Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 8

2. Battle of Hrodna – 2

Before the advance, General Barclay had ordered the deployment of the artillery to counter the enemy’s weapons. Meanwhile, he searched the enemy’s lines with a spyglass to find out who their enemy was.

“Louis Nicolas Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstedt.”

“Ah! The Iron Marshal (Davout’s nickname) is our enemy! It might be a lot more tricky to complete the operation than we thought.”

“But their numbers are less than half of our troops, right? If you do the math, it’s just…”

Barclays roared at the chief of staff’s immature words.

“You idiot! Half of our army is 80,000! Suppose they hold out in a fit of rage and two of them kill at least one soldier! 40,000 people would die! Is this how you win a war!”

Barclay, who decided to say something firmly to the officers who were talking as if they had already won the war, gave a fierce look around him.

“In addition, Davout is one of France’s top generals who broke 60,000 Prussian soldiers with 27,000 men at the Battle of Auerstedt! Keep your head straight! Think like Napoleon is in front of you and do your best!”

Only then did the officers lower their heads, saying they did something wrong. But Barclay did not show any sign of acceptance. He suddenly felt stuffy.

‘If only there was a member of the Suborov team at this time. If so, we wouldn’t have any worries…’

That was the recurring problem of the Russian army. Excessive confidence and belligerence. Sometimes they had used it as a weapon to win great victories, but there had been many times when it had meant the end of the battle for them. Alexander Suvorov was the only general who had complete control over the Russian army’s temper. Of course Barclay was not capable of doing the same.

July 1st, 1 p.m. The installation of all the Russian artillery was completed. The entire land shook when about 250 cannons, half of the field guns that were brought, were fired at the same time. The Allied Corps also opened fire to counterattack. It did not take much time for this wide battlefield to be covered in gray smoke.

“The Hrodna area is famous for its large roads and open prairies… Now it feels rather narrow because there are so many soldiers.”

“Everything is relative. In this situation, the enemies and our troops make a total of 250,000 soldiers fighting.”

“It’s a historic battle with national interests at stake. Let’s refrain from chatting. Our great Empire will surely win and reclaim its land.”

One suspicion passed through General Barclay’s head, who was listening to the officers’ murmurs.

‘They were in perfect formation, as if they knew we were coming this way, at this time. No matter how much information leaked, can they respond naturally like this? And that’s not even the French troops but the Allied ones?’

But Barclay’s thoughts got disturbed by his aides’ advice.

“The gunfire from the artillery on both sides covers the battlefield. The enemy’s vision is completely obscured, so now’s the time to send in troops.”

Remove the enemy’s vision with the artillery and push in the infantry. It was a fundamental principle of the laws of battle. Barclay agreed with the advice of his aides and ordered General Tuchkovlll to lead 25 infantry battalions, leaving many reserves behind.

“Make it your top priority to raid the artillery and destroy the enemy’s cannons. Killing the soldiers comes next.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even if more than half of the soldiers died, the operation would only be beneficial if the enemy’s front artillery was blown away. The 25 infantry battalions made their way to the battlefield full of cannonballs and gunfire like a wave. The real battle was now beginning. The officers did not hide their excitement.

Bang! Boom! Bang! Boom! Boom!

The Russian soldiers did not stop moving forward despite the fierce shells pouring in from both sides. One of their lines was hit by a cannonball from the Allied Corps. Even though the comrades who were walking together were reduced to a pulp, it could not break the spirit of the fearless Slavs.

“Turks and Swedes know us well, and we are famous in the world, To battles, to victories we are always led by the Tsar himself! Our grandfathers were glorious, the Swedes and Poles remember them, And the eagle of victory was soaring over the fields of Poltava. So we would go forward – the glorious, the first-born Russian regiment!”121

The Russian infantry was marching in rythm with the sound of drums and trumpets while singing the ‘March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment’, and after some time, broke through the gunfire. In the meantime, the wind was not strong enough to blow away the smoke. Thanks to this, there was less fear of exposure to the enemy’s heavy artillery fire, but the battalions’ sense of direction was also reduced, causing confusion. Tuchkov stopped the soldiers from advancing and asked them to wait a moment to find out more about the situation.

“My General! Should we keep singing the march and playing the trumpets? It could also expose our position to the enemy.”

“You’re right. Hmm… from now on, we will advance as silently as we can. Adjust your climb. Keep a distance with the people in front of you.”

25 infantry battalions continued to advance. Even in an frightening environment, where thunder-like sounds were constantly ringing and trapped in smoke, the courageous Russian army did not think of running away. How much time passed? They could see the layers of smoke gradually fading. The faces of the Russian soldiers turned red. They were now at the enemy’s position.

It was then.

Bang! Bang! Boom! Bang!!

The sound of gunfire was the same as before. However, it was not the same kind of artillery that had swept through the battle lines intermittently. The cannonballs were fired upward, not downward. And countless metal fragments were shattering in the air with a bang. The sharp debris spread everywhere and fell on the Russian infantry that were walking below. Soldiers collapsed as their flesh and bones were shredded by the metal debris. Screams and groans covered the whole area in an instant. General Tuchkov and the officers knew what that was.

“Lead shot! It’s lead shot!”

“Shit! They figured out our location!”

The advance of Russian infantry battalions, which were marching like bisons, was stopped. The officers gritted their teeth.

TL notes

[1] Nikolay Tuchkov

[2] You can listen to the March of the Preobrazhensky Regiment here