43 



RUSSIAN-GERMAN WAR. 



conspiracy of the Russian prisoners in Warsaw was 

 discovered and punished. Krukowiecki was ap- 

 pointed Polish dictator. Pa^kewitscli made pre- 

 parations for the taking of the city, in which lie 

 succeeded September 7, at six o'clock, when the 

 capital surrendered by capitulation, after a most 

 sanguinary conflict of two days' duration, during 

 which the Polish soldiers behaved heroically, whilst 

 it is not yet sufficiently explained, whether the 

 authorities did their duty. The Polish army, fol- 

 lowed by the diet and the members of government, 

 retired through Praga, on the night of the 7th, and, 

 early on the 8th, the Russians entered Warsaw.* 

 The Polish army remained for a short time at Mod- 

 lin ; but the country was soon obliged to submit 

 entirely to the Russian forces, with which the 

 grand-prince Michael, brother to the emperor Ni- 

 cholas, had entered Warsaw. He organized a pro- 

 visory government, of which, at first, he himself, 

 and soon after, general Paskewitsch, was the head. 

 This general was made prince Warszawski (the 

 Warsovian) as a reward for his services. A sort 

 of amnesty was proclaimed ; but the corps of gene- 

 rals Romarino, Kamniski and Rubinski were pro- 

 hibited from returning to Poland, because they con- 

 tinued in arms after the capitulation of Warsaw, 

 in contempt of the orders of the Polish commander- 

 in-chief. Many distinguished Poles were sent into 

 the interior of Russia or to Siberia ; many of all 

 ranks emigrated, chiefly to France. They were 

 every where, in Germany and France, enthusiasti- 

 cally received by the people, and in the latter coun- 

 try were also aided by the government. General 

 Skrzynecki is said to live in Austria, and to be 

 honourably treated. Though the kingdom of Po- 

 land, it seems, is not to be entirely incorporated 

 with Russia, like those portions which were torn 

 from it by the partitions, yet the intention of the 

 Russian government appears to be to deprive it en- 

 tirely of a general diet, and to establish provincial 

 chambers. Thus that gigantic power, which, even 

 under an enlightened monarch, is, from the very 

 form of its government, hostile to the constitutional 

 principle, developing itself so rapidly in the west of 

 Europe, and which unites the force both of bar- 

 barism and civilization, has come close upon western 

 Europe and exercises, at least for the present, a 

 powerful influence upon it; as is evinced if an 

 example among so many were necessary in the 

 Belgic question. However distant the time may 

 be, Europe will not be safe until Poland is re-esta- 

 blished ; without which, Austria and Prussia, par- 

 ticularly the latter, must remain bound to Russia. 



Russian-German War, 1812 1815. Between 

 France and Russia a coldness had arisen since 1809, 

 although the meeting of the monarchs of the two 

 countries at Erfurt, in 1808 (especially when the 

 geographical situation of their states was con- 

 sidered,) seemed to give assurance of a lasting 

 peace. The slight share which the tardy army of 

 Russian auxiliaries took in the war against Austria, 



* The St Petersburg papers of October, in tlie official ac- 

 count of the taking- of Warsaw, say that 132 pieces of cannon, 

 2,000,000 of cartridges, a vast quantity of military stores of 

 every description, and immense magazines of provisions, fell 

 into the hands of the Russians ; that 3000 prisoners were taken, 

 among whom were sixty staff and superior officers ; that many 

 more must have perished durincr the attack, by the burning of 

 the buildings, and the destructive fire of the artillery which, 

 during the two days, expended 29,000 cartridges ; that, besides 



:he above mentioned prisoners, above 4000 soldiers of the Poli-h 

 army, 1200 generals and officers, had quitted the Polish service, 



nd joined the Russians; that the whole loss of the lius^iaii 

 nny was 3000 killed, including sixty-three officers, and 7500 

 woonded, including 445 officers. 



showed that its commander had received injunctions 

 to be circumspect in his proceedings. At the same 

 time, all the Russian harbours were opened to the 

 British, provided they displayed the American flag, 

 while French goods were strictly prohibited. This 

 induced Napoleon, in order to enforce his commer- 

 cial prohibitions against Britain, to make himself 

 master of the northern sea-hoard of Germany, and 

 incorporate the country of the duke of Oldenburgh, 

 a near relation of Alexander, with France. Against 

 this proceeding, Russia made an energetic protest ; 

 and, as early as 1811, five Russian divisions assum- 

 ed a position opposite Warsaw. On the other hand, 

 Napoleon caused the fortresses on the Vistula and 

 Oder to be declared in a state of siege, sent thither 

 large masses of troops, and occupied Swedish Pom- 

 erania, because Charles XIII. of Sweden declined n 

 closer connexion with France. (The causes of the 

 war between France and Russia are further treated 

 of in the article Bonaparte. ) The Russians adopted 

 the plan of offensive operations; and it had been 

 resolved to treat the approach of the French to the 

 Oder as a declaration of war, to let the Russian 

 army enter Prussia, ascertain the sentiments of this 

 state, and commence hostilities. But political con- 

 siderations, especially the situation of Prussia, 

 urged the abandonment of this plan. On the 

 French side, the visit of so many princes and kings, 

 and even of the Austrian emperor, to Dresden,.gave 

 intimations of some great project, although Napo- 

 leon's departure from Paris, according to the Moni- 

 teur, had no object but a review of the army of the 

 Vistula. Perhaps he might still hope to avert the 

 gigantic struggle, without departing from his pur- 

 poses; at least for this object the count de Nar- 

 bonue proceeded to the camp of Alexander, at 

 Wfina, and offers of peaceable arrangements were 

 made. For the contest in the Peninsula, which 

 daily became more obstinate, and consumed a large 

 amount of men and money, might well appear to 

 him an obstacle in the way of a struggle with Rus- 

 sia; but he calculated that his army, amounting near- 

 ly to one million, all of which he had rendered 

 perfectably disposable by the institution of a new 

 national guard of 80,000 men, would be sufficient 

 for the conflict in both quarters; and he also relied 

 upon a great mass of auxiliary forces, chiefly pro- 

 mised by the confederation of the Rhine (100,000 

 men,) and, finally, on the alliance with Prussia and 

 Austria, which covered him on both flanks, secured 

 his retreat, and both together furnished 60,000 men. 

 When, therefore, Napoleon's ambassador, the object 

 of his mission unattained, returned to Dresden, half 

 a million soldiers (French, Germans, Italians, Poles, 

 Swiss, Spaniards, and Portuguese,) with more than 

 1200 cannon, were put in motion, about the end of 

 July, to attack the Russians on the other side of 

 the Niemen and the Vistula. The Russians, in 

 three divisions, occupied a line including Kiev and 

 Smolensk to Riga. The first western army 

 (127,000 men,) in Lithuania and Courland, was 

 commanded by Barclay de Tolly, who had till then 

 been minister of war, under whom was Wittgen- 

 stein; the other western army (48,000 strong,) 

 between Smolensk and Kiev, was commanded by 

 prince 1 Bagration. General Doctoroff led a third 

 body of forces, which served to keep up the com- 

 munication between the other two. Goods and 

 records had long before been generally conveyed 

 into the interior. Rigi, Smolensk. &c., were for- 

 tified, and an entrenched camp established on the 

 Dwina. Napoleon, already near the Russian iron- 





