The early morning mist had burned off quickly as the sun rose into a clear blue sky. As he sat on the cushioned thwart at the rear of the barge Napoleon stared across the glassy flow of the Niemen towards the far bank. The dense ranks of the Russian Guard stood in columns a short distance from the water. There was not a breath of wind and their standards hung limply from their gilded staffs. The Tsar’s barge was still tethered to a small jetty and as Napoleon watched there was a sudden burst of activity as the boatmen piled into the vessel and hurriedly took up their oars. Napoleon smiled to himself. Once again he had stolen the initiative by setting out from his side of the river first. He would reach the large raft that had been moored in the middle of the current before Tsar Alexander and so would be in a position to welcome the enemy sovereign aboard. That would give him a small but definite advantage over the Tsar before they even began to speak.

As his gaze moved to the raft Napoleon was pleased with the work carried out by the Grand Army’s engineers. It was less than two days since Prince Lobanoff had ridden into the French camp to offer an armistice on behalf of his master, Tsar Alexander. Since then, the raft, twenty paces on each side, had been constructed on the banks of the river. A generous apartment had been built on the middle and comfortably furnished with a table and chairs, and extensively decorated with tapestries bearing the eagles of France and Russia.There were two doors so that the Emperor and the Tsar could enter the apartment from their side of the river. Once completed, the raft had been carefully floated out into the middle of the Niemen and anchored securely in place from a stout post at each corner.

As the French barge angled across the current towards it, Napoleon could see the fine craftsmanship that had gone into the hurried construction and made a mental note to have Berthier reward the engineers who had made such a fine thing so quickly. If the meeting with the Tsar went well, then perhaps there would be peace and the men who had been campaigning for the last ten months could at last rest after all their exertions.