Marengo
Page 41
In the course of research made for this book, we have found an unpublished staff report which appears to have been a key source for Mras. The document was discovered in the Vienna War Archive by David Hollins in 2015, and was subsequently photographed by our colleague, Michael Wenzel. Entitled Geschichte des Feldzugs in Italien im Jahre 1800 bis 1801, the manuscript is written in the old German Kurrent script and dates from 1804. The author was Major Menrard von Geppert, who, while not actually present at Marengo, was a staff captain attached to the corps of FML Hohenzollern at Genoa on the day of battle. Serving on the staff of the imperial army, Geppert was well-acquainted with the key participants of the battle, and would have had access to them very soon after the event. He is likely to have had access to the reports and notes of his fellow staff officers which have not survived. Geppert therefore provides the earliest written Austrian account of the action involving the French Foot Guards, which concludes fatefully: ‘und nur wenige entkommen ließ’ (‘and only allowed a few to escape’). Interestingly this account pre-dates by a year the official publication of French Minister of War General Alexandre Berthier’s 1805 Relation de la bataille de Marengo; but by this time the description of the Consular Guard being a rock of granite in the plain was a well-established part of the mythology of the battle.
From Geppert, we move to the subsequent report of Joseph von Stutterheim. Like Geppert, Stutterheim was a staff officer attached to the general-quartermaster staff of Melas’ army. Unlike Geppert, he was actually present at the battle, and witnessed some of the key events (including the Guard action) and the armistice negotiations which followed. Following the creation of the OMZ in 1808, Stutterheim was charged with writing a history of the 1799 campaign, which was published in 1811/1812. Stutterheim then wrote a report on the 1800 campaign in Italy, which was an expansion on Geppert’s work and in places is a direct copy of it. Stutterheim’s report was described by Hüffer as ‘fresh’ and possessing a ‘convincing descriptiveness’, which is difficult to discount. This is something of an understatement – Stutterheim’s report was frank in the extreme. He called into question not just the actions, but the personalities and health of the most senior commanders; including men who were alive when he wrote it. Although drafts were no doubt circulated, the account was not published in the OMZ. Before there was any time to review the account, in 1812 Stutterheim became adjutant to Field Marshal Lieutenant Schwartzenberg, who commanded the Austrian contingent in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. After this, Stutterheim was busily engaged in the final campaigns of the Napoleonic era, and his time for writing would have been somewhat diminished. After the wars, Stutterheim returned to his draft and made a new start. The best indications are that his second draft was prepared in 1822 – around the time Mras’ account appeared in the OMZ. One imagines he was advised, or felt inclined, to tone down the original account, not because anyone questioned its veracity, but to formalize it and make it read more like a professional staff history. This document remained unpublished, and we see later additions made to the document – there is a note added remarking on Bourrienne’s 1829 memoirs. It is important to state that the two Stutterheim accounts (Hüffer labels them as A and B) vary little in content. When Hüffer came to publish his collection of documents, he published the B account in full, but provided excerpts from the A account where he felt the two accounts were different. In terms of their veracity, Stutterheim appears a very credible source, and his personal observations are indispensable to understanding the Marengo campaign and battle. A staff officer in 1800, Stutterheim rose to the rank of field marshal lieutenant (FML) by the end of the Napoleonic Wars and had a distinguished service, being made a baron in 1819. In 1824, he became part of the Hofkriegsrat (High Military Council), the body responsible for advising the Habsburg emperor on military policy. Two years later, we find the composer Ludwig van Beethoven dedicating his String Quartet No.14 to Stutterheim; it is said in gratitude for taking his nephew Karl into the army after a failed suicide attempt. The reason for stating the above is to show Stutterheim was a man of some talent, very much part of the Austrian military establishment, not a scurrilous sensationalist writing an account on the wings.
