The fire burned for another three days, consuming most of the city before it died out, or was stopped by the firebreaks the French soldiers had created by blasting entire streets to pieces with powder charges. The air over the city was filled with the acrid stench of burning and smoke still curled into the clear skies for many days afterwards. Only a quarter of the city, including the Kremlin, had escaped the flames, but it was more than enough to accommodate the men of the Grand Army.

After the initial orgy of looting the soldiers were content to make their billets as comfortable as possible while they rested, and enjoyed whatever food they found in the abandoned city. It was an opportunity for the wounded to recover in the comfort of proper beds and not on the overcrowded, jolting bed of an army wagon. Many men used the time to patch their worn uniforms, repair their boots, or find more comfortable replacements. They were happy to believe the proclamations issued from the Emperor’s headquarters that congratulated them on having fought the campaign to a glorious and successful conclusion. All that remained was for the Emperor and the Tsar to negotiate a peace and then the men of the Grand Army could return home, laden with the spoils of war and tall tales of having fought and bested the wild Cossacks of the steppes.

The days passed, and there was no sign of any Russian officials approaching the city to discuss peace terms. Despite the lack of an armistice Murat’s cavalry patrols reported that their Cossack counterparts were happy to fraternise and exchange spirits and other gifts. The only worrying intelligence was that the Russian officer appointed to command the Tsar’s forces, General Kutusov, was marching his men to the west of Moscow, threatening the Grand Army’s communications.

September drifted into October and there was a noticeable drop in the temperature as the end of autumn drew near. Napoleon instructed Berthier to prepare the army to march once more. There was a distant possibility that the Russian army might have to be fought again to shatter whatever was left of the Tsar’s desire to continue the struggle. Still the Emperor waited for the Russians. He expected them hourly, and spent most of his time in the Tsar’s study, waiting to receive the war-weary and dispirited representatives of the Tsar. It was difficult to concentrate his mind on anything else, and in order to cope with the wait Napoleon began to read the romantic novels in Alexander’s private collection, numbingly banal as they were. At mealtimes, his closest comrades were surprised to see the Emperor lingering over his food, picking at it carefully where before he had treated a meal as a necessary waste of time.