Berthier reached towards the rack of map cases and pulled out a large-scale representation of the west of Russia. He unrolled the map across a board and fixed it in place with some pegs before passing it across to his Emperor. Napoleon glanced at the map, then traced his finger north from the last reported position of Bagration’s army.‘Minsk. He’s heading for Minsk.’ He smiled thinly.‘It seems that the Russians are not so easily fooled. They’ve guessed that our main line of advance is to the north of the Pripet. Very well then, inform Jérôme that his feint is over. He’s to pursue Bagration, and drive him away from the main Russian army. Let him know at once.’

‘Yes, sire.’

‘One day into the campaign, and already things are starting to go awry,’ Napoleon sighed wearily. ‘If the Russians are already attempting to link up then it is more than likely that the main army will be retreating on Vilna. Send an order to Murat. He is to take two divisions of cavalry from the reserve and ride to Vilna. He must not occupy the town. He is to observe only and report back if he encounters the main Russian army. Is that clear?’

Berthier nodded and reached for a fresh sheet of paper to write the orders.

‘Good, that’s done,’ Napoleon muttered.‘Now I must get some sleep. Wake me when the headquarters is ready.’ Rising from his desk, he squeezed past Berthier’s table and climbed into the cot at the end of the wagon and pulled the netting curtain closed to keep the insects out. Rolling on to his side, away from the interior, Napoleon banished further thought from his mind and closed his eyes. A minute later, his light snores rumbled in the background as Berthier dabbed at his brow, and picked his pen up again, dipped it in the ink, and continued scratching away.

The main column of the French army marched swiftly on Vilna, where Napoleon hoped for a decisive encounter. Intercepted despatches revealed that the Tsar himself had joined the main Russian army. The news raised Napoleon’s hopes of a swift end to the campaign. The prospect of his capturing the Tsar as well as defeating the army would surely compel the enemy to submit, and Napoleon ordered his army to advance as speedily as possible, even if that meant outpacing the ponderous convoys of supply wagons. But when the French army reached Vilna, they found that the Russians had gone, leaving their supply depot in flames and destroying the bridge over the Vilia river behind them.