Letter No. 13
Bivouac near Lyk
22 June 1812
Dearest Parents,
Since Captain Baumann is going to return now, I hasten simply to assure you of my good health and to acknowledge that your Letter No. 6 finally arrived today.
Today the army orders came in with the news that now the campaign shall begin, and that from now on we shall be loading up in earnest.
Today we had a hot day and marched for seven hours. I wrote on the 9th, and you know the route up to that day. On the 11th we marched from Kowalewo to Slabugora, the 13th to Janowo, the 14th to Raczin, the 15th to Świętajno, the 16th to Peitschendorf, where we bivouacked for the first time, the 17th to Woźnice, the 19th to Camionen and today, the 22nd, to this place. Here our gypsy life begins, but no one knows anything of actions for now.
Since no more time is left at my disposal, I must close in haste and assure you that in any case, according to your advice, 1 shall certainly be careful, and therefore you need not cause yourselves any anxiety.
I am in haste, as always, your most obedient,
Franz
Letter No. 14
Field camp near Hanusiszky
9 July 1812
Dearest Parents,
As I have not written to you since the 22nd of last month, I feel compelled to write to you again, but I must ask your consideration in that my letter neither has any style nor is legibly written, in the first place because I cannot make use of the two tables that we have, because the one has been commandeered for our clerk and the other by the quartermaster. Therefore this writing is taking place on the straw in my hut, and you well know that the confusion and tumult in such camps, where the entire corps is in one line, are extraordinary and cause great annoyance. Now I must give you a description of our encampment.
The colonel, Major von Rogeville, who is still in service with us, First Lieutenant von Ebner, Quartermaster Schneider and I are still living in a hut that I usually put up with the aid of our two pioneers who have been especially appointed for the staff.94 We have been here since the 5th; our camp is outside of Hanusiszky. The 1st Infantry Brigade is on the right of the road leading to Vilna, and ours on the left. The 3rd Brigade is behind the above-mentioned town [Vilna]. The 1st [Bavarian] Army Corps [i.e. 19th Division] is about an hour behind us. We are thus on the left flank in a small wood. Our quarters consist of a central building roughly in the shape I have shown in the margin, in which the colonel and the major sleep at the left and the other three of us at the right of the entrance. The hut is built like a tent but has two pockets, and the entrance is on one side, which is covered with branches, as are the pockets; the other side, which is entirely closed in, is covered with thatch. Since the heat was unbearable in this house, I built two wings to the right and left of our palace, one of which was designated as a dining room and the other as a boudoir in which one can dress or undress without being seen and can also wash. Our horses are quartered in the woods.
The army is faring miserably. Yesterday was the sixth day on which we received no bread, but today we received a three-day supply. We have, however, suffered no real need, so far.
One cannot occupy one’s time with political matters, for one knows absolutely nothing. Emperor Napoleon has been in Vilna for over two weeks, and the outposts are already said to be at the Dvina, and yet no shot has been fired, even though war has been declared, according to army orders of the 22nd of last month. In haste I shall quote as much as I can recall from memory.
His Excellency Count Wrede, General of the Cavalry, says in his Order of the Day of June 26th as follows: ‘His Majesty the Emperor and King [Napoleon was also King of Italy] in the general orders of the 22nd speaks as follows to the Grand Army. “Soldiers! The second war in Poland has now begun; the first ended at Friedland and Tilsit. At Tilsit Russia swore eternal friendship for France and war against England. Today she broke her oath. Russia does not intend to give an explanation for her strange behaviour until the French eagles have crossed the Rhine, whereby France would have to leave her allies exposed to the caprice of Russia. She lets us choose between honour and contempt. We shall not hesitate in our choice. The time has come for Russia’s fate to take its course. The second campaign in Poland will be as rich in honour for us as the first. We shall cross the Neman and carry on war in her country.” ’
My last letter was from camp near Lyk, from where we marched on the 23rd to Markowsken in East Prussia, the 24th to Cywawoda in the Duchy of Warsaw, the 25th to Boboince, encamped here until the 28th, and on that afternoon we broke camp and spent the night at Strosdi, the 29th at Krakeniki, the 30th at Slabodky, and July 1st at Strzelze. On July 2nd we crossed the Neman or Memel near Pilony and encamped in Russian Poland near Wizkini, the 3rd near Juchnani, the 4th near Sumieliszki, and came here on the 5th.
How difficult the marches are in the present heat is easy to imagine when I tell you that every day we break camp only at 7, 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning.
Since I mess with the colonel, the major and others, and the cooking utensils from Major Fortis were somewhat too large for me, I turned them over today to Captain Fortis of the 4th Light Battalion, as I had half promised his brother, for 4 francs, 3 kreuzer, because I kept one pot for making coffee.
Coffee and sugar each cost 1 franc, 30 kreuzer a pound in our money, or so we are told, for wherever we go the inhabitants have all fled. If we only came to a city I would buy some anyway. By the way, I have just used up what I brought along. I am only now beginning to use what Lieutenant Deltsch brought me. I have drunk chocolate only once, because one bar got wet.
I have already written you that I received your Letter No. 6 on the 22nd of last month. Otherwise nothing new has developed with us. Captain Baumann has probably already delivered my 13th letter of the 22nd of last month. Captain Wallraff was sent to the hospital sick a few days ago, but otherwise all are well and healthy.
Since the two active service pay bonuses have been approved and these amount to 65 francs, I shall allot 50 francs of this to you.
Because the colonel wants to close up the pouch at once, in my haste I can only wish that you are faring well, and I remain, as always,
Your most obedient,
Franz
Letter No. 15
Usaci in Podolia
26 July 1812
Best of Parents,
Since the pouch that I spoke of in my last letter of the 9th of this month was not closed in camp near Hanuschyschky but could only be taken to the mail here, where we shall enjoy a few days of rest, so I shall add this little note as a postscript to my Letter No. 14. I can only mention that not the slightest thing has happened since that time. According to certain reports, Marshal Davout is said to have fought some successful skirmishes against the Russians at the Dvina, which is still six miles away from us, and among other things to have captured 36 cannon. Furthermore, Smolensk, we are told, has already been occupied by the French, although the princely pancratic corps has not yet entirely left the Dvina.95
In order to acquaint you with our further march, I add herewith that we moved on the 12th from Hanusiszky to camp near Novo Troki [Trakai], on the 13th to near Ponary, and encamped near Minzkoy on the 14th. On that day the entire Bavarian Army paraded before His Majesty the Emperor of France and marched around the city of Vilna, because all the streets of the city were teeming with prisoners. Before Vilna we saw our first dead people, because the French had wrung this city from the Cossacks. At least 8,000 dead horses lay on the road from Hanuschyschky to Vilna. In short, the roads were almost impassable, and the marches too fatiguing. On the 15th we bivouacked near Slobodka, the 16th at Michalischki, where we crossed the Vilija, the 17th near Svir, the 18th near Rodoscham, the 19th near Woroniez, the 20th near Dunilovici, the 21st near Glubokoje, the 22nd near Svila, the 23rd near Schlo, the 24th near Manznin, and the 25th to this place.
On this whole march the troops received almost no bread. Once two companies got five small loaves, the second time each company one and a half loaves, and the third time a piece from a large, poor loaf of oatmeal bread. Therefore one cannot be surprised when I say that on many a day of march companies in the regiment had 12 or 13 dead, that the sick mounted up day by day so that, even with the addition of the stragglers who are now back, our numbers are down to 350, and that on account of the wretched roads we are very often 12 hours on the road but have only covered a march of four hours.
I would really be telling a lie, however, if I should complain about shortages, for one can well imagine that we take care of ourselves first.
In Vilna I bought a pound of coffee for 6 Polish gulden and the same amount of sugar for 5½. Now one must accept the fact that because of the crowds of people these victuals must be paid for at three times the ordinary cost. For some days we have been marching along with the Imperial Guard, since we are now directly under the command of the Emperor.
It is strange that we have no recent news at all, except what was brought by Lieutenant Deltsch. No letters, no army orders, in short nothing has come in. To be sure we are now about 500 hours away from Bavaria. You wrote to me several times in your letters that I should write if I needed money. For this I thank you heartily at this time, but I still have a few gulden in silver and the 5 louis d’or in gold, so it would still be unnecessary. Should I get into any embarrassment you know that I can turn to our colonel. I have already received one advance of 10 francs on my pay, which, however, has already been paid back.
The Reserve Battalion has already been informed in today’s report that I have allotted you 50 francs out of my supplementary payments.
Wisner is now here, too. He is in good health and sends many greetings not only to you but also to his mother. Please pass this on to her and inform her that Wisner wrote to her from Vilna.
On the 27th.
This afternoon at 5 o’clock we broke camp and marched to Senawiene, the 28th, today, to Czenzako, where I am adding this note. The Russians have taken position between the Dvina and the Dnepr, whither we shall probably make our way. For the rest, may you stay well and be assured that I am always,
Your forever most obedient,
Franz
Letter No. 16
Bivouac near Polotsk
18 August 1812
Best of Parents,
Since my last letter from Usaci on the 26th of last month, various new events have taken place, which I shall endeavour to reconstruct in compressed form herewith. On the afternoon of the 27th we received the command to follow the Emperor’s Grande Armée on the road to Vitebsk, and then on this same day we marched to Senawiene, the 28th to Czenzako, the 29th to Gurenka. Up to this point we had been camping in the villages, but on the morning of the 30th in Gurenka a fire broke out next to the pigsty where the staff was quartered and quickly spread. Accordingly, we not only had to vacate the village immediately, but also had to camp in the open fields on all the following days. We came into camp near Biscinkowice along the Dvina on 1 August. On the 5th news arrived that the French under Marshal Oudinot (Duke of Reggio) had been defeated near Polotsk and compelled to retreat to the Dvina. We immediately broke camp and marched to Ulla and on the 6th to Ostrokiewe, from where at 8.30 on the morning of the 7th we crossed the Dvina, and on the outskirts of Polotsk we joined with Marshal Oudinot’s Corps, which consisted of two divisions of French and one division of Dutch and Swiss and which had just reoccupied Polotsk.
At exactly 9.30 the outposts attacked the Russians and overthrew them, whereupon the entire corps, 60,000 strong, moved left on the road toward Petersburg. After an hour, one division of the French and our First Army Corps [19th Division] left this road and turned into the one leading to Riga. We camped in the Polotsk wood, which is 12 hours march long and lies two hours from Polotsk. On the 8th we also left the Petersburg highway and made our way over country and logging roads back to the road to Riga and spent the night near Brutniki. Here it should be mentioned that on this afternoon such a storm of hurricane proportions arose, that our poor men, who for over three weeks had not received two rations of bread and many of whom had a violent diarrhoea, which saps the strength so extraordinarily and goes over into dysentery, had to wade in water and bog up over the knees for more than three hours, for which reason very many men collapsed on the way and died miserably from exhaustion and also because they received neither help nor relief from anyone. But I am straying from my subject and must therefore get back on course.
On the 9th we crossed the Drissa and camped in front of it. On the 10th we reunited near Walensk on the road to Riga with the two divisions that had become separated from us. Since now the very weakly held Petersburg road was threatened by the enemy, we returned there in one day and spent the night of the 12th near Muschek. On the 13th the French who were on the Riga road had to retreat again. We were disturbed continuously day and night by the enemy on the 14th and 15th, and, since the terrain was not favourable to us here, we retreated up to Polotsk on the night of the 15th. On the 16th we again had to turn back several small skirmishes, which task, however, was accomplished by the outposts alone. We had to stand to arms every few moments, but not until yesterday, the 17th, at 1 o’clock at night did we move out of our bivouac and draw up in battle formation to the right of Polotsk across the Polota.
At about 6 o’clock a few 6-pounders were directed at a Russian picket, and towards 8 o’clock the affair began. It was our task to cover two batteries behind the Polota. Now it is easy to imagine that all the enemy artillery, of which to be sure they had only about 20 pieces, was concentrated upon these two batteries, which caused very much damage in the Russian army because of their excellent location, and we therefore endured a stiff cannonading that lasted until 4 o’clock.
