanish armies, aided by swarms of +guerillas, made desperate efforts to relieve their beleaguered +countrymen. But the French success was due to the qualities of their +general. With a patience equal to that of Marlborough, with a power of +supervision over detail like that of his great chief, Suchet knew +exactly how to pick his staff and how far to trust his subordinates. +Above all, he had absolute self-control. In the blackest hour he never +gave way, under the most extreme provocation he never lost his temper; +hence his own troops idolised him, while his perfect justice impressed +itself on the enemy. Though the Spanish priests were teaching the +catechism in every village that it was one's duty to love all men except +the French, that it was not only lawful but one's sacred duty to kill +all Frenchmen, though a letter was captured in which a guerilla chief +ordered his subordinates to make every effort to capture Madame Suchet +and to cut her throat, especially because she was pregnant, the +commander-in-chief kept his men in absolute control, and punished with +the greatest severity every outrage committed by his troops. + +The battle and siege of Valencia in 1811 were the crowning success of +his career, and brought as their reward the long-coveted Marshal's baton +and the title of Duke of Albufera: to support his title the Emperor +granted him half a million francs, a greater sum than he gave to any +other of his Paladins. The year 1812 saw the Marshal busily engaged in +reorganising the province of Valencia on the lines he had found so +successful in Aragon. But his work there had never time to take root. +The necessities of the Russian campaign had forced Napoleon to recall +from Spain many of his best troops, while the successful advance of +Wellington on Madrid showed how unstable was the French rule. It was the +province of Valencia alone which supplied the money and provisions for +the armies which reconquered the Spanish capital for King Joseph. In +1813 the victorious advance of Wellington and the battle of Vittoria +compelled Suchet to evacuate Valencia. The fall of Pampeluna caused him +to evacuate Aragon. Deprived of all his trustworthy troops, he still, by +his bold counter-attacks, delayed the advance of the English and +Spaniards under Bentinck, but by the time Napoleon abdicated he had been +compelled with his handful of men to fall back on French territory. + +Under the Restoration the Marshal was retained in command of the tenth +division, but on Napoleon's return from Elba he once again rejoined his +old leader, whom he had not seen since 1808. The Emperor greeted him +most cordially. "Marshal Suchet," he said, "you have grown greatly in +reputation since last we met. You are welcome; you bring with you glory +and all the glamour that heroes give to their contemporaries on earth." +The Marshal was at once sent off to his old home of Lyons to organise +there out of nothing an army which was to cover the Alps. Men there were +in plenty, but the arsenals were empty; still, the Marshal with ten +thousand troops beat the Piedmontese on June 15th and a few days +afterwards defeated the Austrians. But the occupation of Geneva by the +Allies forced him to evacuate Savoy and fall back on Lyons, where he was +greeted with the news of Waterloo. Under the second Restoration the +Marshal never appeared in public life, and died at the chateau of Saint +Joseph at Marseilles on January 3, 1826. + +Talking to O'Meara at St. Helena, Napoleon said, "Of the generals of +France I give the preference to Suchet. Before his time Massena was the +first." At another time he said of him, "It is a pity that mortals +cannot improvise men like him. If I had had two Marshals like Suchet I +should not only have conquered Spain, but have kept it." While making +due allowance for the probability that the Emperor was influenced in +this speech by the fact that Suchet alone relieved the gloom of the +unsuccessful war in Spain, it is yet abundantly clear that the Marshal +was a commander of no mean ability, for though he did not show the +precocity of a Marmont, yet, as Napoleon himself said, "Suchet was a man +whose mind and character increased wonderfully." + +As a commander-in-chief, though acting in a small sphere and never +having more than fifty thousand troops under his command, he showed that +he possessed determination, insight, and great powers of organisation. +From the first he saw that the one and only way to wear down the Spanish +resistance was to capture the fortresses. Hence his operations were +twofold--the conduct of sieges and the protection of his convoys from +the guerillas. He justified his reasoning; by 1812 he had captured no +less than seventy-seven thousand officers and men and fourteen hundred +guns and had pacified Aragon, Valencia, and part of Catalonia. Another +great secret of his success lay in the fact that he knew how to profit +by victory; the battle of Belchite followed on that of Maria; no sooner +was Lerida captured than plans were made to take Mequinenza, and before +that fortress was captured the siege train for Tortosa was got ready. +Profiting by the depression of the enemy after the fall of Tortosa, he +despatched columns to capture San Felipe and the Col of Balanquer. +Thanks to his former training as chief of the staff, the Marshal was +able with his own hand to draw up all the smallest regulations for siege +operations, and for the government of Aragon and Valencia. The gift of +drafting clear and concise orders and the intuition with which he chose +his staff and column commanders explain to a great extent the reason why +his operations in Catalonia, Aragon, and Valencia were so little +hampered by the constant guerilla warfare which paralysed the other +French commanders in Spain. The indefatigable energy with which he made +himself personally acquainted with every officer under his command, and +his knowledge of, sympathy with, and care for his soldiers, always made +him popular; while the burning enthusiasm which he knew how to infuse +into French, German, and Italian alike so stimulated his troops that he +could demand almost any sacrifice from them. Thus it was that he himself +created the morale which enabled him again and again to conquer against +overwhelming odds. + +As a man, moderation and justice lay at the root of his character, and +they account largely for his success as a statesman. He had the +difficult task of administering Aragon and Valencia for the benefit of +the army under his command; yet he was remembered not with hate, but +with affection, by the people of those countries. When any one inquired +what was the character of the French general, the Spaniards would reply, +"He is a just man." The same moderation which caused him to save +Tarragona and Valencia from the fury of his troops taught him to devote +himself to the welfare of his temporary subjects, and caused his +hospital arrangements to receive the gratuitous praise of the Spanish +and English commanders. At Saragossa his name was given to one of the +principal streets, and on his death the inhabitants of the town paid for +masses for his soul, while the King of Spain was only voicing the +feelings of the people when he wrote to the Marshal's widow that +everything he had heard in Spain proved how deservedly the Duke of +Albufera had gained the affections of the people of Valencia and +Aragon. + + + + +XII + +LAURENT GOUVION ST. CYR, MARSHAL + + +Laurent Gouvion St. Cyr, the son of a small landowner of Toul, was born +in that town on April 13, 1764. His father, who was a Gouvion, had +married a St. Cyr, but the marriage had turned out an unfortunate one, +and soon after the birth of the young Laurent a separation was agreed +on. Consequently, from an early age, the boy lacked a mother's care. His +father, many of whose relations were in the artillery, desired his son +to enter the army, and with that object in view sent him to the +Artillery College at Toul. But at the age of eighteen the future Marshal +decided to abandon the career of arms for that of art, preferring the +freedom of an artist's life to the dull routine of garrison service. +Taking the bit between his teeth early in 1782, he set off for Rome, +which he made his headquarters for the following two years, with +occasional trips as far as Sicily. The year 1789 found Laurent Gouvion +established in Paris with a great knowledge of art and some considerable +skill in technique. Steeped in classic lore, contemptuous of dull +authority and full of youthful enthusiasm, he hailed with joy the +outbreak of the Revolution. But by the end of 1792 the young painter was +too keen a student of men and matters not to perceive "the danger which +menaced the Republic," and, like all other thinking men, "was lost in +astonishment, not to say at the imprudence, but the folly of the +Convention, which instead of seeking to diminish the number of its +enemies, seemed resolved to augment them by successive insults, not +merely against all kings, but against every existing government." In +spite of this, when Europe threatened France, Laurent Gouvion was one of +the first to enlist in the volunteers. His personality and former +training at once made themselves felt; within a month of enlisting he +was elected captain, in which grade he joined the Army of the Rhine +under General Custine. On reaching the front the volunteer captain soon +found scope for his pencil. In an army thoroughly disorganised a good +draughtsman with an eye for country was no despicable asset. Gouvion was +attached to the topographical department of the staff. He added his +mother's name--St. Cyr--to his surname because of the constant confusion +arising owing to the number of Gouvions employed with the army. After a +year's hard work on the staff, during which he acquired a thorough grasp +of the art of manoeuvring according to the terrain, and a good working +knowledge of the machinery of an army, St. Cyr was promoted on June 5, +1794, general of brigade, and six days later general of division. His +promotion was not unmerited, for it was his complete mastery of mountain +warfare which had contributed more than anything else to the success of +the division of the Army of the Rhine to which he had been attached. The +soldiers had long recognised the fact, and when they heard the guns +booming through the defiles of the Vosges they used to call one to the +other, "There is St. Cyr playing chess." Like Bernadotte, at first he +refused this rapid promotion; he feared it might lead to the scaffold, +for death was then the reward of failure, and besides this, the Gouvions +were classed among the ci-devant nobles. As a commander the new general +speedily proved that, much as he admired liberty in the abstract, he +would have nothing but obedience from his men. Tall of stature, more +like a professor than a soldier, through all his career wearing the +plain blue overcoat, without uniform or epaulettes, which were affected +by the generals of the Army of the Rhine, St. Cyr soon became one of the +best known generals of Republican France. As one of his most bitter +enemies wrote of him, "It was impossible to find a calmer man; the +greatest dangers, disappointments, successes, defeats, were alike unable +to move him. In the presence of every sort of contingency he was like +ice. It may be easily understood, of what advantage such a character, +backed by a taste for study and meditation, was to a general officer." +In the army of the Rhine Desaix and St. Cyr were regarded as the persons +whose examples should be followed. The austerity of their manner of +life, their sincere patriotism and laborious perseverance, left an +indelible mark on all with whom they came in contact. But though they +had much in common they were really very dissimilar, for Desaix was +intoxicated with the love of glory, full of burning enthusiasm, +sympathetic to an extraordinary degree, exceedingly susceptible to the +influence of the moment, while St. Cyr loved duty as the rule of his +life, modelled his action by the strict laws of calculation, was +absolutely impervious to outside influence, and never knew what it was +to doubt his own powers. But with all his great gifts he had many +faults; he was exceedingly jealous, and without knowing it he allowed +his own interests to affect his calculations, consequently very early in +his career his fellow-generals hated to have to work in co-operation +with him, and he got the name of being a "bad bed-fellow." Further, +excellent as he was as a strategist and tactician, the details of +administration bored him. He never held a review, never visited +hospitals, and left the threads of administration in the hands of his +subordinates; consequently, much as his troops trusted him in the field, +they disliked him in quarters, because, while his discipline was most +severe, he did nothing to provide for their needs or amusements. + +[Illustration: GOUVION ST. CYR, COUNT +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY J. GUERIN] + +From 1795 to the peace of Campo Formio St. Cyr shared the fortunes and +vicissitudes of the Army of the Rhine, serving as a subordinate under +Hoche, Jourdan, and Moreau. The battle of Biberach, in 1796, was his +personal triumph. With one single corps he defeated three-fourths of the +whole of the enemy's army and drove it in rout with a loss of five +thousand prisoners. But in spite of this victory and numerous mentions +in despatches, on being introduced to the Director Rewbell, after the +treaty of Campo Formio, he was actually asked, "In which army have you +served?" An explanation was necessary, whereupon the Director, finding +that the general understood and spoke Italian, sent him off at once to +take command of the Army of Rome. On March 26, 1798, he arrived there +and commenced his first independent command. His task was a difficult +one. The officers of the army had risen in revolt against Massena, who +had made no attempt to pay them or their troops, but had spent his time +in amassing a fortune for himself. The new general had orders to arrest +certain officers and restore discipline. It was a task admirably suited +to his talents, and within four days of his arrival the disaffected were +arrested and the mutiny quelled. His next duty, according to the command +of the Directory, was to remove the Pope from Rome; by a queer +coincidence the officer entrusted to escort his Holiness to Tuscany was +a certain Colonel Calvin. So far St. Cyr, much against his wish, had +carried out the orders of the Directory, but his next action was +spontaneous and dictated by his own idea of justice. It was the hour of +spoliation: a committee appointed by the Directory was busy in +transporting to France all the masterpieces of Italian art, and the +newly-appointed Consuls of the Roman Republic were likewise fully +engaged in acts of vandalism. When the general heard that the +magnificent oblation of diamonds belonging to the Doria family had been +purloined from the Church of St. Agnes to grace the necks of the wives +of the bastard Consuls, he at once ordered the ostensoir to be returned +to its owners. The Consuls appealed to the Directory; so after a command +of four short months St. Cyr was recalled, only to be sent at once to +resume his old position as a divisional commander in the Army of the +Rhine. + +From there in June, 1799, he was hurriedly despatched to Italy to aid +Moreau, who was attempting to stem the victorious advance of the +Austrians and Russians. He arrived in time to take part in the +hard-fought fight of Novi, and to help to organise a stubborn resistance +on the slopes of the Apennines. Before the battle of Novi he actually +had a glimpse of the redoubtable Suvaroff himself. The Russian general, +who trusted his own eyes more than the reports of his scouts, one day +rode right up to the line of French vedettes clad in his usual fighting +kit, a shirt and pair of breeches, and after a hurried reconnaissance +returned to his camp and gave his celebrated order: "God wishes, the +Emperor orders, Suvaroff commands, that to-morrow the enemy be +conquered." Novi added lustre to St. Cyr's reputation; it was his +strenuous resistance on the right flank and his admirable handling of +the rear guard which prevented the victorious Allies from hurling the +beaten French through the passes into the sea. But Novi was an easy task +compared to what was to follow. The passes of the Apennines had to be +held and Genoa covered with a handful of men dispirited by defeat and +half mutinous from want of necessary food. It was a rabble, not an army; +there was no commissariat, no pay chest, no store of clothing. Meanwhile +Genoa lay smouldering in rebellion at his rear. The task suited the man; +by a series of clever feints and manoeuvres in the valley of the +Bormida, he outwitted the enemy and gradually restored the morale of his +troops, and was able to hurry back to Genoa with three battalions at the +psychological moment when mutiny and rebellion were showing their head. +With absolute calmness he told the civic authorities to prepare +quarters for eight thousand troops, of which the few with him were the +advance guard. The authorities, staggered by his sudden appearance, +never doubted the arrival of this fabulous force, and subsequently St. +Cyr was able to occupy all the strongholds in the town with the handful +of troops he had with him, and then at his leisure to arrest the +ringleaders of the rebellion. Meanwhile, the judicious establishment of +free soup kitchens in the streets alleviated the necessities of the mob. +Scarcely was Genoa pacified when the general was confronted by a much +more serious event. Famine had driven the soldiers to mutiny, and even +the very outposts withdrew from contact with the enemy, and announced +their intention of returning to France. It was only by raising a forced +loan from the Ligurian Government, and delivering a most touching appeal +to their patriotism, that he was able to persuade the mutineers to +return to their duty, telling them that if they left the colours, he +intended, "with the generals, officers, and non-commissioned officers to +hold the positions occupied by the army." Further to encourage them he +began a series of small engagements, which restored their morale and led +up to the battle of Albano, where he inflicted so severe a defeat on the +Austrians that Genoa was for a considerable time relieved from all +danger. The First Consul, on hearing of the victory of Albano, at once +sent St. Cyr a sword of honour, a Damascus blade in a richly engraved +sheath, with the pommel encrusted with diamonds, which had originally +been intended for the Sultan. + +But though thus rewarded by receiving the first sword of honour ever +given by the First Consul, he was never a _persona grata_ with Napoleon. +Accordingly at the beginning of 1800 he was withdrawn from the Army of +Italy and sent as lieutenant to Moreau, who was to operate in the valley +of the Danube while Bonaparte reserved the theatre of Italy for +himself. It was most unfortunate for St. Cyr that he was supposed to +belong to the Moreau faction, for day by day the struggle between that +general and the First Consul became more bitter. Moreau took no trouble +to conceal his dislike of Bonaparte, and on hearing a rumour that the +First Consul intended to take command of the Army of the Rhine and +install him as second in command, he lost his temper and told his staff +at dinner "that he did not want a little tin Louis XIV. with his army, +and that if the First Consul came he would go." Meanwhile great friction +arose between the general and his new commander-in-chief. St. Cyr, proud +of his late achievements, severely criticised the plans and organisation +of his chief, who was extremely indignant at the idea that anybody +should doubt his ability to manage an army of one hundred and thirty +thousand men, and at the same time to command in person the reserve +corps of twenty-five thousand; so Moreau belittled St. Cyr's +achievements. St. Cyr at D'Engen, Mosskirch, and Biberach showed his +accustomed skill as a tactician, but failed to keep in touch with the +columns on his right and left, and increased his reputation as a jealous +fighter. The second battle of Biberach was a masterpiece of audacity, +and to his dying day the general, when recalling his success, always +maintained, "On that day I was a man." During the operations round Ulm +relations became still more strained, and St. Cyr was glad to seize the +excuse of a wound to demand his return to France. The First Consul took +the line which he always pursued with those whom he disliked but feared. +He rewarded St. Cyr by making him a Councillor of State, and at the same +time he got him out of the way by sending him on a diplomatic mission to +Spain. The general remained at Madrid till August, 1802, and then after +a short period of leave at Paris he was despatched in 1803 to command +the army at Faenza which was to occupy the kingdom of Naples after the +rupture of the treaty of Amiens. During the two years spent in command +of the army of occupation he had many opportunities of showing his +patience and diplomatic skill. The court of Naples had to be treated +with all honour but watched with the greatest care, every effort had to +be made to maintain outwardly an appearance of great cordiality, while +Napoleon's demands had to be insisted on to the letter. The situation +was further complicated by the continued interference of Murat, who +commanded the Army of Italy, and who desired to have the Army of Naples +under his control. The strictest discipline had to be maintained among +the troops to prevent the Neapolitans having any handle to use against +the army of occupation. So successfully did St. Cyr keep his troops in +hand that the Neapolitan minister wrote in his next despatch to the +Queen, "Madame, we can make nothing of that point; these men are not +soldiers, they are monks." In spite of many an anxious moment these two +years in Naples were pleasant years for the general, who delighted in +the congenial society of the many men of letters who were attached to +his army, for, as Paul Louis Corne wrote of him, "He is a man of merit, +a learned man, perhaps the most learned of men in the gentle art of +massacre, a pleasant man in private life, a great friend of mine." But +there was one great disappointment connected with this Neapolitan +command, for in 1804 St. Cyr found his name excluded from the list of +Marshals, and the empty title of colonel-general of the cuirassiers and +the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour in no way made amends for this +disappointment. + +The outbreak of the war with Austria in the autumn of 1805 caused +Napoleon to withdraw the army of occupation from Naples, and St. Cyr +hastened north in time to help Massena drive the Austrians out of Styria +and Carinthia. He greatly distinguished himself at Castel Franco, where +with a smaller force he captured the whole of a column of the enemy +under the Prince de Rohan. A month later he was sent back in haste with +thirty thousand men to reinvade Naples, which Napoleon had given as a +kingdom to his brother Joseph, but on hearing that he was to act as a +subordinate to Massena he threw up his command and withdrew to Paris. +This independent conduct increased Napoleon's dislike for him, and he +was peremptorily ordered to return to Naples, where he remained till +August, 1806. + +It was not till two years later that the Emperor once again employed St. +Cyr on active service. But the task he then called upon him to perform +was one that would make any general, who was anxious about his +reputation, hesitate to undertake. For Napoleon sent him with a motley +force of some forty-eight thousand Swiss, Italians, and Germans to +restore French prestige in the mountainous country of Catalonia, and +ended his orders with the words, "Preserve Barcelona for me; if it is +lost I cannot retake it with eighty thousand men." In Barcelona lay the +French general, Duhesme, who had been hustled into that town by the +Spanish regulars and guerillas after the news of the great French +disaster at Baylen. It was absolutely vital to the French to relieve +Duhesme before lack of provisions caused him to surrender, but before +any advance could be made it was necessary to seize the fortress of +Rosas, which lay on the flank of the road from France to Barcelona; this +post St. Cyr successfully took by assault under the very guns of Lord +Dundonald's fleet. But still the problem of relieving Barcelona was a +difficult one. There were two alternative lines of advance: the first +and easier lay along the coast, but was exposed to the guns of the +English fleet; the other road was a mere track through the mountains, +and was accordingly extremely difficult owing to the excellent +opportunities it gave to the guerillas. But St. Cyr, keeping his +seventeen thousand men well in hand and taking every precaution against +ambushes, successfully broke through the lines of regulars and +guerillas, relieved Barcelona, and pushed on down the coast towards +Tarragona. His further advance was stopped by the rapid reorganisation +of the Spanish armies in Catalonia, and it became clear that until +Gerona, which commanded the mountain road to France, was taken, the +French forces in the south would always be in danger of having their +communications cut. Accordingly the Emperor ordered him to return to +assist General Verdier to capture this important town. Gerona had at one +time been a fortress, but it was now simply covered with a feeble +rampart. But the courage of the townspeople and their patriotism was +fired by the example of Saragossa, and their spirit was animated by +their governor, Alvarez, whose order, "Whoever speaks of capitulation or +defeat shall be instantly put to death," was received with shouts of +delight. Owing to quarrels between St. Cyr and Verdier, to the +stubbornness of the defence, and above all to the constant success of +the Spanish General Blake in throwing provisions into the town, the +siege, which commenced by sap and assault, gradually drifted into a mere +blockade, and lasted for six and a half months. At last the Emperor, +angry at the constant bickering between the commanders and at the +protracted siege, superseded St. Cyr by Marshal Augereau. However, it +did not suit that Marshal to take over his command until there seemed a +reasonable prospect of success, and accordingly he waited at Perpignan +for news of the approaching end of the siege. At last St. Cyr in disgust +threw up his command without waiting for the arrival of Augereau. The +Emperor marked this act of insubordination by sending him under arrest +to his country estate and depriving him of all his appointments. +Accordingly one of the few French generals who never sustained a defeat +in Spain passed the next two years of his life in disgrace without +employment, while day by day the French arms were suffering reverses in +the Peninsula. + +It was not till 1812 that the Emperor recalled St. Cyr to active +employment and gazetted him to the command of the sixth corps, which, +together with the second corps under the command of Marshal Oudinot, was +employed on the line of the Dwina to cover the communications of the +forces advancing on Moscow. The campaign in Russia showed the general at +his best and at his worst. In the operations round Polotsk his great +tactical ability enabled him with the small forces under his command to +foil again and again the efforts of the Russian commander, Wittgenstein, +but owing to his want of supervision before the winter arrived the sixth +corps, which entered Russia twenty-five thousand strong, had been +reduced to two thousand six hundred bayonets. It was not till his corps +had almost disappeared that he bestirred himself and compelled his +subordinates to look after the well-being and provisions of their men. +Moreover, when placed under the command of Marshal Oudinot, while +carrying out to the letter all orders transmitted to him, he invariably +refused to aid him with his advice, and even during the first battle of +Polotsk, when asked his opinion, he merely bowed and said, "My Lord +Marshal!" as though he would say, "As they have made you a Marshal, you +must know more about the matter than a mere general like me; get out of +it as best you can." But as soon as a wound caused Oudinot to retire +from the field he at once seized the reins of command, and so great was +the influence and confidence that he inspired that in a few hours the +army which Oudinot had left scattered and depressed with its back to a +river, was advancing victoriously and sweeping all before it. But, good +soldier as he was when left in supreme command, he unfortunately would +not act in co-operation with others, and when at the end of October +Victor, with twenty-five thousand troops, arrived to reinforce him, he +seized the opportunity of a wound to throw up his command and return to +France. As one of his critics says, "All that St. Cyr needed to be a +consummate commander was a smaller share of egotism, and the knowledge +to attach men and officers to him by attending to their wants." Still, +Napoleon recognised his services against Wittgenstein by at last making +him a Marshal. + +An attack of typhus and a burst blood-vessel deprived the Emperor of his +new Marshal's assistance until after the armistice of Dresden. This was +the first occasion on which the two had actually come into close +contact, and Napoleon quickly saw that "thrawn" and jealous as St. Cyr +undoubtedly was, his clearness of brain made his advice of the highest +importance, while St. Cyr speedily fell under the charm of the great +Emperor. Accordingly all through the campaign Napoleon constantly came +to him for advice, which was never withheld. Remembering also his great +reputation as a master of mountain warfare, the Emperor entrusted him +with the duty of holding the highland passes leading by Pirna on to +Dresden, while he himself hurried off to Silesia. In the great battle +round Dresden the Marshal's twenty thousand raw recruits played their +part nobly. Napoleon, to cover his own mistakes, laid the blame of +Vandamme's disaster on St. Cyr and Marmont, but in his private letter to +the Marshal he placed the blame on Vandamme, as he wrote, "That unhappy +Vandamme, who seems to have killed himself, had not a sentinel on the +mountain nor a reserve anywhere." When the Emperor fell back on Leipzig +he entrusted the defence of Dresden to St. Cyr, leaving him twenty-two +thousand troops and provisions for eight days. After a siege of a month +the Marshal was compelled for lack of powder to surrender with the +honours of war, but the Allies, after the evacuation of the town, +refused to carry out the terms of the surrender, and retained him and +his troops as prisoners of war; consequently he took no part in the +campaign of 1814. During the Hundred Days he remained quietly at his +country estate, but on the second Restoration he was called upon to +undertake the duties of Minister of War, to disband the old army and to +organise the new forces of France; his tenure of office was short, as he +refused to serve a ministry which proposed to cede French territory to +the enemy. In May, 1817, on the accession of a Liberal ministry, he once +again took office, and during this period he laid the foundation of the +General Staff of the Army, but in November, 1819, he resigned, and lived +in retirement till he died at Hyeres on March 17, 1830. + +During his hours of leisure the Marshal wrote his Memoirs, which he +intended to aid the future historian of the French wars. These Memoirs +show how clear and cutting his judgments were, both of men and matters, +and his criticisms throw many useful lights on Napoleon's character and +his methods of warfare, while they also to a great extent reveal his own +character. No one who reads them can doubt that St. Cyr was a great +strategist, while his powers as a tactician are proved by his +never-failing success on the field of battle. But in spite of these +talents the Marshal's actual record as a soldier is spoiled by his +defects of character. A great believer in living by rule, he had two +maxims which he ever clung to. First, that in war acts of kindness are +too often harmful; second, the old adage of Machiavelli, "That a victory +destroys the effect of the worst operation, and that the man who knows +how to give battle can be pardoned every fault that he may have before +committed in his military career." It is to these two maxims that we +must attribute the want of supervision he showed over his troops and his +absolute lack of cordiality towards his fellow Marshals and generals, +which gave him the nickname of the "Bad bed-fellow." For that he did not +lack the talents of an organiser is shown by the way, when roused, he +provided for his troops in Russia, and also by the success of his +efforts when Minister of War. But of all his gifts undoubtedly the most +useful was his absolute coolness: no matter how badly the fight went, no +matter if he were run away with in his carriage and carried straight +through a brigade of the enemy's horse, he never was ruffled, never lost +his clear grip on the situation. His bitter enemy, Macdonald, well +summed up his character in answer to Louis XVIII.'s questions as to +whether he was lazy. "I am not aware of it," said the Duke of Tarentum. +"He is a man of great military capacity, firm, honest, but jealous of +other peoples' merit. In the army he is regarded as what is called a +'bad bed-fellow.' In the coldest manner possible he allowed his +neighbours to be beaten, without attempting to assist them, and then +criticised them afterwards. But this opinion, not uncommon among +soldiers, is perhaps exaggerated, and he is admitted to have calmness +and great capabilities." + + + + +XIII + +BON ADRIEN JEANNOT DE MONCEY, MARSHAL, DUKE OF CONEGLIANO + + +The glamour of war appeals strongly