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Hello

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from the History of the Second World War podcast. Join

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1:15

Welcome to the Age of Napoleon.

1:20

Episode 101, Beyond Bravery. Thanks

1:25

for joining me. As

1:28

always, before we get started, I want to invite

1:30

you to join us on Patreon. Not

1:32

only do you get access to ad-free

1:34

versions of the regular episodes, you'll

1:37

also get special bonus content, the

1:39

Dispatches. The last installment

1:42

included discussions of the colorful Russian

1:44

officer and poet Denis The

1:47

birth of modern war journalism, and

1:49

the most feared

1:50

regiment in the French army.

1:53

The Dispatches have been a lot of fun for me, and

1:55

the feedback from listeners has been extremely

1:57

positive. Even if you don't have a

1:59

question. yourself, patrons are

2:01

allowed to vote on what questions they

2:03

would like to see answered. So this

2:05

gives you guys a chance to really steer

2:08

the direction of the show yourselves, which

2:10

I think is interesting.

2:12

Obviously the more people participate,

2:14

the better it is. And of course, joining

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us on Patreon is the single best

2:19

way to support the show, so I hope

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you'll consider signing up.

2:23

Anyway. We left off

2:25

last time on the morning of February 8th, 1807. Napoleon

2:28

and the Grande

2:30

Armée were in and around the town of

2:33

Isleau in East Prussia, where

2:35

they had just fought an apocalyptic battle

2:37

against a coalition army under General

2:39

Count Levin August von Benigsen.

2:42

Europe had seen a lot of fighting since the

2:45

outbreak of the War of the First Coalition

2:47

fifteen years earlier, but even hardened

2:49

veterans were horrified by the violence

2:52

of the Battle of Isleau.

2:53

Perhaps as many as 55,000 people

2:57

were killed or wounded in this engagement.

2:59

If those high estimates are

3:01

correct, that represents about a third

3:03

of the soldiers who fought in the battle. And,

3:06

as Marshal Ney pointed out the morning after,

3:09

all this death and destruction had not

3:12

achieved a decisive result.

3:15

With the coalition forces gone in

3:17

the night, the French were in control of the battlefield.

3:20

This enabled Napoleon to claim victory,

3:23

although there was no denying the fact that the Grande

3:25

Armée had suffered terribly and

3:27

failed to achieve its objective.

3:30

With their hasty withdrawal in the dark,

3:33

the Russians and Prussians had been forced

3:35

to leave behind most of their own wounded,

3:38

the

3:38

responsibility for caring for tens

3:40

of thousands of injured men from both

3:42

sides now fell on the medical

3:45

corps of the Grande Armée.

3:47

In the horrible conditions around Isleau, with

3:49

only a few hundred doctors and mostly

3:52

amateur support staff, providing even

3:54

a basic standard of care to these unfortunate

3:56

men was a massive undertaking.

4:00

Among the French doctors struggling against

4:02

this humanitarian disaster was

4:05

Dominique Jean Lary. We've discussed

4:07

Lary in past episodes, as well

4:09

as in the dispatches. He was perhaps

4:11

the greatest surgeon of the age,

4:14

and the inventor of many modern medical

4:16

techniques.

4:18

Lary was convinced that good nutrition

4:21

was absolutely vital in recovery

4:23

from serious injury,

4:25

a notion that has been more or less confirmed

4:27

by subsequent medical science.

4:30

He worried that with the army critically

4:32

short on food, and now with thousands

4:35

of coalition prisoners to feed,

4:37

his patients stood little chance of getting

4:39

the nutrition they needed to stay alive

4:42

and allow their bodies to heal.

4:45

Fortunately, Lary was a problem solver

4:47

by nature, and he had an idea.

4:50

He dispatched his assistants across the battlefield

4:52

to butcher dead horses. Once

4:55

enough meat and bones had been gathered,

4:57

they assembled every pot they could find,

5:00

and made a kind of crude horse broth.

5:03

Perhaps it's a bit disgusting, but

5:05

this broth probably saved many lives.

5:08

Lary was so impressed by

5:10

the effect it had on his patients that he

5:12

wrote very favorably about the consumption of horse

5:14

meat.

5:16

Thanks to his considerable reputation,

5:18

this helped launch a fad for horse

5:20

meat in the 19th century, and even

5:23

today there are places in Europe where it

5:25

is still consumed, in part thanks

5:27

to Dr. Lary and the Battle of Ilao.

5:31

As I mentioned last episode, Napoleon

5:33

was downcast. His customary

5:36

ride across the battlefield had proved

5:38

impossible because of the density of corpses.

5:41

The Emperor had seen many battlefields,

5:44

but he was moved to tears by this horrible

5:46

scene.

5:48

Later that day he said to Marshal Soult,

5:51

quote,

5:51

Marshal, the Russians have done us great

5:54

harm, end quote.

5:56

Soult replied, quote, and

5:58

we them, our bullets were

5:59

not made of cotton."

6:03

Both men were right, but it does seem

6:05

that Napoleon was unusually shaken

6:07

by the scale of the devastation.

6:10

The official bulletin he wrote after

6:12

the battle was full of all the usual

6:14

exaggerations and spin, but

6:16

was surprisingly frank about the brutality

6:19

of the combat.

6:20

The Emperor would stay at Aylau for a week,

6:23

longer than he lingered on almost any battlefield,

6:26

supervising the care of the wounded firsthand.

6:29

Back in France, he made no orders

6:32

for churches to hold masses of thanksgiving,

6:34

which was customary after a major victory.

6:38

Napoleon could not bring himself to publicly

6:40

admit that Aylau was a failure,

6:42

but his true feelings were clear to anyone

6:45

who could read between the lines.

6:48

His men seemed shaken as well.

6:50

As Napoleon rode through his own units,

6:53

he was greeted by Cheers. This

6:55

was typical. Usually the Cheers were

6:58

Long Live the Emperor, with maybe a few

7:01

Long Live Francis or Long Live

7:03

Napoleons sprinkled in.

7:05

But on the day after Aylau, he was

7:07

greeted instead with cries of Long

7:10

Live Peace.

7:12

I think they were trying to send their leader a message.

7:15

He still had their support, but they

7:17

wanted to remind him of his promise, that

7:20

he was fighting to secure a just peace

7:22

for France, not for his own

7:24

ambition.

7:26

Years later, a French officer named

7:28

Auguste Petillier, who fought at Aylau,

7:31

would tell a story that I think shed some light

7:33

on the mood of the army.

7:35

On the night after the first day of battle, Petillier

7:38

walked by a group of officers from IV Corps,

7:40

who were huddled around a campfire discussing the

7:42

campaign. Petillier

7:44

was shocked to hear one of the officers

7:47

launch into a Diah tribe against the

7:49

Emperor.

7:50

Are we protecting

7:52

our own country here, in the snows,

7:55

in the Polish Abyss?

7:58

The officer closed by

7:59

saying that Napoleon's ambition would

8:02

never be satisfied until he had,

8:04

quote, engulfed everything,

8:07

end quote.

8:08

Pétier was even more shocked that none

8:10

of the man's comrades objected.

8:13

Perhaps this was just a moment of frustration

8:15

at the cold hunger and general misery

8:18

they were all feeling on this horrible night.

8:20

Or, perhaps, doubt really

8:22

had begun to creep in.

8:25

Whatever the case, this attitude seems

8:27

not to have had an effect on the man's fighting

8:29

spirit.

8:30

The next day, Pétier recognized him

8:32

as he was being carried off the battlefield, grievously

8:35

wounded.

