and its revenue risen to 40,000,000 | men into any one field of battle. In rubles, or £9,000,000 in 1804, its in- no state of Europe is the difference so habitants were no less than 36,000,000, great between the amount of an army and its revenue about 50,000,000 silver as it appears on paper, and the actual rubles, or £12,000,000; a sum equiva- force which it can bring into the field; lent to at least double that sum in and a commander in general can asFrance, and triple its amount, at that semble round his standard little more period, in Great Britain.* The greater than half of what the gazettes announce part of the revenue was derived from as being at his disposal. Drawn, howthe capitation tax-a species of impost ever, from the agricultural population, common to all nations in a certain its soldiers were extremely formidable, stage of civilisation, where slavery is both from the native strength and general, and the wealth of each pro- the enduring courage which they posprietor is nearly in proportion to the sessed. The slightest physical defect number of agricultural labourers on his was sufficient to cause the proffered estate. It amounted to five rubles for serf to be rejected; and though they each freeman, and two for each serf, embraced the military life with reand was paid by every subject of the luctance, and left their homes amidst empire, whether free or enslaved. Cus- loud lamentations, they soon attached toms and excise, especially on spiritu- themselves to their colours, and underous liquors the object of universal took with undaunted resolution any desire in cold climates-produced a service, how perilous soever, on which large sum: the duties on these articles they might be sent. The commissariat alone brought in annually 30,000,000 was wretched; the hospital service still paper rubles, or £3,000,000, into the miserably defective: but the artillery, public treasury. But notwithstanding though cumbrous, was numerous and this considerable revenue, and the high admirably served, and the quality of value of money in that comparatively the troops almost unrivalled. Accusinfant state, the expenses of govern- tomed to hardships from their infancy, ment, which necessarily embraced a they bivouacked without tents on the considerable naval as well as military snow in the coldest weather, and subestablishment, were so great that its sisted without murmuring on a fare so finances were barely equal to the pro- scanty that the English soldiers would tection of its vast territory; and ex- have thought themselves starved on it. perience has demonstrated that, with- Fed, clothed, and lodged by governout large foreign subsidies, Russia is ment, the pay of the infantry only unable to bring any great force into amounted to half-a-guinea, that of the the central parts of Europe. Cossacks to eight-and-sixpence a-year; but such was the patriotic ardour and national enthusiasm of the people, that even on this inconsiderable pittance they were animated with the highest spirit, and hardly ever were known to desert to the enemy. The meanest soldier was impressed with the belief that Russia was ultimately to conquer the world, and that the commands of the Czar in the prosecution of that great work must invariably be obeyed. When Benningsen retired towards Königsberg, in the campaign of 1807, and sought to elude the enemy by forced marches during the long nights of a Polish winter, the murmur at retreat was so imposingly audacious, although ninety thousand men thundered in 36. The army, raised by conscription at the rate of so many in each hundred of the male population, amounted nominally to above three hundred thousand men. But, from the vast extent of territory which they had to defend, it was a matter of great difficulty to assemble any considerable force at one point, especially at a distance from the frontiers of the empire; and in the wars of 1805 and 1807, Russia never could bring above seventy thousand *The revenue actually paid was 120,000,000 rubles; but from the great emission of paper money bearing a legal currency subsequent to 1787, the value of the ruble had fallen to half of what it was in its original silver standard, and it was worth no more than half-acrown English money.-BIGNON, ii. 282. close pursuit, that the general was compelled to soothe the dissatisfaction by announcing that he was marching towards a chosen field of battle. The disorder consequent on six days of continued famine and suffering instantly ceased; and joyous acclamations rent the sky when they received the command to halt, and the lines were formed, with parade precision, amidst the icy lakes and drifted snow of Eylau.* influence he owed his elevation, he was sincere in his admiration for the First Consul; and, still influenced by the angry feelings of 1799, entered warmly into the French project of elevating Prussia at the expense of Austria, in the division of the German indemnities. A species of prophetic sympathy united him to Frederick-William, who had ascended the throne about the same age, and only shortly before himself; and this was soon ripened into a sincere attachment, from their interview at Memel in the summer of 1803, and contributed not a little to determine the subsequent course of events on the great theatre of Europe. 