- General Pacthod during the retreat to Paris.
Background:
The year is 1813, Napoleon having been defeated
in Russia had retreated to Germany and tried unsuccessfully to defend
the town of Leipzig. He then moved behind France's borders and tried to
defend her against the Prussian, Russian, Austrian, English, and Swedish
armies. Hopelessly outnumbered, and the enemy within 6 miles of Paris
Napoleon set out east to harrass the lines of communication of the allies.
In the meantime Napoleon left the defence of the capitol to two of his
Marshal's, Marmont and Mortier. With less then 20,000 men, most of them
just boys with little war experience, they were now facing odds of seven
to one. These two generals held there little army together while
fighting a retreating continual battle that lasted for days. Many
stories of heroic defenses showed just what sort of boys these Marshals
commanded. One such incident concern's two divisions of Marshal
MacDonald's corps, some 4,300 men.
Story:
Two divisions of MacDonald's corp were charged with
escorting a convoy of munitions and food from Chalons to Fere-Champenoise
under the command of general Pacthod. They had 16 guns (4 batteries) and
almost every man in the ranks was a teenage National Guard. On the morning
of March 25 the convoy was resting at the crossroads of Villeseneux when it
was attacked by masses of Russian cavalry. Pacthod formed his men into six
squares, a defensive formation that is used against cavalry attacks which
forms a wall of bayonets that makes it hard for cavalry to get through. The
wagons were put in the center of the squares and the four batteries of cannon
were placed in between each square. Then moving very slowly in this
unavoidably clumsy formation, the little army moved across country to
Fere-Champenoise expecting to join up with Marmont and Mortier.
Scenting plunder
the Russian cavalry moved in, blasting the
squares with horse artillery at close range, althought they inflicted many
casualties they would not break the formations and every attempt to do so
cost them casualties. Pacthod realizing that none would survive if they
were hampered by the wagons, gave the order to cut the traces and harness
the draft animals to the guns. Approaching a village, and still fighting
off four times their number, the French found the road blocked by artillery
and two regiments of dragoons (specialized cavalry). They cut their way
through and the retreat continued. They had now been engaged in close
combat for five hours, without a moments respite. Renewed cavalry attacks
were pressed on both flanks but the squares closed up and moved on, and as
the afternoon waned they came within sight of the hills above Fere-Champenoise.
Here were troops in formation and a glimpse of gilded staff officers,
standing together on high ground. Pacthod's conscripts supposed them
to be French and gave a rousing cheer. They were not French but the staff
of the Czar and the king of Prussia, who had just driven Mortier and Marmont
from the field.
Pacthod's six
squares, shrunken but still intact, were now
engulfed by the Allied Army. Artillery fire belched down on them and fresh
masses of cavalry charged out of the setting sun. Pacthod gave the order to
change direction and make for some adjacent marshes where the cavalry could
not follow them. A summons to surrender was rejected.
The boys had
now been under attack for ten hours and almost
every man in the division was wounded. An infantry battalion (usually 9
companies of about 120 men) was ordered up and 2,000 cavalry joined the
assault but still the squares did not dissolve. Only after another five
miles did one crumble away and then an additional 48 guns and fresh
regiments of enemy cavalry appeared from the direction in which Pacthod was
marching.
There was no
hope of reaching the safety of the marshes.
The French commander, feeling that he had no right to condemn the survivors
to death, stepped out of the ranks to answer another demand for surrender.
"I don't discuss terms under fire," he said. "Give the order to stop firing
and I will do the same." The firing died down and Pacthod yielded up his
sword. In an adjoining square surrender followed expenditure of the last
cartidge. A third refused to yield and the survivors reached the sanctuary
of the marshes as night fell on the scene of the heroic combat. Of the
original 4,300 more then 2,000 lay along the road to Villeseneux. Of the
1,500 who surrendered almost all were wounded, including the gallant Pacthod.
(To read more about this and other stories of the fall of Napoleon get your hands on a copy of "Imperial Sunset, The Fall of Napoleon, 1813-1814." by R.F. Delderfield.)
Back to the top.
- Baron de Marbot Takes Ratisbon in front of the eyes of Napoleon.