The brigade had extraordinarily good luck in this place, for we counted only six wounded, while the 6th Regiment had 17 officers and over 200 men wounded, and the 2nd Regiment about five officers and 190 men. Captain Pierron of the 6th Regiment was killed on the spot. Marshal Oudinot, General St Cyr, General Vincenti, Lieutenant Colonel Butler, Majors Reichlin, Bach and Mann are among the wounded. In this affair, in which the firing continued with great force until 8 o’clock in the evening, the Russians have likewise lost very many men, for all day today their wounded, who were not found on the field of battle until today, have been brought past us to [...].96
Nothing happened to any officer of our regiment. The first cannonball shattered the right leg of the orderly or light [...] (as the fouriers are now called). Of the [...], five men were slightly wounded by musketry. [...] the Carl Regiment [3rd Infantry] has a very insignificant loss.
We did not get to fire our muskets; we had only to stand still the entire time exposed to the enemy fire. A spent bullet struck the rein of my horse quite sharply. The horse can now stand the firing quite well. I lost Pluto in a forest on the 28th of last month on the march, and poor Werner got the Polish sickness (diarrhoea) three weeks ago, and it got so bad that I had to have him taken to the hospital in Polotsk on the 16th. However, I expect his recovery in the immediate future.
Since we are marching off at 2 o’clock, I must hasten to close. We have many sick in the regiment, among others Captain Wallraff, First Lieutenants Saint-Sauveur and Weinberger, Senning, Lechleitner, Pirkner and Lieutenant Schönner. All the rest are hale and hearty. Major Merz has arrived and brought the map and pipe ribbon, for which I thank you. Your letter will soon be answered by,
Your eternally most obedient son,
Franz
In greatest haste I am writing at once, since you asked me to in one of your letters. Give my greetings to Loe and tell him that his brother is a corporal in a Swiss regiment, which is here, and he was slightly wounded yesterday. Or at least so I have been told, for I did not see it.
I do not know where we are marching. Farewell.
Letter No. 17
Camp near Polotsk
19 August 1812
Dearest Parents,
In the conclusion of my letter of yesterday I said that we were marching at 2 o’clock. This was the reason why I could not write any more and had to finish today.97
We did break camp yesterday at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and the 2nd Brigade under General Count Beckers went behind a church on the little River Polota, in order to turn the flank of the enemy by defiling past. However, at 4 o’clock, when, under the thunder of cannon, the brigade was about to finish defiling past one man after the other and reach a wood, it happened that after our 1st Battalion had passed this valley and Major Merz with the 2nd Battalion was likewise about to go through, when the enemy seized a hill that was on our left. Now it became a question of first clearing this hill again. Our battalion stood in an unspeakable rain of shot and musket balls, but by much encouragement and cries and blows we brought our men to storm this hill, and so we drove the enemy back in the greatest disorder and with much loss and followed them as far as the woods.98
On our left a few battalions retreated, but we were ordered to force our way through. This we did, but we thereby drew upon ourselves fire from in front, from the left and from three batteries. It is not possible to take the time to describe this in detail, for I shall tell you about it orally. I only mention that in this really heated battle among many others General of the Infantry von Deroy, General Raglovich, Colonel Comeau, Colonel Colonge and Colonel Wreden were very seriously wounded and perhaps will not survive. Very many are lightly wounded.
However, in our regiment we have only Sergeant Filchner, Corporal Sterner and eight men who we know are dead. Seriously wounded are Captain Leistle through the head, but he will survive, Lieutenant Deltsch in the groin, and Lieutenant Dufresne through the chest; lightly wounded are Captain Dettenhofer in the shin, First Lieutenant Imhoff, Sr., in the lower leg, First Lieutenant Grebmer a ricochet on the arm, and also Ensign Sartorius in the foot, but not seriously. Sergeants Zenger and Hintermeyer died of their wounds yesterday. Sergeant Kegler and Sergeant Sichler are also wounded. In all, the regiment has 13 non-commissioned officers and 59 men wounded. Three non-commissioned officers and 57 men, as well as Captain Schintling and First Lieutenant Steidl, are missing and have not yet made an appearance. Our entire loss thus amounts to eight officers and 140 men [once again Franz’s arithmetic is at fault; the listing above comes to 9 officers and 144 men]; the exact number is not yet known today. Lieutenant Engler is severely wounded, Lieutenant Weller is sick, and Major Tausch also died in this way. Lieutenant Michels, who is brigade adjutant with General Beckers, has been ill for four weeks, and therefore the adjutant of the 4th Light Infantry Battalion was performing his duties. Since this officer, however, was also seriously wounded, I was appointed today as adjutant to General Beckers.
According to today’s orders, the General of the Cavalry [Wrede] has command of both divisions, while Major General Siebein commands the 19th and Major General Beckers the 20th Division. In our division, Colonel Spaun commands the 1st Brigade, Maillot the 2nd and Habermann the 3rd. In the other division, three colonels likewise command the three brigades.
Since the courier who takes the letters with him is about to leave and I have my many duties, I must close.
To sum it up, the enemy has been completely overthrown, and we now have nothing more to fear. They are also talking about peace negotiations that are to take place.
I did not have my horse with me, because all the staff officers and adjutants of the brigade had to defile through on foot.
Finally, your sincere son, in very good health, thank God, wishes you continued prosperity.
Franz
Greetings to all.
The following, extracted from the published history of the 7th Infantry, is a supplement to Franz’s accounts of the First Battle of Polotsk in his letters and military diary.99 He composed this in 1829 or shortly thereafter in response to what he perceived as a misrepresentation of the action on 18 August 1812 as delivered by officer turned historian Eduard Baron von Völderndorff und Waradein in his magisterial work Kriegsgeschichte von Bayern unter König Maximilian Joseph I. In his version, Völderndorff credits the 4th Infantry with halting the Russian advance against the Bavarians with well-delivered musketry and then inspiring their countrymen by a determined attack that turned the tide in this portion of the battlefield.100 Franz, on the other hand, gives most of glory to the 7th Infantry.
Individual perceptions of combat events can vary tremendously and controversies such as this exist in all armies for almost any battle, but Franz’s is particularly convincing because this is almost the only spot in his known writings where he specifically describes himself performing an heroic deed. While we may never know with certainty which regiment truly ‘saved the day’ for the Bavarian Army on that August evening in 1812, Franz’s detailed account enhances our picture of the battle and provides a wonderful vignette of tactical realities in the Napoleonic age.
Account101
At 4 p.m. on the afternoon of 18 August, when the 12-pounder battery posted on the left bank of the Polota began to fire and thereby gave the signal for the entire line to attack, the 2nd Brigade of the 20th Division of the Grande Armée (the 3rd and 7th Line Infantry Regiments), which had been awaiting this moment concealed in the shrubs of the estate102 gardens and arrayed en colonne103 under General Count von Beckers’ command with staff officers and adjutants on foot, set itself in motion in such a way that it broke through those shrubs and the thorn hedge that enclosed the gardens by files to the right of the estate and village of Spas and descended into a wide ditch that surrounded the estate and which was connected to the stream bed of the Polota, and marched ahead in a ravine which formed the narrow space between this little stream and its very high and steep bank in order to reach the Gromewo Forest and thereby to get around the enemy’s left wing, which lay between this forest and the village of Spas in what was for us a very uncomfortable proximity. The difficulties presented to the brigade by the penetration of the thorn hedge and the descent into the aforementioned ravine without any prepared path had the most uncomfortable result that the leading elements [of the column] had almost reached the edge of the forest before the tail - the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Regiment - had completely departed the starting point. This delay created significant intervals between the various units of the brigade.
As Beckers’ brigade was advancing in the manner described, the 19th Division had likewise begun its advance with the aforementioned attack signal, and Raglovich’s brigade had attacked the enemy on the road to Newel [Nevel] and pushed him back toward that renowned forest, which seems to be the reason that the enemy, thus occupied, at first failed to notice the movement of Beckers’ brigade through the ravine 500 or 600 paces farther to the left. However, after the enemy commander had sent substantial reinforcements to his hard-pressed left wing, and from them [the reinforcements] had shoved a strong force into the gap which had been left open on the plateau between the right wing of Raglovich’s brigade and the much-mentioned ravine, these reinforcements effected both the discovery of Beckers’ brigade filing up the ravine and the retreat of Raglovich’s brigade, as well as a break in Beckers’ brigade, from which the last company of the 1st Battalion of Löwenstein and the 2nd Battalion of the same regiment, in part still in the process of descending from the aforementioned gardens, were cut off when the enemy attacked them from the plateau above. The isolated seven companies of the regiment had no choice but to withdraw into the previously mentioned broad ditch that encircled the Spas Estate, in order to reform themselves when possible, as a retreat out of this ravine in any other direction was impossible owing to the Polota flowing on the right and the steep, enemy-occupied heights on the left.
Arriving in this ditch, or cauldron, I quickly convinced myself that the battalion would be a defenceless target for the enemy’s fire and would certainly suffer greater losses than it would in an attack across open ground. As a retreat into the estate gardens (our initial position) was unfeasible owing to the rugged terrain described above and the impassable route, I allowed myself, in this most desperate situation, to ask the battalion commander, Major von Merz, to order the battalion to climb the steep height before us at once, in order to get out of the enemy’s line of fire as we climbed and to take part in the mightily raging battle once we were on the plateau.
At a wave of his [Merz’s] hand, the entire command scaled the height, and, behind a sort of natural breastwork there, found the time to form itself hastily and hold at bay the pursuing enemy troops, who had thrown themselves into one of the many ditches on this plateau. At the moment of our arrival on this height, however, it did not escape my notice that one of our units with yellow lapels and cuffs was retreating at a distance of approximately 500 paces to our left and had already come very close to the village of Spas. It seemed to me that this was the 4th Infantry Regiment of Raglovich’s brigade. I only allowed myself a moment to consider that, if this unit continued its retreat into the village or indeed beyond it, our battalion, for which, as just mentioned, there was no open route of retreat, was probably destined for captivity, and would be thrown, in any event, either back into the cauldron we had just left or into the Polota. I then turned to Ensign Sartorius (then serving as a sergeantmajor) standing next to me on my right and to a sergeant on my left and called on them to leap atop the breastwork with me and to attack the enemy with the bayonet, assuring them that the battalion certainly would follow if we set the example. In no time, this occurred and just as rapidly the battalion was up and running toward the ditch in which the enemy had thrown himself, driving him thence from ditch to ditch up to the forest without respite.
At the time that the battalion of the 7th Regiment stepped on to the plateau of the battlefield and attacked the enemy with the bayonet, the withdrawing battalion or regiment mentioned earlier (apparently the 4th) halted, turned about and, aligned with us, joined us in pursuing the Russians up to the forest, by which time it had become dark.
Shortly thereafter in this wood, the battalion met with the 1st Battalion of the 7th Regiment under Colonel von Maillot, which had followed the original route with the rest of Beckers’ brigade.
Furthermore, there is no doubt that the hand of fate which caused this episode, and which threw the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment Löwenstein into the line of battle without orders from above, is to be considered fortunate for the outcome of the battle; because at the moment that the enemy commander was reinforcing his defensive line and pushing an infantry detachment into the open gap between the right flank of our attacking line and the right bank of the Polota (that is, Beckers’ brigade), the former [the attacking line] was forced to withdraw for fear of being outflanked and the latter [Beckers’] was completely isolated in the Gromewo Forest and condemned to inactivity. These movements by the Russians would have had decisive disadvantages and incalculable consequences for the two [Bavarian] detachments just mentioned had not those seven companies of the 7th Infantry Regiment crossed supposedly impassable terrain, surprised the enemy at just the right moment and, by their impetuous bayonet attack, forced the enemy into hasty flight, which haste was probably caused because the boldness of the attack by such a weak force of infantry would have led the enemy to conclude that strong supporting troops were at hand that could have been hidden in the hollow behind us. Through the rapid repulse of the infantry column which had forced its way into the gap, the retreating right wing of our 19th Division lost its concern about a flanking attack and could return to the attack with us, whereby the balance of the battle was restored and, much more, the decision of the entire day’s business was promoted.