to most men, to some it calls with +irresistible demand. Such an one was the Duke of Conegliano. Born on +July 31, 1754, at Palise, a little village of Besancon, the son of a +well-to-do lawyer, Bon Adrien Jeannot loathed scholarship and loved +adventure. When but fifteen years old the future Marshal ran away from +school and enlisted in the Conti regiment of infantry. After six months' +service he reluctantly agreed to the purchase of his discharge by his +father; but very soon ran away again to enlist in the regiment of +Champagne. He served with this regiment till 1773, when, finding that +his hopes of gaining a commission were disappointed, he once again +bought himself out. A few months, however, spent in the study of the law +only served to increase his hatred of a sedentary life and to kindle +once more his old ambition, and he again enlisted as a private, this +time in the gendarmerie. But now fortune was more kind, and after four +years' service he achieved his desire and was gazetted, in 1779, as +sub-lieutenant in the dragoons of Nassau Siegen. It was not, however, +till April, 1791, that he gained his captaincy, which had cost him +twenty-three years' hard service; but now promotion came rapidly, and in +three years' time he rose to the rank of general of division. + +In 1793 Moncey's regiment of dragoons formed part of the Army of the +Western Pyrenees. In the first engagement with the enemy he had the good +fortune to distinguish himself. The Spanish commander-in-chief, +Bonaventura Casa, led a charge of horse against the ill-disciplined +recruits and volunteers who formed the mass of the French army covering +St. Jean Pied de Porte. The miserable French infantry broke, with cries +of "We are betrayed!" and it was Moncey who, rallying a few brave men, +stopped the charge of the enemy's horse. Energetic, clear-witted, and +self-confident, he soon became a man of mark. In February, 1794, he was +promoted general of brigade, and six months later general of division, +in which capacity, in August of that year, he was mainly instrumental in +forcing the lines of Fontarabia; on the proposition of Barrere he was, a +few days later, appointed by the Convention commander-in-chief of the +Army of the Western Pyrenees. In October he fully justified his +selection by forcing the famous pass of Roncesvalles, so intimately +connected with the names of Charlemagne and the Black Prince. This +action, which made good a footing in Spain, was extremely brilliant; the +position, strong by nature, had been made almost impregnable by months +of hard labour. Moreover, the French troops were badly handicapped by +the difficulty of getting food; but, by now, they were very different +from the ill-trained levies of 1793. The turning column, which had four +days' hard mountain climbing and fighting on three biscuits per man, +found nothing to eat, when the pass was forced, save a little flour, for +the Spanish had burnt their magazines. In spite of this there was no +grumbling, and the men, as their general reported, pressed on with cries +of "Vive la Republique!" Moncey, like Napoleon, knew how to use the +great driving force of hunger. He thoroughly deserved the thanks which +he received from the Convention, and he fully earned them again when, +early in 1795, he drove the Spanish army in flight across the Ebro, for +it was his magnificent forward movement which forced Spain to accede to +the treaty of Basle. + +From Spain the general was transferred to the Army of the Cotes de +Brest. A year later he was posted to the command of the eleventh +military division at Bayonne, and he was still there when, in October, +1799, Bonaparte returned from Egypt and overthrew the Directory. No +politician, it mattered little to Moncey who governed France, as long as +the honour of the country was maintained and he saw active service. +Accordingly he gladly accepted from the new government the position of +lieutenant to Moreau, the commander-in-chief of the Army of the Rhine. +But he did not serve long under his new chief, being detached in May at +the head of sixteen thousand to cross the Alps by the St. Gothard Pass, +as part of the great stroke aimed at the Austrian lines of communication +in Italy. His corps formed a flank guard to the main Army of the +Reserve, which crossed the St. Bernard under Napoleon himself. In the +operations which succeeded the battle of Marengo the First Consul made +full use of Moncey's great experience in mountain warfare, and sent him +to the Valtelline to join hands with Macdonald, who was crossing the +Alps by the Spluegen Pass. Thereafter his division formed the left wing +of the French army under Brune. After a brilliant series of skirmishes +in the mountains, Moncey drove the flying enemy into Trent, but he was +robbed of complete victory by the Austrian general, Laudon, who sent a +message to say that Brune and Bellegarde had made an armistice. +Unfortunately for the French their general, the soul of honour, +suspected no deceit, and thus the Austrians were saved from annihilation +or absolute surrender. + +After the peace of Luneville General Moncey was appointed +Inspector-General of gendarmerie, and on Napoleon's elevation to the +throne was created, in 1804, Marshal, Grand Officer of the Legion of +Honour, and in 1808 Duke of Conegliano. Moncey invariably spoke his +mind, and for this reason was no favourite with the Emperor; further, in +comparison with his fellow Marshals, he was an old man, so from 1800 to +1808 he was not employed on active service. But on the invasion of +Spain, Napoleon determined to make use of the Duke of Conegliano's +knowledge of that country, and ordered him to proceed there with the +Army of Observation of the Ocean, which he was then commanding at +Boulogne. This army became the third corps of the newly formed Army of +Spain. It was composed almost entirely of recruits, and when Murat +marched into Madrid at the head of the third corps, the poor physique of +these "weak and weedy privates" had a very bad effect on the situation, +for the Spaniards thought they could easily defeat such troops. From +Madrid the Marshal was sent to capture Valencia, which had broken out +into revolt against the French. Though old, the Duke of Conegliano was +still active and vigorous. After a month's continuous fighting across +mountain passes and rivers he reached Valencia; but he found the town in +a state of defence. As Napoleon said on hearing of his check, "A city of +eighty thousand inhabitants, barricaded streets, and artillery +entrenched at the gates cannot be taken by the collar." Accordingly +there was nothing for it but to retreat, and this the Marshal did in +such a masterly manner that the failure of his expedition produced but +little bad effect on the French cause. When, after Baylen, Joseph held +his council of war at Madrid, Moncey alone stood out for the bold course +of cutting communication with France and concentrating around the +capital; but he was overruled, and the French fell back on the line of +the Ebro. + +As soon as Napoleon arrived in Spain he vented his anger +indiscriminately on all those Marshals who had served under Joseph, but +his greatest displeasure fell on Moncey, for the Duke of Conegliano did +not believe that Spain could be gained by hanging all those who +resisted, and had actually received the thanks of the Junta of Oviedo, +who considered him "a just and honourable man," and published a +manifesto saying, "We know this illustrious general detests the conduct +of his companions." Accordingly, in the eyes of the Emperor he had been +guilty of bungling and slackness, if not of something worse, and he was +therefore subjected to the cruel affront of being placed under the +orders of Lannes, a junior Marshal. Though much annoyed, as a soldier he +could only obey, and the Emperor's decision was to some extent +justified, as Lannes won the battle of Tudela with the same troops which +Moncey had not dared to lead against the enemy. Three months later the +Marshal was once again superseded by Lannes, and this time recalled and +sent to France. The ostensible reason for this was, that in the +Emperor's opinion he had not pressed the siege of Saragossa. With a +desire to avoid bloodshed he had tried to induce the Spaniards to +capitulate by entering into negotiations, instead of pushing on his +siege batteries. But his real offence was that he had not concealed his +dislike of the seizure of Spain. + +In 1812 his disgrace was deepened, for he expressed with equal frankness +his hatred of the Russian campaign. Though never again employed at the +front, the Emperor made use of him in 1809 in Holland, and in 1812 and +1813 he led the Army of Reserve; while in 1814 he was appointed +major-general of the National Guard of Paris and made responsible for +the defence of the capital. In the last dark days before the city +capitulated Moncey, with six thousand citizen soldiers, fought bravely +outside the Clichy gate. + +On the Restoration the Marshal became a Minister of State and a member +of the new Chamber of Peers, and was confirmed in his old appointment of +inspector of gendarmerie. But on the return of Napoleon he forgot the +wrongs the Emperor had done him; he thought only of the glory Napoleon +had once won for France; so he swore allegiance to the imperial +government and was created a peer. But, on account of his age, the +Emperor gave him no military command. To punish him for his desertion, +Louis XVIII., on the second Restoration, appointed him president of the +council of war for the trial of Ney. But the Duke of Conegliano wrote to +the King boldly refusing to have anything to do with the trial of the +hero of Moskowa. So angry was the King at his courageous act that he +stripped the veteran of his marshalate and the title of duke, and sent +him to prison for three months in the castle of Ham, the same prison +which was later to receive the future Napoleon III. But time brought +forgiveness. In 1819 the Marshal was restored to his honours, and in +1823 was actually once again employed on active service. It must have +brought strange memories of the past to the veteran, who had been +thought too old to fight at Waterloo, again to see service in Spain, +where he had won his laurels in 1794 and had found naught but disgrace +in 1808. So, in his seventieth year, he made his last campaign, not in +command of a republican or imperial army, but as a corps commander in +the royal army under the Duc d'Angouleme. This time, however, there was +but little call on his courage and ability, for the campaign brought no +fighting and was merely a military promenade. On the fall of the Bourbon +dynasty the Marshal took no active part in affairs, but as Governor of +the Invalides in December, 1833, he had the honour to receive the +remains of Napoleon when they were translated to France; and on his +death nine years later, in 1842, at his special request, he was buried +in the "aisle of the brave," close to the tomb of the great Emperor. + + + + +XIV + +JEAN BAPTISTE JOURDAN, MARSHAL + + +Among the recruits who enlisted in the Auxerrois regiment in 1778 was +the son of the local doctor of Limoges, Jean Baptiste Jourdan. But +sixteen years old, having been born on April 29, 1762, Jean Baptiste was +attracted to the service by the desire to see America and to aid in the +good cause against "perfide Albion." Returning to France in 1784, with +all hopes of gaining a commission dashed to the ground by Segur's +ordinance, which excluded from commissioned rank all but those of noble +birth, Jourdan took his discharge. The ex-sergeant married a marchande +de modes, and set up a small drapery shop, but so humble was this +venture that the future Marshal had to carry his stock in a valise on +his back, and trudge from fair to fair to peddle his wares. As he went +from village to village he retold his adventures and fired his listeners +with the account of the glorious freedom of the New World, comparing it +with the miserable restrictions which had driven from the army himself +and many another fine soldier. When in the autumn of 1791 there came the +call for volunteers, Jean Baptiste gladly left his counter and enlisted +in the battalion of the Upper Vienne. His experience and ability soon +marked him out for command, and he was chosen by his comrades as +lieutenant-colonel. The opportunity he had long dreamed of had at last +arrived, and he made the most of it. Methodical and industrious, with +the lessons of handling and equipping irregulars which he had had in +America, he made his battalion a pattern for the others, and was +complimented by Lafayette on the admirable condition of his command. +Serving under Dumouriez in the invasion of Belgium, he was present at +Jemappes, and there proved that, in addition to powers of organisation, +he possessed the capacity for leading in the field. Promotion came +speedily when the guillotine cleared the way in the higher ranks by +removing the incompetent and unfortunate. + +By May, 1793, he had gained the grade of general of brigade; two months +later he became general of division. His first opportunity of +distinguishing himself in high command came six weeks later, when he was +entrusted by Houchard with the command of the advance guard in the +operations which ended in driving the English from the siege of Dunkirk. +So well did he execute his orders at the battle of Handschoetten that +Carnot selected him to succeed his commander when Houchard was hurried +off to the guillotine for failing to reap the full fruits of victory. +Jourdan was fortunate in that Carnot, "the organiser of victory," was +responsible for the welfare of the French arms, and not the despicable +Bouchotte. Carnot had grasped the fact that, if you are to defeat your +enemy, you must bring superior moral and physical force against him at +the decisive spot. Thanks therefore to him, Jourdan was able to mass +superior weight, and at Maubeuge hurl himself on the scattered forces of +the enemy, who were covering the siege of Valenciennes. But the victory +of Maubeuge nearly cost him his head, as that of Handschoetten had done +for his predecessor. The Committee of Public Safety, with that +incompetent rashness which those who know least of war most readily +believe to be military wisdom, ordered him to pursue the enemy and +conquer Belgium. It was in vain that he pointed out the strength of the +Allies, his want of transport and stores, and the difficulty of +undertaking a winter campaign with raw troops: reason was of no avail; +his resignation was wrathfully accepted, and he was ordered to Paris to +give an account of his actions. Face to face with the Committee, the +General renewed his arguments, explained how the old battalions of +regulars had dwindled down to some two hundred muskets apiece; how the +new levies possessed neither arms nor clothing; how some battalions were +armed with pikes, some merely with cudgels; and finished by offering, as +a proof of his zeal for the Republic, to go to La Vendee and fight +against the rebels. The truth of his statement and his obvious +disinterestedness won the day, and, though for the moment he was refused +a new command, his life was saved. Moreover, the Committee of Safety +profited by his advice, and during the winter the Army of the North was +reclothed and equipped. Thanks partly to his suggestion, the battalions +of the line were brigaded with the volunteers, and this reorganisation +produced the magnificent regiments which Napoleon found to hand when he +commenced his career in Italy. + +[Illustration: JEAN BAPTISTE JOURDAN +AFTER A DRAWING BY AMBROISE TARDIEU] + +Jourdan's time of inactivity was but short. He had proved his worth in +the field, and France needed every capable soldier. Moreover, he had +made open testimony of his republicanism in the Jacobin Club, swearing +before the Tribune that "the sword which he wore should only be +unsheathed to oppose tyrants and defend the rights of the people." So, +in March, 1794, he was sent to take command of a new army which Carnot +had been raising during the winter. By June this new force of one +hundred thousand, known to history as the famous Army of the Sambre and +Meuse, had established itself on the Meuse and taken Charleroi. Coburg, +the commander-in-chief of the Allies, anxious about his communications, +hurried to oppose this successful advance, and on June 25th was fought +the battle of Fleurus, which caused the Allies to evacuate France, ended +the Reign of Terror, and was the starting-point for the long period of +offensive warfare which was at last brought to an end twenty-one years +later on the field of Waterloo. At Fleurus Jourdan proved his ability as +a tactician, and the victory was due to the moral courage with which he +threw his last reserve into the fray. Backed by the Army of the North +under Pichegru, he then swept over Belgium, and by the autumn the +republican armies had crossed the Rhine. + +During the next year Jourdan was engaged in the Rhine valley. But in +1796 he was ordered to advance through the Black Forest on Ratisbon, and +there join another French army under Moreau, which was moving down the +right bank of the Danube. Against this defective strategy he protested +in vain, and, as he had expected, was driven back by the able measures +of the Austrian general, the Archduke Charles. After this misfortune he +was placed on the unemployed list, and, for some time, had to find an +outlet for his energies in the field of politics. Entering the Council +of Five Hundred as the representative of the Upper Vienne, he was warmly +received by the republican party, and voted against the proposed +re-establishment of the Catholic religion, and supported the coup d'etat +of the 18th Fructidor, by which the royalist councillors were driven +into exile. Full of fiery zeal for the Republic, a rhetorical speaker +ready to appeal to the gallery, swearing on his sabre the oath of +fidelity, he nevertheless had a cool head for business, and it was at +his suggestion that in September, 1798, the celebrated law was passed +whereby conscription became the sole method of recruiting for the army. +Jourdan introduced the law with a flourish of trumpets, assuring the +Council that "in agreeing to it they had decreed the power of the +Republic to be imperishable," while as a matter of fact they were +forging the weapon which was to place their country at the mercy of the +first adventurer who had the courage and capacity to make himself +dictator. In 1799 foreign danger once again caused him to be entrusted +with a military command, and once again he was opposed by his old +adversary, the Archduke Charles, and driven back in retreat across the +Rhine. Thereon the Directory superseded him by Massena, and he returned +to the Council of Five Hundred, and in September proposed his memorable +resolution, "that the country is in danger." "Italy under the yoke, the +barbarians of the north at our very barriers, Holland invaded, the fleet +treacherously given up, Helvetia ravaged, bands of royalists indulging +in every excess, the republicans proscribed under the name of Terrorists +and Jacobins." Such were the outlines of his picture. "One more reverse +on our frontier," he added, "and the alarm bell of royalty will ring +over the whole surface of France." But France had had enough of the +Terror, and knew that she could evolve her safety by other means than +that of the guillotine. Six weeks later Bonaparte returned from Egypt. + +From the advent of the Consulate a blight fell over Jourdan's career. +Napoleon could never forgive him for the obstinacy with which he had +opposed him on the 18th Brumaire. True, in 1800 he appointed him +Governor of Piedmont, and in 1804 created him Marshal. He could not +withhold the baton from the general who had in 1794 driven the enemy +from the sacred soil of France, who, more often than any other general, +had commanded in chief the armies of the Republic, and who, in spite of +numerous defeats, had established a reputation as one of the most +brilliant of the generals of republican France. But though he gave him +his baton Napoleon thought but little of his military ability, and +called him "a poor general"; for in his eyes success, and success alone, +was the test of merit, and he could see nothing in a general who, from +his capacity for emerging with credit from defeat, was surnamed "The +Anvil." But it was not this which caused Napoleon to snub the gallant +Marshal: it was his ardent republicanism and well-known Jacobin +sentiments which made him so hateful to the Emperor. But though Napoleon +treated him shamefully, and did all he could to cast him into ill +repute, the Marshal showed he had a soul above mere personal ambitions, +and served France faithfully. At St. Helena the fallen Emperor +confessed: "I certainly used that man very ill: he is a true patriot, +and that is the answer to many things urged against him." From 1805 to +1815 Jourdan's life was full of mortification. When the war broke out +against Austria in 1805 he was in command of the army in Italy, but was +at once superseded, under the plea that his health was bad, and that he +did not know the theatre of war like Massena. However cleverly the pill +was gilded, the Marshal knew that it was the Emperor's distrust which +had lost him the command. But, though Napoleon disliked him, Joseph was +his friend, and in 1806 the new King of Naples applied to be allowed to +take him with him to Italy as his major-general and chief of the staff. +When in 1808 Joseph exchanged the crown of Naples for that of Spain the +Marshal accompanied him, and when, in 1809, Napoleon hurriedly left +Spain to return to Paris, he appointed him chief of the staff to King +Joseph. The major-general's task was a difficult one. He had no +executive authority: his duty was simply to give advice to the King, and +to transmit such orders as he received; but unfortunately neither Joseph +nor he had the power to enforce orders once given, for although certain +French corps had been placed at the disposal of the King, and were +supposed to obey his orders, their commanders had still to communicate +with Berthier and to receive through him the decrees of the Emperor. +Hence there was a dual authority, and, to make matters worse, Napoleon +did not attempt to veil his contempt of Joseph's military ability. At +the same time he cast aspersions on Jourdan's skill, and showed his open +dislike to the Marshal by omitting his name from the list of French +Marshals in the "Almanack," under the pretence that he had been +transferred to the Spanish establishment and was no longer a Frenchman. +Consequently the other Marshals paid but little attention to the King or +the major-general. At the battle of Talavera Jourdan's advice was +utterly disregarded and his orders entirely neglected, and still he had +to bear the blame, and endure the whole of Napoleon's wrath. In despair, +broken down in health, he applied to be relieved of his duties, and +returned home to private life. But in 1812, when the Emperor was +summoning his vast army for the invasion of Russia, being short of +officers, he sent the Marshal back to his old post in Spain. The task +had been a hard one in 1809, it was harder still in 1812. The flower of +the French troops were now withdrawn for the Russian campaign. The +authority of the King was more feeble than ever, and years of warfare +had transformed the English army into a perfect fighting machine. The +Spaniards were now past masters in guerilla warfare, while the +iniquitous scheme of making war support war had subverted discipline and +broken the morale of the French army. With admirable lucidity the +Marshal drew up a memoir showing the state of affairs in Spain, and +pointing out what was at fault; but memoirs written for Joseph could not +alter evils which flowed directly from Napoleon's having broken the +golden canon of the "unity of command." With three practically +independent commanders-in-chief who refused to acknowledge the +controlling authority of the King, who were too jealous of each other to +work with mutual accord, disaster was bound to follow. The temporary +co-operation of all three drove the English back on Portugal at the end +of 1812. But in 1813 the disaster in Russia had caused the Emperor to +make further heavy drafts on the force in Spain. Jourdan could only +advise a steady retirement towards France. The culminating blow at +Vittoria was no fault of his. Struck down by a fever the day before the +action, he was unable to give his advice at the critical moment. So +Joseph had to fight Vittoria without the assistance of the chief of his +staff, and with subordinates who not only despised, but disobeyed him in +the presence of the enemy. It was no wonder that defeat easily turned +into rout. The whole of the French baggage was captured, and in the +flight the Marshal had the misfortune to lose his baton, which was +picked up by the 87th Regiment and sent to England. + +After 1813 Jourdan's career came to a close. Napoleon heaped reproaches +on him, and refused him further employment, entirely oblivious of the +fact that it was he himself who was responsible for the Spanish +disaster, and that the Marshal had done all that was possible. On the +Emperor's abdication the old Jacobin took the oath of allegiance to King +Louis, and remained true to his allegiance during the Hundred Days. Time +had chastened and mellowed his fiery republicanism, and seeing that a +Republic was impossible, he preferred the chance of constitutional +liberty under a monarchy to the tyranny of the Empire. In 1817, as a +reward for his services, he was created a peer of France. But though he +accepted the Restoration in preference to the Empire, all his sympathies +were liberal, and no one had a greater dislike for the reactionary +policy of Charles X. In 1830 he gladly accepted the new liberal +constitution of Louis Philippe, the old Philip Egalite of the days of +Jemappes. The new monarch appointed his former comrade governor of the +Hospital of the Invalides, and there, among his old fellow-soldiers of +the revolutionary wars, the Marshal breathed his last on November 23, +1833, in his seventy-second year. + + + + +XV + +CHARLES PIERRE FRANCOIS AUGEREAU, MARSHAL, DUKE OF CASTIGLIONE + + +The future Duke of Castiglione was born in Paris on November 11, 1757. +His father was a mason by trade and his mother, a native of Munich, kept +a furniture shop in the Faubourg Saint Marceau. From his earliest youth +Pierre Francois, handsome and long-limbed, hot-blooded and vain, +thirsted after adventure. At the age of seventeen, on his mother's +death, he enlisted in the carabineers. A keen soldier and a fine +horseman, he soon became sergeant, and within a few years gained the +name of being one of the best blades in the army; but in upholding this +reputation Sergeant Augereau constantly fell into disgrace with the +authorities. Though a blusterer by nature and full of bravado, the +sergeant was certainly no coward. On one occasion a noted professional +duellist thought that he could intimidate him. Accordingly, he swaggered +into a cafe, where Augereau was talking to some friends, and plunged +himself down on the table at which the sergeant was sitting, and, +lolling back till he almost leant against him, began to boast how, on +the previous day, he had accounted for two sergeants of the Garde +Francaise. This was sufficient insult to cause a challenge, but Augereau +preferred to let the challenge come from his adversary, and, +accordingly, undoing the leather belt of his would-be opponent, he +quietly poured the whole of a cup of scalding coffee down the inside of +his breeches. Having thus taken the upper hand of the quarrel, he so +completely mastered the spirit of the bully that he had little +difficulty in disposing of him in the duel which followed. An +unfortunate incident cut short his career in the carabineers. One day a +young officer, losing his temper with him on parade, threatened to +strike him with his whip. Thereon, Augereau in fury snatched the whip +from the officer, who at once drew his sword and attacked him. Augereau +at first confined himself to parrying, but at last, being wounded, he +thrust out and killed his opponent. The colonel, well aware that it was +not the sergeant's fault, arranged for his escape across the frontier. +After wandering about Constantinople and the Levant, Augereau passed +some years as sergeant in the Russian army, and served under Suvaroff at +the taking of Ismailia, but, getting tired of service in the East, he +deserted and escaped to Prussia. There he enlisted, and, owing to his +height and proficiency in drill, was transferred to the guards. His +captain held out hopes of a commission, but these were dashed, for when +he was brought to the King's notice Frederick asked who he was. "A +Frenchman, sire," was the reply. "So much the worse," answered the King; +"so much the worse. If he had been a Swiss, or a German, we might have +done something for him." Augereau, on hearing this, determined to quit +the Prussian service. Desertion was the only way of escape, but the +Prussians, by offering heavy rewards for recapture, had made desertion +almost impossible. Luckily, he was not the only guardsman dissatisfied +with the Prussian service, and he had little difficulty in getting +together about sixty of the boldest of the regiment, and, seizing a +favourable opportunity, he marched off his squad with their arms and +ammunition, and, beating off all attacks from the peasants and +detachments of soldiers who tried to stop them, he safely convoyed his +comrades across the frontier to Saxony. After this escapade Augereau +settled down as a dancing and fencing master at Dresden, but on the +amnesty, at the birth of the Dauphin, he returned to France and regained +his rank in his old regiment. His adventurous life and his natural +aspirations soon made him tire of always holding a subordinate position, +and in 1788 he applied to be sent, as one of the French instructors, to +help in the reorganisation of the Neapolitan army. There he soon gained +a commission. In 1791 he fell in love with the daughter of a Greek +merchant, and, as her father refused to listen to him, he quietly +married her and carried her off by ship to Lisbon. In Portugal his +freedom of speech, and approval of the changes which were happening in +France, caused the authorities to hand him over to the Inquisition, from +whence he was rescued by a French skipper and conveyed, with his wife, +to Havre. + +[Illustration: CHARLES PIERRE AUGEREAU, DUKE OF CASTIGLIONE +FROM AN ENGRAVING BY RUOTTE] + +Augereau returned to France ready to absorb the most republican +doctrines. His banishment, after killing the officer, had always seemed +unfair; his long subordination and the harshness of military discipline +had rankled in his soul; physically, he knew himself superior to most +men, and by his wits he had found himself able to hold his own and make +his way in nearly every country in Europe; so far birth had seemed to be +the only barrier which cut him off from success. But now caste was +hurled aside, and France was calling for talent; good soldiers were +scarce: Augereau saw his opportunity, and used it to the full. A few +months spent fighting in La Vendee taught him that renown was not to be +gained in civil war, and, accordingly, he got himself transferred to the +Army of the Pyrenees, where he rose in six months from simple captain to +general of division. From the Pyrenees he was transferred with his +division to Italy, and covered himself with glory at Loano, Millesimo, +and Lodi. But it was his conduct at Castiglione which once and for all +made his reputation; though it is not true, as he boasted in 1814 after +deserting the Emperor, that it was only his invincible firmness which +caused Bonaparte to fight instead of retreat; for Bonaparte was +concentrating to fight, and his abandonment of the siege of Mantua, +against which Augereau so wildly protested, was but part of the +preparation for victory. Though he would not listen to Augereau's +strategic advice, he had enough confidence in him to leave the first +attack on Castiglione entirely in his hands. According to the Marshal's +Memoirs, Bonaparte was afraid of attacking. "I wash my hands of it and +go away," he said. "And who will command if you go?" asked Augereau. +"You," retorted Bonaparte. And well he did his work, for not only did he +defeat the fifteen thousand Austrians at Castiglione, but he restored +the fallen confidence of his soldiers and refreshed the morale of the +whole army. Napoleon never forgot this service, and when detractors saw +fit to cast their venom at Augereau, he answered, "Let us not forget +that he saved us at Castiglione." From Castiglione onwards the soldiers +of Augereau's division would do anything for their commander. It was not +only that they respected his tactical gifts, and had complete confidence +in him in the hour of battle, but they loved him for his care of them. +In time of peace a stern disciplinarian, with a touch of the drill +sergeant, he was ever ready to hear their complaints, and never spared +himself in looking after their welfare, while in war time he was always +thinking of their food and clothing; but, above all, he gave them booty. +Adventurer as he was by nature and training, he loved the spoils of war +himself, and, while the "baggage wagon of Augereau" was the by-word in +the army, he saw to it that his men had their wagons also well loaded +with plunder. His courage was a thing to conjure with; at Lodi he had +been one of the numerous generals who rushed the bridge; but at Arcola, +alone, flag in hand, he stood on the bridge and hurled taunts and +encouragements at his struggling troops, and for three continuous days +exposed himself, the guiding spirit of every assault and forlorn hope. +While adding to his reputation as a stern and courageous fighter, a +clever tactician, and a born leader of