MOSCOW SACKED

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXI, Issue 8832, 12 October 1942, Page 4

MOSCOW SACKED

NAPOLEON’S INVASION DEVASTATION OF THE CITY SOLDIERS RUN RIOT IN TOWN With the Nazi invaders still striving to push forward in Russia, the following article describing the ill-fated invasion of that country by Bonaparte in 1812 will be of interest to readers. The article is taken from a copy of the “ Entertaining Magazine ” published in London in 1814, a copy of which has been loaned to us by Mr L. C. Sanderson, of Netherton. The feature is entitled “Devastation of Moscow By The French,” from reads as follows:

and 1 reads as follows: — “The events which accompanied the signal overthrow of Bonaparte in the Russian campaign of 1812, will, in future ages, be contemplated with wonder, and a narrative of them will be perused with the deepest interest. The glories of Moscow, as it was, compared with the following highly animated and pathetic account of the devastation of this once magnificent city has strong claim on our attention.

“Moscow, whose magnificence and hospitality had for ages been the admiration of Europe; she who had given laws to conquerors, and seen nations swing to' her for protection; she was fated to be trodden underfoot by a man of, obscure birth; by a selfcrowned despot, raised by his own daring spirit to the throne of Charlemagne. Not content with the power annexed to one diadem, his insatiable ambition hurried him from west to east, from south to north, to trample on the rights of sovereigns, and to make the liberties of every people his prey. The extended territories of Russia, the capital of her vast empire, excited his avidity; and spreading desolation in his path, he entered the city of the Tzars. The palaces of the people at once disappeared; and the scene became one spectacle of murder, devastation and famine. “From the day on which his Imperial Majesty had visited the ancient seat of his empire, to summon, from the throne of his ancestors, his subjects to give their utmost support against the unparallelled aggressions of this war, Count Rastapchin, the military governor of the city, was unremitting in his labours to prepare for the worst. He armed and organised every class of individuals, and issued timely orders for the removal of everything in thq capital that might be an acceptable spoil to the enemy. The archives of the empire and the nobility, the treasures of the Kremlin and of the public institutions, were taken to places of safety. He likewise recommended to the princes and other nobles resident in Moscow that they should transport their valuables to a distance, and so, in case of disaster putting the city into the hands of the enemy, he might derive no advantage from his conquest, Destruction of Smolenzk

“The destruction of Smolenzk had filled many of the inhabitants of Moscow with apprehensions for the fate of the objects dearest to them; and they lost no time in despatching their wives and families to distant provinces while they themselves remained determined to stand 'by the tombs of their fathers, to the last gasp of their lives.

Count Rastapchin, whose intrepidity and personal sacrifices reflect so much honour on his patriotism, left nothing unsaid, or example untried, that might import confidence to these disinterested men. While he frankly acknowledged the situation in which the city stood, he declared there was no cause for immediate apprehension; but he pledged himself that should it be imminently endangered, he would lose not a moment in giving full intimation to the inhabitants. The feeble, from age and sex, might then retire to refuge; while he hoped the citizen, yet strong in manhood, would not require a second call to range himself under the banners of his sovereign, and to join the heroes who were resolved to repel the invader or die in the contest.

“The happy appointment of Prince Koutousoff to be Commander-in-Chief, supported the encouraging promise of Rastapchin and awakened double confidence in the people. “During these preparations in- the Imperial city, the French continued to advance. They arrived at Dorogoibouche, Wiazma, and Cchaltz, and was even heard on their way to Majaisk. The effect of this intelligence, in spite of the precautionary encouragements of Rastapchin, infused an alarming panic into the women nnd worker di&mcters, among the people of Moscow. A thousand exaggerated reports were spread abroad, a thousand idle stories were invented to increase the dismay of the fearful, which at last became so dangerous as to demand a scrutiny; and then it was discovered that, notwithstanding the vigilance of the police, a band of secret emissaries from the invader had insinuated themselves into the circles of the capital and were the primary source of these appalling fictions. “The traitors were seized and sent to repent of their treachery in Siberia; while the people who had been terrified by their representations, either withdrew to distant cities or reposed themselves of the l word of the governor, to acquaint themselves whenever danger should really approach 1 .

