The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, November 22, 1914, MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 2, Image 68

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    2
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I Marshal Ney Covering the Retreat
From Moscow, 1812.
i tk Pawus ar Toa at VmaHlaa. I
BT RICHARD O. CONOVBR.
Drummer, bAat me a. Vow retreat!
Low, so the foe may not hear your
rolling-
Scattered and rent, in dire defeat.
Call in our columns from death
tolling.
Grimly hl Eticks tile drummer raised.
Over the rim they snapped from Ms
bendinir:
Out of Ms eyes the proud fire blazed,
Gleamlngs of battle with wrath
eparks blendinr.
"Never lias roll like that," he cried,
"Come from my drum In all of Its
beating;
Bound it, I couldn't though I tried
Dead are my sticks and I'm past re
treating!" The Drum of Fontenoy.
i IDWAY between the awfulness of
the great victory and of the
" m gr
rreat defeat comes the awfulness
of the great retreat. In the wars of
the world there have been few such
military movements of magnitude.
As a rule battles of the first grade
have resulted in the annihilation or
surrender of ths vanquished army. And
when this has not been the case the
victor has been so exhausted with his
efforts that he has not dared to press
a close pursuit.
As all of the previous wars of his
tory have been pygmy conflicts com
pared with the present giants' struggle
In Europe, it Is not surprising that the
last and most stupendous- of all re-
treats should have evolved from the
military operations of the months of
August and September of the fateful
rear 1914. The falling back of 1,000,-
000 soldiers, fighting over a battle ' -
line 26 miles wide, until they had
given ground for almost 150 miles, ex-
i TOi. ,k. i,..
tall. f the m-t oon-umm.t. mllitrv
A t rl What ! mnit rAmArkihU f oil
the same million of retreaters, battling
.. .. i. v . ..
i a .
fortifications of their capital, turned
on their pursuers when thus brought
to bay and hurled them back in turn
for mile after mile of . the distance
measuring their own retreat. Annals
of warfare fall to furnteh a match for
this in the way of numbers engaged.
length of battle line, mileage of con-
Ilict and retreat and remarkableness
of recovery and retaliation. Other fa-
mous retreats may have been attended
with greater carnage, hardship and fa-
tality, according to percentage of men
engaged, but In the stupendousness of
numbers and operations connected with
the retirement of the French-English
army there is nothing in the bygone
centuries that can be placed in equal
Illustrative comparison.
In middle August the allies faced the
Germans In great masses from near
Basel, tn Switzerland, to the Dutch f ron-
tier near Maastricht. Brussels was taken
August 20, Charlerol August 27, Le Fere
August 30. These were westward move-
ments from the axis of the German base
at about Ettelbruck. Then began the ders. It all but ruined Russian com
southward squeeze toward Paris. Sep- merce and was especially galling to a
tember 1 the Germans had enveloped ruler so Imperious and mighty as Alex
Khelms. By September 4 they were In ander. Napoleon's disposition of the"
the vicinity of Amiens. By September 5 Duke of Oldenburg, the Czar's near rel
they were to the west of Paris and on ative. also offended him deeply.
Its same parallel of latitude. Then the n June 24 and 2S. 1807. on a gor
retreat ended, the allies turning on the'Sfeously canopied and royally appointed
German pursuers and making them In raft anchored In the middle of the
their turn the pursued.
This great retreat lasted between 10
days and two weeks. The Kaiser's sol.
cliers were In superior numbers and
ewept forward Irresistibly at the rate
of about 20 miles every 24 hours. Dur-
lng this time there never was an out-
and-out battle fought it was Just a
pushing of the allies southward. In this
resnect it was also unlike the most fm
mous retreats of history, especially the and ally. Alexander had opened his
Moscow catastrophe. ports to British goods and had spoken
Toward the end of the retreat the his mind about the Duke ot Oldenberg
elites Increased in number and more business. Alexander should- be pun
and more of the German troops reached lahed.
an attacking position. From a tniUion Napoleon's army ot invasion, mar
and a half to two million men took part "hailed on a magnificent scale, crossed
In the movement. The loss of life, ao- the Nlemen In five columns. Contrary
cording to .reports, was much greater to the belief that prevails extensively,
among the attackers than the retreat- ttoe great Emperor's troops were not a
ers another exception in warfare. Un- representative body of French soldiers,
til the history of the war is written There were fighting men from Italy,
after its conclusion, what the losses of Switzerland," Holland, Poland, Austria,
each side were cannot be given for use Prussia and other of the smaller Ger
in comparison with other great retreats man speaking principalities. In fact.
