Four Days in June by Iain Gale

Author:Iain Gale [Iain Gale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007279470
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2006-08-02T16:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

La Belle Alliance, 10.40 a.m. Napoleon

Napoleon sat astride Marengo on the Brussels road beside the little coaching inn of La Belle Alliance. He had already passed through the Garde and Lobau’s corps, and behind him the cheering seemed to be unstoppable. His spirits were higher now. The rain had gone, and with it the excruciating pain. Gone too were the troublesome generals.

He pulled his horse towards the left of the front line and rode along its rear, between the massed columns of infantry and Kellerman’s heavy cavalry, drawn up in support.

Sunshine bathed his army in glory. Dwarfed by the carabiniers in their virginally bright white coats and the seemingly endless ranks of the huge cuirassiers, he kept his face to the front, feigning indifference to the frantic cries of adulation which left the throat of every man. They were standing in their stirrups now, throwing their black-crested helmets high in the air, whirling the gleaming, razor-edged swords high above their heads. Behind them he could glimpse the leopardskin-draped helmets of the Garde dragoon regiment that bore the name of his dead wife and the towering forms of the ‘Invincibles’, the grenadiers à cheval, every one of them mounted on a huge black horse. He turned to Soult.

‘Magnificent. It is nothing less, Soult. Magnificent. This will shake the English and their friends, eh? And soon we shall honour them with a frontal assault. That will be the quickest way to finish this business. But first a bombardment from the grand battery of the like they’ve never seen. As soon as the army is in position the grand attack will commence to capture the village of Mont St Jean. D’Erlon and Ney will lead the way to victory, and we will push through the gap.’

He turned to the other remaining members of staff who had not as yet joined their corps or divisions. ‘Gentlemen, if my orders are carried out to the letter, we shall all sleep in Brussels tonight.’

They grinned. Soult spoke. Quietly.

‘You don’t suppose, sire, that Prince Jerome’s report might have had some truth in it? Sometimes serving girls are the best spies.’

‘Soult. My dear Soult. You know as well as I that what he heard last night was gossip. Or perhaps even a ruse by Wellington to trick us. The Prussians and the English cannot possibly link up for another two days. Particularly after Blücher has suffered such a defeat as at Ligny and given the fact that he is being pursued by a considerable body of troops under Marshal Grouchy. For my part, I am only too happy that the English have decided to stay and fight here. I tell you, this battle will be the salvation of France and it will be celebrated in the annals of the world long after you and I are dead, Soult. Listen. This is how it will be. My artillery will fire. My cavalry will charge. Wellington will disclose his positions, and when I am quite certain where the English are I shall march straight at them at the head of my Garde.

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