who fought in this campaign, would later warn that offensives were
always weakened by the very fact of advancing. In 1807 Napoleon had the
numerical superiority to make his strategy work, but what would happen
if ever he had to fight a campaign where he was outnumbered? This was
an especially potent consideration, given that the Emperor evinced more
and more impatience with the chessplaying aspect of his military craft.
His ignorance of terrain and failure to scout ahead adequately put him in
a false position at Eylau, and his disregard of climatic and geographical
factors led him to cross the Oder without taking into account the ice,
snow and mud. Remembering similar debacles in Egypt and Santo
Domingo which arose through a fundamental ignorance of climate and
geography, the Emperor's more circumspect followers wondered how
long it would be before he led them into a major disaster.
Yet for the moment Napoleon seemed invincible, not just in practice
but in principle. Czar Alexander I, whose wildly fluctuating moods
oscillated between elation and depression, decided after Friedland that
negotiation was the only way forward. His peace feelers were received
with secret relief by Napoleon, who was anxious to end the war before an
increasingly fractious Austria was tempted to join in. The Emperor had
hoped Turkey would be a trump card but a revolution on 27 May in
Constantinople overthrew Selim III. And Napoleon was also aware that
he had been away from Paris for far too long. Josephine was very good at
showing the imperial eagle, but who would deal with the plots and
conspiracies of the Pouches and the Talleyrands?
A truce between the French and Russians was soon agreed and it was
decided that the two Emperors would meet on a raft in the middle of the
river Niemen near the town of Tilsit. The genesis of this famous meeting
is interesting. The Niemen marked the western frontier of Russia and,
since Alexander would not set foot on French-held territory nor
Napoleon in Russia, an ingenious compromise was worked out. Napoleon
ordered a huge barge-like raft to be built, on which was constructed an
elegantly decorated apartment with a door on either side giving on to an
antechamber; the two outer doors were crested with the respective
national eagles. The two sovereigns then appeared at the same time on
opposite banks of the river around noon on 25 June and got into their
boats. Napoleon, with a crew of expert oarsmen, easily beat Alexander to
the raft, boarded alone, walked through the apartment to the far
antechamber and opened the door, waiting patiently while the Czar's less
skilful oarsmen laboriously rowed him to the rendezvous.
Shortly after noon, one and a half hours of friendly discussion began.
The two men got off on the right foot when Alexander allegedly greeted
marcin
(Marcin)
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