37. Enthusiastically beloved by his subjects, Alexander had, immediately on his accession to the throne, abolished the custom of alighting from the carriage when the royal equipages were met, which had excited so much discontent under his tyrannical predecessor; but 38. In proportion as the time apthe respect of his subjects induced proached when his great projects against them to continue the practice, and, to Austria were to be carried into execuavoid such a mark of Oriental servi- tion, Napoleon redoubled his ostensible tude, he was in the habit of driving efforts for the invasion of Great Britain. about, without guards, in a private These preparations, which never had chariot. Married early in life to the been more than a feint from the mobeautiful Princess Elizabeth of Baden, ment that intelligence of the stoppage he soon became an indifferent husband, of Villeneuve's fleet by Sir Robert Calbut constantly kept up the external ap- der's action, and the subsequent retreat pearances of decorum, and remained of that admiral to Ferrol, had been rethroughout an attached friend to that ceived, completely produced the deprincess. More tender cords united sired effect. Austria, deceived by the him to the Countess Narishkin, a Pol- accounts which were daily transmitted ish lady of extraordinary fascination, of the immense accumulation of forces gifted with all the grace and powers of on the coasts of the Channel, the emconversation for which the women of barkation of the Emperor's staff and rank in that country are, beyond any heavy artillery, and the continual exother in Europe, distinguished; and to ercising of the troops in the difficult her influence, joined to that of Prince and complicated operation of getting Czartorinski, his early friend and ad- on shipboard, deemed the moment come viser, a distinguished noble of the same when she could safely commence hostination, his marked regard for the Sar-lities, even before the arrival of the Rusmatian race through life is, in a great sian auxiliaries. She broke ground, degree, to be ascribed. Immediately accordingly, by crossing the Inn and inupon his accession to the throne, he vading the Bavarian territories, fondly was compelled to select his ministers imagining that the French troops were from the party which placed him there; still on the shores of the Channel, and and Pahlen, Pain, and Woronzoff were that she would be able, by a rapid adhis first advisers. But though attach-vance, to rouse Bavaria and the lesser ed from the outset to England, to whose "Comrades, go not forward into the trenches; you will be lost!" cried a retiring party to an advancing detachment: "the enemy are already in possession."-"Prince Potemkin must look to that, for he gave us the order: come on, Russians!" was the reply, and the whole marched forward and perished, the victims of their heroic sense of duty.-SIR ROBERT WILSON's Polish War, p. 2. powers of Germany to join her standard, and appear before the arrival of Napoleon, with the whole forces of the empire, on the banks of the Rhine. But she grievously miscalculated, in so doing, the activity and resources of the French Emperor, and soon found to her cost that she had been the dupe of his artifices, and had unwittingly played his game as effectually as if she had intentionally prostrated her resources before his ambition. transmitted to the cabinet of Vienna a detailed statement, obtained from the imperial staff at Boulogne, of the amount and composition of the French army, showing above a hundred and thirty thousand men, of all descriptions, ready to march; and asked, whether it was against England or Austria that this infatuated self-confidence, their host continued to advance; soon it overran the Bavarian plains, entered the defiles of the Black Forest, and occupied with its outposts the openings from that rocky ridge into the valley of the Rhine. 39. The forces with which the Aulic Council engaged in this enterprise were eighty thousand men ; and the Russians were still so far removed as to render it impossible to reckon upon their co-operation in the first movements of the cam-force was really intended to act? With paign. Precipitance in forcing on hostilities before their troops were all arrived, was the ruin of this campaign. They had, with reason, calculated upon being joined by the whole forces of Bavaria; but, as already noticed, the paternal anxiety of the Elector rendered these hopes abortive, and threw the whole weight of that electorate into the opposite scale. Public spirit in the Imperial dominions was strongly roused, and the people were prepared to make any sacrifices in defence of their country; but they had little of the self-confidence or hope which, even more than physical power, constitutes the strength of an army. The soldiers went into the field resolute and devoted, but rather with the resignation of martyrs than the step of conquerors. Their repeated defeats had rendered them nearly desperate of success. The army was numerous, gallant, and well appointed, but hardly equal to the task of meeting unaided the united French and Bavarian forces, even if led by commanders of equal talent and experience. What, then, was to be expected from them when advancing under the guidance of Mack to meet the grand army grouped round the standards of Napoleon?