men, Augereau's opinion of +himself increased by leaps and bounds. He was in no way surprised when, +after Leoben, Bonaparte entrusted him with a delicate secret mission to +Paris. In his own opinion no better agent could have been found in the +role of a stern, unbending republican and fiery Jacobin. Bonaparte told +him he would represent the feeling of the Army of Italy, and help to +bring to nothing the wiles of the royalists. So the general arrived at +Paris full of his mission and of his own importance, to the delight of +his father--the old mason--who saw him ride into the city covered with +gold lace to present sixty stands of captured colours to the Directory. +Once in Paris, the fighting general's threats against the Clicheans were +turned into deeds. Though he protested that "Paris has nothing to fear +from me: I am a Paris boy myself," on September 4, 1797, he quietly drew +a cordon of troops round the Tuileries, where the Councils sat, and +arrested and banished all whose political opinions opposed his own. +Relying on the promises of Barras, he now thought that he would become a +Director, in place of either Carnot or Barthelemy, who had been deposed. +But he soon found, to his sorrow, that he was not the great politician +he had believed himself to be, but merely the dupe of Bonaparte and +others, who had allowed him to clear the ground for them and to incur +the consequent odium. His immediate reward was the command of the Army +of the Rhine. Full of bitterness, he arrived at his new headquarters +"covered with gold embroidery, even down to his short boots," and +thought to debauch his soldiers and get himself accepted as dictator by +telling how, in the Army of Italy, everybody had a pocketful of gold. +But the Directory, though unable to curb a Bonaparte, had no fears of +the "Fructidor General," and very soon deprived him of his command, and +sent him to an unimportant post at Perpignan, on the Spanish frontier. + +For two years Augereau remained at Perpignan, where he had time to +understand the causes of his failure. Though completely dominated by +Bonaparte while in his presence, he had not the guileless heart of a +Lefebvre, and he began to perceive how the wily Corsican had used him +and betrayed him. Accordingly, when Bonaparte returned from Egypt he +read his design of becoming Dictator, and, true to his Jacobin +principles, at first resolved to fight him to the death; when, however, +he found generals, officers, and men going over to Bonaparte, he +hastened off to make his submission, saying reproachfully, "When you +were about to do something for our country, how could you forget your +own little Augereau?" But though he made his submission, again and again +his Jacobin principles made themselves felt. Forced to accompany +Bonaparte to the first mass held in Paris after the Concordat, Augereau +attempted to slip out of the carriage during the procession to Notre +Dame, and was ignominiously ordered back by one of the First Consul's +aides-de-camp; but he revenged himself by laughing and talking so loudly +during the service that the priest could hardly be heard. But Napoleon +knew his man and his price: a Marshal's baton and a princely income did +much to control his Jacobin proclivities. As early as 1801, Augereau +invested part of his savings on the beautiful estate of La Houssaye, +where, when not actively employed, he spent his time dispensing lavish +hospitality, and delighting his friends and military household with +magnificent entertainments, himself the life and soul of the whole +party, enjoying all the fun and the practical jokes as much as the +youngest subaltern. However he gained his money, he spent it freely and +ungrudgingly. When the First Consul tried to put Lannes in an awkward +position by ordering him at once to replace the deficit of three hundred +thousand francs, caused by the magnificent uniforms he had ordered for +the Guard, Augereau, as soon as he heard of it, hurried to his +solicitors and told them to pay that sum to General Lannes's account. +When Bernadotte, whom he scarcely knew, asked him to lend him two +hundred thousand francs to complete the purchase of an estate, he at +once assented; and when Madame Bernadotte asked him what interest he +would require, he replied, "Madame, bankers and moneylenders, no doubt +quite rightly, draw profit from the money they lend, but when a Marshal +is fortunate enough to oblige a comrade, the pleasure of doing him a +service is enough for him." + +In the scheme for the invasion of England the Marshal's corps, which was +stationed round Brest, was destined for the seizure of Ireland, so when +the Grand Army was turned against Austria his divisions were the last to +arrive on the theatre of operations, and were directed to the Tyrol, +where they forced General Jellachich and most of his army to surrender. +In the following year the Marshal greatly distinguished himself at Jena +and Pultusk; but at Eylau, though not owing to his own fault, he +suffered a reverse. The Emperor had placed him in the centre of the +first line and ordered him to advance against the Russian centre. The +fog and snow were so thick that the French could not see the foe until +they came within two hundred yards of them; the enemy suddenly opened +fire on them with massed batteries; in a moment Augereau's staunch +divisions were cut to bits by the hail of grape, and, owing to the smoke +and snow, they could not see their foes; they tried to hold their ground +and reply to the fire, but at last they wavered and broke. The Marshal, +so ill with fever that he had to be tied to his horse, did his utmost to +stop the rout, but in vain; at last, wounded and sick at heart, he had +to return and report his failure. The Emperor, wishing to cover his own +mistake, laid all the blame for the ill-success of the day on Augereau, +and breaking up the remnants of his corps among the other Marshals, he +sent him home. Afraid, however, of arousing his enmity, and mindful of +his past services, next year he created him Duke of Castiglione; but he +never entrusted him again with an important command in the field. In +1809 the Marshal was sent to Spain to supersede St. Cyr at the siege of +Gerona. He had lost his lust for fighting, and was soon recalled for not +showing sufficient energy. In 1812 he commanded part of the reserve of +the Grand Army in Prussia. In 1813 he was in command of a corps of +recruits in Germany, and was present at Leipzig, but all through the +campaign he grumbled against his troops. When reproached for slackness, +and told that he was not the Augereau of Castiglione, he turned on +Napoleon, crying out, "Ah, give me back the old soldiers of Italy and I +will show you that I am!" Still, he had no heart for the war, and after +the catastrophe at Leipzig he broke out into open revolt, cursing the +Emperor and telling Macdonald that "the idiot does not know what he is +about ... the coward, he abandoned us and was prepared to sacrifice us +all, but do not imagine that I was fool enough to let myself be killed +or taken prisoner for the sake of a suburb of Leipzig." In spite of +this, in 1814 Napoleon was so hard pressed that he was forced to employ +him. He sent him to Lyons with orders to prevent the Allies from +debouching from Switzerland, and, if possible, to fall on the line of +communication of Schwartzenberg's army, which was threatening Paris; and +he implored him "to remember his former victories and to forget that he +was on the wrong side of fifty." But old age and luxury had snapped the +once famous spirit of the Duke of Castiglione, and his operations round +Lyons were contemptible. As Napoleon said at St. Helena, "For a long +time Augereau had no longer been a soldier; his courage, his early +virtues, had raised him high above the crowd, but honour, dignity, and +fortune had forced him back into the ruck." Accordingly, as soon as he +heard of the capitulation of Paris he hoisted the white cockade, and +issued a proclamation saying, "Soldiers, you are absolved from your +oaths; you are so by the nation, in which the sovereignty resides; you +are still more so, were it necessary, by the abdication of a man who, +after having sacrificed millions to his cruel ambition, has not known +how to die as a soldier." Soon after this he met his former Emperor and +benefactor on his way to exile at Elba, and a bitter conversation +ensued, in which, in reply to the Emperor's recriminations, the Marshal +asked, "Of what do you complain: has not your insatiable ambition +brought us to this?" + +Yet when the Emperor returned to Paris Augereau threw up his command in +Normandy and hastened to proffer his allegiance. But Napoleon would have +none of it, and refused him place or preferment. After Waterloo the +Bourbons also showed him the cold shoulder; so the Marshal retired to +his country seat of La Houssaye, where he died on June 11, 1816, of +dropsy on the chest. Born and bred a Paris boy, he had lived as such, +and of such were his virtues and his vices. Physically brave, yet +morally a coward; vain, blustering, yet kind-hearted; full of boisterous +spirits, greedy, yet generous; liberal by nature, hating control, yet a +severe disciplinarian; a firm believer in the virtue of principles, yet +ever ready to sacrifice his principles at the altar of opportunity, +Augereau, in spite of his many faults, knew how to win and keep the love +of his soldiers and his friends. A leader of men rather than a tactician +or strategist, he played on the enthusiasm of his soldiers by example +rather than precept. Unfortunately for his reputation, his moral courage +failed him at the end of his career, and he added to the imputation of +inconstancy the crime of ingratitude. + + + + +XVI + +GUILLAUME MARIE ANNE BRUNE, MARSHAL + + +Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, poet and warrior, was born on May 13, 1763, +at Brives-la-Gaillard. His father, who belonged to a legal family, +destined his son to follow in his footsteps, and after giving him a good +education, sent him to finish his study of law at the College of France +at Paris. But the boy's taste did not lie among the dull technicalities +of law. Artistic and emotional by temperament, he early threw himself +heart and soul into literature. At the age of eighteen he published his +first work, half prose, half verse, in which he described a holiday in +Poitou and Angoumois. But his father viewed with suspicion his son's +literary aspirations, and the breach between them widened when Guillaume +married a young burnisher of metal, Angelique Nicole Pierre, the +orphaned daughter of a miller from Arpajon, who had captivated him by +her beauty and then nursed him through a dangerous illness. The young +couple were thrown entirely on their own resources, and Angelique had to +continue her burnishing, while to ensure the publication of his works +Brune took to the trade of printer. But in spite of poverty and hard +work the marriage was a happy one, for Angelique's beauty, and purity of +mind and character were the necessary complement to her husband's +artistic desires. While engaged in his literary work Brune met the +celebrated Mirabeau, who introduced him to his friends, Camille +Desmoulins and Danton. Generous by nature, and smarting under the social +disgrace which followed his marriage, the poet, turned printer, threw +himself heart and soul into the philosophy of the day: when the +Revolution broke out he hailed the new era with delight, but, like many +another visionary, he failed to see the cruel necessities which the +Revolution was bringing in its train. Following the example of his +friend Camille Desmoulins, on September 15, 1789, he started a +newspaper, the _Magazin Historique ou Journal General_, and followed up +this speculation by editing, in collaboration with Gauthier, the +_Journal de la Cour_; but owing to the violent politics of Gauthier, +Brune broke his connection with the paper in August, 1790. As the +Revolution grew in violence and blind disorder, and hate took the place +of his dream of platonic justice, eager to escape from cruelty and lust, +the printer hastened to console himself among those who were hurrying to +the frontier to fight the enemy as the only means of getting away from +the chaos at home. In August, 1791, he enlisted in the volunteers of the +Seine and Oise, and within a few weeks his activity, zeal, and talent +for administration caused his comrades to elect him adjutant-major. +Early in 1792 he joined the staff of the army as assistant +adjutant-general, and, owing to the influence of Danton and his +political friends, was recalled from Thionville to Paris in September, +1792, as commissary general, to direct and organise the newly raised +battalions of volunteers. But when he arrived in Paris on September 5th, +and found the streets swimming in blood and Danton gloating over his +work, disgusted with Paris and its savage population, he at once applied +for active service, and was back at the camp of Meaux in time to take +part in Dumouriez's campaign of Valmy. Though he recoiled from their +methods, his friendship with Danton and Camille Desmoulins stood him in +good stead; as adjutant-general he served at Neerwinden, and after that +battle was one of the five general officers chosen to rally the +scattered troops of the Army of the North. In July he was ordered to +Calvados to assist in crushing the Girondists. After his success in +Normandy his friends offered him a post in the ministry at Paris, but +"he loved liberty fair and free, as she existed in the army, but not as +she was adored in Paris, to the sound of the tocsin and the beat of the +generale, and fierce songs of death trolled out by cannibals." +Accordingly he returned to the Army of the North in time to fight under +Houchard at Handschoetten. But he had to pay the penalty for his +friendship with the Terrorists, for just as he was setting out full of +delight to fight the English at Dunkirk, owing to the exigencies of +political strife he was hurriedly recalled to give the Girondists their +coup-de-grace at Bordeaux. + +[Illustration: BRUNE +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY F. J. HARRIET] + +Brune returned to the capital in 1794 in time to witness the fall of his +patron, Danton; but fortunately for him Barras took him under his +protection, and in October, thanks to his influence, he became +commandant of Paris. For a whole year the General held this post, and on +October 5th commanded the second column while Bonaparte with the first +column ended the reaction of the Terror with a few rounds of grape shot. +Still under the patronage of Barras, Brune spent the year 1796 in +pacifying the Midi, and his work there has been admirably portrayed in +Alexandre Dumas' "Les Compagnons de Jehu," where he figures as General +Rolland. From this vexatious and wearisome struggle against hostile +countrymen he was summoned to Italy at the beginning of 1797, and was +present with Massena's division at the battle of Rivoli. Under Massena, +he fought through the campaign which ended at Leoben, and attracted the +notice of Bonaparte by his courage and goodwill: in reward for his +services he was created general of division. From Italy the general, +with his division, was sent in October to join the Army of England; +while marching north it was suggested that he should take the post of +ambassador at Berlin; but when the troops heard of this offer they +asked the adjutant-general to write to their commander, saying, "Listen +general: your division charges me to tell you not to give up fighting; +the division will bring you honour, and that is much better than an +embassy." However, there was to be no question of an embassy, for on +February 7, 1798, the Directors sent him to take over the command of the +French troops whose duty it was to annex Switzerland to France. This was +the general's first independent command; and though the campaign added +to his military reputation, unfortunately it left a stain on his honour. +The war was entered on merely with the desire of capturing the Swiss +treasury at Berne, and thus providing funds for Bonaparte's Egyptian +expedition. Brune had learned his lesson in Italy, so the campaign was +short, in spite of the difficulty of the country and the patriotism of +the Swiss. Writing to Bonaparte, the general explained the cause of his +success: "From the moment I found myself in a situation to act, I +assembled all my strength to strike like lightning: for Switzerland is a +vast barrack, and I had everything to fear from a war of posts. I +avoided it by negotiations which I knew were not sincere on the part of +the Bernese, and since then I have followed out the plan which I traced +to you. I think always I am still under your command." The crushing of +the Swiss peasantry and the capture of Berne were followed by the hour +of spoliation; no less than one million seven hundred thousand pounds +were wrung from the wretched Swiss. Brune himself kept his own hands +clean and was, as he wrote, "constantly paring the nails of rascals and +taking the public treasure from them"; but the fact that he was +officially responsible for the spoliation and that his own share of the +plunder was thirty-two thousand pounds caused his name to be loathed +throughout the length and breadth of Switzerland, and "to rob like a +Brune" became a proverb, which was eagerly seized on by his detractors. + +The Directors, pleased with his operations in Switzerland, despatched +Brune, on March 31, 1798, to take command of the Army of Italy. His task +was a difficult one, for at Rome and Mantua the starving troops had +mutinied, while the contractors and agents of the Directors were +amassing huge fortunes. To complicate the situation the general was +encumbered by a civil Commission, whose duty it was to supervise the +governments of the Cisalpine Republic. Trouve, the moving spirit of the +Commission, had but one idea, to curb the growing democratic spirit of +the Piedmontese. The commander-in-chief, whose love of freedom had not +yet been blunted, violently opposed Trouve, and at last forced his views +on the Directory, and Trouve was replaced by Fouche. But it was too +late; the mischief had been done. The Piedmontese would no longer bear +the French control: "This then," they cried, "is the faith, the +fraternity, and the friendship you have brought us from France!" In +spite of Brune's efforts to restore confidence they had lost all faith +in French honour, and on December 6th his successor found himself forced +to expel, at the point of the bayonet, all senators opposed to the +French interest. + +Leaving Italy in November, Brune found himself sent at the beginning of +1799 to Holland, where danger was threatening: it was evident that +England was going to make an effort to regain for the Prince of Orange +his lost possessions. In spite of this knowledge, as late as August the +French commander could only concentrate ten thousand men under General +Daendals to oppose an equal force of English under Abercromby when they +landed on the open beach at Groete Keten. Though as strong as the enemy, +General Daendals made the most feeble attempt to oppose the landing. Day +by day English and Russian reinforcements poured into Holland, till at +last they numbered forty-eight thousand. But the Duke of York, the +English commander-in-chief, had a hopeless task. With no means of +transport, no staff, and an army composed of hastily enrolled militia +recruits and insubordinate drunken Russians, his only chance of success +lay in a general rising of the Dutch; for early in September the French +forces were numerically as strong as his own. Abercromby's opinion was +that defeat would mean utter disaster: "Were we to sustain a severe +check I much doubt if the discipline of the troops would be sufficient +to prevent a total dissolution of the army": while the English opinion +of the Russians was that they were better at plundering than at +fighting. As a militiaman wrote, "The Russians is people as has not the +fear of God before their eyes, for I saw some of them with cheeses and +bitter and all badly wounded, and in particklar one man had an eit day +clock on his back, and fiting all the time which made me to conclude and +say all his vanity and vexation of spirit." In spite of this the English +had some considerable tactical success, and drove the French back +towards Amsterdam; but lack of provisions compelled them at the +beginning of October to fall back on their entrenched position on the +Zype. Fortunately Brune, who had been much impressed by the fighting +powers of the enemy, did not understand how difficult it would have been +for them to re-embark their forces if he pressed an attack. He allowed +some of his staff officers to throw out hints of an armistice and +convention, which were eagerly accepted, for on October 20th the English +had only three days' provision of bread. With Massena's victory at +Zurich and the embarkation of the Allies after the convention of +Alkmaar, the ring of foes which had so gravely threatened France was +snapped asunder, and Brune, although he had shown but little resource or +initiative during the fighting in Holland, and had failed to diagnose +the extremity of the enemy, was hailed, along with Massena, as the +saviour of the country, and his tactical defeats were celebrated as the +victory of Bergen. + +From Holland the conqueror of the English was despatched, early in 1800, +by the First Consul to quell the rising in La Vendee, where his former +experience of guerilla warfare in Switzerland stood him in good stead, +and he soon brought the rebels to their knees. During the Marengo +campaign he commanded the real Army of Reserve at Dijon, but in August, +when Bonaparte found it necessary to replace Massena, he despatched +Brune to take command of the Army of Italy. Unfortunately the future +Marshal's genius was more suited to the details of administration and +the direction of small columns than to the command of large forces in +the field. Though at the head of a hundred thousand men, and supported +admirably by Murat, Marmont, Macdonald, Suchet and Dupont, he failed +conspicuously as a commander-in-chief. His movements at the crossing of +the Mincio were hesitating and slow, and he neglected to seize the +opportunity which Dupont's successful movements presented to him. At +Treviso, as in Holland, he showed only too clearly his limitations: he +held the enemy in the hollow of his hand, but, failing to see his +advantage, he once again signed an armistice which permitted the foe to +escape out of his net. + +On his return to France the First Consul regarded him with suspicion. +His well-known republican opinions did not harmonise with Bonaparte's +schemes of self-aggrandisement. The First Consul had a very poor +estimate of his military ability, but the people at large still hailed +him as the saviour of Holland and France. Bonaparte treated him like all +those whom he suspected but whom he could not afford to despise, and +under the pretext of a diplomatic appointment he practically banished +him to Constantinople. Diplomacy was not Brune's forte, and after +eighteen months' residence in Turkey he was obliged to quit the Porte, +which had fallen entirely under Russian influence. + +The general was still abroad when the Emperor created his Marshals: his +appointment of Brune, like his appointment of Lefebvre, was part of his +scheme for binding the republican interest to his dynasty, for his +opinion of the Marshal's talent was such that he scarcely ever employed +him in the field. From 1805 to 1807 Brune was occupied in drilling the +troops left at Boulogne. In May, 1807, he was appointed to command the +reserve corps of the Grand Army, and when in July the King of Sweden +declared war on Napoleon, he was entrusted with the operations round +Stralsund, and captured that fortress and the island of Ruegen. During +this short campaign the Marshal had an interview with Gustavus of +Sweden, and tried to point out to him the folly of fighting against +France. A garbled account of this interview, full of unjust +insinuations, came to Napoleon's ears. In anger the Emperor sent for +Brune and taxed him with the false accusations. The Marshal, furious +that his good faith should be suspected, refused any explanation and +merely contented himself with repeating: "It is a lie." The Emperor, +equally furious at his obstinacy, deprived him of his command. The +result of this quarrel was that for the next five years Brune lived at +home in disgrace. On the Restoration he made his submission to Louis +XVIII., and received the cross of St. Louis. But in 1815, on the return +from Elba, he answered the Emperor's summons, for Napoleon could no +longer afford the luxury of quarrelling with generous Frenchmen who were +willing to serve him. Remembering the Marshal's talent for +administration and a war of posts, he offered him the command of the +Midi. Brune hesitated; Napoleon had treated him disgracefully, but in +his generosity he was ready to overlook all that; still, he knew well +that the Empire was not the Republic: yet he preferred Napoleon's regime +to that of the Bourbons, and at last he accepted, but set out for his +new duties depressed and not at all himself. The difficulties he had to +contend with were enormous; the Austrians and Sardinians were massing on +the frontiers, the allied fleet commanded the Mediterranean, while +Provence was covered by bands of brigands who called themselves +royalists. Marseilles, the fickle, which had given France and the +Republic the "Marseillaise," was now red-hot Legitimist. So the news of +Waterloo and of Napoleon's abdication came as a relief to the harassed +Marshal, who was only too glad on July 22nd to hand over Toulon to the +English. Thereon, in obedience to the command of the King, he set out +for Paris. + +Well aware of the disorder in the Midi, the Marshal asked Lord Exmouth, +the commander of the British squadron, to take him by sea to Italy, so +that he might escape the danger which he knew threatened him from the +hatred of the royalists. Unfortunately for the fame of England, Lord +Exmouth refused in the rudest terms, calling him "the prince of scamps" +and a "blackguard." Accordingly he set off by land, receiving a promise +of protection from the royalist commander, but no escort. With his two +aides-de-camp he reached Avignon in safety, but there he was set on by +the mob, chased into a hotel and shot in cold blood, and his body thrown +into the Rhone; a fisherman by night rescued the corpse, and for many +years the body of the Marshal reposed in the humble grave where the +kindhearted fisherman had placed it. Meanwhile the Government sanctioned +the story that he had committed suicide. But at last the persistence of +his widow compelled an inquiry, when the truth was revealed, and it was +proved without doubt that the murder had been connived at by the +authorities. The inquiry further revealed that the real cause of the +Marshal's death was not so much the measures he had taken to stamp out +the bands of royalists during his command in the Midi, as his old +connection with Camille Desmoulins and Danton. In spite of the fact +that he was not in Paris during the September massacres, and that he was +constantly employed with the army, rumour said that it was Brune who had +carried round Paris the head of the Princess Lamballe on a pike, and the +cunning revival of this story by the leaders of the White Terror had +roused the mob to commit the outrage. The story was absurd. The archives +of the War Office proved beyond doubt that he was not in Paris at the +time of the execution of the Princess. Strange to say, the Marshal +himself years before seems to have foretold his own death when, writing +about the Terrorists, he composed the following lines:-- + +"Against one, two hundred rise, +Assail and smite him till he dies. +Yet blood, they say, we spare to spill, +And patriots we account them still. +Urged by martial ardour on, +In the wave their victim thrown, +Return their frantic joy to fill; +Yet these men are patriots still." + +Though his faithful wife had forced the authorities to remove the stain +of suicide from the Marshal's fair fame, it was not till 1839, the year +after her death, that at last a fitting monument was raised at +Brives-la-Gaillard to the memory of the Marshal, who, whatever his +failings as a commander might be, had lived a staunch friend, a true +patriot, a courageous soldier; and had twice received the grateful +thanks of the Government, and had twice been acclaimed as the saviour of +his country. + + + + +XVII + +ADOLPHE EDOUARD CASIMIR JOSEPH MORTIER, MARSHAL, DUKE OF TREVISO + + +Edouard Mortier was born near Cambrai on February 13, 1768. His father, +a prosperous farmer, gave the future Marshal a fair education. Becoming +a man of some importance on the outbreak of the Revolution, he was able +in 1791 to secure for his son a commission in the volunteer cavalry of +the north. Extremely tall, heavily built, slow of speech, "with a stupid +sentinel look," the yeoman captain of 1791 gave the casual observer but +little sign of promise. But in spite of those rather weary looking eyes, +young Mortier was possessed of a burning enthusiasm and a dauntless +courage. From his first engagement at Quievrain, in April, 1792, where +he had a horse killed under him, to the day he and Marmont surrendered +Paris in 1814, every skirmish or engagement in which he took part bore +testimony to his extraordinary bodily strength and bravery. Nature +having also endowed him with a kindly temperament, it was not to be +wondered at that his men swore by him, and were ready to follow him +anywhere. But in spite of many gallant actions and numerous mentions in +despatches, promotion came but slowly; for Mortier spent the first six +years of his service with the armies of the Sambre and Meuse and of the +Rhine, and had to compete against such men as Soult, Ney, St. Cyr, +Kleber, and Desaix, who were on a higher mental plane. Still, he was +recognised as one who was bound to rise, and was one of those whom +Kleber singled out for commendation when he wrote to the Directory +saying, "With such chiefs a general can neglect to count the number of +his enemies"; and well he might, for on the day after he wrote his +report, Mortier, with a single battalion and four squadrons of cavalry, +having been ordered to try and drive two thousand of the enemy out of a +strong position on the Wisent, attacked them with such vivacity that, to +the surprise of everybody, in an hour he drove them in flight. + +After the campaign in 1798 Jourdan sent up his name for the command of a +brigade; but he preferred the colonelcy of the twenty-first regiment of +cavalry. However, a few months later, on February 22nd, he was promoted +general of brigade. It was in this capacity that he served under Massena +in the celebrated campaign in Switzerland. At the second battle of +Zurich he did yeoman service; by a vigorous demonstration he held the +enemy near the town while Massena completed his turning movement; he +further distinguished himself by his vigour and resource during the +pursuit of the Russians; thus he won his promotion to general of +division on September 25, 1799. When Bonaparte became First Consul, +Mortier found no cause for dissatisfaction with the change of +Government; no politician, he was ready to accept any strong government. +Fortunately for him his dogged character and his fighting record +attracted the First Consul's attention. Bonaparte saw in him a man +without guile, a soldier who would accept any order from his chief, and +execute it instantly without questioning. Still, it was a great piece of +fortune for the general of division, who had hitherto held no +independent command in the field, that he lay with his troops near the +Vaal, at the time that the First Consul determined to punish England for +her suspicion of him by seizing Hanover. With twenty thousand men +General Mortier issued from Holland, fell suddenly on the Hanoverian +troops at Borstel on the Weser, and forced Count Walmoden to sign a +convention whereby the Hanoverian army was to retire behind the Elbe and +not to bear arms against the French as long as the war continued. The +English Government refused to ratify it, so Mortier at once called on +Walmoden to resume hostilities; but so unequal was the contest, that the +Hanoverian general was forced to accept a modified form of the former +convention. Thereon Mortier hurriedly occupied Hamburg and Bremen, and +closed the Elbe to English commerce. But brilliant as his operations had +been in the field, as military governor of the ceded provinces he +established a reputation for great rapacity, which followed him +throughout his career. + +Napoleon, however, winked at his general's peculations so long as they +did not affect his treasury, and he showed his approbation of his +successful campaign by making him one of the four commandants of the +Guard, and including him, in 1804, among the first creation of Marshals. +Next year Mortier marched to Germany in command of a division of the +Guards. When after Ulm the army was reorganised for the advance on +Vienna, a new corps, composed of the division of Dupont and Gazan, was +entrusted to the Marshal. The duty he was to perform was difficult; he +was to cross the Danube at Linz and, unsupported save by a flotilla of +boats, hang on the Russian rear, while the rest of the army marched on +Vienna by the right bank of the river. The Emperor impressed on him the +necessity for caution, and warned him that he must throw out a ring of +vedettes and keep somewhat behind Lannes's corps, which was marching in +advance of him on the other side of the river. Unfortunately the +Marshal, in his eagerness to inflict loss on the Russians, whom he +believed to be flying in complete rout, neglected all warnings and +pushed recklessly forward. At Duerrenstein (near the castle where Richard +Coeur de Lion