by G. A. Henty
Chapter 5: Narva.
For the next fortnight, drilling went on from morning till night,the officers receiving instructions privately from the sergeants,and further learning the words of command by standing by while themen were being drilled. At the end of that time, both officers andmen were sufficiently instructed to carry out the simple movementswhich were, alone, in use in those days.
It was not, however, until two months later that they were calledupon to act. The English and Dutch fleets had arrived, and effecteda junction with that of Sweden, and the Danish fleet had shutthemselves up in the port of Copenhagen, which was closelyblockaded. A large army had crossed to Zeeland, and repulsed theDanes, who had endeavoured to prevent their landing, and had thenmarched up to within sight of the walls of Copenhagen, which theywere preparing to besiege; when the King of Denmark, alarmed atthis unexpected result of his aggression on Holstein, concededevery point demanded, and peace was signed.
The negotiations were carried on in Holland, and the Swedes wereextremely angry, when they found that they were baulked of theirexpected vengeance on their troublesome neighbours. The peace,however, left Charles the Twelfth at liberty to turn his attentionto his other foes, and to hurry to the assistance of Riga, whichwas beleaguered by the Saxons and Poles; and of Narva, againstwhich city the Russians had made several unsuccessful assaults.
Without losing an hour, the king crossed to Malmoe. The troopsthere were ordered to embark, immediately, in the vessels in theharbour. They then sailed to Revel, where the Swedish commander,Welling, had retired from the neighbourhood of Riga, his forcebeing too small to meet the enemy in the open field.
No sooner had the troops landed than the king reviewed them, andGeneral Welling was ordered, at once, to march so as to placehimself between the enemy and Wesenberg, where a large amount ofprovisions and stores for the use of the army had been collected.
The two lieutenants, in the company of Captain Jervoise, were youngScotchmen of good family, who had three months before come over andobtained commissions, and both had, at the colonel's request, beentransferred to his regiment, and promoted to the rank oflieutenants. Captain Jervoise and his four officers messedtogether, and were a very cheerful party; indeed, their commander,to the surprise both of his son and Charlie, had quite shaken offhis quiet and somewhat gloomy manner, and seemed to have becomequite another man, in the active and bracing life in which he wasnow embarked. Cunningham and Forbes were both active young men,full of life and energy, while the boys thoroughly enjoyed roughingit, and the excitement and animation of their daily work.
Sometimes they slept in the open air, sometimes on the floor of acottage. Their meals were rough but plentiful. The king's ordersagainst plundering were very severe, and, even when in Denmark, thecountry people, having nothing to complain of, had brought insupplies regularly. Here in Linovia they were in Swedish dominions,but there was little to be purchased, for the peasantry had beenbrought to ruin by the foraging parties of the Russians and Poles.
There was some disappointment, that the enemy had fallen back atthe approach of Welling's force, but all felt sure that it wouldnot be long before they met them, for the king would assuredly loseno time in advancing against them, as soon as his army could bebrought over. They were not, however, to wait for the arrival ofthe main force, although the cavalry only took part in the firstaffair. General Welling heard that a force of three thousandCircassians had taken up their quarters in a village, some fifteenmiles away, and sent six hundred horse, under Majors Patkul andTisenbausen, to surprise them. They were, at first, successful and,attacking the Circassians, set fire to the village, and wereengaged in slaughtering the defenders, when twenty-one squadrons ofRussian cavalry came up and fell upon them, attacking them on allsides, and posting themselves so as to cut off their retreat. TheSwedes, however, gathered in a body, and charged the Russians sofuriously that they cut a way through their ranks, losing, however,many of their men, while Major Patkul and another officer were madeprisoners.
The king was at Revel when this engagement took place, and,although but few of the troops had arrived, he was too impatientfor action to wait until the coming of the fleet. He thereforemarched to Wesenberg, with his bodyguard and a few troops fromRevel. He at once despatched a thousand men, to cover the frontier,and issued orders for the rest of the troops to leave the whole oftheir baggage behind them, to take three days' provision in theirhaversacks, and to prepare to march the next morning.
