Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 29

5. Their circumstances – 1

Carl von Clausewitz, 1) who had been appointed commander of the Prussian troops to help France on the Russian expedition, had been secretely ordered by his mentor and Prussian chief of staff, Gerhard von Scharnhorst,121 not to expose the troops’ full power.

Prussia was currently using its reserve forces to increase its military power by subtly deviating from the Treaty of Tilsit, because it would be in a very difficult position if news of this were to reach Napoleon. After struggling not to reveal the armament, qualitative level, and size of the Prussian army, Clausewitz eventually made an extreme choice.

To desert immediately after the start of the expedition, leading the entire contingent. Under international law, if he became a deserter, then the whole unit would stop belonging to any country at that very moment. If it was dismissed as the individual deviation and treason of the commander of the deployed troops, France would not be able to argue with Prussia.

‘I would rather side with Russia than fight for the French. But the situation went strangely.’

Napoleon, who marched all the way to the Neman River, was certainly going to put the foreign armies ahead, including the Prussian troops, regardless of casualties. Clausewitz thought it was better. It would be easier to desert to Russia from the vanguard. At some point, however, Napoleon changed his mind and began to engage in bizarre operations. When he took off the uniforms worn by the Prussian soldiers, Clausewitz thought Napoleon was crazy.

When he realized it was a psychological battle in a cleverly crafted script, it was already out of control.

“What do we do now, Commander?”

Dressed in the uniforms of the French army, the officers waiting in Ostrołęka looked uneasy. They were all loyal and reliable Prussian officers who had graduated from the Prussian Military Academy, and had joined the campaign.

However, it was natural for them to be embarrassed because they had unexpectedly fallen into the rear.

“…The chief of staff’s mission is to keep our forces hidden and to reduce the consumption of troops on the expedition as much as possible. However, if we stay in the rear, we can achieve these two objectives without difficulty. There is no need to risk desertion.”

“Russia is our ally. If we turn a blind eye to their crisis, won’t our country lose its chance of escaping from the French oppression?”

The officers were ready to report the situation to Russia at the risk of their lives, but Clausewitz tried to stop them. It was almost impossible to reach Hrodna through the strict surveillance, and above all, it was likely that it would be too late already.

These loyal men, who could risk their lives for their country, had to fight on a more important battlefield.

In the end, Clausewitz and the other Prussian officers did not turn about 20,000 Prussian troops into deserters, nor fled to Russia. However, as they marched toward Hrodna while belonging to the Third Corps, they prayed to God, hoping that the Russian army would win and destroy the French hegemony.

But it was the elite Russian troops that got crushed, and Napoleon created a new myth.

After arriving at Hrodna and confirming the horrors of the battlefield, Clausewitz and the Prussian officers fell into despair.

“Why does God favor him so much? There’s no way to defeat France!”

The officers expressed their anger, but Clausewitz, a cool-headed rational, was the first to come back to his senses. Even with his own knowledge of military science, he found that Napoleon’s abilities shown in the Battle of Hrodna were monstrous. If the Prussian troops had successfully escaped and joined the Russians… Just thinking about it have him the creeps.

‘Napoleon’s supremacy is not over yet. We are going back after a valuable experience. This alone is a positive thing.’

Clausewitz and the Prussian troops returned safely to their homeland without firing a single shot. They reported to King Frederick William 1||31 and explained how strong Napoleon’s military capabilities had been at the Battle of Hrodna.

“Coldly speaking, our Prussian military level is not up to France yet. And if Napoleon were to command, the gap would widen. We still need to be patient.”

Frederick William III sighed and so did the ministers who were gathered at the court. The Prussian resistance was further delayed. Hearing the news, Blücher14 beat his chest and lamented.

European noblemen had said that Napoleon’s expedition to Russia would be an unprecedented war. A long, huge and fierce war between the two empires was expected, but the result was decided in a single turn. It was France that won the Battle of Hrodna, where 400,000 troops faced each other. In this battle, Russia suffered a devastating humiliation, with about 125,000 soldiers, generals and officers captured. After loosing its main corps, Russia was forced to accept humiliating conditions.

In front of the Schönbrunn Palace, a luxurious carriage with patterns of tulips and mountain goats arrived, creating dust. The door of the carriage opened and a man appeared there. Guards of the palace saluted the man.

“Gott erhalte den Kaiser (God protect the Emperor)! I greet the Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

“Well done, Count. What about His Majesty the Emperor?”

“He’s waiting in the gloriette in the garden. Let’s go.”

The head of the court at the Schönbrunn Palace, Count Rantzau, led the man.

The man following the Count was wearing a cloak with the emblem of the Metternich family. His name was Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. He was the highest-ranking aristocrat in the Austrian Empire, and had the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, responsible of all foreign policy and national lines of the Empire.

The public called him ‘the second hand of the Schönbrunn court’.

‘Gloriette’ was the name of a building in the middle of the gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace that had been created by the famous Maria Theresals) who ordered the construction. The gloriette’s front had a splendid Rococo style, with a well-organized lawn and stone wall. The lake, and the white marble sculptures around it, were combined to create a beautiful landscape.