was imprisoned by the Archduke of Austria) he fell into +a trap. The enemy allowed him to pass the defile of Duerrenstein with +Gazan's division, knowing that Dupont was many miles in the rear, and +then closed in on him on front and rear. With but seven thousand men, +surrounded by thirty thousand Russians, it seemed that the Marshal was +lost. But he kept his head, and at once turned about to try and break +back and join Dupont, who he knew would hurry to his support. Firing at +point-blank range, struggling bayonet against bayonet, the small French +force worked its way towards the defile. Darkness fell, but still the +fight continued, and at last Dupont's guns were heard at the other side +of the gorge. But by then two-thirds of Gazan's division had fallen, +three eagles were taken, and Mortier himself, conspicuous by his +towering height, owed his safety to his skill with his sabre. His +officers had begged him to escape across the river by boat, lest a +Marshal of France should become a prisoner in the hands of the despised +Russians; this he indignantly refused. "No," he said, "reserve this +resource for the wounded. One who has the honour to command such brave +soldiers should esteem himself happy to share their lot and perish with +them. We have still two guns and some boxes of grape; let us close our +ranks and make a last effort." But still the Russians pressed the +devoted column, and now all the ammunition was expended and the +survivors were preparing to sell their lives dearly, when Dupont's men +at last hurled the enemy aside, and amid cries of "France! France! you +have saved us!" the undaunted remnant of Gazan's division threw +themselves into the arms of their comrades. On the morrow the sorely +battered corps was recalled across the Danube, but the Emperor could not +lay all the blame on Mortier, for it was his own mistake in strategy in +dividing his army by the broad Danube which had really caused the +disaster. + +[Illustration: ADOLPHE EDOUARD MORTIER, DUKE OF TREVISO +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY LARIVIERE] + +In 1806 the Marshal acted independently on the left of the Grand Army, +and after occupying Cassel and Hamburg, where his cruel exactions +greatly increased his reputation for rapacity, he was entrusted with the +operations against the Swedes. In 1807, however, he was called up to +reinforce the Grand Army in time to take part in the decisive battle at +Friedland. In July, 1808, Napoleon rewarded him by creating him Duke of +Treviso. A month later he despatched him to Spain in command of the +fifth corps, which was composed of veterans of the Austrian and Prussian +campaigns, very different from the recruits of the third corps and other +corps in Spain. But in spite of this magnificent material the Marshal +did not distinguish himself. The severe reverse he had received at +Duerrenstein seemed to have killed his dash. His physical bravery +remained the same as ever, but his moral courage had deteriorated, and +in Spain his manoeuvres were always halting and timid. At Saragossa he +did not press the siege with the vehemence Lannes showed when he +superseded him; but at the battle of Ocana he showed that during a +combat his nerve was as good as ever. The first lines of the French, +broken by the fire of the Spanish battery, had begun to waver; the +Marshal was slightly wounded, but at the critical moment he rode up to +Girard's division, which was in reserve, and leading it through the +intervals of the first line, he caught the victorious enemy at a +disadvantage, and completely turned the fortunes of the day. The +remainder of the Duke of Treviso's service in the Peninsula was spent +under the command of Marshal Soult, either in front of Cadiz or as a +covering force to the troops occupied in that siege. From Spain he was +recalled in 1812 to command the Young Guard in the Russian campaign. +When the French evacuated Moscow the Marshal, at the Emperor's commands, +had the invidious duty of blowing up the Kremlin. During his retreat he +showed himself worthy of his post of commander of the Young Guard, and +in 1813, in the same capacity, he fought throughout the campaign, taking +his share in the battles of Luetzen, Bautzen, Dresden, Leipzig, and +Hanau. After Dresden he incurred, along with St. Cyr, the wrath of the +Emperor for not having aided Vandamme. But the fact remains that the +blame of the disaster at Kuelm rests entirely on Napoleon and Vandamme. +No orders were sent to Mortier or St. Cyr till after the disaster had +occurred, and Vandamme had not taken the most elementary precautions +against surprise. In 1814 the Marshal fought gallantly at Montmirail and +Troyes, but, like Victor and Ney, he showed but little ingenuity. When +Napoleon made his last dash eastward, he left Mortier and Marmont to +hold off the Prussians from Paris. The Duke of Treviso, though far +senior to the Duke of Ragusa, bowed to his superior genius, and in the +operations ending in the surrender of Paris he carried out his junior's +ideas with great generosity and without the least show of jealousy. + +Like the rest of the Marshals, the Duke of Treviso made his submission +to the new Government. On the return of Napoleon he for a time kept true +to his oath to the Bourbons. When the Duke of Orleans, who shared with +him the command of the north, on leaving Lille, wrote to him, "I am too +good a Frenchman to sacrifice the interests of France, because now +misfortune compels me to quit it. I go to hide myself in retirement and +oblivion. It only remains for me to release you from all the orders +which I have given you, and to recommend you to do what your excellent +judgment and patriotism may suggest as best for the interests of +France," the Marshal, in spite of his decoration of St. Louis and his +seat as a peer of France, once again returned to his old allegiance. The +Emperor greeted him warmly and created him one of his new peers, and in +June sent him to the frontier in command of the Young Guard; but an +attack of sciatica forcing him to bed, he escaped the disaster of +Waterloo. On the second restoration he lost for the time his honours and +dignities, but refused to re-purchase them at the price of sitting as +judge on Marshal Ney; however, in 1819 he was reinstated in all of them. + +It was not till the accession of the July monarchy that the Duke of +Treviso once again played a prominent part. In 1831 his old friend, the +Duke of Orleans, now become King, made him Grand Chancellor of the +Legion of Honour, and in November, 1834, called on him to accept the +onerous task of head of the Government and Minister of War. To help his +friend and sovereign the Duke accepted the responsibility, but soon +found that he was unequal to the task. A frank and loyal soldier, of +unimpeachable honour, integrity, and character, he could shine in the +field, but not in the forum. His fine, lofty figure, commanding air, +military bearing, and frankness were of no avail in the Chamber of +Peers, where what was wanted was a subtle spirit which could discern and +influence the drift of parties, a clear, facile tongue, and an apparent +acquaintance with any subject which might come up for discussion. These +were the very qualities in which the Marshal was most lacking. +Slow-witted by nature, with a limited vocabulary and a bad delivery, he +soon found himself unfitted for the post, and resigned in February, +1835. But unfortunately for him he still retained his position as Grand +Chancellor, and in this capacity he attended Louis Philippe on his way +to the ill-fated review of July 29th. As the procession arrived at the +boulevard of the Temple, the Marshal complained of the heat; his staff +tried to persuade the old soldier to go home, but he refused, saying, +"My place is by the King, in the midst of the Marshals, my comrades in +arms." Scarcely had he spoken when Fieschi hurled the fatal bomb, which +missed the King and the princes, but killed the Marshal and many another +soldier. + +The Duke of Treviso, while doing his duty by his sovereign, met his +death like a soldier, though not on the field of battle. As with Davout, +the key to his character was his dogged determination; but though he +resembled the Prince of Eckmuehl on the battlefield, he had not his +powers of organisation, nor his clear insight into matters of policy and +strategy. But he had other qualities which Davout lacked. He was +kind-hearted, and beloved by his men. His simplicity and faithfulness +appealed to Napoleon, and to all who came in contact with him, and it +was for this reason that the Emperor entrusted him with the Young Guard. +What distinguished him from many of the other Marshals was his lack of +jealousy, and the generous way in which he co-operated with his comrades +in arms. When the funeral procession passed down the Rue Royale on its +way to the Church of the Invalides, with four Marshals on horseback +holding the corners of the pall, men felt, and felt rightly, that France +had suffered a loss, for one was gone who, peasant-born, had in his high +position known how to retain the simple virtues of a peasant, whose one +vice was the peasant vice of avarice, and who, with this exception, had +never allowed place or power to interfere with what he thought was his +duty. + + + + +XVIII + +JEAN BAPTISTE BESSIERES, MARSHAL, DUKE OF ISTRIA + + +Fidelity and conscientiousness are great assets in life's race, and to +these Jean Baptiste Bessieres added great presence of mind and +considerable dash. It is not therefore surprising that, in an age when +disinterestedness and reliability were notably absent among public men, +his force of character pushed him above the ordinary adventurers, and +caused him to become one of Napoleon's most trusted lieutenants. The +Marshal was born at Prayssac in 1768. His father, a surgeon, brought up +his son in his own profession. But the outbreak of the Revolution opened +a wider field to the audacious young Gascon. Early in 1792 Jean Baptiste +quitted Cahors and the medical profession, and started off to Paris as +one of the newly-enrolled "garde constitutionnelle." His fidelity and +courage were soon put to the test. He aided the royal family in the +flight to Varennes, and consequently had to seek safety in retirement. +But the life of a soldier was as the breath of his nostrils, and three +months later he managed to enlist in the 22nd Chasseurs, a corps which +formed part of the Army of the Pyrenees. There his courage and ability +made him conspicuous. Within three months of enlisting he was promoted +sub-lieutenant. The year 1793 proved a disastrous one for France. Defeat +followed defeat. But Jean Baptiste never despaired, and when success +ultimately smiled on the French arms, he had established a reputation as +a daring and capable squadron commander. Still, like many another of the +successful soldiers of the age, Bessieres owed his quick promotion to +his early friendship with the great Corsican. It was Murat who called +Napoleon's attention to the future commander of the Imperial Guard, and +Bonaparte, with his eagle eye, at once appreciated his qualities. When +the young chief formed his special bodyguard, called the Guides, he +placed him at their head. The new corps was composed of the choicest +troops, and formed the nucleus of the Imperial Guard. Henceforward +Bessieres became his chief's confidant and inseparable friend. It was +the rare fidelity that he displayed to his master and his constant +attention to detail, his intuitive knowledge of his commander's +requirements, and his energy in carrying out his plans, rather than +great military genius, which accounted for the Emperor's life-long +appreciation of the commander of his Guides. + +At Lonato and Castiglione Bessieres proved the correctness of the young +Corsican's judgment. At Roveredo he broke through the centre of the +Austrian infantry, and, with six others, captured two of the enemy's +guns. At the first battle of Rivoli, in accordance with his general's +commands, he laid an ambuscade in the marsh on the Austrian left, which +proved the decisive factor in the battle. In the following year he again +distinguished himself at the second battle of Rivoli and at the siege of +Mantua. As a reward for his services Bonaparte sent him to Paris with +the official despatches and the stands of colours won from the enemy, +and at the end of the campaign promoted him full colonel, and as a +further mark of his confidence appointed him tutor and instructor to his +stepson, Eugene. Bessieres accompanied Bonaparte to the East, and served +by his side in Egypt and Syria. + +The commander of the Guides was among the chosen body of friends who +accompanied Bonaparte on his secret return to France, and in Paris he +helped Murat, Lannes, and Marmont to win over the army, and took a +prominent part in the coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire. Immediately +after becoming First Consul Napoleon created the consular Guard, +composed of four battalions of infantry and two regiments of cavalry. He +placed at the head of the infantry Lannes, and at the head of the +cavalry Bessieres. With the cavalry of the Guard Bessieres took part in +the famous march across the Alps and in the drawn battle of Marengo. +Faithful as he had proved himself in war, he showed his fidelity in +peace by exposing the plot of the artist, Caracchi, and thus by ties of +gratitude bound himself closer to the First Consul. Tall, good-looking, +with a graceful figure and a charming smile, the commandant of the Guard +captivated everybody by his intelligence and his distinguished bearing, +which had a piquant flavour by reason of his adherence to the queue and +powder of a bygone age. + +Rejecting the brilliant match proposed by the First Consul, he chose as +his bride Mademoiselle Lapezriere, a young lady of a royalist family. +The couple were married by a nonjuring priest, and, far from incurring +displeasure, were greatly complimented, for Bonaparte already desired +the Concordat with the Pope, and saw in the bride a useful supporter of +his scheme. Madame Bessieres was a great social success: a favourite of +Napoleon and a close friend and confidant of Josephine; everywhere she +was welcomed for her beauty, her force of character, and the charm of +her manner. + +During the year of peace and the preparation for the invasion of +England, Bessieres accompanied the First Consul on all his numerous +expeditions. To his credit be it said, he protested loudly against the +ill-judged execution of the Duc d'Enghien. When the First Consul became +Emperor he enrolled his friend among his new Marshals, not for his +military genius, but as a reward for his fidelity, for none knew better +than Napoleon how lacking the new Marshal was in many of the requisites +of a great commander. + +In 1805 the cavalry of the Guard formed part of the Grand Army, and +their commander, by his able backing of Murat, had his share in helping +to win the battle of Austerlitz. During the interval between the +Austrian and the Prussian campaigns the Marshal was busily occupied in +Paris in reorganising and expanding the Guard, and, as usual, was in +close touch with the Emperor. In the Prussian campaign Bessieres had his +first taste of an independent command, and gained great credit for his +masterly manoeuvring in Poland, where with a weak force he kept the +enemy in complete ignorance of the movements of the French, and covered +the conjunction of the various corps of the army. + +After the peace of Tilsit he was entrusted with the delicate mission of +negotiating a marriage between Princess Charlotte of Wuertemburg and +Prince Jerome, the new King of Westphalia. Hardly had he returned to +Paris when he was hurried off again on active service, this time to +Spain. It was just a week before the disaster of Baylen that Marshal +Bessieres was confronted with a most serious problem. The Spanish levies +from Old Castile, under Cuesta, had effected a junction with the levies +of Galicia, under Blake, and were threatening to overwhelm the weak +force of ten thousand men with which the Marshal was attempting to put +down the guerilla warfare in the northern provinces. Bessieres had not +been the great Emperor's confidant for nothing, and he at once saw that, +unless he took the initiative, his force was doomed, for the enemy were +in overwhelming strength, and every day added to their numbers. He knew +well how ill-disciplined their forces were, and he determined to try the +effect of a surprise. Everything fell out as he wished. On July 14th he +found the Spanish armies in position outside Medina del Rio Seco, some +few miles east of Valladolid. The Spaniards, not knowing whether the +French were advancing from the direction of Valladolid or Burgos, had +placed the army of Blake on the Valladolid road, and that of Cuesta on +the Burgos road. Accordingly the Marshal was able to surprise and defeat +Blake, and then to turn and inflict a similar defeat on Cuesta. So far +his dispositions had been excellent, but, as General Foy said, "He could +organise victory, but he could not profit by it," for he was paralysed +by the extent of the guerilla warfare with which he was faced, and after +a short but bloody pursuit he called off his troops. Still, he had +accomplished much; for the time he had dispersed all organised +resistance in the northern provinces, and had opened the road to Madrid +for King Joseph. + +But Baylen and Vimeiro proved that the war in the Iberian Peninsula was +still only in its first stage. Joseph had hastily to evacuate Madrid, +and, in spite of having twelve thousand French troops under his command, +Bessieres could effect nothing. The Spanish armies of Cuesta and Blake +once again took shape; and, like the other French generals, the Marshal +had to fall back on the line of the Ebro. Such was the situation in +October when the Emperor himself appeared on the scene. The situation +changed like magic at the touch of a master hand. The French troops, +strung out in a great semicircle on the Ebro, were quickly concentrated. +Blake and Cuesta were each defeated by an overwhelming combination of +the different French armies. Meanwhile, the Emperor, recognising the +limitations of his faithful friend, superseded him by Soult, but gave +him the command of the Guard and of the reserve cavalry, under his own +immediate supervision, and took him back to France when he gave up the +pursuit of the English. + +Napoleon desired to take the Guard with him on the Austrian campaign, +and, as several regiments were still in Spain, others had to be +enrolled to take their places. These regiments were entirely organised +by Bessieres, and formed the nucleus of what was later called the Young +Guard. The Marshal's duty during the Austrian campaign of 1809 was the +same as in Spain: the command of the Guard and of the reserve cavalry. +During the famous Five Days' Fighting he proved again that no troops in +Europe could resist the charges of the heavy cavalry of the Guard, and +that he himself had almost as great a command of the technique of +cavalry tactics as his famous friend and instructor, the King of Naples. +At Aspern and Essling the cavalry of the Guard and the reserve cavalry +covered themselves with glory by their dashing charges. Again and again, +with cries of "Vive l'Empereur," the glittering masses of cuirassiers +attempted to break down the stern handful of indomitable Hungarians who +guarded the Austrian batteries. When the bridges were broken, and the +retreat to the island of Lobau was the only hope for the army, +Bessieres, with the remains of cavalry, so severely punished the enemy +that the retirement was effected in safety. At Wagram, when all seemed +lost, Napoleon called on his old comrade to sacrifice himself with his +cavalry. As the cuirassiers of the Guard trotted past to debouch on +their heroic mission, the Emperor, waving his sword, cried out, "No +sabring. Give point, give point!" The needed time was gained, and the +gallant Marshal was wounded. But at the end of the day, when the +troopers, after their great effort, could no longer face the unbroken +lines of slowly retreating Austrians, Napoleon, chagrined at his +failure, met his cavalry and their commander with reproach: "Was ever +anything seen like this? neither prisoners nor guns! This day will be +attended with no result." + +The Emperor's ill-humour was only temporary. When his most trusted +lieutenants were grumbling and longing for peace in which to enjoy the +spoil they had collected in war, when Bernadotte and Fouche were openly +intriguing against him, Napoleon could ill afford to disregard his most +faithful friend. Accordingly, immediately after Wagram he despatched the +newly created Duke of Istria to Belgium to take over the command of the +French troops who were opposing the ill-fated English expedition to the +isle of Walcheren. When the Marshal returned from Belgium to Paris he +found that the Emperor had made all arrangements for the divorce of +Josephine and for his second marriage. Bessieres was placed in a very +awkward position. Prince Eugene was his greatest friend. Josephine had +always been most kind to him and the Duchess, but he could not help them +in any way, and, to make matters worse, the Emperor insisted on coming +and staying with him at his country house at Grignon. + +Meanwhile the war in Spain was spoiling many great reputations. +Reinforcements were urgently required, so the Emperor decided to give +his Young Guard their baptism of fire in Spain. Accordingly, at the +commencement of 1811 he despatched them with Bessieres, their commander, +to operate on the northern lines of communication. The ill-success of +the French was palpably due to two causes. There was no +commander-in-chief on the spot--the Emperor was in Paris--and there was +no other Marshal whom all the others would obey. Secondly, there was a +great want of concentration; as Bessieres wrote to Berthier: "All the +world is aware of the vicious system of our operations, everyone sees +that we are too much scattered. We occupy too wide an extent of country: +we exhaust our resources without profit and without necessity: we cling +to dreams. We should concentrate our forces; retain certain points +d'appui for the protection of our magazines and hospitals, and regard +two-thirds of Spain as a vast battlefield, which a single victory may +either secure or wrest from us." Unfortunately the Marshal was human, +like his comrades, and instead of loyally backing up Massena, he came to +an open rupture with him on the question of supplies, and by his +inaction at Fuentes d'Onoro he caused the French to lose that battle. +Though he made good his excuses before Napoleon, and secured the +disgrace of the Prince of Essling, in the opinion of the Duke of +Wellington it was Bessieres's refusal to lend Massena assistance which +was entirely responsible for the French defeat. Moreover, sound as were +his views on the method of conducting war, he had not the personality to +impress them on others or the application to put them into practice, and +his whole time was occupied in attempting to make head against the +guerilla warfare. His methods were rough and barbarous, and reacted +against the French, for he avenged the ill deeds of the guerillas on +their families and women folk, and visited with military execution any +village which failed to meet his onerous requisitions. So the Spaniards +retaliated with revenge, the weapon of the weak, that "wild kind of +justice." The Marshal's blunders were cut short by his recall to Paris +at the beginning of 1812 to reorganise the Guard prior to the Russian +campaign. + +The Duke of Istria accompanied the Emperor to the front. His individual +share was restricted by the fact that the King of Naples was with the +army. But during the retreat he led the van and did yeoman service in +restoring order among the disheartened troops. + +Early in 1813 he was recalled from Ebling to reorganise the Guard and +the reserve cavalry. The task tried to the utmost the Marshal's great +administrative capacity, for not only was there the question of men and +equipment, but above all he was confronted with the difficulty of +providing remounts. In spite of all his efforts it was impossible to +find anything like enough horses for the cavalry, for the guns had to be +supplied first. + +The Marshal's share in the campaign was short. At Luetzen, on the eve of +the first engagement, he was greatly depressed and possessed by a +presentiment of death, which proved only too true, for scarcely had the +battle opened when he was struck by a bullet which inflicted a mortal +wound. + +The Duke of Istria has always been among the more unknown of the +Marshals. The reason for this is clear. As commander of the cavalry of +the Guard and organiser of the Young Guard, his greatest work was done +in the office at Paris, disciplining, organising, equipping, and +supervising the instruction of these picked troops. His greatest talents +were those of administration. As a cavalry leader in the field he was +overshadowed by the brilliant and more striking King of Naples. Still, +as a subordinate he possessed some sterling qualities, as is proved by +his actions during the Great Five Days, and by the fierce fight at +Aspern-Essling. As an independent commander he was a failure. Again and +again his moral courage seemed to desert him at the critical moment. In +Spain, at Medina del Rio Seco, at Burgos, and at Fuentes d'Onoro, he +could not brace himself to take the responsibility of throwing his whole +weight into the action. Like many another general, he was sound, but he +was unable to rise to the height of those great commanders who +intuitively know when to stake their all. Consequently, although he +undoubtedly possessed the true military eye, as is shown by the +wonderful way he covered the junction of the French corps along the +Vistula, and by his clearly written despatch on the errors of the war in +Spain, his military reputation always suffered when he had not his great +chief close at hand to stiffen his determination. Napoleon knew full +well his weakness, and the reproaches he hurled at him at Wagram were +not altogether without ground. Still, the Emperor was aware that +Bessieres's advice was always valuable, because of his clearness of +vision and his absolute lack of all bias and prejudice; and while he +made allowances for his lack of moral courage, he always listened to him +attentively. The army believed that it was his frantic appeal, "Sire, +you are seven hundred leagues from Paris," which deterred the Emperor at +Moskowa from throwing the Guard into the action, and thus permitted the +Russians to escape absolute annihilation. As a man the Marshal was loved +and respected by all for his absolute disinterestedness and +straightforwardness. He was adored by his troops, while he possessed the +qualities which enabled him to succeed in the difficult task of +establishing an iron discipline in the Guard. It was due to him that, in +the Imperial Guard, there was none of that lawlessness which made the +Pretorians of Rome a danger to the Empire. When not unnerved by +responsibility the Marshal was tenderhearted to an extreme. At Moscow he +was foremost in saving the wretched inhabitants from the flames; during +the horror of the retreat he dashed back alone to a deserted camp on +hearing the cries of an infant. But when frightened he could be cruelty +itself, as is shown in his terrible decrees against the Spanish +guerillas. Yet even in Spain his justice was appreciated, and in many a +village in Castile, on the news of his death, masses were sung for his +soul. Though he lacked the highest moral courage, his physical bravery +was proven on many a stricken field from Valladolid to Warsaw. At St. +Helena the great Emperor gave his friend a noble epitaph--"He lived like +Bayard, he died like Turenne." + + + + +XIX + +CLAUDE VICTOR PERRIN, MARSHAL, DUKE OF BELLUNO + + +Not specially dowered by fortune with talents for war, but possessed of +a resolute character, a high sense of honour, great courage, and that +intrepidity which Napoleon maintained was so absolutely essential for +high command, the Duke of Belluno is a striking instance of how large a +factor is character in the struggle of life which ends in the survival +of the fittest. Born on December 7, 1764, at La Marche, among the +mountains of the Vosges, Victor Perrin enlisted as a private, at the age +of seventeen, in the artillery regiment of Grenoble. The artillery was +the finest arm of the old royal army, for there, and there alone, merit, +not favour, was the key to promotion. Accordingly the future Marshal +served his apprenticeship to arms under officers who knew their service +and loved it. Ten years spent in the ranks under those who maintained +strict discipline and were themselves punctilious in matters of duty, +who exercised careful supervision over their men and materiel, and made +a serious study of their profession, the art of war--these years with +their example were not thrown away on the young soldier. When, in 1791, +the upheaval of the Revolution threatened to subvert the service, Claude +Victor, now a sergeant, in disgust at the licence prevailing among the +troops, applied for his discharge. Seven months of civil life proved +enough for the sturdy ex-sergeant, and in October he enrolled himself +in the volunteers of the Drome, where in nine months he forced himself +by strength of character to the command of his battalion, for, as +Napoleon aptly said, "the times of revolution are the occasions for +those soldiers who have insight and courage." After six months' drill +under the hand of the ex-artilleryman, the volunteers of the Drome were +able to hold their own on the parade ground with the best regiments of +the line. Well might their commander be proud of his battalion. In the +fighting on the Var, Victor's volunteers greatly distinguished +themselves, but it was at Toulon that they first showed their real +worth. It was well for the colonel that he had brought his troops to a +high pitch of morale, for, on starting to attack Mount Faron, General +Dugommier summoned him aside. "We must take the redoubt," he said, +"or----" and he passed his hand in a suggestive way across his throat. +In this attack, alone of all the corps engaged, the men of the Drome +stood their ground when the English made their counter-attack; amid +cries of "Sauve qui peut!" they alone replied steadily to the murderous +fire of the enemy, and as quietly as on parade they covered the rout and +slowly withdrew in good order. Three weeks later came the opportunity of +Victor's life in the assault on the "Little Gibraltar," the seizure of +which position forced the English to evacuate Toulon. The attack was +planned by Bonaparte, and Victor had the good fortune to be chosen as +one of the leaders; he was already the firm friend of the Corsican +captain of artillery, and he now won his boundless admiration by his +reckless bravery and his capacity for making his troops follow him. The +two wounds which he received in the charge which carried the palisades +were a cheap price to pay for the rank and glory which he was later to +gain as a reward for the way in which he flung his shattered column +against the second line of defence. His immediate recompense was the +post of general of brigade in the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. + +From the Spanish campaign Victor returned, in 1795, to Italy with an +enhanced reputation and some knowledge of mountain warfare which was to +stand him in good stead later. When, in 1796, Bonaparte took command of +the Army of Italy, he found Victor still general of brigade, but reputed +one of the bravest men in that army of heroes. The campaign of 1796 +brought him still more to the front. Dego, Mondovi, Peschiera, San +Marco, Cerea, and the fights round Mantua proved his courage and +capacity to exact the most from his troops, but it was his manoeuvring +on January 16, 1797, at Saint Georges, outside Mantua, which proved his +real ability, for there, with but two French regiments, he forced the +whole division of General Provera, seven thousand strong, to lay down +its arms. Bonaparte chose the conqueror of Provera to lead the French +army to invade the Papal States. This was Victor's first independent +command, but, owing to the poor condition of the Papal troops, it was no +severe test of his ability; still, it gained for him his step as general +of division, and confirmed his chief's high opinion of him. + +During the year following the peace of Campo Formio, General Victor held +several posts in France, but was back again in Italy in 1799, to take +part in the disastrous campaign against the Austrians and Russians. +Detached by General Moreau to aid Macdonald on the Trebbia, he, for the +first time, showed that jealousy which was such a blemish in his +character, and during the retreat he paid so little attention to orders +that he was almost overwhelmed by the enemy. Not from cowardice, but +from his desire to escape Macdonald's control, he abandoned his guns, +and withdrew into the mountains to try to join Moreau; but Macdonald +saved the guns, and sarcastically wrote to his insubordinate lieutenant +that he had secured the guns but found neither friend nor foe. + +Victor was serving under Massena when Bonaparte returned from Egypt. +Stern Republican, sprung from the ranks, he hated the idea of a +dictatorship, and did not hide from superiors or inferiors his dislike +of the coup d'etat of the 18th Brumaire. Indeed, so subversive of +discipline became his attitude and his speeches to his soldiers, that +Massena was forced to remove him from his command and report him to the +First Consul. In retirement and disgrace at Monaco, he saw with dismay +the armies of the Allies surging up to the French frontier. Putting +aside all personal animosity, he wrote to his former friend and +commander, with no complaints, or