Major Jamieson came into the cottage, occupied by Captain Jervoiseand his officers, late in the evening. They had a blazing fire, forit was now the middle of November, and the nights were very sharp.
"Well, Jervoise, what do you think of the orders?" he asked, as heseated himself on a log that had been brought in for the fire.
"I have not thought much about them, except that we are going to doa long and quick march somewhere."
"And where is that somewhere, do you think?"
"That, I have not the slightest idea."
"You would not say that it was to Narva?"
"I certainly should not, considering that we have but five thousandinfantry, and three thousand cavalry, and of these a large numberhave been so weakened, by fever, as to be unfit for fighting; whileat Narva, report says there are eighty thousand Russians, in astrongly intrenched camp."
"Well, that is where we are going, Jervoise, nevertheless. Atleast, that is what the colonel has told me."
"He must have been surely jesting, major. We may be going to pushforward in that direction, and occupy some strong position untilthe army comes up, but it would be the height of madness to attackan enemy, in a strong position, and just tenfold our force."
"Well, we shall see," Jamieson said coolly. "It is certain thatNarva cannot hold out much longer, and I know that the king has sethis heart on relieving it; but it does seem somewhat too dangerousan enterprise to attack the Russians. At any rate, that is thedirection in which we are going, tomorrow. It is a good seventymiles distant, and, as they say that the whole country has beendevastated, and the villagers have all fled, it is evident thatwhen the three days' bread and meat we carry are exhausted we shallhave to get some food, out of the Russian camp, if nowhere else."
Captain Jervoise laughed, as did the others.
"We can live for a short time on the horses, Jamieson, if we arehard pushed for it, though most of them are little beyond skin andbone."
"That is true. The cavalry are certainly scarcely fit for service.Welling's troops have had a very hard time of it, and we may thankour stars, though we did not think so at the time, that we werekept nearly three months at Malmoe, instead of being here withWelling."
"But do you seriously think, major, that the king means to attackthe Russians?" Cunningham asked.
"My own idea is that he does, Cunningham. I cannot see what elsethere is for us to do. At any rate, if he does, you may be surethat we shall make a tough fight for it. The cavalry showed, theother day, that they can stand up against many times their numberof the Russians, and if they can do it, I fancy we can. There isone thing, the very audacity of such an attempt is in its favour."
"Well, we will all do our best, you may be sure; but sinceThermopylae, I doubt if men have fought against longer odds."
The next morning the men fell in. Captain Jervoise, who, like allof his rank, was mounted, took his place at the head of hiscompany, and the little army marched away from Wesenberg. It was adreary march to Purts, but the sight of the ruined villages, anddevastated fields, aroused a feeling of indignation and fury amongthe troops, and a fierce longing to attack men who had soruthlessly spread ruin through a fertile country. Orders wereissued, that evening, that the men were to husband their provisionsas much as possible, and the order was more strictly obeyed thansuch orders usually are, for the men saw, for themselves, thatthere was no possibility of obtaining fresh supplies in the wastedcountry, and were well aware that there existed no train of waggonsand horses capable of bringing up stores from Wese
nberg.
There were a few aged men and women remaining at Purts, and fromthese they learned that their next day's march would take them to avery difficult pass, which was held by six hundred of the Russiancavalry, together with a force of infantry and some guns. It wasthe intention of the king to encamp that evening near the pass,and, when within three or four miles of it, General Meidel, who hadwith him the quartermaster of the army, and four hundred cavalry,rode on ahead to choose a site for the camp. He presently saw alarge body of Russian foragers in front of him, and sent back tothe king for permission to attack them. Charles ordered the army tocontinue its march, and, hurrying forward with some of hisofficers, joined General Meidel and charged the foragers, killingmany, taking others prisoners, and putting the rest to flight. Hefollowed close upon their heels, and rode right up to the mouth ofthe pass, in spite of the heavy fire of artillery and musketryopened by the Russians.
He at once determined to take advantage of the alarm produced bythe defeat of the Russian cavalry, and, although darkness was nowdrawing on, brought up some of his infantry and artillery, andattacked with such vigour that the Russians fled, after offering avery feeble resistance.
