before he collected his thoughts and continued. ‘I crossed the Saale ten miles along the river from here, in accordance with your orders, sire. I deemed it best to march on Apolda as quickly as possible in order to block any Prussian retreat from Jena. So I advanced with Gudin’s division and ordered the others to follow as swiftly as possible. We were over the Saale by dawn, and there was a dense fog covering the landscape.You must have had the same here.’
Napoleon nodded.
‘So we continued to advance and our cavalry patrols ran into enemy scouts. The prisoners told us that they belonged to Brunswick’s army. I doubted their word, as you can imagine, and continued advancing as far as the village of Hassenhausen, when the fog began to lift and we saw for the first time the Prussian army spread out before us. I sent word to you at once, sire, and also to Marshal Bernadotte to march his corps to support mine.There was very little time to do anything else before the Prussians attacked. Gudin’s men formed squares and held them off and they fell back.There was a delay while they prepared to attack again, but by now Friant’s division had reached the field and I could see that Brunswick would attempt to get round our right flank, so I sent Friant to the right and shifted Gudin’s centre in the same direction.’
‘What of your other flank?’ Napoleon asked sharply. ‘You can’t have left that unguarded, surely?’
‘No, sire. It was covered by one regiment.’
‘One regiment?’
‘It was all that could be spared, sire. Until the last of my divisions arrived,’ Davout explained. ‘The Prussians threw in a massive attack against our right, which we beat back with heavy losses on their part. But then they immediately advanced on our left, and broke the regiment I had left there. As soon as the right flank looked safe I rode across to the left, taking two of Gudin’s regiments, and rallied the broken regiment. We charged the enemy and drove them back and retook the village.’
‘You led the charge in person?’
Davout looked at him steadily. ‘Yes, sire. As I said, we needed every man who could hold a musket. There were no exceptions. I even had the men in the supply wagons armed and brought forward as a final reserve.’
Napoleon nodded approvingly, as he realised how desperate Davout’s situation had been. ‘What then?’
‘The Prussians mounted four more assaults on the village, but we drove them off.’
‘Must have been a hard fight.’
‘Yes, sire. I have never seen my men so resolute. So brave.’
Napoleon smiled. ‘I am equally certain that they have never seen a marshal fight at their side before.Your men are a credit to you, as you are to them.’
Davout shrugged modestly. ‘We were fortunate, sire. The Prussians played their part as well. They were slow to attack, and when they did it was always piecemeal and poorly co-ordinated, so I was able to move men along my line to meet any dangers. But we were losing men all the time, sire, and Morand arrived only just in time to hold the left flank. But there was no sign of Bernadotte, and I heard nothing from him until noon, when a message arrived saying that he would not move without instructions from you, sire.’
‘Really?’ Napoleon folded his hands together. Bernadotte’s orders had been clear enough. He was to work in concert with Davout, with the latter acting as his immediate superior. His refusal to march to Davout’s aid could have led to the latter’s defeat and the victory at Jena would have amounted to nothing. Napoleon resolved to have Bernadotte called to account for his dangerous inactivity. ‘Continue.’
‘Yes, sire. Once I had all three of my divisions in line, I could see that the Prussians were still disorganised, and I decided that our best chance of survival lay in attack, so I ordered the corps to advance in the direction of Auerstadt. As we marched forward the enemy cavalry counter-attacked. But they could not break our squares, and for some reason they did not bring any guns or infantry forward to support their cavalry. By contrast, I kept our guns as far forward as I could and each time we encountered any attempt by the Prussians to make a stand, our guns cut them down and scattered their formations.’ Davout paused and rubbed his brow. ‘So it continued through the afternoon, as I was determined to push them back as far to the south as I could while my men were still capable of advancing. But by four o’clock it was all over. The Prussians were in full retreat. I could not mount a pursuit, sire. The only fresh units I had by then were three regiments of cavalry.’ He broke off and took a deep breath. ‘If Bernadotte had joined us, then it might have been different.’
‘Yes. I can see that,’ Napoleon said quietly. ‘But still, you tell an extraordinary story, Davout. It’s as fine a victory as any French general has achieved since the revolution.’
Davout bowed his head.‘Thank you, sire. On behalf of all my officers and men.’
‘There is only the question of the butcher’s bill now. I can imagine your losses were severe.’
‘Yes, sire. Gudin’s division suffered worst. Nearly half his men have been lost. In all my corps has lost perhaps as many as seven and a half thousand men.’
‘And the enemy’s losses?’
‘When I set off from my headquarters we had accounted for a least ten thousand killed and three thousand prisoners.And we have captured over a hundred cannon.’
‘A fine result, Davout. I am proud of you and your men. I am sure that France will be equally proud when news of the victories at Jena and Auerstadt reaches Paris. Now I imagine you need some rest.’
‘Once I have attended to my wounded, fed my men and gathered weapons from the battlefield, sire.’
‘Of course, but at least enjoy your coffee and a quick meal with the other officers downstairs before you go. I am sure they will be as enthralled by your tale as I was.’
‘Yes, sire.’
Once Marshal Davout had left the room, Napoleon’s expression hardened and he stared at the opposite wall until there was a knock and Berthier entered. ‘Sire? Do you wish me to summon the staff for the morning conference?’
‘In a moment. First, send a message to Bernadotte. Tell him the Emperor demands an explanation of his conduct yesterday. Marshal Bernadotte is required to justify the fact that his corps did not fire a single shot in anger yesterday when the rest of the Grand Army was inflicting a great defeat on the Prussians.’
