This man has demonstrated to the world upon this most terrible of all
retreats that even fate is not able to subdue an imperturbable courage,
that even the greatest adversity redounds to the glory of a hero.
More than a thousand times did Ney earn in Russia the epithet, "the bravest
of the brave," and the legend which French tradition has woven around his
person is quite justified. No mortal has ever performed such deeds of
indomitable moral courage; all other heroes and exploits vanish in
comparison!
Here, at the Niemen, the pursuit by the Russians came to an end for the
time being. They, too, had suffered enormously.
Not less than 18 thousand Russians were sick in Wilna; Kutusoff's army was
reduced to 35 thousand men, that of Wittgenstein from 50 thousand to 15
thousand. The entire Russian army, including the garrison of Riga, numbered
not more than 100 thousand. The winter, this terrible ally of the Russians,
exacted a high price for the assistance it had rendered them; of 10
thousand men who left the interior, well provided with all necessities,
only 1700 reached Wilna; the troops of cavalry did not number more than 20
men.
In all the literature which I have examined I did not find a better
description of the life and the struggle of the soldiers on the retreat
than that given by General Heinrich von Brandt of his march from Zembin to
Wilna. It is a vivid picture of many details from which we derive a full
understanding of the great misery on the retreat in general.
Pages:
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165