Memoirs of General Count Rapp, First aide-de-camp to Napoleon

Disease was making war on us for the benefit of the Russians, while they themselves disturbed us but very little. The expedition of Borgfeld had cooled their courage; they made intrenchments, they fortified themselves, they were only engaged in defensive measures. Nevertheless, as it was absolutely necessary to give some signs of life, they every now and then endeavoured to surprise my advanced posts. Annoyed by these insignificant attacks, I wished in return to break their slumbers as they were breaking ours. They had above Brentau a signal which furnished me with the means. Our business was to burn it: I intrusted the management of it to two officers, whose intelligence and courage I had experienced. They were the chiefs of battalion Zsembeck and Potocki. On a dark night they went forth from Langfuhr, and marched for a long time without being perceived: discharges of musquetry at length apprised them that they were discovered; they immediately rushed on and overthrew the enemy. Potocki advanced towards Brentau, and dispersed a numerous body of infantry which opposed his passage. Forty men threw themselves into a kind of block-house: a voltigeur followed them, and summoned them to surrender; he was killed. The Poles, quite furious, immediately inundated the redoubt, and exterminated all the Russians that it contained.

Whilst these things were going on in the village, Zsembeck made himself master of the signal. He set fire to it, and immediately descended into the plain, overthrew and cut to pieces the detachments which he found in his way, and pushed on as far as the walls of Oliwa, where he threw some shells. At the same time the brave Devillain, quarter-master to the eighth, swept, with a dozen hussars, all that part of our advanced posts. He charged with so much boldness that the Cossacks were terrified and broken. Success encouraged him; he extended himself to the right, reconnoitred, searched the wood, and did not join our troops till the moment they were retiring.

Meanwhile all the signals were on fire. The Russian army ran to arms, and expected every moment to see itself attacked; it passed in this state the rest of the night and the whole of the next day. We repaid them in a mass the alarms which they had given us in detail.

The political horizon became every day more cloudy. Prussia had thrown aside the mask; she made war against us by insurrection. This event could not be hidden from the soldiers, the Russians had too great an interest in informing them of it. I consequently threw no obstacle in the way of its being made known. Immediately attempts to seduce the soldiers again began to be resorted to. The enemy thought that the confidence and attachment of our troops were shaken. The disproportion between the means of attack and defence, money, promises, every thing was brought into play to engage them to desert. A bounty was offered as a recompense for shame: I was justified in offering one as a reward for fidelity. I promised a reward of 200 francs to any one who should deliver up a man convicted of seducing our soldiers. This measure had its effect. Most of the emissaries that the besiegers had in the place were pointed out to me. According to our laws they had incurred the pain of death; but men in general are less wicked than unfortunate. Nearly all of them were fathers of families who had yielded to necessity. I delivered them up to the derision of the soldiers; I ordered their heads to be shaved, and dismissed them. This device kept them at home; I was freed from them without having recourse to executions.

The garrison appeared very little disturbed by the increase which it had learned the enemy had received. Nevertheless I wished it to judge of itself what it was still capable of. It was near Easter. The weather was mild, the sky clear. I appointed a review; it took place in the face of the army which was besieging us. At daybreak the inhabitants, the sick even, occupied the heights of Langfuhr; they spread themselves on the glacis and avenues, and crowned all the ascents from the plain which separates Stries from Oliwa. The troops were not long before they appeared. Seven thousand men, followed by a numerous artillery, all in magnificent condition, successively ranged themselves in order of battle. They manœuvred, they defiled, with unparalleled precision. The Russians, astonished at so much boldness, did not venture to trouble us: they, also ranged in order of battle, were spectators of our movements, without throwing any obstacle in the way. It would have been, however, a fine opportunity for them; not a piece was loaded; I had particularly prohibited the use of cartridge. The bayonet alone was to punish them, if they were rash enough to give the slightest insult. This measure was, perhaps, rather a bold one, but it was necessary to exalt the courage of the soldier, and to convince him of the contempt that the boasting of foreigners deserved.