As Major von Merz, Ensign Sartorius and I received the order of the French Legion of Honour shortly thereafter, I do not doubt but that the 7th Regiment brought this episode in the Battle of Polotsk to the attention of the commander; but how astonished was I in 1829 at Pirmasens on the outermost borders of the realm, when Volume III of Baron von Völderndorff’s Bavarian military history fell into my hands, in which, in addition to a number of other errors, I found the facts described above recounted in totally incorrect fashion on pages 115 and 116, and the 7th Infantry Regiment not mentioned at all. It now seems probable to me that an account of this spontaneous action by the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Regiment, operating on its own initiative and completely cut off, was never submitted. This could well have happened because Major von Merz was transferred to command the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion shortly thereafter and because I was called to be General von Beckers’ adjutant the following day, the 19th of August, so that we both had to leave the battalion.
Now that I have put down on paper the facts described above, I believe I have repaired as much as possible my previous neglect, committed when I was adjutant of this battalion, and I leave to fate and the future whether and in what manner the 7th Infantry Regiment, in whose ranks I spent the happiest years of my youth, with which I participated in all the campaigns of this century up to the year 1818 with the exception of the military promenade to France in the year 1815, and to which love and gratitude bind me with equally strong ties, maintains or vindicates this leaf in its crown of laurels.
Letter No. 18
Bivouac near Robni,
two hours past Polotsk
on the Petersburg road
26 August 1812
Most Precious Parents,
By now you have probably received my letter of the 19th of this month, Letter No. 17.1 should have written to you again on the 22nd, because I had news again, but I considered it unnecessary, for we did not take part in this action. I have already told you that on the 17th and 18th we had a tough battle, and so I shall continue. On the 19th, 20th and 21st we remained in our position near Polotsk and were always ready to break camp, but not until the 22nd at 1 o’clock in the afternoon did we get the command to march, and we started out on the Petersburg road. The First Division [19th Division] led by General von Siebein formed the advance guard, then a French cavalry brigade followed, and then the Second Division [20th Division] under the command of General Count von Beckers. Except for two batteries that went with us, all the artillery and the baggage were to go along the left bank of the Dvina, but we were to go along the right bank toward Disna. Thus we marched quietly along for three hours.
Then our division received the command to halt, but the First continued another half hour farther, where they met the enemy outposts and forced them back. (Here I must call attention to the fact that the road to Petersburg is straight as a ramrod and so wide that from a hill one can at any time see for a distance of almost two hours, and thus one can always shatter everything on the road with cannon shot. At the right and left there are only woods and swamps.) These outposts then allowed themselves to be forced back to Beloe, but our men had hardly arrived there in columns when a cannonade started from one piece by which six to eight or more men were severely wounded with every shot. Nevertheless, this division [the 19th] went on and in this way came close to this cannon, which suddenly let loose a horrible fire of canister. Now, therefore, all had to leave the road, and the enemy was attacked on a plain that was here, and the village of Beloe was taken, but we had to withdraw again just as quickly, because the enemy pressed our men severely. The position outside of the woods a half or quarter hour from Beloe was maintained, however, and here our outposts and those of the enemy were only a stone’s throw from each other. We remained here on the 23rd, and General Beckers was put in charge of the outposts, so we two reconnoitred the enemy, who kept very quiet, just as we did. One could talk with the enemy here, so close were we, and we saw quite well how he had taken possession of the entire hill.
On the evening of the 23rd we withdrew our outposts one hour’s march to Gamlzelewo, where the road to Riga separates off from the one to Petersburg, and here the 1st Brigade of the Second Division took a position. They were relieved on the 24th at noon by the 2nd and 3rd Brigades, and also at this time the enemy’s outpost appeared at a quarter hour’s distance before ours on the highway. Command of the outposts was turned over to Colonel von Maillot, who is in charge of the 2nd Brigade, and General Beckers and I with the entire divisional staff found quarters here in the church. I get along very well with the general. Lieutenant Strunz is acting as brigade adjutant for Colonel von Maillot.
At the affair on the 22nd, the following misfortunes took place: General Siebein was wounded and died on the 24th; Lieutenant Colonel von Gedoni was killed on the field of battle; Major Gravenreuth of the General Staff was shot through the foot, and it was amputated the day before yesterday; likewise Captain Pelz of Laroche’s [6th Light Battalion]. First Lieutenant von Xylander of Gedoni’s [1st Light Battalion] was severely wounded; First Lieutenant Haake of the Leibregiment [1st Infantry Regiment] remained dead on the road.104 Besides this, about eight more officers were wounded and a few were left behind dead; also several were captured. The battalion of von Gedoni has only four or five officers and 60 men left, the battalion Laroche likewise, and the 1st Infantry Regiment suffered greatly in this engagement. The following died of their wounds of the 18th: General of the Infantry von Deroy, Colonel von Wreden, and on the evening of the 24th Captain Leistle, of those whom you know, but many more in addition. Colonel Count Preysing was also badly wounded on the 18th. Senior War Commissar Böhm died of exhaustion. I visited Lieutenant Deltsch yesterday. He will recover completely and is already quite cheerful.
The situation with our troops is very unhappy. Rations are poor; meat and water, with a 16-pound loaf [sic] of bread about once every two weeks, are all that a soldier gets. Disease is rife. On all roads one finds dead men who had been sent to the hospital but could not reach it for exhaustion and therefore died in a most pitiable manner. The French and the other allies do not fare a whit better, and that is what lets me hope, as is rumoured, for an armistice very soon and peace thereafter.
The following tells plainly of our weakness. The effective strength of the division excluding the cavalry is 12,507 men. Of these, 990 are on special detail, 4,221 sick, then 811 missing and prisoners, so that the loss is 6,022. According to report, then, there are 6,485 available for duty, and from this are to be taken those who remained weary and sick along the marches, also those in the train and those who were put on special duty as junior fouriers or with the baggage and in other regimental service, who amount to about 730 men. Therefore, of the abovementioned effective strength of the division, there are under arms 13 staff officers, 203 officers, 581 non-commissioned officers, 103 musicians and then 4,855 shadow-men, for such are our soldiers as they wander around here. I can guarantee that this number would not show up, if we were today lined up in formation. So now you can get a good idea of our condition when I add to this that our division is significantly stronger than the First. But please, dear Father, keep this to yourself, for it might cause an undesirable mood in the country if the pitiable fate of the army became known.
Praise and thanks be to God, nothing has really happened to me so far, and here with the general I have no real privations. I live in such a way that I am not in a position to experience the conditions in which so many thousands find themselves.
One can truly not thank one’s God enough, if one is always so fortunately preserved, and it is a miracle to have come out so luckily, especially after the battle of the 18th. It seems to me that now the war will also soon be coming to an end. Our victory on the 18th cost us many brave men, but the Russians were also thoroughly beaten, even though under the command of Prince von Wittgenstein they were at least twice as strong as we, and they lost 1,500 men who fell into our hands as prisoners, and 21 cannon. The battlefield was sown with wounded and dead to such an extent that even by the evening of the 21st not all the wounded and dead had been removed from the scene. Their loss in wounded and dead is comparatively four times as large as ours. In short, the carnage was terrible right up to nightfall. I myself took one prisoner, who was at the point of stabbing me.
Yesterday also news came from the Emperor that Smolensk had been captured by storm by the French, 100 cannons won and 12,000 prisoners taken. The Russians are completely routed and are being pursued by the Emperor with much success. A decisive battle has not yet taken place, however.
I have already told you that Werner went to the hospital. He was sick a long time while still with me. I had him taken care of and he did not take duty, but at the end he got so weak and could no longer stand without aid, so I had to have him taken to the field hospital, especially since the dangerous days were at our very door. I have frequently had people look for him since then, but no one can find him.
On our march on the 12th of this month our forage wagon remained behind and only caught up with us on the 14th, but it had lost almost everything that we had in it. In this way I lost my overcoat, a pair of boots and other things of this kind. Today on the 30th of August as I close, we are still located at the place mentioned above, without having learned anything more.
I am, you may be sure, now as always, my dear parents’ faithful and most obedient son,
Franz
Letter No. 19
Suburb of Polotsk
22 September 1812
Dearest, Most Precious Parents,
Your letters sent to me arrived in the following manner. Your Letter No. 9 without date was, as I have already written you, duly turned over to me by Major von Merz, together with the map and little ribbon, on the 11th of August just as we had the thunder of cannons and musketry very close, for the French and Swiss were having an affair at this time half an hour away. And on the 16th of this month we had a lucky day when for the first time in some while the post arrived again. Here I received in the enclosures to Major Merz, who now is in command of the regiment, your dear missives No. 8 of the 29th of May, No. 10 of the 8th of June and No. 12 of the 13th of July. I am therefore writing in reply according to the numerical sequence, and I call attention to the fact that I could not possibly find time on the 18th, 19th and 20th to reply to Letter No. 9, which I had already received earlier, because, as is known to you, on such days after battles and at the outposts one has very little peace and quiet in which to write letters.
So to Letter No. 8. It is easy to imagine that the captains who have been transferred to the Reserve Battalion take their duties and drill very seriously, because in the first place they are all diligent, and because in the second place they hope thereby to remain with the battalion in active service, although I doubt that it will help any, for it is said that all those officers that have returned will be pensioned. The death of Secretary Marx has affected his son greatly; he is now also sick.
I have already written you that I have allotted 50 francs to you from my supplementary pay, and likewise I shall continue with the monthly 20 francs. The spending of it, how much and how, I leave entirely to your good judgment. So Quartermaster Burger has after a long wait got into bookkeeping after all.
I am well aware that the said Mr von Wagner can be a thorn in people’s sides. I also know that he has nevertheless had the longest reign. Therefore, just let the fools run along with their dunce caps. Millach’s daughter will be very saddened at the loss of her husband. Sterner’s wife left here on 20 or 21 August. She has probably made a lot of noise, but, I beg of you, do not believe any such wailing, for we know, of course, that these people always believe that they have seen more than a prudent man can see. You may rest assured that I shall write to you at once at the conclusion of even the smallest conflict and shall always stick [...] to the truth, for it is a fact that since the affair near Beloe on the 22nd of last month we have not fired a shot at the Russians, excepting the skirmishes of the patrols, and the latter have not fired on us, and [...] reason that we shall not fire again. I heard that my cousin went to the Light Horse, and he will surely like that better than in the infantry. Captain Wallraff returned from the hospital a few weeks ago, and in the last Army Order No. 6 he received the First Class Medal, and he is also acting major now. Therefore I do not believe that he will go back so soon.
Army Order No. 5 never did arrive here, and therefore no one knows whether Saint-Sauveur and Thannhausen have been promoted or not. Regarding your request for a settlement, I can do nothing but wish you good success, only I believe that now is not the right time, for you know well what decision was made on your request at the Reserve Battalion three years ago with respect to detached service. To be sure, the lieutenant colonel will support your request, but what will acting Company Commander Wagner do for you? Furthermore, I do not know whether you still suffer pains in your foot, in which case you must be very thoughtful of your rest. Finally, I am convinced that you want to do everything and yet are not able to, and the lieutenant colonel has told not only me but told you as well, that you should spare yourself and not exert yourself too much. There are surely other sergeants in the company; leave something for them to do, too.
All regards that you receive for me, please return in my name.
The gorgets for the division have been here for some time but have not been given out. The General of the Cavalry [Wrede] did not want to do it, and we can get along all right without them. We can wait until we get the epaulettes, and then both things can be done at the same time.
To Letter No. 9. As I have already said, in Russia I duly received the map of Poland as well as the little ribbon, through Major Merz himself. I thank you very much for these items, and the ribbon is already adorning my silver-chased pipe bowl. With regard to the withdrawal and payment of my debts, I have already told you that I leave that entirely to your discretion.
