‘Take that. Have it copied and sent to every newspaper in France. Have more copies sent to every court in Europe. Every newspaper. Every division headquarters in the army. Is that clear?’

‘Yes, sir.’ The clerk swallowed nervously. ‘I shall have to call in every available man on my staff, sire.’

‘Then do it. At once. Now take it and go.’

Once he was alone, Napoleon stood up and crossed to the window. He clasped his hands behind his back as he reflected on his plans for the coming war with Russia. Outside the snow was falling again, thick swirling flakes that soon blotted out his view of Paris, and then of the soldiers on guard down in the courtyard.

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Throughout the winter long columns of wagons had been carrying supplies to forward depots in eastern Europe. With the first buds of spring battalion after battalion marched across Europe to join the army building up in the lands of the Duchy of Warsaw and Pomerania, a Swedish territory which Napoleon had occupied in preparation for any war with Russia. In addition to the long columns of infantry there were brigades of cavalry and artillery teams dragging their lumbering burdens along the primitive roads and the tracks that were thick with mud from the thaw and rains of the season.

Napoleon had not waited for the Tsar’s response to his list of grievances before giving the order to mobilise his forces. Despite the protests of his marshals in Spain, some of the best divisions were withdrawn from the Peninsula. The soldiers were glad to leave Spain. Any other posting had to be preferred to that land of heat, hunger and thirst, where every rock could conceal a peasant with a musket ready to blow the brains out of any hapless straggler or forager who wandered even a short distance from his comrades. Although their destination was a secret, by the time the men had marched through Prussia it was clear where their next campaign would take them and they viewed the coming test of arms with eager excitement.

Even though large numbers of French troops were concentrating around Warsaw they soon discovered that they would not be the only nation represented in the host gathering to humiliate the Russians. The Emperor had compelled his Austrian allies to provide forty thousand men. Another twenty thousand came from Prussia, viewed with great suspicion by the French troops. Then there were contingents from the German principalities as well as Swiss, Dutch, Belgian and Polish troops, and men sent from Napoleon’s domains in Italy.