8:36

He was covered in bayonet wounds,

8:39

suggesting he had been right in the thick of the

8:41

fighting. Whatever doubts

8:43

that officer may have had about Napoleon

8:46

and the army's presence in Poland, they

8:48

don't seem to have affected his willingness to

8:50

risk his life in terrifying hand-to-hand

8:53

combat. The

8:55

men of the Grande Armée would continue to earn

8:57

their new nickname, the Grumplers, but

9:00

as of yet, there was no sign of any

9:02

unwillingness to continue following their

9:04

Emperor, even into incredible hardship

9:07

and mortal danger.

9:11

To France's enemies, Aylao

9:13

and the preceding campaign represented a glimmer

9:16

of hope. You might be asking

9:18

yourself, how could that be, despite

9:20

the terrible conditions and a strong performance

9:22

by the coalition forces, Napoleon

9:24

was still undefeated.

9:27

But remember, it can sometimes take decades

9:29

for a consensus to form on who won

9:31

a major battle, and these opinions

9:33

are often not unanimous.

9:36

If you could go back in time to 1807

9:39

and ask the Russian generals who fought in this

9:41

campaign whether Napoleon was still

9:43

undefeated, they would have told you no.

9:47

Many of the inconclusive engagements

9:49

we've discussed over the past few episodes

9:51

were thought of as victories among the coalition

9:54

leadership.

9:55

True, there was obviously still room for

9:57

improvement, many of these so-called

9:59

successes were quite ambiguous,

10:02

and many had come against one of the Marshals,

10:05

not against the Emperor himself.

10:08

Still, it seemed the Russians

10:10

were much closer to a winning formula

10:12

than anyone who had faced Napoleon since

10:14

his rise to power, seven years earlier.

10:18

And it should be said that with the benefit

10:20

of hindsight, this was far from Napoleon's

10:23

best performance.

10:25

During this campaign, he seems to have abandoned

10:27

the principle of keeping his corps within

10:29

a day's march of each other, which had served

10:31

the French army so well in the past.

10:34

He had also struggled to control his Marshals,

10:37

who frequently deviated from their orders, and

10:40

sometimes even started engagements on

10:42

their own initiative. For

10:44

instance, as you might recall, the uncoordinated

10:48

and very bloody early French attacks

10:50

on the first day of ILAU were actually

10:52

ordered by Marshals Soult and Murat,

10:55

not by Napoleon. As

10:59

commander-in-chief, Napoleon also bears

11:01

some of the blame for the supply and logistics

11:04

problems that plagued the army during this

11:06

period.

11:07

Almost all of these issues were caused,

11:09

or at least exacerbated, by the difficult

11:12

conditions.

11:13

But the gods of war do not accept

11:15

excuses.

11:16

It was Bonaparte's duty to rise above

11:19

those difficulties, and he did not

11:21

do so.

11:22

And of course, it had been the Emperor's

11:24

decision to take the army out on campaign

11:27

in this brutal weather, in some of the most

11:29

difficult terrain in Europe.

11:32

Napoleon's reputation as an invincible,

11:35

unstoppable force was still largely

11:37

intact, but the events of the past few

11:39

months had left it tarnished.

11:42

Of course, we shouldn't overstate our case here.

11:44

To

11:45

the vast majority of people in Europe, Napoleon

11:48

was still Napoleon,

11:50

the greatest military commander in generations,

11:52

history on horseback.

11:55

But to those who had special knowledge of

11:57

these events, statesmen, generals,

11:59

and senior politicians. The

12:02

Grande Armée's struggles in Poland

12:04

were being analyzed for important

12:06

lessons about the limitations of Napoleon

12:09

and his army.

12:12

There is one significant aspect of Eilau

12:15

that we didn't really cover in the last episode

12:17

that I'd like to touch on now, the role

12:19

of the Prussians.

12:21

We saw how the arrival of the Prussian division

12:23

probably saved Beniksyn's army from

12:25

defeat near the end of the second day of battle.

12:28

During the episode, I referred to this

12:31

as a miracle. There was a little

12:33

hyperbole there. I don't think it was actually

12:35

supernatural intervention that brought

12:37

the Prussian general of Stock and his division

12:40

to the battlefield,

12:41

but the real story of their arrival is

12:43

quite remarkable.

12:45

Lestock and his men had to effectively

12:48

march around Marshal Ney in

12:50

sixth corps, all the while fighting skirmishes

12:53

and rearguard actions to keep the

12:55

French off their backs. It

12:57

was a very difficult maneuver, and

12:59

their opponents had the advantage in numbers,

13:01

leadership, and experience.

13:04

And as we saw many times in the past few

13:06

episodes, it was almost impossible

13:08

to move quickly through this terrain during

13:10

winter.

13:11

So for roughly a week before the last

13:14

day of Eilau, while the main body of the Grande

13:16

Armée was chasing the Russians and fighting

13:18

in the Battle of Hoth and the first day of Eilau,

13:21

the Prussians were engaged in this epic

13:24

march through the Polish Forest, skirmishing

13:26

with Ney and trying to hold that force

13:29

together.

13:30

Their conduct in this campaign is singled

13:33

out for praise by basically every

13:35

scholar I read in preparation for these

13:37

last few episodes.

13:39

Not only was it very impressive that they

13:41

pulled off this maneuver, it probably

13:43

made the difference in the battle.

13:46

I thought about telling this story concurrently

13:49

with the story of the main body of the Grande

13:51

Armée and Beniksen's army that ended

13:53

at Eilau,

13:54

but I thought a little uncertainty about the

13:56

arrival of the Prussians added to the dramatic

13:59

tension. So, ultimately I left it

14:01

out.

14:03

One aspect of the Prussian performance at Eila

14:05

would have a profound impact on the future

14:08

of the Prussian army, so it's worth discussing

14:10

in a bit more detail. The

14:13

Prussian division had an unusual

14:15

but very effective leadership team.

14:18

The commander, General Anton Wilhelm

14:20

von der Stock, was in many ways

14:22

a stereotypical old guard

14:24

Prussian general.

14:26

As a young man, he had fought under Frederick

14:28

the Great in the Seven Years' War as

14:30

an officer cadet. By 1807

14:33

he was pushing 69 years old,

14:35

white-haired, with a prominent moustache,

14:38

curled up at both ends.

14:39

Exactly how I imagine an old Prussian

14:42

general of this period.

14:44

Unlike many of his contemporaries, La

14:47

Stock didn't really show his age. He

14:49

was vigorous, quick-witted, and aggressive.

14:52

This is something I've noticed since I started the show.

14:55

Generals of this period seemed to have aged

14:57

very differently.

14:58

Some men were competent field commanders

15:01

well into their 70s,

15:03

but you can also read accounts of generals

15:05

in their 60s that make it sound

15:07

like they had totally lost their minds and

15:09

were about to keel over at any moment.

15:12

I guess the rigors of campaign took

15:14

more of a toll on some than others.

15:17

Anyway, La Stock was definitely one

15:20

of the lucky ones. He would serve

15:22

until he died at age 76.

15:26

He was paired with a Chief of Staff, who

15:28

was seen as one of the brightest rising stars

15:31

among the Young Guard of Prussian Officers,

15:33

a man we've discussed in past episodes,

15:36

Colonel Gerhard von Scharnhorst.

15:39

Scharnhorst was young enough to be La Stock's son,

15:42

but the fact that he was considered part of the

15:45

Young Guard at age 51 should

15:47

tell you something about the Prussian Officer Corps.

15:50

He was over a decade older than Napoleon,

15:53

and older than many of the French Marshals as well,

15:55

but still only a Colonel, and not

15:58

taken seriously by some of his superiors.

16:02

Anyway, Lestock and Scharnhorst had

16:04

very different ideas about how to wage war, but

16:07

as things turned out, they complemented

16:09

each other very well.

16:11

Lestock's aggression and assertive

16:13

leadership, combined with Scharnhorst's

16:16

strong grasp of military theory and

16:18

organizational skills, proved to be

16:20

a winning formula.

