Chapter 11 Volume 1 Chapter 7-1

Sharpening the Knife Since the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit, the emperors of France and Russia have shown extreme friendship and intimacy.However, both of them knew in their hearts that the long-standing conflict between France and Russia has not been eliminated, and the conflict between France and Russia is inevitable in the end.The contradiction between France and Russia was first manifested in the competition for Turkey.At Tilsit and Erfurt Napoleon had firmly promised Moldavia and Wallachia to the Tsar.But soon after, Napoleon changed his mind on the Turkish question. In 1811, a war broke out between Russia and Turkey, and Russia won consecutive battles. Turkey planned to seek peace from Russia and cede Moldavia and Wallachia.But at this moment, France sent a secret envoy to see Austrian Minister Metternich, urging Austria to send troops to Serbia, and said that France could not help Russia.After Turkey learned of the news, it immediately took a tough attitude towards Russia and canceled its plan to seek peace and cede territory.The Tsar was very annoyed by this behavior of France.In addition, the tsar tried to drive Turkey out of Europe and occupy Constantinople, but Napoleon firmly opposed it.He could not allow Alexander to cross the Balkan Mountains.One day, Napoleon pointed to Constantinople on the map of Turpan and said with great emotion: "Constantinople! Constantinople! Never give it to him! This is the world empire!"

France and Russia are also conflicted on the Polish issue.Although France agreed not to rebuild Poland in the Tilsit Peace Treaty, it formed the Grand Duchy of Warsaw from the Polish region it had seized from Prussia, and was also preparing to restore the old boundaries of the Kingdom of Poland, dividing Lithuania, Galicia and part of Ukraine Also incorporated.Russia panicked, fearing that Napoleon would take away the territories it had gained in the three partitions of Poland.Alexander once asked Napoleon in a threatening tone not to strengthen the strength of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and rebuild Poland. Napoleon flatly refused. rebuild to discredit itself."

Napoleon's delay in withdrawing troops from Prussia also caused great dissatisfaction with the Tsar.At this time, Tsarist Russia’s military power had reached into the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and Poland, and it had gained a foothold in the lower reaches of the Danube River. It was also preparing to extend its other foot across Central Europe and launch an offensive to establish its hegemony over Germany.Alexander strongly demanded that Napoleon withdraw his troops from Prussia according to the peace treaty, but Napoleon turned a deaf ear.He even annexed Oldenburg, despite Alexander's strong protests, and exiled the Grand Duke of Oldenburg, who was Alexander's brother-in-law.

Tsarist Russia's policy of blockade to the mainland also aroused Napoleon's anger.The Tsar once acquiesced in the smuggling of 600 British merchant ships into Russia loaded with British goods, and these British goods flowed from Russia into Germany, Austria, Poland and various parts of the European continent, making Napoleon's continental blockade useless. In January 1811, new tax rates were introduced in Russia.The new tax rate greatly increased the import duties on French goods exported to Russia.Napoleon was very angry at these actions of Russia. He talked about the war against Russia loudly for the first time. He said: "If he does not stop this action of Alexander, he will go further and further involuntarily next year. In this way If it goes on, war will happen, neither him nor me.” Napoleon believed that only by subduing Russia could the continental blockade succeed and Britain be put to death.

The intensifying conflicts soon pushed the two countries to the brink of war, and both sides are actively preparing for war.Especially after the failure of Napoleon's marriage with Russia, the pace of war preparations accelerated again.It is generally believed that the Franco-Austrian alliance has replaced the Franco-Russian alliance, and the shadow of a bloody war has risen on the horizon again. In February and March 1812, Napoleon signed treaties of alliance with Prussia and Austria respectively.The treaty stipulated that Austria must send 30,000 soldiers to help Napoleon fight, and Prussia must send 20,000 soldiers, and at the same time, it must hand over 20 million kilograms of rye, 40 million kilograms of wheat, more than 40,000 sheep, and 70 million beer for use by the army.By the end of the spring of 1812, the client states of Europe were largely obediently preparing for war against Russia.

