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the whole army of the Moselle, with the exception of Lefevre's division, was in retreat: the general, alarmed to see his two flanks defenceless, was just going to give orders to retrogade, when Soult conjured him to wait, assuring him that, as far as he could judge by the manoeuvres of the second line, the enemy was commencing his retreat: this opinion of Soult was soon confirmed by an order sent to attack from Jourdan, who, stationed in the balloon, was enabled to perceive distinctly the movements of the Austrian army. Marceau and Soult marched together to take possession of Lambussart. This village was taken and retaken several times. After having been engaged for eighteen hours, Cobourg retreated in good order.

Marceau, who had witnessed the skill and coolness of Soult, said to Lefevre, "The Chief of your Staff is a man of merit; he will soon bring himself into notice. "Yes," replied Lefevre, "he is passable-I am satisfied with him. He conducts the business of my Staff pretty well." Marceau held out his hand to Soult, and in a friendly tone said to him, "General, I have to beg you will forget the past; and although, from my rank, I am destined to give you instructions, yet I have received such a lesson from you to-day, as I shall not forget while I live. It is you alone who have gained the battle of Fleurus." With these words they embraced, and from that time they entertained the strongest friendship for each other until the death of Marceau, which event sensibly affected Soult.

During the campaigns of 1794, 95, 96, and 97, Soult continued to direct Lefevre's division. That General, whenever any one praised the Chief of his Staff in his presence, used to observe, that he ought to be considered as better adapted for the desk than the field; not but that Lefevre knew very well that he was equally qualified for either, but it was his policy to lessen the merit of Soult, apprehending that otherwise the General in Chief, or the government, might deprive him of Soult, to place him in a situation more suitable to his talents. This is the true reason which retained Soult so long in a secondary rank. Any one that had seen Lefevre, and had heard him speak on military affairs, was astonished that a man so shallow should ever have acquired so great a reputation. His division was 15,000 strong; in case of attack it formed the van, and in a retreat, the rear-guard of the army; whether in the camp, on the march, or in the field of battle, this division always preserved the greatest order, was never broke in upon, and was almost always successful. The troops of Marceau, Championnet, Bernadotte, &c. were far from enjoying the same celebrity, although their commanders were much superior to Lefevre. It was Soult who was the author of his General's glory. The cavalry deployed in front of the enemy with as much precision as on the parade, and the infantry manoeuvred like Swiss soldiers. Soult superintended every where; he was seldom absent at the time of the distributions, taking care that the provisions were of good quality, which obtained him the affection of the soldiers: he reprimanded those officers who were negligent, encouraged those who did their duty well, and in every engagement he was sure to be found in the foremost ranks.

Lefevre, by his wheedling, succeeded with the government in availing him

d'ame et de corps. He served in the ranks, and, owing to his revolutionary speeches, soon got promoted. His lady, who is a Dame d'Honneur of the

self of so much zeal, but the soldiers were never duped by him. When any thing grievous happened, there was but one cry heard throughout the division" It is because Lefevre has thrust his nose into it; why did he not leave it all to be done by the Chief of his Staff?" These details should not be considered as exaggerations; they are the simple truth: I served with Soult in Lefevre's division, in the capacity of Adjutant-General, and I was fully enabled to appreciate the merit of each. Nothing was so amusing as to be present at the establishment of Gen. Lefevre into any of his headquarters: Madame Lefevre always followed her husband: no sooner were they entered into their residence than you might see them running, sabre in hand, making a general slaughter of the poultry, in order to prepare a goodfricassee for their good friend Soult, who so well conducted the affairs of the troops it has even been asserted, that Madame Lefevre forced her favours on Soult, as an acknowledgment for the great utility he was of to her hus band. We shall refer, however, these laughable details to the biographical note of the Duke of Dantzick.

Soult was at last nominated General of Brigade; but Lefevre, unwilling to part with him, caused him to be employed in his division, giving him the command of the advanced-guard. Lefevre having been wounded, Jourdan intrusted this division to Soult, who commanded it in chief on the day of the battle of Liebtingen, the 26th of March, 1799. Made General of Division, he was employed in Switzerland under Massena, of whom he was considered as the right hand; he followed that General into Italy, and co-operated with him at the siege of Genoa, where Soult was wounded, a ball having shattered his right leg. He was made prisoner with his brother, who was then Aide-de-Camp and Chief of a Squadron, and who is now a General, commanding the cavalry of the fourth corps, in the kingdom of Grenada.

