Chapter 34 Chapter Thirty-Four

Napoleon's generals, Daou, Ney, and Murat, were all close to the line of fire, sometimes even in person, and several times they led large and well-organized troops to the line of fire.However, contrary to the usual situation in previous battles, not only did there not be the expected news of the enemy fleeing, but a large number of well-organized troops fled back from the line of fire, routed and in a state of embarrassment.The army was reorganized, but its numbers were dwindling.At noon Murat sent his adjutant to Napoleon to ask for reinforcements. Napoleon was sitting on a mound drinking punch when Murat's adjutant rode up and assured him that if His Majesty gave him another division, the Russians would be crushed.

"Reinforcement?" said Napoleon with a stern, amazed expression, looking at the handsome young adjutant with long black curly hair (combed like Murat's), as if he did not understand him, " Reinforcements!" thought Napoleon. "They have half of the army in their hands, and they are going to attack the weak and undefended small wing of the Russians. How can they need reinforcements!" "Ditesauroide Naples, qu'iln'est pasmidietque jenevoispasencoreclairsurmonechiquier, Allez..." Napoleon said gravely. -------- ①French: Tell the King of Naples that the sky is not yet noon, and I haven't seen the chess game clearly.go...

The handsome young adjutant with long hair didn't take his hands off the brim of his hat, sighed deeply, and ran back to the slaughterhouse. Napoleon got up, called for Colincourt and Berthier, and talked with them about things that had nothing to do with the battle. In the midst of the conversation which had begun to interest Napoleon, Berthier's eyes turned to a general who was galloping up to the mound on a sweaty horse with his entourage.This is Belial.He dismounted, walked quickly to the Emperor, and boldly shouted the need for reinforcements.He swore that as long as the emperor gave him another division, the Russians would be finished.

Napoleon shrugged his shoulders, continued his walk without answering anything.Belial talked loudly and enthusiastically to the generals who surrounded the emperor. "You are too impatient, Belial." Napoleon went up to the general who had just arrived and said, "In the heat of battle, it is easy to make mistakes. Go and see again, and then come to see me." Before Belial was out of everyone's sight, another messenger came running on horseback from the other side of the battlefield. "Ehbien, qu'estcequ'ilya?' said Napoleon, in the tone of a man who is always annoyed by interruptions.

"Sire, leprince..." ② the adjutant began. "Reinforcement?" said Napoleon sullenly.The adjutant bowed his head in the affirmative, and began to report; but the emperor turned away from him, took two steps, stopped, came back, and called Berthier. "The reserves must be sent," he said, spreading his arms a little. "Who do you think they should send?" he asked Berthier, whom he later called oisonquej'aifaitaigle. -------- ①French: Oh, what's the matter? ②French: Your Majesty, Duke... ③French: Gosling, I turned him into an eagle's gosling.

"Your Majesty, send the Laparede division?" said Berthier, who knew all divisions, regiments, and battalions like the back of his hand. Napoleon nodded in agreement. The adjutant ran to Klaparede's division.A few minutes later, the Young Guard behind the mound moved into action.Napoleon silently looked in that direction. "No," he said suddenly to Berthier, "I cannot send Klaparede. Send the division of Frian," he said. Although there was no advantage in substituting Frion's division for Klaparede's, and there was obvious inadequacy and delay in retaining Klaparede's division in favor of Fryon at this time, the order was strictly carried out.Napoleon did not see that he was playing the role of a doctor who endangered his patients with medicines in dealing with his army-although he had a very correct understanding and criticism of this role.

Frion's division, like the others, sank in the smoke of the field.The adjutants kept coming from all directions, and they all said the same thing as if they had agreed.They all called for reinforcements, and they said the Russians held their ground, and that unfeud'en Bfer ① the French army was dwindling under artillery fire. Napoleon sank into a camp chair and fell into thought. Mr. Debosser, who hadn't eaten since morning and liked to travel, walked up to the Emperor and boldly invited His Majesty to have breakfast. "I hope now is the time to congratulate Your Majesty on victory," he said.

Napoleon said nothing, but shook his head negatively.Mr. Debosser thought he was denying victory, not breakfast, so he boldly said with a smile and respect: When you can have breakfast, nothing in the world can hinder it. "Allezvous..." Napoleon said suddenly sullenly, and turned his face away.With a happy smile of regret, regret, and joy on his face, Mr. Debosser walked to the other generals with steady steps. Napoleon was depressed, like a gambler who is always lucky, who makes wild bets and always wins, but suddenly, when he has calculated all the possibilities of the game carefully, he feels that the way he has considered is more thorough. , the greater the possibility of losing.