16:23

Think back to our episodes on the Prussian

16:25

defeats of the previous autumn.

16:27

Based

16:27

on that performance, would you

16:29

think a Prussian division would have been capable

16:32

of this complicated, hard-fought maneuver

16:34

around Nays flank only a few months

16:36

later?

16:39

Unfortunately for the Prussians, the miracle

16:41

at Aylau would prove to be the last

16:43

gasp of the old army of Frederick

16:45

the Great.

16:47

Once they arrived on the battlefield, Lestock's

16:49

division immediately went into action against

16:51

Davout's III Corps.

16:53

The French had all the momentum and

16:55

all the high ground.

16:57

Lestock succeeded in stopping them, then

17:00

rolling back their advance, but Prussian

17:02

casualties had been horrendous.

17:05

Even with their ranks bolstered by hundreds

17:07

of Russian stragglers, Lestock's division

17:10

was devastated.

17:12

Estimates vary as to how many

17:14

Prussians were left alive and unhurt

17:17

at the end of the battle,

17:18

but whatever their exact number, they were

17:20

too few to continue operating independently

17:23

in the field.

17:25

There were still men fighting in Prussian uniform,

17:27

but they were all either in garrisons, passive

17:30

and static, or fighting under Russian

17:33

command.

17:34

There was no remaining body of Prussian

17:36

soldiers of any significant size

17:39

undertaking independent operations in

17:41

the field.

17:43

The army of King Frederick that had astonished

17:45

Europe a generation earlier was no more.

17:49

Many Prussians were still resolved to continue

17:51

the fight, including almost all

17:53

of the remaining officer corps, King Frederick

17:55

William and his court, and senior

17:57

politicians and nobles.

17:59

But to do so, they would have

18:01

to rebuild their army almost from

18:03

scratch. Fortunately

18:07

for Prussia, with its last dying act,

18:09

the old army had shown the way forward

18:11

for whatever would come next.

18:14

In the summer of 1807, the remains

18:16

of the Prussian government launched an official

18:19

inquiry into the defeats of 1806

18:21

and 7, aimed at generating proposals

18:24

for military reform.

18:26

Both General Lestock and Colonel

18:28

Scharnhorst would play key roles in

18:30

this commission,

18:31

and in part thanks to their influence,

18:34

the commission soon settled on their successful

18:36

collaboration in the Eilau campaign

18:39

as the model for how Prussian headquarters

18:41

would work in the future.

18:44

I wonder how many of the Prussian soldiers

18:46

struggling through the Polish forest on the eve

18:48

of Eilau suspected that they were setting

18:51

the tone for the next century

18:53

of German military history.

18:57

Beyond the purely practical influence

18:59

of Lestock's extraordinary march,

19:02

there was also a great psychological or

19:04

even spiritual significance. In

19:06

the minds of many, this last sacrifice

19:09

of the old army had redeemed its honor,

19:12

lost in the fields of Jena and Auerstedt,

19:14

and in the months of surrender and retreat

19:17

that had followed those great defeats. Old

19:20

Marshal Baron Kolmar von der Goltz

19:23

was one of the most influential military

19:25

theorists of the late 19th and

19:27

early 20th century.

19:29

He wrote a book on this exact topic,

19:31

called Jena to Eilau, The

19:33

Disgrace and Redemption of the Old Prussian

19:36

Army.

19:37

In its introduction he puts it this way, quote,

19:40

I have always held that it was

19:42

at Eilau in 1807 and

19:44

not in the War of Liberation in 1813, that

19:47

the Old Army vindicated itself

19:49

before the Tribunal of History, end

19:52

quote. However,

19:54

by this point in our story, that New

19:56

Prussian Army, which von der Goltz would be a

19:58

part of, only existed in the Old Army.

19:59

in the minds of its more forward-thinking

20:02

officers.

20:03

For now, the remains of the Old Army

20:05

struggled on,

20:06

hoping to hold on to their country's last

20:08

few outposts.

20:12

On the other side of the lines, Napoleon

20:15

was also thinking about reorganization.

20:17

As we've discussed in past episodes, there

20:20

were still tens of thousands of French

20:22

and French-allied troops scattered

20:24

around Central and Eastern Germany, maintaining

20:27

order, keeping an eye on the Habsburgs to

20:29

the south, and ensuring the flow

20:31

of money and supplies, both

20:33

back to Paris and to the front in Poland.

20:36

However, these units were

20:38

not part of any larger organization. Now

20:41

Napoleon aimed to change that. The

20:44

historian David Chandler suggests

20:46

that it probably occurred to Napoleon that

20:48

if he had suffered a catastrophic defeat

20:50

at Eilau, and all or most

20:52

of the Grande Armée had been destroyed, he

20:55

would have been forced to build a new army

20:57

out of these troops in Germany, to provide

21:00

some kind of backstop against the victorious

21:02

coalition forces, who would presumably

21:04

be marching west. With

21:07

no overarching organization uniting

21:09

all these disparate units and garrisons,

21:12

that would have been a difficult task, and

21:14

so Napoleon said about organizing

21:16

a new army,

21:17

to be called the Army of Observation

21:20

in Germany.

21:22

The Emperor also went to work sourcing

21:24

replacements for depleted units of the Grande Armée. As

21:27

I mentioned back in episode 99,

21:30

the men who were slated to be conscripted in 1807

21:33

had been called up early.

21:35

Many of them had now completed their training and were

21:37

ready to join the ranks.

21:42

Few of Bonaparte's units had suffered as

21:44

badly as the infantry of VII Corps, Marshal

21:47

Pierre Ojiro's command.

21:49

As you may remember, they had gotten lost in the blizzard and

21:52

marched right into the concave section

21:54

of the Russian line, where they were surrounded by the enemy on three sides,

21:56

and right under the side of the line.

21:59

of the biggest Russian artillery battery.

22:03

By the end of the second day of fighting, there were

22:05

only a few thousand of 7th Corps' infantry

22:07

remaining unwounded and fit for duty, down

22:10

from a paper strength of nearly 20,000.

22:14

Granted, these losses were not from ILAO

22:16

alone, Ojiro had received few

22:18

replacements since Jena.

22:21

But by this point, bringing these units

22:23

back to full strength would have completely

22:25

changed their character.

22:27

With so few veterans left, a

22:30

renewed 7th Corps would have effectively

22:32

been composed of fresh recruits, and

22:34

thus not up to the same standard as the

22:37

rest of the Grande Armée.

22:39

And so, the decision was made to

22:42

disband 7th Corps, and redistribute

22:44

the survivors to other units.

22:48

The men of 7th Corps had trained at Boulogne

22:50

in 1803 through 5,

22:53

then helped surround General Mach

22:55

and fought their way into the Alps in late 1805.

22:59

In 1806, they had pushed

23:01

into the Russian right at Jena,

23:03

putting the enemy to flight,

23:05

and then annihilated General Ruckel's

23:07

army when he arrived on the battlefield.

23:10

More recently, in 1807, they

23:12

had forced their way across the Vakral under

23:14

enemy fire and kept going through the

23:17

rotten Polish winter.

23:19

Even when they found themselves trapped at ILAO

23:22

in a hopeless position, many of the Corps'

23:24

regiments kept fighting and resisted to

23:26

the bitter end.

23:28

The soldiers of 7th Corps had a glorious

23:30

record. They were proud to say they

23:32

were Marshal Ojiro's men.

23:35

But now, there were too few of them left to

23:37

continue that legacy. The name

23:39

of 7th Corps of the Grande Armée

23:42

would pass into the history books.

23:45

As for Marshal Ojiro himself, he

23:47

was finally granted the sick leave he

23:49

had requested before ILAO.

23:53

Even with the conscripts of 1807 and the remains of

23:55

Ojiro's Corps

23:57

distributed among the units of the Grande Armée,

24:00

Napoleon's forces were still not back up

24:02

to full strength.