The Austrians losing the battle of Marengo, occasioned Soult's return into his own country. As soon as he was recovered of his wounds, he was intrusted with the command of the army of observation in the kingdom of Naples. Some officers, who then served under his orders, have assured me that he had succeeded in being beloved and feared by the troops and the inhabitants, for his justice and strictness. We have seen how Mortier made his way to the favour of Buonaparte. It was also Lefevre who represented Soult as being equally skilful in manœuvres as zealous for discipline; he was sent for to Paris, and appointed Colonel-General of the Foot Chasseurs of the Consular Guard. He constantly shewed himself worthy of Buonaparte's confidence, and it was shortly perceived how greatly the influence of Soult operated in improving whatever related to the service. Buonaparte, charmed with the progress his guard made in order, conduct, and instruction, the result of Soult's exertions, conceived he could not make a better choice, than appointing that officer to the chief command of the camp of Boulogne.

More open-minded than the other courtiers, Soult declaimed very loudly against the immense works which were constructing on the coast near Boulogne, and on the heights bordering upon the banks of the Lianne; he was suffered to talk on, and was forgiven this silliness, from his having on the

Empress's household, was a shopkeeper's daughter at Sohlingen, in Westphalia, and a notorious prostitute."

other hand the good sense to show himself one of the most zealous advocates for the erection of Buonaparte's pillar, with this inscription, "The land and sea army to Napoleon the Great!" Soult would have done much better, had he advised his master to construct good barracks for the soldiers, a wholesome hospital with a spacious garden, and stone powder magazines, instead of those of wood, which, like so many volcanoes, threaten Boulogne with complete destruction; the more to be dreaded, as this might result from the imprudence of a single sentinel, or the evil designs of some flagitious villain; but, unfortunately, splendour is preferred to real utility, and that which might be advantageous to humanity is left unconsidered.

Soult, during his stay at Boulogne, evinced uncommon activity: almost continually on horseback, he severally visited the coast, the camps, and the cantonments; and it was there that he employed himself in instructing his troops in those manoeuvres which were of so much service to him at the battle of Austerlitz. When the army of the Boulogne Camp proceeded to Germany, Soult passed the Rhine at Spire, the 26th of September, 1805, and directed his march through Heilbron for Nordlingen. The 6th of Oct. he seized on the tête-de-pont of Donavert, crossed the Danube, and marched straight to Ausburg, of which he took possession without striking a blow: he also seized on Memingen, experiencing scarcely any resistance. During the whole of this campaign, he was intrusted with the most important posts. At the battle of Austerlitz he commanded the right wing; Buonaparte sent him an order for an immediate attack, and to possess himself of the heights of Pratzen. Soult said to the Aide-de-Camp who brought this order, "that he would commence the attack as soon as he could do it successfully; but that it was not yet the proper time." This reply, being reported to Buonaparte, filled him with rage; and he immediately sent another Aide-de-Camp, who arrived precisely at the moment that Soult had put his troops in motion, which he had only delayed, to allow the Russians time to extend their army towards the left, by which they were weakening their centre. All who opposed his march were either killed or taken. Buonaparte, who was stationed on a height from which he could plainly discover the movements of the army, was charmed with the precision and the brilliant result of his Lieutenant's inanœuvres; he went to him at full gallop, and in presence of all his Staff, who had but a few moments before beheld him most vehemently exclaiming against Soult, he embraced him, saying, "My Lord Marshal Soult, I esteem you as the most able tactician of my empire." "Sire, I believe it," replied Soult, "since your majesty has the goodness to tell me so,"-"---a well-timed compliment, which caused as much pleasure to Buonaparte, as it astonished the officers who were present: and nothing was wanting to complete the effect of the extraordinary scene of this day, but the Colonel of the Regiment du Roi infantry, under whom Soult served as a common soldier in 1786, who would no doubt have exclaimed, “A miracle indeed!" on beholding his raw recruit become a wily courtier, and a General sufficiently skilful to give a complete dressing to those Russian and Austrian Generals, who had previously acquired so much reputation by their brilliant exploits against the Turks.

At the battle of Jena, Soult decided the victory by his movement against the centre of the Prussian army, after having taken possession of the wood

which was on his right. On the 16th of October, 1806, at Greussen, he refused to give confidence to the armistice, said to have been agreed on by General Kalkreuth, with a view of favouring the retreat of the column which covered the flight of the King of Prussia. Buonaparte, in his tenth bulletin, dated Naumburg, the 18th of October, 1806, has manufactured a conference between the Prussian General and Marshal Soult, for the purpose of affording a lesson (in his way) to the Generals of the grand army, who, having allowed themselves to be insnared by the pretended armistice, had suffered many of the enemy's columns to escape. Soult rendered great services in Prussia and in Poland. At the battle of Eylau, though inferior in number, he held Beningsen's army in check. Augereau had been routed, and had left the right of Soult unprotected; Davoust had been retarded in his march by bad roads; Ney was fighting against the Prussians; and Bernadotte was too far distant to take a part in the engagement. Soult, however, arranged his troops with so much skill, that he made them appear much more numerous than they were. If, after having defeated Augereau's corps, the Russian army had rushed headlong (a favourite manœuvre of their's) upon Soult's line, Buonaparte would have been completely beaten, and Davoust's corps, separated from the rest of the army, would have been either killed, taken, or dispersed. On the approach of night, Buonaparte, alarmed at the enormous loss which he had sustained, wished to retreat. "Let us remain where we are, sire," said Soult to him; "for although we have been dreadfully mauled, we shall pass for conquerors, if we remain the last on the field of battle; and I have observed some movements in the Russian army, which induce me to think that the enemy will effect his retreat during the night." Although Buonaparte was apprehensive of the contrary, he resolved to follow the advice of Soult, of whose extraordinary perspicacity he was well aware. The next day he was so rejoiced at the retreat of the Russians, that he was observed the whole day with a smiling countenance, although in the midst of twenty thousand dead, dying, and wounded lying strewed on the field of battle near the town of Eylau.

