登陆注册
4793600000641

第641章

THE ACTIONS of the Russian and French armies during the retreat from Moscow to the Niemen resemble a game of Russian blindman’s buff, in which there are two players, both with their eyes bandaged, and one rings a bell at intervals to let the other know of his whereabouts. At first he rings his bell with no fear of his opponent; but when he begins to find himself in a difficult position, he runs away as noiselessly as he can from his opponent, and often supposing he is running away from him, walks straight into his arms.

At first Napoleon’s army made its whereabouts known—that was in the early period of the retreat along the Kaluga road—but afterwards, when they had taken to the Smolensk road, they ran holding the tongue of the bell; and often supposing they were running away, ran straight towards the Russians.

Owing to the rapidity of the flight of the French, and of the Russians after them, and the consequent exhaustion of the horses, the chief means of keeping a close watch on the enemy’s position—by means of charges of cavalry—was out of the question. Moreover, in consequence of the frequent and rapid changes of position of both armies, what news did come always came too late. If information arrived on the second that the army of the enemy had been in a certain place on the first, by the third, when the information could be acted upon, the army was already two days’ march further, and in quite a different position.

One army fled, the other pursued. From Smolensk, there were a number of different roads for the French to choose from; and one would have thought that, as they stayed there four days, the French might have found out where the enemy was, have thought out some advantageous plan, and undertaken something new. Yet, after a halt of four days, the crowds of them ran back; again not to right or to left, but, with no man?uvres or plans, along their old road—the worst one—by Krasnoe and Orsha, along their beaten track.

Expecting the enemy in their rear and not in front, the French ran, straggling out, and getting separated as far as twenty-four hours’ march from one another. In front of all fled the Emperor, then the kings, then the dukes. The Russian army, supposing Napoleon would take the road to the right beyond the Dnieper—the only sensible course—turned also to the right, and came out on the high road at Krasnoe. And here, just as in the game of blindman, the French came bearing straight down on our vanguard. Seeing the enemy unexpectedly, the French were thrown into confusion, stopped short from the suddenness of the fright, but then ran on again, abandoning their own comrades in their rear. Then for three days, the separate parts of the French army passed, as it were, through the lines of the Russian army: first the viceroy’s troops, then Davoust’s, and then Ney’s. They all abandoned one another, abandoned their heavy baggage, their artillery, and half their men, and fled, making semicircles to the right to get round the Russians by night.

Ney was the last, because in spite, or perhaps in consequence, of their miserable position, with a child’s impulse to beat the floor that has bruised it, he lingered to demolish the walls of Smolensk, which had done nobody any harm. Ney, who was the last to pass with his corps of ten thousand, reached Napoleon at Orsha with only a thousand men, having abandoned all the rest, and all his cannons, and made his way by stealth at night, under cover of the woods, across the Dnieper.

From Orsha they fled on along the road to Vilna, still playing the same game of blindman with the pursuing army. At Berezina again, they were thrown into confusion, many were drowned, many surrendered, but those that got across the river, fled on.

Their chief commander wrapped himself in a fur cloak, and getting into a sledge, galloped off alone, deserting his companions. Whoever could, ran away too, and those who could not—surrendered or died.

同类推荐
  • 伤寒医诀串解

    伤寒医诀串解

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 成具光明定意经

    成具光明定意经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 幼科折衷

    幼科折衷

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • Apology

    Apology

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 易牙遗意

    易牙遗意

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 校草是女生略略你来追我鸭

    校草是女生略略你来追我鸭

    (重生男强女强甜宠爽文+女扮男装,欢迎入坑)
  • 三国之四世三公

    三国之四世三公

    朝代更替,是偶然还是必然!皇室兴衰,是天意还是人为!东汉末年分三国,烽火连天不休!袁常,四世三公汝南袁家第六子,据一地称霸,引四方云动!王朝更替,皇室兴衰竟早有定论,且看袁常如何破解束缚千年之宿命!
  • 总裁强势宠:闪婚娇妻太惹火

    总裁强势宠:闪婚娇妻太惹火

    她被逼无奈,为了一百万,忍受刺骨的伤痛,被心爱的人利用,嫁给心爱人的痴傻弟弟。人心险恶,哥哥心胸狭隘,嫉贤妒能,弟弟伪装成傻子,实际却是城府深厚,宠妻如命的超级好男人,还是一个才华与美貌并重的大总裁,与她为敌的人,他都会陆续为她铲除!--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 无上兵皇