At this time, there were still two countries in Europe that had not been bound by Napoleon, namely Sweden and Turkey.These two countries are close neighbors of Russia. Napoleon planned to unite with Sweden in the north, Turkey in the south, and attack Russia from the north and the south at the same time. Therefore, he was eager to form an alliance with them.At the same time, in order to deal with France, Russia also launched active diplomacy with these two countries.At that time, Crown Prince Bernadotte held real power in Sweden.Although Bernadotte was Napoleon's marshal, he was afraid that the alliance with France would be attacked by the British navy and affect maritime trade, so he delayed responding to Napoleon's request.At this time, Russia agreed to support Sweden's annexation of Norway, while France was unwilling to allow Sweden to annex Norway because Norway was a vassal state of its ally Denmark.For the benefit of his country, Bernadotte decided to form an alliance with Russia. On April 5, 1812, the two countries signed a treaty of alliance, and Russia thus relieved the threat from the north.France also wanted to win over Turkey, but after Russia defeated Turkey in early 1812, it took the initiative to make peace with it.Coupled with the obstruction of the United Kingdom to prevent Turkey from forming an alliance with France, as a result, Russia and Turkey reconciled.In this way, Russia avoided dividing its forces on the southern front.Although Napoleon was defeated by Alexander in the diplomacy of Sweden and Turkey, he did not lose heart.He has now assembled an army of 500,000, which is several times larger than the troops in previous wars. He believes that this army of 500,000 will definitely defeat the Russian enemy whom he has beaten several times.When someone persuaded Napoleon to give up this military adventure on the grounds of being away from France and the bad weather, he disagreed and said confidently: "In three years, I will become the master of the world."

On April 27, 1812, Russia asked Napoleon to withdraw his garrisons in Prussia and Silesia, but he flatly refused and began to concentrate various armies.The adventure begins.In this adventure, Napoleon became the ruler of all Europe, or collapsed, and he was once again desperate. At 6 o'clock in the morning on May 9, Napoleon and Queen Louisa left Paris and went straight to the front.At this time, his army has been divided into several routes through the German countries, advancing towards Poland, and gradually concentrating on the Vistula and Neman Rivers. On June 22, 1812, Napoleon arrived in Lithuania, where he signed an order to the Grand Army: "Soldiers, the Second Polish War has begun. The First Polish War ended in Friedland and Tilsit. .At Tilsit, Russia, which had sworn a perpetual alliance with France, and sworn to war with England, now broke her oath. When the eagle of France did not cross the Rhine again and left our allies at the mercy of Russia Russia did not give any explanations for her strange behavior. Russia is doomed, her fate must be over. Does she think that we have degenerated? Are we no longer soldiers on the field of Austerlitz? It gives us a choice: disgrace or war. Our choice will not arouse suspicion. So go forward, cross the Niemen River, and bring the war to Russian soil. For the French army, the second Polish war will be To be a glorious war, like the first Polish war. And our subsequent peace will earn its guarantee, and will put an end to fifty years of Russian self-important influence in European affairs."

In view of the large number of French soldiers, the long front, the wide theater of operations and the difficulty in supplies, Napoleon decided to adopt the policy of seeking stability quickly, that is, annihilating the main force of the Russian army in a short period of time, then consolidating the occupied areas, occupying Moscow in the next year, and finally peace between Russia and Prussia.The French army soon moved to the Niemen River. Just after dawn on June 23, Napoleon rode his horse to the Neman River for reconnaissance and chose a place to cross the river.In the evening, after reconnaissance, Napoleon hurried back to the camp.When passing through a wheat field, a hare suddenly sprang out from between his horse's hooves. The horse was frightened, and its hooves flew into the air, throwing Napoleon off the horse.Fortunately, the ground was soft, and he only suffered a slight injury to his hip.The uncertainty of the venture led many to become superstitious, and they regarded this accident as an ominous omen.Berthier suggested: "We'd better not cross the Niemen River. The fall just now is a bad omen." Napoleon was silent, and a rare serious and preoccupied expression appeared on his face.But before long, he joked about the fall he had just fallen.It could be seen that he was trying to dispel the uneasy look on people's faces.

On the night of June 24, Napoleon's army crossed the Niemen River.There was deathly silence on this side of the Niemen River, and there was no one on the vast expanse of land. What appeared in front of the French army was brown land, withered plants, and woods on the distant horizon.The sight in front of him made Napoleon feel a little uneasy. He worried that the Russian army would withdraw from the Lithuanian capital Vilna without a fight, abandoning all of Russian Poland, and thus luring the French army away from the rear base.At this time, none of the French spies sent back information, and the French army knew nothing about the enemy's movements, which made Napoleon feel even more heavy.

