Simon Scarrow - Fire and Sword

‘And how would you propose to defeat Russia?’ asked Berthier. ‘To reach Moscow would take a march three times as long as between Paris and Berlin, across trackless lands that are baking in summer and as cold as hell in winter. No hostile army could conquer such a vast country. It is unthinkable.’

‘Nothing is unthinkable, Berthier,’ Napoleon cut in. ‘But I agree. At present, we are not ready to march on Moscow.’

‘I doubt that we will ever be ready to undertake such a campaign, sire.’>

‘We shall see.’

‘In any case, sire,’ Talleyrand continued, ‘there is no need to wage war on Russia, provided we can secure alliances with the other European powers against the Tsar. Given our current difficulties with Prussia the obvious move would seem to be repairing our relations with Austria.’

‘Austria?’ Berthier raised his eyebrows. ‘But we were at war with them only eight months ago.’

‘Precisely.A large dose of magnanimity on our part, at present, would go a long way towards securing their gratitude. And once we have that, we can cultivate Austria on our side of the balance of power.’

Napoleon suddenly laughed. ‘You are a schemer to the very core of your soul,Talleyrand.You talk of a balance of power.We do not need to concern ourselves with such things. One either has power or one does not.That is all.’

‘Surely, sire, power consists in getting others to do what one wishes them to do. If that is achieved bloodlessly, then it has to be the optimum result.’

Napoleon wagged a finger at his foreign minister. ‘No! It is not enough to trick them into doing what you want.They have to be aware that they do it because it is your will.That is the true meaning of power, my friend.’

Talleyrand stared expressionlessly at the Emperor for a moment, and then bowed his head a fraction as he responded, ‘If you say so, sire.’

‘I do. Now then, gentlemen, enough philosophy. We must concentrate our thoughts on Prussia. Let us assume for the present that they intend to wage war on us. If that is the case then what chance of victory do we have?’ Napoleon turned to Berthier. ‘You have assessed the intelligence reports?’

‘Of course, sire.’ Berthier reached for his notebook and flipped to the right page. He cleared his throat and began to read. ‘King Frederick William has over a hundred and seventy-five thousand men available to him at present. If he mobilises, then another seventy-five thousand could be under arms within ten weeks. That said, we know that the Prussian army has inherent weaknesses. It marches slowly and there is hardly a general under sixty years of age. The only officer with any outstanding ability is Prince Louis. As for the rest, they still conceive of war as it was thirty years ago.’

Napoleon smiled.‘That is why I shall defeat them.What of our own forces?’

Berthier ran his finger across on to the facing page. ‘A hundred and sixty thousand infantry are available in southern Germany for the campaign, plus another thirty thousand cavalry.’ Berthier glanced up. ‘The cavalry are in particularly fine form, sire. Murat helped himself to the best of the Austrian horses after Austerlitz.We have the finest cavalry in Europe now. Like the rest of the army, their officers report that the men’s morale is high. I’d say that the Grand Army is as ready for war as it has ever been.’

‘Good!’ Napoleon clasped his hands together. ‘Then it only remains to isolate Prussia as far as possible before the war begins. Talleyrand, you must make it quite clear to the Austrians that if I detect the slightest hint that they are mobilising, or that they are even considering an alliance with Prussia, then they will feel our wrath and next time I will not spare Vienna.’

‘As you wish, sire.’

‘And it would be as well to try to keep Russia out of this as long as possible. Send word to the Tsar that we earnestly wish to discuss peace with him.Tell him we propose a treaty to end hostilities and, as proof of our good intentions, we are willing to give him a free hand in Poland. That should tempt him long enough to fit our purpose.’

‘Yes, sire,’ Talleyrand replied flatly.

Napoleon fixed him with a penetrating stare. ‘You wish to add something?’

‘Only that you are taking France to war yet again, sire. Barely half a year on from the end of the last.’

‘So?’

‘So, the people are growing weary of war, sire. I hear it all the time in the Paris salons.’

Fouché stirred. He had been sitting still and silent until now. ‘If that is true, then give me the names of these defeatists. They will need watching.’

Talleyrand turned to regard the police minister disdainfully. ‘I am terribly sorry, Fouché, but I cannot recall their names.’

Fouché smiled coldly.‘Really? I have men on my staff who might be able to help cure your memory.’

‘Is that a threat?’

‘No . . . at least not yet. Besides, I only said they needed watching. That’s all.’

‘That’s all, for now ,’ Talleyrand replied quietly. ‘Until they are arrested and sent into exile, or simply disappear.’

Fouché shrugged. ‘As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.’

‘But I am not talking about eggs, my dear Fouché. I am talking about people.’

Napoleon slapped his hand down on the table. ‘Eggs, people, no matter. Fouché, if the war happens I want any opposition to it put down at once. Once the mobilisation is authorised I suspect there will be the usual malcontents who’d rather abscond than serve in the army. When they are caught you may hang some of them to serve as an example. And Berthier, you will give the order for the corps of the Grand Army to begin concentrating about Bamberg. Understand?’

Fouché and Berthier nodded. Talleyrand regarded them coolly and then rose from the table. ‘Sire, it would appear that you are determined to go to war against Prussia, in which case my work is done, and you have no further need of me.’

‘On the contrary.’ Napoleon paused and stared at his minister, until Talleyrand resumed his seat.‘You have one more service to perform for your country, for your Emperor, before any war begins.’

‘Really, sire? And what service would that be?’

‘When war comes, then I will not be seen as being responsible for causing it. So we need a casus belli .’

‘Evidently, sire,’ Talleyrand replied drily. ‘What did you have in mind?’

‘The Prussians have made little secret of their desire to annex Saxony. I would like you to let them know that we would not take exception to such an eventuality. Naturally, I want this to be an informal understanding. There is to be nothing on paper, do you understand?’

Berthier frowned.‘Saxony? But, sire, that is part of the Confederation of the Rhine. It is under your protection. I don’t understand.’

Napoleon sighed wearily. ‘Berthier, please confine your contributions to areas where you have expertise. Leave diplomacy to others.’

Berthier’s lips pressed together, and he bowed his head and looked down at his notebook. Napoleon returned his attention to Talleyrand. ‘Let Frederick William know that Saxony is his, provided Prussia keeps its peace with France. I doubt that he will turn up the chance to add Saxony to his inventory. And when he does, we will have our reason to go to war.’

Chapter 21

Bamberg, 7 October 1806

‘And, unless his imperial majesty replies to this ultimatum by the eighth day of October, and pledges to order his forces back from the frontier, a state of war will exist between Prussia and France . . .’

There was silence in the imperial headquarters as Talleyrand finished reading aloud from the document that had been sent from Berlin. He stepped towards Napoleon’s desk and laid the despatch down. Josephine stood behind the Emperor and rested her hands on the back of his chair as she glanced down at the despatch and saw the seal of Frederick William on the document. There was no doubt that the threat was genuine and that Prussia was set on war.