1 of history. th French formed the smaller part of
Nor can the hardships and losses from th huge army. Soldiers came from all
fatigue be estimated to match the other over Europe to fight under the banner
great retreat tragedies. Suffering from of Bonaparte because treaties made
lack of food, such as accompanied other their countries temporary allies. Great
great retreats, was no feature of this Britain and Sweden were the only
last and greatest. The orderliness of friends of Russia, and they gave only
retirement was also without parallel. Bcant aid. But at that the Tsar did not
Figuratively the host of the allies nesd Generals "January" and
backed away slowly. Instead of hurry- "Fehruary." as the rigorous Russian
lng southward in a near-panic, with a "Winter was dubbed by a commander,
rear guard holding the van of the pur- later Proved all-sufficient.
suit until a new zone of safety was
reached. It was the retreat stupen
dous of history.
So, while the army may fall back, or
retire, or change its base, or give
ground, if it be not systematically fol-
IKS
w4
Xenophon, the Greek General
wno commanded the Greeks in
tn Famous Retreat ot tn Ten
Thousand,
t
lowed or harassed during such move
ment, then the chronicle of Its shift
means nothing more than the chronicle
of a march. Lee's withdrawal south-
ward after the battle of Gettysburg did
not at all approach the calamity of a
cavalry forced, pell mell retreat. It was
an expeditious retirement, but far from
approximating the panic point at any
stage.
An exhaustive search of history Is not
needed to pick the premier retreat of
all time. Napoleon's Invasion of Russia
in 1812 stands without a parallel. Near
ly 300,000 soldiers battling under the
French colors died of wounds, exposure
or lack of food between the months of
August and December. In five months
Bonaparte's hosts, numbering 663,000
men, shrank more than 60 per cent In
march approximating 1600
mil.
counting advance and retreat. For
everv milestone naased thr w. a
tragic tally of nearly 200 dead battlers
Vnw aVAfV HA hAlico riaerh ntalmail -a .nil
' 2000 men.
m.,,. k.fnr, nr in vio
retreat or rout exhibited such horror.
Hut mrnnrn a 1 1 f ha rltrjinrip ntfi.
tmnh. th rvrfl-nttfnn .r, rii.Mniin
ot the French army was preserved.
Sometimes It seemed that there was not
even remnant of army left for preeer-
nation or discipline, but out of the mists
and tne oarkness of the snow-entombed
ateppes always there came the distant
" ot the drum and the faint outlines
01 lne advancing SKirmisners. igni a
while, march a mile and fight a while
again was the constant programme. Not
": the first soldier In the worlds
lstory donned a uniform were men
required to do. to dare and to endure
more than these who marched to the
streets of Moscow and then back again
across the Nlemen.
Napoleon's disastrous invasion of
Russia was the outcome of the refusal
of the Muscovite ruler to acknowledge
the French Emperor's right to boss the
continent of Europe. Bonaparte's fa-
mous Continental System was the root
of It.
This system menat that all countries
on the Continent must close their ports
to British products and seize all British
property and citizens within their bor-
River Nlemen, Napoleon and Alexander
agreed upon the Peace of Tilsit. It
was supposed that this settlement of
the differences between the conqueror
an ai late" adversary would lead to a
lasting alliance.
Five years later to the day Napoleon
crossed the same Nlemen at the head
of more than half a million troops to
Invade the realm of his former friend
Austria's contribution to the invasion
was 30,000 soldiers and Prussia's 20,000.'
The Austriarrs, under Schwarzenberg,
were on the right wing and the Prus
sians, under "York, on the left. They
formed separate armies, the entire left
THE SUXDAT OREGOXTAJf, PORTLAND. NOVE3I13 ER 22, 1914.