To Letter No. 10. From this letter I see, then, that Lieutenant Loe has been permitted to resign his position as adjutant. Neither he nor any of the other officers, viz. Reichmann, Predl, Lutz, etc., have arrived here as yet. On 1 July two of these marched out of Bayreuth, so one can see what a tremendously long journey it is from Bavaria to Russia.
It is not at all necessary that I procure my own victuals, because I always eat at the regiment with the staff officers and now with the general, but I always have something on hand, which is especially advantageous for me if the need arises, as is often the case here. But I suffer no privation. For example, I was not feeling well a few days ago, so I immediately sent for a quart of wine, even though it cost 2½ taler, or 4 francs 30 kreuzer, and was about half a Bavarian measure. In general provisions are very scarce here and only to be had at exorbitant prices. For example, beer is not to be had at all. A pound of butter costs one rouble or about 2 francs in our money. A little loaf of commissary bread only three weeks ago cost four 24-kreuzer pieces. When I get two shirts, two cloths and two pairs of socks washed by someone in town, I am very fortunate, and if I really am so lucky I must give the washerwoman the soap myself. My orderly must stand beside her all day, and I must pay four 24-kreuzer pieces in advance. They try to get money out of you for everything here. In short, in Polotsk they do not know any different but to demand two, three and four 20-kreuzer pieces for the slightest thing. In this respect our poor wounded and sick officers are to be pitied, for if one of them wants to have some soup made he must pay almost 3 francs, because a handful of flour costs 48 kreuzer, two potatoes cost a penny [‘groschen’ in original] - in short, everything is like this.
I do not know if I have already written you that on the march from Walensk to Muschen on the 12th of last month I lost my overcoat, my jacket, a pair of boots and other minor items from our transport wagon. Therefore I was faced with the necessity of procuring another overcoat, and so I bought one of the deceased Major Baron Gravenreuth’s for 11 francs. My ready cash has shrunk considerably as a result.
I wrote to you immediately each time after the affair of the 17th and 18th and after the battle on the 18th and 19th. Then I wrote on the 26th of last month after the affair at Beloe on the 22nd, although we took no part at all in the latter.
I am very sorry that you have had so much bad luck with your birds, but perhaps next year will be better. By then I can feed them sometimes, or forget to do so, as has happened so often.
That my dear mother is suffering from a cold causes me much concern, and I hope that it will soon have passed, and please give me news of this in the near future. From my heart I wish her a speedy recovery. I am only sorry that I cannot give her part of my good health, for I have no ailments of any kind at the moment.
Now I shall answer the last letter, No. 12. I have already said at the beginning that Lieutenant Lutz has not yet arrived. He will then bring along Letter No. 11, which I have not yet received, and I am very anxious to see the regulations. That the good fellow thought he would join us in 24 days will [...], for today it is already 74 days [...] more [...] perhaps, and he surely will not come this month. Lieutenants Reichmann and Loe are also not here yet. I cannot understand why Predl is still at the Reserve Battalion, since Lutz has already left; however, he may have started this happy journey by now. I would have paid Sergeant Sichler the 10 francs by now, if he were not in some unknown hospital, lightly wounded. I do not dare say anything about your credit, for there is not a single farthing [‘heller’ in original] in the coffers of the corps paymaster, much less in the regiment, which has much less than nothing. I have, to be sure, not much more left now, but I can get money any time. You need not worry about me, for I have not used any of my gold. Only my silver has melted away, and we have not received much yet, so I am not used to having any. Money is being expected daily anyway.
Captain Frank and Professor Plager are the most uncouth bums in the city of Neuburg. Therefore it is easy for me to believe that they are quarrelling with each other. For the one will never admit that the other is more uncouth than he.
About Lieutenant Voltolini I am also not surprised, because, just between us, he is a loudmouth. [...] has not yet been hushed up enough, so he has to get still more [...].
I have noticed from the newspapers, which we have from as late as the 29th of August, that storms have caused much damage in Bavaria. One may conclude that this is the reason for the prevailing high prices. General Beckers has the Nürnberger Correspondent, and on the 16th of this month he received the issue of the 29th of August and many earlier ones.
Now to news. You surely already know that Captain Leistle and First Lieutenant Senning are dead. Lieutenants Deltsch and Dufresne are better. Deltsch was shot through the left side with damage to his ribs, and Dufresne through the left chest and from the right through the right chest and through the right shoulder. Dufresne will probably have a permanently disabled arm. First Lieutenants Ebner, Lechleitner, Imhoff, Sr., Pirkner, Weinberger, Thannhausen and Schönner are still very ill. Captain Dettenhofer went back with his wound, God knows where. All the rest of the officers are hale and hearty.
Sergeant Baldauf and Corporal Oberfrank from the 1st Light Infantry died a few days ago, just as many of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the regiment have already started on this journey to eternity. My orderly Werner is also said to be dead, but I am not yet sure of this. You probably already know that Sergeants Hintermeyer and Zenger are dead.
Our army has really suffered greatly already, for the First Division has only 1,709, [and the Second Division according to] report only 1,958 including privates still in the ranks. Therefore the entire army has 3,667 muskets [in readiness]. The 7th Infantry Regiment of the Line, according to this report, consists of one staff officer, 17 officers and 48 non-commissioned officers, then 11 drummers, 204 men [...], so the entire regiment is 303 men strong. Now just imagine this beautiful regiment of 1,615 men in former times [...]. In the hospital at Polotsk 50 to 60 men are dying every day, and likewise the number of sick increases. All [move] around like shadows. This campaign will truly be a costly one for Bavaria.
On the very day of the battle of the 18th here near Polotsk, [...] von Cetto of the 10th Line Infantry Regiment, ordnance officer with General Count Gouvion St Cyr, was sent with our news to the Emperor.105 He came back on the 2nd with rewards. In the first place, General Count Gouvion St Cyr was made a marshal, and secondly [...] Infantry von Deroy was raised to the Imperial French peerage as a count with a stipend of 60,000 francs annually. Deroy did not survive to learn this. In the third place, all officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers who [lost] an arm or a foot in this battle [are to] enjoy the same pension as the French in such a case. In the fourth place, all the widows and orphans [...] of the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers who died in this battle are to be treated and receive the same pension as those of the French. In the fifth place, His Majesty bestowed upon the two army corps 80 Legion of Honour crosses for officers and 40 for non-commissioned officers and privates.
Furthermore, a few days ago a salute of 50 cannon was given here, at which time the victory of the Emperor at Mozhaysk, 22 hours’ march this side of Moscow, was disclosed.106 This battle took place on the 7th of this month, and the victory consisted of 1,500 prisoners and 60 captured cannon. In addition, 40,000 men and 9,000 horses succumbed on the field on the Russian side, and only 20,000 men on the French side. This is said to have been a terrible battle.
The courier who brought this news did not travel very quickly because of lack of horses, wagon, bread and everything. He said that a courier from another corps had overtaken him near Vitebsk who was bringing the news that the French were on this side and the Russians on the other side of Moscow, that the city had been vacated by both sides and could not be entered, as negotiations had indeed begun there. Also that the senate in Moscow had declared that if Russia did not make peace then Moscow would do so, because they did not want to see the city surrendered to the enemy.
This courier also said that on the 7th before the battle the Emperor had inspired courage and bravery in his troops by promising them that in the space of four weeks he would procure peace and good winter quarters for them.
The news has also just come in that the reinforcements will arrive here on the 25th, [which is probably where] Reichmann and Loe are. Today, the 23rd, our regiment is again 17 men weaker.
Lieutenant Colonel Baron Zweibrücken of the General Staff is returning [to] Bavaria tomorrow as courier. He will take this letter along and [post] it in Munich.
Ensign Sartorius and Sergeant Kugler, who was left behind wounded, will be decorated with the Legion of Honour.
I hope that we shall see each other soon, and I am, as always,
My dearest parents’ son, most obedient unto death,
Franz
For this time my letter will be a good, long one, and you will have enough to read.
I am well situated with General Count von Beckers. We have, as is well known, a good mess, but there is nothing to drink, although it is just for the present, and we must be satisfied with nothing but water. General Vincenti is in command of the First, and General Count Beckers the Second Division.
Lieutenant Colonel Deuxponts [i.e., Zweibrücken] is leaving this afternoon, the 24th, at 2 o’clock, and the news has just come in that the Emperor of France entered Moscow on the 14th of this month.
Lieutenant Schönner is said to have died yesterday.
Farewell.
Letter No. 20
Polotsk
10 October 1812
Dearest Parents,
On 25 September I received your second Letter No. 10 of 19 June. The two bottles with the crate for the colonel arrived on the 28th, and I received Letter No. 13 of 21 July on the 7th of this month.
Lieutenants Reichmann and Loe reported in on 25 September, and Predl on the 5th of this month. All arrived in good health, but of 47 soldiers who were to join us only 23 reached the regiment; the rest remained behind in hospitals on the march.
On 27 September Lieutenant Loe immediately became very sick and is still in Polotsk. Now to answer your two letters.
It was correct that Letter No. 10 did not reach me through the two lieutenants until September, as you wrote, but that there would be peace or we would be in Petersburg was not the case, for we are still 60 miles away and also do not yet have peace, although we do have hopes.
One should think that food products ought to be very cheap here, but because of the tremendous usury of the Jews it is not so, for coffee as well as sugar costs eight Polish gulden per pound, or one Bavarian taler. In Disna, where we were recently, one could in the beginning get a pound for six Polish gulden, but no longer at the end, and all products, as I have already written, are at very high prices. For the bottle of arrack as well as the vinegar I am much obliged to you. Both arrived safely. I am especially grateful for the arrack, since one cannot get it here, much less the vinegar.
It would be nice if Colonel von Maillot became a general. Besides, since he is the senior colonel, his chances are good.
Yesterday Colonel Rodt should have left with the first reinforcement column, and three others will follow him in the near future.107 The regiment has received 250 men, but there is no talk of activating the Reserve Battalion.
From here it is 80 hours to Vilna; from there, by way of Breslau and Prague, 416 hours to Munich. So one can easily say that we are over 500 hours away from you. This is certainly too far to send anything, yet it is amazing that none of the bottles sent to the colonel and me were broken. [...] six bottles were sent to the colonel through Lieutenant Colonel Merz, of which only one remained intact, and all the others were broken. I have not yet received Letter No. 11, because Lieutenant Lutz lies sick in Ebing, and, therefore, I have not yet received the training regulations either.
You write that our situation must have improved, since all the rivers are in our power. I cannot see this at all, for almost all waterways are useless to us. For the Dvina is only navigable after Daugavpils [Dünaburg or Dinabourgh], and, moreover, its mouth, Riga, is in the hands of the enemy. The Disna, Usaci, Ulina, etc. are nothing but brooks, the Neman as well as the Vistula are too far back, and the roads from there are too risky for merchants, on account of the huge amount of army transport. The Dnepr, which the Grand Army has at its back, flows from the interior of the country, where there is nothing, and it is also unnavigable upstream as far as Smolensk, and so all waterways are useless to us except the seaports, which are too far away.
According to my calculations I owe you money, which you must be sure to take from my allotted pay: for merchant de Crignis 11 francs, 15 kreuzer; for saddler Haunschild 8 francs, 48 kreuzer; for the bridle maker 7 francs, 20 kreuzer; for tailor Hellfritz 11 francs, 54 kreuzer; the 24 francs borrowed from the racecourse; for Major Fortis 80 francs for his horse, and for him also 4 francs, 30 kreuzer for cooking utensils. Since you have already paid these expenses, which amount to 147 francs, 47 kreuzer, it is of course only right that you take this sum from the money I have allotted to you. This amounts to: from April through October, 20 francs per month or 140 francs in all, plus 50 francs from the supplementary pay, thus making a total of 190 francs. Therefore there is only a balance of 42 francs, 13 kreuzer left, from which you should first take out the cost of the cap, 18 francs, 22 kreuzer. With the remaining 23 francs, 51 kreuzer I have not by any means paid up the 54 francs I owe you for board for the six months from September to last February. And therefore I would like it very much if you would consider yourself somewhat reimbursed, for it will surely never be possible for me to repay the entire debt that I have already contracted with you.
