the walls of a fortress. A force was not long after landed in Rugen and Straslund, consisting of several thousand foreign troops, under a British commander, and constituting the first division of the expected armament; but the arrival of these reinforcements gave no immediate interest to the affairs of the north, and circumstances very speedily occurred which materially changed the aspect of the continent.

Towards the close of the year 1806, war had been declared by the Porte against Russia. The conduct of the Russian government with respect to the Crimea and Georgia, its reiterated attempts to recruit its force in the seven islands from the Turkish provinces in the Adriatic, and the interference of Russia in the provincial administrations of Wallachia and Moldavia, were stated in a manifesto, published by the cabinet of Constantinople, as the grounds of this hostility. The troops of the Asiatic provinces now poured into the capital, the people were animated by the exhortations of the ulemas, and the forms and influence of an impressive superstition, to resort to the standard of Mahomet, which was displayed against its mortal enemies; and an army was ordered to be collected under the Grand Vizier, with all possible expedition. The straits of the Black Sea were closed against all neutrals, Tenedos was put in a respectable state of defence, and the passage of the Dardanelles committed to the vigilance and guardianship of a Turkish squadron. In the meanwhile, the Russians were advancing in considerable strength, under General Michelson, through Moldavia and Wallachia. The arms of Russia met with little resistance in these provinces. Choczim, Jassy, Bucharest, and various other places, fell an easy prey, and magazines were established in them to facilitate operations, which might be required against the more vital parts of the Turkish empire. To promote the success of Russia, and oblige the Turks to accede to terms of accommodation, by which a force would be released from this southern warfare, and enabled to swell the Russian army in Poland, a British fleet, under the command of Sir John Duckworth, advanced through the Dardanelles, and on the 20th of March appeared off Constantinople. Instead of producing accommodation between Russia and the Porte, a new power only was added to the list of England's enemies ; commercial relations with Turkey were, of course, immediately closed; the British agents and settlers in the Turkish territories were exposed to considerable annoyance, and the seizure and sequestration of English property at Smyrna, Salonica, and other places, were ordered by the Porte, with a promptitude which precluded all

1806

France over the divan became materially BOOK IV. strengthened; Sebastiani, the French ambassador at Constantinople, was consulted on al- CHAP. II. most every emergency, and his influence in the Turkish capital became predominant and irresistible. In this war between Russia and the Porte, the former was generally successful, and to add to the disasters of the Turks, an insurrection arose during its progress, owing to some new regulations in the dress and discipline of the troops, which terminated in the deposition and violent death of the Grand Seignior Selim III. and the proclamation of Mustapha IV.

By sea, the Russians were equally successful as by land, and in an engagement between the Russian and Turkish fleets, fought on the 1st of July, near the entrance to the Dardanelles, the Turkish squadron, consisting of eleven sail of the line, was nearly annihilated. Circumstances, however, occurred, which speedily led to a termination of these hostilities.

After the battle of Eylau, and during the siege of Dantzic, no exertions were omitted by Bonaparte which could add security to his positions. The left wing of his army was stationed on the Nogat, a river branching from the Vistula near Marienberg, and its position reached over Elbing and Brunsberg, along the left bank of the Passarge, up to Wormdit. The centre was placed somewhat upon the rear, round Liebstadt and Morengen. From Gutstadt the army stretched itself above Allenstein; and the right wing preserved a communication with the left of Massena's army, whose right was on the Bug, and thence to the mouth of the Narew. The right wing of the allied army was stationed near the Pische Haff, and stretched along the right bank of the Passarge to Wormdit. This wing consisted of Prussian troops, admirable for their loyalty, experience, and discipline. At Wormdit the position of the Russian army commenced, and stretched over Heilsburg, Bartenstein, and Schippendall. Each wing, as well as the centre of the Russian army, had before it an advanced-guard, and the left wing was commanded by Hettman Platoff, whose activity often led him to push his parties to Ortelsburg, occasioning not unfrequent skirmishes, while, in every other part, there prevailed silent vigilance, and solemn preparation. derable corps of Russians was also stationed not far from the Narew. On the part of the French, there were also various distributions of force, in addition to the grand army, whose positions have been mentioned. The corps employed in the siege of Colberg were the Germans' contingent and Italians, with a certain number of French. In Silesia, the troops of Bavaria and Wurtemburg were employed in reducing the

A consi

CHAP. II.

