me that I should become the general." He turned back into the midst of
eighty thousand enemies, plunged into the thickest of them, in order to
draw all their efforts against himself, to make a diversion in favour of
Davoust and Ney, and to tear them from a country, the gates of which had
been closed upon them.

Daylight at last appeared, exhibiting on one side the Russian battalions
and batteries, which on three sides, in front, on our right, and in our
rear, bounded the horizon, and on the other, Napoleon with his six
thousand guards advancing with a firm step, and proceeding to take his
place in the middle of that terrible circle. At the same time Mortier, a
few yards in front of his Emperor, displayed in the face of the whole
Russian army, the five thousand men which still remained to him.

Their object was to defend the right flank of the great road from
Krasnoe to the great ravine in the direction of Stachowa. A battalion of
_chasseurs_ of the old guard, formed in a square like a fortress, was
planted close to the high road, and acted as a support to the left wing
of our young soldiers. On their right, in the snowy plains which
surrounded Krasnoe, the remains of the cavalry of the guard, a few
cannon, and the four hundred cavalry of Latour-Maubourg (as, since they
left Smolensk, the cold had killed or dispersed fourteen hundred of
them) occupied the place of the battalions and batteries which the
French army no longer possessed.

The artillery of the Duke of Treviso was reinforced by a battery
commanded by Drouot; one of those men who are endowed with the whole
strength of virtue, who think that duty embraces every thing, and are
capable of making the noblest sacrifices simply and without the least
effort.

Claparede remained at Krasnoe, where, with a few soldiers, he protected
the wounded, the baggage, and the retreat. Prince Eugene continued his
retreat towards Liady. His engagement of the preceding day and his night
march had entirely broken up his corps; his divisions only retained
sufficient unity to drag themselves along, and to perish, but not to
fight.

Meantime Roguet had been recalled to the field of battle from Maliewo.
The enemy kept pushing columns across that village, and was extending
more and more beyond our right in order to surround us. The battle then
commenced. But what kind of battle? The Emperor had here no sudden
illumination to trust to, no flashes of momentary inspiration, none of
the