Moscow Sacrificed “The battle of Borodino was fought and the victory won; but it was a victory drenched in blood; it was a victory that pointed from steep to steep; terrible were the perils yet to overcome. The preservation of the empire depended on one great decision. The onward path, in the judgment of most opinions, lay in maintaining pessession of Moscow. Koutonsoff found few to coincide with his alterna-

five; but he had the magnanimity to throw his whole reputation, the renown- of seventy years, into the scale of his country; and he resolved on sacrificing the capital of the Tfcars to the preservation of their empire, Dispatches to this effect were sent to Count Rastapchin. “The fatal news spread through the whole town. Nothing can paint the confusion and distressing scenes which ensued. The houses echoed with shrieks and groans. Mothers and wives were separating themselves from their sons and husbands who were determined to follow the steps of their governor, or to abide in their native city while one stone remained on another. Children were weeping their last adieus to their fathers; and the sick and aged refused to be carried away, to die far distant to their paternal altars and their parents’ tombs. The streets and the avenues were crowded with carts and carriages of all descriptions, filled with old and young; some lying prostrate, in insensibility after the struggles of separation and others making the air re-echo with their cries against the tyrant whose invasion divorced them from their homes. Many thousands wretched beings who had not such means of seeking safety, were compelled to fly on foot from the expected advance of the pitiless foe. “The so lately happy city of Moscow now poured forth from her agon-' ised bosom weeping multitudes of her desolate children. Some fled to friends at a distance; others knew not where to go, but sought a refuge from the enemy in the compassionate charity of the neighbouring provinces. Many turned on their steps; some women clinging to the objects of their tenderest vows, found it impossible to desert the spot which they staid to defend; and many old men tottered 'back to their paternal sheds, exclaiming “where we were born and nourished, there will we lay us down and die.’ “The final orders of the military governor were given. In vain he besought the remnant of the inhabitants he still saw to accompany his march; they wept their refusal but were firm; and, the cause of his country forbidding his longer delay, he made the signal, and, at the head of forty thousand brave citizens, completely armed, he quited the city to join the army of the Commander-in-Chief,

Enemy Enter City

“A few who now remained and had strength to assemble in one spot; the feeble from age and the tender from affection, the devoted patriot, and the desperate avenger; they met in a little band, determined to expire in the flames of the city, rather than behold its sacred towers become the bulwarks of the assassins who had desolated their home and murdered their peace. “On September 14 at midday, the enemy appeared before the walls of Moscow. His advance guard, under the command of Murat and 'Beauharnois, entered the gates with all the pride and pomp of conquest. The troops moved towards the Kremlin. A part of the self-devoted citizens bad taken refuge there; and closing the gates, desperately attempted its defence by a discharge of their muskets. Feeble were barriers of stone and iron against a host; -the gates were instantly forced, and the brave victims of patriotism massacred upon the floors of their ancient fortress.

“Scarcely had the murderous act been perpetrated when the pyres of loyalty were lighted, and Moscow appeared at different quarters in flames. The 'French troops, as they poured into the devoted city and spread themselves in every direction in search of plunder; and in their progress they committed outrages so horrid on the .persons of all whom they discovered, that fathers, desperate to save their children from pollution, would set fire to their place of refuge, and find a surer asylum in its flames. “The streets, the houses, the cellars, flowed with blood, and were filled with violation and carnage. Manhood seemed to be lost in the French soldier; for nothing was to be discerned in him but the wild beast ravening for prey; or rather the field of hell, giuttening himself in the commission of every horrible crime. The fires lit by the santonness of these marauders, mingled with the burning sacrifices of the expiring people; and the ruffians passed like demons through the flames, sacking private dwellings and public repositories and when these yielded no more, they turned their sacrilegious steps to the pillage of the churches- The horrors of Smolenzk were reacted in the sanctuaries of Moscow. Altars were again soiled with blood; sacred vessels broken and carried away; the relics of saints profaned; and even the dead disturbed, in search of hidden treasures.

