A Notable Centenary.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVII, Issue 41, 18 October 1913, Page 7

A Notable Centenary.

NAPOLEON’S DOWNFALL.

THE BATTLE OF LEIPZIG.

(By J.W.)

Nobody would like to deny to Wellington and Bluclier the. credit due to tlMdfor their operations at Waterloo; the battle was hard won,.>ml everybody from the English and Prus- ; I sian* marshals down to Bill Adams is I justly entitled to a “pat on the back. | It cannot be argued, either, that i Waterloo was merely in the style ot jth- finishing touch which the more l or less tender hearted toreador gives j [the bull, who has been previously: loperated on by the picadors and matadors and worried V Sitch bin extent ; that he is almost glad to he given the ! privilege of departing this life. It : i s true enough that it was the absolutely iulal act of Bonaparte’s little I drama; bilt the battle was won by a I narrow enough margin, and had the I French been victorious it is pretty certain that the other European Powers would have had to begin over again to compel the Emperor of the French to keep quiet and stay in Ids own backyard. Waterloo was the result j of a "mistake on the part of confederated Europe—Europe, having got it* man down omitted to sit on him and 'keep sitting on him. Waterloo has la character distinct froin .other 1 batj ales of the period. The bulk of the I lighting was done by English soldiers, [and England was not vitally and personally intevqstpd. England, sure- • ly, was as anxious as anybody to plant j violets on Bonaparte/s grave, ana her j relations with Eh rope would have been seriously altered if Bonaparte had obtained and maintained his domination of the Continent; but that time ! an invasion of England was an enterj prise demanding a big outlay of eour- | age and perseverance and the bulk ot itheTuck. England might "easily have said before Waterloo; “If we win we [ win well: -if we lose we don’t lose ■ very badly—our national existence I will not be threatened.” emancipation. j But it was a different matter witl I the Continental Powers. All thei backyards adjoined the backyard o' I France, and if any little Power w;a. caught poking out its tongue, or. call j ing out “Froggie,” it was the, thii 'end of ho time before-the Little, Cor I poral hopped over the fence and sat oi the chest of the aforesaid'little Power Little Powers ( and big Powers! ; little triph took;P.onapa# i f(| 'Madrid ’to'VtoMm’ l tO l ß'oAe, to to,Ber tjiri, 1 fb iloscv^v;' ; t\i i Naples^ l af'd. l to ; f,Imiltifariety enfhtaTs’ oil little , German and Itjffian* IbAM 'one cab’ fttfiaginp i)(t|^duddei, start with which Vienna, Romo, Mad rid, Venice and Moscow woite up when they, foimd presumptuous little Corsican upstart fairly in their midst and. demanding: “What a bon it?” The Pyrennes, thp Alps, tin Jlhine,, the .JfamiVfr % Vistula, nthC bleqk, plains ,qf j,Russia, apd thejmiu' roads every whpyq were ,ii<>r protection) Mister ;Bonaparte got over, through or under, any, plage, where there'was footing on dry land, and no Powei could put out .tfio cat,, vvirul up tin clock,, and seek jt?f, vjgtwious, couch with any degree of, security that 1 1' would not bo wakened ny in the midclb of the night and lie asked, ex tern pore, to reply to the perplexing question; “What nbput it?” Natural!? enough, the little Powers,' and thf big Powers too, became tired of having their chests sat on, and gradual!? they came to the decision to do as the? were told and be civil and obliging the while, however, putting in hard' practice on the punching-ball, so that when the time was oportune they might land the Emperor of the French one under the chin which would keep him on Ids back till the count had reached ten. Hope deferred maket 1 the heart sick; long-deferred hope, finally realised, boosts up the heart with exceeding gladness. Such is the character of the battle of Leipzig—those suffering from a sense of injustice, oppression and unwilling: service levelling- the oppressor to- the dust. This it is which gives Leip zig its neculiaP character. Waterier was the interested friend helping'- the oppressed; Leipzig was the actual oppressed arising, dashing the heel from his neck, and triumphing fully over the oppressor. ’ PREPARING FOR THE END. The mailed fist is an excellent idea —its so frequent use is a sufficient guarantee of the high esteem in which it is held by those desiring to rule cue roost. But its continuance depends on its unvarying success. If the mailed fist goes into an operation and emerges with a black eye, a bleeding nose and a very evident desire to lay up for a week, at that moment the mailed fist can’despatch its order for In Memoriam cards. And just before Leipzig Bonaparte’s affairs got so down at heel that no wonder fie went out to Elba. Perhaps a few dates will best illustrate the disastrous course of events : December IS, 1912. Reaches Paris after the march to Moscow. Though having lost the bulk of half a million men, Bonaparte soon again mustered an, army of 350,000 men. , February, 1913.—Uprising of Germany. May 2, 1813.—Defeats Russo-Pmssian I army at Lutzon, /(Where Gustaves Adolphus fought his last battle.) May 20, 1813.—Defeats Allies at Bautzen. Juno 4, 1813.—Makes armistice lasting to August 11. , I t , ? ' .. -v ... - Stfaa* ■ ■

