'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

"A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807" - Fierce fighting taking place at Eylau:

"The second event that doomed Augereau’s assault was that his assault was in the direct path of the planned Russian assault on Eylau. About 9:00 a.m. after an hour of bombardment, General Tuchkov (commanding the Russian left wing) began the initial attack on Soult’s troops occupying the outskirts of Eylau. General Doctorov, with the Russian reserve, moved forward to support Tuchkov and met Augereau in the center of the field. A Russian witness to this struggle writes:

'There then ensued an engagement the likes of which had never been seen before. Over 20,000 men from both armies were plunging their three-faceted blades into one another. They fell in masses...I have to say in truth that over the course of sixteen campaigns in my service record and throughout the period of all the Napoleonic campaigns, I have never seen anything to compare with it!'

As the French VII Corps recoiled, Russian Prince Galitzin hurled his cavalry brigades from the Russian center in pursuit."

Battle of Eylau:
https://www.napoleon-empire.org/en/ba...

"A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807" - The battle has opened:

"This exchange of fire from almost three hundred cannon (170 Russian heavy cannon and 120 French guns), began to cover the already gloomy field in a haze of smoke.

'Low heavy clouds, swept across the grey sky by a gusty and freezing wind, from time to time discharged their snowy contents with violence in the faces of the shivering soldiers. At such times, so dark became the atmosphere that the Russians could not distinguish Eylau. The snow prevented the commanders from seeing their troops; the howling north wind rendered it impossible for the soldiers to hear the word of command. At times, it was not possible to see ten yards off. The action at such moments had the character of a night attack.'

A heavy black smoke enveloped the Russian line from the burning town of Serpallen as well."

A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807 by Edward J. Murphy

Scott wrote: "An observation on my book Waterloo: battle of three armies, it has the most comprehensive, relevant, and clear maps of any book I have read on this or any other battle.

Each segment and subject h..."

I'm afraid that book went in the 'great' book cull of 2025!

You guys are up early (or late) again!

Those Austrians are in for a nasty surprise!

"A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807" - The author's commentary on the Pułtusk campaign:

"Napoleon’s scheme to trap and destroy the Russian Army advancing against the corps of Marshals Ney and Bernadotte is a brilliant example of Napoleon’s complete operational control and understanding of a campaign concept. The Russian capture of Napoleon’s orders on the day they were to become effective, proved a deciding factor in the unsuccessful results of the winter campaign in Poland. With this intelligence in hand, Bennigsen was able to extract his army out of Napoleon’s trap. The Russian rear guard commanders, Generals Bagration and Barclay de Tolly conducted a retrograde action that was flawless in execution. The resulting series of engagements taught these two officers valuable lessons in how to fight Napoleon, lessons they would indeed use again in the future."

A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807 by Edward J. Murphy

It's like giving up horses for mechanization - a lot of countries struggled to see the benefits straight away.

Manray9 wrote: "This evening I've started --

Waterloo: The Aftermath by Paul O'Keeffe."

That should be a pretty interesting account MR9!

Betsy wrote: "Question for those of you in the know: In my book the Consular Guards are marching towards the enemy trying to be 'inconspicuous' as they march through tall crops, BUT their tall red plumes give aw..."

I think it's a combination of a number of things, mostly it's all a matter of tradition. We still Troop the Colours and our officers still carry swords on ceremonial duties. Also being seen on a battlefield like that is a bit like the British and French Guards and their big bearskin hats, being seen by the enemy may prompt fear and trepidation even before the first shots have been fired, plus their commanders can identify their troops from a distance. And, as you would know, many of the senior officers back in those days weren't keen on change. Here is an interesting article on the introduction of khaki uniforms:

https://www.heddels.com/2019/05/histo...

"A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807" - The Russian perspective of the Pultusk campaign:

"The Russians, though claiming a great victory at Pultusk, continued to retreat toward Ostrolenka. In his letter to the Tsar, Bennigsen blamed the failure of the recent campaign on Buxhowden. Buxhowden was less than 10 miles from Pultusk but failed to support Bennigsen in what he felt, or reported at least, would have been a decisive battle. In Buxhowden’s defense, he had received explicit orders from Marshal Kamenskoi to halt his forward advance and begin a retreat to the Russian border. Buxhowden assumed that Kamenskoi had left him in charge of the Army and being superior in both rank and heraldry to Bennigsen, ordered a concentration of forces to discuss future operations.{83} Bennigsen however, continued his retreat destroying the bridges at Ostrolenka to prevent linking up with Buxhowden (and thereby making himself subordinate to the latter). Tolstoy’s great novel, War and Peace accurately describes the tension between these two commanders after the battles of Pultusk and Golymin.