prayers to be reinstated, but giving a +clear exposition of the state of affairs in Italy, and of the means +necessary to restore the prestige of the French arms, and actually +proposing the plan, which the First Consul had already conceived, of +crossing the Alps and falling on the communications of the enemy. +Bonaparte was greatly struck with this letter. Perhaps also he called to +mind his former friendship, in the days when the old ex-artillery +sergeant used to walk round his batteries at Toulon, and doubtless he +remembered his stubborn courage and tenacity in the fights round Mantua; +at any rate, he summoned him to Paris, received him with marks of +affection, and sent him off at once to command a division of the Army of +Reserve. But though he forgave him outwardly, Bonaparte was too shrewd a +judge of men not to see that his old comrade was always dangerous when +not employed. While busy drilling and supervising his troops the general +had no time to think about politics and the theories of government. So, +as First Consul and Emperor, Napoleon saw to it that the ex-artilleryman +had plenty of employment. During the Marengo campaign the general gained +fresh honours. Luckily it was his old friend, Lannes, with whom he had +to co-operate; and Lannes willingly acknowledged his loyal aid at +Montebello, for on the day he received his dukedom he embraced Victor, +saying, "My friend, it is to you I owe my title!" At Marengo he again +had to work with Lannes, and it was due to their admirable co-operation +and stubbornness that the retreat did not become a rout, and that Desaix +had time to return to the field, and allow the First Consul to fight +another battle and turn a defeat into a victory. + +But though Napoleon gave him his due share of the glory of Marengo, and +mentioned him first in despatches and presented him with a sword of +honour, he yet remembered his former hostility, and, while constantly +employing him, took care to keep him as much as possible out of France. +So for two years after Marengo General Victor held the post of +commander-in-chief in the Army of Holland. Then in 1802 he was appointed +Captain-General of Louisiana. But fortune here defeated the First +Consul's intentions, and the expedition to America never sailed. Victor +was sent back to his post in Holland, and kept there till February, +1805, when he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary at the Danish +court. + +During these years it was clear to everybody that he was in disgrace, +and it was due to the boldness of his friend, Marshal Lannes, that he +was recalled to active service and once again given a chance of +distinguishing himself. In September, 1806, owing to the promotion of +his chief staff officer, Lannes had to find a new chief of the staff for +his corps, and he applied to the Emperor to be allowed to appoint +General Victor. Napoleon hesitated for a moment, then, mindful of the +number of troops under arms, and the necessity of employing really +efficient officers on the staff, he acquiesced in the Marshal's choice, +saying, "He is a really sound man and one in whom I have complete +confidence, and I will give him proof of this when the occasion +arrives." Jena and Pultusk added to the general's distinguished record, +and the Emperor began to treat him once again with favour, and in +January, 1807, entrusted him with the new tenth corps of the Grand Army. +Soon after he had taken over his new command he had the bad luck to be +captured by a patrol of the enemy while driving with a single +aide-de-camp near Stettin. Luckily for him he had by now completely won +back the goodwill of the Emperor. Napoleon at once set about to effect +his exchange, and in a few days he was back again with his corps. At the +beginning of June, when Bernadotte fell ill, the Emperor summoned him to +the front to take command of the first corps, and it was in this +capacity that he was present at the battle of Friedland, and in that +terrible struggle he won his baton. Rewards now came speedily, for after +Tilsit he was entrusted with the government of Prussia, and in 1808 +created Duke of Belluno. + +From Prussia the Marshal was summoned, in the autumn of 1808, to take +command of the first corps of the Army of Spain, and for the next three +years he saw continuous service in the Peninsula. During the first few +months of his career there fortune smiled upon him. At Espinosa he dealt +General Blake a smashing blow; later he led the van of the army under +Napoleon in the march on Madrid, and forced the enemy's entrenched +position in the pass of the Somosierra by a charge of his Polish +lancers. From Madrid he was despatched to the south to keep the enemy at +some distance from the capital, and at Ulces and Medellin he proved that +the Spanish generals were no match for him and his seasoned troops. But +unfortunately he smirched the fame of these victories by the licence he +permitted his soldiers: at Ulces he allowed the town to be sacked, and +executed sixty-nine of the most prominent of the citizens, including +some monks, while he ordered all prisoners who were unable to march to +be shot. At Medellin the French bayoneted the Spanish wounded. Further, +like many another commander, he did not scruple to make the most of his +successes in his reports, and the Spaniards assert that he eked out his +trophies by taking down the old battle-flags of the knights of Santiago +from the church of Ulces. After Medellin his successes ended. Placed +under the command of Joseph and Jourdan, whom he despised; in great +straits to feed his army in a country which was really a wilderness; +worried by constant contradictory orders, it was in no pleasant mood +that he at last found himself under the personal command of King Joseph +at Talavera. Anxious to maintain his independence and to show off his +military skill, he attempted by himself to surprise the English wing of +the allied army. Consequently he committed King Joseph and Jourdan to an +action which they did not wish to fight, and by refusing to co-operate +with the other corps commanders he brought defeat upon the French army, +for, as Napoleon wrote to Joseph, "As long as you attack good troops, +like the English, in good positions, without reconnoitring them, you +will lead your men to death 'en pure perte.'" + +After Talavera Victor's independent career came to an end; he was placed +under the orders of Marshal Soult and sent to besiege Cadiz, before +which place he lay till he was summoned to take part in the Russian +campaign. But before leaving Cadiz he fought one more action against the +British when General Graham seized the opportunity of Soult's absence to +attempt to break up the siege; and he had once again to acknowledge +defeat, when at Barossa the little column of four thousand British +turned at bay and boldly attacked and defeated nine thousand chosen +French infantry under the Marshal himself. + +In Russia the Duke of Belluno was saved some of the greatest hardships, +for his corps was on the line of communication, and it was not till the +day before the battle of the Beresina that he actually joined the +retreating army, in time to earn further glory by covering the passage +of the river, though at the cost of more than half his corps. During +1813 he fought at Dresden and at Leipzig, and at the commencement of +1814 was entrusted with the defence of the Vosges; but he soon had to +fall back on the Marne. At Saint Dizier and Brienne he bore himself +bravely, but at Montereau he fell into disgrace; he neglected to hold +the bridge on the Seine, and thus completely spoiled Napoleon's +combination. The Emperor was furious, and deprived him of the command of +his corps and told him to leave the army. But the Marshal refused to go. +"I will shoulder my musket," said he; "Victor has not forgotten his old +occupation. I will take my place in the Guard." At such devotion the +Emperor relented. "Well, Victor," he said, stretching out his hand, +"remain with us. I cannot restore to you your corps, which I have +bestowed on Girard; but I give you two divisions of the Guard." However, +the Marshal did not long occupy his new position, for he was severely +wounded at Craonne and forced to go home. + +On Napoleon's abdication the Duke of Belluno swore allegiance to the +Bourbons and kept it, for, on the return of Napoleon from Elba, he +withdrew to Ghent with Louis XVIII. On the second Restoration he was +created a peer of France and nominated one of the four major-generals of +the Royal Guard. Though never an imperialist, and at heart a republican, +it was Napoleon's treatment of him at Montereau which recalled the old +grievance of his disgrace in 1800 and turned him into a royalist. The +Marshal earned the undying hatred of many of his old comrades by the +severity he displayed when "charged with examining the conduct of +officers of all grades who had served under the usurpation." But, though +steadfast in his adherence to the monarchy, the Duke of Belluno still +clung to his liberal ideals, and it was for this reason that in 1821 +Villele invited him to join the Cabinet as Minister for War. It was a +strange position for the ex-sergeant of artillery, but he filled it +admirably, and brought considerable strength to the Ministry, in that as +a soldier of fortune, a self-made man, he conciliated the Liberals, and +as a resolute character, a firm royalist, and a man of intrepidity and +honour, he had the confidence and esteem of the Conservative party. It +was during his term of office that a French army once again invaded +Spain, and thanks in no small degree to his knowledge of the country +and to his business capacity that it suffered no reverse. When the +Bourbon dynasty fell in July, 1830, the Duke of Belluno took the oath of +allegiance to the new Government, but never again entered public life, +and on March 1, 1841, he died in Paris at the age of seventy-seven. + + + + +XX + +EMMANUEL DE GROUCHY, MARSHAL + + +When the Revolution broke out in 1789 the young Count Emmanuel de +Grouchy was serving as lieutenant-colonel in the Scotch company of the +Gardes du Corps. Born on October 23, 1766, the only son of the Marquis +de Grouchy, the representative of an old Norman family which could trace +its descent from before the days of William the Conqueror, Emmanuel de +Grouchy had entered the army at the age of fourteen. After a year's +service in the marine artillery he had been transferred to a cavalry +regiment of the line, and on his twentieth birthday had been selected +for the Gardes du Corps. A keen student of military history and devoted +to his profession, the young Count had read widely and thought much. +Impressionable and enthusiastic, a philosophical liberal by nature, he +eagerly absorbed the teaching of the Encyclopedists. As events +developed, he found that his position in the Gardes du Corps was +antagonistic to his principles, and, at his own request, at the end of +1791 he was transferred to the twelfth regiment of chasseurs as +lieutenant-colonel commanding. After a few months' service with this +regiment he was promoted brigadier-general, and served successively +under General Montesquieu with the Army of the Midi, and under +Kellermann with the Army of the Alps. At the commencement of 1793, while +on leave in Normandy, he was hurriedly despatched to the west to take +part in the civil war in La Vendee. No longer Comte de Grouchy but plain +Citizen-general Grouchy, for the next three years he saw almost +continuous service in the civil war, with the exception of a few months +when, like all ci-devant nobles, he was dismissed the service by the +decree of the incompetent Bouchotte. But Clanclaux, who commanded the +Army of La Vendee, had found in him a most useful subordinate and a +sound adviser; and accordingly, at his instance, the ci-devant noble was +restored to his rank, and sent back as chief of the staff to the Army of +the West, and in April, 1795, promoted general of division. +Clear-headed, firmly convinced of the soundness of his opinions, without +being bigoted or revengeful, Grouchy saw that the cruel methods of many +of the generals did more to continue the war than the political tenets +of the Vendeens and Chouans, and he used his influence with Clanclaux, +and later with Hoche, to restrain useless reprisals and crush the +rebellion by overwhelming the armed forces of the rebels, not by +insulting women and shooting prisoners. The problem to be solved was a +difficult one, as he pointed out in a memoir written for Clanclaux. "It +is the population of the entire country which is on your hands, a +population which suddenly rushes together to fight, if it is strong +enough to crush you; which hurls itself against your flanks and rear, +and then as suddenly disappears, when not strong enough to resist you." +His solution of the difficulty was to wear down resistance by light +mobile columns, and to starve the enemy out by devastating the country. +In September, 1795, on Clanclaux's retirement, the Commissioners +attached to the Army of the West wished to invest Grouchy with the +command, but the general refused the post; for, clear counsellor and +good adviser as he was, he lacked self-confidence, and knew that he was +not fit for the position. It was this horror of undertaking +responsibility which dragged him down during all his career, and which, +on the two occasions when fortune gave him his chance to rise, made him +choose the safe but inglorious road of humdrum mediocrity. In 1796 came +his first chance: after a brief period of service with the Army of the +North in Holland he was once again at his old work under Hoche in the +west, when the Directory determined to try to retaliate for the English +participation in the Chouan revolt by raising a hornet's nest in +Ireland. At the end of December a force of fifteen thousand men under +Hoche, with Grouchy as second in command, set sail for Ireland. +Unfortunately the expedition met with bad weather, the ship on which +Hoche sailed got separated from the rest of the fleet, and, when Grouchy +arrived at the rendezvous in Bantry Bay, he found the greater part of +the expedition, but no general-in-chief. In spite of this he rightly +determined to effect a landing, but had not the necessary force of +character to ensure his orders being carried out, and after six days' +procrastination Admiral Bouvet, pleading heavy weather, refused to allow +his ships to remain off the coast, and the expedition returned to +France. If Grouchy had been able to get his orders obeyed, all would +have been well, for on the very day after his squadron left Bantry Bay, +Hoche himself arrived at the rendezvous. As Grouchy said, if he had only +flung that ---- Admiral Bouvet into the sea all would have been right. +Where Grouchy hesitated and failed a Napoleon would have acted and +conquered. + +[Illustration: EMMANUEL DE GROUCHY, MARQUIS +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY ROUILLARD] + +Hoche died, and Grouchy, who under his influence had disapproved of the +policy of France towards the Italian States, at once accepted employment +in Italy. He soon had to rue his decision, for he found himself +entrusted with the task of using underhand means to drive the King of +Sardinia from his country. Still, he obeyed his orders to the letter. +During negotiations he secretly introduced French troops into the +citadel at Turin and then seized the fortresses of Novara, Alessandria, +and Chiasso. Meanwhile he terrified the unfortunate monarch by +announcing the arrival of imaginary columns of troops, suborned the +King's Council, and so worked on the feelings of the bewildered +sovereign that he escaped by night from his palace and fled across the +sea. But though their King had deserted them, the Piedmontese did not +tamely submit, and for the next few months the general was busy tracking +out and capturing the numerous members of the secret societies who were +avenging their country by cutting the throats of Frenchmen. While +striking with a heavy hand at these conspirators, Grouchy was +level-headed enough to understand that the proper method of tackling the +problem was to remove the grievance. In his opinion it was not the +people so much as the Church which was opposed to the French, and +accordingly he did his best to get Joubert to issue a proclamation that +there should be no interference with religion. Still, the situation must +have been galling to a man of culture and a theoretical liberal, for, +while forcing democratic institutions on an unwilling people, he had at +the same time to strip their capital of all objects of art; and while +issuing proclamations for the freedom of religion he had to arrange for +the passage of the Pope on his way to captivity. In May, 1799, the +general was recalled from his governorship of Turin, for the Austrians +and Russians were invading Lombardy and Joubert was concentrating his +forces. The campaign, as far as Grouchy was concerned, was short, for +while attempting to stem the flight of the left wing after the battle of +Novi he was ridden over and captured by the Allies. Four sabre cuts, one +bullet wound, and several bayonet thrusts kept him in hospital for some +time; when he was well enough to be moved he was sent to Graetz, and it +was not till a year later--in June, 1800--that his exchange was +effected. But he soon had his revenge on the Austrians, for in the +autumn he was despatched to join the army under Moreau, which was +operating on the Danube, and arrived at headquarters in time to take +part in the battle of Hohenlinden. In the face of a blinding snowstorm +Grouchy's division drove back the main column of the enemy, and after +hours of murderous hand-to-hand fighting in the forest, he shared with +Ney the honour of the last charge which drove the enemy in hopeless +rout. + +It was on his return from Hohenlinden that the ex-Count met Bonaparte. +The First Consul, who aimed at conciliating the old nobility, made much +of him, employed him on a confidential mission to Italy, and nominated +him inspector-general of cavalry. This post admirably suited Grouchy, +who was a horseman by nature and a cavalry soldier by instinct. Later, +on the formation of the Army of the Ocean, he was appointed to the +command of an infantry division in Marmont's corps in Holland, and it +was with Marmont that he made the campaign of 1805. In October, 1806, he +was summoned from Italy to a more important command. The Grand Army was +advancing on Prussia, and Napoleon had need of capable leaders to +command his vast masses of cavalry. Grouchy was entrusted with the +second division of dragoons of the cavalry corps under Murat and played +a prominent part in the battle of Prinzlow and the pursuit to Luebeck. At +Eylau he had a narrow escape: his charger was killed in the middle of +the melee and he was only saved by the devotion of his aide-de-camp; +though much shaken, he was able to resume command of his division, and +distinguished himself by his fierce charges in the blinding snow. At +Friedland a chance occurred for which his capacity proved fully equal. +Murat was absent at Koenigsberg trying to get across the enemy's rear, +and Grouchy was in command of all the reserve cavalry at the moment the +advance guard interrupted the Russian retreat. It was his admirable +handling of the cavalry under Lannes's directions which held the +Russians in check for sixteen hours, until Napoleon was able to +concentrate his divisions and give the Russians the coup-de-grace. The +Emperor showed his gratitude by presenting the general with the Grand +Cross of Baden, investing him with the Cordon of the Legion of Honour, +and granting him the domain of Nowawies, in the department of Posen. + +The following year, 1808, saw Grouchy, now a Count of the Empire, with +Murat in Spain, acting as governor of Madrid. But when, in the autumn, +Joseph evacuated all the western provinces, Grouchy, whose health had +been much shaken by the Polish campaign, was granted leave of absence +and took care not to be sent back, for he had seen enough of the Spanish +to foresee the terrible difficulties of guerilla warfare; moreover, the +annexation of the country was contrary to his ideas of political +justice. When the war with Austria was imminent Napoleon sent him to +Italy to command the cavalry of the viceroy's army. With Prince Eugene +he fought through Styria and Carinthia and distinguished himself greatly +at the battle of Raab. At Wagram his cavalry was attached to Davout's +corps, and his fierce charges, which helped to break the Austrian left, +brought him again under the notice of the Emperor, who showed his +appreciation by appointing him colonel-general of chasseurs. + +In 1812 the Count was summoned once again to the field, to command the +third corps of reserve cavalry with the Grand Army in Russia. At Moskowa +his cuirassiers, sabre in hand, drove the Russians out of the great +redoubt, but Grouchy himself was seriously wounded. During the retreat +from Moscow he commanded one of the "Sacred Bands" of officers who +personally guarded the Emperor, but his health, never good, completely +broke down under the strain and he was allowed to return straight home +from Vilna. A year elapsed before he had sufficiently recovered to take +the field, and it was not till the beginning of 1814 that he was fit for +service. During the campaign in France, first under Victor and later +with Marmont, he commanded the remnant of the reserve cavalry; but on +March 7th at Craonne he was once again so badly wounded that he had to +throw up his command. + +During the Restoration Grouchy remained at his home; his relations with +the Bourbons were not cordial, and he bitterly resented the loss of his +title of colonel-general of chasseurs. Accordingly, when Napoleon +returned from Elba and France seemed to welcome him with open arms, in +spite of having accepted the Cross of St. Louis, he had no scruple in +answering the Emperor's summons. He was entrusted with the operations +against the Duc d'Angouleme round Lyons, but disliked the task, for he +remembered the fate of the Duc d'Enghien, and in spite of Napoleon's +protests that he only desired to capture the Duke in order to make the +Austrians send back the Empress, Grouchy determined that, if possible, +while doing everything to defeat the royalists, he would not capture +d'Angouleme. Unfortunately, the Duke refused the opportunity to escape +which was offered him, and Grouchy had to make him a prisoner. However, +Napoleon, anxious to stand well with the Powers of Europe, at once +ordered him to be set free. At the same time he sent Grouchy to command +the Army of the Alps, giving him his Marshal's baton. The new Marshal +was delighted with his promotion; he had now served for twenty years as +general of division, and although only forty-nine, had practically given +up all hope of promotion. But scarcely had he reached his new command +when he was recalled to Paris. + +With Murat in disgrace and Bessieres dead, the Emperor had no great +cavalry leader on whom he could rely, and, remembering the new Marshal's +exploits at Friedland and Wagram, and his staunchness in 1814, he +determined to entrust him with the command of the reserve cavalry. +Unfortunately for Napoleon and Grouchy, the exigencies of the campaign +forced the Emperor to divide his army; so, while entrusting Ney with a +part of his troops, with orders to pursue the English, and keeping the +Guard and reserves under his immediate control, he gave Grouchy the +command of two corps of infantry and one of cavalry; in all, some +thirty-three thousand men. The appointment was an unfortunate one, for +the Marshal, though in many respects a good cavalry leader, had never +before had the command of a large body of mixed troops, and even his +cavalry successes had been obtained when under the orders of a superior: +at Friedland he was under Lannes; at Wagram under Davout; at Moskowa +under Eugene; and in 1814 under either Victor or Marmont. But what was +most unfortunate about the selection was that Grouchy had not enough +personal authority to enforce his orders on his corps commanders, and +the fiery Vandamme not only despised but hated him because he had +received the baton which he hoped was to have been his, while Girard was +a personal enemy. At Ligny, where Napoleon himself supervised the +attack, all went well, but from the moment fighting ceased difficulties +began. Immediately after the battle the Emperor entrusted the Marshal +with the pursuit of the Prussians, but Pajol, who commanded his light +cavalry, carried out his reconnaissance in a perfunctory manner, and +reported that the Prussians had retreated towards Namur. Grouchy +received this news at 4 a.m. on June 17th, but he did not dare to +disturb the Emperor's rest, and it was 8 a.m. before he could see him +and demand detailed orders. Napoleon, trusting to Pajol's report, +thought that the Prussians were absolutely demoralised and were leaving +the theatre of war, and so he kept the Marshal talking about Paris and +politics till 11 a.m. Consequently it was 11.30 before he received exact +orders, penned by Bertrand, which told him to proceed to Gembloux, +keeping his forces concentrated; to reconnoitre the different roads +leading to Namur and Maestricht, and to inform the Emperor of the +Prussians' intentions, adding, "It is important to know what Bluecher and +Wellington mean to do, and whether they prefer to unite their armies in +order to cover Brussels and Liege, by trying their fortunes in another +battle." Bad staff directions and heavy rains retarded the advance, and +it took six hours for the troops to cover the nine miles to Gembloux, +where at eight in the evening Grouchy heard that part of the Prussians +had fallen back on Wavre, which meant that they might still unite with +the English to cover Brussels. He at once reported this to the Emperor, +adding that Bluecher had retired on Liege and the artillery on Namur. +But, in spite of the fact that on the evening of the seventeenth +Napoleon knew that this was a mistake, and that the Prussians were +actually massed round Wavre, it was not till 10 a.m. on the morning of +Waterloo that he sent to the Marshal informing him of the Prussians' +concentration, and telling him that "he must therefore move thither +(_i.e._, to Wavre) in order to approach us, and to push before him any +Prussians who may have stopped at Wavre." This was the exact course +which Grouchy had determined to pursue. It is therefore quite clear that +neither the Emperor nor the Marshal had dreamed that Bluecher would +attempt to give any assistance to the English in their position at +Waterloo. At 11 a.m., when his columns were just approaching Wavre, the +Marshal heard the commencement of the cannonade at Waterloo. Girard +entreated him to march to the sound of the cannon, but Grouchy had what +he considered distinct orders to pursue the Prussians; he was now in +touch with them, and with a force of thirty-three thousand men he did +not dare to make a flank march in the face of what, he was becoming +convinced, was the whole Prussian army. At 5 p.m. he received Napoleon's +despatch, hastily written at 1 p.m., ordering him to turn westward and +crush the Prussian corps which was marching on the Emperor's right rear, +but by then his main force was heavily engaged at Wavre, and even if he +had been able to despatch part of his force it could not have arrived at +Mont St. Jean till long after the end of the battle. + +On the morning of the nineteenth the Marshal was preparing to pursue +Thielmann's corps, which, on the previous evening, he had driven from +Wavre, when he heard of the catastrophe at Waterloo. He immediately +stopped the pursuit, and, by rapid marching, reached Namur before the +Allies could cut him off, and, by a skilful retreat, brought back his +thirty-three thousand men to Paris before the enemy arrived at the +gates. But instead of the thanks he had expected he found himself +saddled with the blame of the loss of Waterloo. The disaster, however, +clearly rested on the Emperor, whose orders were vague, and who had not +realised the extraordinary moral courage of Bluecher and the stubbornness +of the Prussians, and if Napoleon did not foresee this he could not +blame Grouchy for being equally blind. The Marshal did all that a +mediocre man could do. He carefully carried out the orders given him, +trusting, no doubt, too much to the letter, too little to the spirit. +But long years spent in a subordinate position under a military +hierarchy like that of the Empire were bound to stifle all initiative, +and it was not to be supposed that the man who, twenty years earlier, +had failed to rise to the occasion in Ireland would, after at last +gaining his Marshal's baton, risk his reputation by marching, like +Desaix at Marengo, to the sound of the guns, across the front of an +enemy vastly superior to himself, through a difficult country partially +waterlogged and intercepted by deep broad streams, contrary to what +seemed his definite orders. + +The Marshal's career really ended on the abdication of the Emperor, +though he was appointed by the Provisional Government to the command of +the remains of the Army of the North, and in this capacity proclaimed +the Emperor's son as Napoleon II. On gaining Paris he found himself +subordinate to Davout, an old enemy. Accordingly he threw up his command +and retired into private life. After his conduct during the Hundred Days +he could expect no mercy from the returned Bourbons, and was glad to +escape abroad. Included in the general pardon, he returned to France in +1818, but his marshalate was annulled, and he never regained his baton, +though on the accession of Charles X. he was actually received at court. +But though the King might forgive, his favourites and ministers could +not forget, and in December, 1824, he was included among the fifty +generals of Napoleon who were placed on the retired list, an action +which General Foy shrewdly remarked was "a cannon-shot charged at +Waterloo, fired ten years after the battle, and pointed direct at its +mark." Like many another of the Marshals, the veteran retained his +health and faculties for many years, and defended his character and +actions and criticised his enemies with the same clear logic which had +so powerfully contributed to his early advancement; for the ex-Marshal +wielded the pen as easily as the sword. It was not till 1847 that death +carried off the sturdy old warrior at the age of eighty-one. + + + + +XXI + +FRANCOIS CHRISTOPHE KELLERMANN, MARSHAL, DUKE OF VALMY + + +When old institutions suddenly collapse with a crash; when all is +confusion and chaos, and the lines of reconstruction are as yet veiled +in uncertainty; when people suspect their old rulers and are shy of +those who would set themselves up as their new directors, there comes an +interval before genius and wile can organise their forces, when +character, and character alone can shepherd the people scattered like +sheep on the mountains. Such was the case in France in September, 1792. +The old constitution had foundered, sweeping away in its ruin the order +and discipline of the royal army. The officers had either fled or been +deposed by their men, and such few as remained were held "suspect." The +new officers, chosen by their fellows, had but little authority. The +staff of the army was changed weekly to suit the whim of some civil or +military self-seeker, at a time when France was at war with the great +military powers of Europe. It was little wonder, therefore, that the +Prussians and Austrians looked forward to the campaign of 1792 as a +military promenade. They knew better even than the War Minister at Paris +how debauched were the regular troops of France, how unreliable and +contemptible were the few thousand old men and boys who rejoiced in the +name of volunteers, and they never for a moment believed that the +French generals would be able to force their men to stand and fight. But +they had calculated wrongly. They had not learned that in war a man is +everything; they had not grasped how deeply the spirit of discipline had +been engrained in the old royal army. Fortunately for France she had two +men of character to fall back upon; and aided by their example, on +September 20th the regulars of France stood firm before the famous +Prussian army. The two men were Dumouriez and Kellermann. Dumouriez had +brains and character, Kellermann character and stolid imperturbability. + +Descended from an old Saxon family long domiciled in Alsace, Francois +Christophe Kellermann was born at Strasburg on May 28, 1735. Entering +the French army at the age of fifteen, he fought his way up step by step +by sheer hard work and merit. Winning the Cross of St. Louis for +distinguished cavalry work in the Seven Years' War, he was sent in 1766 +on a mission to Poland and Russia, on the strength of which he was lent +by the French Government to help the Confederates of Bar to organise +their irregular cavalry. Returning to France, he slowly gained +promotion, and in 1788 became major-general and was promoted +lieutenant-general in March, 1792, mainly owing to his warm adoption of +the revolutionary principles. Kellermann had not the gifts of a great +commander, but he had what is sometimes better, the confidence of his +men. He was notorious for his hatred of the old regime and had a high +reputation as a cavalry commander: added to this, the firm belief he had +in himself served to inspire confidence in others. Independent by +nature, ambitious, cantankerous, jealous and conceited, Kellermann had +not found his life in the army any too pleasant. Save in war time merit +gained little reward; promotion came neither from the east nor the west, +but from court favouritism. It thus happened that the rough Alsatian had +always found himself subordinate to men who were really his inferiors, +but who despised his want of culture and his provincial accent; for +Kellermann knew no grammar, spoke