CHAPTER XL

After parading, the question was how we should subsist; this was much less easy. The enemy had rifled all the villages, and had left neither forage nor cattle; no more resources were to be had, unless we sought them at the distance of several leagues. I had gained experience at Borgfeld, and I acted accordingly. I had obtained exact information on the facilities and the obstacles which an expedition into the Nerhung presented; I knew the number, the position of the troops, and their complete security. I made my arrangements. Twelve hundred chosen men, three hundred and fifty horse, a company of light artillery with eight pieces of cannon, commanded by General Bachelu, advanced towards Heubude. The enemy, driven in, endeavoured in vain to defend Bonhsack. Bachelu does not give him time to recollect himself, charges him, routs him, and drives him back in confusion as far as Woldern. The enemy's principal forces occupy this village. Near five thousand men receive him and support him; but, always carried forward by the same impetuosity, our troops come up running, and prevent him from deploying. They presently commence the attack: a part of them spread as sharpshooters, over the downs and the plain, the rest remain in line and commence a destructive fire. Our artillery, our cavalry, come up, and complete the defeat: it was so prompt and so decided, that the artillery did not attempt to fire a single round; it escaped with all speed from the field of battle. A column of Lithuanians ventured to stem the torrent. Colonel Farine rushed on it with his dragoons, and compelled it to lay down its arms. The reserve was still untouched. The brave Redou marches towards them; he watches them, seizes the moment when they are retiring, charges them, and takes them prisoners: at the same time Captain Neumann goes in pursuit of the fugitives, flies from left to right, scatters confusion in all directions, and with a handful of soldiers gathers up some hundreds of the Allied troops, whom he obliges to surrender. This advantage cost him two wounds. The sub-lieutenant Schneider was still more hurt, and alone received twelve lance-wounds.

I had myself followed the movement of General Bachelu: I advanced as far as Woldern; but the Russians were flying in such disorder, that it appeared to me useless to follow them any farther. The troops that had defeated them, were quite sufficient to pursue them. As soon as I learnt that they had driven them back more than twelve leagues, I stopped their march. They fixed their quarters, and employed themselves in taking away the forage and cattle that we found in the places that we had got possession of.

The reserve that I had with me was useless, owing to the promptitude and dexterity with which General Bachelu had conducted this expedition. I ordered it to cross the Vistula. It landed in front of the fortress of Lacosta, and marched towards the dyke, which the enemy still occupied. At the same time the gun-boats came up the river and commenced the attack. The Russians soon gave way, and dispersed. We extended ourselves without any obstacle over the whole extent of the Werder.

We remained four days in these different positions. General Bachelu, on the right bank of the river, rifled that part of Nerhung that he had taken; whilst with the aid of our boats we drew, from the left side, all the resources that we could get. Five hundred head of horned cattle, four hundred head of sheep, twelve hundred quintals of hay, eight hundred of straw, and two thousand three hundred decalitres of oats, were the result of this expedition. The enemy tried to intercept our convoys; but the sang-froid and dexterity of Lieutenant Hoékinski and of the Commissary Belisal, triumphed over all obstacles. The attacks of the Russians even turned to our advantage, and brought us a hundred head of oxen, which the intrepid Brelinski took from them after having defeated them. The army employed in the siege did not attempt to disturb us. Immoveable in its lines, it only appeared occupied with the demonstrations our troops were making on the side of Langfuhr, and Newschottland. Its uneasiness was so great, that the noise of a heavy shower of rain was mistaken for our advance;—it thought itself attacked, set on fire its signals on the left, and spread alarm as far as Pitzendorf.

We had revictualled our hospitals; but our own situation was not changed. Two ounces of horse-flesh, and one ounce of salt beef, still formed our daily ration. As soon as I was out of one difficulty I fell into another. I had procured some provisions, but the military chest was exhausted; it had not been able to meet the expense of paying for the provisions we had carried off. I was obliged to issue bills payable on the raising of the blockade. Nevertheless it was necessary to secure the pay of the soldiers, to cover the expenses of the artillery, and the engineer department; without which the place would fall of itself. To what expedient, what means to have recourse in this extremity? There was but one. I was unwilling to adopt it; but every thing gave way to necessity: I demanded a loan of 3,000,000 from the inhabitants.