A battalion of foot were ordered to occupy the pass, while the restof the army piled their arms, and lay down where they stood. In themorning, they were astonished at the strength of the position thathad been gained so easily. The defile was deep and narrow, a rapidstream ran through it, and the ground was soft and marshy. A fewdetermined men should have been able to bar the advance of an army.
The troops were in high spirits at the result of this, their firstaction against the enemy, and were the more pleased that theyfound, in the Russian camp, sufficient provisions to replace thosethey had used. After a hearty meal, they again advanced at a briskmarch. The defile was captured on the evening of the 17th November,and, early in the morning of the 20th, the army reached Lagena, aleague and a half from Narva, and, ordering the troops to follow,the king rode forward to reconnoitre the Russian position.
The troops were weary with their long marches, and many of thosewho had, but recently, recovered from fever were scarce able todrag themselves along, while great numbers were unfit to take partin a battle, until after two or three days of rest. The officers ofthe Malmoe Regiment, for it had taken its name from the camp whereit had been formed, were gathered in a group at its head,discussing the situation. Most of the officers were of opinionthat, to attack at once, with men and horses worn out with fatigue,was to ensure destruction; but there were others who thought that,in face of so great an army as that gathered in front of them, theonly hope was in an immediate attack. Major Jamieson was one ofthese.
"The king is right," he said. "If the Russian army have time toform, and to advance against us in order of battle, we must beannihilated. At present, their camp is an extensive one, for, as Ihear, it extends in a great semi-circle four or five miles long,with the ends resting on the river. They cannot believe that weintend to attack them, and, if we go straight at them, we maypossibly gain a footing in their intrenchments, before the wholearmy can gather to aid those at the point of attack. It will bealmost a surprise, and I think the king is right to attempt it, forit is only by a quick and sudden stroke that we can gain a successover so great an army."
The halt was but a short one and, as soon as the regiments hadarrived at the positions assigned to them, they advanced. As soonas they appeared, on a rise of ground facing the intrenchments, theenemy opened fire. The king had already reconnoitred a portion oftheir position, exposing himself recklessly to their shot, and, assoon as the troops came up, he issued orders for them to prepare toattack in two columns. First, however, several of the regimentswere ordered to fall out, and to cut down bushes and make fascines,to enable the troops to cross the ditches.
The intrenchment was a formidable one, being provided with parapetsarmed with chevaux de frise, and flanked by strong exterior works,while several batteries had been placed to sweep the ground acrosswhich an enemy must advance.
The right column, under General Welling, was to march to a pointnearly in the centre of the great semicircle; while the left, underGeneral Rhenschild, was to assault a point about halfway betweenthe centre and the river, where one of the largest and mostpowerful of the enemy's batteries was placed. The king himself waswith this wing, with his bodyguard, and he hoped that here he mightmeet the czar commanding in person. The Russian emperor had,however, left the camp that morning, to fetch up forty thousand menwho were advancing from Plescow, and the command of the army hadbeen assumed by the Duke of Croy.
The Swedish left wing had with it a battery of twenty-one guns,while sixteen guns covered the attack on the right. It was twoo'clock in the afternoon when two guns gave the signal for theadvance. Hitherto the weather had been fine, but it had becomegradually overcast, and, just as the signal was given, a tremendousstorm of snow and hail began. It set right in the face of theRussians, and concealed from them the movement of the Swedes, forwhich, indeed, they were wholly unprepared, believing that thesmall force they saw was but the advance guard of a great Swedisharmy, and that no attack need be expected until the main bodyarrived. The consequence was, the Swedes were almost at the edge ofthe ditch before they were perceived, and both columns attackedwith such vigour and courage that, in a quarter of an hour, theyhad gained a footing in the intrenchments, and had so filled up theditch with the fascines that the cavalry were able to follow them.
The Russians were so astounded at this sudden attack that they lostheart altogether. The Swedish left, as soon as it entered theintrenchments, swept along them, the Russians abandoning their gunsand batteries, and making for their bridge across the river.Unfortunately for them, their huts were built close behind theworks, and in rear was another intrenchment, designed to repelassaults from the town; and the terrified crowd, unable to maketheir way rapidly along, over ground encumbered by their huts,crossed the interior intrenchments, thinking to make their wayfaster through the fields to the bridge.
