Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 21

3. Battles between great powers begin with guns and end with talks – 8

Napoleon’s strategycame together, and the Barclay Corps was completely destroyed by the artillery. In addition, Russia’s elite reserve forces, which had been saved and cherished, were consumed by artillery fire and had to fill the empty spots. It took more than an hour for the generals and officers of the corps to resolve the shock and reorganize their troops.

While General Barclay was working to resolve the situation, the enthusiast French army began to push them down again. As the artillery fired, the cavalry rushed, and the infantry marched, the Barclay Corps shattered as dust fluttering in the wind.

The defeat of the battle became definitive. Now Barclay, as the commander and leader of the corps, had to think about how to minimize the damage to the army and to his country. As Barclay walked through the headquarters where the morale had fallen to the bottom, he saw his chief of staff and officers bowing their heads as if they were blind.

Barclay’s head was also lowered.

“…Let’s propose a deal. Send someone to Hrodna.”

“G-general! But… we still have resources!”

“We may be able to get out of this if we take the damage. But the Bagration Corps can’t.”

The Bagration Corps, completely isolated north of the Neman River, had become, in short, a hostage. Abandoning a soldier for the sake of the entire army was possible, but if he were to give up a whole corps, Barclay would remain as the most incompetent and stupid commander in Russian history.

“Send a messenger. This war… is lost.”

Finally, among the officers who were showing tears, Barclay sat down. He felt like ten years had passed.

===

A messenger sent by the Russian commander Barclay de Tolly arrived to Napoleon and the French troops marching as they were recovering the stolen bases one by one. Napoleon ripped off the finely folded letter paper that he reached while passing through officers and generals. After reading the contents of the letter, he burned it without hesitation. Although the chief of staff Berthier and many other officers were surprised, Napoleon looked calm.

“Tell my words to the Russian messenger who brought the letter. We will not accept any negotiations unless it’s an inconditional surrender.”

“Y-Your Majesty? But if that happens, they’ll fight to death.”

“Isn’t it be a little too much to demand unconditional surrender…”

The officers looked weak, but Napoleon snorted.

“Then let them fight to death. We’ve already taken control of all the fronts, and in a little while we’ll have 200,000 additional troops, what are you so afraid of? Pyotr Bagration’s corps is on the verge of annihilation, and even the remaining troops have lost their fighting spirit and have been cut off. They ask for negociations instead of surrendering? They haven’t grasped the reality yet.”

The officers who were complaining quickly changed their expressions after hearing Napoleon’s stubborn position, and thought that the Emperor’s judgment was right. In fact, there was no one here who could resist Napoleon’s words, as he had almost led the battle alone. The reason why Napoleon was going strong was to completely break the flag of Russia.

‘The supplies, manpower, and finances consumed while preparing for the Russian expedition are so large, and in order to get compensation for them, we must clearly specify them in diplomatic documents from the beginning. By making them surrender, not negotiate. And we have to bring Alexander I in.’

Although he had succeeded in breaking the Russian army innovatively, the French army had suffered a lot of damage. First of all, as many as 40,000 non-combat losses had occurred during the march to the Neman River (before Napoleon woke up in this world). These losses included soldiers killed by diseases such as rashes, dysentery, and typhus, and those who disappeared or fell behind due to desertions and injuries. About 5,000 horses who did not adapt to the different climates and environments also died. The amount of money and supplies spent preparing for the expedition was astronomical.

On the first day he heard the report, Napoleon once cursed himself from this world as a ‘bastard with the black plague’.

‘The relationship with Russia has already gone sour. No matter what I do, I can’t restore it. Now that it’s done, we’ve got to crush them and rip off the maximum amount of compensation. That way, we can defeat Britain and Spain and continue to press Austria and Prussia.’

It was a completely different diplomatic policy from the other world, which had a friendly relationship with Russia and maintained a strong alliance with Spain. Of course, this was not confirmed yet. To be exact, he would make the final decision after meeting Alexander I. Berthier called Napoleon who was thinking that way. The Russian troops were preparing to attack once again after hearing his refusal to negotiate.

“It’s a trick to push us to the negotiating table. These guys are still out of their minds.”

Napoleon grinned and retook the lead. If they did not know, they had to get hit and learn.

The Barclays’ offensive was once again pushed back by Napoleon. They stepped back without gaining anything, only a larger number of casualties. In the meantime, Napoleon divided the army, recaptured the stolen bases and deployed the artillery forward.

The Barclay Corps showed no response to the French advance. On the north side of the Neman River, fighting continued between Poniatowski’s forces and the Bagration Corps. The numerical advantage was overwhelming and the Polish Corps had also the advantage in everything else.

‘The difference between me and this world’s Nabot in ability and personality is like looking at the sky and the earth, but it seems that the other people are the same. Including Pyotr Bagration.’

The Bagration that Napoleon remembered was a ressourceful general who could bite the tail of a cat like a cornered rat. Even in France, there were only a handful of people who could compete with him alone and win. Against such a commander, Poniatowski pressed the Bagration Corps step by step without leaving a single gap in power or gunfire.

He knew how a large number of troops could subdue a small number of soldiers with the least damage. For that alone, Poniatowski was a commander who could be called first-class. Now, the picture of the Bagration Corps being crushed by the Polish Corps was clearly depicted.

The Barclay troops lost all their main bases and were pushed south. Napoleon’s declaration of victory was imminent. Once again, a Russian messenger arrived. This time a pretty big shot came himself. After confirming the name and rank of the messenger, Napoleon accepted to meet him face-to-face.

“Hahaha, no wonder… I was wondering if the Duke of Auerstedt (Louis Nicolas Davout) had such excellent psychological and tactical skills… but it was Your Majesty the Emperor. I never expected that Your Majesty would hide his own flag as bait.”

“Because I thought it would be hard to win if I didn’t do that. Your country is that strong.”

“And Your Majesty pushed such a strong country to the brink of defeat.”

Leaning on the chair, Napoleon put his head in order and asked.

“So what’s your main point?”

Lieutenant General Bergiokic, the chief of staff of the Barclay Corps, took a short breath and opened his mouth.