Westphalian corps, now
reduced to seven hundred men. A vanguard had pushed on as far as
Krasnoe. The wounded and disbanded men were on the point of reaching
Liady. Korythinia is five leagues from Smolensk; Krasnoe five leagues
from Korythinia; Liady four leagues from Krasnoe. The Boristhenes flows
at two leagues on the right of the high road from Korythinia to Krasnoe.

Near Korythinia another road, that from Elnia to Krasnoe, runs close to
the great road. That very day Kutusoff advanced upon that road with
ninety thousand men, which completely covered it; his march was parallel
with that of Napoleon, whom he soon outstripped; on the cross-roads he
sent forward several vanguards to intercept our retreat.

One of these, said to be commanded by Ostermann, made its appearance at
Korythinia at the same time with Napoleon, and was driven back.

A second, consisting of twenty thousand men, and commanded by
Miloradowitch, took a position three leagues in advance of us, towards
Merlino and Nikoulina, behind a ravine which skirts the left side of the
great road; and there, lying in ambush on the flank of our retreat, it
awaited our passage.

At the same time a third reached Krasnoe, which it surprised during the
night, but was driven out by Sebastiani, who had just arrived there.

Finally, a fourth, pushed still more in advance, got between Krasnoe and
Liady, and carried off, upon the high road, several generals and other
officers who were marching singly.

Kutusoff, at the same time, with the bulk of his army, advanced, and
took a position in the rear of these vanguards, and within reach of them
all, and felicitated himself on the success of his manoeuvres, which
would have inevitably failed, owing to his tardiness, had it not been
for our want of foresight; for this was a contest of errors, in which
ours being the greatest, we could have no thought of escaping total
destruction. Having made these dispositions, the Russian commander must
have believed that the French army was entirely in his power; but this
belief saved us. Kutusoff was wanting to himself at the moment of
action; his old age executed only half and badly the plans which it had
combined wisely.

During the time that all these masses were arranging themselves round
Napoleon, he remained perfectly tranquil in a miserable hut, the only
one left standing in Korythinia, apparently quite unconscious of all
these movements of troops, artillery, and cavalry, whic