FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   888   889   890   891   892   893   894   895   896   897   898   899   900   901   902   903   904   905   906   907   908   909   910   911   912  
913   914   915   916   917   918   919   920   921   922   923   924   925   926   927   928   929   930   931   932   933   934   935   936   937   >>   >|  
ey disprove Thiers' wild statements about a general pursuit on that evening, thousands of prisoners swept up, etc.] [Footnote 361: Vandamme on the 28th received a reinforcement of eighteen battalions, and thenceforth had in all sixty-four; yet Marbot credits him with only 20,000 men.] [Footnote 362: Thiers gives Berthier's despatch in full. See also map, p. 336.] [Footnote 363: Marmont, bk. xvii., p. 158. He and St. Cyr ("Mems.," vol. iv., pp. 120-123) agree as to the confusion of their corps when crowded together on this road. Napoleon's aim was to insure the capture of all the enemy's cannon and stores; but his hasty orders had the effect of blocking the pursuit on the middle road. St. Cyr sent to headquarters for instruction; but these were now removed to Dresden; hence the fatal delay.] [Footnote 364: Thiers has shown that Mortier did not get the order from Berthier to support Vandamme _until August 30th_. The same is true of St. Cyr, who did not get it till 11.30 a.m. on that day. St. Cyr's best defence is Napoleon's letter of September 1st to him ("Lettres inedites de Napoleon"): "That unhappy Vandamme, who seems to have killed himself, had not a sentinel on the mountains, nor a reserve anywhere.... I had given him positive orders to intrench himself on the heights, to encamp his troops on them, and only to send isolated parties of men into Bohemia to worry the enemy and collect news." With this compare Napoleon's approving statement of August 29th to Murat ("Corresp.," No. 20486): "Vandamme was marching on Teplitz _with all his corps_."] [Footnote 365: "Lettres inedites de Napoleon," September 3rd.] [Footnote 366: Haeusser, vol. iv., p. 343, and Boyen, "Erinnerungen," vol. ii., pp. 345-357, for Bernadotte's suspicious delays on this day; also Marmont, bk. xviii., for a critique on Ney. Napoleon sent for Lejeune, then leading a division of Ney's army, to explain the disaster; but when Lejeune reached the headquarters at Dohna, south of Dresden, the Emperor bade him instantly return--a proof of his impatience and anger at these reverses.] [Footnote 367: Thornton, our envoy at Bernadotte's headquarters, wrote to Castlereagh that that leader's desire was to spare the Swedish corps; he expected that Bernadotte would aim at the French crown ("Castlereagh Papers," 3rd series, vol. i., pp. 48-59). See too Boyen, vol. ii., p. 378.] [Footnote 368: Letter of October 10th to Reynier. This and his letter to
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   888   889   890   891   892   893   894   895   896   897   898   899   900   901   902   903   904   905   906   907   908   909   910   911   912  
913   914   915   916   917   918   919   920   921   922   923   924   925   926   927   928   929   930   931   932   933   934   935   936   937   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Footnote

 

Napoleon

 

Vandamme

 

Thiers

 

headquarters

 

Bernadotte

 
Berthier
 

Marmont

 
August
 

Lejeune


Lettres

 
September
 
inedites
 
orders
 

Dresden

 
letter
 

Castlereagh

 
pursuit
 

Haeusser

 

Erinnerungen


statement
 

isolated

 

parties

 

Bohemia

 

troops

 

positive

 

intrench

 

heights

 
encamp
 

collect


Corresp

 

marching

 

Teplitz

 

compare

 

approving

 

expected

 

French

 

Papers

 
Swedish
 
leader

desire
 

series

 
October
 
Reynier
 

Letter

 
division
 

explain

 

disaster

 

reached

 
leading