Imperial Wrath

Mémoires du
Général Baron Thiébalt

Written and Translated By Jane Hoyle

Source: Mémoires du Général Baron Thiébalt, Tome 4, page 247, Librairie Plon, 1895 The following dramatic tale refers to an event after a disastrous French campaign in Andalusia in 1809 when the French lost 19,000 men, much hardware and 5,000 horses. The Emperor was very angry because as Thiébalt in Vol 4, page 252 of his memoirs suggests: It struck him that the result of this campaign seemed to indicate that his luck might just be running out! Thiébalt's story begins - Having arrived at Valladolid just before mid-day, I attended the daily parade ordered by the Emperor and arrived in the nick of time. The Grenadier Regiment of the Imperial Guard was in battle order on the square of the Palace of Charles V where Napoleon was staying, and they opened up their ranks. The Emperor immediately stepped forward to begin the inspection, passing in front of me, replying to my salute with a simple movement of his head and a look. The inspection over, as he returned to the stand to order the parade to fall out, he noticed General Legendre, an ex-chief of staff of Dupont's army corps [Dupont was the General responsible for the Andalusian catastrophe]. Legendre's presence at this parade was a disaster waiting to happen. Once the Emperor had spotted him, he gave him a crushing glare and said, "How dare you appear on this parade!" There was a stunned silence as all eyes fell on Legendre who appeared shattered by the Emperor's body language. He replied inaudibly, his hat in his hand, and seemed cowed. What followed must have been sheer anguish for him. The scene was so striking that when I arrived home, I wrote some notes about it which I still have The Emperor's face was tense, his eyes thunderous, his gesture threatening, and ringing voice, which every officer, and soldier present could both see and hear. Hee continued marching and stopping with General Legendre on his left (I was just behind). He shouted at Legendre and then muttered as if talking to himself, hurling verbal broadsides at each row of the assembled troops as he passed. His facial expression was terrible, showing signs of violent agitation. "How dare you show your face here," he said to the hapless fugitive, "when your shame is so clear, when your dishonour is written on the face of all the brave men here. You have made people blush for your conduct from the remotest part of Russia to every corner of France itself. And people will blush even more when through the proceedings of the High Court they learn more about your capitulation. "When should a troop of soldiers capitulate on a battlefield I hear you ask? In war one can only do so when all resources have been exhausted and likewise every means of resistance; for example, when breaches are practicable, when one has taken the honourable course, when resistance is sustained or one has been repulsed; when there is nothing more to be done, and there is neither hope of holding out, nor a hope of being rescued. But on a battlefield, one fights on Sir. If one capitulates, one deserves to be shot. And where would you be if these corps capitulated in open country. In such terrain, there are only two possibilities, one is to die, the other to be taken prisoner. War is a matter of luck. One can be honourably defeated or even taken prisoner. Tomorrow, even I could be in this position! François I was in such a situation, but he managed to retain his honour. If I am ever thus, it will only be as a result of force." Each of these sentences was clearly uttered, although sometimes disjointed, full of non sequiturs, and repetitions, some of which I have omitted. …………….. Legendre - We were facing twice the number of our forces and were being pursued by forces equal in number to our own. Napoleon - You should have done what Marshal Mortier did at Krems, where, with a small group of men, closing ranks, he was able to deal with four lines of Russian troops. But to do that you need to arrive en masse and not piecemeal; to march in column, and not to open out, to engage in conflict and not to fight in line, to make a surprise attack and not to prolong it. To deploy as you did shows an ignorance of all the rules of the art of war. In columns you could have beaten the Spanish, they are only worth a quarter of your troops. Legendre - We had only conscripts. Napoleon - Properly led conscripts always make good soldiers. Legendre - We wanted to save our artillery. Napoleon - It's not your artillery you wanted to save but your wagons. All you were interested in was protecting the results of your pillaging. And did you really think that your action would fool any-one? You should have had honour in your wagons, not tainted gold. You should have understood that duty expected nothing less. You have been neither a good Frenchman nor a good general. You are a thief and a traitor! Legendre - We were only trying to preserve men's lives for France. Napoleon - France needs honour. She does not need men. Napoleon showed no mercy. General Legendre sank without trace, his career in ruins, never to be heard of again. Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #44 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com