Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 22

3. Battles between great powers begin with guns and end with talks – 9

“First of all, our Commander said that the content of the Treaty of Tilsit between the French and Russian Empires greatly contributes to the peace and balance in Europe, and that he felt very sorry for the broken friendship between the two countries.”

“That’s needless. Your main point.”

Lieutenant General Bergiokic swallowed his saliva looking at Napoleon, who had no facial expression.

“Two pillars (Russia and France) are essential to balance the continent. In that sense, the unconditional surrender of the Barclay and Bagration Corps, which you want, is too much. We are willing to make concessions on any other terms and conditions, so I ask for your mercy and tolerance.”

Napoleon’s demand for unconditional surrender meant that the Barclay and Bagration troops would be completely disarmed and would accept the situation of being captured by France. Naturally, all the war supplies they had now would also be transferred to the French.

They were the most experienced elite troops in Russia, and being locked up as prisoners and deprived of their war supplies was humiliating and practically a sign of their defeat in the French-Russian war.

“Pyotr Bagration and his troops are completely surrounded. In fact, all of them are already prisoners of the French. The same goes for your superior and his corps. If the Empire’s real Corps (the 3rd Corps) arrives here, this battle will end anyway. There is not much time, so showing pride here is useless.”

“Certainly… I can’t help but acknowledge the situation of the Bagration Corps. As Your Majesty said, it would be hard for them to escape. But isn’t the situation different for our corps? If you continue to give us non-arguable offers, such as ‘unconditional surrender’, our corps can escape this battlefield.”

“Hmm… If you abandon the Tsar’s favored Bagration Corps, wouldn’t there be a lot of political pressure to bear?”

“Unconditional surrender is the same as asking for ‘auto-destructive betrayal’ to both corps. I’d rather choose to give you only one arm.”

Lieutenant General Johan Bergiokic said so with a determined look.

Certainly, if the Barclay troops decided to escape, it would be difficult for the French to boldly pursue them beyond the Neman River, where they had already retreated from. The Bagration Corps would be damaged, but the Barclay Corps would be able to retreat while preserving its power.

‘The fact that France is practically waging a double front war on the Iberian Peninsula is one of the reasons why these people can afford to relax.’

There was still plenty of troops left. Russia was a great country that often competed with France, so they asked for concessions, but this was what was implied:

[We know you are in a hurry to fight against England, Spain, Portugal, etc. on the Iberian Peninsula anyway. If we keep going, you’ll be the only one to lose, so we will roughly admit that we lost this battle, and let’s end it up in a good way.]

Napoleon murmured to himself ‘These arrogant guys…’

“Maybe you would have expected the French Corps of Ostrołęka to arrive here in Hrodna tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. If you calculate the distance between the cities and the speed of our soldiers’ march, that’s about it.”

“But you’re wrong about that, Ostrołęka’s French Corps will be here tonight, no matter what. And we will not let your superior’s troops get out of here. I will wait for the arrival of the French Corps persistently, like an English bulldog.”

I can’t wait to see if you’ll keep a straight face after being surrounded on all sides. Napoleon smiled as he said so.

At the words of the French Emperor, Lieutenant General Bergiokic lost his reason for a very short time.

“I can’t believe it! The distance between here and Ostrołęka is 60 miles! Covering that distance in 36 hours!? That’s ridiculous! Could the French Corps be the 13th century Mongol army!? Don’t forget that this is a formal diplomatic meeting between countries and that I have been entrusted with the official seal of the Commander of the Russian Army! Please refrain from trying to obscure this meeting with absurd stories, Your Majesty!”

“What the hell! What’s up with this Slav guy!?”

“Act properly before His Majesty the Emperor!”

As Lieutenant General Bergiokic raised his blood and voice, French generals and officers watching threatened him with harsh words. The Emperor simply calmed the angry French by waving his hand.

“They’re not the Mongol army, but they’re moving in a similar way. I heard a report early this morning that 30,000 cavalry troops had passed Białystok (a city between Ostrołęka and Hrodna). Moving north fast with minimal military supplies, they’re light cavalry imitating the Cossack cavalry that Russia is so proud of. They’re perfect to pursue your fleeing soldiers.”

“That… can you prove it! Some proof…”

The French Emperor handed over a folded piece of paper, and Lieutenant General Bergiokic received it with trembling hands. It reported that a special unit consisting of only cavalry was passing through Białystok. In the lower right hand corner were the seals of Louis Nicolas Davout and Eugène de Beauharnais.

“You may or may not be suspicious of manipulation. My words will prove true in 12 hours anyway. The front on the Iberian Peninsula is unstable, but it can wait 12 more hours, right?”

