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Volume 8 From the Mediterranean to... Chapter 102 Battle in the direction of Moscow...

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    In late September, when Desai was about to withdraw south from Tallinn, Dombrovsky, who was stationed in the Danzig Corridor, ordered General Rene's Fourth Army to enter East Prussia from west to east; while in the east, Red  General Si's newly formed Lithuanian Army, supported by the Polish troops remaining in K?nigsberg, effortlessly occupied the city.  In addition, the Silesian Army, the Vivas Army, the Warsaw Army (the army that incorporated the aristocratic faction) and the army of the Kingdom of Saxony are also cooperating overtly or covertly.  In less than five days, the entire East Prussia, like Lithuania and Latvia, returned to a corner of the Polish territory.  A week later, the Prussian army that came to rescue K?nigsberg was suddenly ambushed by the First Army and the Silesian Army commanded by Dombrovsky when they were crossing the Oder River. 24,000 Prussian troops were lost.  All.  Subsequently, Berlin had to accept the alliance again and renounced K?nigsberg (East Prussia) and all territory east of the Oder River.  ¡­Meanwhile, in Moscow, the European conqueror from Corsica and his soldiers were in big trouble.  Around 8 pm on the 15th, reports of fires came from China District, where there are many workshops and a variety of precious goods and commodities, including fur products, exquisite clothing, silk fabrics from India and China, etc.  However, all rescue and fire-fighting efforts were in vain. The fire spread rapidly and now endangered the entire city The city has become like a huge melting pot.  At first, Napoleon and his officers did not take the fire too seriously, thinking that the fire was just a small commotion caused by some drunken soldiers or porters.  "His Majesty the Emperor went to bed very early But at 10:30 p.m.," Caulaincourt recalled, "my adjutant woke me up and told me that the city was on fire and that the fire had been going on for more than 40 minutes. I was  There was no doubt that my room was ablaze with the spreading fire, and I got out of there just in time, choking on the smoke. Then I woke Christopher up and the Imperial Guard was on standby.  , but we still decided to let His Majesty the Emperor rest for a while. I quickly mounted my horse to see for myself what was going on, and to see what kind of rescue work I could organize But a strong wind blew from the north.  The fire came from the direction of the two initial fire sources. The wind helped the fire and the thick smoke filled the entire city, causing great harm and damage to the city. "Another fire broke out at 12:30 midnight, and then another.  Several other fires broke out in succession.  The situation was extremely critical, so everyone decided to wake up His Majesty Emperor Napoleon, who had been sleeping all night.  It was discovered that all water pipes and other fire-fighting facilities in the city had been destroyed by Rostopkin before leaving the city.  Servants and soldiers carried buckets of water and sand to extinguish the fire. However, the fire was too strong. Although the arsenal was protected by a large number of soldiers, the windows of the palace began to shatter and fall off.  ¡°At first, Napoleon believed that the fire was caused by the negligence of our unruly soldiers,¡± Caulaincourt continued. ¡°He could not believe¡­ that the Russians would set fire to themselves in order to prevent us from taking the city.  capital." However, the arsonist captured by the French quickly confessed that Rostopkin ordered the burning of the city.  "Then I inspected the imperial stables, where there were some European horses and the Tsar's carriage." Caulaincourt reported, "The fire caused us to mobilize all our troops - I should say - everyone here  We were all working hard to put out the fire. What we breathed was not air but fireworks, and our lungs were filled with smoke. " That night, there were the sounds of walls and ceilings breaking, the sound of collapse, the roar of flames, and the sound of crackling.  People screamed and shouted, sometimes turbulent smoke clouds, sometimes rising into the sky, mixed with bright sparks. Although the smoke was billowing, there were flashes of fire. Here was a sheaf-shaped red pillar of fire, and there was a red pillar of fire spreading along the wall.  scale-like golden flames.  Fortunately, with the help of the Imperial Guard, the bridge leading to the south of the Kremlin was finally saved.  The place where the heat wave swept through was so hot that people could not stay for more than a minute, and the fur on the soldiers' fur hats was scorched due to overheating.  At 4:30 that afternoon, Napoleon finally ordered the evacuation of Moscow. Their next destination was the Petrovskoye Palace, which was located only a few miles away from Moscow on the road to St. Petersburg.  In the Petrovskoye Palace, Napoleon seemed very quiet, because Murat was sure that the Russian army had been severely damaged and its morale was very low. It would not be long before the Tsar was forced to surrender.  This news prompted Napoleon to decide to extend his stay in Moscow.  So, on September 18, Napoleon returned to the Kremlin.  In two days the entire city was devastated, and even the houses that were saved from the fire were looted. Sloboda Palace, this extremely luxurious palace was the residence Napoleon reserved for himself outside the Kremlin.  