Of the remaining Austrian accounts, perhaps the most important is the autobiography of Count Radetzky, the Austrian general adjutant in 1800. These memoirs unlock the story of the Piedmontese spy and are verified by contemporary reports in Hüffer. Crucially, it establishes that the Marengo spy who delivered Zach’s deception at Marengo, was the same found at Mantua and Cuneo in 1799. Published in 1887 as Erinnerungen aus dem Leben des Feldmarschall Grafen Radetzky, this memoir emphasizes the author’s dislike of Zach, the army chief of staff. The others are better known because they have appeared in French. Two are by Stutterheim’s fellow staff officers. The first account is from Count Adam Neipperg, published in French in 1906 (a German version is published in Hüffer’s second volume). The other is by French émigré Baron de Crossard. His six-volume account forms an interesting and useful record of the Napoleonic era. He repeats Stutterheim’s claim about the Foot Guards being ‘almost entirely destroyed or taken prisoner’ in the action; but is equally critical of the performance of the Austrian leadership at the critical moment – the crisis of the battle. One can dismiss his claims as the work of an anti-Bonapartist, but actually his verdict on the Guard is delivered matter-of-factly, as if it were already an accepted fact. He also dedicates several paragraphs to the Piedmontese spy who forms a central part of this new account.
Also on the Austrian side, we find the memoirs of the French émigré August Danican and the Piedmontese Franchino di Cavour published by Félix Bouvier in 1900 in the Italian Centernario della Battaglia di Marengo. One work which remains unpublished in its entirety is the memoirs of Henri de Faverges. A relatively recent find on my part, I was alerted to Faverges’ highly readable account by a footnote in Kellermann’s son’s history of the campaign (published 1854). Excerpts from Faverges’ memoirs were published in the 1908 La Revue Hebdomadaire by his nephew, the author and historian Charles Costa de Beauregard. Technically an émigré, Faverges was from Savoy, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia annexed by France. Faverges served the imperial army after the fall of the House of Savoy in 1798. Although wounded prior to the commencement of the campaign, Faverges is an extremely important source. After Marengo, his brother married the daughter of the Austrian chief of staff, Generalmajor Anton Zach – a pivotal figure in this account. Although Zach did not leave a memoir, he did speak about the battle with Faverges, and the latter recorded their conversation. Although an anecdotal source, when combined with criticisms made by Crossard about Zach’s capabilities as staff officer, it reveals key mistakes on the part of the Austrian chief of staff which are critical for understanding the campaign and battle.
Another unpublished memoir on the Napoleonic Wars is that of the French chief of staff at Marengo, General Etienne Dupont. One of the most brilliant generals of the French army, Dupont fell from favour in 1808 after surrendering an army at Bailen in Spain. In 1903, Eugène Titeux published an epic, three-volume biography called Le general Dupont: une erreur historique. The first volume of this series contains excerpts from Dupont’s memoirs and numerous other documents, including the report of General of Brigade Guénand. I had previously found some unpublished letters written by Guénand at Vincennes, and these were complimented by the information I discovered in Titeux’s work. Guénand’s brigade was effectively airbrushed from the official history – not through any fault of the general, but, I believe, simply because the story of his brigade’s advance across the battlefield did not fit the narrative begun by the First Consul’s bulletin, subsequently enshrined in Berthier’s history. Guénand pushes the action away from San Guiliano, westwards towards Cascina Grossa. It also provides some interesting clues about how Kellermann’s charge was so effective. Also of great interest in Titeux’s work were letters by Valhubert (colonel of the 28th Line) and Dalton, a staff officer in Boudet’s division. W
ith colleagues, I have made an attempt to track down the original of Dupont’s manuscript, because it is worthy of publication in itself; but at the time of writing, this has drawn a blank.
Other than the documents compiled by de Cugnac, the main French memoirs are by Savary, Marmont, Kellermann, Lejeune, Krettly, Marbot, Coignet, Petit, Prince Eugène, Victor and Soult. These are all well-known to English-speaking readers and need little introduction. One should point out the argument between Savary and Kellermann in the late 1820s, with the latter effectively claiming he was responsible for the victory, not Desaix. The argument was bitter and one feels there was personal animosity between the two parties. Of course Kellermann gave the order to charge and was responsible for judging the exact timing of it; but Desaix had requested the charge to be made.
