Table of Contents
Preface 7
Some Important Eyewitnesses 9
Maps 12
The Events So Far 20
Phase 1 To Smolensk
Chapter 1 'A Word Unknown in the French Army' 22
Chapter 2 Borodino Revisited 43
Chapter 3 Getting Through at Viazma 59
Chapter 4 Handmills at Doroghoboui 75
Chapter 5 Snow 87
Chapter 6 Disaster at the Wop 103
Chapter 7 How Witebsk Was Lost 111
Chapter 8 Smolensk Again 121
Phase 2 Towards the Berezina
Chapter 9 The Icy Road to Krasnoië 140
Chart: Movements of the Various Corps, 13-20 November 151
Chapter 10 The Guard Strikes Back 152
Chapter 11 'Marching, Marching, Marching …' 175
Chapter 12 Ney's Amazing Exploit 192
Chapter 13 The Terrible News at Toloczin 205
Phase 3 Across the Berezina
Chapter 14 Struggles for the Borissow Bridge 216
Chapter 15 'How Ever Shall We Get Through?' 235
Chapter 16 Two Fragile Bridges 249
Chapter 17 Partonneaux Surrenders 279
Chapter 18 Holocaust at the Berezina 288
Chapter 19 Two Prisoners 313
Phase 4 Beyond the Berezina
Chapter 20 Cortège through the Snows 320
Chapter 21 The Emperor Quits 337
Chapter 22 'The Very Air Seemed Frozen' 351
Chapter 23 Panic and Chaos at Vilna 366
Chapter 24 Ponari's Fatal Hill 391
Chapter 25 Ney's Last Stand 406
Two Epilogues 424
Notes 426
Index 451