The Adventures of Henri Bonhomme - Prequel 4

It was on 23 October that Henri Bonhomme received word that the Grande Armée had abandoned Moscow. The great invasion of Russia had failed. 

Henri's role in the invasion thus far had been relatively low key. He had commanded an infantry division in Ney's Corps which he led at the Battle of Smolensk,  but after the battle the Emperor placed him in charge of the city with instructions to establish a depot and ferry forward supplies and troops. Initially he was furious at being removed from active operations when there was plenty of glory still to be earned, but Baillard soon convinced him of the benefits of the posting. While the city of Smolensk was a smoking ruin, most of the country houses of the local aristocracy were intact and abandoned with their many paintings and trinkets in place. The churches, filled with religious icons and similar artifacts, had also been abandoned.  With the treasures that could be acquired here it would be possible to add a new Slavic wing to the growing gallery at the Bordeaux estate. 

So while Bonhomme established himself in an attractive villa on the banks of the Dnieper and oversaw the collection of food, clothing and munitions for the army, Baillard set himself up in an abandoned stable and began to build up a significant collection of artwork, silver and gold. In the first three weeks alone the collection was large enough to fill a wagon that was sent off to France. Enough for another wagon was gathered over the next five weeks. 

When news reached him that the Grand Armée had abandoned Moscow Bonhomme was told that Napoleon intended to take a route out of Russia south of Smolensk, through countryside that had not been stripped of supplies during the advance. Bonhomme was to send whatever stores he held to Minsk, which would be a point of concentration on the line of retreat. Bonhomme built a train of 50 wagons and was preparing to set it in motion when word came that the Army had met with a reverse at the Battle of Maloyoslavets and been forced back onto the Smolensk Road. They were going to need all the supplies that could be gathered and he was instructed to hold everything in Smolensk for now.

Baillard's problem was simpler: How was he to get their wagon of loot away?

The greatest concern was that winter had arrived early. The first snow had fallen on 13 October and by the first week of November, the mercury had fallen as low as -12°C (10°F). On 9 November Napoleon arrived at Smolensk. Ten days earlier he had narrowly escaped capture by a group of cossacks. Bonhomme found him tired and depressed, but grateful the Smolensk stores were intact. In an effort to lift the Emperor's spirits Bonhomme arranged a dinner in his honour.

The next morning he found the Emperor in front of a peasant's house planning the next phase of the withdrawal. Despite his good humour at dinner the night before, Napoleon was subdued again. 

"Bonhomme," he said, "How is your division?"

"Well, sire," Bonhomme replied, "it's more a brigade than division though. Of the twelve battalions I had when I halted here seven were called forward after Borodino."

"So you have five battalions left? They are in good condition though?"

"Yes", Bonhomme replied. "They are a little understrength, but they are in good spirits, although there is some concern about the current situation."

"And rightly so," The Emperor said. "We are in  tight spot, I don't mind telling you. We are marching out of here tomorrow...supposed to make for Minsk, but I have just heard that the Russians have taken Minsk and destroyed the magazines there. They are closing in behind us."

"Minsk...that is bad news...," Bonhomme replied.

"It certainly put me off my coffee and croissants this morning," the Emperor said. "To make matters worse there has been an attempted coup in Paris. It has been put down, of course, but things are very delicate right now...I need to get back to Paris as quickly as I can for the sake of the Empire." He paused then continued..."I have a task for you Bonhomme."

"Oh, great," Bonhomme thought..."how often have I heard those words...last time I heard them you left me here for eight weeks!" 

"Your men are fresh," the Emperor continued, "and when we march out tomorrow. I want you to take the lead...you will be the vanguard. I will assign some cavalry. Do you have any guns?"

"Just the regimental guns, sire."

"I'll attach some horse artillery. Now go to your men, and get them ready to march."

*******

"There's our silver lining," Baillard said.

"What do you mean?"

"You know...every cloud has a silver lining...the saying...this is our way to get our wagon out safely," he said.

"I fail to see how putting a wagon load of precious art with the vanguard of the army expected to fight its way  through a horde of marauding cossacks is a measure of safety," Bonhomme replied.

"I'll make it work," said Baillard.

Bonhomme was about to ask how, but thought better of it. Whenever he had reason to doubt Baillard, he always came through. If anyone could do it, it was him. He seemed to have some sort of secret underground network that allowed him to move anything across the length and breadth of continental Europe with ease and speed. While he wanted to know how, at the same time he did not want to know. Bonhomme often wondered how much better the Emperor's campaigns might have run if Baillard had been in charge of the supply services instead of the bungling idiots who held command.

"Well, be ready." Bonhomme said. "We march tomorrow."

