Napoleon in 1812

22. Battle of Le’pzg - 5

Napoleon gave his soldiers special gifts in celebration of the French army's victories in all three battles on May 19, 1818.

His principle was to reward those who had achieved results deserving sufficient respect. The French army did not miss a day of training, marches, and large-scale maintenance even on remote expeditions outside the country.

Napoleon gifted a special exemption from this training to all soldiers. For three days, too. There were no soldiers who liked training.

As soon as they heard the news, they shouted 'Long live the Emperorll' without listening to the officers.

"Training is an essential routine that keeps the sense of battlefield and pulls the strings of tension. Exemption from the routine in terms of establishing discipline will have a negative impact on the soldiers' combat power and military discipline."

"Victory is something to be very proud of, but strictly speaking, I think it’s a strategic victory for Your Majesty. Nevertheless, I'm afraid that if we praise them this much, they will become conceited and ignore Your Majesty's achievements or underestimate the enemy."

Some officers expressed concern in this way. However, Napoleon stubbornly rejected their advice,

"Gentlemen, we have only just begun a long, long war. In order to successfully carry out this long war, you should know that it is important not only to think about the soldiers1 training, but also to keep them in a state where they can do their best on every battlefield."

A unit's discipline and training were its combat power. Napoleon did not deny this statement itself. In fact, soldiers who had solid military discipline and training were physically strong enough to maintain this combat power, and the French soldiers had been trained a lot, so of course they were strong,

However, Napoleon could not agree if the method was to forcefully control the soldiers and tame them harshly.

Soldiers were not machines. They were human beings composed of blood and flesh. Units that did not manage physical and mental fatigue might show short-term results, but would eventually collapse. In particular, this response was even more important in a long-term war.

"The origin of the Imperial Army is the revolutionary force, the National Army founded by the National Assembly. The first ideology of the National Army was to protect the sovereignty of the country and the rights of the people. The Im perial Army that succeeded it can be said to be a group of patriotic young people who joined the army with a noble heart to protect their country. Do I have to blush here for giving them one small benefit?"

"Oh, no, Your Majesty!"

"I think that Your Majesty is right!"

Now Napoleon had no hesitation in mentioning the pre-imperial republic system. The officers bowed their heads with an expression of embarrassment. At the same time, they deeply admired the Emperor's attitude of giving to the people below him.

'As expected of the Emperor...!'

"Now I understand why there are so many soldiers who would lightly give their lives for His Majesty.'

A group that could show unlimited creativity and potential in a soft and free atmosphere that was not like the military. That was what Napoleon thought was an ideal army, and that was why his corps had never been defeated.

***

The power of the allies protecting Leipzig itself was twice that of the French. Their overwhelming numerical superiority was the only reason why their soldiers, who were nervous about confronting Europe's strongest army, could feel some comfort.

As a result of the officers brainwashing hard, saying that even the French army led by Napoleon would not be able to overcome this power gap, the soldiers were able to prepare for the upcoming battle with confidence,

The results of the day came to them. In the battles fought in three directions, the allied forces were mercilessly defeated and pushed back without being able to keep the strongholds they had to defend.

"At this rate, will even the main base fall?'

'Can we really defeat Napoleon's army?'

The anxiety of the soldiers that they had tried to suppress quickly increased and shook the military camp. Even the efforts of the officers to calm them were useless at this moment, and they eventually pulled out the sharp blades they had been hiding.

"Oh these guys, they're totally out of it. Why don't we do it properly to make them come to their senses, battalion commander?"

"We are proud soldiers marching under the eagle (the Prussian flag) with our swords! Judging by the main forces, the mental state of the soldiers is shameful to call them Prussians. 'Discipline' is allowed!"

Napoleon's corps was approaching Leipzig. A full-fledged battle was imminent.

Nevertheless, Prussian officers had no hesitation in punishing their soldiers. In the military camp, the sounds of beating soldiers on the backs with leather whips rang out one after another.

Between the sharp sounds were the voices of young men groaning and screaming. In the military camp, harsh, torture-like acts were carried out.

The Prussian soldiers had to walk, run, and repeat twice the distance of their average march with heavy equipment.

A number of soldiers exhausted from this high-intensity training were waiting to be beaten by officers and non-commissioned officers.

Indeed, it was a violent act worthy of the Prussian army, which was famous for having the strictest and harshest military rules among the European armies.

Under the Prussian beliefthat human beings with weak bodies and minds couId be converted into soldiers through severe corporal punishment and harsh acts, the soldiers were controlled and educated like hell, and this bloody tyranny was tolerated by the Prussian generals.

"The Prussian are now disciplining very violently at the training grounds."

"Really? Then we can’t stay put either. Let's do 'edification' right now!"

The harshness of the means and methods used to control the soldiers also increased in the Russian army. The severe ordeal unique to the Russian army, called 'edification', was similar to the Prussian army's 'discipline', but there was a big difference: even if the soldiers died in large numbers, the officers did not care at all.

In Russia, the serfdom system was still maintained, so there was a very strong tendency among the nobles to overlook human life. Of course, in the mil itary, where strategic consumption was common, such disregard for life was inevitably more severe. For them, the soldiers were just livestock.

"I, I can't do this anymore!"

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die...!"

The protests and rebellion of some energetic soldiers were rewarded with summary execution. With the sound of gunshots, comrades fell with holes in their foreheads. The eyes of the Russian soldiers looking at them lost focus for a moment.

