Smolensk
Following the retreat from Moscow, Napoleon sent his army southward to avoid the harrying Russian troops. Forced to retreat from a direct battle at Maloyaroslavets in late October, the army marched towards the previously-taken town of Smolensk. Here it was hoped to find cached supplies to feed the starving French, and perhaps provide quarters for the winter. Hunger and cold were decimating the Imperial troops to an alarming degree. But Smolensk, like other towns, had been put to the torch and offered neither food or substantial shelter.
"...most of the villages were burnt and in ruins, and the town of Smolensk existed only in name. Nothing was to be seen but the walls of houses built of stone; the greater part of the town had been built of wood, and had disappeared. The town, in fact, was a mere skeleton" (Bourgogne, pp 67-8).
Scarce rations of flour were doled out, supplemented by the horse meat. Any hopes for secure winter quarters were dashed, and the exhausted Imperial army was able to stay for only a few days. Sick and wounded men who had dragged themselves to the town in expectation of rest died by the dozen.
"...we hastened to see what was the matter. Six men were driving a cart drawn by a worn-out horse. The cart was filled with dead bodies to be left behind the church, with others I had seen there. The ground was much too hard to dig graves, and the cold preserved the bodies in the meanwhile. These men told us that, if this sort of thing went on, there would soon be no room anywhere for the bodies" (Bourgogne, p 78).
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Document last reviewed September 27, 1997
Comments to: Lori Eichelberger