After the peace of Tilsit, Soult was appointed to take a command in the army of Spain. On the 10th of November, 1808, he took the command of the 2nd corps, attacked the army of Estramadura, and, destroying it, took possession of Burgos: he marched upon Renoysa, occupied St. Ander, and penetrated into the kingdom of the Asturias, whilst the other corps of the French army manoeuvred on the two rivers of the Ebro and defeated Castanos at Tudela.

When Buonaparte marched to Madrid, he ordered Soult to observe General Moore's movements: he had orders to manœuvre so as to draw the English army on the side of Burgos, whilst a chosen corps was to proceed by forced marches to seize upon the English line of operation, and to cut off their retreat to their ships which were lying altogether in Corunna Bay. The skilfulness of General Moore enabled him to avoid this snare, so artfully prepared for him; he retired upon Benevento, where his cavalry defeated the chasseurs of the imperial guard. Soult's march was slow, and his attacks far from vigorous. Whatever Buonaparte may say, Soult was 'constantly repulsed at the battle of Corunna, and the English obtained the victory though dearly purchased, with the loss of their brave General Moore,

who was equally estimable for his private virtues as for his military talents.

The invasion of the north of Portugal does little honour to Soult. It is true, that after having beat the Portuguese militia, he carried the town of Oporto by storm. But how did he defend his conquests? What measures did he take to prevent Lord Wellington's columns from effecting the passage of the Douro? I have been credibly informed, that Soult was near being taken prisoner at Oporto, where the English entered, whilst he was at table with his whole Staff; they were obliged precipitately to mount their horses, and with sabre in hand, cut their way through the English sharp shooters, who were already firing in the streets. I had this fact from Col. Dauture, who was employed in Marshal Soult's Staff, and who was since, under my orders, at the camp of Boulogne. When the 2nd corps entered Portugal, on the 10th of February, 1809, it was 23,000 strong; it retired thence, on the 18th of the following May, after having lost 8,000 men, with the whole of its baggage and artillery. The loss of men was almost entirely occasioned by the peasants, who, justly irritated at the atrocious conduct of the French, put to death, without mercy, all who fell in their way. By one of the capricious freaks of fortune, Soult arrived very opportunely to raise the blockade of Lugo, which was surrounded by General Mabi, at the head of 20,000 Spaniards. The garrison of this town, composed of the 69th regiment, under the command of General Fournier, were entirely without provisions and the means of prolonging their defence. The Spaniards retreated on Soult's approach; and this fortunate occurrence threw the shade of oblivion over his mishaps in Portugal.

His march upon Placentia, with his own corps and that of Marshal Mortier, obliged Lord Wellington to relinquish his position at Talavera de la Reyna. Buonaparte estimated his force at 70,000 effective men. The truth is, be had not even 30,000. Soult appeared as though he were taking his revenge for his expulsion from the north of Portugal. The assault of Oporto, and the battle of Talavera, were undoubtedly brilliant exploits; but it is also indisputable that Lord Wellington and Marshal Soult suffered themselves to be too much influenced by exaggerated reports, and did not know how to make the best of their successes, purchased at the expence of so much blood. King Joseph, obliged to take to his heels after losing the battle of Talavera, concluded with good reason that Jourdan, the chief of his Staff, was but an ignorant fellow, totally incapable of directing military operations, and he chose Soult to take upon him those important functions. Joseph had soon reason to applaud himself on the choice he had made: for on the 19th of November, 1809, an army of 50,000 Spaniards, commanded by General Arrizaga, was completely beaten on the plains of Ocana. King Joseph commanded the French army under the direction of Soult, How much were the disasters of these brave Castilians to be lamented! why go with raw troops, and in an open country, to encounter an army inured to war by several campaigns? why not await them in the formidable positions of Sierra Morena? why, in short, if they were so madly anxious to come to blows, did they not make a combined attack with the English, whose discipline and experience might have afforded them well-founded hopes of success?

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