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Volume 8 From the Mediterranean to... Chapter 103 Battle in the direction of Moscow...

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    On October 13, the first heavy snowfall of this winter fell in Moscow.  After occupying Moscow for 36 days, Napoleon finally left this "holy city" in ruins with his head downcast.  Napoleon had nearly 450,000 troops when he entered Russia; now there are nearly 102,260 French troops in Moscow that can be mobilized immediately, including 14,760 cavalry; and his 41,500 Imperial Guards have been reduced to a minimum of 21  , 500 people.  He still had 1,372 cannon, but not as many horses to carry them.  There were nearly 10,000 to 15,000 French wounded soldiers in the hospital. Doctor Tulio reminded him: "Your Majesty, how can I get these people away?" In any case, Napoleon was determined.  Horses, wagons, stretchers, and anything on wheels were loaded with the wounded and precious possessions such as huge sculptures, paintings, furniture, and even a large number of Persian rugs.  Then, Napoleon reluctantly gave the order to abandon the city.  At noon on October 19, just 35 days after they occupied Moscow, Napoleon¡¯s carriage, escorted by the Imperial Guard, drove slowly out of the gate of the Kremlin and left Moscow for the last time.  Napoleon ordered 7,000 men led by Motier to break up the rear and bombard the Kremlin on October 23.  But the order was not executed.  Napoleon ordered the French army to withdraw from Moscow. More than 40,000 carts loaded with baggage and loot stretched for several kilometers.  After leaving the city, the French army suddenly turned from the Old Kaluga Avenue to the New Kaluga Avenue and advanced through Polovsk, intending to seize sufficient food reserves through the rich and unwarred southern provinces, and then advance to Smolensk.  .  But Kutuzov's troops quickly caught up with the sluggish French army.  On October 24, the Russian army launched an attack on Molloyaroslavets, which had been occupied by Prince Eugene's troops the night before. The battle lasted all day, with the city changing hands eight times and the Italian Army suffering heavy casualties. In the end, it reached  Wu led two divisions into the battle before finally capturing the city.  But at this time, the main force of the Russian army had also gathered around Moloyaroslavits.  On October 25, Napoleon held a military meeting in Gorodny to discuss the French army¡¯s next course of action.  Murat spoke. He believed that the situation of the troops was already very bad, and that the "Russian barbarians" were like endless ants that could never be killed. Now they could only retreat along the Smolensk Avenue and wait until Smolensk arrived.  After Molensk was rested and supplied, the sabers of the French warriors could once again cut through all obstacles blocking the way.  The words of the King of Naples were echoed by many people.  However, a voice sounded, "No!", that was Davout.  He stood up and insisted that the troops return to Smolensk via the southern route through Kaluga and other provinces.  "Yes, the condition of the troops is not good, but that is precisely due to poor supplies; retreating along the Smolensk Avenue will indeed not be intercepted by the Russian army, but the entire road has been turned into a sea of ??war.  The wilderness and roads are destroyed in many places. The hunger, fatigue and the coming severe cold of the long march can drag people down. It is still unknown whether Smolensk has enough supplies; the strength of the Russian army is indeed very strong.  , but the French army still has 100,000 elite troops, and it has just received a certain amount of rest in Moscow; as long as it concentrates its strength and is determined to fight to the end, it can break through the Russian army's blockade and enter the rich southern provinces such as Kaluga. As long as it reaches  That¡¯s where we can solve the army¡¯s key supply problem¡± He spoke impassionedly, his sharp eyes staring at Murat¡¯s face that was flushed with anger. This man only knows how to play with knives and guns, and he doesn¡¯t want to consider the long-term endurance of the soldiers.  He may have been a real warrior in the past due to the pain of hunger and cold, but now his heart has been corroded by ambition and desire. Even though he can still show his bravery for a while on the battlefield, he can no longer endure long-term hardships. Now his mind is filled with thoughts  They just want to get out of the sea of ??misery as soon as possible with the looted treasures. How often do they really plan the overall situation?  The angry Murat immediately started a heated argument with Davout, but Napoleon interrupted their quarrel: "Okay, okay, everyone, let me decide for myself." The next day, Napoleon made the final decision, and the French army turned around  Retreat along the Smolensk Avenue, with Davout in charge of the rear.  Once again, the emperor rejected Davout's suggestion.  This decision seems to be disastrous.  Napoleon overestimated Kutuzov's fighting will.  In fact, the Russian marshal, who was accustomed to retreat, had already decided that once Napoleon launched a major offensive, he would immediately withdraw from the battle.  Napoleon returned to the north and retreated from the original route to Moscow, making their already severely lacking supplies worse.  Now Kutuzov's Russian army was not stable in the offensive, and they were advancing parallel to the French army.  There was no exchange of fire between the two sides, and Marshal Kutuzov hoped that fatigue, lax discipline, and lack of hardship would eventually render the French army completely incapable of fighting.  Now that the French army was deteriorating, Labome described the situation.  ¡°?Everywhere we saw carts abandoned for lack of horses to pull them.  Those who had brought with them the spoils of Moscow's plunder were worried about their belongings.  But what disturbed us most was the deplorable condition of our cavalry.  