RETREaj
"V.' TK4
7
r-
1 The Flight of Charles XIL,
v
rrom rtter lb. Ol.l,'
being under the command of the French
Marshal Macdonald. June 38, Wllna,
ths capital of Lithuania, was reached,
There seventeen days were spent while
a terrible storm raged throughout the
province. The main army stormed
"
took Smolensk August 18. The
rencn won ine Dailies or coroamo ana
Moshaisk on September 7, after a des
perate resistance.
Moscow wfts reached September 14,
Z Up leo" s ln. Arunk to
96.000 men. The city had been deserted
by the inhabitants, the Governor.
Rostopchin, setting it on fire before
his departure. For five days Moscow
was ablaze, as' a result of which more
than 7000 houses and three-fourths of
the habitable portions were laid In
ashes. Napoleon proffered a truce to
Alexander. He waited in Moscow five
weeks before he concluded negotiations
were impossible. And then, noting the
w,ft of n unusually hard Win-
nu .""eiier ' aim mignty
rmy. iew up me nistonc Jtremun
"u T commana 10 set in mo-
"on lne most woerui retreat of history.
" October 19, 1812, when the
backward march of the invaders began,
From the very start the deadly Cossack
began his work. There was not one in
sight In the vicinity of Moscow during
the flve weeks Napoleon remained there,
"ut as soon as nis columns got under
way in the open country the Czar's
ffcmoue horsemen Appeared. Sometimes
only In squadrons, sometimes by thou-
sands, they swept down upon the
French flanks and rear as if summoned
by the wave of the conjuror's wand.
Dash after dash they made, leaving a
swath of dead as they galloped off
again, into the snow mists of the Rus
sian roads.
The retreat was taken up first in a
southwesterly direction and afterward
toward Smolensk. After the Cossacks
began their harassing and had got the
French considerably shaken up the
Russian main army under General Kut-
usoff appeared In the invader's path,
On October 24 a desperate contest of
separate corps of the two armies took
place at Jaroslavez and again at VJazma
on rxovemDer 0. ina t rencn repuisea
both attacks and continued their re
treat. But their Incidental victories did
not deter the swarms of Cossacks from
constantly attacking Napoleon's troops.
REMARKABLE PROPHECY
MADE BY VICTOR HUGO
o
N MARCH 1, '1871, the National
Asscuiuijr ul ittuvo v, u ii i ...
DUrUCilUi IU (ALU) I II t frrav.
nary articles of peace concluded with
Germany. On that occasion Victor her children, to rear with sacred pas- Europe, we shall be the continental Bj8tence. Large numbers succumbed women specialists, children's special
Hugo, after charging Napoleon III with slon those little ones who shall become federation, we shall be the Liberty ot to the cold. Tissaphernes with his lst8 and specialists in X-rays. . diet,
the French debacle, contrasted the fu- great, to form citizens; to create an Europe. And now let us clasp hands, par.i.n armv ponnmniw nilr, blood, skin and bone.
lures oi me contending nt&iiuns. a
result of her victory Germany, he de-.
clared w.ould be sternly . ruled by a
Caesar of "divine right," whose scepter
would be the saber, enchaining thought,
muzzling the press and stifling the
national, conscience, while conquered
France would overcome her misery
under the guidance of the sovereign
people, with free speech, free con-
science and human rights. Amid the
wildest enthusiasm he concluded with
this remarkable prophecy:
"Oh! The clock will strike and we
shall hear the sound for this prodl
gious revenge. Thus will begin the to
7 .
Sir John Moore, Who Conducted a Masterly Retreat in the Peninsu la Campaign and, Athcuflh
Losing His Life. Brought His Army Safety to the Coast and the Transports.
.X " As T5t
V
King of Sweden, After the Battle of Poltava.
ne rougm the Russians.
CuJt Sckarltr Pabll-keS k- Ok.rlr. orRtr
Every dreary mile from Moscow to the
last moment of their marching the sol-
diers fighting for France lay dead by
thousands on the roads or rather The
dismal wastes.
The date November 6, 1812, goes
down In history as a tragic point In the
retreat. That day there was a heavy
fall of snow, proclaiming the arrival of
the terrible Russian "Winter. It came
weeks earlier than usual and with un
common severity. This was the mo-
ment the f lerceCossacks had waited for.