Soon, the spies sent back information, reporting on the deployment of the Russian army on the front line of the Neman River.At that time, there were three troops on the front line of the Neman River. One was the First Front Army, commanded by Barclay, with about 150,000 people, which was the main force fighting against France.Its right wing, commanded by General Wittgenstein, was stationed on the Baltic coast; the left wing, commanded by Dokhtulov, was deployed on the outskirts of Grodno.Headquarters are located in Vilna.The second army, commanded by Bagradian, had 50,000 troops and was deployed on the line of the Grodno-Muchavik River, with its headquarters in Volkowisk.The third is the 8,000 Cossack cavalry led by Platov, also deployed in the Grodno area.However, the Russian army assembled in Vilna withdrew to the Dresa camp as early as three days ago.What Napoleon was worried about finally happened. He ordered Udino and Ney to lead the army to pursue Barclay, and the other troops advanced quickly. On June 28, the French entered Vilna without firing a single shot.Here, Napoleon got another bad news: 10,000 army horses died on the march due to fatigue, lack of forage, and cold wind and rain at night.

Also due to hunger, cold and exhaustion, many young Guards soldiers also fell during the march.Napoleon began to realize the enormity of the expedition. Just when Napoleon was very worried that the Russian army did not have a decisive battle with him in Vilna, the tsar's aide military officer Balashov came to Vilna, and he brought Napoleon a letter from Alexander.In his letter, Alexander asked why France invaded Russia in peacetime. He also suggested that if Napoleon was willing to withdraw his army to the other side of the Neman River, the two countries could put aside their past differences, exchange views, and solve outstanding issues in the past.Napoleon's self-confidence was once again stimulated by this letter, and he said excitedly: "Arrogant and domineering Alexander wants to ask for peace. He is afraid. Our army's rapid advance has made the Russians panic and panic all day long. In less than a month, they will all kneel before me." In fact, it was only Alexander who asked for peace. Napoleon didn't know about the delaying tactics of playing tricks, and he didn't need to know. He had already made up his mind to completely destroy this enemy who was fighting against him.He said in front of everyone: "Alexander is laughing at me. Does he think that I have come to Vilna just to discuss business issues? The purpose of my coming here is to destroy this barbaric northern giant once and for all. My Swords drawn, they must go back to their icy homeland, so that for at least a quarter of a century they will no longer be able to interfere in the affairs of civilized Europe." At the same time, the Warsaw parliament sent a delegation to Vilna, on the one hand to arouse the Lithuanians to rise up against the Russian oppressors, and on the other hand to express their demands for restoration to Napoleon.Napoleon evasively agreed to them, but instead of annexing Lithuania to Poland, he set up a temporary administration in Lithuania.The enthusiasm of the Poles has been forced into a basin of cold water. On June 29, Napoleon received news that the Russian Bagration Second Front also withdrew from Volkovysk to Nikolayev.Napoleon immediately ordered Davout and other troops to pursue them. Napoleon lived in Vilna for 18 days. He waited anxiously for news from various legions every day. Every time he saw people from various legions, the first thing he said was: "How many prisoners have you captured?" The answer he got was always To his disappointment, the French army has not yet encountered the Russian army.One day, there was a roar in the distance. Napoleon thought that the French army and the Russian army had exchanged fire, and jumped up for joy.He pricked up his ears to listen carefully to where the cannon came from, but soon discovered that the roar just now was just thunder.Immediately afterwards, the sky became dark, and a rare torrential rain poured down from the sky. After a while, the surrounding area was covered with ocean, and the roads and fields were all submerged. Destroyed in an instant. The two Russian armies continued to retreat. Bagration had already retreated to Minsk, and Barclay also abandoned the Dresa camp and retreated to Wittsk. With the fierce pursuit of the French army, the speed of the Russian army's retreat was also accelerating. .Napoleon was determined to destroy the two Russian armies one by one before they could meet, and he urged his troops to speed up in order to catch up with the Russian army and fight to the death.He himself