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continued to drive past,
carrying away the property that had been stolen by the Emperor, kings,
and dukes; but the process of the flight and disintegration of the
French army went on essentially as before.
From Moscow to Vyazma the French army of seventy-three thousand
men not reckoning the Guards (who did nothing during the whole war but
pillage) was reduced to thirty-six thousand, though not more than five
thousand had fallen in battle. From this beginning the succeeding
terms of the progression could be determined mathematically. The
French army melted away and perished at the same rate from Moscow to
Vyazma, from Vyazma to Smolensk, from Smolensk to the Berezina, and
from the Berezina to Vilna--independently of the greater or lesser
intensity of the cold, the pursuit, the barring of the way, or any
other particular conditions. Beyond Vyazma the French army instead
of moving in three columns huddled together into one mass, and so went
on to the end. Berthier wrote to his Emperor (we know how far
commanding officers allow themselves to diverge from the truth in
describing the condition of an army) and this is what he said:
I deem it my duty to report to Your Majesty the condition of the
various corps I have had occasion to observe during different stages
of the last two or three days march. They are almost disbanded.
Scarcely a quarter of the soldiers remain with the standards of their
regiments, the others go off by themselves in different directions
hoping to find food and escape discipline. In general they regard
Smolensk as the place where they hope to recover. During the last few
days many of the men have been seen to throw away their cartridges and
their arms. In such a state of affairs, whatever your ultimate plans
may be, the interest of Your Majestys service demands that the army
should be rallied at Smolensk and should first of all be freed from
ineffectives, such as dismounted cavalry, unnecessary baggage, and
artillery material that is no longer in proportion to the present
forces. The soldiers, who are worn out with hunger and fatigue, need
these supplies as well as a few days rest. Many have died these last
days on the road or at the bivouacs. This state of things is
continually becoming worse and makes one fear that unless a prompt
remedy is applied the troops will no longer be under control in case
of an engagement.
November 9: twenty miles from Smolensk.
After staggering into Smolensk which seemed to them a promised land,
the French, searching for food, killed one another, sacked their own
stores, and when everything had been plundered fled farther.
They all went without knowing whither or why they were going.
Still less did that genius, Napoleon, know it, for no one issued any
orders to him. But still he and those about him retained their old
habits: wrote commands, letters, reports, and orders of the day;
called one another sire, mon cousin, prince dEckmuhl, roi de
Naples, and so on. But these orders and reports were only on paper,
nothing in them was acted upon for they could not be carried out,
and though they entitled one another Majesties, Highnesses, or
Cousins, they all felt that they were miserable wretches who had
done much evil for which they had now to pay. And though they
pretended to be concerned about the army, each was thinking only of
himself and of how to get away quickly and save himself.
CHAPTER XVII
The movements of the Russian and French armies during the campaign
from Moscow back to the Niemen were like those in a game of Russian
blindmans bluff, in which two players are blindfolded and one of them
occasionally rings a little bell to inform the catcher of his
whereabouts. First he rings his bell fearlessly, but when he gets into
a tight place he runs away as quietly as he can, and often thinking to
escape runs straight into his opponents arms.
At first while they were still moving along the Kaluga road,
Napoleons armies made their presence known, but later when they
reached the Smolensk road they ran holding the clapper of their bell
tight--and often thinking they were escaping ran right into the
Russians.
Owing to the rapidity of the French flight and the Russian pursuit
and the consequent exhaustion of the horses, the chief means of
approximately ascertaining the enemys position--by cavalry
scouting--was not available. Besides, as a result of the frequent
and rapid change of position by each army, even what information was
obtained could not be delivered
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