Cassell's History of England, Vol. 5 (of 8): From the Peninsular War to the Death of Sir Robert PeelAnonymous
History
Cassell's History of England, Vol. 5 (of 8): From the Peninsular War to the Death of Sir Robert Peel
Anonymous
Great Britain -- History
In this battle the Allies lost in killed and wounded ten thousand
men, the French not less than fifteen thousand. The French generals
Bruyères, Kirchner, and Duroc were amongst the killed. Duroc had long
been one of the most intimate friends and attendants of Buonaparte,
who was so much cut up by his loss that for the first time in all his
terrible campaigns he became unable to attend to further details, but
answered every call for orders with "Everything tomorrow!" When he came
to find that not a gun, not a prisoner was left behind by the Germans
and Russians, Napoleon seemed to comprehend the stern spirit in which
they were now contending, and exclaimed, "How! no result after such a
massacre? No prisoners? They leave me not even a nail!" He advanced to
Breslau, various slight conflicts taking place on the way, and on the
1st of June he entered that city, the princesses of Prussia removing
thence into Bohemia.
An armistice was now demanded by the Allies--it is said at the instance
of Austria, who desired to act as mediator--and gladly assented to by
Napoleon, who was desirous of completing his preparations for a more
determined attack. The armistice was signed on the 4th of June at the
village of Pleisswitz.
At the time of this armistice, Napoleon, by the great battles of Lützen
and Bautzen, had recovered his _prestige_ sufficiently to induce the
German Confederates of the Rhine to stand by him; but he was by no
means what he had been. The opinion of his invincibility had been
irreparably damaged by the Russian campaign, and the success in these
battles was not of a character to give confidence to his own army. They
saw that the Allies had lost all superstitious fear of him. To assist
in the negotiations of this armistice, Buonaparte sent for his two
ablest heads, Fouché and Talleyrand, whom he had so long thrown from
him for their sound advice. If Buonaparte could have heard, too, what
was really going on in France, what were the growing feelings there, he
would have been startled by a most ominous condition of things. But he
had thoroughly shut out from himself the voice of public opinion, by
his treatment of the press and of liberty, and he now was to suffer for
it. Great Britain, on the 14th of June, had concluded an alliance with
Russia and Prussia, and promised to send ample materials of assistance,
even an army to the north of Prussia; and many British officers of
the highest rank repaired to the headquarters of the Allies. When
Great Britain was asked to take part in this negotiation she refused,
declaring it useless, as Napoleon would not grant the only demands
which the Allies ought to make.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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