"The enemy that we are facing is the emperor who conquered Europe. We're trying to deal with that powerful and cruel enemy, but it’s rather disturbing to see their relaxed mental state."

"It would be better for such people to die first at our hands not to tarnish the reputation of the Empire and the Tsar. Feel free to refuse. There are plenty of people to replace you."

The cold words of the officers kicking the corpses reminded the soldiers that their lives were not worth more than flies.

Russian soldiers clenched their teeth, They did not dare to rebel to this murderous oppression. Russian and Prussian officers suppressed and beat the soldiers under their command as if there were an invisible competition.

In the brutal and bloody process, countless soldiers were crippled or even killed. However, their edification and discipline did not stop.

In the end, the strong and irrational will to live of the soldiers, who thought they would be beaten to death before they could even fight, changed the situation.

The soldiers forcibly raised their shaking and numb bodies, clenched their teeth and corrected their posture and training. At that time, a soldier made a mistake during the march.

He missed the beat and could not keep the pace. Normally, the officer would have kicked him and would have harshly punished the entire unit that was moving with him...

Punch! Punch! Kick! Kick!

"You useless bastard!"

"Damn this guy!"

"How did such a waste get into our unit!"

The fellow soldiers next to him were glaring at him, They trampled and beat the soldier who made the mistake as if they had met an enemy.

The strong comradeship between them who shared life and death had long disappeared. In order for them to survive, they had to crush the person next to them. Now, the soldiers beside them were only objects of resentment that made them suffer.

The soldier, who was mercilessly beaten by his comrades for a single mistake, trembled and forced himself to stand up, The blood-soaked soldier's eyes were filled with bitter resentment.

He clenched his teeth and prepared to march again. The soldiers thoroughly monitored, pressed, and assaulted each other.

They worked hard to keep the pace and lifted their legs even further. It was 'march or die1. They moved their arms and legs until their joints were worn out.

"Hum... I guess they're now a little useful!"

"These vulgar things must taste hell like this to come to their senses."

"This is why we can't help but beat them."

Only after all soldiers moved according to the instructions of the officers without mistakes did the barbaric and sadistic training end.

The soldiers from both the Prussian and Russian armies were completely exhausted and sat down in that state, staring blankly at the sky.

As soon as the end of the discipline and edification was declared, officers from both sides were about to roar at the soldiers who looked like marionettes with fallen strings, but Blucher, the commander of the alliance, blocked them. Blucher silently approached the soldiers as they tried to get up.

"Are you still alive?"

"...Yes, sir."

"Good, But if you lose next time, a hell of a lot worse than now will be waiting for you guys."

Blucher added to them who were silent.

"So in the next battle, fight with all your might, Even if you sell your soul to the devil, kill the French army by all means. Don't forget that victory is the only way for the soldiers to be freed from this hell and go to heaven."

If this was not the devil's whisper, then what was it?

"If the French army had continued to push that harshly, we would have been in great trouble. However, that did not happen, and we succeeded in reforming the atmosphere inside the slackened military, so your actions deserve praise."

Hundreds of soldiers, from both the Prussian and Russian forces, had been sacrificed in this overwork. There were so many large and small injuries that it was hard to estimate.

Nevertheless, Blucher praised the allied generals and officers. They, too, nodded with a natural expression.

Even if the sacrifice was great, they managed to filter out laziness and infused a will to fight into the eyes of their soldiers. In this situation, the rest was insign ifi cant.

In an era in which common sense and humanity had been forsaken, with a desperate war where the fate of their motherland was at stake, this kind of incident was not even considered special, It was only routine.

"According to intelligence, the French army did not train yesterday and today, neither on marches nor formations. It appears to be the result of their emperor's order,"

"After winning once, their pride is piercing the sky! Their carelessness will surely be our luck."

"Many tactical geniuses have collapsed, crushed by their own arrogance and carelessness. Now it really looks like it’s our turn to draw Nabot's limits."

The allied officers claimed that the French military’s suspension of its usual training was the most convincing evidence that the enemy commander was arrogant, Everyone gathered here felt the same way.

Even progressive officers like Clausewitz were devaluing Napoleon for being foolish. Everyone argued that it was an opportunity given by God and that they should not avoid the coming fight.

Blucher and Bagration decided to fight without hesitation. In this way, the curtain of the battle that would later be called the 'Battle of Leipzig' rose.

The French were aiming to cross the White Elster River and enter the city of Leipzig. To do so, they first needed a stable bridge for their troops to cross.

There was a bridge on the White Elster River, but it was too narrow for their large army. Napoleon deployed engineers and ordered the construction of temporary bridges over the river. Of course, the Coalition could not let this happen.

The first engagement took place on the banks of the river. The Coal ition tried to deal with the French in a traditionaI way, by launching attacks and using the river as a natural obstacle that separated the enemy forces. Napoleon's tactics in response were to use artillery, the French military's long-term weapon.

Napoleon, who had predicted this situation from the beginning, secretly hid a battery near the bank, and used it as a starting point for a counterattack by revealing it just in time with the Coalition's advance.

With the offensive of the French artillery, the advance was temporarily hindered. Napoleon immediately put all the reserve engineers into the construction, and was able to complete several bridges,

"Give your life to stop their advance!"

"Let's clear the way while protecting the bridge! Long live the French Empire!!"

The Prussian and Russian troops, with their haggard faces and messy appearance, were showing more desperate resentment than ever before.

The French army was united with their faith in victory, their trust in their Emperor, and their patriotism for their country. The two armies, who were completely at opposite ends in ideological terms, faced each other with a bridge between them.