‘Well done, well done,’ said Bagration. ‘My thanks to you, officer.’
‘Your Excellency,’ said Rostov, ‘may I ask a favour?’
‘What is it?’
‘Tomorrow our squadron is held in reserve. Could I possibly be attached to the first squadron?’
‘What’s your name?’
‘Count Rostov.’
‘Splendid. You may stay with me as an orderly officer.’
‘Ilya Andreich’s son?’ said Dolgorukov, but Rostov ignored him.
‘May I count on it, sir?’
‘I will give the order.’
‘Tomorrow, it’s more than possible – I might get sent to the Tsar with a message,’ he thought. ‘Glory be!’
All the shouting and lighting of fires in the enemy camp had come about because Napoleon himself had ridden among the bivouacs while his proclamation was being read out to the troops. When they saw him the soldiers set fire to armfuls of straw and ran after him chanting, ‘Long live the Emperor!’ Napoleon’s proclamation ran as follows:
Soldiers! The Russian army is marching against you in order to avenge the Austrian army, the army of Ulm. These are the same forces that you defeated at Hollabrünn and have been driving relentlessly towards this place. The positions that we occupy are strong ones, and should they march round me to the right, they will expose their flank to me! Soldiers! I shall myself be at the head of your battalions. I shall be out of the firing line as long as you display your habitual courage by carrying disorder and confusion into the ranks of the enemy. But if victory is for a single moment in doubt, you will see your Emperor facing the direct onslaught of the enemy, for there can be no vacillation on the verge of victory, especially on this day, when the honour of the French infantry is at stake, and with it the honour of our nation. Do not break ranks even for the purpose of removing the wounded! May every last man among you be imbued with the need to destroy these hirelings of England, who are inspired by such hatred of our country. With this victory our campaign will be concluded, and we can return to our winter quarters to be joined by new troops at present mobilizing in France. And then the peace which I shall conclude will be worthy of our people, worthy of you and of me.
NAPOLEON
CHAPTER 14
At five in the morning it was still quite dark. There was no movement among the troops in the centre, nor in the reserves, nor on Bagration’s right flank. But on the left flank the infantry, cavalry and artillery columns who would be the first to plunge down and attack the French on their right flank, driving them off into the Bohemian mountains – according to Weierother’s battle plan – were already up and about. They had been throwing all the leftovers into the campfires, and the smoke now stung the eyes. It was cold and dark. The officers were gulping down tea and snatching breakfast, while the men munched their dry biscuits and stamped their feet against the cold, gathering around the fires for some warmth and throwing all the unwanted bits and pieces into the flames – wood from their temporary huts, chairs, tables, wheels, tubs, anything that couldn’t go with them. Austrian column leaders were moving in and out among the Russian troops, their presence heralding imminent advance. As soon as an Austrian officer arrived at a commander’s quarters, the regiment stirred itself into action: the soldiers hurried away from the fires, stuffing their pipes down the tops of their boots and their bags into wagons, quick to sort out their muskets and fall in. The officers buttoned up their uniforms, buckled on their sabres and pouches, and paced up and down the ranks shouting. The baggage handlers and officers’ orderlies harnessed the horses, packed the wagons and lashed them up. The adjutants and the officers commanding regiments and battalions got on their horses, crossed themselves, issued final orders, exhortations and instructions to the men who were staying behind with the baggage, and then the steady tramp of a thousand feet began. The columns moved off with no idea where they were going, blinded by the surrounding hordes, the smoke and the gathering mist so that they couldn’t see what they were leaving behind or what they were marching into.