The inhabitants of Dantzic were indignant at this measure. They complained, murmured, and threatened some commotion. The enemy became more pressing. The fleet, the land forces, all assumed a more hostile attitude. It was at this conjuncture that Baron Servien, condemned to death for decoying soldiers, accused the senator Piegeleau, of being at the head of a conspiracy formed in the interest of Russia. The reputation of this magistrate was untarnished, but the charges were so detailed, so precise, and the consequences of imprudent security so serious, that I ordered him to be arrested. His innocence was soon established. I had for a short time doubted the honesty of this respectable man: it was my duty to make him an acknowledgment. I made it in the way which appeared to me best fitted to calm the impression of this unpleasant adventure. The citizens had remained quiet, and the frequent skirmishes, which had appeared to me suspicious, were owing to the increase of troops which had arrived before the fortress.

The Duke of Wurtemburg had just taken the command of it. More enterprising, more restless, than General Levis, he did not allow my advanced posts breathing-time; if he failed in one point, he tried another. Driven back at Langfuhr, put to flight at Zigangenberg, he threw himself on Ohra. As badly received in that position as in the former ones, he did not the less return to the charge; he attacked at one time Stolzenberg, Schidlitz, and the post of the barrier: defeated at all these points, he tried again, and again was defeated. No check discouraged him; he tried a last effort; he rushed during the night on my troops, who were refreshing themselves after their fatigues, and took some houses, which he set fire to; but at the sight of the two battalions which ran to arms, he was alarmed, and retreated.

The patroles and sentinels were continually engaged. These combats, in which individual courage is put most to the test, were all to our advantage. The Cossacks did not shine at all in them. Three of them combined for the purpose of overpowering a dragoon of the 12th, called Drumes: this brave fellow waits for them with firmness; knocked down by a blow from a lance, he rises, seizes the end of the weapon, draws his adversary to him, and lays him dead on the spot. Héquet, another dragoon of the same regiment, resisted four of these barbarians: although wounded, he knocked down one, killed another, and put the rest to flight. I could cite a thousand traits of the same kind.

These continual attacks harassed my soldiers. I could not suffer them to be insulted by the Cossacks. We took arms: General Granjean commanded the right, General Devilliers the centre, and the left was under the direction of Count Heudelet. The unexpected appearance of our columns froze the enemy with dread. Their horses were grazing freely on the plain, their infantry was at rest in the camps: they did not expect this attack. At the moment we were beginning to move, I received the authentic news of the immortal victories of Lutzen and Bautzen: I communicated it, I proclaimed it, I spread it abroad. Joy, intoxication, enthusiasm, are at their height; all these sentiments are shewn at once; our troops are impatient for the fight they burn to conquer. From left to right the cry of "Forward!" is re-echoed. The signal is given. Immediately the artillery is unmasked: the troops approach the enemy, the combat begins, the ground is covered with heaps of dead. Captain Preutin pours his fire upon the enemy, and forces them to evacuate Schœnfeld. The Polish horse-artillery comes up at a gallop, places itself within half gun-shot distance, and overthrows every thing in its way. Major Bellancourt and the chief of battalion Duprat press on and bear down the fugitives: they disperse them as often as they rally. Defeated at the centre, the enemy throws himself on our left, and threatens Ohra. Major Schneider opposes a stout resistance. This excellent officer defends himself at one point, while he attacks at another, and makes up by his courage for the insufficiency of the means at his disposal. Generals Brissau and Husson run to his assistance. The Russians, overpowered, cannot stem the torrent; they are put to flight, and do not stop till they reach the heights behind Wonneburg. They soon change their plan, and rush on our right wing, which receives them with admirable firmness. Colonel d'Engloffstein, Major Horadam, Lieutenant-colonel Hope, emulate one another in exertions. Sergeants Vigneux and Auger also set an example of courage. I rush to the midst of this bloody contest: I order the Poles of the 10th to advance, with five pieces of cannon which were in reserve. The combat grows warmer, and becomes more and more terrible. The Russians at last give way, and escape in confusion from the camp of Pitzkendorf. I did not think it right to pursue them: sufficient for the day are the evils thereof. They had about 1800 men put hors de combat. I caused the firing to cease. On our side we reckoned four hundred killed or wounded.

