The early stages of the Russian campaign, recounted by an officer …

… On my arrival at Berlin, I received the order to proceed to Warsaw, carrying dispatches to Prince Jérôme; my instructions required me to follow the operations of this army corps until further notice. On the departure of King Jérôme, who was displeased to see himself placed under the command of Marshal Davout, I left the Westphalian Corps at Mogilev to join the Imperial headquarters at Vitebsk. I spent the entire campaign as staff officer to the Prince the major-général (Marshal Berthier).

The Duke of Abrantès (General Junot) took command of the Westphalians. The army’s march through gloomy forests and quicksand, in sweltering heat hotter than in Italy or Spain, had resulted in some losses in men and horses; it is estimated that between 4 and 5,000 horses were killed in less than 30 leagues from Kovno to Vilna. The heat was followed by incessant rain, and the men’s very existence became a problem owing to the scarcity of resources in the area, with the Russians setting everything on fire as they withdrew. Never had an army endured all its hardships with greater heroism, facing all sorts of fatigue and perils in temperatures of over twenty-six degrees, without any food, yet knowing how to defeat the enemy whenever they dared to wait for us. Six months later, even greater destitution, enduring twenty-eight to thirty degrees of cold, still defeating the enemy. However, the elements, which could not overcome the courage of these valiant warriors, ended up annihilating thousands of them.

But let us not anticipate the tragic future, and let us recall its glorious feats of arms. Davout at Mogilev, at the outset of his operations, with 12,000 men, defeated 35,000 Russians commanded by Prince Bagration. It was generally attributed to King Jérôme’s departure that the Prince could return to the interior of Russia and save himself from a complete defeat. But as we must be fair about a serious matter, here are some definite details of what happened at the time. It made too much commotion not to be an object of sincere rectification.

When the Emperor undertook the campaign of 1812, King Jérôme was chosen to command the right wing of the Grande Armée, composed of the Westphalian, Polish and Saxon forces and a corps of French cavalry under General Latour-Maubourg. Under the King’s command served (generals) Vandamme, Poniatowski, Reynier, Marchand as Chief of Staff and others.

The commander-in-chief of the right wing executed perfectly the task entrusted to him, and manoeuvred constantly in such a way as to prevent the junction of Prince Bagration with the centre of the Russian army, by covering the Grand Duchy of Warsaw; but for this manoeuvre to be entirely successful, it would have been necessary for the Austrian army to have supported it constantly, whereas the Prince of Schwarzenberg, with whom King Jérôme was forced to coordinate his movements, moved only slowly. It should be noted, however, that despite the slowness of the Austrian corps, the manoeuvres of the King of Westphalia were so swift that the Russians were alerted at the Niemen, and Prince Bagration, who was constantly kept at a distance from the Russian army, was unable to move against the Emperor and hinder his movements.

It was then that the Russian prince, renouncing his attempt to overthrow the French general, endeavoured to make his presence felt at Mir, where a most brilliant cavalry engagement, which I witnessed, once again revealed and demonstrated the bravery of the Polish army which withstood the attack, and forced the enemy to withdraw to Niewiz, where they were struck by King Jérôme who was in a position to give battle to the enemy.

It was at this time that Marshal Davout, making his junction with the right wing with his corps, received the Emperor’s order to take command of it. Misled by false reports, he was unaware of the slow progress of the Austrians, which prevented Jérôme from advancing as quickly as he would have intended.

When Napoleon replaced the commander of the right wing, it is understandable that he (Jérôme) could not remain under the command of the marshal. However, since his sole aim was the good and glory of France, the King proposed to the marshal that he would accept battle and remain as a volunteer in his own army, which was under his command; however, Davout refused. King Jérôme had no choice but to withdraw, which he did, leaving his army under the orders of the marshal and taking only his Gardes du Corps with him. The Emperor soon realised that he had been deceived and sent several officers to his brother to urge him to resume command of the right wing, but the King refused and returned to his own state.

The Emperor, who left Vilna on 16 July, was at Klubokoé on the 18th. An accidental setback to General Sébastiani, who was susceptible to being caught off guard, did not prevent him from moving on to Vitesbk, where he planned to arrest Barclay; however the latter, on the march to the right of the Dvina, had crossed this town and came to confront us in an attempt to halt our march and defend the long defiles that covered it, although such hope proved to be futile.

But on 27 July, the day before the army entered Vitebsk, two companies of voltigeurs from the 9th Line Regiment, commanded by Captains Guillard and Savary, having taken the lead, drew the army’s attention; they were soon surrounded on all sides by 10,000 cavalrymen. They were thought to be lost, however they immediately regrouped with admirable composure and successfully sustained a disproportionate and terrible struggle for an hour; their efforts allowed time for our cavalry to break through and disengage the 16th Regiment of Chasseurs, which had ventured forward too far.

Napoleon, who witnessed this brilliant feat of arms, dispatched men to inquire to which regiment all these brave men belonged. They replied: ‘From the 9th (Regiment), and three quarters (of them) were children of Paris.’ – ‘Tell them’, said the Emperor, ‘that they are all brave men who deserve the Cross (of the Legion of Honour)’.

On the 28th the Emperor entered Vitebsk, whose inhabitants had fled, and stayed there until 13 August. It was during his stay in this town that one day, he had the Foot Grenadiers of his Guard assembled, and, as he drew his sword, received General Friant himself as Colonel of his Grenadiers, and told them: ‘You will all obey him for the glory of our arms’. He embraced him and then remarked: ‘This is the reward for your excellent and loyal services; however, I need you; continue to command your division during this campaign. You will be of more service to me, and I always have your grenadiers under my watchful eye.’ The reception was both solemn and imposing. This appointment was received with great satisfaction; every soldier in the Guard felt that this promotion was a decision that honoured the general.

On 14 August, the eve of Napoleon’s name day, the battle of Krasny took place, where 2,000 prisoners were taken and the enemy lost six guns. (Laurent-François Marie) Marbeuf, colonel of a regiment of Lancers (the 6th Chevau-légers), was shot in the leg during a charge on the Russian division led by Neverovsky; amputation was not deemed necessary and he returned to France where he passed away some time later. He had fallen from his bed, which aggravated his condition. The army lost a promising officer and I myself a good friend.

The assault on Smolensk took place on the 17th; the enemy evacuated it during the night. They suffered heavy losses, counting the corpses of several Russians for one Frenchman. The enemy had several generals killed; as for us, we had to deplore the death of the Polish general Grabowski, who fell gloriously on the battlefield. The battle of Valutino, on the plateau that the Russians call the Sacred Field, preceded the latter and great feat of arms by just a few days. Its success was dearly gained at the expense of General Gudin’s life, who was seriously wounded and passed away at Smolensk a few days later. General Gérard, now Marshal of France since the July Revolution, assumed command of his division …

Source : Rigau, Dieudonné, Souvenirs des guerres de l’Empire : réflexions, pensées, maximes, anecdotes, lettres diverses, … , Garnier Frères, Paris, 1846, pp. 49-54.