left Vilna on the night of July 16. On July 26, the French vanguard finally caught up with Barclay's rearguard, and the two armies fought fiercely in the outskirts of Ostrovno.The French army had to pay a considerable price to defeat this enemy force.The French continued to pursue.The next day, at Witsk, the French overtook the main Russian forces.Seeing the French army chasing after them, the Russian army immediately dispersed a large number of cavalry and charged towards the light infantry regiment of the French army's avant-garde like a tide.The French army hastily responded to the battle and retreated one after another.At this time, a light infantry company of the French army lined up along the creek, or arranged in bushes and houses, and fired fiercely at the Russian cavalry.On this day, the French army spent a tense march and fierce shelling, and Napoleon did not get off his horse for a day.He decided that the long-awaited general battle of the French army would be fought at dawn tomorrow.He was full of spring breeze, smiling proudly all the time.He compared the strength of the two sides and was full of confidence in victory.He predicted that the battle of Witersk tomorrow would be the new Battle of Austerlitz, which would force Alexander to sue for peace. On July 28, just after dawn, the French army suddenly found that the Russians on the opposite side were nowhere to be seen. The Russian army abandoned Witersk. Napoleon's disappointment could not be described in words.The French could find no one, not even a local peasant. After dawn, the French army had to send people to search for traces of the enemy from all directions like hunters.However, it is impossible to know which route the enemy retreated from, because there are a lot of traces of vehicles and horses on each road.The French army is like a ship that has lost its compass on the vast sea, without a target.Later, two peasants were caught with great difficulty, and they learned from their mouths that the main force of the Russian army had left this place as early as 4 days ago.Napoleon hesitated for more than an hour, and finally issued an order: "Maybe the Russians want to fight me in Smolensk. Bagration has not yet joined them. We must attack them quickly." At this time, the situation of the French army was very bad.The soldiers were exhausted by the heat and the arduous march, and the horses died in great numbers.All kinds of military supplies accumulated at huge expense in the past two years have been lost due to theft and loss.The food supply is seriously insufficient, and everyone is hungry.Murat's chief of staff, General Belial, had the courage to suggest to Napoleon: "Your Majesty, you should understand the truth of the facts. Our march is too far away, and the troops are exhausted to the extreme. In battle, when an officer When they give the order to charge, you will find that even the bravest boys are left behind because their horses can't run." Napoleon turned a deaf ear to these comments.In his view, these are sacrifices necessary to achieve his goals, and he is determined to do whatever it takes to achieve them. The two Russian armies of Barclay and Bagration rushed to Smolensk from different roads, and the French army finally failed to deal a decisive blow to the Russian army before the two Russian armies met. On August 4, two Russian armies joined forces at Smolensk. On August 12, Napoleon left Witsk, hoping to fight the enemy in Smolensk.He left only a very thin garrison and some sick and wounded at Witersk. On August 15, Napoleon's army approached Smolensk.On this day, both sides launched a fierce shelling.The French struggled to seize and hold the forward positions, as close as possible to the enemy city. In the early morning of the 16th, Napoleon ordered a general bombardment and attack on Smolensk. The battle lasted until 6 pm. The battle was extremely fierce. The Russian army guarding the city was very brave and tenacious. The suburbs of Smolensk failed to occupy the city center.In the evening Napoleon summoned Marshal Davout and ordered him to take Smolensk the next day anyway.He planned to use this battle to defeat the main force of the Russian army, then stay in Smolensk for the winter, rest his troops, and consolidate the rear in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus.At the same time, wait for reinforcements from Europe, and then attack Moscow or Petersburg next spring, and Russia and Prussia will make peace. On August 17, fierce fighting broke out again.Napoleon personally took 30 cannons to bombard a bridge leading to the city, and the Russians resisted heroically.As night fell, French artillery continued to pound the city.Suddenly, flames