24:03

All over the Empire, garrison commanders

24:06

scoured their units for trained,

24:08

experienced French soldiers so they

24:10

could be reassigned to the Emperor's field

24:13

army. These men

24:15

were replaced by fresh recruits, mostly

24:17

drawn from non-French parts of the Empire,

24:20

Poles, Germans, and Italians,

24:23

and young conscripts from France.

24:26

Once again, future conscripts

24:28

would be called up early, this time

24:30

the Class of 1808, a

24:33

full 18 months before they were

24:35

scheduled to be inducted into the French military.

24:39

As we've discussed in past episodes, these

24:41

types of call-ups were damaging.

24:44

Every man conscripted in France

24:46

represented a tiny blow to public opinion.

24:49

And manpower is not an infinite

24:51

resource.

24:52

There was a limit to how many people Napoleon

24:55

could pull away from society and the labor

24:57

force before France really began suffering.

25:00

And every time a fresh recruit

25:03

joined the ranks of the Grande Armée to replace

25:06

an old veteran, a tiny imperceptible

25:08

bit of damage was done to the professionalism

25:11

and culture of the Grande Armée.

25:14

Napoleon was right. At Eilau, the

25:16

Coalition Army had done them great harm.

25:19

A

25:46

Small Light, Limited Series premieres Monday,

25:48

May 1st at 9. Stream on Hulu and

25:50

Disney+.

25:59

Here's a reason to listen to our show, Big

26:02

Picture Science, because you'd love to be

26:04

surprised by science news. We

26:06

love to be surprised by science news. So

26:09

for instance, I learned on our own

26:11

show that I had been driving around with precious

26:14

metals in my truck before it was

26:16

stolen.

26:16

That was brought up in our show about

26:18

precious metals and also rare metals,

26:21

like most of the things in your catalytic converter.

26:23

I was surprised to learn that we may begin

26:26

naming heat waves like we do

26:28

hurricanes, you know, prepare yourself

26:30

for heat wave Lucifer.

26:32

I don't think I can prepare myself for that. Look,

26:34

we like surprising our listeners. We like

26:36

surprising ourselves by reporting

26:38

the new developments in science and while asking

26:41

the big picture questions about why

26:43

they matter and how they will affect our lives

26:45

today and in the future.

26:47

Well, we can't affect lives in the past, right? Oh,

26:49

I guess that's a point. So

26:52

the podcast is called Big Picture Science

26:54

and you can hear it wherever you get your podcasts.

26:56

We are the hosts. Seth is a scientist.

26:59

I'm a science journalist and we talk to people

27:01

smarter than us. We hope you'll take a listen.

27:06

Most histories of Napoleon's life and career

27:09

gloss over the period after ILAO and

27:11

not without some reason. The

27:13

Grand Armée was in winter quarters,

27:16

resting, reorganizing and treating the

27:18

wounded. And this time they would

27:20

stay in winter quarters.

27:22

The same was true of the Russians. Beniksen's

27:24

units also needed time to lick their wounds.

27:27

And as we've already discussed, the Prussian

27:29

contingent was effectively destroyed

27:31

and incapable of any further independent

27:34

action.

27:35

However, the war didn't stop just

27:37

because the two opposing field armies were in

27:39

winter quarters.

27:41

In the no man's land between the two forces,

27:44

the French Light Cavalry and the Russian

27:46

Cossacks carried on a fierce low

27:48

intensity war, ambushing patrols

27:50

and raiding outposts.

27:53

The Cossacks had received more reinforcements

27:55

and replacements, and they were well suited

27:58

to this style of warfare. The French-

27:59

horsemen got the worst of this fighting.

28:04

Napoleon also turned his attention to

28:06

the few remaining pockets of Prussian territory.

28:09

These were mostly to the north along the Baltic

28:11

coast, in the province of East Prussia,

28:14

and to the south along the border with the

28:16

Habsburg Empire, in the province of Silesia.

28:20

As I mentioned at the beginning of this war, the

28:23

Prussians had placed a lot of their forces

28:25

in static positions, fortresses,

28:27

and fortified cities. Although

28:29

their field army was now destroyed, some

28:32

of these garrisons were quite formidable.

28:36

The Grande Armée was in no shape to

28:38

conduct large-scale siege warfare,

28:40

but many of Napoleon's second-line troops

28:43

were up to the task – Poles, Italians,

28:45

and Germans – with some recent conscripts

28:48

from France, bolstered by a few solid

28:50

old veterans, to keep the men steady

28:53

and show them the ropes.

28:55

The most important of these sieges was

28:57

about 150 kilometers, or 93 miles, west

29:01

of Eilau, the East Prussian port

29:03

city of Danzig, today Gdansk

29:06

in Poland.

29:08

This would be a major prize for the French.

29:11

Danzig was one of the most important trading

29:13

centers in this part of the world –

29:15

it had extensive modern port facilities.

29:18

As the Grande Armée was currently deployed,

29:20

roughly north to south, through central

29:23

Poland, facing east, Danzig

29:25

was behind Napoleon's left flank.

29:28

As long as the city remained in Prussian hands,

29:31

there would be the risk of coalition troops

29:33

landing in the rear of the Grande Armée,

29:36

or if the coalition forces attacked along

29:38

the coast, as they had a few months earlier,

29:41

it would be a perfect supply depot and

29:43

base of operations.

29:45

Napoleon's left flank would not be secure

29:47

unless he took the city.

29:50

However, Danzig would be a tough nut

29:52

to crack.

29:53

It had a huge garrison of around 16,000

29:56

men, equipped with plenty of heavy artillery.

29:58

They

29:59

had good fortifications, huge stockpiles

30:02

of food, ammunition and equipment, and

30:04

their British and Russian allies controlled

30:06

the Baltic Sea, leaving them an open lifeline

30:09

for supplies and reinforcements.

30:12

Worse, the Prussians didn't only control

30:14

the city itself, but had fortified

30:16

a relatively large pocket of territory

30:19

in the surrounding countryside.

30:21

And this was rough terrain – Danzig

30:23

was surrounded by swamps, rivers,

30:26

lakes, and hills.

30:28

To take the city, the French would have to push

30:30

the Prussians out of those fortified advanced

30:32

positions, set up siege lines

30:34

in this punishing terrain, and then

30:36

pound the Prussians into submission.

30:39

Meanwhile, the defenders would be supplied from

30:41

the sea, and there would be the possibility

30:44

of fresh coalition troops landing

30:46

along the coast, either in the city

30:48

itself, to bolster the defenders, or

30:50

outside the perimeter, to attack the siege

30:53

lines from the rear.

30:55

This would not be a typical siege – there

30:57

would be a lot more to this mission than simply

30:59

sitting outside the city and lobbing

31:02

artillery shells over the walls until the

31:04

enemy surrendered.

31:06

For this difficult assignment, Napoleon

31:08

would look outside the small circle

31:11

of Marshals he had relied upon in the last two

31:13

campaigns, picking someone we

31:15

haven't yet talked about on the show –

31:17

Marshal Francois-Joseph Lefebvre.

31:20

Lefebvre was part of the original class

31:22

of Marshals, elevated to the position

31:24

when Napoleon reinstated the title of Marshal

31:27

in 1804.

31:30

Lefebvre was yet another case of

31:32

a talented man who had been able to rise from

31:34

obscurity thanks to the Revolution.

31:37

He had been a sergeant in the old Royal Army,

31:39

and the War of the First Coalition and

31:41

emigration of the old counter-revolutionary

31:44

officers had allowed him to rise rapidly

31:46

through the ranks, from sergeant

31:48

to commanding an entire brigade within

31:51

a year.

31:54

Lefebvre had not had many opportunities

31:56

to distinguish himself lately. He had

31:58

been on the battlefield at Yenne.

