The Burning of Moscow
Page 27
At the same time Napoleon did his best to put an end to the disorder and pillaging. On his orders, the Old Guard was deployed inside the Kremlin, blocking all the major entrances except for the Nikolskie and Troitskie Gates and maintaining a tight perimeter around the imperial residence. ‘No Russian should be allowed to enter the Kremlin under any pretext, except if accompanied by an officer … If, despite orders, any Russian attempts to get inside, you are ordered to shoot him,’ stated Marshal Lefebvre’s orders to the Imperial Guard.94 General Éblé’s troops received orders to ‘remove all broken transports, crates, caissons and other junk of any kind’ that still littered the Kremlin and its environs.95 Pion des Loches recalled reading an order of the day which declared that ‘any inhabitant who did not go to register with one of the twelve military commandants was to be killed. For individuals caught torch in hand the punishment was the same.’96 On 18 September Napoleon instructed Intendant-Général Dumas to gather all the provisions and alcohol still remaining in the city and place them at specially established depots that would regulate their distribution and put an end to the disorder. The following day, however, Berthier informed Napoleon that Dumas had been unable to carry out these orders due to the continued marauding and had asked for help in reining in the imperial troops. Napoleon complied and instructed his marshals to take the necessary measures ‘to put an end to plundering in Moscow, starting tomorrow’, and to deploy ‘sufficient number of infantry and cavalry patrols’ whose task it was to detain and return soldiers to their units. They were to hold regular roster calls and ensure that soldiers did not leave their quarters. ‘This is highly important,’ Berthier emphasized in his letter.97
Their efforts produced some results. One Guard officer recalled seeing soldiers carrying pillaged items being arrested at the gates and made to hand them over. ‘It was quite a sad sight to see those piles of expensive furs, fine embroidery and other precious items left there in the mud.’98 But containing the disorder proved to be a challenging task. As Bourgogne explained, ‘once they realized that the Russians themselves had torched the city, it was impossible to restrain the soldiers’. On 17 September Friedrich Wilhelm von Lossberg had recorded that ‘the looting continues in the unfortunate city, and the entire army takes part in it. Even though there is an imperial command to arrest any soldier involved in pillaging, this whole thing is perpetrated so systematically that it would be impossible to carry out this order for it is done not by individuals but rather by entire units.’99 Aart Kool, a Dutch officer in the 1st Corps, recalled that ‘every day one of our officers was in charge of gathering our supplies. He would go with a small wagon, a servant, and several engineers as guards, to the centre of the city to purchase food from the very soldiers who had plundered the city.’100
On 20 September Berthier again informed the corps commanders that the emperor was ‘displeased to see that despite his order yesterday on putting an end to plunder, acts of pillage still occurred today on the same scale as yesterday … You must restore discipline and good order.’101 A day later Napoleon’s chief of staff again repeated the need to take immediate measures to stop looting. ‘His Majesty desires not just to put an end to plundering in Moscow but to put a stop to sending out groups of soldiers for the procurement of victuals and other items. There are too many soldiers dispatched on these missions in the city. Therefore His Majesty henceforth prohibits this practice.’102
The Muscovites, who had spent the last few days barricaded in the cellars and warding off looters day and night, noted that the pillaging intensified after the fires subsided. Although Napoleon demanded strict measures to curb looting, he also allowed the different corps stationed in Moscow, which was now divided into twenty military districts, to dispatch detachments into neighbourhoods to secure the remaining resources.103 Such measures, in effect, formalized the looting, as even those troops who might have earlier had qualms about looting, now joined in. Roguet, always the disciplinarian, bemoaned the fact that the ‘disorders grew worse despite the efforts to contain them. The pillagers, chiefly from the Administration or foreigners, discovered the cellars and stores which had survived the fire. They laid waste to them and completed the destruction the Russians had begun.’104 Bourgogne recalled that his captain allowed him to take ten men on a special patrol to hunt for provisions and noted that ‘pillage was to be allowed but enjoining as much order as possible’.105 In the words of one Russian eyewitness, what made this pillaging particularly unpleasant was that it was conducted in a very methodical manner as each army corps was given the right to plunder. ‘The first day it was the Old Imperial Guard and the next day, the New (Young) Imperial Guard, followed by Marshal Davout’s corps and so on. All the corps encamped around the city came in succession to plunder us. And you can imagine how difficult it was to satisfy these latecomers.’ For eight days, almost continuously, the procession continued and it was impossible to describe ‘the greed of these fellows without first experiencing it. Men without shoes, pants, with clothes in tatters – such were the soldiers of the Grande Armée, except for the Imperial Guard. So when the soldiers returned into camp in their various disguises, they could only be identified by their side-arms.’ To make matters worse, many of the officers, following the example of their men, went from house to house looting. ‘The less bold among them contented themselves with pillaging the houses in which they were quartered. Even the generals, under the pretence of investigation, made house to house visits, and ordered any objects that pleased them to be laid aside, or changed their apartments in order to plunder new houses.’106 Another Muscovite described how ‘as soon as one troop of marauders left the house, another took its place, so that not even a shirt or a shoe was left… . People no longer dared to go out into the streets. Even the soldiers placed on guard began to loot, imposing silence on the wretched inhabitants by threats and blows … Some, having lost their entire wardrobe, were obliged to wear female apparel. Men were to be seen wearing elegant bonnets trimmed with feathers or flowers … on their shoulders were fur tippets, and their feet were squeezed into ladies’ boots… .’107
