XIII. 1814. CHAP. started up, and a vehement action commenced between them and the enemy's horse under Sebastiani, who were soon greatly over-matched and driven back in confusion to the bridge of Arcis. Napoleon instantly hurried to the spot, and, making his way to the entrance of the bridge, now choked up with fugitives, drew his sword, exclaiming, "Let me see which of before you will pass me." The presence of the Emperor arrested the panic, and the flight ceased. The moment the bridge was clear, Friant's division of the Old Guard was hurried over in double-quick time, and by a heavy fire drove back the Allied horse. Meanwhile a bloody combat had commenced at Torcy on the French left, farther up the Aube, between Ney with his division of the Young Guard striving to storm and Wrede to defend that village. An Austrian battalion, in the first instance, gained possession of it and held it for half an hour, but Ney's men then retook it. Wrede, upon this, brought up three battalions, who a second time took the town; but Napoleon, who was 529; Dan. well aware of the value of the post, immediately recovered it with a body of the Old Guard, who, supported by Ney's Burgh. 214. men, held it with unconquerable resolution against very superior numbers during the remainder of the day.1 1 Thiers, xvii. 527 267, 268; Koch, ii. 68, 69; 34. The position of the French, who were joined during The French the afternoon by Lefebvre Desnouettes's cavalry, was are repulsed. extremely strong, forming a semicircle facing outwards, with each flank resting on the Aube so as to be secure against being turned, and the town of Arcis forming an impregnable stronghold in their rear. In this respect it very much resembled the position occupied by them in the preceding year at Dresden. But they had only 25,000 men in line to defend it. The position of the Allies was less favourable, as they formed a larger semicircle facing inwards, embracing a much wider surface, and thus less strong at any given point; but they had an enormous superiority of force, their troops in the field amounting at last to nearly 90,000 men. A third XIII. 1814. of this body, however, did not come up till the close of CHAR the day, so that, though they had greatly the advantage of numbers throughout, it was not so decided as it would have been if the whole had been up at once. Taking advantage of this circumstance, Napoleon maintained his ground till nightfall, when the Allied reserves, under the Prince Royal of Würtemberg, having arrived, Schwartzenberg ordered a general attack. The Russian batteries of the Guard soon came up to the front, and as they passed the Emperor at the gallop he bade them remember Leipsic. The whole Allied artillery, consisting of 300 pieces, formed in a vast semicircle around the French, continued to fire with the utmost violence till dark. With heroic but mournful resolution the French stood up against the storm of shot, closing in their ranks with the instinct of discipline, as chasms were made by the iron tempest. The Emperor shared its dangers like the meanest soldiers. A bomb fell by his side, which burst, covered him with dust, and wounded his horse. He calmly mounted another, and said to those around, "Fear xvii. 532nothing; the bullet is not yet cast which is to kill me." 270 Fain, This dreadful cannonade continued long after darkness 181, 182; had set in, both parties firing in the gloom at the flash 330-332; of each other's pieces, till it terminated, from mutual 217. exhaustion, about ten o'clock.1 * 1 Thiers, "535; Dan. Both armies rested on their arms, on the ground on which they had fought, during the night, and it was universally expected in both armies that a desperate 6 A striking and characteristic anecdote of Napoleon occurred during this cannonade, which is thus given by M. Thiers :-" Sur le terrain même d'Arcis, et au milieu du feu, s'entretenant familièrement avec le Général Sébastiani, Corse comme lui, et doué d'un grand sens politique, Eh bien, général,' lui demanda-t-il, 'que dites-vous de ce que vous voyez?' 'Je dis,' répondit le général, 'que votre Majesté a sans doute d'autres ressources que nous ne connaissons pas.' 'Celles que vous avez sous les yeux,' reprit Napoléon, 'et pas d'autres.' 'Mais alors, comment votre Majesté ne songe-t-elle pas à soulever la nation?' 'Chimères,' répliqua Napoléon, 'chimères, empruntées aux souvenirs de l'Espagne et de la Révolution Française! Soulever la nation dans un pays où la Révolution a détruit les nobles et les prêtres, et où j'ai moi-même détruit la Révolution !'"-THIERS, xvii. 533, 534. Plotho, iii. Burgh. 216, CHAP. XIII. 1814. battle would take place on the following day, which, one way or other, would bring this long-protracted struggle to a termination. Everything when the sun rose betokened The French a renewal of the strife with more vigour and animosity than ever. The Allied reserves were nearly all up. 35. retire on the second day. March 21. 1 Thiers, xvii. 51, 532; Burgh. 217; Fain, 183; Dan. 273, 274; Plotho, iii. 329-334. The Napoleon had been joined by Lefebvre Desnouettes's division, 7000 strong, during the night. Oudinot's corps was close at hand, and though Macdonald himself, with his own and Gerard's corps, could not be up till night, yet 140,000 men and 500 guns on the two sides were fronting each other within half cannon-shot range. gunners stood with lighted matches beside their pieces; the horsemen with their bridles over their arms; the infantry at ease, with their muskets resting on their shoulders and the butt-ends on the ground. Every one in both armies was in momentary expectation of the signal-gun being fired, which was to renew the conflict. But hour after hour slipped away in this anxious state, and yet no signal was given, nothing was done on either side. At length, at one in the afternoon, the equipages behind the French army were seen defiling towards the rear, troops began to crowd over the bridges, and all the symptoms of a retreat became manifest. Yet such was the awe inspired by the presence of Napoleon and the aspect of his still imposing masses, that it was not till three o'clock that Schwartzenberg gave the signal to advance. It was then too late at that season of the year to achieve decisive success. It was almost dark before the Allies reached Arcis; so gallant had been the resistance which Oudinot, whose corps had been crossed over to form the rearguard, opposed to their advance. Prince Eugene of Würtemberg then violently assailed Oudinot's rearguard, and his men reached the town along with them, but not in time to prevent their getting across and breaking down the bridge. During the night the French kept up so heavy a cannonade from the opposite bank that all attempts to restore it were fruit less, and when day broke on the following morning Napo- CHAP. leon was far advanced on the road to Vitry, leaving only XIII. a strong rearguard at Arcis to retard the passage of the river by the Allied forces. 