The center of the battle was the burning city taken and retaken seven
times; many of the wounded perished in the flames, their cadavers
incinerated, and 10 thousand dead covered the battlefield.
Many of the wounded, who could not be transported had to be left to their
fate at the theater of their glorious devotion, to the great sorrow of
everybody, and many who had been taken along on the march during the first
days after the battle had also to be abandoned for want of means of
transportation. The road was already covered with wagons for which there
were no horses.
The cries of the wounded left on the road were heartrending, in vain did
they implore their comrades not to let them die on the way, deprived of all
aid, at the mercy of the Cossacks.
The artillery was rapidly declining on account of the exhausted condition
of the horses. Notwithstanding all cursing and whipping, the jaded animals
were not able to drag the heavy pieces. Cavalry horses were taken to
overcome the difficulty and this caused a reduction of the strength of the
cavalry regiments without being of much service to the artillery. The
riders parted with their horses, they had tears in their eyes looking for
the last time on their animals, but they did not utter a word.
Cavalrymen, with admirable perseverance and superhuman efforts, dragged the
cannon as far as Krasnoe. All men had dismounted and aided the exhausted
animals only two of which were attached to each piece.
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