Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 18

3. Battles between great powers begin with guns and end with talks – 5

“The enemy’s troopsare concentrated near the river. It looks like they’re preparing to cross the Neman river.”

“They went out well and did stupid numbers. Did they think we would let them go?”

The number of enemies guarding the Krunol Hill had been at least 20,000. Although several bridges had been installed to prepare for retreat, it would take a considerable amount of time to evacuate the troops over the river. Naturally, Bagration had no intention of closing his eyes and letting the enemy cross the Neman River.

“Let’s show them a reproduction of Austerlitz.”

The officers understood the meaning of Bagration’s words and bowed their heads with shining eyes. In the Battle of Austerlitz, where the Russians had been completely defeated by Napoleon, they had been surrounded by the French with a frozen lake behind them. The Russians had tried to cross the lake to survive, but Napoleon had led an artillery unit which had fired toward the lake.

The lake had quickly turned into a water hell, devouring the Russian soldiers and warhorses walking on the ice. Bagration decided to return this resentment to his enemies.

‘It turns out that they’re not French… These guys fought so well. Prussia and Austria will also understand this revenge.’

With his cold eyes shining, Bagration was about to give the order to fire at the bridges.

Booom! Booom! Boom! Boom!

Fire erupted from the artillery of the Allied Corps over the Neman River. At first, Bagration thought that the bombardment was a barrage operation to protect their retreat. But he could see right away that it was not that when he saw the place where their artillery was concentrated and the series of events that took place there.

Boooom! Booom! Boom! Booom!

The bombardment hit several warehouses located between the Krunol Hill and the Neman River bridges. The warehouses seemed to be small camps, where military supplies were stored, but a huge explosion occurred there when heated iron bullets hit the place. The orange, dense flames that soared high in the sky swept through the area, causing a series of explosions and emitting black smoke.

“It’s gunpowder! Those bastards bombarded the gunpowder storage on purpose!”

After putting a lot of gunpowder in a cannon, it was used as a detonator. Bagration gritted his teeth. A huge explosion burst the eardrums of Russian soldiers nearby, but the direct military damage was not that great. The problem was the smoke from the explosion. The thick black smoke was enough to cover the numerous bridges over the Neman River. The Russians lost their sight. They did not know where to aim their cannons.

“We can’t let them go like this! Cavalry, go out immediately! Sweep all those who want to cross the river!”

Under Bagration’s orders, a total of 20 cavalry battalions rushed out to cut off the enemy’s retreat. The Russian cavalry bravely rushed through the rising smoke. However, this was an unreasonable order in the first place. The smoke-covered field was more lethal to the horses than to the riders. When they could not see ahead, the horses started to run out of the riders’ control. The Russians had to spend a considerable amount of time trying to control them without making a proper charge.

“I can hear the sounds of the Russian cavalry!”

“They respond like the French army. All infantry ready to fire!”

In response to Napoleon’s letter, Andoche Junot, who was in charge of all the operations, made sure they were prepared for the Russian pursuit. The gunpowder storage was located far ahead of the bridges, where the smoke emitted from it was only blocking the Russian army’s view without affecting the Neman River basin.

In other words, the Russians had no idea about the situation here.

Of course Junot was going to take advantage of this. Junot had already divided his forces with the best shooting formation, and had deployed some combat infantry and light infantry in three rows. It was to welcome the Russian cavalry coming out of the smoke with a French-style welcome.

“Fire!”

Tatatatatata!

Lines of warhorses of the Russian cavalry battalions emerged through the smoke. What awaited them was the French soldiers aiming at them. Their strong fire covered even the fierce rush of the Russian cavalry. The sound of the horses’ and soldiers’ screams rang in unison with the gunfire.

“Fire!”

The Russian cavalry panicked after being directly hit by the bullets. No time was given for them to come to their senses. The rapid reloading of the French forces was enough to completely crush them.

“Retreat! Retreat!!”

The military trumpets announced the retreat along with the urgent orders of the cavalry commanders. The French, who fired a third times behind their fleeing backs, clenched their fists and cheered.

“It’s not over, guys! These ignorant Slavs don’t know how to give up until they’ve been beaten twice, so keep your positions! We protect this place until the artillery crosses the river.”

Juno’s prediction hit the mark. As the cavalry wandered poorly and returned from defeat, instead of preventing the enemy from retreating, Bagration roared fiercely and sent the infantry this time. But the infantry could not succeed where the cavalry failed. The Russian infantry, advancing through the smoke with slow steps, often got shot by the French firing squad that was waiting for them.

The French could fire from a stable position with a complete view, and as soon as the Russians got out of the smoke, they were hit by a volley of bullets, so the result was not a matter of quantity or quality. The Russians could not do anything against Junot and the French until all the explosions and fire at the gunpowder storage subsided.

“Give this letter to Pyotr Bagration.”

Andoche Junot left the battlefield leaving only a letter to a Russian prisoner. As soon as they crossed the Neman River, they burned down the bridges to prevent the Russians from following.

All that remained on the Krunol Hill was traces of enemy troops stationed here and building positions. There was not a single grain left of major strategic materials such as ammunition, gunpowder, artillery or cannons. The Russian troops had taken the hill, but there was nothing to get from it.

“… Your Excellency. It is said that the Commander of the Krunol Hill left a letter for your Excellency.”

Bagration received it. This was what the letter said.

‘If I had been in your shoes, I would have used the overflowing river to put out the flames of the explosion. Then the smoke would have subsided quickly and we would have had great difficulty crossing the Neman River. Your choice allowed us to flee to safety without any loss.

[P.S. I think we should continue to fight on France’s side as you are not showing any signs of winning this war. I wish you good fortune on your way home!]

“Ahhhhhhhh!!”

Anger completely filled Bagration’s head, and he raged for nearly 10 minutes, tearing the letter apart and smashing all the surrounding objects and utensils next to him.

@ Author’s notes:

There is a controversy over whether Napoleon killed the defeated Russian soldiers in Austerlitz with his operation to break the lake. The above chapter assumes that it actually happened.