Apparently Immune to the rigors of the
storm, they dashed out of the darkness,
hoarsely shouting their battle eiy,
shooting and sabring. They cut off
stragglers by the hundred. In a single
night of extraordinary cold 6000 men
were frozen to death in the drifts and
around the bivouac fires.
But onward the great Napoleon led
his men toward the Nlernan. Over-partial
historians declare that he shared
the hardships of his troops to a great
degree. Once the column he commanded
lost the road. Night was coming on
and the snow descending heavily. By
the light of a huge fire built along the
road Bonaparte and his Generals
scanned their maps again. The column
filed past huzzaing even in Its hunger
and peril.
"Had we not better halt them before
they go further out of their way?" Na
poleon was asked.
"Let them march, even though It be
to the equator," answered Bonaparte
grimly. "They will die of cold In 15
minutes if you stop them."
Suddenly the great leader called on
a general of his engineers for a com
pass. Holding it close to the fire light
he watched the needle swing to the
north. The army had been marching
due east, or back toward Moscow again!
"Tear up your maps and execute your
guides," said the Emperor contemptu
ously. "In this little needle you have
the only solution of distance."
There were continuous engagements
with the Russians, those at Krasnoy
and Borissoff being especially fierce.
At the former place the Russians barred
the way with 60,000 men under the in
defatigable Kutusoff. Napoleon's per
sonal exertions alone saved his army
from utter destruction. Ney, who corn-
morrow when "France shall have one
vnuuguL cLiuiiv, iu cuueui uciBBu, icsi
. i Ulll HID iciliui, 1UUII1 Ul U6D)JCiaUUll
to reassemble her forces, to educate
army wnicn snail De me people, 10 can
science to the aid of war, to study the
strategy of the Prussians as Rome
studied the strategy of the Carthagin-
ians; to fortify herself, to consolidate
and regenerate herself, to become again
the France of '92, the France of an
idea, the France of her promise.
"Then, one day. she will suddenly
rouse herself. She will become formtd-
able. She will be seen at one blow to
regain Loraine, to regain Alsace. Is it
enough? No! No! She will capture
listen' Treves. Mainz. Cologne Cob-
lenz! and you shall hear France crv.
"The clock strikes my hour! Germany!
- j.. -v.
'r-7t--yf
i..."5T'
WMW&U
-Taw., -j-
2fv.:- fit
Where
ot.
m
Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy.
ltnm Napotto Marshal .Utile, Biewa ft Cfc, 4 MOO.
.
minded the rear guard, had not yet
come up, and the French were over-
whelmlngly outnumbered. This great
marshal had engaged the Russian- in a
trur-intia t.i. v, i.-i.. .-.a
manaa-ina to eluda their nursult.
croa,ad tne Dnieper on the .ce d re-
jolned Bonaparte at Orsca. with only liant feat in which hardship was over
the wreck of his splendid corps. come, much more than death.
On November 26 the retreating In- The Ten Thousand were Greek mor
vaders reached the River Beresina,
,,-V. y) .. 1 . - tti 1. fn...
"""" ""
to prevent a crossing. Napoleon sue-
ceeded in laying two bridges across the
stream and In transporting the greater
part of his troops to the opposite bank.
But It was at frightful cost. At one
point Marshals Ney and Oudlnot, with
only 8600 men, had to pry their way
through 25.000 Russians to reach the
shore.
Victor's corps covered the point of
passage and again and again was
driven back on the bridges. One of
these broke under the artillery and
the other was blown up by Victor's
order. The Russian artillery kept up
a fatal fire upon the struggling masses
of the French. Thousands perished in
the Beresina and thousands more were
captured.
As soon as the remnants of this
army of invasion had made the passage
of this disputed stream Napoleon left
the command to Marshall Murat and
nurnea 10 fans 10 disprove reports 01
hi. j..,k ...i, i.. v, .
his death and crush the plotter, who
aimed to turn the government over to
hurried to Paria to disprove reports of
the representatives of Great Britain
and her allies. Murat led the broken
Invaders to the Nlemen. still pursued by
Cossacks, and a crossing was made De
cember 13, or Just about six months
from the date the proud invaders had
passed over the river marching on
Moscow. Barely 125,000 soldiers left
Russian territory. The remainder of
the 553.000 troops had died in battle;
had perished from cold, hunger or
fatigue or had been captured.