1814. 36. designs after The loss on either side at the battle of Arcis-sur-Aube was not so great as might have been expected from the Napoleon's shock of two such powerful armies, commanded by Napo- the battle. leon and Alexander in person. It amounted on each to about 4000 men, including 800 of the Old Guard made prisoners by the Allies, who also took six guns. It was in the highest degree honourable to the French arms, as the trophies of victory were nearly equally divided; and though they were greatly inferior in number, and abandoned the field of battle, they substantially gained the object for which they fought. Napoleon had no intention of risking a battle à l'outrance with the Austrian Grand Army when Blucher, with an army double his own, was in his rear threatening his communications with Paris. His object was to force Schwartzenberg to concentrate, draw back his advanced columns which had begun to threaten Paris, and thus gain time to execute his projected movement towards the Rhine, by which he would threaten the communications of both armies, and ere long double his own disposable forces. In this object he completely succeeded. On the night of the 21st he continued his retreat, or rather began his crossmarch to Sommepuis, on the road to Vitry and the Rhine, without molestation. Alexander had correctly divined his intentions, when he said he would amuse them at Arcis, and meanwhile move the bulk of his forces to the eastward, and threaten their communications. Sir 182; Dan. Charles Stewart also, who had come up from Chatillon 1 Thiers. after the dissolution of the congress on the 18th, and xvii. 531reached headquarters in time to take part in the move-533; Fan, ments on the 22d, scanned the French Emperor's designs 274; Burgh. not less correctly. The day after, he wrote a letter iii. 329,330. detailing the state of affairs, and his ideas on the objects 217; Plotho, CHAP. XIII. of that great general, and the means of thwarting them, with a penetration and sagacity which subsequent events 1814. have rendered prophetic.* 37. march to St Dizier. From Sommepuis Napoleon continued, on the 22d, his Napoleon's cross-march to Vitry, and sent Ney close up to the walls of that town, who threatened to put the governor and all March 23. the garrison to the sword if they did not instantly capitulate. Finding the governor, however, who had 5000 men and 40 guns under his command, proof against these menaces, he turned aside, and, fording the Marne, continued his march to St Dizier, which he reached on the evening of the 23d. He there, on the following day, spread out his wings from Bar-le-Duc on one side to * "A higher game is about to be played now which will agree better with your blood. I think Buonaparte has never shown himself greater, or played a desperate game more skilfully than since the battle of Brienne. On the Elbe he was quite insane; and his prolonged stay there was the cause of the battle of Leipsic, and all his subsequent misfortunes. Napoleon, beaten on the 9th and 10th by Blucher, retires before him and heads this way. He marches from Fère - Champenoise on Plancy, with a view of intimidating Schwartzenberg, and hoping by a demonstration of an intention to attack him by crossing the Aube to force him to retire. Napoleon, however, being slower than was expected, Schwartzenberg was enabled to concentrate and withdraw his left from Troyes and Nogent-sur-Seine, and assemble in front of Plancy and Arcis. The enemy tried to debouch, on the 21st, at Plancy; but finding themselves strongly opposed they moved in greater force to Arcis, and yesterday morning passed the Aube at both places, which led to fighting all day. The enemy were at length beaten, and retired at all points; 1000 prisoners of the Old Guard are taken and 8 cannons. It was not, however, a general battle. I never thought Buonaparte would debouch across the Aube and place his army between that river and the fork formed by its junction with the Seine. Such an attempt would be out of ordinary prudence. I think, having been very much worsted by Blucher, he turned down here to give us a knock without risking such a desperate battle, as if lost, with Blucher behind him, must have been his ruin. Finding Schwartzenberg collected, and certainly more determined than ever he was before, he is now hatching another expedient. Being just arrived from Chatillon, I have not as yet got my ideas into proper order; but this is what I conjecture. Castlereagh will tell you all that is going on. I hope it will succeed, as I like to play one game or another decidedly; and, now that we are free, our military plans must be better arranged, and the two armies must be brought into such close connection that they may strike a blow at the same moment. I know not Castlereagh's plans, nor are they settled yet. He has been so invaluable here that I don't know how they will do without him, and yet he thinks he must go back for Parliament; but can he not come back here? The times are so eventful, England should be here on the spot. It will not do else. Think of this. He wants to send me off to Blucher. Castlereagh is now in high favour with the Emperor of Russia."-SIK CHARLES STEWART to EDWARD COOKE, Esq., Arcis, March 22, 1814; MS. |