1806

BOOK IV. berg. Marshal Brune was collecting an army of observation, to consist of Spaniards, Frenchmen, and Dutch, near Magdeburg: another was formed on the borders of Italy and Germany, connected with a numerous force under Marmont, in Dalmatia. The surrender of Dantzic added considerably to the disposable force of the French, but did not appear to offer any immediate and effectual inducement to Bonaparte to quit his almost impregnable positions. Two mighty armies, however, when the season was favourable for their operations, could not be long, nearly in view of each other, without coming to the alternative of pacification, or sanguine and destructive hostility; and as the confidence still entertained by each party prevented any successful attempts at negociations, circumstances soon occurred which drew on an obstinate and decisive conflict.

On the 5th of June the grand French army was attacked by the allies at different points of the line. On the right of the allies, and the left of the French, twelve Russian and Prussian regiments, forming two divisions, attacked the tête du pont of Spanden, on the Passarge, which was defended by a regiment of light infantry, strongly covered by intrenchments and redoubts. Seven different times they were repulsed, and as often renewed the attack. But immediately after the last assault, they were charged by a regiment of French dragoons, that had come up to the assistance of the regiment of infantry, and forced to abandon the field of battle, with a severe loss of killed and wounded. Two divisions, belonging to the centre of the allied army, attacked, at the same time, the tête du pont of Lomitten, which was defended by a brigade of a corps of Marshal Soult; and after a gallant struggle, the Russian general, with eleven hundred of his troops, fell in the action, which terminated in favour of the French. At the same time, General Benningsen, with the Grand Duke Constantine, the imperial guard, and three divisions of the other troops, attacked the French line at Aldkirken, Gutstadt, and Wolfsdorf, and after a severe contest, obliged the French general to fall back to Akendorf. On the following day, the allies attacked the 6th corps of the French army, under the command of Marshal Soult and General Marchand, at Deppen, on the Passarge. The Russians, in the action of this day, lost two thousand killed, and more than three thousand wounded, while the loss of the French, according to their own statement, was extremely trivial, with the exception of two hundred and fifty prisoners, taken by the Cossacks, who, in the morning of the attack, got into the rear of the French army. Bonaparte, informed of the movements of the allies, left Finkenstein on the evening of

the 5th of June, to place himself at the head of the French army, and on the morning of the 8th advanced to Gutstadt, with the corps of Marshals Ney and Lannes, accompanied by his guard, and the cavalry of reserve. Part

of the rear-guard of the Russian army, comprising ten thousand cavalry, and fifteen thousand infantry, took a position at Glattau, and attempted to dispute his passage; but the Grand Duke of Berg, after some skilful mancuvres, drove the Russians from all their positions; and the French, after taking a thousand prisoners, entered Gutstadt, sword in hand, at eight o'clock in the evening. On the 10th, the French army moved towards Heilsberg, and on its advance to this place, came up with the rearguard of the allied army, consisting of from fifteen to eighteen thousand cavalry, and several lines of infantry. An attack was immediately commenced by a division of the French dragoons, and a brigade of light cavalry. The French were repulsed again and again, and as often renewed the attack. At two o'clock, the corps under Marshal Soult was formed, two divisions marched to the right, and a third to the left, to seize on the edge of a wood, the occupation of which was necessary in order to support the left of the cavalry. Reinforcements of both infantry and cavalry were sent to the rear-guard from the main body of the Russian army, which was posted at Heilsberg, and repeated efforts were made by the Russians, sup ported by more than sixty pieces of cannon, to maintain their position before that town; but all their exertions proved unavailing, and at nine o'clock in the evening, the French troops found themselves under the Russian intrenchments. The fusilcers of the French guard, commanded by General Savary, were put in motion to sustain the division of Verdier; and some of the corps of infantry of the reserve, under Marshal Lannes, attacked the Russians at the close of the day, and succeeded in cutting off their communication with Lansberg. Bonaparte passed the 11th on the field, in front of Heilsberg. He there drew up the different corps and divisions of the army in order of battle, that the war might be terminated at once by a decisive engagement. The grand army of the Russians was assembled at this place, where the magazines were established, and where they occupied a position, strong by nature, and further strengthened by the labours of four months. At four in the afternoon, Bonaparte ordered Marshal Davoust to charge in front, and push forward the left wing of his corps-a movement which brought him upon the lower Alla, and blocked up the road from Eylau. To every corps of the army was assigned its proper station, and thus the Russians found themselves blockaded in