* In vain the British government *Though totally deficient in the decision, promptitude, and foresight requisite for a commander in the field, Mack was by no means without a considerable degree of talent, and still greater plausibility, in arranging on paper the plan of a campaign: and so far did this species of ability impose on Mr Pitt, that he wrote to the cabinet of Vienna, recommending that officer to the command of the German army. The just and decisive opinion expressed of him by Nelson at Naples, in 1798, has already been noticed. With all his great qualities as a civil statesman, Mr Pitt had but little capacity for military combinations; and this is the judgment, in this particular impartial, pronounced upon him by Napoleon.-NAPOLEON in MONTHOLON, ii. 432. 66 40. From the moment that it was evident that hostilities were unavoidable, Napoleon had been indefatigable in his endeavours to engage Prussia on his side. The instructions to Duroc, his envoy at Berlin, were, to represent to the Prussian government, that there was not a moment to lose; that it was indispensable an alliance should forthwith be concluded between the two states; that the confederacy of Russia, Austria, and England was equally menacing to both; that, during the negotiations for the conclusion of a treaty, it was necessary that Prussia should make an open declaration against Austria, or at least a formidable demonstration on the Bohemian frontier; that the Emperor was about to make an autumnal campaign; that having dispersed the armament of Austria before the month of January, France and Prussia might turn their united forces against Russia, for which purpose the Emperor offered the aid of eighty thousand men, amply provided with everything necessary for a campaign."+ The answer of the Prussian cabinet to these propositions was in the main favourable. They admitted "that the union of France and Prussia could alone provide against the rest of the Continent + Instructions to Duroc, 24th August 1805. -BIGNON, iv. 334. These instructions, written the very day on which Napoleon received accounts of the retreat of Villeneuve to Cadiz, and when he dictated to Daru the march of the grand army from Boulogne across Germany (ante, Chap. XXXIX. § 80), are a singular monument of his vigour and rapidity of determination. such a barrier as would insure the maintenance of general tranquillity. troops were in full march from the I shores of the Channel to the banks of the Rhine. The instructions given by Napoleon to all the chiefs of the grand army for the tracing of their route, and the regulation of their movements, were as perfect a model of the combinations of a general, as the fidelity and accuracy with which they were followed were of the discipline and efficiency of his followers. The stages, the places of rest, the daily marches of every regiment, were pointed out with undeviating ac 41. The French plenipotentiary, taking these words in a more favourable sense than they were perhaps intended, immediately commenced the drawing out of a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, between the two powers; but when it was communicated to the Prussian government, their temporising policy reappeared; they were willing to unite with France in order to prevent the resumption of hostilities, but hesitated at taking any step which might in-curacy over the immense circumference volve them in the contest; and evinced, amidst all their anxiety for the acquisition of Hanover, an extreme apprehension of the consequences of a Russian war. To overcome their scruples, Napoleon did not hesitate to engage that "he would retain none of his conquests on his own account, and that the Empire of France and kingdom of Italy should receive no addition." But the terrors of the Prussian cabinet were not to be overcome by these obviously hypocritical professions, and they persisted in their resolution to enter into no engagement which might involve them in hostilities. Matters were in this doubtful state, when the Russian minister at Berlin presented a letter from the Emperor Alexander, in which he proposed an interview with his Prussian Majesty on the frontiers of their respective dominions, and requested permission for the Russian troops to pass through his territories on their route for Bavaria. The pride of Frederick William instantly took fire; and he replied by a decided negative against the passage of the Muscovites through any part of his dominions; but expressed his willingness to meet his august neighbour at any place which he might select. Prussia, at the same time, renewed its negotiations with France for the acquisition of Hanover as a deposit, until the conclusion of the war; a proposition to which Napoleon testified no unwillingness to accede, provided "France lost none of its rights of conquest by the deposit." 42. While these unworthy negotiations were tarnishing the reputation of the Prussian monarchy, the French from Cherbourg to Hamburg; relays of horses were provided to convey by post those who were more remote, twenty thousand carriages collected for their rapid conveyance, and the immense host caused to converge, by different routes, through France, Flanders, and the north of Germany, to Ulm, the centre where it was anticipated the decisive blows against the Austrian monarchy were to be struck.