Your ill health, dear Father, causes me great concern, and only the assurance of Lieutenant Predl that it has cleared up entirely and that you both look very well again has made me easy again. Please write me soon to let me know how you both are.
I am sure the newspapers are the first to bring most of the news to Neuburg. Right now the latest reports of the Grande Armée tell us only that Moscow was half burned down through mishap.
I have already written a few times by post, because it was news of the battles, but I sent my last letter with a courier, and this one I shall give to Major Tausch, who is also going to Munich as a courier. Both of these will be posted in Munich. Since there is no important news in this letter, I have written everything in a jumble, but in the future I shall give consideration to your remarks. Colonel Maillot is so well that everyone is amazed, and his appearance tells nothing of Poland or Russia. There is not the slightest thing wrong with him. Dear Father, please be so kind, besides paying my respects to the colonel’s wife, to give her my especial thanks for her kindness in including the two bottles, with the observation that a shipment of wine and other beverages is always welcome to the colonel for the reason that these products are absolutely not to be had here.
Sergeant Sichler is in the hospital. As soon as he can be located, I shall pay him the 10 francs. Bimsner’s son is not well. I am with the regiment very little and cannot do much for him for this reason. If he should want for anything, I would spring to his aid wherever possible.
Lieutenant Voltolini has surely left already, so it would be useless for me to write.
Now I want to add a word about the marching. After the enemy patrols in the districts of the Usaci and Disna Rivers, which the army had been assigned for foraging, had caused much damage and even made the region unsafe, one brigade, or rather a detachment of 400 men, was sent to Disna in order to prevent the enemy’s crossing the Dvina. This detachment was led there by General Count Beckers. We came on the 3rd of this month to Brzdziadowice, and on the 4th, my saint’s day, to Disna. The enemy withdrew, and not a shot was fired. Since it was not possible to take a position in Disna on account of the disadvantageous situation of the city, the detachment came out again on the evening of the 5th and took a position half an hour behind Disna.
On the 6th General [...], who now is in command of the 3rd Brigade, arrived, and, after all had been put into readiness, General [Count Beckers] and I went back to Brzdziadowice and on the 7th back to Polotsk. Here we are again in [camp].
When we returned, Army Order No. 7 had just come in, and a letter with the following contents [was] presented to me by Lieutenant Colonel von Merz:
Moscow,
25 September 1812
To Monsieur Hausmann (François),
Lieutenant with the 7th Bavarian Regiment of the Line.
I advise you, Sir, that the Emperor by a decree of this day has named you Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
His Majesty authorises me to give you this provisional notice, while waiting for the one [that] you will receive officially from the Grand Chancellor.
Prince of Wagram and Major General
Alexandre108
I am therefore sending you this pleasant news and note that from our regiment there were also named as knights, no longer [...] members, of the Legion of Honour First Lieutenants von Imhoff, Jr., and Zinn, then Ensign Sartorius, now Lieutenant, Sergeant Kugler and a lance corporal of the regiment by the name of Eisenhofer, as well as Major (now Lieutenant Colonel) Merz. In all there are 80 officers and 40 non-commissioned officers and soldiers [of the] Bavarian Army who received this decoration. There is no ribbon to be had here, so I beg you to send me a couple [...] of such ribbons enclosed in a letter. We have not yet received the decorations.
Our names will appear in the next army orders.
I congratulate my dear mother on her saint’s day but, to be sure, somewhat late, for my letter might even arrive so late that the saint’s day of my dear father might also be approaching at the same time.
Meanwhile I wish you all blessings at all times, and I do not except a single day on which I do not wish that I could impart to you by word of mouth that which I feel for you both in renewed form.
May God keep us all. This is the pious wish that accompanies my prayer to God Almighty that He may soon lead me back into the arms of my best of parents.
Very many of our people are dying of homesickness. Thank God it has not come to me. My respects to all acquaintances who enquire about me and assurance to all of my very good health - this is the request of,
My dear parents’ most obedient son, thankful unto the grave,
Franz
Letter No. 21
Dunilovici
30 October 1812
Dearest Parents,
Today on the first day of rest after two weeks of danger I hasten to give you the details as briefly as possible of the events and the abandonment of the city of Polotsk. It was on 14 October when we received orders to leave our camp and the two epoulements, or small redoubts, that had been built by our men in the vicinity of the same and to occupy a narrow cantonment on the left bank along the Dvina downstream as far as the confluence of the Usaci with the Dvina. Now since this cantonment could not be cleared so quickly owing to the small number of houses and its being a great distance away, the occupation of it did not take place until the 16th, when we marched off at 6 o’clock in the morning. The First Division occupied the suburb of Little Polotsk and the village of Ekimania. Of the Second Division, the 1st Brigade went to Potcotcielczi; the 2nd Brigade, with its right wing, the 3rd Regiment, occupied Plaxi and Sieradama, with the 7th Regiment Sloboda, and the general with the 4th Battalion occupied Druczani and sent a part of the battalion to Uiscie, where the Usaci flows into the Dvina.
After we had moved into position, at about 3.30 we heard a lively cannonade coming from Disna, which continued until about 6 o’clock. Soon thereafter we learned that the brigade stationed at Disna under General Ströhl had been attacked by a strong detachment, and at the same time we received the command to go to Polotsk immediately, because the division had a new assignment.
Therefore the 3rd Brigade withdrew to Pononia during the night of the 16th. The Second Division marched into the suburb of Little Polotsk, and the First Division went on the 17th to Strunja, three hours upstream on the Dvina, toward which the Russians were also moving. On the 17th heavy skirmishing began at the outposts near Polotsk, which continued into the night and forced the French to withdraw their outposts to the level ground near Polotsk. On the afternoon of the 17th we received orders to occupy with the two brigades of the Second Division the two ramparts and the abatis set up between the two for the purpose of communication, at which place we were visited a few times on this day by shells and 18-pounders, which, however, caused us no harm.
On the 18th there took place the formal attack on the right wing of Polotsk, which was occupied, but also very weakly, by the French. The Russian left wing gained a few advantages over them and made a few cavalry attacks, which were only with difficulty turned back by our side. When the firing on this wing became somewhat weaker, Marshal Count Gouvion St Cyr, who the whole time had been keeping to one of our redoubts, rode there in order to see the movements of the enemy better, but he had hardly arrived when he was immediately wounded in the front part of his left foot by a musket ball. He came back, had himself bandaged with us and looked on for a time, but after the fighting of the Russian left wing became heavier and heavier and the French had to withdraw back to the trenches by the city, he did go back into the city.
We believed that the situation would then remain calm, because the firing had suddenly ceased entirely, but we were wrong, for all at once an unbelievable number of the enemy rushed upon us and upon the Swiss and Croats standing to our left. We let them come on, waiting quietly, and when they were close enough we gave them a few canister salvos from 18 pieces that had been placed in the two ramparts, which inspired a great deal of respect on the part of the enemy toward our two ramparts, but now the enemy threw themselves with even greater strength upon the Swiss, who then withdrew to a position behind our batteries.
The enemy had already captured the second hill, which lay behind one of our ramparts, when His Excellency the General of the Cavalry [Wrede] had two pieces taken from their position and turned around, and he sent a small detachment against the enemy’s flank. This then brought about the desired effect. The immense horde of men that was just rushing into the valley was thrown into consternation, as it seemed, by seeing cannons behind them. Therefore they turned around quickly to seek safety in retreat and withdrew completely, but on their way back the enemy were so greatly fired upon by our batteries, which had not been able to come into action while the fighting was closer to the town than they were, that the enemy had to hasten their retreat. This attack cost the enemy a huge number of men. On our side only Major von Douve of the train and two soldiers had their legs shattered by cannonballs, while several artillery men and a few soldiers in the ramparts were wounded by musket balls.
Night had fallen and put an end to the affair for the 18th. The enemy now, as one could hear, brought up a large amount of cannon against us since they seemed to have found a hair in their soup, as the saying goes, in the attack on this side. It can therefore be imagined that, although we had a strong cannonading to endure in our ramparts on the 18th, it was nothing compared to that which we were to get on the 19th. Well, back to my story.
When day broke on the 19th we saw many movements of the enemy directed toward our weak side, that is toward the right side of the city, but everything remained quiet until toward noon, except for some cannonading on our redoubts.
I shall now quickly also touch upon the happenings on the left bank of the Dvina. The First Division stood quietly on the 17th at the bridgehead in Strunja, and on the 18th it was only insignificantly troubled. The 3rd Brigade stood on the 17th near Pononia, without being especially attacked, but on the 18th General Ströhl was again attacked and defeated after a half-hour fight, and he retired in very great disorder to Polotsk. General Count von Wrede, when he learned of this setback, set out on the march with two French regiments of infantry, two regiments of cuirassiers and two regiments of light cavalry in order to support the 3rd Brigade. Although now the enemy were more than twice as strong as that corps under the command of the General of the Cavalry [Wrede], nevertheless they were driven back to Druczani and Pononia with extraordinary losses. The men of the 3rd Brigade, having reassembled and now numbering about 300, took 900 prisoners in this second attack. With the exception of minor harassment, this corps remained quietly in position on the 18th and 19th.
After it had become evident to everyone that the Russian Army was in earnest about Polotsk, and that II and VI Corps were too weak to maintain this position, it was decided to leave this place. Therefore arrangements were made to vacate the city of Polotsk on the evening of the 19th. According to this plan, at nightfall the French artillery was to be moved to the left bank of the Dvina, then ours, and so gradually the two corps, but the French artillery park began this move when it was still light and went past [our] trenches and on into the city. The Russians began again to fire upon this artillery with all their pieces. Now it can be imagined how things went with us in the trenches over which they had to fire. We considered ourselves entirely lost, but nightfall put something of a damper on it. Hereupon the French set fire to the camp they still occupied and to the outer houses of the suburb and withdrew, but the enemy noticed this and furiously attacked the French with their left wing. They took one bastion after the other and summoned all efforts to make our withdrawal difficult and to gain the bridge before we did, but in this they were not successful. We sent our artillery across and at about 12 o’clock withdrew fighting under continuous cannon and small arms’ fire up to the Polota bridge, where the French relieved us, while we continued our way very slowly through the city and across the Dvina. Even on the bridge we were not yet out of range. On this side of the Dvina we drew up behind the suburb.
On the 20th the First Division left Strunja and moved likewise toward Polotsk. Except for that, things remained quiet for the time. On both shores there was occasional shooting, but without result.
On the 21st the two corps began to withdraw at approximately 3 o’clock in the afternoon, after we had sustained another terrible hail of shell and some canister fire. The [French] II Corps moved toward Usaci, and we [the Bavarians] on this day went to Rudnia. Even at Polotsk our artillery had burned several wagons and many supplies, which could not be brought away on account of the lack of horses. On the first march the ambulances and a few munitions wagons as well as other ones had got stuck.
On the 22nd to Attikoven. Here General Ströhl coming from Pononia came upon us. Also on this march several heavily laden wagons fell into the hands of the enemy, and, since this march took place at night, a hostile cavalry patrol fell from the left side upon our baggage, but they did not get much booty, for we came up immediately.
On the 23rd to Babienizky. Since, on orders, on the morning of the 23rd all extra horses had to be sent ahead, General Beckers and I sent our horses on, except for one to ride, but they have not yet come back to us, although we do have news that they are in safety. On the 24th the rear-guard was constantly pursued and provoked by the enemy, and so we marched to Kuplice and let the hostile cavalry bump their noses against our artillery. We considered it wise, however, to go an hour farther to the Usaci River during the night. From Babienitzky the baggage of the war commissary was sent via Usaci to Glubokoje under the direction of War Commissioner Amman, but on the evening of the 24th we received news that this had all been captured near Usaci. Wisner was not with them, and on the 25th our baggage went to Lepel, from where we have no news up to now. It is almost impossible, however, that it is lost. On the morning of the 25th we marched to Peischna by way of Waron, on the 26th to a large village on a little stream whose name I do not know, on the 27th to Tolschitz, on the 28th seven hours into another village whose name I did not learn, and on the 29th finally to this place.