31:59

China, but in command of a division of the Imperial

32:02

Guard, which had remained in reserve for

32:04

the entire battle.

32:06

Now Napoleon made it clear that

32:08

if he successfully completed this siege,

32:11

he would be richly rewarded. Quote.

32:14

Your glory is linked to the taking of

32:16

Danzig. End quote.

32:19

As he followed his glory to Danzig,

32:22

Marshal Lefebvre would bring a new unit with

32:24

him, Tenth Corps.

32:26

This new corps was a perfect example

32:28

of the increasingly multinational character

32:31

of Napoleon's forces.

32:33

There were two divisions of Poles, led

32:35

by the commander of the old Polish legions,

32:37

General Jan Henrik Dombrowski,

32:39

German troops, drawn from almost every

32:42

corner of the region,

32:43

and two divisions of Italians,

32:46

fighting under the banner of Napoleon's Kingdom

32:48

of Italy.

32:49

Out of roughly 45,000 men under Lefebvre's command, only

32:51

about 10,000 were actually recruited from

32:56

France.

32:58

They arrived outside the enemy defensive perimeter

33:01

on March 19th, 1807.

33:04

With their superior numbers, they were able to

33:06

push the Prussians back and begin shrinking

33:09

that perimeter.

33:10

But resistance was fierce, and

33:12

the terrain was incredibly difficult.

33:14

This was a painfully slow process.

33:18

It took nearly two weeks for the French

33:20

to get close enough to the city to begin setting up

33:22

their siege lines, but they found

33:24

the ground was still hard with frost,

33:27

and they had to wait several more days for it

33:29

to get warm enough to dig entrenchments.

33:33

The French bombarded the city, and

33:35

slowly worked their way closer to the walls,

33:38

digging concentric lines of trenches,

33:41

each closer than the last. A

33:43

noose was slowly closing around

33:46

Danzig. Soon,

33:48

the French managed to get artillery close

33:50

enough to the port that they could bombard

33:52

approaching enemy ships.

33:54

Now, the Prussian garrison was truly

33:57

under siege.

33:59

The British, Russians, and Swedes

34:02

assembled a squadron of ships to bring supplies

34:04

into the city, along with 8,000 Russian infantry.

34:08

The plan was to land these forces

34:10

inside Danzig and then launch

34:12

an attack on the French lines, breaking

34:15

the siege.

34:17

When the squadron arrived outside Danzig,

34:19

they soon discovered that there were too many French

34:22

guns near the port to make landing inside

34:24

the city practical.

34:26

Instead, they deposited the Russian infantry

34:29

outside the French siege lines, hoping

34:31

that they could break through and link up

34:33

with the garrison. However, the

34:35

Russians were unable to coordinate with

34:37

their allies inside the city, and,

34:39

due to the inherent difficulties of landing

34:42

so many men on a deserted beach with

34:44

no port facilities, the French had

34:46

plenty of time to organize a defense.

34:49

This relief attempt was defeated quickly

34:51

and easily.

34:53

1,500 Russians were killed,

34:55

wounded, or captured, at the cost of just 400

34:58

French casualties.

35:01

Meanwhile, to the south, Napoleon was

35:04

worried about the progress of the siege.

35:06

Campaign season had not yet begun.

35:09

In some parts of Poland, the ground was still

35:11

frozen.

35:12

In other places, the spring thaws

35:14

had begun, but had brought with them

35:16

the return of the notorious Eastern

35:19

European mud, which, as we know

35:21

from past episodes, was almost impossible

35:23

to fight through.

35:25

But Napoleon was already planning his next move.

35:28

He wanted to be back on campaign in a matter

35:30

of weeks.

35:31

As was his habit, he hoped to take the offensive

35:34

against the coalition.

35:36

If Danzig remained as a thorn

35:39

in his left flank, it could be a massive

35:41

complication.

35:43

The attempt to relieve the city by sea

35:45

had failed,

35:46

but there was still the chance that Beniksen

35:48

might call his forces out of their winter

35:51

camps early to make another attempt

35:53

by land.

35:55

Napoleon felt he couldn't risk allowing

35:57

the siege to fail, and so, in early

35:59

March, he called his own army out

36:01

of their camps.

36:03

The exact amount of time they had been in winter

36:05

quarters varied from unit to unit,

36:08

but it hadn't been anywhere close to an entire

36:10

season for any of them.

36:13

The Emperor also ordered another corps

36:15

north, to Danzig, to help Lefebvre

36:17

complete his mission as quickly as possible.

36:20

With these reinforcements, Lefebvre was able

36:23

to drive the Prussians out of their last few

36:25

remaining positions beyond the walls of the city.

36:28

The ring around Danzig was about as tight

36:30

as it could be, and there were over a hundred

36:32

heavy siege guns pulverizing the remaining

36:34

defenses.

36:36

The Prussians were in a desperate position.

36:39

Nearly two-thirds of the garrison were

36:41

now dead, wounded, or too sick

36:43

to fight.

36:45

Fortunately for Danzig's defenders, the

36:47

French were interested in getting this siege

36:50

over with as quickly as possible, not

36:52

in inflicting damage on the Prussian military.

36:55

Napoleon had given Lefebvre permission

36:58

to offer extremely generous terms

37:00

of surrender.

37:01

The Prussians accepted.

37:03

On May 24th, the remains of the garrison

37:06

marched out of the city.

37:07

Per the terms offered by the French, no

37:10

trophies were taken.

37:11

The Prussians were allowed to keep their flags,

37:13

and even their weapons.

37:15

Napoleon didn't care. The honor

37:17

of the garrison was a small price to pay

37:20

to finally be rid of this potentially

37:22

fatal weakness behind his left flank.

37:26

After the fall of the city, Napoleon wrote

37:28

a somewhat cryptic letter of congratulations

37:31

to Marshal Lefebvre. Quote.

37:46

Sure enough, when the next shipment of newspapers

37:48

arrived from home, they were full of stories

37:50

of the successful conclusion of the siege, all

37:53

of which ended with the announcement that Marshal

37:55

Francois Lefebvre had been granted a noble

37:57

title,

37:58

Duke of Danzig. Not

38:00

bad for a sergeant. By

38:05

late May, the weather in central Poland

38:07

had changed quite a bit. All the

38:09

snow and ice that had made campaigning

38:12

in this area a nightmare four months

38:14

earlier had melted.

38:16

The mud, brought on by the thaw,

38:18

was now mostly burned away by an increasingly

38:21

hot sun.

38:23

Quite simply, the weather in this part of the world

38:25

is punishing at almost every time

38:27

of the year.

38:28

The bitter cold and raging blizzards

38:30

of a few months earlier had been replaced

38:33

by sweltering heat and stifling

38:35

humidity.

38:37

In this part of the world, in this season,

38:39

daytime highs can reach the upper

38:42

80s Fahrenheit, or low 30s Celsius,

38:45

while still being cold enough at night

38:47

to need a winter coat.

38:49

Almost every account of this phase of the fighting

38:51

comments on the brutal heat and humidity.

38:54

Almost like almost every account of the last

38:56

phase of the fighting talks about the horrible cold.

39:00

Poland was an unforgiving place for

39:02

armies in the field.

39:05

With Danzig finally in French hands,

39:08

and the roads more or less solid, Napoleon

39:10

was ready to go back on the offensive.

39:13

All his work finding replacements and

39:15

reinforcements for the battered Grande Armée

39:18

had paid massive dividends.

39:20

He now had a huge force of over 200,000 men

39:22

at his disposal.

39:25

Months of planning and reorganization

39:27

had finally brought the logistics situation

39:30

under something resembling control,

39:32

and the emperor was reasonably confident

39:35

he could actually keep all these men supplied.