At the Emperor’s words with a light smile, Bergiokic felt distant. Johan Bergiokic was a soldier, but when he was young, he stayed at a foreign embassy and worked as a diplomat. He quickly scanned the expressions and actions of Napoleon I and his surrounding generals and officers. With his own intuitions accumulated while working as a diplomat, he could realize that all this was true, and not bluff.

“How the hell is this possible?… Where did our plan go wrong?… That’s ridiculous!…’

If everything the French Emperor had said so far was true, it meant he had been anticipating from the beginning when, where and in what way the Russians would attack here in Hrodna. Did they plant a spy at the top of the Russian army? Otherwise, he could not explain how they were able to prepare so perfectly.

‘Are you saying that you and your troops believed without a doubt that you would end up stopping more than twice as many enemies like you did? Assuming that’s the case, you ordered 30,000 light cavalry to be sent in advance from the beginning? By predicting the exact time of the battle?’

If Bagration’s troops had not been separated by the Neman River, if the Barclay Corps had not advanced a little further, if they had attacked Augustów instead of Hrodna, if they had not pursued the retreating expedition in the beginning… If only one thing had missed, Napoleon’s strategy would not have worked. The 30,000 cavalry would have had to go back without doing anything, and France would have had to deal with the huge human and financial losses from excessive military operations. Perhaps the corps itself would have collapsed.

But the winner of all this gambling was Napoleon I. In the course of numerous crossroads, there was no deviation. The 170,000-strong Russian army was nothing more than a marionette who had been completely played in the hands of the French Emperor. It was a perfect reproduction of the Battle of Austerlitz, or an even bigger disgrace.

“I’m sure you’ve got it, but there are about 500 of our cannons guarding the city center of Hrodna. I put here more than half of the 800 that I had prepared for the expedition. The rest of the cannons are in the possession of the Polish Corps. So how many does the French Corps in Ostrołęka have now?”

Bergiokic’s hands were trembling.

“Not a single cannon. It’s the result of extreme lightening for rapid march. Thanks to that, they’re on their way here as fast as the 30,000 advance unit. They will probably arrive much earlier than your estimated time.”

Now, do you understand when I said that all of you are already prisoners of the French army? Bergiokic could not answer the Emperor’s question.

Napoleon thought that he was lucky that the commander of the Russian army against the expedition was Barclay de Tolly. If it had been someone like Mikhail Kutuzov, this kind of negotiation would not have worked.

‘Kutuzov is a cold blooded man who would not have only cared about the establishment of a grand strategy or the victory of the war, whether other corps were captured or annihilated on the way. Perhaps he would have bought time by sending these messengers, and would have pushed all the troops to the rear to preserve their power and wait for the right time.’

What was the best response for Russia against the French Empire and Napoleon? It was to avoid hostilities as much as possible while preserving power and dragging time. As mentioned earlier, France was currently in war with Spain, Portugal and Britain on the Iberian Peninsula.

The French also had to check potential threatening countries such as Prussia and Austria, and there were not a few battlefields to pay attention to, with the movements of allies, a possible British surprise landing war, and the movements of the Ottoman Empire. The battle was won, but France still had many weaknesses in the huge international situation. For these reasons, it was fortunate that Mikhail Kutuzov, the most difficult Russian commander, was not here.

‘We would not be able to do anything if Russia step down and drag this war on. The Duchy of Warsaw, a satellite country we have to protect, would require a considerable number of troops to be stationed 1,000 kilometers away from the mainland… Considering the current situation of France, even that would be hard to bear.’

The best judgment was not to fight Russia from the beginning, but if they started fighting, they had to cause as much damage as possible in a short time and get the Russians out of the anti-French coalition. Napoleon knew the Alexander l’s personality well. Since he would not blink at most human losses or damages, he had to break his will to carry out the war by dealing a decisive blow, which Napoleon could do now that he had the entire Bagration and Barclay Corps. With this weight, Alexander I would not be able to do anything.

“The Duke of Auerstedt and 30,000 cavalrymen greet Your Majesty the Emperor of the French Empire and the legitimate Emperor of the Roman Empire! We are devoted to you!”

Looking at Davout, who saluted with a sharp gesture with his sword, Napoleon hold his breath. The title “Your Majesty’ coming from his old colleagues was really uncomfortable to hear. Especially from Davout.

“There was a Russian camp on your way. What is its status?”

“It’s very quiet, with all the flags down. They seem to have completely lost their fighting spirit.”

Napoleon nodded. Lowering the military flag indicated that they had no intention of fighting.

“There was no commander who could have such a great victory against the Russians except for the Mongols in the Middle Ages. Your amazing victory and great achievements will remain in the hearts of the French forever! I heard the report of the battle, and I was thrilled!…”

“…Yes, thank you.”

For some reason, it was Napoleon who did not want to be here anymore.