No Officials Remain “While these enormities were committing Bonaparte remained at the barrier leading to the Smolenzk road, impatiently awaiting the circumstances which he had determined should precede his triumphant entry into Moscow. He deferred that pompous ceremony till the authorities of the city should arrive in deputation to invite his entrance. He looked again and again towards its walls; all seemed busy there, but nothing presented itself in the form he expected. The afternoon came and yet no person appeared. He then took the resolution of sending a Polish General into the town, to suggest to the citizens the desired deputation. The general proceeded on his errand; and enquiring his way to a resident foreigner whom chance brought in his path, he was conducted by this stranger to the palace which had been the seat of government, then to the police office and afterwards to the house of the iGovernor-iGeneral. In short, he made his guide lead him to every place where he might have any expectation of meeting a public functionary; but the search was in vain. He returned to Napoleon with the information, that no legal authorities remained in Moscow; that the city was already a desert, and would soon be a heap of ruins.

“This was the first time that the tyrant’s expectations had been disappointed in the homage he anticir pated from a captive city. -No farce of a deputation, no keys presented, no plaudits of the moderation of the conqueror, were offered to the advancing Caesar. Not one shadow of respect presented itself, worthy a -Bulletin or a Moniteur! However, the invader of Russia would not quite relinquish his preposterous hopes. “He flattered himself that on the next da/ the resident foreigners, at least, would collect some of the terrified natives, and uniting themselves with them in the form of a representation of the city, would furnish him with some material for publishing a triumph. In this expectation he took up his quarters for that night in the Petrofsky palace, about a mile from the St. Petersburg barrier. The wished-for morning broke, the noon succeeded it and still no trace, of a coming deputation could foe discerned.

Napoleon Enters Cit/ . “Incensed at this double disappointment he at last gave up the expectation; and, giving order for his guard to proceed, he entered the town in sullen silence. Without the beating of drums, the discharge of cannon, or any of the parade with which he usually gratified the pride of his army, he took possession of the capital of the Tzars. The feelings attending the accomplishment of this long-anticipated enterprise were like those of Satan on the destruction of paradise. The field was received with hisses by his damned crew; and the desolator of Russia found no other acclaim, even from his own followers, than the shrieks of the unhappy victims they were immolating to their fury.

“He repaired to the Kremlin; and taking possession of the great fortress of the Empire, with every vengeful passion threatening from his countenance, he called around him his most confidential officers, and expressed to them his indignation at the manner he had been received. These -base satellites, taking their tone from his rage, enlarged on the opposition his soldiers had to quell in the town; and pronounced the noble contempt with which the few remaining inhabitants had treated their master, as an affront .that demanded the most exemplary punishment. “Scarcely had Napoleon arrived in the palace of the Tzars, when in the midst of this bloody consultation, a fire was announced to have broke out close to its walls, in the very Kremlin.

Fury Knew No Bounds

“His fury now knew no bounds. He denounced the direst vengeance against the perpetrators; and ordered every person that could be suspected, or Russian found near the spot, to be seized and brought before him. Orte hundred brave Muscovites were soon in -the power of his guards, and hurried to the presence of the tyrant, on the ground near the cathedral which fronts the palace.

“They were interrogated respecting the deed, and who had prompted them to it. They were promised life and an absolute pardon from all punishment, if .they would confess to these questions, and swear allegiance to Napoleon. A stern silence was observed by all. Again and again they were interrogated; and,, still, from them not a word was spoken. (To be continued in next issue).