June 21, t 1813. —Battle or Vittona. French finally driven from Spain. August 27, 1813.—Defeats Austrians at Dresden. October 16 and 18, 1813. —Defeated by Allies at Leipzig. December, 1813.—Allies invade France. January 25, 1814.—Bonaparte takes the field from Paris. •January 29, 1814. —Prussians defeated at Brienne. February I, 1814.—Bonaparte defeated at La Rotlucre. February-10, 1814. —Prussians defended at Champaubert; 11, at Moiitw mi raill2th, at Chateau Thierry ; 13th,. at Vanchamps. March 17 aiid - Of— lßl4.—lndecisive. Battles iat -Craonne and Laon. iMarch-Slaty lSl4u-Allies: enter ***««•' Ifhereaftfev.- the is took of'N. Bonaparte touched. ! bedrock, and his name was Mud/ His-fridndsdelc him. Those bound to, -himubyb fear! of 1 _ punishmehtj ‘ and ;hose following him with hope of regard alike defected: Bonaparte, or my body else, could not hold them to him when his mailed list went groggy. the battle described. : r : i ', A Rpal Old-Time ,'fighi. ■ The Tpliowing accoiint of the bat;h? : ,f ! Leipzig, somewhat condenped,.. PS \ oaken from Abbott’s “Life qi .Napoleon:” ■ ; : " ’ Orders -were. immediately given for , the-retreat of the nr my (from Dresden). On the evening, of the 15th of October he (Bonaparte) had assembled his small but valiant baud -round the walls of Leipzig. On the same evening, the Allies, pouring in from all quarters, had encircled the city with their enormous host of 350.000 men. During the night, the sentinels of the hostile armies were jested within musket-shot of each rther. With such a vast superiority of numbers, the Allies were confident of success. * The French troops, however, though outnumbered three to one, and though they had but six hunIred pieces of artillery to repel the issault of a thousand, stifl, accustomed to victory, whenever Napoleon was present, yielded to no despondency. Napoleon was fully conscious of the fearful odds against which he was to contend. The hurried manner in which ,ie issued his comamnds alone indicated the disturbed state of his mind. ‘While pointing out to me,” says •Jaulainconrt, “the plan which he had traced, the Emperor said ‘There are no scientific combinations winch can compensate, on this point, tor the thinness of our squares. We shall be Overpowered by Mere Numbers. One hundred and twenty-five thousand men against three hundred and fifty thousand, and this in a pitched -battle! Well, they would have it thus!’ ” At nine o’clock in the morning of the 16th of October, the terible battle of Leipzig commenced. The awful battle raged with unabated fury hour alter hour, through the morning and through the afternoon, till the lurid sun went down veiled in the clouds of war. Struggling against such odds, a decisive victory was impossible. The Allies, during the day, lost twenty thousand men. The loss of the French, protected by their redoubts, was much less. During the 17th the battle was not renewed. The Allies, though outnumbering the ■French three to one, rendered cautious by the heroic wnich Napoleon bad presented, were waiting for Bernadette, who, with a powerful reinforcement of sixty thousand troops, was hurrying to lend his aid in the slaughter of his countrymen. Napoleon did not renew the conflict, as he hoped the Allies were deliberating upon tbe proposal for a cessation of hostilities. .He, however, devoted the whole day in preparing for the worst. As Napoleon mounted his horse on the 18th ; he said to his es-

