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This pressing forward and backward, the cries, the bullets striking into the helpless crowd, presented an atrocious scene the climax of that forever odious and senseless expedition of Napoleon. The excellent General Eble, whose heart broke at this spectacle, tried in vain to establish a little order.
The reaction of unreasonable panic kept from the bridges those who, shortly before, entreated General Eble with tears to let them pass; nobody would venture in the darkness the engineers, assisted by their officers, urging those who stayed behind; but they had again lighted their fires on the bank.
Eble and Larrey were the two men whom the whole army never ceased to respect and to obey, even when they demanded things which were almost impossible. General Eble then with his 400 men departed in the evening of November 24th. for Borisow, followed by the clever General Chasseloup who had some sappers with him, but without their tools.
Eble had waited till 8 o'clock when the order for the destruction of the bridges was repeated to him, and in sight of the approaching enemy it was his duty not to lose one moment. However, trusting to the artillery of Victor, he still tried to save some people. His soul suffered cruelly during this time of hesitation to execute an order the necessity of which he knew only too well.
For a moment the idea was entertained of making use, as a guiding mark, of the isle of Alviela, situated in the midst of the river, as the isle of Lobau was found placed in the midst of the Danube. The materials of the bridge were collected at Punhete, but horses were wanting. General Eble opposed an attempt, the advantages of which were to be too tardily recognized.
It was only on the 25th, at five in the evening, that Eblé arrived there, followed only by two field forges, two waggons of coal, six covered waggons of utensils and nails, and some companies of pontonniers. At Smolensk he had made each workman provide himself with a tool and some cramp-irons.
The colonel set laborers to work to make a channel to resemble the greedy river that had swallowed up the treasures of France and Napoleon's army. By the help of his memories, Philip reconstructed on his own lands the bank where General Eble had built his bridges.
At dawn on the 29th, all the vehicles remaining on the left bank were set on fire, and when finally General Éblé saw the Russians nearing the bridge, he set that on fire also. Several thousand unfortunates left at Studianka fell into the hands of Wittgenstein.
When the second bridge was completed, Eble said to the engineers, "Let half of you lie down on the heaps of straw; the others will watch the passage, and sleep in their turn" he himself not having had a moment's rest by day or night.
On the 5th of March, at the end of the day, the whole French army was on the march, sad and gloomy in spite of their joy at quitting the places where they had suffered without compensation and without glory. The materials of the bridges, prepared with so much care by General Eble, were burnt.
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