Austrian monarchs loved the gloriette and its gardens that praised the Habsburg imperial family. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Metternich, and Count Rantzau arrived in the gardens where birds were singing, and passed a stone wall decorated with marble sculptures. There they greeted Francis 11,16] the true ruler of Austria.

“Return to the court. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I have a lot to discuss.”

“I’ll follow your orders, Your Majesty.”

Francis II, Metternich and a few guards remained in the gardens after Count Rantzau left. Metternich sighed helplessly and bowed his head in humiliation. Francis II asked him.

“The Minister had clearly said that France would be defeated in the war against Russia and that our country would have a golden opportunity. But how come things are the other way around?”

“…I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I have nothing to say.”

“The Minister had said something similar three years ago. Napoleon and his main corps were tied up in Spain, the French were tired of the long war, and the French generals and major ministers had all different minds, and now was the opportunity.”

Metternich opened his mouth but had nothing to say.

In 1809, he had overestimated the damages that the French had suffered from in the Iberian War, and had opposed Francis II and his generals. He had judged that Napoleon could not easily withdraw from the Iberian Peninsula, but even this was a mistake. As soon as Austria had declared war, Napoleon himself had led a large army into Vienna, leaving the war on the peninsula to his marshals.

The new Austrian army, disciplined and trained under the command of Grand Duke Charles, the commander-in-chief, was not outplayed in tactics, even winning against Napoleon and the French, but still ended up losing heavily. In this war, Austria lost the province of Illyria and all of its coastal territories and became an landlocked country.

“Everything is because of my stupid mistakes. Please scold me severely.”

“It’s not like I don’t know what you’re capable of. However, the Minister has already made a number of mistakes. You’ll need to make up for it. It is a difficult labor for me to appease the angry council.”

Many of the members of the imperial council had insisted on not going against France, which had gained supremacy on the continent. So far, Austria had lost nearly half of its territory in a row in the war against France. The resentment against France and Napoleon remained, but defeatism was slowly covering it. France winning against Russia could be a fatal blow to the moral of the Austrians. But Metternich was convinced. Austria would never stop fighting the French.

He was also a solid figure for the Austrians, but did not reach the level of Francis II. The situation did not change even though Napoleon and Francis II had become son-in-law and father-in-law. As long as he was wearing the crown of the Austrian Empire, France and Austria could never be close.

“His Majesty still has no intention of listening to the members of the council. Nevertheless, he’s still bringing up this subject to the council, probably to pressure me.’

Despite a series of misjudgment, the reason for retaining Metternich as the second-in-command of the Empire, was that Metternich was also a representative figure of antiFrance. The day Metternich stepped down as Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be the day when Franz Il completely lost his will to fight France.

“The Potsdam Palace (Prussia) wants us to join forces while the Russian expedition troops are disbanded and there is a gap in power. The British said that if we declare war, they would double their financial support, so what does the Minister think? If the two countries join hands, would they be able to defeat those French and Napoleon?”

“Now is the time to wait and watch quietly. Now that Russia has pulled out and the momentum of the French army is at its highest point, it’s dangerous to hastily reveal a will to fight. If there is a war, it will only repeat what happened four years ago. Perhaps the Potsdam Palace’s proposal is just a diplomatic investigation to let us know that the alliance between the two countries is maintained.”

The Battle of Hrodna was one of Napoleon’s most formidable victories so far. With numerous tricks and deceit, he completely hid his purpose and led the Russian generals to make mistakes. He prepared a place where the enemy was bound to fight, and used ingenious deployment and operational skills to tactically win.

The Russian army was unable to surpass Napoleon with troops that were more than twice as many, and rather suffered a series of fatal damage due to counterattacks. From the beginning to the end, the Russian army was nothing but a doll that danced in a puppet show controlled by Napoleon.

“I didn’t expect Napoleon and the French to be that strong.’

When he first heard the news of the outcome of the Battle of Hrodna, Metternich was thrilled and frightened. In recent years, there had been criticism and ridiculous talks saying that Napoleon’s strategical and tactical skills were not as good as before.

Indeed, in some battles after 1808, there had often been pathetic mistakes that Napoleon would not have made before. This was probably one of the reasons why Britain, Austria and Russia were able to challenge France. But the Battle of Hrodna and its consequences were shocking enough to turn all of that into nothing.

Napoleon was also a war genius.

“…Wouldn’t we have a chance of winning if Charlest8l returns?”

Metternich’s head flashed at that one word.

TL notes

[1] Carl von Clausewitz

[2] Gerhard von Scharnhorst

(3) Frederick William III of Prussia

[4] Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher

[5] Maria Theresa

[6] Francis II was the Holy Roman Emperor, and the Emperor of Austria under the name Francis I from 1804. The author chose to use his first name even though the story is set in 1812.

[Z] Charles, Grand Duke of Baden

[8] Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, was the younger brother of Francis II and a great commander, but he gave up all his military offices after the defeat of Austria in the War of the Fifth Coalition against Napoleon.