shot up into the sky in the city, and the sound of explosions shook the earth one after another.The fire became more and more fierce, and the whole sky was reflected red.It was not until late at night that the fire eased.At dawn, the French scouts came back and reported that after the Russian army blew up the arsenal and set fire to the city, they all evacuated Smolensk, and Smolensk was just an empty city. French troops marched into Smolensk.Parts of the city were still burning, the streets were littered with dead men and horses, and the groans and cries of thousands of wounded rang out.Napoleon and his entourage were slowly patrolling the streets of Smolensk. He frowned and said nothing.This time the enemy army slipped away under his nose again, and he was extremely annoyed.Right here, he gave up his plan to attack Moscow again in the coming year. He could not stop the war without success. He wanted to continue marching to Moscow and fight the Russian army there. The Russian army was constantly retreating, burning everything to rubble.Napoleon sent Murat, Ney, Davout and other troops to closely pursue Barclay who was retreating to Moscow. On August 19, during the pursuit, Ney found that the enemy had entered a position in Valudino, and he quickly reported the situation to Napoleon.Napoleon thought at first that this was nothing more than a small rearguard of the enemy, but the incessant reports finally convinced him that it was a powerful corps of the Russian army.Napoleon suddenly became energetic, and he immediately went to the battlefield and gave an order to General Junod and Marshal Berthier: advance, fight with the Russian army, and not let a single Russian escape. At this time, Marshal Ney had exchanged fire with the enemy on the position.Marshal Ney stormed the Russians with characteristic valor, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.As enemy reinforcements continued to arrive, Ney did not take the position until sunset.Napoleon climbed to the top of the hill and looked down at the entire battlefield. He once again ordered General Juno to move quickly, "As long as Juno arrives in time, none of the enemy troops will be able to escape." He shouted loudly. However, due to poor command of General Junod, the fighter was delayed, and the French army fell short.Barclay's troops were able to continue retreating east.Napoleon returned to Smolensk with resentment towards General Juno. He said bitterly: "Juno let the Russians go, and our victory was ruined by him." The Russian army retreated step by step, without panic or haste.The French army pursued along the road destroyed by the Russian army.Napoleon believed that the enemy was closely pursued and trapped, and it was impossible to escape every time. On the night of August 23, Napoleon led the Guards to leave Smolensk for Dologo Bush, because it was reported that the Russian army was resting in Dorogo Bush. But when Napoleon's army arrived, Barclay went to the east again, and even the battle with the Russian rearguard did not happen. The French army rode on their horses at 3 o'clock in the morning every day and could not rest until 10 o'clock in the evening.This huge army marched long distances away from the rear base, the transportation could not keep up, and the supplies of the troops were extremely scarce. The soldiers often ate their last meal without their next meal.Every time the Russian army withdrew from a city, it was burned, leaving nothing for the French army. On August 29, the French army chased near Vyazma and saw that the Cossack rear guard was setting fire to the city. Napoleon immediately commanded a force to put out the fire.This army entered the city, and despite the raging fire, first went to find food.Soldiers hurriedly stuffed the food they found into their satchels and lunch boxes. Hunger had made people's fear of fire take second place.Soon, the soldiers also found that every house had a storage room with rich items, so the soldiers began to rob, and no one could stop this behavior. However, this small amount of food for Vyazma's horses could not solve the fundamental problem, and there were dead horses lying everywhere on the road.The cavalry had lost their strength, their horses could hardly move, and any little battle would have cost the lives of many gallant cavalry.In the billowing smoke and dust at the end of the battle, some cavalry returned to the camp with their horses, while others simply abandoned their horses and ran back on foot. Some brave people began to report the real situation of the troops to Napoleon, trying to make the emperor understand that no matter whether he was fighting the main force of the enemy or marching into Moscow, the