*******

When the column formed at 5:00 AM on the morning of 16 November it was snowing. The thermometer showed the temperature at -12°C (10°F), but with a strong breeze making it feel much colder. Bonhomme's guide, a Polish officer, told him to expect it to get even colder in the next week.  He scanned the line of wagons, but could not see Baillard. All the drivers appeared to be peasants, but one of them, driving a cart loaded with sacks of grain, looked familiar. Was that Baillard? But why is he dressed as a peasant?..."No Henri", he said to himself, "don't ask..."

The column stepped off at 5:30. They were making for Orsha, 100 km to the west. Here they would cross the Dnieper. Progress was good and they made about 25 km. The day had passed without incident, but the effect of the march from Moscow to Smolensk was showing itself and while his relatively fresh troops marched well, most of the rest straggled badly. 

On the second day of the march the sun actually shone and the temperature was only a few degrees below freezing. Again the column had made around 25 km, but the sight of cossacks on the crests of hills was ominous.

Day three was a painful day and the temperature plummeted and it snowed all day. Around noon a band of cossacks had struck the column several miles to Bonhomme's rear, causing panic and the loss of about 30 wagons. The column only made 15 km for the day.

Despite heavy snow for the next two days Bonhomme made good time. He covered the remaining 35 km to Orsha and secured the bridges there. No enemy was seen, apart from the occasional cossack scout. The Army halted at Orsha to allow the tail of the column to close up on the head. There was a considerable cache of supplies there and many men were able to be fed and re-equipped. 

It was at Orsha that the Emperor was advised that many ammunition wagons were laden with loot. He was so enraged that he ordered most of it to be destroyed. At one point he stood beside the bridge and halted and inspected every wagon that passed, ordering any loot and excess wagons burned and the horses redistributed to the artillery. Bonhomme was astonished to see that his wagon had avoided the Emperor's attention - he wondered how Baillard had pulled that off, but then again he really didn't want to know!

On 22 November the army set out again, making to cross the last great obstacle, the Berezina River. Bonhomme's men continued to lead the way. The departure was made in terrible conditions with heavy snow and the temperature dropping down below -25°C (-15°F). 

With the roads in bad condition Bonhomme made poor time. Less than two kilometers was covered in the first three hours. Then shortly before noon, as the column approached a small village, the cossacks appeared. They came out of the woods riding hard. Colonel de Serville brought forward a small unit of cavalry that he had cobbled together from pretty much any man near the head of the column who still had a horse. 

The cossacks were unwilling to tangle with de Serville and turned away to the south. Bonhomme called de Serville back, "Save  your horses," he told him, "I have a feeling we are going to have a greater need for you yet, Pierre."

Then he saw them. A mass of Russians - horse, foot and guns. These weren't the militia and peasants that they had seen recently. These troops moved with discipline. They were regulars. Bonhomme brought his telescope to bear, but it quickly frosted over and was of little use. He thought he could see dragoons, in their tall black helmets. Was it five battalions, a few squadrons of cavalry and a pair of guns?

He called for de Serville to form facing the Russians and got the infantry into line. He wished he had guns to hand, but they were well to the rear, struggling in the snow.

The Russians weren't advancing, but were blocking the road. While he was deciding how to  handle the situation he heard a commotion to the rear. Looking around he saw the Emperor approaching in his sleigh. "What the Hell is he doing this far forward?!" Bonhomme thought. He rode in the direction of the sleigh.

"Sire," he said. "This is no place for you!"

"What is going on?" Napoleon demanded. "Why have we stopped? Why are you deployed?"

"The Russians, sire, Regulars, they are formed across the road."

"Then drive them off! We must push on!"

"I shall, Sire, but please go to the rear. It is too risky for you here."

"Stuff and nonsense, Bonhomme...I have been a soldier for 30 years...I stormed the bridge at Arcole...I have lead troops at a dozen or more battles and I know all about risk..."

"...And that's why those Cossacks nearly got you the other day," Bonhomme thought.

"I will stay here with my guard, Bonhomme...drive them off!" the Emperor demanded and ordered the sleigh back some 500 meters to the rear to where the head of his small force of Guardsmen stood. The guards quickly closed around him.

Bonhomme formed a line of three battalions, with two more in column behind. He put de Serville's cavalry on the right and stepped off. It was tough going for the ground was soft and in places the snow was knee deep.

*******

This was the great opportunity for Russia. Boris Knockerov had managed to get in front of the French march column, but his force was tiny. Of the eight battalions that made up his division he had only managed to get three along with a pair of guns into line. The rest were miles back, struggling in snow and on frozen roads. Three squadrons of dragoons and a band of cossacks had joined him, but it was a woefully small force. What concerned him more was that while the troops were well drilled they were largely untested recruits. He had to gain time to bring up the rest of the division.

He thought of fortifying the village, but it was just a few simple buildings and it would have divided his force rather than maintaining a unified battle line. There were no significant features nearby so he ordered the two battalions of jägers to form up in the open on the south side of the village, with the guns between them. The line battalion was placed north of the village. The dragoons were on the left and the cossacks wandered free, looking for opportunities.