    无上兵皇

    适逢乱世,强者为尊。原本是一低贱的肉脚,却因为偶得万藏兵胆成为绝世天才,至此逆天出世,鏖战天下。打不死的小强,英雄路显张狂,且看高飞如何逆天成神……
  • 农业科技

    农业科技

    本书为科普通鉴的第12卷,介绍了从远古到现今的农业科技的由来、演变及发展历程,内容包括六大部分,分别介绍了作物育种技术的发展、土壤肥力与化肥的发展、农业灌溉技术的发展、农药的发展、从农具到农业机械的发展、农业信息技术的发展。 本书适合青少年阅读,农业是经济的基础,农业科技的发展,应该以科普知识的形式,普及给每个青少年甚至成年人,因此,本书适合各种年龄层次的广大的者作为必备的科普读物。
  • 重生之张珍珍

    重生之张珍珍

    重生,这个词第一次出现在姚珍珍脑海中的时候,她第一个感觉就是要为姥姥、妈妈、还有生病的姐姐讨回公道,在再次见到那个男人之前,她要变强,变的很强。面对修改过的重生路,她又要掀起怎么样的波澜?读心术,一个她从来没有想过能够拥有的能力,却让她成为了主宰一切的人。
  • 网游之白帝无双

    网游之白帝无双

    24XX年,数百年的完善,虚拟世界应用愈发成熟,逐渐成为了人类的第二世界,社交,工作,学习日常之余都可以在其中得到休眠式的继续。虚拟游戏,作为虚拟世界的衍生体,则获得更为成功的发展,在联邦政府大力支持与推动之下,游戏一季一季的诞生,更迭,群星在其中碰撞,轮回。叶苍,一个腹黑的学院城大二差生,测验小组所属T-105,疑似白化病治愈的外表下却有着太多的谜,于《新纪元·信仰》这一季中踏上了职业玩家道路,全能游侠,黑暗料理,恶劣性格,天之手,一扇通往‘传奇’的大门被他缓缓推开。“其实``比起游戏,我还是比较喜欢烹饪和看肥皂剧```”-------《白帝语录》PS(精简版:这就是讲诉的一群逗比走上超神超鬼之路的故事)
  • 浮生唯你:老婆,跟我回家

    浮生唯你:老婆,跟我回家

    一场精心策划的爆炸,本该尸骨无存的她,顶着一张陌生的脸蛋儿回归,参加自己的葬礼,又冷眼看着众人演戏。安雅发誓,有生之年,有仇报仇,一定不会让他们好过!只是,对眼前这个——捡到她、帮了她、又不愿意放开她的男人,怎么办?时先生撩妻套路太深,护着宠着捧着,火力全开,最后干脆拐着人去了民政局,拿了红本本。“人生有两次幸运就好。一次捡到你,一次睡到底。”安雅默默举手投降。
  • 穿越海峡的白鸽

    穿越海峡的白鸽

    我记不清骑着这匹名为孤云的白马在苍茫的荒野上奔跑了多久,处在惊慌状态中的我脑子里老是闪动着凶狠的日本鬼子挥舞寒光闪闪的刺刀向我逼近的场面,这种幻觉刺激着我的神经,使我不断挥动马鞭抽打着孤云,孤云铆足了劲,拼命向前飞奔。在一条清澈的小溪边,孤云突然放慢了步子,它回过头,望了望伏在它身上的主人,此时的我长长吁了口气,心渐渐平静了下来。我用手摸了摸脑袋,真的有点儿不相信自己能从那场天昏地暗的恶战中幸存下来。现在,枪炮声、呐喊声、马蹄声都已远去。
  • 心灵的召唤

    心灵的召唤

    这是一本温暖人间真情的书;这是一本镌刻个性光辉的书;这是一本启迪苍生心灵的书;这是一本描绘幸福田园的书;这是一本凸显情感智慧的书;这是一本寄托灵魂私语的书;一本读后你一定会感动落泪的书,一本读后你一定会关爱家庭的书,一本读后你一定会珍爱生命的书。