, hoped for a
decisive battle there. But Davout's movements drove Bagration farther
eastward, and Barclay, instead of waiting, hurried to Smolensk, where
the junction was effected. This compulsory pursuit had, as
communications then were, thrown the extreme wings of Napoleon's army
virtually out of reach, the Prussians being near Riga, and the
Austrians in Volhynia. The long, thin line of his center must be,
therefore, drawn in for safety; and since the character of the country
had improved, he determined to concentrate near Vitebsk, and
recuperate his troops in the comparatively pleasant land which
environs that city. Both commander and officers were at first so
disheartened that they contemplated remaining for the season, Murat
alone remonstrating; but Napoleon said three years were necessary for
the Russian war. Such counsels did not long prevail; with new strength
came the old daring, and orders were sent both to Macdonald and the
Prussians on the left, and to the Austrians under Schwarzenberg on the
right, which were indicative of a great project. Napoleon's prestige
among the Poles had in fact shrunk along with his army. The latter he
could not recruit, but the former he must repair at any hazard; this
could be done only by what he designated to Jomini as a "good battle."
The success of the minor engagements to right and left, incident to
concentration, was encouraging for such a speedy and overwhelming
triumph.

The Russians at Smolensk were vainglorious at having outwitted
Napoleon, and longed to fight. Barclay alone was uneasy, but, in
deference to the prevalent sentiment, he advanced to offer battle, and
on August ninth there was a skirmish between pickets. Napoleon at
once set his army in motion, but as neither general was really well
informed or prepared, Barclay pushed on to the right, and the two
armies lost touch. Once aroused, the French spirit brooked no further
delay, and it was determined to seek the "good battle" before
Smolensk, which, lying on the right, or north, bank of the Dnieper,
could be reached only by crossing the stream. This manoeuver was
brilliantly executed. Barclay was a day's march distant on the south
bank when Ney and Murat deployed on the other side for action on
August sixteenth. Bagration, nearer at hand, threw one corps across
the river into the town, and then hurried his main force down-stream
to oppose its passage by the French.

Smolensk, called from its site the Key of Ru