For 23 centuries the world has ad-
Hear mel Am I thine enemy? No, I am
thy sister! I have taken, all from thee,
I return all to theel Upon one condi
tion: That we shall no longer be a
divided people; that we shall be one
united family, one republic I will de
molish my fortresses, thou thine. My
vendetta is brotherhood!
u tuuio 1 1 un un . ui ii o, in i n3
R11U 111 vv aiiail UB I II O Mm, TV-
public, we shall be the United States ot
lor we naye renaereu eacii a recipro-
cated service. Thou hast freed me from
my Emperor. I will free thee from
thine."
Spirit of Loyalty.
(Washington Star)
"Didn't that man who sold you the
machine tell you it had a 40-horaenow.
er motor?"
"Yes," replied Mr. .Chuggins.
"Beems kind of weak: to me."
"Well. I wasn't there when they
made the calculation. You know some
horses are a good deal stronger than
others,
. ."kv
J Ji
irw li,-f w4
Napoleon in
.'1 r : yl
if
J fi.i
" wra ci
mired the celebrated retreat of the Ten
Thousand. While this remarkable march
out of danger has much to rivet the
attention and evoke praise, it cannot be
,w. i,k , v,
in thn wav of amffrlnar an A thA int
of its fatalities. Rather Is It a brll-
cenaiies. They had been hired by
. 1. . .
wiu. younger son 01 mo great
Persian King Darius, who was a satrap
of Phrygla. Lydia and Cappadoela.
They were mustered Into service on
the pretext or engaging In an expedl-
tIon a8rainat the bandits of Pisldla, and
their march began from Sardis in the
Spring of B. C. 401. In reality, how-
ever, Cyrus designed the expedition as
a rebellion against his elder brother,
Artaxerxes II., who had succeeded to
the throne. He crossed the Euphrates
at Thapsadus, and then the Greeks
learned for the first time what they
were to fight for. It was too late to
turn back, so they marched to the
plain of Cunaxa. 67 miles from Baby-
Ion. and faced the royal army under
Artaxerxes.
The Greeks were winning the battle
for Cyrus when he penetrated to his
brother's tent and was cut down by
the King's guard. His death put an
end to the conflict and the campaign.
The Persians of the dead rebel's army
made their neac with A rtm.i-r..
meir peace wnn Artaxerxes,
leaving the Greeks to shift for them-
,eive. Tissaphernes. the successor to
the satrapy of Cyrus, detained them In of Burgos when he heard that Soult's
the vicinity for a month on pretense vastly superior force was marching
of treating with them. against him. On January 16, 1809,
Finally he enticed them as far as the Soult caught up with Moore near Cor
upper waters of the Tigris, where he unna. at which point the English
entrapped their officers and put them awaited their dilatory transports.
to death. Then it was that Xenophon,
. who had accompanied the army of
Cyrus, but not as a soldier, assembled
the remaining Greek leaders at mid
night, pointed out the necessity of In
stant action, and urged tnem to select
new officers and try to regain their
own land, over 1000 miles away. The
Greeks chose five Generals, one of them
Xenophon, and at sunrise the
morning began their retreat.
Entirely ignorant of the country
they must traverse, and without guides.
the Ten Thousand set out In the Win-
ter eeason. Their route of march l.
across the desolate territorv of tr.
menia. with nothing to be obtained
that would contribute to their shelter
and onlv a scanty onnortunitv fr -h.
harassed them. Their constant neces-
slty was the division of their force for
relief as van and rearguards, so that
the rear attacks of the pursuing Per
sians might be adequately met and re
pelled. The discipline and valor of the re
treating Greeks were of such a high
srrade that th hl.rnrlan rai,iM tt
never once were they compelled to halt
their march. ,
a a a
This famous retreat is declared to
. .
have occupied 215 days. Decimated
and almost on the point of giving up
hope of escaping the Persians or of
ITT
C f a
It- i
. i...4..c-'S -
the fletreat from Moscow, 1812,
ever seeing their homes asaln, the lit
tle army came to a mountain to the
south of Trapezus and beheld the wide
expanse of the Euxlne or Black Sea.