39:38

This stifling heat was not ideal,

39:41

but unlike mud or snow, heat

39:43

can't stop wagons and artillery,

39:45

and it would be much easier for the army to live

39:48

off the land in late spring and summer

39:50

than it had been in late fall or in the dead

39:52

of winter. The

39:54

coming campaign would be much closer

39:56

to the style of fighting the French were used to.

40:00

However, Beniksan and the coalition army

40:02

had also been reinforced, and they

40:05

too would benefit from these slightly less punishing

40:07

conditions.

40:09

In fact, Beniksan preempted

40:11

Napoleon.

40:12

He too was planning a fresh offensive, and

40:14

the coalition forces were able to launch theirs

40:17

first. Beniksan

40:19

had far fewer troops at his disposal. In

40:21

fact, by this point, the French enjoyed

40:24

a 2-1 advantage in Poland. The

40:26

coalition forces only numbered about 100,000. However,

40:30

the French were far less concentrated.

40:33

Beniksan hoped that by striking quickly, he

40:36

could force a battle against one of the isolated

40:38

corps of the Grande Armée and deal

40:40

them a defeat before help arrived,

40:43

hopefully evening the odds for

40:45

the next round of fighting.

40:47

To Beniksan's credit, this is a sound approach

40:50

for a smaller force facing a bigger

40:52

but less concentrated enemy.

40:54

Napoleon himself was fond of this style

40:57

of offensive, and had used it with great

40:59

success several times during the first

41:01

Italian campaign.

41:03

However, unlike Napoleon, Beniksan

41:06

had settled on a very convoluted plan

41:08

that involved no fewer than six

41:10

separate columns, all coordinating

41:13

their movements with the goal of pinning

41:15

down and surrounding 6th

41:17

Corps of the Grande Armée under Marshal Ney,

41:20

while blocking other French Marshals from

41:22

marching to support.

41:25

Unfortunately for the Allies, Napoleon

41:27

had guessed what they were up to, writing,

41:30

quote,

41:31

"...everything leads me to believe that the enemy

41:33

is on the move, though it is ridiculous

41:36

on his part to engage in a general action

41:38

now that Danzig is taken." End

41:41

quote.

41:43

He did have a point. This offensive would

41:45

have carried a lot more weight and stood a

41:47

better chance of succeeding if it had been undertaken

41:49

before the fall of the city.

41:52

As was typically the case for this type

41:55

of complicated, multi-pronged attack,

41:57

the various Russian columns struggled to call it a battle.

41:59

coordinate their actions.

42:01

The Russians tried to advance quickly and quietly

42:04

to fall upon 6th Corps before they had

42:06

a chance to concentrate and organize themselves.

42:09

However, they were spotted by nayslight cavalry,

42:12

and one of the columns attacked too early,

42:15

so the French had plenty of warning and

42:17

began preparing to fight a defensive battle.

42:19

On 5th June,

42:22

there was somewhat confused and uncoordinated

42:24

fighting across a wide area of the front,

42:27

as the coalition forces tried to pin

42:29

the French down so they could strike the main

42:31

blow against nay.

42:34

In one of these skirmishes, Marshal

42:36

Bernadotte was shot in the head

42:38

by a Russian musket.

42:40

Either the bullet was fired from very far

42:42

away, or the charge was somehow

42:44

defective, because amazingly

42:46

Bernadotte was not even very badly injured.

42:51

The main coalition attack made some

42:53

progress, but they were disorganized

42:55

and struggled to build momentum.

42:58

Their slowness enabled nay to shuffle

43:00

around his units as needed, and so,

43:02

even though 6th Corps was badly outnumbered,

43:05

they managed to meet the enemy with roughly

43:07

equal strength.

43:09

The fighting stopped at nightfall, with no

43:11

side having a clear advantage.

43:14

The morning of June 6th saw nay

43:17

in a strong position, anchored on a lake.

43:20

He was still badly outnumbered, but the confined

43:22

space of the battlefield helped even the odds.

43:26

The Russians renewed the attack and

43:28

made some progress, but one of the senior

43:31

Russian commanders decided to take

43:33

his column all the way around the lake

43:35

along nay's flank.

43:37

Perhaps he underestimated the size

43:39

of the lake, or overestimated his men's

43:41

marching speed, because this was a terrible

43:44

decision.

43:45

Effectively taking half the Russian assault

43:47

force out of the battle for an extended

43:49

period of time, right when they were beginning

43:52

to really pressure the French.

43:55

This reprieve allowed nay to stabilize

43:57

his line, and organize a fighting retreat

44:00

over a nearby river.

44:01

Sixth Corps had escaped.

44:05

One interesting side note, this

44:07

was the first taste of battle for a young

44:09

Russian cavalry trooper named Alexander

44:11

Sokolov.

44:12

Sokolov is an interesting figure because

44:15

he had joined the army under an alias.

44:17

His real name was Nadezhda

44:20

Durova, and he was, in fact, a

44:22

she.

44:23

We will have more to say about Private Sokolov

44:26

in the future.

44:28

Anyway, these somewhat confused

44:30

events have gone down in history as the

44:32

Battle of Guchtat-Depen.

44:35

It was almost like a battle from the last phase

44:37

of the campaign in reverse.

44:39

One side trying to trap the enemy,

44:42

but finding they lacked the mobility and

44:44

communications to do so, and throwing

44:46

their men into a frontal attack against

44:48

a tough defensive position, but this

44:50

time it was the French who got to play the

44:52

defender. The

44:54

Russians claimed victory, but they had

44:57

failed to achieve their objective and suffered

44:59

far worse casualties than their enemies.

45:02

Just shy of 6,000 coalition killed

45:05

and wounded, compared to about 3,500 French.

45:09

Although he officially declared the engagement

45:11

a victory, General Beniksen exploded

45:14

with rage at his generals.

45:17

He didn't blame himself for the failure

45:19

of his overcomplicated plan, but

45:21

his subordinates for failing to move

45:23

fast enough, and tipping their hands

45:26

to the French.

45:28

It is worth mentioning that Beniksen was

45:30

not his usual self.

45:32

By this stage in the campaign, he was severely

45:34

ill.

45:35

We don't know exactly what was wrong with him,

45:38

some sources claim it was a fever, without

45:40

any more specifics, others claim

45:42

he had a kidney stone.

45:44

Whatever it was, it left him frequently

45:46

bedridden.

45:48

Apparently, he even lost consciousness

45:50

when it got particularly bad.

45:52

Beniksen still enjoyed the confidence of the

45:54

Russian emperor, but he would not be

45:56

at his best in the coming weeks.

46:00

In response to this offensive, Napoleon

46:02

had a bright idea.

46:04

He dispatched messengers with a letter

46:06

addressed to Marshal Ney, informing

46:08

him that he didn't have to worry, because French

46:11

forces were already around Benignson's flank,

46:13

and would soon launch an attack into the enemy

46:15

rear.

46:17

This letter was a ruse. There were

46:19

no French forces anywhere close to the Russian

46:21

rear.

46:22

Napoleon's staff gave the letter to two couriers,

46:25

and instructed them to take a route

46:28

to Marshal Ney's headquarters that

46:30

they knew would bring them into contact with Russian

46:32

patrols.

46:34

Obviously, the Emperor was remembering the

46:36

last campaign, in which his surprise

46:39

offensive had been spoiled when a packet of

46:41

letters and maps containing his entire

46:43

strategy had been captured by Cossacks.

46:47

Sure enough, one of the men was captured by

46:49

Benignson's cavalry. The letter found its

46:52

way to Russian headquarters.

46:54

This false message, combined

46:56

with the failure to trap Ney, seemed

46:59

to have totally killed whatever small

47:01

degree of momentum had built up behind

47:03

this offensive.

47:05

The ailing Benignson and his generals

47:07

decided to fall back, to await Napoleon's

47:10

counterstoke from a good position.