The Allies, conquered in two consecutive battles, had solicited an armistice. The war had been carried back to the Oder. We were once more the arbiters of fortune. Our glory was so much the more pure, as it was entirely the result of that impetuous courage which supplies the want of experience, and does not give way before any obstacle. Mere recruits had triumphed over the combined forces of Prussia and Russia. Captain Planat brought us the news of it at the moment when the defeated besiegers were seeking safety in flight. Napoleon had added to his despatches proofs of his munificence: he condescended to grant me the ribbon of the order of La Réunion. He authorised me to make promotions, to confer marks of honour, and to point out the superior officers that I thought fit for advancement. His victories had exalted the courage of the troops; the soldiers once more swore by his genius; they saw him again triumphing on the banks of the Vistula. His despatch was conceived in the following terms.

"Monsieur le Comte Rapp,

"The Major-general acquaints you with the situation of affairs. I hope that peace will be concluded in the course of the year; but if my expectations are disappointed, I shall come to raise your blockade. Our armies have never been more numerous or in a finer condition. You will see by the journals all the measures which I have taken, and which have secured me 1,200,000 men under arms, and 100,000 horse. My relations with Denmark are very amicable, where Baron Alquier still continues my minister. I need not recommend you to be deaf to all insinuations, and at all events to keep the important fortress which I have confided to you. Inform me by the return of the officer what soldiers have most distinguished themselves. The promotion and the decoration which you shall think they have deserved, you may consider as conferred; and you may bestow decorations of the Legion of Honour to the number of ten crosses of officers, and a hundred of knights. Make choice of the men that have rendered the most important services, and send me the list by return of the officer, in order that the Chancellor of the Legion of Honour may be instructed of the appointments. You may also fill up in your ranks all the vacant appointments, as far as the rank of Captain inclusive. Send also an account of these promotions. On this I pray God, &c.

"Napoleon."

"Neumark, June 5, 1813."

CHAPTER XLI

The sovereigns had fixed on the conditions of the armistice. Every fortress was to be revictualled once in five days, and to have a league of ground beyond its lines; but the Duke of Wurtemberg took on himself to elude this engagement. He contested my statement of our positions; he disputed about the limits. After several conferences, we came to a provisional arrangement, and we remitted the question to persons appointed to settle it. There then arose new difficulties; at one time they alleged want of provisions, at another want of conveyance. The allowances, at all times incomplete, were constantly in arrears; at last they were entirely suspended. The Duke stood in need of a pretext; he found one: he pretended that we had broken the truce, because we had done justice on some band of robbers which infested our rear. His letter, which could have been transmitted to me in two hours, was two days before it reached me. So many subterfuges made me indignant: I went straight to the point; I told him that I would have no more tergiversation, and that he must fight or fulfil the conditions stipulated on. He replied by talking of the cause of nations and of kings. This language was curious; I expressed to him how much it astonished me, coming from the mouth of a prince, whose sovereign had been our ally for five years, and whose brother was still fighting for us. This last example touched him a little. He replied peevishly, "That a Russian General-in-chief did not think himself inferior in any respect to a king of the Confederation, since it only depended on the Emperor Alexander to raise him to that dignity, and that then he might be a king as well as another; that he would, however, only be so under this slight condition, that it should not be at the expense of any power or person."

The troops ran to arms: but the Duke was unwilling to take the consequences of this rupture. He offered to continue the supplies. They ought to have been sent on the 24th, but they did not come till the 26th, and were never complete. Tainted meat, and flour so very bad that we did not venture to make any use of it till we had made experiments on it, were the only provisions that the Russians furnished us with. They were not more faithful as to the quantity: we did not receive above two-thirds of what was guaranteed to us by the treaty.