The troops in advance burst Into a
great cry of "The sea! The sea!" and
tho deispalring thousands coming: on
took it up and passed it down the lines.
Their hardships were not all over, but
they knew where they were and hence
forward marched for a certainty
toward distant Greece.
One of the great retreats of history
was a consequence of the naval battle
of Salamis, September 20, B. C. 4So.
The Greeks had defeated tho Persians
under Xerxes, who had invaded Greece
with upward of a million soldiers
some accounts have it two millions.
As soon as the Greek sea victory
was assured Xerxes began his march
back to Persia. The remnants of the
Persian fleet were ordered to the
Hellespont to guard the bridge. Reach
ing Thessaly in forced march. Xerxes
left Mardonlus with a command to op
pose the Greek pursuit and hurried
tdward the sea. His stores were ex
hausted and vast numbers of his troonn
died from famine and fatigue on the
way. At the Hellespont ho found hi
bridges destroyed by a storm, so th.it
his mighty army was obliged to cross
the Strait in ships. Food was ob
tained at Abydos, but the hunriy
troops ate so ravenously that lar&e
numbers died from gorging. Evea on
the other aide of the Hellespont the sol
diers of Xerxes were hurriedly marched
as though the Greeks were on their
heels. At last, eight months after the
Persian King had set out from Lydia.
he entered the capital of that province
again with barely a third ot his mag
nificent host.
A remarkable retreat that has been
but meagerly chronicled is that of Mar.
shal Grouchy after the battle of Water
loo. He was at Llmale, eight miles
from Mont St. Jean, when he heard that
Wellington had won the great victory.
He decided to retreat to France by way
of Namur, . Dlnant and Glvet. It was
necessary to make great haute In order
to e8caPe General Tliielmann, of
allies, and possibly Blucher. The
the
re-
treat began at 11:30 on the morning of
June 19, 1815, or the da yafter Waterloo,
a a a
Grouchy reached Namur at 4 o'clock
in the afternoon and his main body
bivouacked later at Templaix, six miles
beyond Gembloux. Pajol formed the
A J J
PeargT,ard and protected the retreat.
The operation was effected without
tiTlng a Bhot. The next day van.iamme
withdrew his troops from Namur too
soon. It was necessary there to cle-
fend the fortress against the attacks
- or tha Pruaalan. while nmnrhv main
army reached Dinant. The following
day, June 21. the French frontier was
reached, and by evening the entire
army was collected In safety under
the guns of Glvet The march has been
onllrl nn nf the mnftt astonlfihincr re-
treats of modern military history. It
was the more remarkable in that
Grouchy did not despair and decide to
8urrenjer his 33,000 soldiers and 116
Kun..When he learned that his great
e&ptain had lost a battle and a throne.
The retreat of Sir John Moore, in
which he lost his life at the moment
pf success, has always had a praised
place In history. Napoleon had entered
Madrid in triumph, and, Austrian trou-
ble demanding his attention nearer
. - - . - . , '
home, he turned over to Marshal Soult
the task of driving Moore out of the
-A. L . 6 . ?Ie.2!' ff.J!
Moore so arranged his fighting that
the retreat was never halted and final
ly all of his army was safely removed
to the vessels.
Specializing tn Medicine.
(Philadelphia Ledgrer.)
Specializing in medicine is getting
next upon ones nerves. Pneumonia.' con
sult Jones. Typhoid? See no one but
Smith. Mumps? Trust only Brown.
Bro"4" IeT nono set lt
Robinson. Headache? You imperil your
I by taking medicine from anybody
but White.
Throat specialists, eye
specialists.
ear specialists, stomacn specialists.
nerve specialists, men specialists.
Nevertheless, I feel that there Is room
for Just ono more "Peciallst, to wit:
lno a--ouna oocior.
Certain lawyers make a specialty or
claims against the city. Others sue
out claims against corporations. I don't
mean the vulgar ambulance chasers,
but real, high-class attorneys..
i i - k., iVi, "
And wnat a lot of specializing in
ent lines. One man can buy. but can't
sell. others can sell things, but
couldn't buy advantageously
.JY ZVZ ngi,ne"s' ar"
tects, painters and decorators you dls-
cover another army of specialists. Even
banks are known to do special things
better than other things.