October,19 (October,7), 1812
(Zhilin "The Patriotic War Of 1812", Moscow,1988;
Beskrovny L.G. "Russian Military Art Of XIX Century", Moscow,1974;
E.V.Tarle, Complete Works, Volume VII., Moscow 1959)
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Marshal Mortier |
To save face, Napoleon first thought of leaving behind a garrison of 8 thousand men in Moscow, even appointing Marshal Mortier to be its commander.
During his stay in Moscow, Napoleon tried three times to make peace with the Russians, sending his representatives (Loriston and others) to Kutuzov and Emperor Alexander, but all his offers were declined. Rebuffed, he decided to destroy the Kremlin (revenge?) when leaving Moscow.
Marshal Mortier, not known for hesitating, immediately ordered Russian residents pressed into labor to quickly mine the Kremlin palaces and cathedrals, including the "Ivan the Great" tower. Russians who refused to work were beaten, and the mining was completed, with long fuses set for three days.
Napoleon was in a hurry, and on the night of October 19th. the French army began leaving Moscow. Napoleon did not know yet the exact strength of his enemy, but he was sure that in the event of an open field battle, the odds would be still in his favor.
So the movement from Moscow started, leaving Marshal Mortier's garrison of 8 thousand men behind. It was slow going: there were not only the 100 thousand French troops, but endless lines of wagons and carriages loaded with goods stolen in Moscow and thousands of civilians on foot and driving coaches. These were foreigners with their wives and children who had stayed in Moscow when the French came and were now afraid of revenge by the Russians.
This overall transport was huge and the army stretched in an endless line. Seeing this, Napoleon realized at once that this movement was terribly dangerous, but he did not order the loot left behind. He moved to Kaluga and led his army directly to Krasnaya Pakhra village, picking up the rest of Murat's troops.
From the way Napoleon had sent the order to Mortier to leave Moscow at once AFTER blowing up the Kremlin, left Mortier in Moscow for two days now with only one goal: to put a mask on the real reason for the army's leaving, to maintain the the attitude and appearance of a winner.
When the Emperor and the army left Moscow, some of the prepared charges were fired. On October 19th. the wine yard in the Kremlin was blown up and the Simonov Cathedral that had sofar remained untouched, was burnt to the ground.
There was some movements in the French army that seemed strange at first; All night, the transports and loaded wagons rolled with the enormous French army - all together. This movement continued and became stronger on October 20th. and 21st.
Marshal Bertier |
The explosions were so powerful that the walls of many buildings outside the Kremlin, were destroyed. Luckily it finally began to rain, and fuses were dampened, so damage was less then Napoleon expected. The "Ivan the Great" bell tower remained undamaged by chance: saved by wet fuses.
For a long time, the Kremlin and the nearby square resounded with cries of the injured, half crushed and mortally frightened people.
On the night of October 22nd. the Napoleonic army was still leaving Moscow. New deafening explosions were heard, one after another. The people of Moscow were terrified. The explosions were so powerful that some buildings in the "Kitay-gorog" district were destroyed, and even further away, window glass and frames were broken (1).
The last (fifth) explosion under the Kremlin walls blew at daybreak, on October 23rd. only hours before the last troops of Marshal Mortier left the city.
The French army marched along the Old Kaluga road for two days. Napoleon announced to his troops that they were going "To defeat Kutuzov in the same place where the Russian commander gained victory not long ago" (2)
But after Napoleon arrived in Krasnaya Pakhra the Russians turned back to Tarutino, not pursuing Murat. Napoleon suddenly turned his army to the right and marched by country roads to the New Kaluga road. He hid this maneuver by sending Ney's Corps to Voronovo village, to join the vanguard of Murat. Hopefully, this maneuver would lure the Russians away from the New Kaluga road. To further blunt Kutuzov's vigilance, a letter from French Chief of Staff, Marshal Bertier, was sent to the Russian Commander-in-Chief, carried by Colonel Bartelemi. The letter was written supposedly in Moscow. In it, Napoleon offered peace again and made new terms. He also asked Kutuzov "to take measures that this war would be waged in accordance with the common rules", to save the land from needless troubles. (3)
- The Central State Historical Archive. F.1345, part I-V, the case about officials, the evidence of Count Bestuzhev-Rumin, February,14,1814
- Ermolov A.P. "The Moscow Campaign of 1812 ", p.88
- M.I.Kutuzov. Volume,4, part 2, page 38