The Swedish king, however, placed himself at the head of hisbodyguard, and, followed by the rest of his horse, charged rightupon them, cutting down great numbers, and driving the rest beforethem towards the river, while the infantry kept up a heavy fireupon the fugitives in the intrenchments.
The panic had spread quickly, and the Russian troops nearest to thebridge were already pouring over, when the mass of the fugitivesarrived. These pressed upon the bridge in such numbers that itspeedily gave way, cutting off the retreat of their comradesbehind. Ignorant of the result, the terrified crowd pushed on,pressing those in front of them into the river, and the number ofdrowned was no less than that of those who fell beneath thebullets, pikes, and sabres of the Swedes.
In their despair the Russians, rallied by some of their generals,now attempted to defend themselves, and, by occupying some housesand barracks, and barricading the passages between these withoverturned waggons, they fought bravely, and repulsed, for sometime, every effort of the Swedes.
Darkness was now falling, and the king hastened to the spot wherethe battle was fiercely raging. As he ran towards it, he fell intoa morass, from which he was rescued with some difficulty, leavinghis sword and one boot behind him. However, he at once pushed on,and placed himself at the head of the infantry engaged in theassault. But even his presence and example did not avail. TheRussians maintained their position with desperate courage, and,when it became quite dark, the assault ceased.
The right column had met with equal success. It had penetrated theintrenchments, defeated all the Russians who opposed it, and nowmoved to assist the left wing.
The king, however, seeing that the Russian defences could not becarried, by a direct assault, without great loss, gathered the armyin the space between the town and the Russian intrenchments, andplaced them in a position to repel an attack, should the Russianstake the offensive; giving orders that, at daylight, the hill onwhich the enemy had their principal battery should be assaulted.The guns here commanded all the int
renchments, and the capture ofthat position would render it impossible for the Russians tocontinue their defence, or for the now separated wings of the armyto combine.
The officers in command of the Russian right wing, findingthemselves unable to cross the river on their broken bridge, andsurrounded by the Swedes, sent in to surrender in the course of theevening, and two battalions of the Swedish Guards took possessionof the post that had been so gallantly defended. The king grantedthem permission to retire with their arms, the colours andstandards being given up, and the superior officers being retainedas prisoners of war.
The broken bridge was repaired and, early the next morning, theRussian troops passed over. Their left wing was, after thesurrender of their right, in a hopeless position, for on that sideno bridge had been thrown over the river, and their retreat waswholly cut off. On learning, before daybreak, that the right winghad surrendered, they too sent in to ask for terms. The kinggranted them freedom to return to their country, but without theirstandards or arms. They filed off before him, officers and soldiersbareheaded, and passed over the bridge, their numbers being sogreat that all had not crossed until next morning.
The Russians lost over 18,000 men killed or drowned, a hundred andforty-five cannon, and twenty-eight mortars, all of which were new,besides vast quantities of military stores and provisions. Ahundred and fifty-one colours, and twenty standards, and thegreater proportion of their muskets, together with the militarychest, the Duke of Croy, their commander-in-chief, and the whole oftheir generals, colonels, majors, and captains, fell into the handsof the Swedes, as prisoners of war. The total loss in killed andwounded of the Swedes was under two thousand, the chief loss beingdue to the desperate resistance of the Russians, after the battlewas irretrievably lost. It may be doubted whether so complete andsurprising a victory, between armies so disproportionate in force,was ever before gained.
The king had exposed himself, throughout the day, most recklessly,and was everywhere in the thick of the Russian bullets, and yet heescaped without so much as a scratch. The Malmoe Regiment had beenwith the left wing, but suffered comparatively little loss, as theywere one of the last to enter the intrenchments, and it was onlywhen darkness was closing in that they were called up to take apart in the attack on the position held by the Russians.
"Never was the saying, that fortune favours the brave, moresignally verified, Jervoise," Major Jamieson said, as he sat downto a rough breakfast with the officers of the Scottish company, onthe morning after the Russian surrender.