remaining human and material resources must be cherished.However, the current Napoleon is like a gambler who has lost money, always fantasizing that tomorrow he can regain what he lost today. Not only did he not stop the army, but he accelerated the marching speed of the army.Whenever the Russian army stopped for a while somewhere, he thought of a decisive battle, but every time he was disappointed. The Russian army continued to retreat at the Battle of Borodino.At this time, someone in Bagration's headquarters wrote a malicious letter to Petersburg, saying that the Minister of Defense Barclay had brought the "guest" directly to Moscow.The Russian court panicked and issued a series of questions to Barclay: Why didn't the battle of Smolensk go to the end?Why retreat?Why surrender Russia without resistance?The tsar and royal nobles were very dissatisfied with this retreat. They were afraid that if Napoleon won, he would not only continue and strengthen the continental blockade, but also eliminate serfdom in the places he occupied.So they removed Barclay as commander-in-chief and replaced him with Kutuzov.Although Alexander did not trust Kutuzov very much, there was no more suitable candidate now. Kutuzov was a general of considerable ability and foresight.He knew very well in his heart that Barclay's command to retreat was correct. It was impossible for the French army to fight for years in a hostile country thousands of kilometers away from the mainland. The lack of food and bad weather were enough to destroy Napoleon's army.Of course, Kutuzov also knew that the Russian rulers would never allow him to abandon Moscow without a fight.He was convinced that the battle was unnecessary, but he had to prepare against his will for a major battle near Moscow. Napoleon was overjoyed when he learned from a captured Cossack soldier that Kutuzov had taken over as the commander-in-chief of Russia. He said to the people around him: "Kutuzov will definitely fight to the death in order to please the dignitaries. In this way, the two In a week's time the Russian capital will fall and the army will be destroyed." On September 1, the French army arrived at Grzyatsk.At that time, there was thick smoke in the city. Napoleon commanded the army to fight the fire while observing around the city.He wants to gather troops here and prepare for a decisive battle. On September 2 and 3, Napoleon's army continued to reach Grzyatsk.Since the artillery's advance road was blocked by various vehicles, Napoleon ordered the artillery escort to burn all vehicles blocking the road.At this time, there happened to be several vehicles in which officials were traveling, blocking the advancing artillery, and Napoleon ordered them to be burned without hesitation.An officer came out and objected, "The wagon is on fire, and the officers may fall behind. By tomorrow morning, our legs will be dead." "If I don't have artillery tomorrow morning, it will cost us a lot more ’ replied Napoleon.Immediately afterwards, a carriage caught fire, and Napoleon said to Berthier: "I hope it is your carriage that is burned, so that the impact will be greater. And you should also lose a carriage, because I often Saw that car." "Your Majesty, if your car is burned, I will follow suit." Berthier replied.Napoleon immediately went on to say: "As long as I see my car, I will definitely burn it. Don't be angry with me, because I don't regret my own car more than other people's cars. I am the commander-in-chief. , I must set an example." On September 5, the French moved to the vicinity of Borodino, where it was reported that the Russians had entered position three days before.Borodino is 120 kilometers away from Moscow, guarding the main road leading to Moscow.The Russian army chose the section of the mountain where the village of Borodino is located, and built a multi-faceted fort there.Napoleon boarded a high ground, condescending, and surveyed the positions of the two armies.At this time, the French army had launched an attack on the Russian army's left flank, the Sevakinuo multi-faceted fort.Napoleon ordered the infantry to form a phalanx and stand firm.After dark, the Russian cuirassiers took advantage of the chaos at night to regain their position, not wanting to be shot fiercely by the French phalanx. The Russian cuirassiers were beaten up by artillery fire and muskets and had to retreat from their positions. Throughout the night, Napoleon was very restless, and from time to time he observed the enemy's position with his naked eyes. He was very worried that the capture of the Shevakino Fortress would cause the main Russian army to withdraw.Although Napoleon was eager to capture Moscow, he did not want to get