The daily orders to the Imperial Guard provide an excellent insight into the disarray that reigned in the Grande Armée in those days. Despite its elite status, the Guard was actively involved in pillaging, which prompted its leaders to repeat their orders on a daily basis. On 20 September the Guard was informed that ‘the emperor henceforth orders all pillaging in the city to cease’. Majors in each regiment were instructed to dispatch fifteen-men patrols from every battalion to restore order and detain any soldiers wandering around in the streets.108 A day later Lefebvre reported that ‘the emperor is extremely displeased that despite his express orders, detachments of marauders from the Guard still continued returning to the Kremlin’. The marshal had to remind his subordinates that ‘the duty of generals and corps commanders is to enforce the orders of His Imperial Majesty’. From now on Lefebvre demanded the arrest of anyone found inside the Kremlin with ‘wine, provisions or any other objects obtained through pillaging’. All cantinières had to be expelled from the Kremlin and any of their carts found within the complex had to be destroyed immediately. The Guard was again required to dispatch daily patrols ‘twice a day from each battalion, while any officer who fails to contain his troops will be severely punished’.109 Only two days later General Curial admonished the Guardsmen for ignoring the ‘repeated orders’ and failing to maintain proper discipline. He was particularly upset by their ‘continuing to relieve all their needs in various corners of the Kremlin and even under the very windows of the emperor’.110 That same day Napoleon was exasperated to find ‘a corporal of the chasseurs à pied of the Guard arriving at the city gates without his knapsack and musket’.111
A week after returning to Moscow, Napoleon began introducing more restrictive measures to contain the disorder. He ordered small squads of troops to be deployed to keep an eye on each part of the city and ensure good order and discipline among the troops. He estimated tha
t there were fifty barriers throughout Moscow that could be manned by ten men each. Since the city was divided into twenty districts, Napoleon decided to deploy detachments of twenty men in each district. ‘There are some neighbourhoods where even ten men will be sufficient to maintain order, but there are also other places where it will require forty men.’ Some 500 men were kept in reserve at various points throughout the city. In total, Napoleon believed that ‘this service comprising 1,500 men will be sufficient to maintain order’ in the city.112 After learning that hundreds of troopers at a cavalry depot lacked horses – there were only 700 horses for 2,300 men – Napoleon ordered 1,600 of them moved to Moscow, where they (joined by another 400 from Mozhaisk) formed two battalions of dismounted cavalry and formed the garrison in the Kremlin.113
Nevertheless, the disorder persisted. Four days after the emperor’s initial command Marshal Lefebvre was compelled to condemn the ‘disorders and pillaging that have been committed by the Old Guard, which has acted in unworthy manner yesterday and today’. Some soldiers refused to salute the emperor properly at the reviews, while others defied officers’ orders and ‘even openly berated and beat them’. His order informed the Guardsmen that ‘it pains the emperor to see that the elite soldiers, who are entrusted with the duty of protecting his person and should therefore be providing, in all circumstances, examples of order and subordination, have forgotten their sense of duty and commit offences, forcing their way into cellars and stores maintained by the Intendant-Général to service the army.’ Marshal Lefebvre declared that ‘it is definitely time to put an end to such abuses. A soldier of the Guard who does not appreciate the honour of being part of this corps does not deserve to be part of it.’ He demanded to have special rolls drawn up listing ‘men who are known to have committed excesses on daily basis … His Excellency’s intention is to make a stern example of them.’ The Old Guard was warned that ‘any member of the Guard who is detained in the city in violation of orders [issued by Berthier] will be judged on the spot’.114
If the Imperial Guard was in such a mess,115 one can only imagine what was happening in some regular units. In fact, on 29 September the exasperated Berthier issued a new order of the day that acknowledged that ‘despite previous orders’ looting was still widespread in some parts of the town. Marshals and corps commanders were therefore given new and lengthy instructions to keep all their troops within the areas of their cantonments. ‘Neither officers nor soldiers should be permitted, in groups or alone, to go to the city in search of flour, leather or other items.’ The order condemned the continued activity of ‘vivandiers and certain soldiers’ who speculated on stolen items and ‘perpetuated disorder’. Napoleon repeated his orders to establish depots where local provisions and ‘any items that had been left behind by city residents who abandoned their properties’ would be gathered together. These depots were tasked with the regular distribution of victuals. Mortier was instructed to deploy sentries and patrols throughout the city, and arrest anyone carrying provisions or items not procured at the depots. To satisfy the army’s thirst for alcohol, the imperial order provided each army corps with fifteen days’ rations of ‘l’eau de vie’ but prohibited troops from going into the city in search of alcohol; wine was restricted to medical use only. Any soldiers detained on a charge of looting were subject to court-martial by specially established military commissions. ‘Ending plunder and restoring order would bring back abundance to this capital,’ the order concluded.116 Ten days later Napoleon reiterated the need to take measures to ensure that the army had at least two or three months’ worth of supplies safely stored at depots.117
