Part 6-Withdrawal
The day after the battle of Bordino, the Grande Armée collected its tens of thousands of wounded men, and began its withdrawl. Kutuzov's forces were just as shattered, and he was content to let the French go. Even Platov and the Cossacks held back due to losses, so despite the wagon train of wounded slowing them down, the army had an uneventful march back to Smolensk, arriving on the 20th of September. Marshal Murat and Eugéne left the army, as they planned to raise fresh troops from Italy to bolster Napoleon.
Smolensk was a massive supply depot, and allowed the famished conscripts of Napoleon's army to rest and eat, after months of constant marching. Many of the barracks and city buildings had been razed by the retreating Russians, and so many soldiers were quartered in the houses of the city itself. Napoleon left the cavalry and Mortier's Italians outside the city, to guard against the Cossacks. He also ordered all remaining civilians to leave the city, both to save supplies, and to hopefully tie up more Russian resources.
The army was still short on many supplies, including critically a shortage of medical care. Thousands of wounded men died in Smolensk, some surgeons even euthanizing the mortally wounded to save medicine. Discipline began to break down, as teenage soldiers found themselves living in the former mansions of dukes. Looting was rampent, as traumatized and exhausted soldiers had little else to do. There was another problem, by the start of October, the army had barely 85,000 men who could fight, about even with Kutozov. While Victor's IX Corps had added another 40,000, Admiral Chicagov was moving Northwest with 65,000 men, driving back Schwartzenberg and Reynier. Near Polotsk, Wittgenstein and 40,000 men outnumbered St Cyr and Oudinot two to one, and threatened to advance on Smolensk.
While the halting of the offensive and freeing up of ten thousand cavalry had somewhat helped the supply situation, Cossacks continued to clash with French wagon columns, while fatigue and starvation decimated the horses. Napoleon expected the Russians to be too depleted and disorganized to try and attack before winter, and for the first several weeks this seemed to be the case. But Kutuzov was biding his time, he planned to wait for his own army to recover somewhat, and then chase the French out as winter hit in force.
The remainder of September was quiet, and Napoleon settled in for the winter. His first winter clothes arrived, but he was shocked at how inadequate they were. As the campaign was expected to be over by now, none had been prepared. Augereau had tried to compensate by taking donations from Berlin (By lying and claiming they were going to the Prussian soldiers) but these cloaks and scarves weren't designed for a Russian winter, and so many soldiers once again turned to plunder.
Nobody knew it, but an entire Cossack division was swarming just outside Smolensk. Foraging parties had to number in the hundreds to be safe, and even then every day dozens went missing. The news got worse as October progressed. St Cyr was forced to abandon Polotsk, as Kutuzov gradually advanced on Smolensk. The situation was bad enough, Napoleon also got word from Paris. Rumors were swirling that Austriaband Prussia planned to rebel against him, and leave him trapped in Russia. There was little he could do, except have Augereau bolster the garrisons in Prussia. With his position increasingly unsteady, Napoleon got yet more worse news, that would force him to make a hard call...
Smolensk was a massive supply depot, and allowed the famished conscripts of Napoleon's army to rest and eat, after months of constant marching. Many of the barracks and city buildings had been razed by the retreating Russians, and so many soldiers were quartered in the houses of the city itself. Napoleon left the cavalry and Mortier's Italians outside the city, to guard against the Cossacks. He also ordered all remaining civilians to leave the city, both to save supplies, and to hopefully tie up more Russian resources.
The army was still short on many supplies, including critically a shortage of medical care. Thousands of wounded men died in Smolensk, some surgeons even euthanizing the mortally wounded to save medicine. Discipline began to break down, as teenage soldiers found themselves living in the former mansions of dukes. Looting was rampent, as traumatized and exhausted soldiers had little else to do. There was another problem, by the start of October, the army had barely 85,000 men who could fight, about even with Kutozov. While Victor's IX Corps had added another 40,000, Admiral Chicagov was moving Northwest with 65,000 men, driving back Schwartzenberg and Reynier. Near Polotsk, Wittgenstein and 40,000 men outnumbered St Cyr and Oudinot two to one, and threatened to advance on Smolensk.
While the halting of the offensive and freeing up of ten thousand cavalry had somewhat helped the supply situation, Cossacks continued to clash with French wagon columns, while fatigue and starvation decimated the horses. Napoleon expected the Russians to be too depleted and disorganized to try and attack before winter, and for the first several weeks this seemed to be the case. But Kutuzov was biding his time, he planned to wait for his own army to recover somewhat, and then chase the French out as winter hit in force.
The remainder of September was quiet, and Napoleon settled in for the winter. His first winter clothes arrived, but he was shocked at how inadequate they were. As the campaign was expected to be over by now, none had been prepared. Augereau had tried to compensate by taking donations from Berlin (By lying and claiming they were going to the Prussian soldiers) but these cloaks and scarves weren't designed for a Russian winter, and so many soldiers once again turned to plunder.
Nobody knew it, but an entire Cossack division was swarming just outside Smolensk. Foraging parties had to number in the hundreds to be safe, and even then every day dozens went missing. The news got worse as October progressed. St Cyr was forced to abandon Polotsk, as Kutuzov gradually advanced on Smolensk. The situation was bad enough, Napoleon also got word from Paris. Rumors were swirling that Austriaband Prussia planned to rebel against him, and leave him trapped in Russia. There was little he could do, except have Augereau bolster the garrisons in Prussia. With his position increasingly unsteady, Napoleon got yet more worse news, that would force him to make a hard call...