it without a decisive battle. His goal was to destroy the Russian army. This Armageddon was his dream. On September 6, just after dawn, Napoleon inspected the forward positions again.At this moment, he seemed to be a little hesitant: should a large-scale movement be carried out on the right flank to outflank the enemy's position?Or use the captured multi-faceted fort to attack the main force of the enemy's central army?After much consideration, Napoleon decided to implement the second plan of attack, because he felt that the first plan might alarm Kutuzov, causing him to retreat. On this day, the two armies have not fought. Napoleon ordered the soldiers to rest fully and give them rich rations to prepare for the decisive battle tomorrow.But he himself did not get off his horse all day, and he has been monitoring the movement of the Russian army in the forward position. At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, he suddenly suspected that the Russian army was withdrawing quietly, so he couldn't wait to order a full-scale attack.However, the reconnaissance reports sent back from various places confirmed that the Russian army was still on the ground, and Napoleon was relieved. On September 7, the sun was rising and the sky was clear. Napoleon shouted excitedly: "This is the sun of Austerlitz." The soldiers' emotions were immediately mobilized.He then delivered a short, powerful, motivating speech in which he said: "Soldiers! This is the battle you've been waiting for. It's up to you to win it. You can win it. Victory will give You brought abundance and comfort to your winter quarters, and enabled you to return home triumphantly. Fight as you did in Austerlitz, Friedland, Wittschen, Smolensk! Let your posterity use Speak proudly of your bravery today. Let them say of you: He participated in that great battle before Moscow!" The great war has begun.At this moment, someone sent a portrait of the King of Rome to Napoleon, and Napoleon felt a kind of sweet tenderness welling up in his heart, and he repeated in a low voice: "My dear Louisa, how thoughtful you are! My child!" Napoleon's excitement cannot be expressed in words.However, the excitement that had just been revealed quickly calmed down, and even a trace of sadness appeared, and his eyes turned to the battlefield again. On the battlefield, artillery fire roared, gunshots were loud, and the intensity of the battle was higher than ever before.The 106th Standing Regiment of the French Army under the leadership of General Prosson rushed into the village of Borodino and drove away the Russian light cavalry there.Unexpectedly, the Russian light cavalry quickly organized another counterattack, and General Prosson and his subordinates were all killed on the battlefield.Fortunately, the French reinforcements arrived in time and were able to occupy the village of Borodino.At this time, Davout, Ney and other legions launched a fierce attack on Bagration's Obtuse Fort from the center.The Russian army resisted tenaciously with a one-to-two inferior force, and repelled several French attacks in a row. General Compan's division in Davout's corps was almost completely wiped out by enemy artillery fire, and Marshal Davout himself was seriously injured.Marshal Ney led three divisions bravely into the Russian Fort Obtuse, but was soon driven out by the Russians.Unwilling to give up, Ney launched another attack on Fort Obtuse, but made no progress. At 12 noon, Napoleon readjusted his deployment. He concentrated 45,000 men and 400 cannons to attack Bagration's Obtuse Fort. Diffuse, the earth shakes and the mountains shake.The shelling from both sides continued for several hours, and the French army gained and lost the position seven times.Just as the French army braved the rain of bullets for the eighth charge, Bagration was hit by a French artillery shell, causing fatal injuries, and was carried out of the battlefield. Without a leader, the Russian army began to retreat. The French army was unable to pursue the retreating Russian army, almost all the troops lost their commanders, division commanders were either killed or wounded, and the combat effectiveness of cavalry and infantry regiments was greatly reduced.In order to completely defeat the Russian army, Murat and Ney proposed to Napoleon to use the reserves and guards, but Napoleon refused.Napoleon knew very well in his heart that fighting in an unfamiliar big country 3,000 kilometers away from France, he could not use up all the last elite troops, otherwise it would be difficult to cope with future events. As night fell, both sides were exhausted, and many places ceased fire automatically without receiving orders.The Russian army calmly withdrew