Despite their best efforts the French commanders were unable to extinguish pillaging completely throughout their thirty-five day stay in Moscow. Many regimental and divisional commanders knew all too well how much their soldiers were lacking and had no desire to impose any restrictions that would have only further increased their misery. Furthermore, Napoleon’s attempt to organize the distribution of supplies through a series of depots failed once it became clear how few provisions were actually available. While the 19th, 20th and 21st Bulletins painted a rosy picture of an army well provided with victuals, Intendant-Général Dumas submitted more ominous reports that showed how limited the supplies of key victuals – grain, flour and forage – actually were.118 Mindful that the war was far from over and military operations could resume at any time, Napoleon chose to create and maintain a strategic reserve of provisions, even if that meant denying requests for supplies from individual units. Thus, when Berthier informed him that a division of the 4th Corps had no food at all and asked for permission to issue some provisions to them, the emperor simply wrote ‘Refused’ across the paper, effectively dooming these soldiers to feed themselves by any means necessary. The newly established general police (see below) provided incessant reports on excesses committed by Allied soldiers. On 2 October Police Commissar Georges Lalance of the 10th (Yauzskii) District described the continued pillaging by the soldiers of the 3rd Corps, who ‘not only rob the destitute survivors of their meagre possessions but also furiously inflict sabre wounds on them’. Even the Allied wounded participated in this despoilment, leaving their hospital beds ‘to rob the Russians carrying cabbages or potatoes’.119 On 5 October another report from the 4th (Yakimanskii) District described a police commissioner stumbling upon four soldiers, including an Imperial Guardsman, breaking into a deacon’s house with swords unsheathed and robbing a family of fourteen souls of their last two loaves of bread.120 On 11 October the police commissioner of the 16th (Basmanskii) District complained that ‘robbing and pillaging continues unabated’. There was, he wrote, ‘an entire gang of robbers operating in my district and additional military forces are necessary to rein in’ these criminals.121 On 12 October it was announced that orders prohibiting pillaging were to be read aloud to military units on a daily basis. Berthier was nevertheless infuriated to find that even the troops of Marshal Davout, whose corps was previously considered exemplary, were still engaged in looting. ‘Mounting my horse to accompany the emperor tonight,’ he wrote to the marshal, ‘I saw a number of soldiers pillaging nearby. Approaching them, I noticed that among them was one wearing captain’s epaulettes. I ordered him brought to me and, after interrogating him, I discovered that he was not even an officer but rather an interpreter assigned to General Morand, who had given him permission to wear officer’s epaulettes.’ Berthier found this behaviour unacceptable and asked Davout to impose appropriate punishments on the guilty parties. ‘You know quite well, marshal, how hard the emperor toils to restore order in this city.’122
Ironically, just as he was taking measures to end pillaging by his troops, Napoleon sanctioned a different type of plundering that was conducted under the pretence of collecting trophies to commemorate the glorious capture of Moscow. A special commission was set up inside the Uspenskii Cathedral to melt down precious metals from Moscow’s churches, public and private houses into bullion. Peter Chudimov, the Archivist at the Mining Department, recalled seeing a ‘French paymaster, two officers and a French goldsmith’ arriving at the smeltery set up inside the cathedral. ‘Every day gold and silver stripped from churches, vestments and objects was brought in carts and boxes and then melted during the night.’ The French compelled some Russian employees of the Mining Department to participate in this operation and at least eight men were recruited to carry heavy loads of precious metals and coal into the smeltery.123 Many were struck by the sight of the removal of the trophies from various parts of the city. Intendant-Général Dumas was one day alone with Berthier on the balcony of the imperial palace, from where he observed ‘the fruitless efforts of the workmen, under the direction of the engineers, to loosen from the dome of the principal church the immense cross called Ivan’s Cross, which was an object of veneration and admiration among the Russians’. Some believed it to be made of solid gold but the cross was in reality made of copper overlaid with several plates of gold. As this cross could not be pulled
down without damaging the cupola itself, it was resolved to simply saw it off. The cross fell to the ground with a great noise and was afterwards taken to pieces and carefully packed up to be conveyed to Paris, where Napoleon intended to have it put together again and placed on top of the church that he was building near the Louvre, opposite the Museum. Upset and indignant at this spoliation, Berthier asked Dumas, ‘How is it possible to do such a thing with one hand while offering peace with the other?’124