47:13

During their time in winter quarters, the

47:15

Russians had built strong, prepared

47:17

defenses.

47:18

Field fortifications, like trenches,

47:21

parapets, and breastworks, were something

47:23

of a specialty of the Russian army.

47:26

They had a lot of experience fighting against enemies

47:29

who specialized in hand-to-hand combat,

47:31

and they knew that a secure firing position

47:34

could mean the difference between victory and defeat.

47:37

This would be a

47:39

new element to the war, because in the previous

47:41

phase of fighting, the frozen ground

47:43

had been too hard for any serious field

47:46

fortifications.

47:48

Benignson decided to await the Grand Armée

47:51

at the town of Heilsberg,

47:52

now Lidsbark-Warminski in Poland.

47:55

Not only were there extensive field fortifications,

47:59

there was an old medieval-

47:59

castle that had been incorporated into

48:02

the defensive line.

48:05

As Napoleon launched his offensive,

48:07

both armies were struggling to pin down

48:09

the exact location and disposition

48:11

of the enemy.

48:13

The cavalry of both sides were fighting

48:15

in fierce skirmishes. Russian

48:17

Cossacks seem to have gotten the better of this

48:19

combat, but neither side's horsemen were

48:22

able to penetrate the enemy cavalry screen.

48:24

As a result, both commanders would be

48:26

forced to hedge their bets, and

48:29

gas at the other's intentions.

48:32

Beniksin's position at Heilsberg was

48:34

along a major river, the Alla, also

48:37

known as the Wina in Polish.

48:39

He didn't know which side of the river Napoleon

48:42

would attack from, and split his army

48:44

roughly in half, with a contingent on

48:46

each bank.

48:48

This was a risk, but the Russians

48:50

controlled four different bridges over

48:52

the Alla, and he was reasonably confident

48:54

he could move his troops back and forth as

48:56

needed.

48:59

As for Napoleon, his plan was by

49:01

now somewhat familiar.

49:02

Catch up with the enemy as quickly as possible,

49:05

pin them down, and try to get between

49:07

their position and their base of operations

49:10

at Königsberg,

49:11

thus hopefully forcing the coalition

49:13

army into a major battle on his terms.

49:17

As the French forces approached the Russian position

49:19

at Heilsberg, Napoleon still

49:21

only had a vague idea of the disposition of the enemy.

49:25

But he felt a climactic engagement

49:27

was not far off.

49:28

He wrote in a letter to the wounded Marshal Bernadotte,

49:31

quote,

49:32

I am still guessing what the enemy intends

49:34

to do.

49:35

Everything has the air of an impending massive blow.

49:38

I am

49:39

going to try to find the foe and

49:41

force a major battle to finish him off. End

49:43

quote.

49:46

As was often the case, Bureaus' cavalry

49:49

were the first to make contact with the enemy, arriving

49:52

outside Heilsberg early on June 10, 1807.

49:56

Bureaus' troopers brushed aside the

49:58

Russian rearguard.

49:59

but soon were charged by a much

50:02

larger force of Russian cavalry.

50:04

The flamboyant Marshal had no choice

50:06

but to order a temporary retreat.

50:10

Mira was an instinctively aggressive

50:12

commander, and he did not enjoy

50:14

ordering his men backwards.

50:16

As soon as he was able to bring up more of his units, he

50:19

ordered them to charge right back at the Russian

50:21

horsemen.

50:23

They had some success, but soon found

50:25

themselves within firing range of the enemy

50:27

infantry and artillery, suffered heavy

50:29

casualties, and were forced to fall back.

50:33

By now, Mira's temper was up.

50:36

He ordered charge after charge,

50:38

throwing his men against the Russians with reckless

50:40

abandon.

50:41

As he typically did, Mira

50:43

himself got right into the thick of the fighting.

50:46

One horse was killed

50:48

by grapeshot underneath him. He got

50:50

up, found another, mounted up, and

50:53

went right back into the fray.

50:55

This horse too was killed, and again

50:57

Mira went down.

50:59

This time, the flamboyant Marshal

51:01

was really in trouble.

51:03

He was surrounded by a group of Russian

51:05

dragoons, with none of his own

51:07

men nearby. He stood up,

51:09

saber in hand, to face the enemy, alone

51:12

and dismounted.

51:14

It seemed like Mira's guardian angel

51:16

had finally deserted him.

51:18

But then, a familiar figure galloped

51:20

onto the scene. It was the Hussar general,

51:23

Antoine de La Salle,

51:24

one of the most daring and colorful officers

51:26

in the Grande Armée, after Mira himself.

51:30

Together, the two flamboyant generals

51:32

were able to drive away the Russians.

51:35

Mira found another mount, and continued

51:37

leading his troopers from the front. Watching

51:41

these repeated charges, a French

51:43

infantry commander, General Savarie, remarked,

51:48

It would be better for us if Mira was

51:50

less brave and had a little more common

51:53

sense.

51:59

the Russian heavy cuirassiers

52:02

drove off a force of French horsemen more

52:04

than twice their size. However,

52:06

the coalition cavalry also suffered

52:08

heavy casualties, including a large

52:10

number of senior officers.

52:14

By now, large numbers of French infantry

52:16

and artillery had arrived.

52:18

Yara had been reinforced by the Imperial

52:20

Guard and the advance units of Marshal

52:22

Soult's Corps.

52:24

Napoleon usually held the guard in reserve,

52:27

but at Heilzburg, the fusiliers

52:29

of the guard, one of the best regiments in

52:31

the French army, went right into action.

52:35

The Russians tried to counterattack, but

52:37

they sent in a regiment of all

52:39

Polish cavalry, many of whom

52:42

would have preferred fighting for the other side.

52:44

As you might expect, their charge quickly

52:47

faltered, and they fell back towards their

52:49

own lines. Few of these

52:51

men wanted to get themselves killed

52:54

fighting against their own country's freedom.

52:57

With the defeat of the Russian cavalry, the

53:00

full weight of the French attack fell on

53:02

a single division led by Prince

53:04

Piotr Bagration, one of the most

53:06

capable leaders in the whole army.

53:09

Bagration staked out a good position

53:11

behind a stream and prepared to

53:13

hold as best he could.

53:15

The French attacked, led by General

53:17

Laurent de Gouvillon-Sancier,

53:20

an extremely brave and capable officer

53:22

who would eventually be made a Marshal of France.

53:25

Sancier and his men inflicted horrible

53:27

casualties on Bagration's division, but

53:29

they were unable to break them and were forced to

53:31

fall back.

53:33

They attacked again, and once again

53:35

the fighting was fierce, but the Russians

53:37

held on.

53:39

Around 50% of Bagration's

53:41

division was killed, wounded, or captured

53:43

in the fighting,

53:44

but they did their job.

53:46

Behind them, Beniksen had rearranged

53:49

his line,

53:50

and with that task complete, he

53:52

ordered Bagration's division to the rear.

53:55

Speaking of Beniksen, he was in extremely

53:58

bad shape.

53:59

The day was unusually hot and humid, even

54:02

by the standards of a normal Polish summer.

54:05

Every account of this battle comments on

54:07

the fact that officers and soldiers on

54:09

both sides were struggling with the weather.

54:12

If the heat was too much for tough,

54:14

healthy men in their 20s and 30s,

54:17

you can imagine how badly a gravely

54:20

ill man in his 60s was suffering.

54:23

Apparently, Beningsson lost consciousness

54:25

several times during the battle and had

54:28

to be revived by his staff.

54:32

By now, most of Soult's corps, some

54:34

of Lon's corps, plus parts of

54:36

the Imperial Guard, were engaged against

54:39

roughly half the Russian army, about 50,000 men

54:41

on each side.