through his nose and spelt as he +spoke, even writing "debute" for "depute." It was thanks to the +friendship of Servan, the War Minister, that on August 25th he was +summoned from the small column he had been commanding on the Lauter to +succeed Luckner in command of the Army of the Centre. When he arrived at +his new headquarters at Metz he found a woeful state of affairs. The +Prussians and Austrians were sweeping everything before them, and at +Metz he found a fortress without stores and an army without discipline. +Luckily he had the advantage of Berthier, a staff officer of the highest +order, Napoleon's future chief of the staff. The soldiers welcomed +Kellermann, "this brave general whose patriotism equals his talents," +and whose civism was praised throughout all Alsace. Organisation was his +first work, and his former experience of irregular warfare in Poland +stood him in good stead. He immediately sent home the battalions of the +volunteers of 1792, who were arriving without arms and in rags. He +retained a few picked men from each battalion, to be used as light +troops and pioneers. After weeding out undesirables and drafting +reinforcements into his most reliable regiments, in three weeks he +evolved a force of twenty thousand men capable of taking the field. +While thus engaged he was ordered to join Dumouriez, who had been +holding the Prussians in check at the defiles of the Argonne. On the +evening of September 19th Kellermann effected his junction with +Dumouriez near St. Menehould, and was attacked early next morning by the +enemy under the Duke of Brunswick. The morning was wet and foggy, and +the Prussians surprised the French and cut them off from the road to +Paris. But instead of driving home their attack they thought to frighten +them by a mere cannonade. Luckily the artillery was the least +demoralised part of the French army, and under the able command of +d'Abbeville, it not only replied to the Prussian guns, but played with +great effect on the infantry, when at last Brunswick ordered an attack. +Kellermann meanwhile sat on his horse in front of his infantry, and by +his example and sangfroid managed to keep them in the ranks, though they +were really so unsteady that when an ammunition wagon blew up, three +regiments of infantry and the whole of the ammunition column fled in +disorder from the field. But Kellermann galloped up in time to prevent +the panic spreading. Meanwhile Dumouriez had hastened up reinforcements +to secure Kellermann's flanks, and the Duke of Brunswick, seeing the +French standing firm, and not being sure of his own men, refused to +allow the attack to be pressed home. Such was the cannonade of Valmy; +the Prussians had thirty-four thousand men engaged, and lost one hundred +and eighty-four men; the French had thirty-six thousand engaged out of a +total of fifty-two thousand, and lost three hundred, and the greater +proportion of this loss was due to Kellermann's bad tactics in massing +his infantry close behind his guns. + +[Illustration: FRANCOIS CHRISTOPHE KELLERMANN, DUKE OF VALMY +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY ANSIAUX] + +Still, Valmy was one of the most important battles in the world's +history, for it taught Europe that France still existed as a political +unit, and it allowed her to effect her regeneration in her own way. +Neither Kellermann nor Dumouriez at first understood what they had done. +Dumouriez drew off his army to a better position to await events. But +Valmy had restored the morale of the French and broken that of the +Prussians, whom disease and bad weather further affected, and soon +Brunswick was glad to negotiate and retreat to the Rhine. Kellermann's +share in the great event is easily determined. He had most unwillingly +joined Dumouriez, he had allowed himself to be surprised in the morning, +and his tactics were so bad that his men suffered heavier loss than was +necessary; but though it was Dumouriez who made good the tactical +mistake and covered Kellermann's flanks, and d'Abbeville whose +artillery caused the infantry attack to miscarry, it was Kellermann's +reputation and example which kept the really demoralised infantry in +line, and prevented them from running in terror from the field. It was +the sight of the old Alsatian quietly getting on a fresh horse when his +former one was killed, caring nothing though one of his coat-tails was +carried off by a round shot, which breathed new life and courage into +the masses of waiting men, and taught them to cry out, "Vive la nation! +Vive la France! Vive notre general!" So, though men might smile when +they heard the old boaster talking of "My victory," yet in their hearts +they knew he had done much to save France. + +While the Prussians retreated Kellermann was entrusted by Dumouriez with +the pursuit; on his return to Paris his boasting habits brought him into +trouble. The Terrorists, hearing him constantly talking of "My men," "My +army," were afraid he was getting too powerful and he very nearly came +to the scaffold. Restored to favour, he was employed with the Army of +the Alps and the Army of Italy in 1794 and 1795, where he gained some +success, although his plans were constantly interfered with by the +Committee of Public Safety. In 1796 the Army of the Alps was made +subordinate to the Army of Italy under Bonaparte, and the Directory +wanted to associate Kellermann with Bonaparte, but the future conqueror +of Italy would brook no equal, especially a cantankerous boaster. So he +wrote to Carnot, "If you join Kellermann and me in command in Italy, you +will undo everything. General Kellermann has more experience than I, and +knows how to make war better than I do; but both together we shall make +it badly. I will not willingly serve with a man who considers himself +the first general in Europe." When, however, Bonaparte came to power he +did not forget the old Alsatian: in 1800 he made him one of his +Senators, and in 1804 he created him a Marshal, though not in the active +list. But exigencies of warfare demanded that France should use all her +talents, and in every campaign the Emperor entrusted the old warrior +with the command of the Army of the Reserve. Sometimes on the Rhine, +sometimes on the Elbe, sometimes in Spain, the old soldier taught the +recruits of the Grand Army how to keep themselves and their muskets +clean; and, in spite of age and infirmities, showed those talents of +organisation which he had learned in Poland and earlier still in the +Seven Years' War. In 1808, when creating his new nobility, the Emperor +cleverly conciliated the republican party by creating the Marshal Duke +of Valmy, and presenting him with a splendid domain at Johannisberg, in +Germany. But when the end came in 1814, the Duke of Valmy, like the +other Marshals, quietly accepted the Restoration, and the veteran +republican, now in his eightieth year, was created a peer of France and +accepted the command of the third military division. During the Hundred +Days he held no command, and on the Restoration he retired into private +life, and died at Paris on September 23, 1820. His body was buried in +Paris, but his heart, according to his directions, was taken to Valmy +and interred beside the remains of those who had fallen there, and a +simple monument was placed over the spot with the following lines, +written by the Marshal himself: "Here lie the soldiers who gloriously +died, and who saved France, on September 20, 1792. Marshal Kellermann, +the Duke of Valmy, the soldier who had the honour to command them on +that memorable day, twenty-eight years later, making his last request, +desired that his heart should be placed among them." + + + + +XXII + +FRANCOIS JOSEPH LEFEBVRE, MARSHAL, DUKE OF DANTZIG + + +Francois Joseph Lefebvre, Marshal and peer of France, is best known to +the ordinary reader as the husband of that Duchess of Dantzig who has +been so unjustly caricatured in Monsieur Sardou's celebrated play as +Madame Sans Gene. Accordingly, the record of this hard-fighting soldier +of the Empire has been cruelly buried in ridicule. The son of an old +private soldier of the hussars of Bercheny, who became in later life the +wachtmeister of the little Alsatian town of Rouffach, Francois Joseph +was born October 26, 1755. After his father's death he was entrusted, at +the age of eight, to the care of his uncle, the Abbe Jean Christophe +Lefebvre. The abbe destined his nephew for the Church, but nature had +dowered him for the camp, and after a severe tussle with the good abbe, +Jean Francois set out with a light heart, a light purse, a few sentences +of Latin, a rough Alsatian accent, and a fine physique to seek his +fortune in the celebrated Garde Francaise at Paris. The year 1789 found +him with sixteen years' service, one of the best of the senior sergeants +of the regiment, married since 1783 to Catherine Huebscher, also from +Alsace, by profession a washerwoman, by nature a philanthropist. +Washing, soldiering, and philanthropy being on the whole unremunerative +occupations, the Lefebvres had to supplement their income, and Madame +went out charring, while the sergeant taught Alsatian, which he called +German, and occupied his spare moments in instructing his wife in +reading and writing. But the Revolution suddenly changed their outlook. +On September 1, 1789, Lefebvre was granted a commission as lieutenant in +the newly enrolled National Guard as a recompense for the devotion shown +to the officers when the Guards mutinied. Within the next two years he +further showed his devotion to the lawful authorities, and was twice +wounded while defending the royal family. But in spite of personal +attachment to the Bourbons, the Prussian invasion turned him into a +republican, and the Republic, as idealised by the warm-hearted warriors +of the armies of the Sambre and Meuse and of the Rhine, became the idol +of his heart. From the siege of Thionville, in 1792, till he was +invalided in 1799, Lefebvre was on continuous active service. His +extraordinary bravery, his knowledge of his profession, and his absolute +devotion to his duty brought him quick promotion, for he became captain +in June, 1792, lieutenant-colonel in September, 1793, brigadier two +months later, and general of division on January 18, 1794. The stern +battle of Fleurus in June, 1794, proved that the general of division was +worthy of his rank, for it was his counter-attack in the evening which +decided the fate of the day. The early years of the republican wars were +times when personal bravery, audacity, and devotion worked marvels on +the highly strung, enthusiastic republican troops, and Lefebvre had +these necessary qualifications, while his Alsatian accent and +kindheartedness won the devotion of his men. He was highly appreciated +by his commander-in-chief, Jourdan, who, in his official report, stated +"that the general added to the greatest bravery all the necessary +knowledge of a good advance guard commander, maintaining in his troops +the strictest discipline, working unceasingly to provide them with +necessaries, and always manifesting the principles of a good +republican." Unswerving devotion to duty--"I am a soldier, I must +obey"--was the guiding principle of his career, and accordingly each +commander he served under had nothing but praise for the thoroughness +with which he did his work, from the enforcement of petty regulations to +the covering of a defeated force. But in spite of this the ex-sergeant +knew his worth and did not fear to claim his due. When Hoche, in his +general order after the battle of Neuweid, stated that "the army had +taken seven standards of colours," Lefebvre naively wrote to him, "It +must be fourteen altogether, for I myself captured seven." But Hoche had +both humour and tact, and made ample amends by replying, "There were +only seven stands of colours as there is only one Lefebvre." + +By 1799 seven years' continuous fighting had begun to tell on a physique +even as strong as Lefebvre's, and the general applied for lighter work +as commander of the Directory Guard, and later, for sick leave; but the +commencement of the campaign against the Archduke Charles, in the valley +of the Danube, once again stimulated his indefatigable appetite for +active service. Though suffering from scurvy and general overstrain, he +took his share in the hard fighting at Feldkirche and Ostrach, but a +severe wound received in the latter combat at last compelled him to +leave the field and go into hospital. + +On his return to France he was entrusted by the Directory with the +command of the 17th military district, with Paris as its headquarters. +The task was a difficult one, as the numerous coups d'etat had shaken +both public morality and military discipline. Among other +unpleasantnesses the commander of Paris found himself on one occasion +forced to place a general officer in the Abbaye, the civil prison, for +flatly refusing to obey orders. But, difficult as his task was, the +situation became much more complicated by the sudden return of Bonaparte +from Egypt. Bonaparte arrived in Paris with the fixed determination to +assume the reins of government. It was clear to so staunch a republican +as Lefebvre that all was not well with the Republic under the Directory, +and it seemed as if Bonaparte, shimmering in the glamour of Italy and +Egypt, was the sole person capable of conciliating all parties and of +bringing the state of chronic revolution to an end. Directly he met the +famous Corsican the simple soldier fell an easy victim to his +personality; while Bonaparte was quick to perceive what a great +political asset it would be if Lefebvre, the republican of the +republicans, the embodiment of the republican virtues, could be bound a +satellite in his train. On the morning of the 18th Brumaire, the +commander of the Paris Division was the first to arrive of all the +generals whom the plotter had summoned to his house; he was puzzled to +find that troops were moving without his orders, and he entered in +considerable anger. Bonaparte at once explained the situation. The +country was in danger, foes were knocking at the door, and meanwhile the +Republic lay the prey of a pack of lawyers who were exploiting it for +their own benefit without thought of patriotism. "Now then, Lefebvre," +said he, "you, one of the pillars of the Republic, are you going to let +it perish in the hands of these lawyers? Join me in helping to save our +beloved Republic. Look, here is the sword I carried in my hand at the +battle of the Pyramids. I give it to you as a token of my esteem and of +my confidence." Lefebvre could not resist this appeal; his warm and +generous nature responded to the artful touch; grasping the treasured +sword with tears in his eyes, he swore he was ready "to throw the +lawyers in the river." With a sigh of relief Bonaparte put his arm +through Lefebvre's and led him into his study, and for the next fourteen +years he remained, as he thought, the confidential right-hand man of the +great-hearted patriot, but in reality the tool, dupe, and stalking-horse +of a wily adventurer. + +The general accompanied Napoleon to the Tuileries and listened to the +carefully chosen words: "Citizens Representatives, the Republic is +perishing; you know it well, and your decree can save it. A thousand +misfortunes on all who desire trouble and disorder. I will oust them, +aided by all the friends of liberty.... I will support liberty, aided by +General Lefebvre and General Berthier, and my comrades in arms who share +my feelings.... We wish a Republic founded on liberty, on equality, on +the sound principles of national representation. We swear this: I swear +this; I swear in my own name and in the name of my comrades in arms." +Later in the day, during the struggle at the Orangerie, it was Lefebvre +who saved Lucien Bonaparte and cleared the hall with the aid of some +grenadiers. + +From the 18th Brumaire Napoleon, as First Consul, and later as Emperor, +held in Lefebvre a trump card whereby he could defeat any attempted +hostile combination of the republicans. Hence it was that, at the time +of the proclamation of the Empire, he included him in his list of +Marshals, to prove as it were that the Empire was merely another form of +the Republic. Later still, for the same reason, when he was making his +hierarchy stronger, he created him one of his new Dukes. + +The immediate reward for Lefebvre's support during the coup d'etat was a +mission to the west to extinguish the civil war in La Vendee. The +general was lucky in surprising a considerable force of rebels at +Alencon, and soon fulfilled his work, and received the further reward of +a seat as Senator, which brought in an income of 35,000 francs a year. +When the list of Marshals was published he was bracketed with +Kellermann, Perignon, and Serurier as "Marshals whose sphere of duty +would lie in the Senate." As such, at the coronation of the Emperor in +Notre Dame he held the sword of Charlemagne, while Kellermann carried +the crown. Strong in his trust of him, Napoleon had, in 1803, created +him Praetor of the Senate. But fortune did not destine that he should +long enjoy his honours in peace. Thanks to his magnificent physique a +few years of rest entirely restored his health. The wound, which in 1799 +had threatened to incapacitate him permanently, had completely healed, +and in 1806 he once again found himself on active service. The Emperor +knew well that the Marshal was a sergeant-major rather than a +strategist, and accordingly placed him at the head of the Guard, where +his powers of discipline could be utilised to the full without calling +on him to solve any difficult problems. At Jena the Guard had plenty of +hard fighting such as their commander loved. A few days later the +Marshal proved that the Guard could march as well as fight, when, at +nine o'clock on the evening of October 24th, the regiments marched into +Potsdam after covering forty-two miles since the morning. + +Early in 1807 the Emperor entrusted the Marshal with the siege of +Dantzig, a strong fortress near the mouth of the Vistula, +well-garrisoned by a Prussian force of fourteen thousand under Marshal +Kalkreuth. Lefebvre, conscious of his lack of engineering skill, was +afraid of undertaking the task, but the Emperor promised to send him +everything necessary, and to guide him himself to the camp of +Finkenstein, and ultimately said goodbye to him with the words, "Take +courage, you also must have something to speak about in the Senate when +we return to France." The siege lasted fifty-one days, during which the +Marshal took scarcely a moment's rest: ever in the trenches, heading +every possible charge, calling out to the soldiers, "Come on, children, +it's our turn to-day," or "Come on, comrades, I am also going to have a +turn at fighting." Such treatment worked wonders with the fiery French, +but the sluggish men of Baden, who formed a considerable part of his +force, were not accustomed to be so hustled, and the Marshal's camp +manners grated on the Prince of Baden, who considered "that the +Marshal's staff was mostly composed of men of little culture, and that +his son held the first place among those who had no manners." The +Emperor had to write to his fiery lieutenant, "You treat our allies +without any tact; they are not accustomed to fire, but that will come. +Do you think that our men are as good now as in 1792--that we can be as +keen to-day after fifteen years' war? Pay what compliments you can to +the Prince of Baden ... you cannot throw down walls with the chests of +your grenadiers ... let your engineers do their work and be patient.... +Your glory is to take Dantzig; when you have done that you will be +content with me." It was hard for the Marshal to show patience, for he +knew but one way to do a thing, and that was to go straight at it as +hard as he could. As one of the privates said, "The Marshal is a brave +man, only he takes us for horses." With Lannes and Mortier sent to +reinforce him, it was still more difficult to show patience. But the end +came, and on the fifty-first day of the siege Marshal Kalkreuth +surrendered, and the two other Marshals had the generosity to allow +Lefebvre to enjoy alone all the honours of the conquest. + +In the next year the Emperor had determined to strengthen his throne by +the creation of a new nobility. It was important to see how Republican +France would greet this scheme, and accordingly Napoleon determined to +include Lefebvre among his new Dukes. One day the Emperor sent an +orderly officer with orders to say to the Marshal, "Monsieur le Duc, the +Emperor wishes you to breakfast with him, and asks you to come in a +quarter of an hour." The Marshal did not hear the title and merely said +he would attend. When he entered the breakfast-room the Emperor went up +to him, shook hands with him, and said, "Good-morning, Monsieur le Duc; +sit by me." The Marshal, hearing the title, thought he was joking. The +Emperor, to further mystify him, said, "Do you like chocolate, Monsieur +le Duc?" "Yes, sire," replied the Marshal, still mystified. Thereon the +Emperor went to a drawer and took out a packet labelled chocolate; but +when the Marshal opened the box he found it contained one hundred +thousand ecus in bank notes. While in the army the new Duke was warmly +congratulated on his honours, at Paris the smart ladies and Talleyrand +did their best to annoy the Duchess. Numerous were the cruel tales they +spread of her lack of breeding and of her Amazon ways; how, when the +horses bolted with her carriage, she seized the coachman by the scruff +of his neck and by main force pulled him off the seat and herself +stopped the runaways. But, quite unmoved, the Duchess pursued her +course, visiting the sick, giving away large sums to charities, lending +a helping hand to any friend in difficulties, and as usual prefacing her +remarks by "When I used to do the washing." + +When, in the autumn of 1808, Napoleon realised how serious was the +Spanish rising, he despatched his Guard to the Peninsula under the Duke +of Dantzig. But the war brought few honours to any one, and the Marshal +proved once again that he could neither act independently nor assist in +combinations with patience. He nearly spoiled Napoleon's whole plan of +campaign by a premature move against Blake, prior to the battle of +Espinosa. From Spain the Guard was hurriedly recalled on the outbreak of +the Austrian campaign of 1809. The Marshal, in command of the Bavarian +allies, did yeoman service under Napoleon's eye during the great Five +Days' Fighting. He was present also at Wagram, and immediately after +that battle was despatched to put down the rising in the Tyrol. During +the Russian campaign he once again commanded the Guard, taking part in +all the hard fighting of the advance and also in the horrors of the +retreat. Though in his fifty-eighth year the tough old soldier marched +on foot every mile of the way from Moscow to the Vistula, and shared the +privations of his men, watching over his beloved Emperor, his little +"tondu de caporal," with the care of a woman, himself mounting guard +over him at night and surrounding him with picked men of the Guard. To +add to the trials of that dreadful campaign the Duke lost at Vilna his +eldest son, a most promising young soldier who had already reached the +rank of general. This blow and the strain of the retreat were too much +for him, and he was unable to assist the Emperor in the campaign of +1813. But when the Allies invaded the sacred soil of France the old +warrior put on harness again and fought at Montmirail, Arcis-sur-Aube +and Champaubert, where he had his horse killed under him. At Montereau +he fought with such fury that "the foam came out from his mouth." + +While the Marshal was spending his life-blood in the field, the Duchess +in Paris was fighting the intrigues of the royalist ladies. When an +insinuation was made that the Duke might be won over from the Emperor, +the Duchess despatched a friend to the army commanding him "to return to +the army and tell my husband that if he were capable of such infamy I +should take him by the hair of his head and drag him to the Emperor's +feet. Meanwhile, inform him of the intrigues going on here." On April +4th the end came. The Marshals refused to fight any longer, and, after +Napoleon's abdication, Lefebvre, with the others, went to Paris to treat +with Alexander. The Emperor was gone, but France remained, and it was +thanks to Kellermann and Lefebvre that Alsace was not wrested from her, +for they so strongly impressed Alexander by their arguments that he +decided to oppose the Prussians, who desired to strip France of her +eastern provinces. + +The Marshal swore allegiance to the Bourbons and duly received the Cross +of St. Louis and his nomination as peer of France. With the year's peace +came time for reflection, and he began to see that "son petit bonhomme +de Sire," as he called Napoleon, had merely used him as a political pawn +in his endeavour to bind the republicans to the wheel of the imperial +chariot. Accordingly, when the Emperor returned from Elba he was not +among those who rushed to meet him. Still, although he had no personal +interview with the Emperor during the Hundred Days, he so far +compromised himself as to accept a seat in the Senate. For this conduct +he was under a cloud for the first years of the second Restoration, but +in 1819 he was pardoned and restored to his rank and office. + +From 1814 to the day of his death the Duke of Dantzig spent the greater +part of his time at his estate at Combault, in the department of the +Seine and Marne, dispensing that hospitality which he and his wife loved +to shower on all who had met with misfortune, and many a poor soldier +and half-pay officer owed his life and what prosperity he had to the +generous charity of the Duke and Duchess of Dantzig. His death on +September 14, 1820, two days after that of his old friend Kellermann, +was due to dropsy, arising from rheumatic gout brought on by the strain +of the Russian campaign. + +The greatness of the Duke of Dantzig lay not so much in his soldierly +capacity as in his personal character. His military renown rested +largely on his ability to carry out, without hesitation and jealousy, +the commands of others. By his personality he was able to maintain the +strictest discipline and exact the last ounce from his troops without +raising a murmur. His men loved him, for they knew that he shared all +their hardships and that his fingers were soiled with no perquisites or +secret booty. It was no empty boast when he wrote to the Directory +asking "bread for himself and rewards for his officers." Though raised +to ducal rank he never lost his sense of proportion, and delighted to +give his memories of "when I was sergeant" to his friends and to the +officers of his staff. Still, he was intensely proud of his success, +which he had won by years of hard work, and he knew how to put in their +place those whose fame rested solely on the deeds of their ancestors, +telling a young boaster, "Don't be so proud of your ancestors; I am an +ancestor myself." Though he ever looked an "old Alsatian camp boy," even +in his gorgeous ducal robes; though his manners were rough and he would +not hesitate to refuse a lift to a lady to a review, with the words, "Go +to blazes; we did not come here to take your wife out driving"--he was +the true example of the best type of republican soldier, fiery, full of +theatrical zeal, absolutely unselfish, and animated solely by love of +France. + + + + +XXIII + +NICOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT, MARSHAL, DUKE OF REGGIO + + +Nicolas Charles Oudinot, the son of a brewer of Bar-le-Duc, was born on +April 23, 1767. From his earliest days he showed that spirit of bravado +which later distinguished him among the many brave men who attained the +dignity of Marshal. Though kind-hearted and affectionate, his fiery +character led him into much disobedience, and his turbulent nature +caused many a sorrowful hour to his parents. Still it was with sore +hearts that, despite their entreaties, they saw him march gaily off in +1784 to enlist in the regiment of Medoc. But two years later he returned +home, tired of garrison duty, and, greatly to his parents' delight, +entered the trade. When, in 1789, the good people of Bar-le-Duc began to +organise a company of the National Guard, young Oudinot was chosen as +captain, and for the next two years threw himself heart and soul into +politics, to the neglect of the brewery. But much as he approved of the +spirit of the Revolution, he was no advocate of mob rule, and he used +his company of citizen soldiers to put down all disturbances in the +town. Later still, in 1794, when invalided home from the front, he used +a short and sharp method with an enthusiastic supporter of the Terror; +in his anger he seized a large dish of haricot and effectually stopped +the praises of Hebert by hurling it in the Jacobin's face. In +September, 1791, the call to arms summoned the fire-eating captain of +the National Guard to sterner scenes. He at once entered the volunteers, +and it was as a lieutenant-colonel of the third battalion of the Meuse +that he set out on active service which was to last almost continuously +for twenty-two years, and from which he was to emerge with the proud +rank of Marshal, the title of Duke, and the honourable scars of no less +than thirty-four wounds. + +[Illustration: NICOLAS CHARLES OUDINOT, DUKE OF REGGIO +FROM AN ENGRAVING AFTER THE PAINTING BY ROBERT LE FEVRE] + +His campaigning began auspiciously with the action at Bitche, when, with +his battalion of volunteers, he captured seven hundred Prussians and a +standard. The hard fighting in the Rhine valley in 1793 added greatly to +his reputation; but it was at Morlantier in June, 1794, that his gallant +action made his name resound throughout the French armies. The division +of General Ambert was attacked on both flanks. Oudinot with the second +regiment of the line formed the advance guard, but, not perceiving the +plight of the main body, he continued to advance. The enemy surrounded +him with six regiments of cavalry. Forming square, he repulsed every +assault, and ultimately fought his way back to camp with but slight +loss, and recaptured eight French standards which the enemy had seized +when they surprised Ambert's division. Ten days later he was promoted +general of brigade. But, in spite of his glorious exploit, the officers +of the regiment of Picardy, the senior regiment of the old royal army, +were disgusted at being commanded by a young brigadier, as yet but +twenty-seven years old, and sprung from the ranks. Calling the +disaffected officers together, the general thus addressed them: +"Gentlemen, is it because I do not bear an historic name that you wish +to throw me over for your old titled chiefs, or is it because you think +I am too young to hold command? Wait till the next engagement and then +judge. If then you think that I cannot stand fire I promise to hand over +the command to one more worthy." After the next engagement there were no +more murmurs against the general, and officers and men were ready to +follow him to the death. While Oudinot thus won the love and respect of +his command, he requited them with equal love. But his way of showing it +was characteristic of the man. As he used to say in later years, "Ah, +how I loved them; I know full well I loved them! I led them all to +death." For in his eyes a glorious death on the field of battle was what +the true soldier desired above all things. In August, 1794, a fall from +his horse which broke his leg placed him in hospital for some months, +and he could not return to the front till September, 1795. He arrived in +time to take part in the capture of Mannheim, but a month later, at +Neckerau, he was ridden down by a charge of the enemy's cavalry, +receiving five sabre cuts and being taken prisoner. After three months' +captivity at Ulm he was exchanged. The campaigns of 1796 and 1797 on the +Danube added to the number of his wounds. In 1799 he served under +Massena in Switzerland, and gained his step as general of division. His +new commander formed so high an opinion of his capacity that he +appointed him chief of his staff, and took him with him when transferred +to the Army of Italy. It was a new role for the fiery Oudinot, but he +played it well, and Massena gave him but his due when he wrote to the +Directory, "I owe the greatest praise to General Oudinot, my chief of +the staff, whose fiery nature, though restrained to endure the laborious +work of the office, breaks out again, ever ready to hand, on the field +of battle; he has assisted me in all my movements, and has seconded me +to perfection." During the disastrous campaign in Italy in 1800 he +earned the further thanks of his chief. He it was who broke the blockade +at Genoa, and penetrating through the English cruisers, successfully +carried the orders to Suchet on the Var, and returned to the beleaguered +city to share the privations of the army. By now his name was well known +to friend and foe alike, and his chivalrous nature was admired, even by +his enemies. But an episode occurred during the siege which, for some +time, caused his name to be execrated by the Austrians. The French had +captured three thousand prisoners during the sorties round Genoa. At the +command of Massena, Oudinot wrote to General Ott to explain that, owing +to famine, it was impossible to give them nourishment, and asking him to +make arrangements for feeding them. Ott replied that the siege would end +before they could starve. With their own soldiers dying of hunger at +their posts, the French could spare but little food for the miserable +prisoners, and when the town capitulated there was hardly one left +alive. But the burden of this calamity falls on General Ott and Massena, +and not on Oudinot, who could only carry out the orders he received. + +After the surrender, Oudinot went home on sick