curt; “This clay will resolve a great question. Ths Destiny ol France is about tc be Decided) on the field of Leipzig. Should wo be victorious, all our misfortunes may yet be repaired. Should we be conquered, it is impossible to foresee what may be the consequences of our defeat.” As the-sun rose in the cloudless sky, the whole allied army was put in motion. The spectacle now presented from the Steeples of Lenpzig was awful in its sublimity. As far as the eye could extend in every direction, the dense columns of the Allies, in multitudes ‘which seemed innumerable, were advancing upon the city., ,Xhq clamour of martial bands, the neighing of horses, the [gleam of polished,armour in the bright rays of,the, morning sun, and the!fion-i fused of , tjis, interminable host, presented a spectacle’ of the pageantry of war which has never been surpassed. A mass of nearly five hundred thousand menm armed : with the most terrible instruments of I destruction ■ which human ingenuity I could create, were concentra ting in a (circle »bub a few leagues in sexetnt. Soon, louder than ten thousand' thunders*.' the appalling roar of the /battle commenced. “ A days of tu 1 mult, ■ bloody - and Woe ensued. The French could oppose to their foes but about one hundred thousan dmen. The Allies, three hundred and fifty thousand strong, were rushing upon them. Napoleon, reckless of danger, was moving through clouds of smoke and over heaps of the slain, from lilacs to place. At three o’clock in the afternoon. in The Very Hottest of the Battle, Bernadotte was advancing with a combined corps of Swedes, .Russians, and Prussians against his old com-panion-in-arms, Marshal Ney, who was ! defending an important post with sonic French and Saxon troops, and the cavalry of Wurtemberg. Suddenly the whole Saxon corps, together with the cavalry of Wurtemberg, twelve thou sand men, taking with them forty guns and all their ammunition and equipment, abandoned their post ant. passed over to the lines of Bernadotte. As they retired, they turned the muz zles of their guns against the French lines, and poured into the bosoms o their former comrades a point-blank discharge. “The allied troops,” say: Alison, “excited to tTie greatest de gre by these favorable circumstance; now pressed forward at all points tf encircle the enemy.” While thesi infamous deserters were received by the Allies with shouts of exultation Ney, left defenceless, was compeilec to retreat. An aid-de-camp was de spatched to Napoleon with the inctl ligence of this disastrous event. The Emperor promptly placed himself at the head of a corps of his Guard, ana hastened to the menaced, point. Tic French soldiers were so indignant ai this unheard-of perfidy, that they fell with such vehemence upon the corp of Bernadotte. with their traitorouallies, as to force them into a tumultuous retreat. Shouting “Vive I’Km pereur!” “Death to the Saxons!” they plunged, with resistless fury, intc the enemy’s ranks. Thus all the day the conllict raged. The French with almost Superhuman Exertions and Courage, everywhere beat back their assailants. Night at last came, and threw its gloom over the scene of blood ana misery. Both armies were utterly exhausted by this long and dreadful struggle. With an unyielding spirit • Napoleon resolved to renew the battle on the following day. He issued the necessary orders, and retired to Ids tent to arrange his plan of action. But at seven o’clock he received the ap-

