. A life of Napoleon Boneparte:. in good part. At all events, you willthank me for giving you an account of what is passing at Moscow. I will never sign a peace as long as a single foe remainson Russian ground, the Emperor Alexander had said whenhe heard that Napoleon had crossed the Nieman. He kepthis word in spite of all Napoleons overtures. The Frenchposition grew worse from day to day. No food, no freshsupplies, the cold increasing, the army disheartened, thenumber of Russians around Moscow growing larger. Noth-ing but a retreat could save the remnant of the French. Itbegan on October 19th
. A life of Napoleon Boneparte:. in good part. At all events, you willthank me for giving you an account of what is passing at Moscow. I will never sign a peace as long as a single foe remainson Russian ground, the Emperor Alexander had said whenhe heard that Napoleon had crossed the Nieman. He kepthis word in spite of all Napoleons overtures. The Frenchposition grew worse from day to day. No food, no freshsupplies, the cold increasing, the army disheartened, thenumber of Russians around Moscow growing larger. Noth-ing but a retreat could save the remnant of the French. Itbegan on October 19th, one hundred and fifteen thousandmen leaving Moscow. They were followed by forty thou-sand vehicles loaded with the sick and with what suppliesthey could get hold of. The route was over the fields de-vastated a month before. The Cossacks harassed them nightand day, and the cruel Russian cold dropped from the skies,cutting them down like a storm of scythes. Before Smo-lensk was reached, thousands of the retreating army 246 THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN 247 Napoleon had ordered that provisions and clothing shouldbe collected at Smolensk. When he reached the city hefound that his directions had not been obeyed. The army,exasperated beyond endurance by this disappointment, fellinto complete and frightful disorganization, and the rest ofthe retreat was like the falling back of a conquered mob. There is no space here for the details of this terrible marchand of the frightful passage of the Beresina. The terror ofthe cold and starvation wrung cries from Napoleon himself. Provisions, provisions, provisions, he wrote on No-vember 29th from the right bank of the Beresina. With-out them there is no knowing to what horrors this undis-ciplined mass will proceed. And again: The army is at its last extremity. It isimpossible for it to do anything, even if it were a questionof defending Paris. The army finally reached the Nieman. The last man overwas Marshal Ney. Who are you? he was asked.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnapoleo, bookyear1901