We are sitting here today, the 31st, wavering between fear and hope and cheerfully waiting for whatever may come. It is not likely that the enemy have followed us here. Among the property captured with Commissioner Amman near Usaci were all the flags of the Bavarian Army, all of which were deposited with the baggage in Polotsk because the regiments were too weak to protect the flags. In addition, the war chest with 6,000 francs in gold. It is also said that Captain Weishaupt of the artillery along with the 12-pounder battery of the First Division has been captured by the enemy in this same region; it is said, however, that he did not surrender until his last round had been fired.
The following are the results, then, as far as is known. The Russians may have captured about 300 of our corps including men of the train, stragglers, wounded, etc. On the other hand, 2,100 of the enemy were taken prisoner by us and II Corps. Only the threefold superiority of the enemy and other special circumstances compelled us to retreat. Our corps may still have 2,500 soldiers under arms. What a force?! Just now the news has come that Marshal Victor109 with his corps, coming from Vitebsk, has moved into Polotsk and joined with II Corps, and tomorrow we shall march forward again to Glubokoje. Perhaps we are headed for Disna now. I do not want to vouch for this news yet, but it is very probable.
The conclusion in the enclosure.
Now, in closing, dearest, most precious Parents, I want to tell you something funny. As I said in my letter, on the 21st my second orderly by the name of Kindle from the 1st Grenadiers ran ahead from Polotsk on the road to Usaci. (I am mistaken; I did not mention this in my letter). He was carrying my most necessary small, personal items with him. On the 23rd my first orderly, Betz by name, was riding ahead of us on the road to Plissa and Glubokoje with my brown mare and my small travel bag, in which my most indispensable linen was kept. Of these I have seen nothing since then, and likewise since the 25th our baggage that was sent via Lepel has been separated from us, so that I am therefore stripped of all linen, etc. We learned that Kindle went with the artillery to Michalischki, while Betz went with the general’s orderly toward Vilna, but the baggage of the General of the Cavalry [Wrede] and of General Beckers (with which mine is) has been attached to the II Army Corps, and therefore everything is said to be safe. But it has been 16 days now that I and all of us have not been able to undress, much less put on fresh linen, because we do not have any. Therefore it can be imagined that unbidden guests have settled in with us. Therefore yesterday I put on a rough Polish farmer’s shirt, took off my underwear, all kerchiefs, etc., and had them all washed. After this had taken place, I darned my stockings myself, hemmed for myself a little piece of cloth that I had bought and cut into two pieces, fashioned a towel for myself, and so I am entirely clean again, and I thank my dear mother that she let me see such operations in my youth and, as I remember, do it myself. No tailor is doing any work. There are almost no women here any more. Those that are here can themselves do nothing and are full of dirt and filth like the soldiers, for you can picture to yourself that the 7th Regiment in the Anzing Forest was nothing compared to our present grimy coal miners, and thievery is the order of the day.110
I am, praise be to God, extraordinarily hale and hearty. Colonel von Maillot enjoys the best of health, and neither of us has any need, except to go to Neuburg. Until further notice, the 3rd Regiment forms one company, the 7th one company, and the 4th Light Battalion a weak company, for the entire brigade has 325 soldiers today. Therefore only one captain, one first lieutenant and two second lieutenants are assigned to each regiment, and all the rest are going to Michalischki to gather up all the soldiers following behind, form companies and catch up in this fashion.
The gorgets have been issued but there were too few and therefore I did not get one, with which I am very satisfied. Therefore be so kind as to send me one when you have an opportunity, for as long as I have none I do not need to wear it.
From the 2nd Regiment, 5th Regiment and 5th Battalion, about 20 officers were captured and 16 wounded. Captain Zobel of the 5th Regiment and Lieutenant Imhoff of the Gen[darmerie] Corps remained in Pononia. Major Grosgebauer was also wounded.111
Dear Father and Mother, I wish both of you a good life and hope to see you soon, for the war cannot last much longer. After the end of the campaign, however, a reunion will be an immeasurable joy to,
Your eternally true and most obedient son,
Franz
My respects to all acquaintances. I received your last letter through Lieutenant Predl. Lutz has not yet shown up. It is true that our corps will march off from here tomorrow for Glubokoje.
[Letter No. 22]112
[Biala December 1812]
[...]
By the time the recruits are trained, they will have to come back here, unless we go to meet them. I still have hope that we shall see each other soon. I shall send off a package of red cloth that I had a chance to buy from a Frenchman for two Bavarian talers. It comes to about two lengths, if not more, so at any rate I shall get the money out. If we had not come to rest camp I would, without further ado, have had a pair of trousers or something else made out of it, because our entire baggage has been lost. I still had my baggage with General Beckers and this was still in Dunilovici, while in Kobolniki everything had already been captured. This is therefore irrevocably lost, and all my good things were in my travel bag, but I was wearing the poor things. I still do not have a whole pair of trousers. My drawers are torn, and my old blue drawers are also full of holes. I am still supplied with about three ragged shirts, two poor pairs of drawers, four miserable pairs of socks, three handkerchiefs and four scarves, for I had this much with me for my immediate use. I still have my shaving kit and my bordered headdress. But all else is lost.
If blue cloth from the Netherlands should be available in Neuburg, I beg you to have a pair of trousers made for me, or if one is still there, that will be fine, too. I must also ask for some underwear, but not too much. We shall probably soon have an opportunity for you to send me something. My watch was also stolen in Mikołajki during my illness. [Added in the margin:] N.B. Since I have just bought a pair of trousers from Captain Schmitz, you need not send me any, for I do not want to have much more.
Now to answer your letters. To Letter No. 11. I have not yet been able to pay the 10 francs to Sergeant Sichler, because since the battle of August 18th he has been in some hospital, lightly wounded. Should he turn up, I shall pay him these 10 francs against receipt (N.B., if I have any money). With regard to the credit that you have with the 1st Grenadiers in the amount of 6 francs, I can do nothing about it, because Captain Wallraff is dead. I have also received the copy of the training regulations. I do not see Wisner any more, nor do I know where he is.
Now to Letter No. 15. Captain (now Major) von Fortis has correctly paid me for the coffee set with 4 francs, 3 kreuzer. I understand how you have formulated your request. It seems better to me this way, for, as is rumoured, the gendarmerie takes only men who are completely fit for field service.
Letter No. 16. I am happy that my letter from the battle of the 18th of August arrived so promptly. Good Werner is dead. Lieutenant Deltsch will now also return to Neuburg. Dufresne will probably be there soon. The wounds of Imhoff and Grebmer were very slight.
Colonel Rodt, as well as Rummel and Hausmann have already arrived with their columns.113 The three pairs of new shoes of the new reinforcement were of no use to us, for the regiment was hardly 30 men strong, and there were 200 youngsters who arrived here.
I thank you kindly for your good wishes for my saint’s day, and at the same time I add my congratulations for the saint’s day of my dear father with the wish that the dear Lord may keep him for me for a long time. May God hear my prayer and keep my dearest parents for many more years. My fortunate fellow officers may be in Neuburg by 10 February. Oh, how I wish I were with them, so that I could personally bring you my congratulations.
I still have the two letters for Bios with me. I cannot catch sight of him, for since Polotsk he is presumed missing, like many fouriers. For Colonel von Maillot to become a general would be desirable, and also for Colonel Rodt to return to the regiment. Colonel von Maillot is the senior-most, and we are already short one general, and Raglovich will probably go to the gendarmerie, so then it surely will not take long.
I am pleased that my allotments have been duly paid. The colonel will probably see to it now that the coming months will also be paid out, for I have continued to have 20 francs deducted per month.
Fourier Geist is also missing. Quartermaster Schneider, Actuary Burger and several fouriers are captured. Private Michl Kopp was still present when I left the regiment at Dunilovici. Since we are too far apart now, however, and all the companies are thoroughly mixed up, I can find out nothing about him now. It is hardly possible that anything has happened to him since this time, however.
As Ströbel was still with the general’s baggage and since my departure from the general this has not yet arrived, I therefore do not know where he may now be. He will probably, however, come with the general to Neuburg, as will Joseph and Mrs Koch. I have seen neither of these two since Polotsk, because they were also with the baggage.
My horses are both well, thank God. The fat brown one was somewhat pressed by my orderly during my illness and the stout march, but it did not bother him.
Betz stayed behind back at Prenn and has a small leather pouch with him in which my most necessary articles were, such as towel, mirror, boot-jack, nightcap, sword belt, arrack, raspberry vinegar, etc. He has probably been captured, and my things are gone.
My second orderly, Kindle, was sick and went to the hospital at Plock. After that I had another one, who also had to be taken to the field hospital in Plock, as he was very sick. Now I have one of those men who came with Colonel von Rodt. For your congratulations on the red ribbon, as well as for the ribbon itself that you sent me, I thank you most kindly.
Sergeant Bimsner’s son is well and is still with the regiment. I have frequently asked him how he was, and he gave me good assurance each time.
With regard to transferring money through me, it looks risky. I have no cash reserve and have spent a lot myself, especially during my illness. If you directed a transfer through me, I would run the risk of not being able to pay it out. Therefore it is better not to enter into such an arrangement. I am glad to help, but in doing so I must not myself be embarrassed. As I have already said, I have not seen Wisner since September.
Now to the final letter, No. 17, which I just received on the 2nd of this month. I am only surprised that Mrs Sterner has not related more. Mrs Altmann and the wife of Sergeant Bauer died on this retreat. Sergeant Sonleitner and Sergeant Taugner brought their wives very ill to the Sisters of Mercy in Vilna. I would like to know at once what resolution is made on your request.
I cannot quite fathom the contradiction that you write me, namely, T suffer pains again, and with your mother I am as healthy as a bird.’ When I have pains, it is impossible for me to be as healthy as a bird. At any rate, I hope the pains have all gone and that you are well again, for this I wish with all my heart.
I am very astonished at the congratulations that have poured in. One could hardly believe that one could find even a small corner in the memory of these ladies and gentlemen. It is really beyond all expectation, and I only ask that if I ever get back to Neuburg you will again enumerate to me these ladies and gentlemen who have remembered me, so that I shall be in a position to give them my thanks orally.
I still do not have a gorget and do not need one until I am compelled to have it. My feet still hurt because of weakness from my illness. I am not doing any duty until I am entirely well, but otherwise I am not depriving myself of anything. You say, to be sure, that I should go into a private house if I should become sick. I have done that, but I found it advisable to go to a different house each night, as the circumstances here altered the case.
I am sure that I am not bothered too much by home-sickness. I am heartily glad that Grandmother is still alive. When you answer, please send her many greetings and regards from me. The army orders in regard to the establishment of the gendarmerie have been here for a long time.
In my letter of 30 October I already reported to you on the affairs of 18, 19, 20 and 21 October near Polotsk and the retreat following thereupon.
I am eagerly awaiting the articles that Ensign Gundlfingen is bringing with him, because I can now really use them.
Mittel is out of the hospital again and is in good health with the regiment. It is indeed strange that Captain Dettenhofer is being given such a run-around. He is already listed in the government records, but no army orders release him from the military. Colonel von Maillot asked me to give you his regards when I wrote. Now he is bringing them himself.
On account of my French decoration it will probably be necessary for me to furnish my baptismal certificate. If this should be the case, you will learn of it at the Reserve Battalion.
[...]