The army is still the same, the general is the same, the preparations, the dispositions, the proclamation courteetenergique ③ and Napoleon himself are the same, he knows all this, and he also knows that he is now much more experienced and seasoned than before, And the enemy was still the same as at Austerlitz and Friedland; but, with a frightful wave of the arm, the blow was magically impotent. -------- ① French: Terrible artillery fire. ②French: Go away... ③French: short and powerful notice. Still the same old sure-fire methods: a concentrated bombardment of artillery fire, a charge of the reserves to break through the lines, followed by a cavalry charge of the deshommesdefer—all these methods were tried, but not only without success, but everywhere the same news came. : The generals suffered casualties and had to be reinforced, unable to repel the Russians, and their own army fell into chaos.

Before, it only took two or three orders, two or three words, and the marshals and adjutants would come running with congratulatory smiles to report the spoils: squads of prisoners, desfaisceauxdedrapeauxetd'aiglesennemis2 cannon and baggage—Murat only asked Let his cavalry pack the baggage carts.This is the case at Zidi, Marengo, Arcola, Jena, Austerlitz, Wagram, and so on.Now something odd happened to his army. -------- ① French: Iron Army. ②French: bundles of enemy flags and national flags. ③ These are some famous wars launched by Napoleon.Lodi and Marengo were in Italy, where Napoleon defeated the Austrians in 1800.Arcola was the Italian village where in 1796 he defeated an outnumbered Austrian army.In 1806 Napoleon defeated the Prussians and Saxons at Jena.Wagram is a village near Vienna where he defeated the Austrians in 1809.

Although some salient forts were captured, Napoleon saw that this was different from all his previous campaigns, completely different.He saw that what he felt, the combat-experienced men around him felt as well.All faces are worried, all eyes are avoiding each other.Debosser alone did not understand the gravity of what had happened.Napoleon, who has long-term combat experience, knows very well what it means to attack for eight hours in a row and fail to win the battle with all his efforts.He knew that this battle could be said to have been lost, and the battle situation in front of him was at a critical moment, and even the smallest accident could destroy him and his army. He silently recalled this strange expedition against Russia, which had not won a single battle, not a single banner, not a single cannon, not a single army had been captured or captured for two months.He saw the deeply melancholy faces of the people around him, and heard the report that the Russians were still holding their ground—and a terrible feeling, like a nightmare, seized his heart.He thought suddenly of those unfortunate chances that might have ruined him.The Russians might attack his left flank, they might break through the center, and he himself might be killed by stray bullets.All this is possible.In every battle before, he only considered the possibility of success, but now there are countless unfortunate possibilities in front of him, all of which are waiting for him.Yes, it was like a dream. A man dreamed that a mob attacked him, and he threw up his arm and gave the mob a terrible blow. He knew that this blow would kill him, but he felt that his arm was limp, like Hanging limply like a rag, a terror of inevitability threatened the helpless man. The news that the Russians were attacking the French left flank aroused such fear in Napoleon.Sitting silently on a camp chair under the mound, with his head bowed and his elbows on his knees, Berthier approached him and suggested that he go to inspect the front line and get a better idea of ​​the actual situation. "What? What did you say?" asked Napoleon. "Okay, order the horses to be ready." He rode to Semyonovskoe. The gunpowder smoke pervading the entire battlefield slowly dissipated. Where Napoleon walked, horses and men, some alone and some in piles, lay in a pool of blood.Never before had Napoleon or any of his generals seen such a horrible sight, so many dead in such a small area.Ten hours of constant, exhausting cannon blasting added a special flavor to the scene (like music with moving pictures).Napoleon boarded the Semyonovskoye Heights, and through the smoke, he saw groups of people in uniforms of strange colors, they were Russians. Behind Semyonovskoe and the mounds stood the dense formations of the Russian troops, their artillery bombarding them constantly.Their lines were clouded with smoke, and there was no fighting, only continuous massacres, massacres that did not benefit either the Russians or the French.Napoleon reined in his horse, and fell back into the same contemplation which had just been awakened by Berthier; he could not prevent what was happening before and around him, what was supposed to be his leadership and his decision.For the first time, for reasons of failure, he felt that the incident was unnecessary and terrible. A general approached Napoleon and suggested to him that the Old Guard should be thrown into battle.Ney and Berthier, standing beside Napoleon, exchanged glances and smiled at the general's meaningless suggestion. Napoleon bowed his head and was silent for a long time. "Ahuitcentlieux de Francejeneferaipasdemolirmagarde," he said, and reining in his horse, he rode back to Shevardino. -------- ①French: I cannot send my guards to their deaths three thousand two hundred versts away from France.