"That's true enough, but Russians are brave, too, as they showed atthe end of the day. I fancy you have a scotch proverb to the effectthat 'fou folk come to no harm.' I think that is more applicable inthe present case."
The major laughed.
"The fou folk relates rather to drunkenness than madness, Jervoise.But, of course, it would do for both. I own that the wholeenterprise did seem, to me, to be absolute madness, but the resulthas justified it. That sudden snowstorm was the real cause of ourvictory, and, had it not been for that, I still think that we couldnot have succeeded. The Russian cannon certainly continued to fire,but it was wholly at random, and they were taken by surprise whenwe suddenly appeared at the side of the ditch, while we were acrossbefore they could gather any force sufficient to defend it.
"After that, panic did the rest. The commander in chief fell earlyinto our hands. There was no one to give orders, no one to rallythem, and I expect the Russian soldiers gave us credit for havingbrought on that storm, to cover our assault, by the aid of malignspirits.
"Well, lads, and how did you feel when the shots were whistlingabout?"
"I did not like it at all, major," Charlie said. "It seemed such astrange thing, marching along in the thick of that snowstorm,hearing the rush of cannonballs overhead, and the boom of guns, andyet be unable to see anything but the rear files of the company infront."
"It was an uncanny feeling, Charlie. I felt it myself, and was verygrateful that we were hidden from the enemy, who, of course, wereblazing away in the direction in which they had last seen us. Weonly lost three killed and twelve wounded, altogether, and I thinkthose were, for the most part, hit by random shots.
"Well, if this is the way the king means to carry on war, we shallhave enough of it before we are done."
The sick and wounded were sent into the town, the first thing, butit was not until the Russians had all crossed the river that theking, himself, rode triumphantly into the place, surrounded by hisstaff, amid the wild enthusiasm of the inhabitants, whom hisvictory had saved from ruin and massacre.
The town, although strongly fortified, was not a large one, and itshouses were so dilapidated, from the effects of the Russianbombardment, that but few of the troops could be accommodatedthere. The rest were quartered in the Russian huts. On the 26th, asolemn service of thanksgiving for the victory was celebrated, witha salute from all the cannon of the town and camp, and by salvos ofmusketry from the troops.
The question of provisions was the most important now. It was truethat large quantities had been captured in the Russian camp, but,beyond a magazine of corn, abandoned by the fugitives at Tama andbrought in, there was no prospect of replenishing the store whenexhausted, for the whole country, for a great distance round, hadbeen completely devastated by the Russians. These had not retreatedfar, having been rallied by the czar at Plescow, and quartered inthe towns of the frontier of Livonia, whence they made incursionsinto such districts as had not been previously wasted.
"This is dull work," Archie Cunningham said, one day. "The soonerwe are busy again, the better. There is nothing to do, and verylittle to eat. The cold is bitter, and fuel scarce. One wantssomething to warm one's blood."
"You are not likely to have anything of that kind, for some monthsto come," Major Jamieson replied dryly. "You don't suppose we aregoing to have a battle of Narva once a week, do you? No doubt therewill be a few skirmishes, and outpost encounters, but beyond thatthere will be little doing until next spring. You can make up yourmind, for at least five months, of the worst side of a soldier'slife--dull quarters, and probably bad ones, scanty food, cold, anddisease."
"Not a very bright lookout, major," Forbes laughed. "I hope itwon't be as bad as that."
"Then I advise you to give up hoping, and to make up your mind torealities, Forbes. There is a good deal of illness in the camp now,and there will be more and more as the time goes on. There isnothing like inaction to tell upon the health of troops. However,we certainly shall not stay here. It would be impossible to victualthe army, and I expect that, before long, we shall march away andtake up quarters for the winter.
"As to operations on a great scale, they are out of the question.After the thrashing they have had, the Russians will be monthsbefore they are in a condition to take the offensive again; whilewe are equally unable to move because, in the first place, we arenot strong enough to do so, and in the second we have no baggagetrain to carry provisions with us, and no provisions to carry if wehad it."