54:44

Napoleon had arrived on the battlefield and

54:46

assumed command,

54:47

good news for the French, because the early

54:49

phases of the battle had not seen Marshal

54:52

Soult and Mira at their best.

54:55

However, Napoleon still believed he

54:57

was only facing a rear guard, and so

54:59

he ordered an aggressive attack.

55:02

The coalition army was in very good positions,

55:05

anchored on woods and field fortifications,

55:08

with the Alba River guarding their left flank.

55:11

As the men of the Grande Armée prepared

55:13

for this difficult assault,

55:15

enemy artillery opened up on them.

55:18

The French suffered terrible casualties,

55:21

but most of these men were veterans.

55:23

They knew their best chance at survival

55:25

was pressing home the attack as

55:27

quickly as possible, and forcing

55:30

the enemy gunners to abandon those cannon.

55:33

Against all odds, they made incredible

55:35

progress, seizing several Russian

55:37

strongpoints, including some serious

55:39

fortifications.

55:41

However, the coalition forces counterattacked,

55:44

with Russian infantry and Prussian

55:46

cavalry.

55:48

The French were devastated.

55:50

Several eagle standards were captured. In

55:52

one area, the Prussian horsemen were able to

55:54

push the French all the way back beyond

55:56

their starting positions, and charge

55:58

into the rear.

56:01

Just like at Ailao, the enemy was dangerously

56:04

close to the Emperor and his entourage.

56:06

His staff began urging him to move

56:08

to a safer location, but he kept

56:10

brushing them off.

56:12

Finally, General Nicola Udonno said,

56:15

quote,

56:16

Sire, if you remain exposed to enemy

56:18

fire, I will order my Grenadiers

56:20

to seize you and lock you inside a caisson.

56:23

End quote.

56:25

A caisson is a special cart for

56:27

carrying artillery munitions.

56:30

Apparently Napoleon was annoyed

56:32

by this impertinent joke, but

56:34

he finally got the message and moved

56:36

back towards the rear.

56:40

By now, it was quite late in the day,

56:42

but the sun sets stubbornly late

56:45

in Poland in summertime.

56:48

Fighting continued well into the evening,

56:50

but the battlefield had become a complete

56:52

mess.

56:53

In some areas, the Allies held the advantage.

56:56

In other places, the French were

56:58

still holding on to the progress they had made earlier

57:00

in the day.

57:02

Not even darkness stopped the combat.

57:04

The French tried a night raid on

57:06

one of the Russian fortifications, but

57:08

were discovered by the enemy and driven off, suffering

57:11

heavy casualties.

57:13

It was nearly midnight before the firing

57:15

finally died down.

57:18

Once again, the two opposing armies had

57:20

fought a bloody draw.

57:22

Perhaps more than 4,000 men had lost

57:24

their lives, to no real advantage

57:26

on either side.

57:29

In the Dejda Durova, the young Russian woman

57:31

who had joined the army under an alias would

57:34

remember the battle in her memoirs.

57:36

Quote, The French fought

57:38

furiously at Heilsberg. Oh,

57:41

man is horrible in his frenzy. All

57:43

the qualities of the wild are contained in him.

57:46

No, this is no longer bravery. I do

57:48

not know what to call this wild, bestial

57:51

daring, but it is unworthy of being called

57:53

fearlessness.

57:56

Even now, I do not see anything frightening

57:58

in battle,

57:59

but I see many many men as white as sheets. I

58:01

see them duck when a shell flies overhead,

58:04

as if they could evade it.

58:05

Evidently, in these men, fear

58:08

has more force than reason.

58:10

I have already seen a great many killed and severely

58:13

wounded. It

58:14

is pitiful to watch the latter moaning

58:16

and crawling over the so-called field

58:18

of honor. What can mitigate the

58:20

horror for a position like that for a common

58:23

soldier or a recruit?

58:25

For an uneducated man, it is a completely

58:28

different matter.

58:29

The lofty feeling of honor, heroism,

58:32

devotion to the Emperor, and sacred

58:34

duty to his native land, compel

58:37

him to face death fearlessly, endure

58:39

suffering courageously, and part

58:42

with life calmly.

58:47

Exact casualty numbers are sketchy,

58:50

but it seems they were slightly higher for

58:52

the French,

58:53

although the Russians had a smaller force, so

58:55

their casualties were proportionally higher.

58:59

Neither army had much need or desire

59:02

to continue the fight, and so the next

59:04

morning there was a truce.

59:06

The surgeons and medical assistants

59:08

of both armies worked side by side,

59:11

bringing the wounded off the field for treatment.

59:14

Once again, the day was unseasonably

59:16

warm, and apparently the

59:18

smell coming off the battlefield was

59:21

nauseating.

59:23

Then, as was their habit, the Russians

59:26

fell back, once again abandoning

59:28

positions so many men had died

59:30

fighting over.

59:32

Not for the first time in this war, Napoleon's

59:35

marshals had started the battle without him,

59:38

and once again, the Grande Armée

59:40

had gotten a bloody nose, trying to bash

59:42

its way through tough enemy positions.

59:46

While the fighting raged at Heilsberg, Marshal

59:49

de Vou and III Corps were marching on the enemy

59:51

flank.

59:52

If the French had simply waited 24 hours,

59:55

Beniksen would have been forced to abandon

59:58

this position without a shot fired.

59:59

Heilzburg was

1:00:02

yet another sloppy battle that probably

1:00:04

did not need to be fought. However,

1:00:07

Napoleon was not deterred.

1:00:09

He would continue chasing Beniksen.

1:00:12

Despite this setback, the Emperor had

1:00:14

the mobility and the numbers. He

1:00:16

was determined to finally get his decisive

1:00:19

battle.

1:00:20

But that story will have to wait for next

1:00:22

episode. As always,

1:00:25

thanks for listening.

1:00:34

One last thing. Don't forget to check out

1:00:36

other shows on our network, like The

1:00:39

Ancient World, The Art of Crime, and The

1:00:41

History of China.

1:00:43

Hutchinson Minnesota had some problems. For

1:00:46

the adults of Hutchinson, the problem was the teenagers.

1:00:49

They kept sneaking off at night to empty barns

1:00:51

where they'd brace yourself, dance. Who

1:00:53

knew what sort of sin and heavy petting in French

1:00:55

literature these barn dances might lead to? No.

1:00:58

The adults of Hutchinson Minnesota did not

1:01:00

approve. Neither, it seemed,

1:01:02

did the devil. One summer night, Satan

1:01:05

himself suddenly appeared in the middle of the dance

1:01:07

floor, and the debauched teens ran in

1:01:09

fear. He showed up at the next dance, too.

1:01:11

For a few months, it seemed like you couldn't go to a

1:01:14

late-night barn dance in Hutchinson without getting

1:01:16

chased out by the devil, pitchfork in

1:01:18

tow. Until one night, when a 14-year-old

1:01:20

boy had the good sense to shoot him in the chest.

1:01:23

At which point, the devil was revealed, Scooby-Doo-style

1:01:25

but bloodier, to be the local Methodist minister,

1:01:28

dressed in a costume, and flown in from the roof

1:01:30

by rope and pulley. This

1:01:32

is The Constant, a history of getting things wrong. I'm

1:01:35

Mark Chrysler. Every episode, we look at the accidents,

1:01:37

mistakes, and bad ideas that helped misshape

1:01:40

our world. Find us at constantpodcast.com

1:01:43

or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks.

1:01:50

Hi, I'm Matt Albers, host

1:01:52

of the Pirate History Podcast. The

1:01:55

men and women of the Golden Age of Piracy

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are some of the most infamous and

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often misunderstood characters and

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their names. Anne Bonny,

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Henry Avery, Mary Reed, Captain Kidd,

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Blackbeard. But do you know their

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Every week over on the Pirate History Podcast,

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