5

BOOK IV. of the bayonet, and driven into the river Alla, where thousands perished in the stream, while CHAP. II. numbers escaped by swimming. When the left wing of Ney, however, had nearly reached the 1807 works which surrounded the town, it was exposed to the most imminent peril. The imperial Russian guard, which had been here concealed in ambuscade, suddenly advanced upon the French, with an impetuosity which threw them into disorder, and had nearly rendered the efforts of the marshal abortive. The division of Dupont, however, which formed the right of the reserve, marched against the Russian guard, who performed prodigies of firmness and valour, but they were unable to resist this effort of the enemy; several other bodies were sent from the centre of the Russian army for the defence of the position of Friedland; but the impetuosity, and the prompt and skilful operations of the assailants, supported by an immense artillery, triumphed over all opposition. Friedland was taken, and its streets filled with the bodies of the dead. The centre, under Marshal Lannes, was now engaged, and the Russians made several attempts against this corps, similar to those which had failed on the right wing; but the repeated efforts of Russian bravery were unavailing, and served only to continue for a longer period the work of carnage. The battle lasted from half past five in the morning till seven at night. Both sides fought with extreme intrepidity and obstinacy, and the superior number of the French, with an impetuous direction of nearly all their force, towards the close of the day, upon the centre of the Russians, decided the fate of the contest. The Russians estimated their own loss at not less than ten thousand men. In the space of eleven days, the Russians lost no less than twenty-seven generals, upwards of eighteen hundred officers killed and wounded, and forty thousand men.* On the part of the French, the loss did not exceed five hundred killed, and three thousand wounded. Eighty pieces of cannon, a great number of caissons, and several colours, fell into the hands of the conquerors. Night did not prevent the pursuit of the Russians, who were followed till eleven o'clock, after' which, those of the columns which were cut off endeavoured to avail themselves of the fords over the Alla to pass that river, which exhibited to the victors, on the ensuing day, marks of the total discomfiture of the allied army. On the 15th the Russians continued their retreat to Wehlau, at the con

fluence of the Alla and the Pregel, where the columns of the French speedily arrived, and obliged them to withdraw to the banks of the Niemen.

Near this river several newly formed divisions of the Russian troops had arrived; and General Benningsen still cherished the expectation that he should soon be again able to advance and to recover from the enemy the advantages which he had obtained. This expectation was however grievously disappointed, for on the 18th of June the retreating army approached the town of Tilsit, and after transporting its heavy baggage across the Niemen, stationed itself on the great plain on the right of the town. All the bridges were destroyed immediately after the passage of the Russian troops, and all the magazines on the Alla were burnt or cast into the river. On the 16th Bonaparte threw a bridge over the Pregel, and took up a position on the eastern side of that river with his army. The defeat of Friedland served as a signal for the evacuation of Koningsberg, and the garrison under Gen. Lestoq succeeded, with extreme difficulty, in joining the main body of the Russian army, while the fortress opened its gates on the 16th to the French corps under Marshal Soult. At this place were found several hundred thousand, quintals of corn, more than twenty thousand wounded Russians and Prussians, and all the arms and ammunition that had been sent to the Russians by England, including a hundred and sixty thousand muskets that had not been landed.

On the 19th, at two o'clock in the afternoon, Bonaparte, with his guard, entered Tilsit. The Russians, pursued after the battle of Friedland by the Grand Duke of Berg, at the head of the greater part of the light cavalry, continued their retreat eastward. The Emperor of Russia, who had remained for three weeks with his Prussian Majesty at Tilsit, left that place along with the king in great haste; and on the same day a suspension of hostilities was proposed to the chiefs of the French army by the Russian Commander-in-chief. In consequence of this proposition an armistice was concluded at Tilsit, on the 22d, by which it was settled, that hostilities should not be resumed on either side without a month's previous notice; that a similar armistice should be concluded between the French and the Prussian armies, in the course of five days; that plenipotentiaries should be instantly appointed by the different parties, for the salutary work of pacification,