* The troops simultaneously commenced their march from the coast of the Channel in the beginning of September, and performing, with the celerity of the Roman legions, the journeys allotted to them, arrived on the Rhine from the 17th to the 23d of the same month. They were all in the highest spirits, buoyant with health, radiant with hope: the exercise and discipline to which they had been habituated during the two preceding years, in their camps on the shores of the ocean, having enabled them to overcome, with ease, fatigues which would have been deemed insurmountable at that period by any other soldiers of Europe.+ Such was the vigour with which the soldiers were animated, that out of fifteen thousand native French who were in Marmont's corps, only nine men were left behind, in a march of twenty days from Holland to Würtzburg; a fact unparal * See the orders, addressed by Napoleon to the seven marshals commanding the corps of the army, in DUMAS, xiii. 300, 302. Pièces Just.-Many of them are dated at nine, ten, to be seen the same extraordinary union of eleven, at night, at midnight: but in all is minuteness and accuracy of detail, with grandeur and extent of general combination. Marshal Ney's corps was performed is parThe celerity with which the march of ticularly remarkable. leled, perhaps, in modern war. The troops of the other corps arrived at the places assigned them in the heart of Germany, after twenty-five or thirty days' journey from the coasts of the Channel, a distance of one hundred and fifty leagues, without the rest of a day, and with scarcely any sick or stragglers falling off from their array. This far-famed forest consists of a ridge of rocky hills and plateaus with precipitous sides, which lie between the valley of the Rhine and the sources of the Danube. They are for the most part covered with firs, the sombre hue of which has given its name to the region; and the roads which traverse it lie in the bottom of deep ravines, shut in generally between precipices of considerable elevation. The Black Forest, as it lies directly between France and Austria, has, in all wars between the two countries, occupied a conspicuous place in military operations; but on this occasion its importance was in a great measure superseded by more extended operations. A single glance at the map will be sufficient to show that Napoleon's movements were calculated to envelop altogether the Austrian army, if they re 43. The army which Napoleon thus directed against the Imperialists was the most formidable, in respect of numbers, equipment, and discipline, which modern Europe had ever witnessed. It was divided into eight corps under the command of the most distinguished marshals of the Empire. Then for the first time Napoleon gave it the name of the GRAND ARMY: a name like that of the Old Guard, which will be immortal in history. It consisted of 212,000 men, of whom 187,000 were French, and in-mained in heedless security in their cluded 38,000 cavalry and 340 guns; and far exceeded, in discipline, efficiency, and equipment, any armament ever seen in modern times.* The plan of Napoleon was to direct the corps of Ney, Soult, and Lannes, with the Imperial Guard and the cavalry under Murat, to Donauwörth and Dillingen: Davoust and Marmont were to march upon Neuburg; and Bernadotte, joined to the Bavarians, upon Ingolstadt; while Augereau, whose corps was conveyed by post from the distant harbour of Brest, received orders to cover the right flank of the invading army, and extend itself over the broken country which stretches from the Black Forest to the Alps of the Tyrol and the Grisons. advanced position in front of Ulm; for while the bulk of the French, under Napoleon in person, descended upon their right flank by Donauwörth, Bernadotte, with the corps from Hanover, got directly into their rear, and cut off the line of retreat to Vienna, while Augereau blocked up the entrance to the defiles of the Tyrol. It was of the utmost moment to the success of these great operations that the movements of the troops should, as long as possible, be concealed; and the despotic power of the French Emperor gave him every facility for the attainment of this object. A rigorous embargo was immediately imposed on all parts of the empire; the post was everywhere stopped; the troops were kept ignorant of the place of their destination; and such were the effects of these measures, that 17,000 they were far advanced on their way to 20,000 the Rhine before it was known either 26,000 to the cabinets of London or Vienna 40,000 18,000 that they had broken up from the 24,000 heights of Boulogne. *The composition of this army was as follows: COMMANDERS. 1st Corps, Bernadotte, 2d Marmont, 3d Davoust, 4th Soult, 5th Lannes, 6th Ney, 7th Augereau, 8th Murat (cavalry), 9th, Guards, Mortier and Bessières, 10th, Bava rians, Wrede, 212,000 Besides 50,000 in Italy, under Massena, and 20,000 in reserve under St Cyr.-JOMINI, ii. 104; DUMAS, xiii. 17, 18; THIERS, vi. 70, 71. |