From Russia with.. cold

[patches_the_shipcat]

The winter cold

From memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne, The retreat from Moscow.

When all nations are heard cursing on a road it makes one consider it's almost no different than nowadays.

p 46) Quote: "We resumed our march at dawn, but before we had gone a league we again met a large part of the fatal convoy, which had passed us while we were asleep. Most of the carts were already shattered, and others could not move, the wheels sinking deep in the sandy road. We could hear screams in French, oaths in German, entreaties to the Almighty in Italian, and to the Holy Virgin in Spanish and Portuguese."

And on what was in this man's knapsack at the time.

p 46) Quote: " After getting past this babel we were forced to wait for the left of the column. I spent the time in making an examination of my knapsack, which seemed too heavy. I found several pounds of sugar, some rice, some biscuit, half a bottle of liqueur, a woman's Chinese silk dress, embroidered in gold and silver, several gold and silver ornaments, amongst them a little bit of the cross of Ivan the Great - at least, a piece of the outer covering of silver gilt, given me by a man in the company who had helped in taking it down. Besides these, I had my uniform, a woman's large riding-cloak (hazel colour, lined with green velvet; as I could not guess how it was worn, I imagined its late owner to be more than six feet high): then two silver pictures in relief, a foot long and eight inches high; one of them represented the Judgment of Paris on Mount ida, the other showed Neptune on a chariot formed by a shell and drawn by sea-horses, all in the finest workmanship. I had, besides, several lockets and a Russian Prince's spittoon set with diamonds. These things were intended for presents, and had been found in cellars where the houses were burnt down.
[...]To lighten it, therefore, I left out my white trousers, feeling pretty certain I should not want them again just yet. I wore over my shirt a yellow silk waistcoat,padded inside, which I had made myself out of a woman's skirt; above that a large cape lined with ermine, and a large pouch hung at my side, underneath the cape, by a silver cord. This was full of various things - amongst them, a crucifix in gold and silver, and a little Chinese porcelain vase. [...] Then there were my powder-flask, my fire-arms, and sixteen cartridges in my cartridge case."

At that time they believed that they were to run the army into Mongolia and China and seize the English possessions there.
Not always did the men care for one another, or offer help, even if thus ordered.

p 50) Quote:" On the following day we passed near a convent, used as a hospital for many of our wounded in the great battle. Many of them were still there, and the Emperor gave orders for them to be taken away on any of the carts, beginning with his own; but the canteen men, who had the care of these unfortunate people, left them for one pretext or another on the road, in order to keep all the booty they had brought from Moscow, which filled their carts."

Then even these were thrown away along the road, when the road itself became harder to cross and worse for wear.

p 51) Quote:"The road was heaped with valuable things - pictures, candlesticks, and quantities of books. For more than an hour I was picking up volumes, which I glanced through, and then threw down again, to be taken up by others, who in their turn left them on the road - books such as Voltaire, jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Buffon's Natural History, bound in red morocco and gold. "

On the care for animals such as horses.

p 52) Quote: "[...] when I got near them I recognised Flament, a Dragoon-Velite. He was cooking a piece of horseflesh on the point of his sword, and invited me to join him. I asked him to follow the column. He said that he would come as soon as he had finished his meal, but that he was unfortunately obliged to walk in his riding-boots, as in an encounter with the Cossacks the day before his horse had strained himself, and he was forced to lead the animal. Luckily, I was able to give Flament a pair of shoes, so that he could walk like a foot soldier, and said good-bye to him, little thinking that I was not to see him again. Two days afterwards he was killed near a wood, just as he and some other stragglers were lighting a fire to rest themselves."

Among other things the men have been said to catch a white bear, which they also ate. There were other odd thing that they ate, not only dead horses.

p 54) Quote: " Whenever we stopped to eat hastily, the horses left behind were bled. The blood was caught in a saucepan, cooked and eaten. But often we were forced to eat it before there was time to cook it. Either the order for departure was given, or the Russians were upon us. In the latter case we did not take much notice. I have sometimes seen men eating calmly, while others fired at the Russians to keep them off. But when the order was imperative and we were obliged to go, the saucepan was carried with us, and each man, as he marched, dipped his hands in and took what he wanted; his face in consequence became smeared with blood.