Letter No. 24114
Schwarzenbach near Hof
16 June 1813
Dearest, Best of Parents,
Now for once I have time to answer your letter of 26 November, No. 18, brought to me on 14 January of this year by Corporal (now Ensign) von Staader. Bloody indeed were the many affairs that we had at the beginning of the past winter, especially those of 18, 19, 20 and 21 October, but the retreat back to the Vistula that followed thereupon in the bitterest cold was indescribably worse, and I shall never be able to picture it to you as it really was. We were fortunate, to be sure, that we were thrown into the fortress of Thorn, for there we could, at least in the first days, recover from the hardships we had endured. It is true that many hundred German sons found their graves there, but it was advantageous for me, for I recovered completely from the nerve fever (or typhoid) that I had an advanced case of, and I became as healthy as I could ever wish.
You correctly guessed that we have lost our entire baggage. It was the greatest luck that on my horse I had the things I needed most in two saddle bags, namely, my small travel bag in one and coffee and cooking utensils in the other, and in this way I did at least save these things.
In Plock I managed to purchase several new things, but we had to send these with Sergeant Schnapauf to Grossglogau, from where they have probably gone to Neuburg.
If these articles have not arrived and Sergeant Schnapauf should be there, then please question him about it. My travel bag is marked with my initials and is inside a pack that is labelled Major von Greis on the outside.
The package that you were so kind as to give to Ensign Staader has been duly received with all that was contained in the letter and in the list, and I express my very grateful thanks for it.
I wrote my Letter No. 22 at Biala, and you have probably duly received it, together with a small package, through Major Golsen, as well as Letter No. 23 of 31 May from Stangerback in Bohemia. (I mailed the latter at Reichenberg and paid postage as far as the border.)
From Biala I came on 13 January to the staff at Srebno, likewise near Plock. On the 17th we marched near Dobrzyń over the ice of the Vistula to Kowal, the 18th to Włocławek, the 19th to Nieszawa, both on the Vistula, and on 20 January again across the same into the fortress of Thom. This we defended, as you know, until 18 April, whereupon we marched until now according to the attached marching route.115
What we endured in the past campaign, on the retreat and during the siege of Thorn I shall tell you orally. It is impossible to describe here, so I shall not even try.
If my baggage has not arrived through Sergeant Schnapauf, then I shall be very embarrassed, for not only my present two shirts and two pairs of drawers but even my socks and kerchiefs are in miserable condition. It is pitiful the way we look now, not one whole coat and torn boots and trousers; in short, we re-entered Bavaria clad in rags, and this is how we had to appear before the eyes of the people.
I have no doubt that you have been receiving the 20 francs per month that were allotted by me. At least I had them correctly deducted from my pay.
It gives me great regret that Colonel Maillot again had to take the field as a colonel and brevet brigadier and has still not become a general. Taken all in all, this is really unjust. Therefore I also cannot believe than any promotions have taken place among the subalterns.
Although I have often searched among the Russian troops, I have so far been unable to obtain any medals. If, therefore, you should find one for sale, please buy it, if feasible. During our retreat, the Cossacks pinned on themselves those [medals] that were destined for us. If any of the French cloth should be available in Neuburg at the Economic Commission, it would be a good idea if you would secure enough for a dress coat and at least one pair of trousers for me, since by our arrival perhaps it may have all been bought up.
As I started writing this present letter at Berbiswalda and was planning to mail it there, everything herein is written under the assumption that you would still be in Neuburg. But today on the 16th I learned at Hof that you have been appointed lieutenant and adjutant of the Mobile Legion of the Rezat District at Nuremberg, so this is my first opportunity to extend my congratulations for this, and of course I must now cancel all those things that I have asked you to do in this letter in case you were in Neuburg, since you are, I presume, in Nuremberg. But it is also said that there are some mobile legions in camp near Munich, so again it is also possible that you might be there. Now I do not know where I shall meet you. We shall probably enter Nuremberg on the 21st or 22nd and will definitely be in Bayreuth on the 18th. I beg of you to inform me by letter of your present whereabouts and that of my dear mother.
From the Army Order of 18 May I see that I am a first lieutenant, to my greatest astonishment.
If you can or must keep a horse, please let me know about it, because then I want to give you one that will be just right for you, of course with saddle and bridle, etc.
Dearest Father, write to me very soon, and be assured that as long as I live I shall be in all sincerity,
Your and my dear mother’s most obedient son,
Franz
1 The number of soldiers involved in the Russian campaign is always in dispute. These figures are taken from Leyh; see also Vincent J. Esposito and John R. Elting, A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars, New York: Praeger, 1968.
2 Napoleon to Maret, 16 December 1811, Correspondance, no. 18,334.
3 Leyh, pp. 193-4; Uebe, pp. 82-3.
4 This is Leyh’s reasonable assessment (pp. 193-4); Uebe makes no mention of any enthusiasm on the part of the army, but his often tendentious approach vitiates his arguments (he seems intent on highlighting every instance of Franco-Bavarian friction regardless of true salience), and I suspect, in this case, that he simply decided to ignore the evidence Leyh found.
5 Note that Bavaria had already sent one regiment (14th Infantry) and an artillery battery to Danzig in April 1811 as part of that crucial city’s garrison. The 14th Infantry was soon renumbered as the 13th, when the 13th took the designation 11th (while the old 11th Infantry Regiment was disbanded).
6 Leyh, p. 259.
7 Bavarian Captain Joseph Maillinger, who was headquarters commandant during the campaign and whose company (1st Fusilier Company, 1st Infantry Regiment) provided St Cyr’s escort on the retreat, left a distinctly negative impression of the Frenchman in his memoirs, echoed and reinforced by the editor of those memoirs, the German military historian Paul Holzhausen (Maillinger, Joseph. ‘Tagebuch des Hauptmanns Joseph Maillinger im Feldzuge nach Russland 1812’, Paul Holzhausen, ed., Darstellungen aus der Bayerischen Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte, Heft 21, Munich: 1912., pp. 58-9). See also Elting, Swords, pp. 148-9: ‘He was never the man to seize a flag and rally a broken line.’ The ‘owl’ nickname is from Jean Baptiste Marbot, The Memoirs of Baron de Marbot, London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1905, vol. II, p. 541.
8 Auvera, pp. 462-4.
9 Colonel Ludwig Count von Seyboltstorff’s manuscript account quoted in Auvera, p. 469.
10 ‘Although the Bavarian nation did not enter into the war which was now commencing with the same perspective as it had had in preceding conflicts, the memory of the glory acquired in fighting under our banners, the favourable and marked advantages it had already attained, meant that it sent its army forth to remote climes and for utterly foreign interests with a profound calm, one may even say with satisfaction...’ Laurent Gouvion St Cyr, Mémoires pour Servir a l’Histoire Militaire sous le Directoire, le Consulat et I’Empire, Paris: Anselin, 1831, vol. Ill, pp. 24-5.
11 Seyboltstorff, in Auvera, p. 470.
12 Franz, Letters 7, 11 and 12.
13 At least Franz gives no hint that he was under pressure from his superiors to acquire a gorget.
14 These two regiments had been the 1st and 2nd Dragoons respectively; all of the cavalry regiments were renumbered as part of their conversion to chevauxlegers in 1811 (the 1st through 4th Chevauxlegers became the 3rd through 6th respectively).
15 Maillinger, p. 68.
16 Printed in Sauzey are several complaints about the exactions demanded by the Bavarian contingent (Sauzey, pp. 203-7). See pp. 208-11 for orders relating to the additional transport.
17 Seyboltstorff in Auvera, p. 470. Franz used the German expression ‘eight days’, translated as a week.
18 Sauzey prints a number of interesting pieces of correspondence in this regard: one from Wrede angered by other troops (French and other Germans) emptying magazines or stripping supplies from near his cantonments; as well as two from Wrede in which he complains about Deroy’s men removing victuals from his district (Sauzey, pp. 207-8).
19 Albrecht Adam, Aus dem Leben eines Schlachtenmalers, Stuttgart: Cotta, 1886, p. 153. Adam was a Bavarian artist under Viceroy Eugène’s courteous patronage.
20 Situation as of 30 June 1812 cited in Sauzey, p. 213. Note that an additional 2,180 men were detached on various missions and 611 were listed as sick. Quote from Adam, p. 153.
21 Captain August Prince von Thurn und Taxis quoted in Leyh, p. 198. Franz, Letter No. 15.
22 Maillinger, pp. 71-2.
23 Völderndorff, Book 6, p. 31. A participant as well as an historian, Völderndorff was one of Deroy’s staff officers in 1812.
24 Maillinger, p. 71. Franz, Letters Nos.14 and 15.
25 Adam, pp. 153-4.
26 Seyboltstorff in Auvera, p. 471.
27 Deroy to King Max, 22 June 1812 in Uebe, p. 88.
28 Leyh, p. 199. Seyboltstorff said that the corps received only half or quarter portions of bread after 13 June and that the 19th Division had none at all after 3 July; Wrede, however, with his additional transport, generously shared some of his division’s bread with Deroy’s command (in Auvera, p. 472).
29 St Cyr, p. 41.
30 Leyh, p. 199; and Stabsauditor Max von Stubenrauch’s diary quoted in Maillinger, p. 71.
31 Deroy to Max Joseph, 19July 1812, in Leyh, p. 199. Uebe states that Napoleon also heard a less welcome greeting: ‘Kaiser! Brod!’ (Emperor! Bread!’), p. 95.
32 Artillery battery commander Karl Baron von Widnmann in Maillinger, p. 75. Numbers for the corps vary even at this early stage: Leyh and some memoirists make the total 25,000 at the review; Holzhausen gives 20,000.
33 Thurn und Taxis; Maillinger’s recollections echo these sentiments; both in Maillinger, p. 75. Also Völderndorff, Book 6, p. 41.
34 Maximilian Count von Preysing-Moos, ‘Tagebuch des Generalmajors Maximilian Graf von Preysing-Moos’, Darstellungen aus der Bayerischen Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte, Heft 21, Munich: 1912, p. 27.
35 As the 21st (3rd and 6th Regiments) and 22nd (4th and 5th Regiments) Light Cavalry Brigades, the four regiments would remain under Preysing’s command, finally evaporating ‘at almost the same spot near Vilna’ after the crossing of the Berezina.
36 St Cyr, pp. 45-6. Napoleon, wrote St Cyr, found the Bavarian cavalry ‘fort belle'.
37 Seyboltstorff in Auvera, p. 474. The Bavarians also believed that the extra meat ration allocated to the men to make up for the lack of bread was a contributing factor in the growing number of sick (Leyh, p. 200). The lack of bread was a continual source of concern and complaint, see St Cyr to Berthier, 2 August and 4 August; Deroy to Max Joseph, 11 August; Wrede to Max Joseph, 13 August; and Wrede to St Cyr, 2 September, in Gabriel Fabry, Campagne de Russie, Paris: Chapelot, 1900-03, Vol IV, pp. 60-1, 151, 216; Vol V, pp. 238, 807.
38 Seyboltstorff in Auvera, p. 475.
39 St Cyr, p. 46.
40 Numbers from official reports summarized in Sauzey, pp 216-7. Note that the numbers appear somewhat better when one discounts the four cavalry regiments detached on the 14th (numbering something less than 2,000 sabres); still, even leaving the chevauxlegers out of the calculation, the corps went from 23,000 to 16,000 in the course of four weeks.
41 Deroy and Wrede to Max Joseph, 11 August 1812, in Auvera, p. 477; part in Leyh, pp. 200-01. Oudinot’s comment from a letter to Marshal Berthier, 14 August 1812, in Fabry, Russie, Vol V, p. 295.
42 Infantry divisions: 6th Legrand (French, Franco-German and Portuguese), 8th Verdier (French and Franco-Dutch), 9th Merle (Swiss, Croat and Franco-Dutch). Light cavalry brigades: Castex (5th) and Corbineau (6th). Doumerc’s 3rd Heavy Cavalry Division.