from its position.Napoleon ordered the gunners to continue firing on the retreating Russian army. A large number of soldiers fell under the artillery fire, but none of them surrendered.Napoleon was very angry. He said to Berthier several times: "These Russians would rather die like robots than live as prisoners. This is extremely detrimental to our army. These fortresses will be razed to the ground by artillery fire." .” A day of fierce fighting finally came to an end.At night, Napoleon was reported that 47 of his generals were killed or wounded, and 30,000 soldiers lost their precious lives.Early the next morning, Napoleon began to patrol the entire battlefield.The weather was extremely bad that day, with incessant rain and strong wind. Napoleon looked at the pile of corpses of men and horses, silent, and his face looked gloomy and terrible.Some wounded who were still breathing tried to get up from the ground, trying to attract people's attention so that others could come to rescue them.Napoleon was furious when he heard the cries of the wounded, and loudly accused those in charge of evacuating the wounded for their delay.After the inspection, Napoleon silently turned his horse's head and left the battlefield.That night, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a long time.Although the Russian army also suffered heavy casualties in this battle, 22 senior officers and more than 40,000 soldiers were killed or injured, but Napoleon clearly realized that the French army failed to deal an annihilating blow to the main force of the Russian army. far from done.Afterwards, he once sighed and said: "In the Battle of Borodino, the French army showed the greatest courage, but won the smallest victory." The Great Fire of Moscow On September 9, Napoleon entered Mozhiesc.Here, he gave the army a little rest before moving on. On September 14, on a sunny morning, Napoleon and his entourage climbed to the top of a mountain called Mount Sbarro.They were immediately struck by the beauty in front of them: a huge city glistening in the sunlight.That was the Moscow that Napoleon had long desired to occupy.Since the battle, Napoleon has always been silent, and it is rare to say a few words with his staff around him, but at this moment Moscow is in front of him, and the goal of forcing Alexander to conclude a peace treaty is about to be achieved, and Napoleon's anxiety is swept away. In the light, the terrible scene of Borodino was also overshadowed by the beautiful scenery and good prospects in front of him.拿破仑信心百倍地说：“和平就在莫斯科。一旦我军胜利地进占他们的首都，就会迫使我的兄弟亚历山大看清形势，同时也逼迫俄国的大贵族们正视现实。他们将会重新考虑是否要把战争拖延下去。倘若我解放俄国的农奴们，那将使俄国的巨大财富遭到毁灭！” 这时，走在大军最前列的缪拉派人送来一个消息：敌人正在撤出莫斯科，俄军要求在他们穿过莫斯科城时停止敌对行动。拿破仑同意了敌人的要求，同时命令缪拉紧紧跟踪俄军，迫使俄军尽可能地远离莫斯科。他还要缪拉尽快召集城中的名流，组成一个代表团，他将在城门口接见他们。他又指示迪罗斯内尔将军充当莫斯科城的总督，让他挑选足够的宪兵随他进城，在城中建立秩序，占领公共建筑，并特别强调要警卫好克里姆林宫。现在，拿破仑的心情好极了，他似乎已看到了代表团手捧莫斯科的钥匙、对他俯首贴耳的样子，如同在柏林和维也纳所发生的那样。 ９月１５日６时，拿破仑到达护城河的栅栏边，在那下马等候代表团的到来。两个小时过去了，代表团毫无踪影。拿破仑越等越不耐烦，几乎每隔一分钟就派出一名军官前去接代表团或社会名流。就在拿破仑焦急万分之时，缪拉和迪罗斯内尔将军送来了报告：莫斯科城内一位社会名流也没有，甚至连一个长期住户也找不到。大街上除了几个社会下层的人之外，几乎是阒寂无人。这一消息犹如晴空霹雳，深深地震惊了拿破仑，他那平时显得十分冷淡的脸上立刻浮现出痛苦和失望的表情。手捧莫斯科钥匙的代表团不可能出现了，亚历山大主动求和更是毫无指望，拿破仑又一次陷入了严肃的思考之中。 中午，拿破仑前往克里姆林宫。被遗弃的城市笼罩着沉闷静谧的气氛，长长的街道上阒无一人。法军已在城市周围进入了阵地。下午３点钟，拿破仑跨上战马，对克里姆林宫和教养院做了一番视察，然后又巡视了该城的两座主要大桥，最后回到了克里姆林宫，住在沙皇亚历山大的房间里。 晚上８点，城郊突然窜起火舌，法军费尽艰辛才将大火起灭。可这并没引起法军的重视，他们以为这只不过是由于部队点燃篝火不慎而引起的。晚上１０点，有人报告离克里姆林宫最远的一个街区发生了火灾，在强劲的北风吹动中，熊熊火焰正在向市中心蔓延，而且火势越来越猛。法军立即处于戒备状态，有几个正在往易燃物上点火的俄国警察和农民被当场捉住了，他们供认是受莫斯科市长罗斯托普钦之命，要在一夜之间烧毁全城。烈焰继续从一个街区向另一个街区扩展，而法军对此似乎毫无办法，因为敌人在撤走前把一切灭火器材都带走了。 ９月１６日，稍稍偏西的北风掀起了更为可怕的火浪，克里姆林宫的房屋已经燃烧起来。人们拿着扫帚和铁桶奋力扑打着从天而降的火星，用水浇湿房顶的横梁，拿破仑也亲自参加了救火战斗。在皇帝的鼓舞下，近卫军的炮兵和步兵个个奋勇争先，不惜冒着生命危险，与熊熊烈火顽强的搏斗着。 ９月１７日，持续了一天一夜的烈火延伸到更广阔的地区，法军进驻的北区和西区已大部分地燃烧起来。西北风继续刮着，火势有增无减，豪华的剧场和大型建筑物都笼罩在浓烟之中，人们不知道这场大火要烧到什么时候，因为人们已无法控制它和征服它。火焰开始越过了克里姆林宫的城墙。面对狂暴的火海，拿破仑面色苍白。经过长时间的沉默后，他不禁感叹道：“多么可怕的景象！这是他们自己放的火……多么大的决心！怎样的人啊！这是野蛮人！” 大火烧进了克里姆林宫，拿破仑不得不下决心把统帅部搬迁到城外的彼得罗夫宫。当他和随从人员离开克里姆林宫时，宫殿外侧的门已烧掉一半，火星不断地落在他们身上，浓烟几乎使他们窒息。拿破仑的灰色礼服多处烧糊，头发也烧焦了许多，但他已顾不上这些了，他带领着一行人，勇敢地穿过烈火、灰烬、废墟，于夜幕降临时到达彼得罗夫宫。 ９月１８日，城中的烈火仍以新的势头猛烧。黄昏时分，风停了，下了一场雨，火势开始减弱。其后，各处的小火又持续了几天。 大火过后，拿破仑重返克里姆林宫。莫斯科城的四分之三被烧毁，６０００多幢房屋化为灰烬，莫斯科市长罗斯托普钦的住宅也被烧成焦土。在大火之前，罗斯托普钦在通往他的住宅的一个指路牌上贴出布告，布告上写着：“８年来，我建设了这块土地。在这儿，我同全家人一块过着幸福的生活。在你们到来的时候，我公寓里总数为１７２０位的房客正在离开这里。对我来说，我宁愿烧掉自己的房屋也不愿让它受到你们的玷污。法国人！在莫斯科，我放弃了两幢公寓，连同家具，价值共计５０万卢布，但你们所看到的只能是灰烬。"当时，拿破仑并没把这张布告当回事，认为这只不过是市长的危言耸听罢了，他甚至把这张布告当成挖苦市长先生的笑料。现在回想起来，令人不寒而栗。莫斯科大火让他了解到俄国人民在同法国人的斗争中下了何等大的决心。 法国军队的情况越来越糟。为了获取粮食和军需品，各种暴行和犯罪不断发生。未被大火烧毁的商店、酒窖被强行打开；未撤走的莫斯科居民遭到虐待；没有进城的部队甚至派出自己的小分队进城抢劫，纪律对他们已毫无约束力。尽管拿破仑多次严明军纪，可无济于事。面对眼前的一切，拿破仑的脾气变得更加暴躁，经常对周围的人大发雷霆，可有时又在几个钟头里保持死寂般的沉默。人们看得出此时的拿破仑忧虑重重，举岂不定。 拿破仑认为现在的最好出路是与亚历山大缔结和约，然后带着自己的军队体面地撤出俄国，而不是在莫斯科度过即将来临的严寒冬天。可是，亚历山大那边毫无音信，拿破仑为此整日坐立不安，他开始想方设法要把自己热爱和平的愿望通知沙皇。