Private diary of travels, personal services, and public events, during mission and employment with the European armies in the campaigns of 1812, 1813, 1814

7–8 February 1807 (26–27 January Old Style)

Battle of Eylau

VOL. II. K

I doubt whether the enemy's cavalry suffer equally. He is in a better country, has better lodgment, and does not employ it so much as we do ours. I always fear that he is nursing the main body to re-appear ; as he did after the battle of Eylau with a force which by num- bers and condition gave him at once the superiority.

20–21 May 1813

Battle of Bautzen

VOL. II. D

Nesselrode went to Vienna after the battle of Bautzen. He has returned from the Emperor, whom he left at Gitschin in Bohemia.

VOL. II. D

The Torgau column, the Wittenberg column, and the troops from the Lower Elbe bore down and united with the Dresden force before the battle of Bautzen.

VOL. II. D

battle of Bautzen, and with my present views ; and until Austrian battalions are actually in line with the Allies he dreads the rupture of the armistice. To avoid the possibility of Buonaparte renewing hostilities in- stantaneously on the ground of provisions being with- held from Modlin, he has represented to the Emperor that the provisions were contracted for, and that unless he gave them to the garrison Russia must pay for them.

VOL. IT. L

" Lorsque je vous de'corai devant la troupe des marques de mon Ordre militaire de S. George de la 3me classe, je rendais justice a ce zele infatigable qui pendant toute la campagne vous a constamment fixe aux avant-gardes, a la valeur brillante, et au devoue- ment dont j'ai ete temoin a la bataille de Bautzen, et a tant d'autres preuves d'intrepidite attestees par tous les braves des armees combinees. II m'est agreable aujourd'hui de vous repeter par ecrit des temoignages

26–27 August 1813

Battle of Dresden

VOL. II. M

I read Stuart's despatches about our Dresden affair. He has finely glossed over our losses ; but John Bull loves to be humbugged, and they are enemies to themselves who write, speak, or seek truth.

MEMORANDA OP THE 1813.

It is calculated that Buonaparte received intelli- gence of his disaster during the action of Dresden on the morning of the 27th : and on the morning of the 28th, as soon as he was assured that the Allies had entered the mountains, he repassed the Elbe with his guards and endeavoured to repair his misfortunes by falling on the Prussian columns with an overwhelming power, at a moment when he supposed that they might be unacquainted with and unprepared for the move- ment.

MEMORANDA OP THE 1813.

After the battle of Dresden, Marshal Ney again advanced with four corps to retrieve former failures and take Berlin.

MEMORANDA OP THE 1813.

Political circumstances on the side of Bavaria cer- tainly rendered the movement to the left, after the battle of Dresden, even more expedient : but there were counteracting political apprehensions on the side of Prussia which made her inimical to any plan that might remove Blucher from the neighbourhood of the Crown Prince, and his force would have been required to supply the vacancy on the left bank of the Elbe.