43 This Russian commander is most commonly known simply as Wittgenstein.
44 Général de Brigade Valentin was commanding in place of Jean Verdier, badly wounded on the 16th.
45 The numbers are (as usual) in dispute: Sauzey gives II Corps 12,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, the Bavarians 11,000; Leyh states the Bavarians numbered 12,500. Neither source is sufficiently detailed to distinguish between infantry and artillery in calculating strength figures, nor is it clear whether the numbers cited for Wittgenstein include artillery and engineers or just infantry and cavalry. The point is that the two sides were probably nearly equal in numbers during the August battles; indeed, the French and their allies may well have had a slight edge over Wittgenstein. See also Fabry, Russie, Vol V, Annex, p. 26ff.
46 The high officer casualties are also explained in part by their disproportionate numbers: companies only averaged 40 to 50 common soldiers, but the strength of the officer corps was largely intact. As a result, there was a significant number of ‘excess’ officers on the battlefield and many of them became casualties (Völderndorff, Book 6, p. 122).
47 Marbot, vol. II, p. 534.
48 St Cyr, pp. 77-9. See also Christiane d’Ainval, Gouvion St Cyr, Paris: Copernic, 1981, p. 112.
49 According to Marbot, he also had a second bridge hastily constructed to facilitate withdrawal if necessary (Marbot, vol. II, pp. 534-5).
50 Pouget, p. 194.
51 St Cyr (p. 84) and some other sources give 5 p.m. as the starting hour.
52 Compliments from St Cyr, pp. 86, 99: ‘He was nearly 80 years of age; he was the doyen and model of the generals of Europe; for some time it had seemed that he had no desire but to end his long military career on the field of honour. His death caused deep regrets in the French Army and among the Bavarian troops.’ For quote from Wittgenstein see ‘Journal des Opérations du Ier Corps Russe’, in Fabry, Russie, Vol V, Annex, p. 60.
53 Sauzey, pp. 239-41.
54 Ibid., pp. 241, 244. Note that Sauzey gives the number of detached for 28 August as 1,656, but does not list detached troops in the subsequent entries; it is reasonable to assume that a similar number (1,600 or so) remained detached on various duties throughout September. Auvera (p. 488) gives somewhat different figures (also using official sources): for 29 August, 3,088 present in the 19th Division and 3,687 in the 20th for a total of 6,775 officers and men present for duty. Leyh (p. 211) lists the 19th Division with 3,350 men at the end of August (he provides no figure for the 20th).
55 St Cyr, p. 106. Also Wrede to St Cyr, 29 August, and to Max Joseph, 2 September, Fabry, Russie, Vol V, pp. 806-08.
56 Marbot, vol. II, p. 560.
57 Auvera, pp. 490-91.
58 These numbers are from St Cyr, pp. 129-30 and Appendix 30 (VI Corps situation report for 15 October). St Cyr, remarks, however, that only 1,823 of the Bavarians ‘were truly in a condition to serve’. He numbers the Russians at 50,000, but acknowledges his disagreement with a Russian source that placed Wittgenstein’s command (including Steingell) at 40,000.
59 Holzhausen, p. 144; Marbot, vol. II, p. 566; Sauzey, p. 245.
60 Maillinger, p. 121.
61 Henri de Schaller, Histoire des Troupes Suisses au Service de France, Paris: Terana, 1995, pp. 171-83.
62 St Cyr, p. 178. In addition to Ströhl’s Bavarians, Wrede’s ad hoc command consisted of the 19th Ligne, 37th Ligne, 124th Ligne, 2nd Swiss and elements of the 11th Léger; Corbineau’s Brigade (7th and 20th Chasseurs, 8th Chevau-Léger-Lanciers) was supplemented by the 7th Cuirassiers (from Wrede to Berthier, 30 October 1812, in Eduard Freiherr von Völderndorff und Waradein, Observations sur l’Ouvrage de Mr. le Comte Ph. de Ségur, Munich, 1826, pp. 23-47; also in Sauzey, p. 246). ‘Steingell’ is occasionally spelled ‘Steinheil’.
63 This is a compact presentation of a convoluted sequence of events that took place over several days and was compounded by lost orders, long marches and enemy action. For a partial glimpse into this nest of confusion, see St Cyr’s memoirs and the correspondence among St Cyr, Wrede, Merle and the II Corps Chief of Staff from 22 to 30 October 1812 in Gabriel Fabry, Campagne de 1812: Documents Relatifs a l’Aile Gauche, Paris: Chapelot, 1912, pp. 103-25.
64 Holzhausen, pp. 138-9, 147. Friction also characterised the relationship between Wrede and St Cyr. According to his biographer, Baron Alfred Ernouf, Maret was also concerned about Wrede’s actions; Ernouf terms the Bavarian position ‘eccentric’ and argues that Wrede’s behaviour not only inconvenienced Maret in Vilna, but brought disgrace to the Bavarian general and left a history of resentment which influenced Wrede’s conduct in the 1813 campaign (Alfred Ernouf, Maret, due de Bassano, Paris: Didier, 1884, pp. 450-1).
65 Strength from Auvera, pp. 494-5.
66 Wrede to Maret, 25 October 1812, in Völderndorff, Observations, p. 37.
67 Völderndorff, Observations, p. 32.
68 General de Brigade Jean Baptiste Franceschi’s Brigade: 7th March (replacement) Regiment, two unnumbered cavalry replacement regiments, and an artillery detachment for a total of 2,033 infantry, 1,317 cavalry, 91 artillery and train, four 6-pounders. General de Brigade Louis Coutard’s Brigade (3rd Brigade of the 28th Division): 4th Westphalian Infantry (1,336), 1st Hessian Light Infantry (1,168), artillery and train (171), six 6-pounders and two howitzers, for a total of 2,675 officers and men. The corps also included a company of 32 mounted gendarmes from the Department of Vilna; from VI Corps Situation Report dated 16 November 1812 in Völderndorff, Observations, p. 95. Franceschi held his infantry in very low regard but considered the cavalry ‘good troops... who desire nothing but to encounter the enemy’ (Franceschi to Wrede, 12 November 1812, ibid.).
69 Völderndorff, Kriegsgeschichte, Book 6, pp. 285-6.
70 Franz, military diary for December 1812.
71 Quoted in Leyh, p. 237.
72 Condensed from Leyh, pp. 217-44. See also Holzhausen, vol. II, p. 140. The ‘sacred squadron’ was a temporary formation of cavalry assembled from the few officers and men who still had horses at this late stage in the campaign.
73 The men were well cared for along the Dvina, presenting a stark contrast with their compatriots at Polotsk. Coming from Polotsk, the new regimental commander, Colonel Cajetan Butler, noted in his first report to King Max: ‘The regiment is in the best condition, the men are healthy and fairly well supplied with equipment; what a contrast with the regiments I have just left’ (Leyh, p. 254).
74 Leyh, pp. 253-5.
75 Ibid., pp. 255-6.
76 Uebe treats this shift at length and provides some interesting quotations (but these must be used with care, as some are exaggerated to meet his personal predilections and others are taken out of context). See especially pp. 104-17.
77 Völderndorff, Kriegsgeschichte, Book 6, pp. 234-6.
78 According to Auvera, the 7th arrived in Glogau on the 5th.
79 Usaci [or Uschatz to the Bavarians] was the name of both a town and a river.
80 Although Wrede had disbanded the 3rd Brigades on 19 August, Franz continued to refer to them for some time.
81 This was the foolish act of someone in Legrand’s Division. The fire spread quickly and alerted the Russians to the French withdrawal which had gone unnoticed until then. St Cyr disgustedly called this an ‘inconceivable excess of stupidity’ (p. 165).
82 Typhus, frequently called ‘nerve fever’ in Franz’s day.
83 According to Franz’s son Julius, Franz made this part of his journey by ambulance wagon.
84 Three replacement detachments reached Wrede in Poland in late December with a total of 2,748 officers and men on arrival; the detachments were commanded by Colonel von Rodt, Colonel von Hausmann (initially, replaced by Colonel Rummel on 7 November) and Colonel von Hoffnaass. See Heinrich Demmler, ‘Die Neubildung der bayerischen Heeresabteilung nach dem Rückzuge aus Russland 1812 und die Ereignisse bis zum Rückkehr in die Heimat 1813’, Darstellungen aus der Bayerischen Kriegs- und Heeresgeschichte, Heft 15, Munich: 1906, pp. 13-31.
85 This was Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm von Rodt, who would command the 7th Infantry during the invasion of France in 1814.
86 Soft cloth caps were common in all armies for fatigue duty and ‘casual’ wear; Franz’s hat was doubtless a welcome relief from the weighty Raupenhelm.
87 Franz routinely referred to these by the French term hausse-col.
88 Francis Edward James Keith, 1696-1758, a Scottish soldier who became a field marshal under Frederick II of Prussia, and was killed on 14 October 1758 at the battle of Hochkirch.
89 Letters 4 and 5 are lost.
90 Prior to October 1810, each line company in a regiment had one of the regiment’s senior officers as its designated proprietor. The only exception was one line company which ‘belonged’ to the monarch and thus bore the title Leibkompanie.
91 Franz used the term Feuerspritzen (‘fire fighting equipment’ or ‘fire engines’); he probably had in mind hand-operated fire pumps mounted on carts or wagons (with thanks to John Elting and Peter Hofschröer for helping to clarify this). ‘Windmills’ may be an exaggeration of the portable hand mills Napoleon attempted to procure for the invasion of Russia (see Elting, Swords, p. 577).
92 It is interesting to note that the idea of Napoleon marching to India was a topic of discussion even among junior officers in an allied contingent.
93 A reference to French foreign minister Hugues-Bernard Maret, Duke of Bassano, 1763-1839.
94 We have retained the original term ‘pioneer’ here. The Bavarian Army used the term Pionier (pioneer) for ‘sapper’ instead of the more common German word Zimmermann. Sappers were assigned on a basis of one per company (see Bezzel, p. 55; Münich, p. 246).
95 It is not clear what Franz intended to convey by this rather cryptic sentence and the use of the abstruse term ‘pancratic’. He may have been referring to the formidable reputation of Marshal Davout (Prince of Eckmühl) and his I Corps.
96 A small portion of this page was cut away, probably when the letter was opened.
97 As St Cyr did not want to open his attack until late afternoon (approximately 4 p.m.), Franz had most of the day to compose the previous letter to his parents.
98 See Franz’s 1829 account for additional details of this action.
99 Auvera, pp. 481-5. Fabry translated most of Franz’s narrative into French and published it in his Russie, Vol V, pp. 675-8, preceded by the 7th Infantry’s official account.
100 Völderndorff, Kriegsgeschichte, vol. Ill, pp. 115-16.
101 Franz used the common German term Relation. Note that Franz’s lengthy German sentences have been retained as much as possible in order to give the reader a flavour of the age and sense of Franz’s writing style.
102 Schloss in German, here meaning a large manor or estate.
103 In French in the original; a common practice for military terms in the early nineteenth century.
104 Franz uses here the old title of the 1st Infantry: ‘lste Linien-Infanterie-Leibregiment’. Officially, however, the 1st Infantry assumed the title König in 1811 and lost thereby the Leib designation.
105 Second Lieutenant Franz von Cetto, attached to St Cyr’s staff as an ordnance officer.
106 The Battle of Borodino, 7 September 1812.
107 Rodt’s replacement column, as well as two others, departed in October and reached Wrede in late December.
108 Marshal Berthier.
109 Claude Victor-Perrin, Duke of Belluno, Marshal of France, 1764-1841.
110 This may refer to something in the 7th Infantry’s history which Franz and his father would have understood; note, for example, that the regiment ‘bivouacked in the woods near Anzing’ in October 1805 (see Franz’s diary in Chapter Two).
111 Bavaria established a Gendarmeriekorps in October 1812 for internal police and border patrol duties.
112 The beginning and end of this letter are missing. Letter No. 24 explains where and when it was written, however.
113 See 1813 for more on these two replacement columns (Rodt led one, Rummel took over for Hausmann when the latter became ill).
114 Letter No. 23 is missing.
115 This attachment is missing.