Background:
The year is 1809 and the
start of hostilities between France and Austria has begun. The battle of
Eckmühl began and lasted for a day with the Austrians defeated and
retreating in great disorder to the Danube, by Ratisbon. The Archduke
Charles made use of the night to enter Ratisbon with his baggage and the
greater part of his disordered army. Napoleon could not enter Vienna with-out first taking Ratisbon as it would leave his armies lines of communication
open to the Austrians. The Emperor charged Marshal Lannes with the duty
of taking the walls of Ratisbon. Baron de Marbot gives his account of the
scene before the assault on Ratisbon under the eyes of Napoleon!
Story:
".. Marshal Lannes brought
up Morand's division close to a promenade which goes round the town; and,
in order to shelter the troops from the enemies fire, he placed them in back
of a large stone store-house..Carts laden with ladders were brought to this
point. A house built up against the walls was reduced to rubble by artillery
fire to fill in the ditch to facilitate climbing the walls. The troops protected
behind the building waited until the house was reduced. Lannes gave notice
that all was ready for the assault towards Ratisbon, meanwhile the Emperor,
Napoleon was on the hill watching the operations. Lannes called for fifty
volunteers to go forward and plant the ladders. Many more than that number
came forward, and the number had to be reduced. The brave fellows set out
with admirable spirit; but they were hardly clear of the building when they
met the hail of bullets, and were laid low. A few only continued to descend
into the ditch, where the guns soon disabled them, and the remains of this
first column fell back streaming with blood, to the place where the division
was sheltered. Nevertheless, at the call of Lannes and Morand, fifty more
volunteers appeared, and, seizing the ladders, made for the ditch. No sooner,
however, did they show themselves than a still hotter fire nearly annihilated
them. Cooled by these two repulses, the troops made no response to the
marshal's third call for volunteers. ... Vainly, however, did the marshal
renew his appeal to the bravest of a brave division; vainly did he call upon
them to observe that the eyes of the Emperor, Napoleon, and all the Grand
Army were on them. A gloomy silence was the only reply, the men being
convinced that to pass beyond the wall of the building into the enemies fire
was certain death. At length, Lannes exclaiming, 'Well, I will let you see
that I was a grenadier before I was a marshal, and I am still one', seized
a ladder, lifted it, and would have carried it towards the breach. I ventured
to say, 'Monsieur le Marshal, you would not wish us to be disgraced, and that
we should be if you were to receive the slightest wound in carrying that ladder
to the ramparts as long as one of your aides-de-camp was left alive.' Then
in spite of his efforts, I dragged the end of the ladder from him, and put
it on my shoulder, while de Viry took the other end, and our comrades by
pairs took up the other ladders.
At the sight of a marshal
disputing with his aides-de-camp for the lead of the assault, a shout of
enthusiasm went up from the whole division. Officers and soldiers wished
to lead the column, and in their eagerness for this honour they pushed my
comrades and me about, trying to get hold of the ladders. If we had given
them up we should seem to have been playing a comedy to stimulate the troops.
The wine had been drawn, and we had to drink it, bitter as it might be.
Understanding this, the marshal let us have our way, thought fully expecting to
see the greater part of his staff exterminated as they marched at the head
of this perilous attack.
I made no demur
about taking the command of the little column. The matter was important
enough to warrant it, and no one contested my right. Behind the building I
organised the detachment, as the former two assaults failed due to the
soldiers massed together, giving the Austrians a large target. Instead I
settled that deViry and I, carrying the first ladder start off at a run;
that the second ladder should follow at twenty paces, and the rest in due
course; that when we reached the promenade the ladders should be placed
five feet apart to avoid confusion; that when we descended into the ditch
we should leave every second ladder against the wall towards the promenade
so that troops might follow without delay; that the others should be
carried and lifted to the breach, where we should place them only a foot
apart, both on account of the want of space and in order that we might reach
the top of the rampart close together and push back the besieged when they
tried to throw us down. At the word, de Viry and I darted out, crossed the
promenade at a run, and lowering our ladder, descended into the ditch. Our
comrades followed with fifty grenadiers. In vain did the cannon thunder,
the musketry rattle, grapeshot and bullets striking trees and walls. It is
very difficult to take aim at isolated individuals moving very fast and
twenty paces apart, and we got to the ditch without one man of our column being
wounded. The ladders were lifted and carried to the top of the breach,
and placing them against the parapet we ran up them to the rampart. I was
the first up the ladders, Labedoyere,was next up. We were in full view
of the Emperor and the whole army, who saluted us with a mighty cheer.
It was one of my finest days of my life. The rest joined us in a moment, by
this time the rest of Morand's division was coming towards the ditch at the
double.
More later........
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