'In short, we retreat after the battle but send a courier to Petersburg with news of a victory, and General Bennigsen, hoping to receive from Petersburg the post of commander in chief as a reward for his victory, does not give up the command of the army to General Buxhowden. During this interregnum we begin a very original and interesting series of maneuvers. Our aim is no longer, as it should be, to avoid or attack the enemy, but solely to avoid General Buxhowden who by right of seniority should be our chief. So energetically do we pursue this aim that after crossing an unfordable river we burn the bridges to separate ourselves from our enemy, who at the moment is not Bonaparte but Buxhowden. General Buxhowden was all but attacked and captured by a superior enemy force as a result of one of these maneuvers that enabled us to escape him. Buxhowden pursues us-we scuttle. He hardly crosses the river to our side before we recross to the other'."

A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807 by Edward J. Murphy

"A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807" - On the Pultusk campaign:

"The constantly changing weather and poor road conditions are often given as the reason for Napoleon’s lack of success during the Pultusk Campaign. Indeed the early winter of 1806-1807 was unusual. In early December the snow and cold weather froze everything in sight. The cold weather give way to a thaw by mid-December, which turned into a complete thaw by 26 December. The slush attained depths to be measured in feet, not in inches. 'In December 1806, the infantry sank to their knees, often deeper, in the soft roads; the horses to their hocks; the guns to their axles; sometimes even guns absolutely disappeared in the clayey mire. Double and quadruple teams could not drag them along as fast as the one and a quarter miles an hour, which the infantry with almost super-human effort was able to cover.' Napoleon himself attempts to lay blame on the shortness of the days and the horrible conditions of the roads as the sole reason for failure. The Russians however, also faced the same obstacles. The Russian rates of march (never quick) were also greatly reduced, but they were able to outmarch the French and slip away. With conditions equal for both adversaries, what else contributed to this first failure of the Napoleonic System?"

The Battle of Pultusk:
https://www.historyofwar.org/articles...

Scott wrote: "Make sure your books get pride of place AR!"

I've already started planning my new, smaller, library and have the same company who built my last bookcases coming over to do a quote and discuss some ideas.

Betsy wrote: "I don't envy you. I remember sleeping on the floor until our new mattresses arrived many years ago. I couldn't do it now."

I figured my time in the army prepared me, but I've gotten a lot older since then :)

Great posts Betsy and Scott! sorry I missed them, I had an early night after spending all day unpacking two cars worth of odds and ends and taking delivery and assembling some new furniture for our apartment which we finally moved into yesterday morning. Currently sleeping on a blow-up camper bed until our furniture arrives on the 19th of August.

That's an oldie! I remember reading that back in the late 70's or early 80's. I hope you enjoy the book.

That should be a pretty decent account. I am still to complete Oman's series on the Peninsular War.

Betsy wrote: "One interesting point of my book so far is the role of spies. Carlo Gioelli, a spy for Napoleon and the Austrian commanders Melas and Zach, and who has seemingly served both sides. Money is his rea..."

You would need a lot of money to play the role of a spy I reckon! Spy craft can be just as important, if not more so, than a good reconnaissance.

That's true Betsy. It was interesting of how similar they were in certain aspects. Napoleon thought he had the main Russian army while Lannes fought the main force while outnumbered.

"A Tarnished Eagle: Napoleon's Winter Campaign In Poland, December 1806 Through February 1807" - Napoleon's Polish campaign has started, and the first major engagement took place at Golymin:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...

https://www.historyofwar.org/articles...

Betsy wrote: "I suspect many military men have it in them to be 'heroes,' but their personal habits somehow take over their reputations. Unfortunately, sometimes the Andre Massenas of history are not remembered ..."

Very good point Betsy!

Very interesting post Betsy, so there appears to be some substance to Count Adam von Neipperg after all!