He ordered the guns to open fire, to force the French to deploy. 

Then he told the colonel of the dragoons to go forward. The colonel protested that the ground was not suitable. "Push forward," Knockerov growled. "We need to stop them regardless of the cost!"

*******

"Here they come!" Bonhomme heard de Serville call. He looked up and watched the Russian dragoons wheel into line. They began to move forward, looking to charge, but they seemed to be struggling to form. When de Serville's formed up opposite them, the Russian troopers appeared to lose enthusiasm. The two bodies of cavalry seemed content to just watch each other. 

Then the Russian guns opened, but the soft ground and snow was working in the French favour and they could not get any ricochet. The first two rounds plowed into the ground with a shower of snow and mud. Bonhomme urged the men on. The infantry closed on the Russian line. When they got to within 150 meters the Russian infantry opened a noisy, but ineffective volley.

Bonhomme kept his line moving forward. The Russian infantry were furiously trying to reload. When the French line closed to within 100 meters it was halted and they fired. The Russians returned the fire and soon the smoke, held still in the cold air, obscured the front.

Bonhomme considered the situation. The Russians were not pushing him so in all likelihood were not present in large numbers. He sent a message to de Serville to hold the dragoons in check while he shifted the two reserve battalions to the left and flank the Russians.

The plan worked. The infantry had struggled at first in the snow, but as the two battalions shook out into lines the Russians gave way. 

*******

Knockerov was furious that his troops were moving back. He knew that the line troops were of dubious quality, but the jagers were better trained. He rode amongst them hollering "HOLD!!! Get back in line you dogs. Hold your position!"

But it was no avail. A fresh force had deployed to the left and the flank was compromised. The whole force was falling back. At least there was order...they weren't running. The dragoons were holding their ground, but seemed disinclined to press forward in the snow. Finally he called them back. He wasn't going to be able to stop the French here. 

*******

As the dragoons fell back de Serville looked to pursue, but Bonhomme called him in. He was in the process of reforming the march column when a fresh commotion was heard to the rear. Spinning in the saddle he saw cossacks among the wagons close to the column head. De Serville had seen it too and was leading his troopers in that direction, but it was too late. The cossacks had cut out a six or so wagons and had set fire to a dozen more. Other troops were coming up to prevent any further loss.

He saw Baillard in his peasant costume. "Where is our wagon?" Bonhomme asked.

Baillard nodded towards the cossacks. 

"You mean they have taken it?"

"Yes..."

"Damn it!"

"I'd only just left it too. Captain Bouchard took charge."

"Bouchard? Where do I know that name from?"

"He was with you in Egypt."

"What...that little twit...the one that stole the credit for the Rosetta Stone?"

"The very same."

Bonhomme paused, shook his head, then with pain in his voice said "All that artwork...and those trinkets..."

"Oh its quite safe," said Baillard. Bonhomme looked at him with incredulity and then at the wagon disappearing in the distance with the cossacks. "I transferred it the night before last to a more secure location."

"Where?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" Replied Bonhomme and then instantly wondered if he really did want to know.

Baillard paused then casually said, "its in the Emperor's sleigh."

"What?!!!" Bonhomme exclaimed loud enough for others to hear and look around. He took Baillard to one side. "Are you mad!? He has just spent the last few days personally stripping loot from the column and you have put it right under him!"

"Where could be safer?"

"We will be shot if he finds out!"

"He won't find out and will carry it back to Warsaw where one of my contacts will transfer it to another transport and get it back to Bordeaux. Trust me."

"Oh my God!..., " Bonhomme thought, "Trust me....one of his contacts...in Warsaw...". Yet as bizarre as the situation was he did trust him.

The two of them stood in silence for a few minutes, then Bonhomme asked, "am I wrong to feel a bit of pleasure at the thought of Bouchand being tortured by cossacks?"

"Yes, you are," Baillard said with a more curt tone than Bonhomme expected. 

The two of them stood silently for a moment and Bonhomme began to feel a bit of guilt and perhaps a little pity for the captain.

"Then again," Baillard said with a wry smile, "he always was a pusillanimous twit..." 

The two of them stood there chuckling, desperately trying not to laugh out loud. It was a terrible thought really, but in the atmosphere of a battlefield those dark moments often fuelled a perverse sense of humour.

*******

The army continued its painful retreat to Poland, although thanks to Baillard's inventiveness, Bonhomme was less pained than others. The Emperor had left column after crossing the Berezina, moving first Warsaw in his sleigh, then at pace onto Paris by carriage.

As 1812 turned to 1813 Bonhomme received a note from his sister in Bordeaux.

"The crates arrived yesterday," she wrote. "The paintings, particularly the icon of Our Lady of Smolensk, are beautiful."

He sat back, sipped his cognac, looked across at Baillard who was busy writing in his ledgers and thought "...one of his contacts in Warsaw...the man never fails to amaze me."