On the 13th of December, the king quitted Narva with the army, andon the 19th arrived at Lais, an old castle six miles from Derpt,and here established his headquarters. A few of the troops werestationed in villages, but the greater part in rough huts in theneighbourhood, and along the frontier.
It was not long before Major Jamieson's predictions were verified.A low fever, occasioned by the fatiguing marches and the hardshipsthey had endured, added to the misery from the cold and wet thatpenetrated the wretched huts, spread rapidly through the army. Manydied, and great numbers were absolutely prostrated.
The king was indefatigable in his efforts to keep up the spirits ofthe troops. He constantly rode about from camp to camp, enteringthe huts, chatting cheerfully with the soldiers, and encouragingthem by kind words and assurances that, when the spring came, theywould soon gain strength again.
At Narva the four young officers had all purchased horses. Most ofthe Swedish officers were mounted; and the king encouraged this,as, on occasion, he coul
d thereby collect at once a body of mountedmen ready for any enterprise; but their own colonel preferred that,on the march, the lieutenants and ensigns should be on foot withtheir men, in order to set them an example of cheerful endurance.Those who wished it, however, were permitted to have horses, whichwere, on such occasions, led in the rear of the regiment.
Captain Jervoise had approved of the purchase of the horses, whichwere got very cheaply, as great numbers had been captured.
"If we can get over the difficulty of the forage," he said, "youwill find them very useful for preserving your health during thewinter. A ride will set your blood in motion, and, wherever we arequartered, there are sure to be camps within riding distance. Theking approves of officers taking part in dashing expeditions, soyou may be able to take a share in affairs that will break themonotony of camp life."
They found great benefit from being able to ride about. Forage wasindeed very scarce. They had no means of spending their pay onluxuries of any kind, their only outlay being in the purchase ofblack bread, and an occasional load of forage from the peasants.Their regiment was with the force under the command of ColonelSchlippenbach, which was not very far from Marienburg, a place opento the incursions of the Russians. Baron Spens was at Signiz, andColonel Alvedyhl at Rounenberg, and to both these places theyoccasionally paid a visit.
In order to keep the company in health, Captain Jervoise encouragedthe men to get up games, in which the four young officers tookpart. Sometimes it was a snowball match in the open; at other timesa snow fort was built, garrisoned, and attacked. Occasionally therewere matches at hockey, while putting the stone, throwing thecaber, running and wrestling matches, were all tried in turn; andthe company suffered comparatively little from the illness whichrendered so large a proportion of the Swedish army inefficient.
Colonel Schlippenbach was an energetic officer, and had, severaltimes, ridden past when the men were engaged in these exercises. Heexpressed to Captain Jervoise his approval of the manner in whichhe kept his men in strength and vigour.
"I shall not forget it," he said, one day, "and if there is serviceto be done, I see that I can depend upon your company to do it."
In January, he took a party of horse, and reconnoitred along theRiver Aa, to observe the motions of the Saxons on the other side;and, hearing that a party of them had entered Marienburg, hedetermined to take possession of that place, as, were they tofortify it, they would be able greatly to harass the Swedes.Sending word to the king of his intention, and asking for anapproval of his plan of fortifying the town, he took threecompanies of infantry and four hundred horse, made a rapid march toMarienburg, and occupied it without opposition.
He had not forgotten his promise, and the company of CaptainJervoise was one of those selected for the work. Its officers weredelighted at the prospect of a change, and, when the party started,Captain Jervoise was proud of the show made by his men, whoseactive and vigorous condition contrasted strongly with the debilityand feebleness evident, so generally, among the Swedish soldiers.
As soon as Marienburg was entered, the men were set to work, toraise and strengthen the rampart and to erect bastions; and theywere aided, a few days later, by a reinforcement of two hundredinfantry, sent by the king, with some cannon, from the garrison ofDerpt. As the place was surrounded by a morass, it was, ere long,put into a position to offer a formidable defence against any forcethat the Russians or Saxons might bring against it.
The Swedes engaged on the work gained strength rapidly, and, by thetime the fortifications were finished, they had completely shakenoff the effects of the fever.