leave, but was back in +Italy in time to take part in the last phase of the war under General +Brune. On December 26th, at Monzembano, he had an opportunity of showing +his dashing courage. An Austrian battery, suddenly coming into action, +threw the French into disorder. Oudinot dashed forward, collected a few +troopers, galloped across the bridge straight at the Austrian guns, and +captured one of them with his own hands. A few days later he was sent +home to Paris with a copy of the armistice signed on January 16, 1801. +Arriving in Paris, the general was received with great warmth by the +First Consul, who gave him a sword of honour and the cannon which he had +captured at Monzembano. + +During the years of peace which followed the treaty of Luneville, +General Oudinot fell entirely under the influence of Napoleon. His +frank, chivalrous nature was captivated by the bold personality of the +Corsican, so great in war, so attractive in peace. The First Consul +rewarded his affection by giving him the posts of inspector-general of +infantry and cavalry. While not engaged in these duties, or in +attendance at the court of Paris, the general spent his leisure hours at +his home at Bar-le-Duc. There he was the idol of the populace; his bust +adorned the hotel de ville, and his fellow-citizens were never tired of +singing his praise and repeating the stories of his marvellous +adventures and daring escapades. But no one who first saw him could +believe that this was Oudinot, the hero of all these marvellous tales. +There was nothing of the swashbuckler about this aristocratic-looking +man, spare, of medium height, whose pale, intellectual face, set off by +a pair of brown moustaches, revealed a rather gentle, gracious +expression, over which flashed occasionally a fugitive smile. It was +only those piercing, flashing eyes which revealed his real character. +Still, it was easy to understand how, with his heroic exploits, he had +fascinated both friend and foe, and gained for himself the title of the +young Bayard. By his first wife the general had two sons and two +daughters. The daughters married early, Generals Pajol and Lorencz, but +it was his sons who were his pride. He had sent for his eldest boy, at +the age of eight, to accompany him on the Zurich campaign, and the lad +had at that age to perform all the duties of a subaltern officer. During +the year of peace both boys were constantly with their father, who spent +his time superintending their military studies and building for himself +a house at Bar-le-Duc. From this patriarchal life he was recalled, in +1804, to take command of the chosen division of picked grenadiers which +had been organised at Arras by Junot. The division, so well known to +history as "Oudinot's Grenadiers," or the "Infernal Column," was +composed of selected men from every regiment, and next to the Guard, was +the finest division in the imperial army. In the campaign of 1805 the +division formed part of Lannes' corps, and covered itself with +distinction at Ulm, and again at Austerlitz, where Oudinot was present, +though not in command. He had been wounded at Hollabruenn, and sent to +hospital, and his division entrusted to Duroc, the Grand Marshal of the +palace. But when he heard of the approaching engagement, the fire-eating +soldier could not be held back, and on the eve of the battle he arrived +in camp. Duroc chivalrously offered to give up command, but Oudinot, who +was satisfied as long as he saw fighting, would not hear of this. "My +dear Marshal," he said, "remain at the head of my brave grenadiers; we +will fight side by side." After the treaty of Pressburg he was sent to +Switzerland, to take possession of Neuchatel, which had been ceded to +France by Prussia, to form a fief for Marshal Berthier. The Neuchatelois +were furious at being treated as mere pawns in the game, and trouble was +expected. Fortunately Oudinot possessed great commonsense. He saw that a +timely concession might bind the proud Swiss to their new lord. The +people of Neuchatel depended almost entirely on their trade with +England, and he wrung from Napoleon the promise that this trade should +not be interfered with. So grateful were the Swiss that they passed a +law making Oudinot a citizen of Neuchatel. The general returned from his +diplomatic triumph in time to command his grenadiers in the Prussian +campaign of 1806, and gained fresh laurels at Jena, Ostralenka, Dantzig +and Friedland. At Dantzig, with his own hand, he killed a Russian +sergeant who had caught a French cavalry colonel in an ambush. At +Friedland he was with Lannes when the Marshal surprised the Russian +rear, and held them pinned against the town until Napoleon could draw in +his troops and overwhelm them. From six in the evening till twelve next +day the grenadiers fought with stubborn tenacity. At last the Emperor +arrived on the field. Oudinot, with his coat hanging in ribbons from +musket shots, his horse covered with blood, dashed up to the Emperor, +"Hasten, Sire," he cried; "my grenadiers are all but spent; but give me +some reinforcements and I will hurl all the Russians into the river." +Napoleon replied, "General, you have surpassed yourself: you seem to be +everywhere; but you need not worry yourself any more. It is my part to +finish this affair." + +After Friedland came the peace of Tilsit, but even peace has its +dangers. Soult, Mortier and the grave Davout were at times carried away +by Oudinot's extravagant spirits, and used to amuse themselves after +dinner by extinguishing the candles on the table with pistol shots. +During the day the general spent his time in his favourite pursuit of +riding. His horses were always thoroughbreds, and nothing stopped him +once he had decided to take any particular line. So one day, while +attempting to jump the ditch of a fort, instead of going round by the +gate, his horse fell with him, and he broke his leg and had to be sent +home. His officers and comrades gave him a farewell dinner. At dessert a +pate appeared, from which, when opened by General Rapp, a swarm of birds +fluttered out, with collars of tricolour ribbon, with the inscription +"To the glory of General Oudinot." + +On returning home the Emperor, in addition to presenting him with the +pipe of Frederick the Great, had granted him the title of count and a +donation of a million francs. With part of this sum Oudinot bought the +beautiful estate of Jeand Heurs. In 1808 he was selected as governor of +Erfurt during the meeting of the Czar and Napoleon, and had the honour +of being presented to Alexander by the Emperor, who said, "Sire, I +present you the Bayard of the French army; like the 'preux chevalier,' +he is without fear and without reproach." The year 1809 brought sterner +interludes, and Oudinot was present in command of his grenadiers during +the Five Days' Fighting, and at Aspern-Essling. On the death of Lannes +he was promoted to the command of the second corps, and in that capacity +played his part at Wagram. During the early part of the battle it took +all his self-restraint to stand still while Davout was turning the +Austrian left, but when he saw the French on the Neusiedel he could no +longer control his impatience, and without waiting orders he hurled his +corps against the enemy's centre, receiving in the attack two slight +wounds. The next day the Emperor sent for him. "Do you know what you did +yesterday?" "Sire, I hope I did not do my duty too badly." "That is just +what you did--you ought to be shot." But the Emperor overlooked his +impetuosity, and a week later rewarded him for his service by presenting +him with his baton, and a month later created him Duke of Reggio. + +The Duke was fortunate in not being selected for duty in Spain. His next +service was in 1812, when he commanded a corps on the lines of +communication in Russia. This was his first independent command, and it +proved that, though a good subordinate, a dashing soldier and a capable +diplomatist, he did not possess the qualifications of a great general. +At Polotsk the day went against the French, but when a wound caused the +Marshal to hand over his command to St. Cyr, that able officer easily +stemmed the Russian advance and turned defeat into victory. The Marshal, +however, made up in zeal what he lacked in ability; a few weeks later, +hearing that St. Cyr was wounded, he hastened back to the front. It was +owing to his gallant attack on the Russians that the Emperor was able to +bridge the Beresina. But, while driving off the enemy who were +attempting to stem the crossing, he was again wounded. Thanks to the +devotion of his staff, he was safely escorted back to France and escaped +the last horrors of the retreat. In 1813 the Duke fought at Bautzen, and +after the armistice of Dresden was despatched to drive back the mixed +force of Swedes and Prussians who were threatening the French left under +Bernadotte. The action of Grosbeeren proved once again that the Duke of +Reggio had no talent for independent command, and the Emperor superseded +him by Marshal Ney, whom he loyally served. Emerging unscathed from the +slaughter at Leipzig, he fought with his accustomed fury all through +the campaign of 1814 without adding to his reputation as a soldier. On +Napoleon's abdication the Duke swore allegiance to the Bourbons, who +received him with warmth, as in the early years of the revolutionary +wars he had shown great humanity to the captured emigres. Louis XVIII. +nominated him colonel-general of the royal corps of grenadiers, and gave +him command of the third military division, with headquarters at Metz. +It was there that the Marshal first heard of the Emperor's return from +Elba. He at once set out to try and intercept his advance on Paris, but +his troops refused to act against their former leader. Thereon Oudinot +threw up his command and returned to Jeand Heurs. On his arrival at +Paris, the Emperor told his Minister of War, Davout, to summon the Duke +of Reggio to court, thinking that, like many another, he would forget +his oath to the Bourbons. But the Duke was of different stuff; he had +sworn allegiance to Louis XVIII. at Napoleon's command, but he could not +break his oath. On his arrival the Emperor greeted him with the +question, "Well, Duke of Reggio, what have the Bourbons done for you +more than I have done, that you attempted to intercept my return?" The +Marshal replied that he had plighted his oath. The Emperor told him to +break it and take service with him, recalling past favours. The Marshal +was much affected, but firm. "I will serve nobody since I cannot serve +you," he said, "but trust me enough not to spy on me with your police: +save me that degradation. I could not endure it." So the interview +ended, and the Marshal returned to Jeand Heurs. + +On the second Restoration Oudinot became a great favourite of the +Bourbons. The King made him a peer of France, presented him with the +order of St. Louis, created him one of the four major-generals of the +Royal Guard and commandant-in-chief of the National Guard. When the heir +to the throne, the Duke of Berri, married a Neapolitan princess, the +second wife of the Marshal became her chief lady, and the Oudinots, +husband and wife, served the royal family with the greatest fidelity. +The Marshal once again saw service when, in 1823, he commanded the first +corps of the army which invaded Spain. It was through no fault of his +that Charles X. lost his throne, for he was patriotic enough to tell him +how unfortunate was the disbanding of the National Guard and his other +ill-advised actions. + +After the fall of the Bourbon dynasty in 1830, the Duke of Reggio never +again entered public life, although in 1839 Louis Philippe created him +Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour, and in 1842 governor of the +Invalides. It was in this honoured position that the Duke breathed his +last on September 13, 1847, in his eighty-first year. + +The Duke of Reggio was fortunate in his career; he never saw service in +Spain, and he seldom held independent command, for which his fiery +temper and impetuosity unfitted him. It was his gallantry and +intrepidity which won for him his baton. In a subordinate position he +could usually control himself enough to obey orders, in a subordinate +position also he could do good staff work, and his quick impetuous brain +teemed with ideas which were useful to his superiors. But by himself he +was lost. Napoleon well knew his shortcomings. In 1805 the Emperor was +holding a review; Oudinot's horse was restive and refused to march past, +whereon he drew his sword and stabbed it in the neck. That evening at +dinner the Emperor asked, "Is that the way you manage your horse?" +"Sire," replied Oudinot, "when I cannot get obedience that is my +method." But it was seldom that his impetuosity resulted in cruelty, and +the wounded at Friedland and in many another action had cause to bless +him. The hero of Friedland, the saviour of the emigres, and the +administrator of Neuchatel was loved not only in the French army, but +also among the enemy. At Erfurt there was a poor Saxon gardener who +delighted to cultivate a rose which he called Oudinot; when asked the +reason he replied, "The general has made me love the war which has +ruined me." The Duke of Reggio turned his face steadily against +plundering, and would reprimand any officer who recklessly rode over a +field of wheat. + +Old age did not change his character. Happy in his family relations, +adored by his young wife, he was universally beloved, and it was with +great grief that, on September 13, 1847, Royalist, Orleanist, +Imperialist, and Republican learned that he whom the soldiers called +"The Marshal of the Thirty-Four Wounds" had passed away. + + + + +XXIV + +DOMINIQUE CATHERINE DE PERIGNON, MARSHAL + + +Among the few men of moderate opinion who were chosen in 1791 to +represent their country in the Legislative Assembly was Dominique +Catherine de Perignon. The scion of a good family of Grenade, in the +Upper Garonne, neither an ultra-royalist nor ultra-republican, he was a +man of action rather than a talker. One year spent among the +self-seekers of Paris was sufficient to prove to him that his role did +not lie among the twisting paths of partisan statesmanship, and gladly, +in 1792, he heard the summons to arms and left the forum for the camp. +Now thirty-eight years old, having been born on May 31, 1754, this was +not his first experience of soldiering; he had held a commission for +some years in the old royal army and had served on the staff. He was, +for this reason, at once elected lieutenant-colonel of the volunteer +legion of the Pyrenees. His bravery and his former military training +soon caused him to rise among the mass of ignorant and untrained +volunteers who formed the Army of the Pyrenees. Luckily for France, she +was opposed on her western frontier by an army which knew as little of +war as her own, led by officers of equal ignorance, without the stimulus +of burning enthusiasm and the dread power of the guillotine; had it been +otherwise, Perpignan and the fortresses covering Provence would soon +have been in the hands of the enemy. With all Europe threatening the +eastern frontier and civil war at home, the Government could spare but +few troops, and these the least trained, for the defence of the west. +Accordingly, in the opening fights of the campaign ill-conceived plans +and panics too frequently caused the defeat of the French, and it was +often only the personal example of individuals which saved the army from +absolute annihilation. From the first engagement Perignon made his mark +by his coolness and courage. The French attack on the Spanish position +at Serre had been brought to a halt by the fierce fire of the enemy, +and, as the line wavered, a timely charge of the Spanish horse threw it +into confusion. Perignon, commanding the first line, rushed up and +seized the musket and cartridges of a wounded soldier, and collecting a +few undaunted privates, quietly opened fire on the Spanish cavalry, and +by his example shamed the runaways into returning to the attack. For +this he was created general of brigade on July 28, 1793. By September +the enemy had opened their trenches round Perpignan, and Perignon was +entrusted with a night sortie. On approaching the Spanish line a +fusillade of musketry swept down five hundred of his little force, and +his men at once halted and opened fire; but Perignon believed in the +bayonet. With stinging reproaches he again got his men to advance, and +sweeping over the enemy's entrenchments, he drove them in rout and +captured their camp. He thus won his promotion as lieutenant-general. + +In November of 1794 Dugommier, the French commander-in-chief, fell +mortally wounded at the battle of Montagne-Noire, and Perignon was at +once appointed his successor. Though no great strategist or tactician, +he was an able leader of men, and had the faculty of enforcing obedience +to his orders. Trusting entirely to the bayonet, he forced the fortified +lines of Escola, making his troops advance and charge over the +entrenchments with shouldered arms, without firing a shot. The +fortresses of Figueras and Rosas alone barred the advance of the French +into Catalonia. So demoralised were the enemy that Figueras, with all +its immense stores, nine thousand troops and two hundred pieces of +artillery, capitulated to a mere summons. But Rosas stood firm, covered +on the land side by the fort of Le Bouton on the top of a precipice, and +on the sea side swept by the guns of the Spanish squadron anchored in +the roads. The fort of Le Bouton was called "l'imprenable." But Perignon +was not frightened by names; although greatly hampered by the civil +Commissioners with the army, and held by them as "suspect," he +determined to capture Le Bouton and Rosas. Le Bouton was dominated by a +perpendicular rock two thousand feet high. It was certain that if +batteries could be established on this precipice Le Bouton could be +taken. But the artillerymen believed that it was impossible to construct +a road to haul guns up to this height. "Very well, then, it is the +impossible that I am going to do," replied the obstinate little general, +and after immense toil a zigzag road was constructed and the guns hauled +by hand to the summit; after a severe bombardment Le Bouton was carried +by an assault. But still Rosas held out; the weather was very severe and +the snow came above the soldiers' thighs, and the engineers declared +that it was impossible to construct siege works unless a certain +outlying redoubt was first taken. "Very well," said the general; "make +your preparations. To-morrow I will take it at the head of my +grenadiers." So at five o'clock the next morning, February 1, 1795, the +grenadiers, with their general at their head, marched out of camp and, +under a murderous fire, by eight o'clock captured the outlying redoubt, +so after a siege of sixty-one days Rosas was captured. It was the +personality of their general which had taught the French soldiers to +surmount all difficulties. Absolutely fearless himself, full of grim +determination, he taught his soldiers how to acquire these virtues by +example, not by precept: ever exposing himself to danger, showing +absolute callousness, until his men were shamed into following his +example. On one occasion during the siege a shell fell at his feet with +the match still fizzling; he was at the moment directing some troops who +were exposed to the fire. The men called out to him to get out of the +way of the explosion, and throw himself flat, but he paid no attention +to the bomb and quietly went on giving his orders, for he knew how his +example would steady his troops; meanwhile someone dashed up and +extinguished the match before the bomb could explode. + +The peace of Basle prevented Perignon from gaining any further success +in Spain, and the Directors, out of compliment, appointed him ambassador +to the court of Madrid, where his good sense and moderation did much to +strengthen the peace between the two countries. In 1799 he was sent to +command a division of the Army of Italy, and commanded the left wing at +the battle of Novi. While attempting to cover the rout he was ridden +over by the enemy's horse, and taken prisoner with eight honourable +sabre wounds on his arms and chest. When the Russian surgeon was going +to attend to his wounds, thinking more of others than of himself, he +said to him, "Do not worry about me; look first after those brave men +there, who are in a worse plight than I." After a few months his +exchange was effected and he returned to France, severely shaken in +health and not fit for further active service, to find Bonaparte First +Consul. Though not one of his own followers, Bonaparte recognised the +services he had rendered to his country, and arranged for his entry into +the Senate, and in 1802 appointed him Commissioner Extraordinary to +arrange the negotiation with Spain, a delicate compliment to Perignon, +who had made his name on Spanish soil. Further to recall his Spanish +victories, in 1804 the Emperor created him honorary Marshal, not on the +active list, and later gave him the title of Count. But though Napoleon +did not think that the Marshal was physically fit to command again in +the field, he entrusted him in 1801 with the government of Parma and +Piacenza, and in 1808 sent him to Naples to command the French troops +stationed in the kingdom of his brother-in-law, Murat. The task was a +difficult one, for Murat was no easy person to get on with, and Southern +Italy, from the days of Hannibal, has been a hard place in which to +maintain military virtues. But the Marshal, with his sound commonsense, +gave satisfaction both to Napoleon and to King Joachim, and at the same +time kept a tight hand over his troops; when, however, in 1814, Murat +deserted the Emperor, the old Marshal withdrew in sorrow to France, to +find Paris in the hands of the enemy. Like the other Marshals he +accepted the Restoration and was created a peer of France. Being himself +of noble birth, and an ex-officer of the old royal army, Louis XVIII. +appointed him to investigate the claims, and verify the services of the +officers of the old army who had returned to France at the Restoration. +When, in 1815, Napoleon returned from Elba, the Marshal, who was at his +country house near Toulouse, made every effort to organise resistance +against him in the Midi. During the Hundred Days he remained quietly at +his home, and on the second Restoration was rewarded with the command of +the first military division, and created Marquis and Commander of the +Order of St. Louis. But he did not long enjoy his new honours, for he +died in Paris on December 25, 1818, aged sixty-four. + + + + +XXV + +JEAN MATHIEU PHILIBERT SERURIER, MARSHAL + + +After thirty-four years' service to be still a captain, with no probable +chance of promotion: such was the lot of Serurier when the Revolution +broke out in 1789. Born on December 8, 1742, he had received his first +commission in the militia at the age of thirteen, and from there had +been transferred to the line. His war service was not inconsiderable, +including three campaigns in Hanover, one in Portugal, and one in Italy; +he had been wounded as far back as the action of Wartburg in 1760, but +there was no court influence to bring him his majority. With the +Revolution, however, fortune quickly changed. The years of steady +attention to duty, of patient devotion to, and loving care of his men, +brought their reward, and when promotion became the gift of the soldiers +and not of the courtiers, the stern old disciplinarian found himself at +the head of his regiment. In the hand-to-hand struggles which +distinguished the early campaigns in the Alps, he soon acquired a +reputation for bravery and the clever handling of his men. By June, +1795, he had risen to be general of division, in which capacity he +distinguished himself on July 7th by the way he led his division at the +fight for the Col de Tenda, and for the modesty with which he attributed +all his success to his soldiers. A month later he saved the whole army +at the Col de Pierre Etroite. When under the cover of driving rain and +mist the enemy surprised the French line of picquets at midnight and had +all but seized the position, it was Serurier who, collecting three +hundred and fifty men, hurled himself against the enemy's column of +fifteen hundred bayonets, and by sheer hand-to-hand fighting held them +in check for six hours, and at last repulsed them with the loss of a +considerable number of prisoners. + +With the halo of this action still surrounding him, in March, 1796, he +first came into direct connection with Bonaparte. The new +commander-in-chief quickly took measure of his tall, stern subordinate. +While recognising to the full his bravery, the excellent discipline he +knew how to maintain, and the high regard in which he was held by his +division, he saw that the iron of years of subordination had entered +into the old soldier's soul, and that, while he could be relied on to +obey orders implicitly, he never could be trusted with an independent +command. Still, what Bonaparte most required from his subordinates was +immediate obedience and speedy performance of orders, and consequently +Serurier played no insignificant part in the glorious campaign of 1796. +At Mondovi he showed his stubbornness, when the Sardinian general turned +at bay, and, as Bonaparte wrote to the Directory, the victory was due +entirely to Serurier. When the Austrians were driven into Mantua, +Bonaparte entrusted him with the siege. The Austrian forces in the +fortress numbered some fourteen thousand; Serurier had but ten thousand +to carry on the siege, although the usual estimate is that a besieging +force should be three times as strong as the besieged; but by his clever +use of the marshes and bridges he was able to hold the enemy and open +his trenches and siege batteries. It was no fault of his that, on the +advance of Wuermser, he had to abandon his guns and hasten to +Castiglione, for Bonaparte had given him no warning of the sudden +advance of the Austrian relieving force. After Castiglione he returned +to his task round Mantua and gallantly repulsed all sorties. When the +end came he had the honour of superintending the surrender, and of +receiving the parole from the gallant old Marshal Wuermser and the +Austrian officers. In the advance on Vienna his division distinguished +itself in the terrible march to Asola; but, as Bonaparte said, "the wind +and the rain were always the crown of victory for the Army of Italy." At +Gradisca Serurier captured two thousand five hundred prisoners, eight +stands of colours, and ten pieces of artillery, and again crowned +himself with glory at the Col de Tarvis. In June Bonaparte sent the old +warrior to Paris to present twenty-two captured stands to the Directory, +and in his despatches, after enumerating his triumphs from Mondovi to +Gradisca, he finished by saying, "General Serurier is extremely severe +on himself, and at times on others. A stern enforcer of discipline, +order, and the most necessary virtues for the maintenance of society, he +disdains intrigues and intriguers"; he then proceeded to demand for him +the command of the troops of the Cisalpine Republic. But the Directors +had other designs, and sent back the general to command the captured +province of Venice. + +In 1799, when the Austrians and Russians invaded Northern Italy, +Serurier commanded a division of the army of occupation. During the +operations which ended in the enemy forcing the Adda, his division got +isolated from the main body. The old soldier, whose boast was that he +never turned his back on an enemy, forgetful of strategy, and thinking +only of honour, instead of attempting to escape and rejoin the rest of +the army, took possession of an extremely strong position at Verderio, +and soon found himself surrounded; after a gallant fight against an +enemy three times his number, he was compelled to surrender with seven +thousand men. The celebrated Suvaroff, the Russian commander, treated +him with great kindness and invited him to dine. After his exchange on +parole had been arranged, the Russian general asked him where he was +going. "To Paris." "So much the better," replied Suvaroff; "I shall +count on seeing you there soon." "I have myself always hoped to see you +there," replied Serurier with considerable wit and dignity. + +The general was still a prisoner on parole when Bonaparte returned from +Egypt, and at once gladly placed himself at his disposal, and aided him +during the coup d'etat of Brumaire. It was because of this service, and +of the strong affection which the old warrior bore him, that Bonaparte +piled honours upon him, for Serurier had undoubtedly done less than +anybody, save perhaps Bessieres, to deserve his baton. Still, Napoleon +knew his devotion, his blind obedience to orders, and his absolute +integrity. In December, 1799, he called him to the Senate. In April, +1804, he made him governor of the Invalides, and a month later presented +him with his Marshal's baton, and created him Grand Eagle of the Legion +of Honour and Grand Cross of the Iron Crown. But he never employed him +in the field, though once for a short time during the Walcheren +Expedition he placed him in command of the National Guard of Paris. + +The old Marshal found a congenial occupation in looking after the +veterans at the Invalides, while, as Vice-President of the Senate, he +faithfully served the interests of his beloved Emperor. When in 1814 he +heard that Paris was going to surrender, rather than that the trophies +of his master's glory should fall into the hands of the enemy, on the +night of March 30th he collected the eighteen hundred captured standards +which adorned Notre Dame, and the military trophies from the chapel of +the Invalides, and burned them, and he actually hurled into the fire the +sword of the Great Frederick which had been seized in 1806 at Potsdam. +Yet in spite of his devotion to the Emperor, a few days later he took +part in the proceedings in the Senate, and voted for his deposition. +Under the Restoration he was made a peer of France, but on Napoleon's +return he hastened to greet him. But the Emperor could not forgive his +desertion, and, thinking he would not benefit by his services, he +refused them. When the Bourbons returned a second time the Marshal was +stripped of his titles and, what caused him more grief, of his command +of the Invalides. After parting from the veterans, whose welfare he had +so long superintended, the old warrior withdrew into private life, and +died at Paris on December 21, 1819, at the age of seventy-seven. + + + + +XXVI + +PRINCE JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI, MARSHAL + + +Joseph Poniatowski, the nephew of King Stanislaus (the erstwhile lover +of Catherine the Second of Russia), was born in 1762, before his uncle +had been raised to the kingly rank. Like all Poles of noble birth, war +and war alone could offer him a profession he was able or cared to +pursue, and accordingly at an early age he served his apprenticeship in +arms under the banner of Austria. Returning to his native country in +1789 with the experience of several campaigns against the Turks, he was +entrusted by his uncle with the organisation of the Polish army. For the +cast-off lover of the great Catherine was about to make one last effort +to save his country from the greedy hands of Prussia, Russia and +Austria. The great kingdom of Poland had fallen on evil days; she had no +fortresses, no navy, no roads, no arsenals, no revenue, and no real +standing army; while the King was elected by a Diet of nobles who +thought more of foreign gold than of patriotism; the single vote of one +member of this Diet could bring all business to a standstill. King +Stanislaus' reforms were wise, but they came too late. The kingship was +to become hereditary, the "liberum veto," whereby business was paralysed +was abolished, and a standing army was to be raised. But it suited none +of her great neighbours to see Poland organising herself into a modern +State, and before Prince Joseph had had time to raise and thoroughly +drill his new model army, Prussia and Russia determined once and for all +to wipe the kingdom off the map of Europe. In 1792 Prince Joseph found +himself at the head of his new levies opposed by the trained troops of +those countries. To add to his difficulties, the orders he received from +his uncle were contradictory and irresolute, for King Stanislaus, though +patriot at heart, had not the moral courage for so great an emergency. +The new Polish troops gained some minor successes, but before the +immense array of enemies the King's heart failed him, and he signed the +Convention of Targowitz, which foreshadowed the dismemberment of his +country. Prince Joseph, like many another of his brave comrades, unable +to stomach such cowardice, threw up his commission and withdrew into +exile. In 1794 Poland suddenly flew to arms at the command of the +great-hearted Kosciuszko, and Prince Joseph, keen soldier and patriot, +gladly placed himself under the orders of his former subordinate, and +covered himself with glory at the siege of Warsaw. Again, however, the +Polish resistance was broken down by force of numbers, and the Prince, +turning a deaf ear to the blandishments of Emperor and Czarina alike, +withdrew from public life and settled down to manage his estates near +Warsaw. For eleven long years Poland lay dismembered, but the national +spirit still smouldered, and broke into clear flame when, in 1806, the +victorious French drove the battered remains of the Prussian armies +across the Vistula. But Poland was a mere pawn in the game, to be used +as a means of threatening or conciliating Russia, and in spite of the +high hopes of the Poles the treaty of Tilsit, instead of reviving the +ancient kingdom, merely established a Grand Duchy of Warsaw. The Emperor +left Davout to watch over the weaning of the State, and appointed Prince +Joseph to organise the national forces which were to supplement the +French army of occupation. No better choice could have been made, for +the Prince had the necessary tact to manage the imperious Davout, while +his chivalrous nature, his well-known patriotism and his experience and +ability, enabled him once more to accustom the Polish troops to the bit +of discipline. When, in 1809, the great European conflagration forced +Napoleon to leave the Grand Duchy to its fate, Prince Joseph was able to +keep the Austrians in check, and actually to penetrate into Galicia +before the battle of Wagram brought the war to an end. + +Poniatowski's campaign against Austria, glorious as it was for the +Poles, was in reality the forerunner of disaster. During the campaign +the Polish troops were supported by a Russian division. To Poniatowski, +the Russians, the despoilers of his country, were more hateful than the +enemy, and he so distrusted them that, at the risk of having to fight +them, he refused to allow them to occupy any of the captured fortresses; +this suspicion was increased by the capture of a secret despatch from +the Russian commander to the Austrian Archduke, congratulating him on +the victory of Razyn, and expressing a wish that his standards might +soon be joined to the Austrian eagles. The Prince at once sent the +intercepted despatch to Napoleon, who summed up the situation with the +words, "I see that after all I must make war on Alexander." So when the +Grand Army assembled for the invasion of Russia, Prince Poniatowski with +his Poles rejoiced at the call to arms, and brought thirty-six thousand +well disciplined and well equipped troops to the rendezvous, while +sixty-five thousand were left to garrison the fortresses: the years of +peace had been spent by him in busy labour as Minister of War, providing +for the necessities of the army, establishing engineering and artillery +colleges, equipping hospitals and perfecting organisation and +discipline. Smolensk, Moskowa, and many a skirmish proved that the +labour of organisation had not sapped Prince Joseph's dash and courage, +and the horrors of the retreat brought out to the full his chivalrous +bravery and determination. Though wounded during the retreat, he was +ready the following year to help the French in Central Europe. On the +morning of the first day of the battle of Leipzig, Napoleon, to fire the +Poles, sent their Prince his baton as Marshal. While esteeming the +honour, Prince Joseph showed no undue elation, for, much as he admired +the French, and grateful as he felt, he was at heart a Pole, and, as he +said to a comrade, "I am proud to be the leader of the Poles. When one +has a unique title superior to that of Marshal, the title of +Generalissimo of the Poles, nothing else matters. Besides, I am going to +die, and I prefer to die as a Polish general and not as a Marshal of +France." But the Marshal did not allow his gloomy forebodings to +interfere with his duty, and so fiercely did he face the enemy that +after three days' fighting his corps had dwindled from seven thousand to +a bare two thousand men. On the morning of the fatal 19th of October the +Emperor sent for him and entrusted him with the defence of the southern +suburb of Leipzig. "Sire," said the Prince, "I have but few followers +left." "What then?" rejoined the Emperor; "you will defend it with what +you have." "Ah, Sire," replied the Prince Marshal, "we are all ready to +die for your Majesty." Thus spoke the Pole, but many a Frenchman thought +otherwise and hurried from the stricken field. With their hated enemies, +the Austrians, Russians and Prussians surrounding them, the small band +of devoted Poles fought to the last. When the bridge was blown up and +ordered retreat was impossible, the Prince, drawing his sword, called +out to those around him, "Gentlemen, we must die with honour." Severely +wounded, with a handful of followers, he fought his way through a column +of the enemy and reached the bank of the Elster. Faint from loss of +blood, he urged his horse into the stream, and by great exertions +reached the other side; but the beast, worn out by the long days of +battle, was unable to clamber up the steep, slippery bank, and the +Prince Marshal was so faint that he could no longer guide his steed; so +horse and rider dropped back into the stream and were seen no more +alive. Two days later his body was recovered, and buried with all the +honours due to his rank, in the presence of the allied sovereigns, his +former enemies. Thus passed away Prince Joseph Poniatowski, whose +chivalrous courage had won for him the title of the Polish Bayard, whose +life had been spent for the welfare of his country, whose high military +reputation was sullied by no inglorious act, and who at the last chose +death rather than surrender. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Abbaye, 324 + +Abensberg, 61, 136, 173 + +Abercromby, 272, 273 + +Aboukir, 122, 144 + +Achille Murat, 30 + +Acre, 27 + +Adda, 42, 351 + +Adige, 189 + +Africa, 121 + +Agar, Count of Mosburg, 34, 38 + +Albano, 236 + +Albion, 251 + +Albuera, 107, 116 + +Alessandria, 307 + +Alexander, Czar, xviii, xix, 86, 87, 88, 89, 132, 154, 166, 167, 171, + 193, 194, 214, 331, 339, 356 + +Alexandria, 121, 204, 205 + +Ali Pacha, 208 + +Alle, 131 + +Almarez, 212 + +Almeida, 64, 66, 67, 150, 151 + +Alkmaar, 273 + +Alps, 8, 57, 123, 201, 219, 228, 247, 288, 349 + +Alsace, 193, 317, 318, 330 + +Altenkirchen, 74 + +Alvarez, 240 + +Alvintzi, 203 + +Ambert, 334 + +America, xv, xvii, 3, 159, 251, 252, 300 + +Amiens, 24, 31 + +Amsterdam, 273 + +Andalusia, 104, 105, 109, 115, 133 + +Andreossy, 122 + +Angoumois, 268 + +Antibes, 50 + +Annoux, 162 + +Apolda, 80, 81 + +Appenines, 235 + +Arabs, 26 + +Arcis-sur-Aube, 193, 214, 330 + +Arcola, 53, 60, 120, 124, 203, 219, 262 + +Argenton, 102 + +Argonne, 318 + +Army of the Alps, 4, 201, 220, 305, 311, 320 + of Arragon, 222, 223 + of the Centre, 318 + of the Cote de Brest, 247 + of Dalmatia, 209 + of England, 75, 270 + of the Eastern Pyrenees, 118, 297, 344 + of Germany, 187 + Grand, 13, 14, 17, 18, 32, 41, 61, 83, 98, 109, 126, 146, 147, 152, + 165, 173, 177, 191, 207, 265, 266, 275, 281, 282, 289, 300, 309, + 310, 321, 356 + of the Grisons, 187 + of Hanover, 80 + of Holland, 300 + +Army of Italy, 4, 6, 25, 26, 29, 51, 57, 58, 70, 74, 75, 78, 119, 120, + 164, 185, 186, 190, 191, 202, 203, 209, 221, 236, 238, 263, 272, + 274, 298, 320, 336, 347, 351 + of La Vendee, 306 + of the Loire, 180, 181 + of the Midi, 305 + of the Moselle, 163 + of Naples, 39, 85, 186, 238 + of Normandy, 2 + of the North, 253, 254, 270, 307 + of the Ocean, 10, 126, 165, 207, 309 + of Portugal, 108, 149, 211 + of the Pyrenees, 261, 286 + of the Reserve, 8, 28, 123, 247, 249, 274, 299, 321 + of the Rhine, 55, 143, 172, 232, 233, 237, 247, 263, 278, 323 + of Rome, 234 + of the Sambre and Meuse, 74, 75, 143, 253, 278, 323 + of Spain, 248, 300 + of Switzerland, 55 + of the West, 306 + of the Western Pyrenees, 246 + +Arpajon, 268 + +Arragon, 133, 223, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230 + +Arras, 337 + +Artois, Count of, 91, 196 + +Asola, 351 + +Aspern, 16, 61, 137, 173, 190, 290, 294, 339 + +Auch, 129 + +Auersperg, 127 + +Auerstaedt, 81, 167, 168, 177 + +Auerstaedt, Duchess of, 169, 172, 177 + +Augsburg, 15 + +Augereau (Life, 259-267), xii, xiii, 26, 35, 79, 93, 121, 125, 126, 129, + 202, 240 + +Auguie, 144, 155 + +Aulic Council, 56 + +Aurillac, 159 + +Austerlitz, xviii, 38, 47, 80, 97, 166, 222, 289 + +Auxerre, 162 + +Avignon, 276 + + +B + +Badajoz, 106, 107, 108, 211 + +Baden, Prince of, 327, 328 + +Bagration, 41 + +Balanquer, Col of, 226, 229 + +Baltic, 35 + +Bantry Bay, 307 + +Bar, 317 + +Barcelona, 239, 290 + +Bard, 206 + +Bareges, 37 + +Bar-le-Duc, 333, 337 + +Barossa, 302 + +Barras, 25, 77, 270 + +Barthelemy, 263 + +Bassano, 120 + +Bastille, 3 + +Bavarians, 80, 193, 329 + +Bautzen, 19, 42, 153, 213, 283, 340 + +Bavastros, 50 + +Bayard, 295, 337, 339, 358 + +Baylen, xviii, 248 + +Bayonne, 14, 37, 68, 109, 116, 247 + +Bearn, 87 + +Beaumont, 31 + +Belchite, 225, 226, 229 + +Belgium, 12, 165, 196, 252, 254, 292 + +Bellegarde, 95, 247 + +Bennigsen, 131, 179 + +Bentinck, 42 + +Bercheny, 322 + +Beresford, 107, 108 + +Beresina, 41, 152, 302, 340 + +Berg 33, 36, 38, 48 + +Bergen, 273 + +Berlin, xviii, 169, 173, 191 + +Bernadotte (Life, 72-92), x, xi, 98, 99, 153, 167, 220, 232, 265, 291, + 300, 340 + +Berne, 270 + +Berri, Duc de, 197, 341 + +Berthier (Life, 1-22), xii, xiii, 54, 63, 70, 82, 98, 111, 116, 122, + 123, 147, 150, 177, 202, 292, 318, 326 + +Berthollet, 204 + +Bertrand, 127, 312 + +Besancon, 155, 245 + +Besenval, 3 + +Bessieres (Life, 286-295), xii, 18, 67, 83, 99, 100, 125, 207, 311, 352 + +Bessonis, 159 + +Bethune, 196 + +Beurnonville, 184 + +Biberach, 234, 237 + +Bitche, 334 + +Black Forest, 11, 31, 32, 126, 254 + +Black Prince, 246 + +Blake, 223, 240, 289, 290, 301, 329 + +Bluecher, 34, 81, 84, 98, 130, 167, 168, 180, 192, 312 + +Bohemia, 14 + +Bologna, 121, 187 + +Bonaventura Casa, 246 + +Bordeaux, 109, 270 + +Bormida, 235 + +Bouchotte, 252, 306 + +Boulogne, 96, 97, 221, 248, 275 + +Bourbons, xiv, 36, 37, 39, 40, 44, 45, 68, 72, 77, 88, 90, 110, 113, + 154, 157, 178, 215, 250, 267, 275, 283, 303, 304, 311, 315, 323, 330, + 341, 342, 353 + +Bourges, 195, 197 + +Bourmont, 156 + +Bouvet, 307 + +Bremen, 280 + +Brest, 265 + +Brienne, 2, 302 + +Brittany, 78 + +Brives-la-Gaillard, 268, 277 + +Bruges, 165 + +Brumaire, 8, 27, 57, 77, 255, 288, 298, 325, 326, 352 + +Brune, Madame, 268, 277 + +Brunswick, Duke of, 118, 167, 318, 319 + +Brussels, 313 + +Bruyere, 175 + +Buelow, 165 + +Burgos, 100, 212, 290 + +Burgundy, 162 + +Busaco, 64, 150 + + +C + +Cadiz, 105, 108, 109, 282, 302 + +Caesar, xi, 74, 89, 91, 161 + +Cahors, 23, 286 + +Cairo (Egypt), 26, 122 + +Cairo (Italy), 52 + +Calabria, 60 + +Caldiero, 60 + +Calvados, 270 + +Calvin, 234 + +Cambrai, 278 + +Campan, 164 + +Camp de milles fourches, 51 + +Cannes, 45 + +Capri, 40 + +Capua, 60 + +Carinthia, 238, 310 + +Carnot, 221, 252, 253, 263, 320 + +Caroline Bonaparte, 28, 29, 30, 33, 39, 43, 123, 124 + +Caroline, Bourbon Queen of Naples, 60, 238 + +Cassel, 281 + +Castanos, 133 + +Castel Franco, 238 + +Castiglione, 53, 202, 219, 261, 262, 266, 287, 350 + +Castile, 289, 295 + +Castilians, 225 + +Catalonia, 191, 225, 226, 229, 239, 240 + +Catherine II., Czarina, 354, 355 + +Cattaro, 207 + +Caulaincourt, 99, 151, 154, 194 + +Cavaignac, 40 + +Cayenne, 49 + +Cerea, 298 + +Cerrachi, 78, 288 + +Chalons, 156, 200, 201 + +Champaubert, 214, 330 + +Championnet, 185, 186 + +Chancellor, 195 + +Charlemagne, xi, xvii, 146, 246, 326 + +Charleroi, 157, 253 + +Charles, Archduke, xvii, 55, 56, 57, 82, 173, 174, 254, 255, 324, 356 + +Charles IV. of Spain, 36, 37 + +Charles X. of France, 215, 216, 217, +258, 315 + +Charles XIII. of Sweden, 84, 85 + +Charles XIV. of Sweden, _cf_. Bernadotte + +Charlotte of Wuertemburg, 289 + +Charles Stewart, 183 + +Chatillon, 19, 200 + +Chebrass, 122 + +Cherasco, 25 + +Cherbourg, 216 + +Chiasso, 307 + +Chouans, 306, 307 + +Cisalpine Republic, 6, 30, 351 + +Ciudad Rodrigo, 64, 66, 108, 150, 151, 212, 213 + +Civita Castellana, 186 + +Clanclaux, 306 + +Clanranald, 183 + +Clarke, Duke of Feltre, 14, 68, 83, 110 + +Clary, 76 + +Clary, Madame Suchet, 222, 227, 230 + +Cleves, 33 + +Clicheans, 143, 263 + +Clichy Gate, 249 + +Coa, 150 + +Coburg, 253 + +Code Napoleon, 39 + +Coffin, 42 + +Col de Tarvis, 351 + +Col de Tende, 51, 349 + +Col de Pierre Etroite, 349 + +Coland, 143 + +College of France, 268 + +College of Isle Barbe, 219 + +Combault, 331 + +Committee of Public Safety, 24, 252, 253 + +Commissioners, 3, 184, 185 + +Commune, 113 + +Concordat, 30, 124, 264, 288 + +Confederation of the Rhine, 33 + +Congress of Vienna, 89, 90, 156 + +Consalvi, 30 + +Constantinople, 79, 260, 274 + +Consuls of Rome, 234, 235 + +Convention, 232, 236 + +Copenhagen, 188 + +Corfu, 6 + +Corne, Paul Louis, 238 + +Corps Legislatif, 195 + +Corunna, 104 + +Corsica, 46, 72 + +Corso, 135 + +Cortes, 105 + +Coudreaux, 155 + +Council of Five Hundred, 254, 255 + +Courcelles, 198 + +Craonne, 303, 311 + +Crawford, 150 + +Cromwell, xi, 176 + +Cross of St. Louis, 3, 275, 283, 311, 317, 330 + +Cuesta, 104, 289, 290 + +Custine, 2, 232 + + +D + +d'Abbeville, 319 + +Daendals, 272 + +Dallemagne, 120 + +Dalmatia, 208, 210, 216 + +Dalmatia, Duchess of, 109 + +d'Angouleme, Duc, 68, 311 + +Danton, 269, 270, 277 + +Dantzig, 40, 131, 192, 302, 327, 328, 338 + +Dantzig, Duchess of, 302, 329, 330, 331 + +Danube, xvii, 10, 31, 32, 33, 60, 61, 74, 76, 82, 95, 98, 126, 127, 128, + 136, 137, 222, 236, 280, 281, 308, 324, 355 + +D'Artagnan, 23 + +Dauphine, 72 + +Davout (Life, 162-182), xii, xiii, 15, 16, 17, 18, 81, 96, 98, 99, 111, + 119, 128, 130, 133, 145, 195, 210, 284, 285, 310, 312, 314, 339, 341, + 355, 356 + +Dego, 25, 120, 298 + +D'Engen, 237 + +d'Enghien, 78, 288, 311 + +Denmark, 14, 82, 84, 90, 300 + +Dennewitz, 87, 153 + +d'Erlon, 66, 157, 159 + +Desaix, xiii, 122, 163, 164, 233, 278, 300, 314 + +Desire Clary, 76, 78, 85 + +Desmoulins, Camille, 269, 276 + +d'Hautpoul, 33 + +Diet (Polish), 354 + +Dijon, 28, 274 + +Directory, xvii, 7, 48, 55, 57, 75, 76, 77, 220, 234, 235, 255, 263, + 264, 270, 272, 279, 306, 320, 324, 325, 331 + +Donauwoerth, 15 + +Don Francisco, 37 + +Doria, 234 + +Dorsenne, 212 + +Douro, 108 + +Dresden, 42, 214, 242, 261, 283, 340 + +Drome, 297 + +Dugommier, 119, 297, 345 + +Duhesme, 239 + +Dumas, Alexandre, 270 + +Dumas, General, 152 + +Dumerbion, 51 + +Dumouriez, xvi, 142, 163, 184, 252, 317, 318, 319, 320 + +Dunaberg, 191 + +Dundonald, 239 + +Dunkirk, 252, 270 + +Dupont, 198, 274, 280, 281 + +Duroc, 26, 134, 337, 338 + +Duerrenstein, 280, 281 + +Duesseldorf, 34 + +Dutaillis, 12 + +Dutch, 80, 183, 184, 185, 207, 272 + +Dwina, 191, 241 + + +E + +Ebersdorf, 190 + +Ebling, 293 + +Ebro, 134, 246, 248, 290 + +Eckmuehl, 60, 136, 169, 173 + +Egypt, xvii, 7, 8, 26, 27, 54, 75, 77, 122, 163, 186, 204, 205, 208, + 247, 255, 264, 271, 287, 298, 324, 325 + +Elba, 20, 45, 89, 180, 194, 195, 228, 267, 303, 331, 341, 348 + +Elbe, 280, 321 + +El Bodin, 212, 217 + +Elchingen, 32 + +Elizabeth of Bavaria, 13, 20 + +Elster, 19, 193, 199, 357 + +Empress of Austria, 171, 209 + +Encyclopedists, 305 + +Enzerdorf, 174 + +Ercola, 345 + +Erfurt, 100, 132, 147, 342 + +Espinosa, 301, 329 + +Essling, 16, 61, 64, 70, 137, 173, 190, 290, 294, 339 + +Eugene, Prince, 19, 42, 43, 44, 47, 90, 188, 189, 198, 287, 310, 312 + +Exmouth, Lord, 276 + +Eylau, xviii, 14, 35, 47, 81, 95, 131, 147, 170, 222, 265, 309 + + +F + +Faenza, 237 + +Faubourg St. Marceau, 259 + +Feldkirche, 324 + +Ferdinand, Archduke, 32, 126 + +Ferdinand VII., King of Spain, 36, 37 + +Fieschi, 284 + +Figueras, 191, 346 + +Finkenstein, 327 + +Five Days' Fighting, 291, 294, 329, 339 + +Fleurus, 73, 74, 94, 253, 323 + +Florence, 30 + +Flushing, 83 + +Fontainebleau, 16, 20, 70, 154, 193 + +Fort Louis, 94 + +Fouche, 36, 38,43, 79, 85, 197, 272, 291 + +Foy, 290, 315 + +Frederic the Great, xviii, 168, 169, 332, 342 + +Frejus, 77, 110, 155 + +Friedland, xviii, 61, 99, 131, 132, 148, 282, 309, 311, 312, 338, + 339, 342 + +Fructidor General, 263 + +Fuentes d'Onoro, 67, 211, 293 + +Fulton, 207 + + +G + +Gaeta, 60 + +Galicia, 104, 289 + +Gamoral, 100 + +Garde Constitutionelle, 24, 286 + +Garde du Corps, 305 + +Gardes Francaises, 259, 322 + +Garonne, 93, 344 + +Gascony, 72 + +Gauthier, 269 + +Gazan, 134, 280, 281 + +Gembloux, 312, 313 + +Gendarmerie, 245, 247 + +Generalissimo, 357 + +Geneva, 228 + +Genoa, 25, 58, 70, 95, 121, 181, 221, 235, 236, 335, 336 + +Gerard, 179 + +Germany, xviii, 13, 17, 31, 42, 87 145, 177, 192, 280, 321 + +Gerona, 240, 266 + +Gers, 118, 119 + +Ghent, 215 + +Gibraltar, 108 + +Girard, 282, 303, 312, 313 + +Gironde, 117, 118 + +Girondists, 270 + +Goerz, 189 + +Gouvion, 231, 232 + +Governolo, 120 + +Gradisca, 351 + +Graham, 302 + +Granada, 104 + +Graetz, 308 + +Gratz, 189, 308 + +Grenade, 344 + +Grenoble, 72 + +Greussen, 98 + +Grignon, 292 + +Groete Keten, 272 + +Grosbeeren, 87, 153, 340 + +Grosbois, 14, 16, 79 + +Grouchy (Life, 305-315), xiv, 111, 131, 157 + +Guadaloupe, 79, 89 + +Guard, Consular, 28, 96, 97, 123, 124, 125, 288 + +Guard, Imperial, 12, 17, 41, 67, 109, 129, 153, 154, 158, 178, 190, 280, + 287, 289, 290, 291, 293, 294, 295, 311 + +Guard, National, 3, 30, 68, 249, 323, 333, 334, 341, 342, 352 + +Guard, Royal, 215, 303, 341 + +Guard, Young, 282, 283, 285, 290, 292, 294 + +Guides, 287 + +Gueheneuc, 124 + +Gumbinnen, 152 + +Gustavus IV., 84, 89, 275 + + +H + +Hamburg, 84, 178, 179, 181, 280, 281 + +Hanau, 193, 199, 283 + +Handschoetten, 252, 270 + +Hannibal, 89, 161 + +Hanover, 11, 80, 81, 82, 279, 280, 349 + +Hanseatic Towns, 82 + +Hassanhausen, 167, 168 + +Haut Rhin, 93 + +Havre, 261 + +Hebert, 4, 333 + +Heilsberg, 35, 99, 170 + +Henry IV., 87, 92, 197 + +Herborn, 95 + +Hesdin, 162 + +Hesse-Cassel, 90 + +Hoche, 76, 234, 307, 324 + +Hohenlinden, 28, 188, 206, 309 + +Hohenlohe, 129, 130 + +Hollabruenn, 33, 337 + +Holland, 11, 185, 249, 255, 272, 273, 274, 300, 306, 309 + +Holy Roman Empire, xvii, 123 + +Hortense, Queen of Holland, 34, 164 + +Houchard, 252, 270 + +Hundred Days, 65, 215, 242, 258, 314, 321, 331, 348 + +Hungarians, 175, 291 + +Hyeres, 243 + + +I + +India, xvii + +Infernal Column, 337 + +Inn, 31 + +Invalides, 250, 258, 285, 352, 353 + +Ireland, 265 + +Iron Crown, 352 + +Ismailia, 260 + +Italian Republic, 30 + +Ivrea, 28 + + +J + +Jacobin, 4, 48, 73, 75, 79, 253, 255, 263, 264, 333 + +Janina, 208 + +Jauer, 192 + +Jeand Heurs, 339, 341 + +Jemappes, 184, 252 + +Jena, 13, 34, 47, 80, 81, 98, 130, 147, 149, 167, 222, 265, 300, 328 + +Jerome Bonaparte, 289 + +Johannisberg, 321 + +John, Archduke, 174, 175, 188, 191, 209 + +Jomini, 145, 146, 154, 161 + +Joseph Bonaparte, 15, 38, 60, 61, 63, 76, 78, 79, 81, 84, 104, 105, 106, + 108, 114, 149, 213, 222, 227, 239, 248, 256, 257, 258, 290, 301, 302, + 310 + +Josephine, Empress, 25, 36, 48, 76, 288, 292 + +Joubert, 55, 220, 308 + +Jourdan (Life, 251-258), xii, xiii, xvii, 63, 79, 94, 104, 234, 279, + 301, 302, 323 + +July Monarchy, 198 + +Junot, 63, 64, 65, 134, 136, 201, 205, 337 + +Junta of Oviedo, 248 + + +K + +Kaiserslautern, 93 + +Kalioub, 26 + +Kalish, 132 + +Kalkreuth, 98, 168, 327, 328 + +Katzbach, 192, 198 + +Kehl, 126 + +Keith, Lord, 59 + +Kellermann (Life, 316-321), xii, xiii, 4, 51, 99, 201, 305, 326, 330, 331 + +Kellermann (younger), 29, 157 + +Kilmaine, 25 + +King of Rome, 214 + +Kleber, xiii, 73, 142, 143, 278, 279 + +Koenigsberg, 99, 131, 171, 309 + +Korsakoff, 56, 57 + +Kosciuszko, 355 + +Koesen, 167 + +Kovno, 152, 153 + +Krasnoi, 152 + +Kremlin, 282 + +Krems, 32 + +Kuelm, 283 + + +L + +La Bastide Fortuniere, 23 + +La Harpe, 26 + +La Houssaye, 264, 267 + +La Marche, 296 + +La Vendee, 4, 253, 261, 274, 306, 326 + +Lafayette, 90, 252 + +Lamarre, 50 + +Lamballe, 277 + +Landgrafenberg, 129 + +Landrieux, 24 + +Landshut, 136 + +Lannes (Life, 117-140), xii, xiii, 26, 28, 30, 32, 33, 47, 62, 96, 98, + 99, 147, 149, 166, 175, 205, 210, 222, 248, 264, 265, 280, 288, 299, + 300, 309, 312, 328, 337 + +Laon, 214, 217 + +Lapezriere, 288 + +Larrey, 133 + +Lartigues, 51 + +Lasalle, 35 + +Laudon, 247 + +Lauter, 318 + +Laybach, 189 + +Le Bouton, 346 + +Leclerc, xiii, 27 + +Leclerc, Aimee, 164 + +Lecourbe, xiii, 156 + +Lectourne, 117, 118, 128, 136, 139 + +Lefebvre (Life, 322-332), xii, 94, 264, 275 + +Leghorn, 60, 61 + +Legion of Honour, 146, 191, 198, 207, 221, 228, 247, 284, 309, 342, 352 + +Legislative Assembly, 344 + +Leipzig, xiv, xix, 19, 22, 42, 88, 138, 154, 192, 198, 199, 214, 266, + 283, 302, 340, 347 + +Lenormand, 83 + +Leoben, 6, 53, 75, 121, 262, 270 + +Lerida, 226, 229 + +Levant, 260 + +Liege, 313 + +Ligny, 312 + +Lille, 156, 196 + +Limoges, 251 + +Linares, 106 + +Linz, 280 + +Lisbon, 65, 66, 101, 104, 105, 106, 108, 115, 125, 126, 261 + +Lithuania, 41 + +Little Gibraltar, 297 + +Liverpool, Lord, 67 + +Loano, 51, 70, 119, 219, 261 + +Lobau, 62, 138, 174, 290 + +Lodi, 6, 53, 120, 201, 261, 262 + +Loison, 151 + +Lombardy, 45, 120, 308 + +Lonato, 53, 287 + +London, 113 + +Lons la Saulnier, 155, 160 + +Lorencz, 337 + +Lorraine, 193 + +Louis XIV., 237 + +Louis XVIII., 20, 110, 160, 179, 180, 195, 196, 199, 243, 250, 258, 276, + 341, 348 + +Louis Napoleon, 38 + +Louis Philippe, 113, 114, 116, 258, 284 + +Louisiana, 7, 79, 300 + +Louvre, 188 + +Lowe, Sir Hudson, 40 + +Luebeck, 35, 81, 84, 98, 128, 309 + +Lucien Bonaparte, 79 + +Luckner, 3, 318 + +Lugo, 103, 149 + +Luetzen, 19, 42, 153, 213, 283, 293 + +Lyons, 113, 156, 196, 219, 228, 266, 311 + + +M + +Macachaim, 183 + +Macard, xiv + +Macdonald, Flora, 183 + +Macdonald, Marshal (Life, 183-199), xiii, xiv, 20, 21, 83, 154, 174, + 181, 209, 243, 247, 266, 274, 298 + +Macdonald, Neil, 183 + +Machiavelli, 243 + +Mack, 11, 126, 128, 186 + +Madame Sans Gene, 322 + +Madrid, 9, 36, 37, 100, 104, 108, 133, 134, 212, 227, 237, 248, 290, 301 + +Maestricht, 312 + +Magdeburg, 98, 147 + +Magnano, 55, 186 + +Maillebois, 184 + +Maine, 213 + +Maintz, 201 + +Malaga, 104 + +Malmaison, 180 + +Malta, 122 + +Mamelukes, 26, 204 + +Manhes, 39 + +Mannheim, 143, 163, 335 + +Mantua, 25, 120, 189, 203, 262, 272, 287, 298, 299, 350, 351 + +Marat, 24 + +Marceau, xiii, 94 + +Marengo, xvii, 9, 29, 59, 77, 96, 123, 124, 205, 221, 247, 274, 288, + 299, 300, 314 + +Maret, 99 + +Maria, 225, 229 + +Marie Louise, 16, 175 + +Marlborough, 227 + +Marmont (Life, 200-218), xiii, xiv, 26, 67, 68, 78, 108, 122, 123, 189, + 194, 229, 274, 278, 288, 309, 310 + +Marne, 302 + +Marseillaise, 276 + +Marseilles, 76, 219, 276 + +Massena (Life, 49-71), xii, xiii, 15, 16, 79, 95, 96, 106, 107, 110, + 115, 137, 142, 144, 149, 150, 151, 174, 190, 210, 220, 221, 234, 238, + 239, 255, 256, 270, 273, 274, 279, 292, 293, 298, 299, 335, 336 + +Massena, Prosper, 69 + +Maubeuge, 252 + +Meaux, 269 + +Mecklenberg-Anhalt, 90 + +Medici, 30 + +Medine del Rio Seco, 289 + +Medoc, 233 + +Melzi, 30 + +Menou, 122 + +Mequinenza, 262, 229 + +Meric, 119 + +Mesler, 138 + +Messina, 40 + +Metternich, 42, 45, 209 + +Metz, 141, 146, 318, 341 + +Meuse, 334 + +Midi, 275 + +Milan, 10 + +Millesimo, 261 + +Mincio, 25, 206, 221, 274 + +Mirabeau, 268 + +Molans, Ure de, 24 + +Monaco, 299 + +Moncey (Life, 245-250), 133, 134 + +Mondego, 150 + +Mondovi, 25, 298, 350, 351 + +Monge, 204 + +Moniteur, 42, 43, 164 + +Mont St. Jean, 313 + +Montebello, 25, 28, 123, 138, 299 + +Monte Cretto, 95 + +Montenegro, 208 + +Montenotte, 53 + +Montesquieu, 305 + +Montfaucon, 24 + +Montmartre, 214 + +Montmirail, 283, 330 + +Monzembano, 336 + +Moore, Sir John, 100, 134 + +Moreau, xiii, xiv, xvii, 28, 76, 138, 144, 186, 187, 199, 206, 220, 234, + 235, 236, 237, 247, 298, 308 + +Morlantier, 334 + +Mortier (Life, 278-285), xii, xiii, xiv, 80, 136, 328, 329 + +Moscow, 18, 40, 41, 151, 241, 282, 295, 310, 329 + +Moses, 89 + +Moskowa, 41, 156, 177, 294, 312, 356 + +Mosskirch, 237 + +Moulins, 201 + +Mount Albis, 56, 57 + +Mount Faron, 297 + +Munich, 31, 259 + +Murat (Life, 22-48), xii, xiii, 10, 18, 19, 89, 93, 120, 122, 123, 124, + 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 139, 166, 177, 178, 233, 274, 287, 288, 289, + 290, 293, 294, 309, 310, 311, 348 + +Murillo, 105 + + +N + +Naarden, 185 + +Namur, 312, 313, 314 + +Nansouty, 33, 190 + +Napier, 107, 150 + +Naples, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 60, 69, 72, 185, 186, 188, 237, 238, 239, + 318 + +Naples, King of, 29 + +Napoleon II., 314 + +Nassau-Siegen, 245 + +Naumberg, 80, 167 + +Neckerau, 335 + +Neerwinden, 142, 163, 184, 269 + +Neuchatel, 12, 338, 342 + +Neumarkt, 220 + +Neusiedel, 174, 340 + +Neuweid, 324 + +Ney (Life, 141-161), xii, xiii, 32, 63, 64, 65, 68, 96, 98, 99, 103, + 104, 117, 120, 129, 166, 194, 196, 215, 250, 283, 284, 309, 311, 340 + +Nice, 50, 68 + +Nicole Pierre, 268 + +Niemen, 41, 47, 152, 153 + +Nile, 26 + +Normandy, 270, 305 + +Norway, 86, 88, 89, 90 + +Notre Dame, 264, 326, 352 + +Novara, 307 + +Novi, 220, 235, 308, 347 + +Nowawies, 310 + +Nugent, 214 + +Nuremburg, 31 + + +O + +Ocana, 116 + +Oder, 130 + +O'Hara, 219 + +Ogilvie, 183 + +O'Meara, 228 + +Omet, 117 + +Oporto, 101, 102, 103, 112, 114, 116 + +Orcha, 152 + +Orangerie, 27 + +Order of St. Louis, 341, 348 + +Orient, 122 + +Orleanist, 113, 114 + +Orleans, 125, 283, 284 + +Orleans, Duke of, 156 + +Orthes, 109 + +Oscar, 85, 90 + +Ostrach, 324 + +Ostralenka, 61, 338 + +Ott, 336 + +Oudinot (Life, 333-343), xiv, 131, 153, 210, 240, 241 + + +P + +Padua, 55 + +Pajol, 312, 337 + +Palafox, 133, 135, 136 + +Palestine, 27 + +Papal States, 29, 121, 298 + +Pampeluna, 36, 228 + +Pantheon, 175 + +Parma, 348 + +Passau, 31 + +Pau, 72 + +Paulet, 183 + +Pauline Bonaparte, 164, 203 + +Pavia, 206 + +Penn, William, 114 + +Perignon, de (Life, 344-348), xii, xiii, 326 + +Perpignan, 119, 240, 264, 344 + +Perregaux, 203 + +Peschiera, 298 + +Piacenza, 29, 186, 348 + +Picardy, 184, 334 + +Pichegru, xiii, 76, 185, 201 + +Piedmont, 255, 277, 308 + +Piedmontese, 228 + +Pirna, 242 + +Pizzo, 46 + +Plailly, 28 + +Po, 29, 43, 44, 187 + +Poitou, 268 + +Poland, 35, 36, 61, 81, 98, 130, 170, 182, 289, 317, 318, 321, 354, 355 + +Polignac, 215 + +Polotsk, 241, 330 + +Pomerania, 82, 86, 89 + +Poniatowski (Life, 354-358), xiv, 172, 193 + +Pope, 7, 45, 54, 234, 288 + +Porte, 274 + +Portugal, King of, 36 + +Posen, 310 + +Potsdam, 327, 352 + +Praetorians, 294 + +Pratzen, 128 + +Prayssac, 286 + +Pressburg, 12, 14, 175 + +Prince of Orange, 272 + +Prince of Peace, 36 + +Prince Regent of Portugal, 126 + +Prinzlow, 130, 309 + +Provence, 72, 276, 344 + +Provera, 298 + +Provisional Government, 314 + +Prussia, King of, 34, 87, 168, 176, 214 + +Pultusk, 13, 61, 130, 138, 222, 265, 300 + +Pyramids, 7, 26, 122, 204, 315 + +Pyrenees, 36, 93, 109, 116, 344 + + +Q + +Quadruple Alliance, 90 + +Quatre Bras, 157, 158, 160 + +Quercy, 23 + +Quievrain, 278 + + +R + +Ragusa, 209 + +Rapp, 18, 339 + +Ratisbon, 15, 31, 136, 173, 189, 254 + +Ratte Eig, 95 + +Razyn, 356 + +Regnier, 64, 65, 66 + +Reille, 69, 157 + +Rennes, 78 + +Risorgimento, 44 + +Restoration, 228, 242, 249, 258, 303, 311, 321, 331, 341, 352 + +Revolution, French, 3, 38, 53, 72, 75, 142, 184, 200, 231, 269, 286, + 296, 305, 323, 333, 349 + +Rewbell, 234 + +Rhine, xvi, xvii, 33, 55, 56, 74, 95, 126, 185, 201, 254, 255, 319, 321, + 334 + +Rhone, 68 + +Richard Coeur de Lion, 280 + +Richelieu, 200 + +Richepanse, xiii + +Rights of Man, 73 + +Rio Tinto, 106 + +Rivoli, 6, 25, 65, 70, 219, 270, 287 + +Robespierre, 2 + +Rochambeau, 2 + +Rochfort, 180 + +Roederer, xii + +Rohan, 238 + +Roland, 139 + +Rolland, 270 + +Rome, 6, 30, 43, 54, 83, 185, 186, 198, 231, 272, 294 + +Romana, 149 + +Roman Republic, 234 + +Roncesvalles, 246 + +Ros, Lord, 70 + +Rosas, 239, 346 + +Roveredo, 53 + +Royal Champagne Regiment, 162 + +Royal Italian Regiment, 49, 50 + +Royal Military School, 162 + +Royal Marine Regiment, 73 + +Rouffach, 322 + +Rue Royal, 285 + +Rueil, 63 + + +S + +Saale, 167, 192 + +Saalfeld, 129, 138, 221 + +Sablous, 25 + +Sacile, 188, 189 + +Sacred Bands, 310 + +Sagunto, 226 + +Sahagun, 100 + +Saint Cloud, 15, 110 + +Saint Michel, College of, 23 + +Saintes Georges, 53, 298 + +Salamanca, 64, 108, 134, 211, 212, 214, 217 + +Salicetti, 38 + +Salisbury, Lady, 113 + +Sancerre, 183 + +San Domingo, 9 + +San Felipe, 226 + +San Marco, 298 + +Santarem, 66 + +Santiago, 301 + +Santo Paolo, 40 + +Santo Stefano, 40 + +Saragossa, 134, 135, 138, 222, 223, 224, 226, 240, 348 + +Sardinia, 276 + +Sardinia, King of, 307, 308 + +Sardinians, 25, 51, 350 + +Sardou, 322 + +Sarrelouis, 141, 159 + +Savigny-sur-Orge, 165 + +Savoy, 228 + +Saxe, Marshal, 114 + +Saxons, 80, 83, 131, 176, 342 + +Saxony, 280 + +Scherer, 51, 119, 186 + +Schwartzenberg, 266 + +Scots College, 183 + +Sebastiani, 33 + +Sedan, 183 + +Segur, 169, 251 + +Seine, 180, 303 + +Serre, 345 + +Serurier (Life, 349-353), xii, xiii, 26, 326 + +Servan, 318 + +Seven Years' War, 317, 321 + +Seville, 104, 106, 134 + +Sezanne, 214 + +Sicily, 38, 39, 42, 43 + +Sievers, 132 + +Sieyes, 76, 77, 88 + +Silesia, 14, 15, 87, 172, 192, 214 + +Simplon Pass, 42 + +Smolensk, 41, 151, 356 + +Somosierra, 301 + +Sorauren, 109 + +Soult (Life, 93-116), xii, xiii, 11, 21, 30, 58, 63, 66, 117, 128, 129, + 138, 145, 147, 149, 157, 166, 211, 212, 221, 276, 282, 290, 302, 339 + +Spartans, 221 + +Spluegen Pass, 187, 247 + +St. Andrew, Order of, 132 + +St. Agnes, 234 + +St. Amand, 93, 114 + +St. Bernard Pass, 8, 187, 206, 221, 247 + +St. Catherine's Fort, 51 + +St. Cyr (Life, 231-244), xiii, 181, 185, 211, 266, 278, 340 + +St. Dizier, 214, 302 + +St. Germain, xv + +St. Gothard Pass, 56 + +St. Helena, Napoleon's conversations at, 21, 22, 45, 51, 59, 70, 110, + 138, 145, 160, 228, 256, 266, 294 + +St. Jean d'Acre, 128 + +St. Jean Pied de Porte, 246 + +St. Joseph, Chateau, 228 + +St. Menehould, 318 + +St. Omer, 3 + +St. Petersburg, xviii + +St. Sebastian, 36 + +Stael, 87 + +Stanislaus, 354, 355 + +Stein, 173, 176, 181 + +Stettin, 88, 100, 301 + +Stockach, 55 + +Stockholm, 86 + +Storthing, 90 + +Stradella, 123 + +Stralsund, 275 + +Strassburg, 31, 317 + +Styria, 207, 216, 220, 238, 310 + +Suchet (Life, 219-230), xiv, 58, 115, 135, 212, 274, 335 + +Sully, 92 + +Sultan, 208 + +Suvaroff, 56, 57, 188, 235, 266, 351, 352 + +Sweden, 72, 84, 85, 89, 90, 92, 275 + +Switzerland, 55, 56, 69, 144, 159, 220, 266, 270, 271, 272, 274, 279, + 335, 338 + +Syria, 7, 26, 122, 287 + + +T + +Tagus, 66, 104, 149, 150, 212 + +Talavera, 63, 149, 257, 302 + +Talleyrand, 10, 21, 22, 36, 38, 79, 85, 125, 154, 188, 194, 329 + +Tarragona, 226, 230, 239 + +Targowitz, 355 + +Temple, The, 284 + +Terror, The, 164, 253, 255, 333 + +Thermopylae, 221 + +Thielmann, 314 + +Thionville, 269, 323 + +Thirty Years' War, 111 + +Tolosa, 133, 136 + +Tondu de caporal, 329 + +Torres Vedras, 65, 71, 150, 211 + +Tortosa, 226, 229 + +Toul, 231 + +Toulon, 51, 201, 219, 276, 297 + +Toulouse, 23, 110, 112, 116 + +Trachenberg, 87 + +Tras os Montes, 103 + +Treaty of Aboe, 81 + Amiens, 237 + Basle, 119, 247, 347 + Campo Formio, 163, 234, 298 + Foligno, 29 + Luneville, 144, 164, 247, 236 + Pressburg, 12, 60, 98, 208, 338 + Tilsit, xviii, 13, 14, 35, 81, 148, 171, 289, 301, 339, 355 + Vienna, 63 + +Trebbia, 187, 188, 198 + +Trent, 247 + +Treviso, 206, 274 + +Trieste, 189 + +Trouve, 272 + +Troyes, 283 + +Tudela, 133, 138, 149 + +Tuileries, 43, 152, 161, 263, 325 + +Turenne, 114, 295 + +Turin, 307, 308 + +Turks, 29, 205, 208, 210, 274, 354 + +Turreau, 162, 163 + +Tuscany, 29, 30, 234 + +Tyrol, 42, 265, 329 + + +U + +Uist, 183 + +Ulces, 301 + +Ulm, xviii, 11, 31, 47, 126, 128, 130, 146, 166, 207, 222, 237, 300, + 334, 337 + +United States, 79 + +Upper Vienne, 251, 253 + + +V + +Vaal, 185, 198, 279 + +Valentia, 133, 212, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 248 + +Valladolid, 290, 294 + +Valmy, xvi, 269, 319, 321 + +Valtelline, 25, 247 + +Vandamme, 242, 283, 312 + +Var, 50, 221, 297, 335 + +Varennes, 286 + +Vasa, 72 + +Vatican, 203 + +Velasquez, 105 + +Vendemiaire, 25 + +Vendeen, 306 + +Venice, 54, 203, 351 + +Verderio, 290 + +Verdier, 240 + +Victor (Life, 296-304), xiii, xiv, 104, 105, 121, 124, 134, 187, 241, + 283, 310 + +Victoria, Queen, 113 + +Vienna, 16, 25, 32, 56, 61, 70, 127, 137, 138, 189, 216, 280, 351 + +Vierzehn Heiligen, 129 + +Villa Mayor, 135 + +Villars, Marshal, 114 + +Villele, 303 + +Villelongue, 119 + +Villeneuve l'Etang, 110 + +Vilna, 18, 41, 177, 310, 330 + +Vimiero, 290 + +Vincennes, 87 + +Visconti, Madame, 7, 12, 13 + +Vistula, 13, 47, 130, 147, 294, 327, 329, 355 + +Vittoria, 109, 133, 228, 257, 258 + +Vosges, 193, 232, 296, 302 + + +W + +Wagram, xiv, xviii, 62, 64, 69, 70, 82, 149, 174, 190, 191, 199, 210, + 291, 292, 294, 310, 311, 312, 339, 356 + +Walcheren, 292, 352 + +Walmoden, 280 + +Warsaw, 35, 131, 171, 355 + +Warsaw, Grand Duchy of, 171, 355, 356 + +Wartburg, 349 + +Washington, 114 + +Waterloo, 45, 89, 111, 156, 158, 160, 180, 197, 228, 250, 254, 267, 283, + 313, 314, 315 + +Wavre, 313, 314 + +Weissenburg, 94 + +Wellington, 63, 65, 66, 67, 96, 97, 102, 104, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, + 117, 150, 157, 160, 161, 165, 211, 212, 213, 217, 227, 228, 293, 312 + +Wesel, 34 + +White Terror, 277 + +William, Duke of Bavaria, 13 + +William the Conqueror, 305 + +Wisent, 279 + +Wittgenstein, 241 + +Wuermser, 203, 350, 351 + +Wuerzburg, 13, 31, 143, 146 + + +Y + +Yonne, 163 + +York, Duke of, 272 + + +Z + +Znaim, 63 + +Zurich, 56, 57, 63, 65, 68, 70, 77, 273, 279, 337 + +Zype, 273 + + + + +The Gresham Press, + +UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, + +WOKING AND LONDON. + + + * * * * * + + +Transcriber's Notes + +Obvious punctuation errors repaired. + +Hyphens added: + ill[-]will (pages 4, 214) + coup[-]de[-]grace (pages 34, 309) + master[-]stroke (page 76) + rear[-]guard (page 94) + counter[-]stroke (page 108) + far[-]seeing (page 186) + re[-]armament (page 216) + bed[-]fellow (page 233) + kind[-]hearted (page 287) + +Diacritics added: + Jacques Etienne (page xix) + Rhone (page 68) + menage (page 141) + Pantheon (page 175) + Luneville (page 184) + AUGUSTE FREDERIC (page 200) + Pierre Etroite (page 349) + Castanos (page 361) + Donnauwoerth (page 363) + Ocana (page 369) + +Diacritics removed: + Luckner (page 318) + Desaix (page 363) + +Page viii: "EMANUEL DE GROUCHY" changed to "EMMANUEL DE GROUCHY". + +Page xix: The full name of Marshall Victor appears in different sources +as Claude-Victor Perrin and Claude Victor-Perrin. His entry in this +table is strange but has not been changed. + +Page 118: "dulness" changed to "dullness" (dullness of the dyer's +trade). + +Page 157: "D'Erlon's" changed to "d'Erlon's" (d'Erlon's corps). + +Page 157: "Quartre" changed to "Quatre" (thirty thousand men now held +Quatre Bras). + +Page 162: "from" added (was dismissed from the service). + +Page 300: "Lousiania" changed to "Louisiana" (Captain-General of +Louisiana). + +Page 311: "was" changed to "were" (were not cordial). + +Page 360: Reference to non-existent page "387" for "Austerlitz" removed. + +Page 368: Reference to non-existent page "xxiii" for "Moncey" removed. + +Page 372: "Vendemaire" changed to "Vendemiaire". + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Napoleon's Marshals, by R. P. 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