The Prince de Neuchâtel told me that it was necessary to hold out till the month of May following. The thing was quite impossible; I had neither provisions nor troops sufficient for so prolonged a defence. I pointed it out to him; my despatch was precise. Every thing that was possible we were ready to undertake, but good intentions do not create means.

"Dantzic, June 16, 1813.

"My Prince,

"I received the letter which your Highness did me the honour to write me from Neumark, of the 5th of June. M. Planat has also sent me a collection of Moniteurs, containing the detail of the decisive battles gained by Napoleon over the combined forces. I had had, from the day before M. Planat's arrival, intelligence of the brilliant successes of the armies of Napoleon. This good news has produced on the garrison the best effect: it has seen that I had not flattered it with vain hopes; and the patience and courage of which it has given proofs have found the reward that they were entitled to expect.

"The armistice has also been transmitted to me, and I write to your Highness particularly on this subject. I ought not to conceal that this suspension of arms, in the state things are in, must be more disadvantageous than advantageous to the garrison; for disease still occasions us a loss of 1100 men a month, the consequence of which will be that by the 1st of August we shall have lost 1700 men.

"Our provisions, moreover, will be consumed; and, if the Duke of Wurtemberg does not show a better disposition towards us than he has done, we shall not be able to save, as otherwise we should have done, a part of the provisions that he is bound to furnish us. Till the month of October my situation will not give me any uneasiness, but beyond that period it will be a painful one indeed; for we shall want men to defend the immense range of our fortifications, provisions for the defenders, and we shall have no more to hope for from resources within or without.

"The account of the composition for the rations since the blockade will shew your Highness that I have carried into execution, in the distribution of the provision, the rigid economy which our situation demanded, and that to this end I have employed all the resources of which I could avail myself: but these resources are exhausting; and it would be useless to reckon on those which might be derived from the expulsion of the inhabitants; indeed, it is only necessary, in order to be convinced of this painful truth, to recollect that two years ago Napoleon called by requisition on the inhabitants of Dantzic, for 600,000 quintals of corn—an order which was most rigorously carried into execution. At that time only 23,000 quintals were left for the subsistence of its inhabitants. Since that period they have lived on this quantity, and some trifling portions which had been concealed from the strictest searches.

"I have given above an account of the loss which disease still produces every month. The accounts of the situation of the troops present an effective force of 20,558 men; which supposes, according to the estimates (but too accurate) which I have already given, that the garrison will be reduced, at the end of the armistice, to 20,000 men, from which number must be deducted at least 2,000 who will be in the hospitals, even supposing that want does not increase the ravages of disease. What would be our condition, then, by the month of May, when the progress of mortality which the actual state of things supposes will have mowed down so many of our men? It results from the calculation which we are able to make, (admitting that winter diseases do not materially increase the number of deaths, and allowing for a loss of 1000 only per month,) that the sum total of the loss would be, by the 1st of May, 8000 men, omitting altogether those who may perish in actions, or who may die from the consequence of their wounds. There would only remain, then, by the month of May, an effective force of 11,000 men, of whom there will certainly be 3000 in the hospitals: how is it possible to defend fortifications so extensive with so feeble a garrison?

"I have already given orders for the construction of works intended to defend the entrance of Mottlaw, an extremely weak point when the rivers are frozen. I am going on besides with every thing which can secure my communication, but, I repeat, men are wanting for the defences. Your Highness must not doubt that, if it becomes necessary, I will do every thing which honour and my devotion to the Emperor can suggest, to maintain myself in some point or other of Dantzic.

"The state of the magazines will prove to your Highness that our resources are very limited. You will, no doubt, think that I shall manage them with all the care which the desire to make an honourable defence inspires me with: it is with this object in view that I have added to the commission for the management of provisions, which the law has appointed in places in a state of siege, a considerable number of members in addition to those which it requires.