palling tidings that there was not suitieiont ammunition loft to sustain the action for two hours. During 1 the batik' of the Kith and, ItTh, upj wards of twodiundred* and twenty thousand charges had been expended. Retreat was now inevitable; a retreat of one hundred thousand men destitute of ammunition, in tho presence or three hundred and fifty thousand men flushed with success. A council ot war was immediately convened, imagination cannot paint a more melancholy scene. The awl id uproar w battle had ceased, anti nothing disturbed the silence of the night but the wail of anguish which ascended from'the wounded and the djing over the extended, field. The whole circumference of the horizon, blazing 'with the bivouac fires of the enemy, indicated the apparent hopelessness of tin 1 condition of the French. They had no reserves to bring into action, no reinforcements to expect, and their grand park of ammunition was at Torgau, fifty miles distant. Leipzig, containing about forty thousand inhabitants, was situated in a large and fertile plain. There was but one bridge across the river Els ter by which the French could retire. At this point there was witnessed A Scene of the Most Awful Confusion, as, in the darkness of the night, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, with all the ponderous and lumbering machinery of war crowded and choked the narrow passage. Napoleon passed most of tlie night in superintending in person the perilous retreat. I lie camp tires were replenished and kept blazing to deceive the foe. Aiarmont and Ney were charged to protect the flanks of the retiring columns. To Macdonald was assigned the arduous command of the rearguard. During the whole night the French army was defiling along the narrow bridge. All the streets ot the city leading to that passage were -crowded with a prodigious throng of men, horses, and waggons, in fhe first grey of the morning the Allies detected the retreat of the French. Tho peal of bugles and the thunder of artillery instantly roused the hostile army. Tliey sprung to arms, and rushed, with shouts of exultation, upon their comparatively defenceless foe. ' But the wise precautions which Napoleon had adopted still, held them at bay. While the balls and shells .of the Allies were thickly falling in the streets of Leipzig in the gloom of the morning,. Napoleon entered tl\e city,.and held his final interview, with the King of Saxony, who had accompanied him from Dresden. The gi.-eat, ; stone bridge of the Elster, across .which the disordered mass ,of the French army were crowding, Ipul Jiqcn mincfl. .Many barrels of g'unpqwder were placed beneath its arches. Colonel Montfort had orders to aplpy tho torch the moment tho last of the I'Vnch troops had passed, in order to arrest the pursuit of the enemy. Montfort, instead of attending to this most important duty ’ himscifi , \ns.t rusted the charge to a eqrpqral and Tour miners. Napoleon had"hardly .crossed the bridge ere the Allied troops, in locust legions, wepp' pouring into Leipzig, rending the heavens 'witl. their exultant shouts, and driving all opposition before them. The French rearguard sullenly retired, hravck disputing, every ienji of ground against overwhelming numbers. An enormous mass of soldiers, and waggons of every description, were now crowding the bridge in awful confusion. Tin bullets and cannon-balls of the Alliefell like hailstones into the ranks. The Corporal, losing his presence of mind in this scene of carnage and tumult, applied the fatal torch. With a frightful explosion, tho bridge was thrown into tho air. Twenty-five thousand of the French army, with two hundred pieces of cannon and several hundred baggage-waggons were thus cut off from the main body, without any possibility either of defence or retreat. A cry of Jiorroi burst from those who were near the chasm opened before them. The moving masses behind could not at once ho stopped, and thousands of men and horses, with cannon and waggons, were crowded into the deep stream, presenting a Scene of Horror and Destruction which the passage- of tho Heresina hardly paralleled. The victorious Allies now assembled, with shouts of exultation, in the groat square oi Leipzig. No pen can describe the scene which the interior of tho city presented. Tho streets wore filled with heaps of the dying and of the dead—not merely of combatants but of peaceful citizens, aged men, women, and children. The houses were shattered and blown into fragments by the terrific cannonade. Many parts of tho city presented but a pile* of smouldering ruins. .Brolcn caissons, baggage-waggons, guns, and all the material of war, were strewed in ruin around. Mangled horses, dismembered limbs, and pools of blood polluted the pavements.