The Story of a Conscript, Part IV [pp. 732-750]

The Story of a Conscript.
marching on Leipsic. The night
following, the weather cleared up a
little, millions of stars shone out, and
we still kept on. The next day,
about ten o'clock, near a little village
whose name I cannot recollect, we
were ordered to halt, and then we
heard a trembling in the air. The
colonel and Sergeant Pinto said:
"The battle has begun!" and at
the same moment, the colonel, waving his sword, cried:
"Forward!"
We started at a run, and half an
hour after saw, at a few thousand
paces ahead, a long column, in which
followed artillery, cavalry, and infantry, one upon the other; behind us,
on the road to Duben, we saw another, all pushing forward at their utmost speed. Regiments were even
hastening across the fields.
At the end of the road we could
see the two spires of the churches of
Saint Nicholas and Saint Thomas in
Leipsic, rising amidst great clouds
of smoke through which broad flashes
were darting. The noise increased;
we were yet more than a league from
the city, but were forced to almost
shout to hear each other, and men
gazed around, pale as death, seeming
by their looks to say:
"This is indeed a battle!"
Sergeant Pinto cried that it was
worse than Eylau. He laughed no
more, nor did Ze'bedd; but on, on
we rushed, officers incessantly urging
us forward. We seemed to grow delirious; the love of country was indeed striving within us, but still
greater was the furious eagerness for
the fight.
At eleven o'clock, we descried the
battle-field, about a league in front
of Leipsic. We sawthe steeples and
roofs of the city crowded with people,
and the old ramparts on which I had
walked so often, thinking of Catharine. Opposite us, twelve or fifteen
hundred yards distant, two regiments
of red lancers were drawn up, and
a little to the left, two or three regiments of chasseurs-&-cheval, and between them filed the long column
from Duben. Further on, along a
slope, were the divisions Ricard,
Dombrowski, Sonham, and several
others, with their rear to the city;
and far behind, on a hill, around one
of those old farm-houses with fiat
roofs and immense outlying sheds,
so often seen in that country, glittered the brilliant uniforms of the staff.
It was the army of reserve, commanded by Ney. His left wing communicated with Marmont, who was
posted on the road to Halle, and his
right with the grand army, commanded by the emperor in person. In
this manner our troops formed an
immense circle around Leipsic; and
the enemy, arriving from all points,
sought to join their divisions so as to
form a yet larger circle around,us,
and to inclose us in Leipsic as in a
trap.
While we waited thus, three fearful battles were going on at once;
one against the Austrians and Russians at Wachau; another against
the Prussians at Mockern on the
road to Halle; and the third on the
road to Lutzen, to defend the bridge
of Lindenau, attacked by General
Giulay.
XVIII.
THE battalion was commencing to
descend the hill, opposite Leipsic,
when we saw a staff-officer crossing
the plain beneath, and coming at full
gallop toward us. In two minutes
he was with us; Colonel Lorain had
spurred forward to meet him; they
exchanged a few words, and the officer returned. Hundreds of others
were rushing over the plain in the
same manner, bearing orders.
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