But how to build the bridges? At this point it transpired that a certain
General Eble had taken the forethought the Emperor should have
exercised. Against orders he had saved two field-forges, two wagons of
charcoal and six of sapper tools and bridging equipment. If there was
timber near Studienka, where the crossing was unopposed, and if the
Emperor could distract the Russians on the far side who were guarding
all the likely bridging places, a small miracle could yet be achieved.
Now, for the first time during the r8r2 campaign, Napoleon returned
to something like his best form. The task of crossing an icy river in fu ll
spate in the face of enemy forces appealed to his imagination. He ordered
a number of fe ints to distract the enemy; the principal one was attempted
by Oudinot at Uchlodi, some miles below Borisov, on 25 November.
Tshitsakov took the bait and moved his forces southwards, leaving the
Borisov-Studienka stretch of river unopposed. He then compounded his
error by not destroying the causeway through the marshes on the other
side which led from the west bank of the Beresina to Vilna.
Napoleon ordered Eble to take his engineering force, demolish the
houses in Studienka to get their wood, and then build two three
hundred-foot bridges over the Beresina, to be completed by the 26th. As
soon as the first bridge was completed, Ney's and Oudinot's corps would
cross and form up defensively on the far bank to deal with any
counterthrust from Tshitsagov. The bulk of the Army would cross while
Davout's I Corps and Victor's IX Corps held the eastern bridgehead;
finally they too would cross. It was noteworthy that there was no place in
this plan for the 40,000 stragglers.
There followed a samurai exploit by Eble and his men, who worked all
night in freezing water to put the trestles and planking in place; Oudinot
at once got his men across to form the western defence. Later that
afternoon a second, larger, bridge was completed, and the artillery rushed
over to the fa r bank. So far there was no sign of the Russians, but three
breaks were discovered in the bridges, which Eble and his 400 heroes
worked all night to put right. By early afternoon of the 27th the Guard
and the imperial staff were also safely across. But around 4 p.m. three
trestles on the artillery bridge collapsed. Those still on the eastern bank
panicked, and a mad rush to the one remaining bridge ensued: order was
restored with great difficulty, but by that time hundreds had been
trampled to death or knocked into the river to drown. Eble repaired the
other bridge and then had to hack a path through corpses on the smaller
bridge to get I Corps and the rearguard across.
It was not until the 27th that the Russians realized what was happening
and attacked on both sides of the bridge. All day Oudinot's and Victor's
marcin
(Marcin)
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