United States or New Caledonia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Von Happrecht, an officer of the regiment Duke Louis, had been wounded in the foot by a cannon ball in the battle of Borodino on September 7th., and Surgeon-General von Kohlreuter had amputated it. Fairly strong and cheerful, this officer arrived safely at the Beresina.
The army, whom its chief had thus abandoned, pursued meanwhile that miserable march, of which every day augmented the disorder. The garrison of Wilna and Maison's corps, united to those who escaped across the Beresina, might number in all 80,000. Before Murat reached Wilna, 40,000 of these had either died or fallen alive into the hands of their unrelenting pursuers.
We bought bread at an enormous price, made soup of it which tasted very good to us, and we had plenty for all of us. "At Molodetchno men of our division joined us and brought us the news of the crossing of the Beresina."
Who can name the leaders of the doomed host that crossed the Beresina, and left their bones under the Russian snows? High of heart the soldiers were when they set out on their wild pilgrimage under their terrible leader, but soon they were lying by thousands on the red field of Borodino, and the sound of their moaning filled the night like the calling of some mighty ocean.
It was as by miracle that General Corbineau met a Polish peasant who indicated a place near the village Studianka where the Beresina could be forded by horses. Napoleon, informed of this fact on November 28th., at once ordered General Eble to construct the bridge and on November 25th., at 1 o'clock in the morning, he issued orders to Oudinot to have his corps ready for crossing the river.
This double battle on the two shores of the Beresina is one of the most glorious in the history of France; 28 thousand against 72 thousand Russians. These 28 thousand could have been taken or annihilated to the last man, and it was almost a miracle that even a part of the army escaped this disaster. With nightfall some calm came over this place of carnage and confusion.
And all the while men whispered that Prussia would ally herself to Russia, Sweden, and England. From Paris came news of a growing discontent. For France, among a multitude of virtues, has one vice unpardonable to Northern men: she turns from a fallen friend. Soon followed the news of Beresina a poor little river of Lithuania where the history of the world hung for a day as on a thread.
It is the same in nature; every species has its bridge of Beresina; it has to fight its way through and struggle with other species; and when well-nigh overpowered, it may be that the smallest chance, something in its colour, perhaps the minutest circumstance will turn the scale one way or the other.
"Then we must not reproach each other, monsieur, for the sight of the countess has almost killed my friend, Monsieur de Sucy." "Heavens! can you mean Baron Philippe de Sucy?" cried the doctor, clasping his hands. "Did he go to Russia; was he at the passage of the Beresina?"
It was from here that 2nd Corps took a different direction to that of the Grande Armée, which we did not see again until the following winter, at the crossing of the Beresina. It would require several volumes to describe the manoeuvres and the battles of that part of the army which followed the Emperor to Moscow. I shall therefore limit myself to describing the salient events as they occur.
Word Of The Day