Has been razed to the ground in the fire, and nearly a quarter of the entire Moscow cityThree cities were burned to the ground, including nearly 800 churches.  The French army had to point its bayonets at its overly indulgent and predatory partners, and executed some of them on the spot.  A few days after returning to the Kremlin, Napoleon announced his decision to spend the winter in Moscow.  The army moved into the city the food, furs, clothing, etc. needed for the winter; the defenses needed to be strengthened On September 20, Napoleon wrote in a letter to Alexander, "I go to war against your country without any personal hostility. Wealth  , the beautiful city of Moscow no longer exists, because it has been burned to the ground by your misbehaving Governor of Moscow If you had sent me a peace letter before or after the Borodino war, I think you could have stopped it.  This war If your Majesty is still interested in reconciling with me, you should consider sending this letter" Of course, the Tsar did not make any reply to this, and he threw Napoleon's letter directly into the trash can.  In addition, Kutuzov, on behalf of Alexander, said in reply to the French envoy: "I have not received instructions for peace talks, because in the eyes of the Russian people, the French are a group of barbaric plunderers and destroyers! Just like the Tatars in their eyes  After that, Napoleon twice ordered Caulaincourt to go to St. Petersburg to negotiate with the Tsar as a former ambassador, but Caulaincourt refused both times. The latter simply pointed out: It is very obvious that Alexander.  There was no intention of surrendering to France.  So on October 3, Napoleon quietly began to prepare to evacuate.  That day, he ordered his troops to prepare to leave Moscow on the 15th or 16th.  For some reason, the postal route from Paris to Moscow has become extremely smooth in the past few days. However, the cabinet ministers have brought some terrible bad news.  In addition to the successive losses of the French army on the Spanish battlefield, Napoleon clearly realized that Desai had disobeyed his discipline.  The King of Poland conducted a bloodless coup in Warsaw, forcing the traditional aristocracy to accept his supreme rule; in addition, Desai also ordered the liberation of the serfs in Lithuania and Latvia, and implemented the French agrarian revolution in 1793.  Even worse news came in mid-October. Desai¡¯s navy and army stopped advancing towards St. Petersburg in the direction of Estonia.  Soon, he ordered the expulsion of Marshal Macdonald and successfully took over the command of the Prussian Army.  Immediately afterwards, East Prussia and the east bank of the Oder River became new Polish territories, and even the Free Port of Danzig allowed Polish troops to enter and exit freely.  "Damn Desai, he has reached an agreement with the British, Swedes, and even the Russians to betray me; and you, my stepson, will you become his accomplice?" The angry Napoleon rushed towards Eug¨¨ne.  the prince accused.  Eugene shook his head and then became silent. He was also extremely shocked by what the bold Desai did.  After Napoleon vented his anger, Eugene said: "For a long time, Desaix has needed a unified and powerful Poland. Today, perhaps this request is not too much, because France needs an ally to continue to stabilize the Eastern Front. As for Prussia  Neither the people nor the Austrians really want to fight against Russia, but Desai will, and there will never be peace between Poland and Russia! Unless one of the two always falls, if His Majesty insists that Desai and I are secretly together.  Conspiracy, please order my dismissal from my post, and I will be willing to accept the trial of a military court at any time and anywhere!" Of course Napoleon would not be so hot-headed as to replace the commander of the 4th Army, let alone order the military police!  Arrest his stepson.  The emperor still believed that Eugene was infinitely loyal to him, but he was deceived by the despicable and cunning Desai.  In the battles of Smolensk and Borodino, Eugene's heroic performance fully proved this point, beyond any doubt!  In addition, Napoleon also believed in Eugene's judgment and could not openly fall out with Desaix before returning to France.  Not to mention for the moment, the 200,000 Russian troops led by Kutuzov pursued and intercepted him on the long journey back home, which was thousands of kilometers long.  At this time, the total strength of the Grand Army has dropped to less than 100,000, of which 20,000 are still wounded soldiers. They are still lying in Moscow hospitals groaning in pain.  The number of truly combat-effective troops is only between 70,000 and 80,000.  At the same time, Desai has formed 5 or 6 legions in Poland, Lithuania and other places, with a strength of up to 150,000, and the number continues to increase.  In addition, Desai also has a reserve force or militia of 200,000 to 300,000 people, a combined Baltic fleet that can be quickly assembled.  Once he really broke up with Desai, the latter could cut off Napoleon's retreat at any time and send the emperor directly to the Russians.  Therefore, even though Napoleon was very reluctant, he regained his sense and signed a decree in Moscow, publicly recognizing the various private behaviors of the King of Poland.  As long as Desai continued to oppose Russia, Poland and France remained strong allies.  As for that damn "bad debt", it must be kept until the emperor returns to France.??After recruiting another 300,000 troops, the liquidation took its time.  ¡­¡­
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