RUSSIAN-GERMAN WAR. 



51 



The French army was by this means obliged to 

 leave Smolensk on the 13th, and with the loss of 

 two whole battalions, under Davoust and Ney, at a 

 temperature of 5 above Fahrenheit's zero, to 8 

 below it, with no food but the flesh of the horses, 

 perishing by thousands, hastening to anticipate the 

 enemy, who were pressing forward from the north 

 and south. This Kutusoff might, perhaps, have 

 frustrated ; but after the battle (November 18) at 

 Krasnoi, from causes as yet unknown, he relin- 

 quished the pursuit, and Napoleon had the good 

 fortune to be met by fresh troops from the Dwina, 

 who compensated, at least in some degree, for the 

 entire loss of his cavalry ; and reinforced by these, 

 under the command of Belluno, Reggio, and Dom- 

 browski, he succeeded in deceiving admiral Tschit- 

 schakoff respecting the true point of passage over the 

 Beresina, at Semlin, above Borissoff. There, on 

 the 27th and following days, the passage took place 

 with a loss of 20,000 men and a great part of the 

 baggage and artillery. Buttheroadto Wilna, which 

 was entered, was very long, and the cold, which 

 increased every day, together with the most horri- 

 ble want, carried disorder, misery, and despair to 

 the highest pitch. December 3, Napoleon issued 

 his twenty-ninth bulletin from Molodetschno ; and, 

 on the 4th, at Sinorgonie, he entrusted the command 

 of the army to the king of Naples, and hastened 

 himself under the strictest incognito, by way of 

 Warsaw and Dresden, to Paris. Marshals, officers 

 of high and low rank, followed the example of the 

 emperor. No company kept long together. The 

 sole object of all was to save life, and, if possible, 

 the booty taken from strangers or their comrades. 

 In Wilna, the last remains were attacked by sur- 

 prise, and driven to the Niemen, behind which they 

 dispersed in all directions, carrying pestilence 

 wherever they went. Of the whole army which 

 crossed the Niemen in June, the Prussian almost 

 alone returned, which had saved itself by a capitu- 

 lation (at Tauroggen, December 30), and remained 

 in arms, under York, in Prussia. The Austrians 

 and Saxons, driven back to Warsaw, also returned 

 to their frontiers. The capitulation of the Prus- 

 sian general York, was the signal of the awakening 

 of the Prussian people, who, for five years, had been 

 humbled by the French. January 22, the king went 

 from Potsdam to Breslau, and (Fel). 3, 1813) sum- 

 moned all capable of bearing arms to battle for their 

 country. He did not yet designate his object, but 

 his people understood him, and, with unparalleled 

 enthusiasm, thousands poured forth to the places 

 of rendezvous, from every section of the country ; 

 thousands too old for battle contributed their sav- 

 ings. In vain had the French, with the aid of their 

 last reserves, and of troops thrown together in 

 haste, made efforts to remain on the Pregel, on the 

 Vistula, and on the Oder. The Russians advanced 

 slowly indeed, but every where with overwhelming 

 power ; and the viceroy of Italy, on whom Napo- 

 leon, had devolved the chief command, could do 

 nothing but retire behind the Elbe with the least 

 possible loss. March 8, after the last battle, he 

 crossed the river to Magdeburg. Prussia now 

 declared war against France, and concluded an 

 alliance with Russia. Shortly afterwards, Kutusoff's 

 proclamation at Kalisch announced the dissolution 

 of the confederation of the Rhine, March 25th. 

 Meanwhile, Napoleon had formed in France a new 

 army, which passed the Rhine at the end of March. 

 But Austria was neutral, the confederation of the 

 Rhine without strength and without will, the pu- 



pular insurrection almost universal in northern Ger- 

 many ; along the Elbe and to the Weser, time alone 

 was needed to arm the people, who were here more 

 enraged than in many other German countries, be- 

 cause they were more immediately and severely op- 

 pressed by French dominion. Napoleon appreciated 

 the danger, and hastened to dispatch the most ne- 

 cessary forces to the points most threatened. 

 Happily for him, the Russians and Prussians were 

 not in a state to derive the full advantage from the 

 favourable situation of things. The forces of the 

 Russians were almost exhausted ; those of the Prus- 

 sians had first to be formed ; the blockade of the 

 fortresses on the Oder and Vistula occupied many 

 troops. Kutusoff manifested little zeal for the 

 emancipation of Germany, and wished it to be at- 

 tempted, not from Saxony, but on the Lower Elbe; 

 time was lost in negotiations with the king of 

 Saxony, during which Kutusoff fell sick, and died, 

 at Buntzlau, April 28. The viceroy was thus en- 

 abled to unite the remnants of the army under the 

 walls of Magdeburg, and even advance against Ber- 

 lin, by this means occasioning the indecisive engage- 

 ment at Leitzkau or Mockern, April 5, while Van- 

 damme and Davoust, between the Weser and Lower 

 Elbe, put down the popular fermentation with iron 

 hand, ad threatened the city of Hamburg, which 

 had most spiritedly shaken off their yoke; when 

 the whole right bank of the Elbe was cleared of 

 the French by the bold Rettenborn. The allied 

 army, hardly 70,000 strong, now had in front an, 

 army of the French of almost twice their strength. 

 Napoleon united his forces with those of the vice- 

 roy, who marched in a southerly direction along the 

 Saale, and crossed this river at Wettin, while Na- 

 poleon passed it at Jena. May 1, he advanced 

 upon the Elbe. The Prussians and Russians saw 

 themselves in danger of being cut off from the 

 river by a march from Merseburg by way of Leip- 

 sic, and resolved to give battle. The engagement 

 was commenced at Grossgorschen, not far from Liit- 

 zen (q. v.), about noon of May 2, and had no ob- 

 ject but to surround Napoleon, who was pressing 

 on to Leipsic, with the left wing, cut him off from 

 the Saale, and with the right attack his flank. 

 But this was well protected by detachments posted 

 in the villages of Grossgorschen, Kaja, &c. Un- 

 expected as was the attack, the French resisted it 

 with bravery. Napoleon's main body, divided into 

 large squares, either repelled all attacks, or soon 

 recovered their lost advantages. The engagement 

 in the villages thus lasted, with terrible slaughter, 

 till dusk, when the corps of Lauriston, forming 

 Napoleon's vanguard on the way to Leipsic, came 

 up to attack the allies in the right flank. This 

 compelled them to retreat to their old position, 

 which, not being pursued by Napoleon, they left, 

 May 3, retiring to the Upper Elbe, without loss oi 

 artillery, but with great loss in killed and wounded 

 (about 15,000), which was, however, at lc;ist 

 equalled by the loss of the French. Napoleon fol- 

 lowed the allies with the infantry, but from want 

 of cavalry, which was still behind, could do them 

 but little damage. May 8, lie was already master 

 of Saxony and the Elbe, Dresden having been cva 

 cuated, Torgau having been opened by general 

 Thielemann, and the siege of Wittenberg having 

 been raised. The king of Saxony now had to re- 

 turn from Prague, and Napoleon proceeded to Lu- 

 satia, where the allies, reinforced by a body of 

 17,000 men under Barclay de Tolly, awaited him 

 at Bautzen, behind the Spree, in a strong position. 



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