The villages where we had just stayed had been razed to the ground: among the ashes lay the bodies of hundreds of soldiers and peasants.  But the most terrible thing is the battlefield of Borodino.  There we saw the bodies of forty thousand dead soldiers still unburied.  "The Russian army then launched a rapid and fierce pursuit of the French army, but its main force insisted on operating south of the Smolensk Avenue to ensure that the southern grain-producing areas were not occupied by the French army. Davout led his army to resist the Russian army many times.  The army's pursuit. In Gzask, Davout, who had occupied the defensive position in advance, even launched an active attack on the pursuing Russian vanguard, catching the Russian army by surprise. Unfortunately, due to too few troops, especially the lack of sufficient mobile cavalry, the Russian army was finally defeated.  The plan to annihilate the enemy had to be abandoned. On November 3, outside the city of Vyazma, Davout's army was surrounded while resisting the pursuit of the Russian army.  With the cooperation of the army, Davout commanded the French army to form a counter-encirclement against the Russian army, forcing them to evacuate from the main road. Then he fought fiercely with the Russian army in the city of Vyazma for 10 hours, ensuring the smooth evacuation of the French army brigade and a large amount of baggage.  However, on November 6, the first snowstorm of winter finally hit this scattered team, causing it to suffer a lot. The cold wind made the weak soldiers feel that death was imminent.  The trivial battles between men and the wind gods were overwhelmed by the terrible battles between men and wind gods. The snow covered the land and the terrain was unrecognizable. The marching columns were often lost; thousands of soldiers were instantly relieved of their sufferings and lost their lives.  Outside the Old Guards, the whole army was in chaos and disarray. The whole camp was disintegrated, and they were plundering in small and small groups. At this time, the retreat of the large army had now become an endless nightmare.  The strength of the legion has been reduced to 65,000, including 15,000 cavalry. Platov's Cossacks began to harass the fleeing enemy troops who were suffering from cold and hunger.  There was no trace of them, but they shouted "Ula" like a bell, and then they seemed to fall from the sky, killing and snatching supplies, and then disappeared like ghosts into the thick white fog. The farmers took up their weapons and assisted.  Regular troops. For the French army, even if the cold abates, the search for food and fuel is still frantic. With corpses everywhere, most people will try their best to find a way out.  If I meet anyone who has a piece of bread, will I ask him to give me half?  !  No, I'll kill him and take the whole piece.  "Another French soldier, Faber Dufour, wrote, "We kept marching, but we didn't know where we were going.  There was heavy snow in the sky, and strong winds were raging, constantly rolling up the white snow in the air and on the ground and slapping our faces.  The blizzard seemed hell-bent on stopping our progress.  The ground was frozen, and the horses could no longer walk and fell to the ground.  Because there were not enough horses, the baggage trains and cannon were left behind the team for the first time.  The army marched rapidly on the road to Smolensk, and corpses were everywhere along the way.  But soon, the heavy snow covered and buried our comrades who were lying on the ground like endless shrouds. Only the slightly raised packages, like ancient tombs, could barely make out their traces.  " Smolensk has now become the most eagerly desired place for everyone. The whole army couldn't help but feel happy at the thought that they would soon be able to rest and eat. They staggered towards the west, panting and braving the scorching summer heat just like before.  Heading east with Moscow as the goal, on November 9, Napoleon withdrew to Smolensk. In less than a month since the French army left Moscow, the Imperial Guard still maintained a strength of 14,000.  But they were no longer under control; to make matters worse, the total number of the strongest legion in the army commanded by Davout had dropped to 10,000, while Ney's legion numbered only 4,000. The sixth and eighth legions added  The total number of soldiers raised was only 2,000. Napoleon's only hope was the Ninth Army and the Second Army, led by Marshals Victor and Oudinot, who were on standby at Orsha. Even so, the entire French army was at a loss.  There were no more than 50,000 people. However, there was not much food left in Smolensk. According to the minimum standard, it could only supply the entire army for a few days! At this time, the entire French army was on the verge of fleeing.  Collapse, the headquarters and unified orders seemed to have ceased to exist. Panic spread in the army like an infectious disease, looting and escape became common, pessimism, disappointment and violations of discipline continued to occur. And the strict military discipline that Davout had always insisted on played a role.  Although he was often criticized for being too ruthless, his regiment was the only one that could still maintain military discipline. He himself shared the joys and sorrows of the ordinary soldiers, constantly inspiring them, and at the same time declaring that anyone who abandoned their arms and fled would fight.Friends have the right to deprive him of all his rights, put him on trial or even directly attack him.  This is a variant of the "Soldiers' Council" that emerged during the Revolution - although it has gradually disappeared in the imperial army, Davout made it play a role again.  However, Davout's enemies at the headquarters did not stop slandering him. His cautiousness in the process of moving to the rear was said to be slow in action. In the end, his rear mission was replaced by Marshal Ney.  ¡­¡­
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