The memoirs of Horse Grenadier Joseph Petit have proven particularly valuable. At first I was suspicious of the account, published so soon after the battle; but I found Petit described phases of the battle which went unmentioned except in the Austrian sources. I have taken a liberty with the ever-popular memoirs of Jean-Roch Coignet. His notebooks would one day form one of the best-known memoirs of the Napoleonic Wars. Living until 1865 and the ripe old age of 89 years, Coignet survived long enough to be photographed, so we can look upon the actual living face of a veteran of Marengo. Even in old age, he has broad shoulders and a large jaw. His memoirs were first published under the title Vingt ans de gloire avec l’empereur in 1851 in Auxerre with a limited print run of 500; they were then republished in 1883 by the author Lorédan Larchey. Around 2000, I was provided with a French transcription of Coignet’s original text. When compared to the 1883 version, we can see where Larchey has polished the original prose. In some areas, small technical details are changed, and these are very important – for example, he increases the strength of the Foot Guard from 600 to 800 men. Some of the technical language has also changed. The excerpts from Coignet given in this book are my translations of the original version.
The letters of Maurice Dupin appeared from an unexpected source. This staff officer wrote a series of amusing letters about the campaign, which later appeared in a biography of his daughter – the author George Sand. In the course of this work, I was contacted by Karl Jakob Skarstein, who provided me with the letters of Lieutenant Rustad, a Norweigan officer attached to the French artillery staff. Almost on my deadline, Skarstein contacted me again, this time with the unpublished Souvenirs de Jean Chenevier, an officer in the 22nd Half-Brigade.
No doubt more memoirs, letters and accounts will materialize in the future, and our understanding of the battle will evolve yet further. At the bicentennial commemorations at Marengo in 2000, I met the late Dr David Chandler, author of the seminal The Campaigns of Napoleon. When David Hollins and I described some of the new sources coming to light, Chandler encouraged us, stating The Campaigns of Napoleon was just a starting point and further work was needed to uncover the detail. With that endorsement ever in mind, one hopes this work will act as a spur for further research over the present century. If nothing else, our collective efforts hopefully demonstrate that the serious study of military history cannot be a one-sided narrative written by the victors alone. All voices must be heard if we are to understand and learn from conflicts old and new.
Acknowledgements
This has been a project of twenty years. In that time many people have furnished information or given practical, sometimes unwitting, advice, guidance or inspiration. I have limited the following list to those who provided me with material assistance with this project, and I of course take responsibility for all the views expressed, as they are entirely my own. Without the assistance of David Hollins, my research would have been entirely one-sided. For twenty years he has generously and patiently shared his research and ideas on the Habsburg forces. Our collaboration will continue beyond this project, seeking out the spy, and taking a broader look at the role of secret intelligence in Napoleon’s Italian campaigns – it is a fascinating and worthwhile subject for further research. The majority of German translation in this book was carried out by David Hollins, although I must also acknowledge Michael Wenzel for some help in this matter, and also for answering the many queries I have sent his way over recent years. My thanks go also to Pierre-Yves Chauvin, who arranged our visit to the archives of the monastery on the Great St Bernard in 2017; also for photographing Guénand’s papers at Vincennes and helping with the transcription. I must thank Ian Edwards, who copied many of the French regimental histories at Vincennes in the days before eBooks, and introduced me to Dave Hollins twenty years ago. I also received support from Pierre Liernaux at the Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire Militaire in Brussels, who copied a number of works for me. I would like to thank Martin Lancaster for his continued encouragement and interest over the years, particularly for sponsoring my first visit to the battlefield in 1999. Martin also introduced me to Andrea Puleo, who arranged my last visit to Marengo in 2017 and in turn introduced me to Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who conducted us passionately and expertly to various locations, including Vigna Santa, where a memorial to Desaix now stands. I must acknowledge and thank the staff of the British Museum, the Vienna Kriegsarchiv, the Service Historique de la Défense (Vincennes), the French Bibliotheque Nationale and its fabulous ‘Gallica’ service. I must thank Peter Harrington, Curator at the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection. I would also like to thank the Congrégation des Chanoines du Grand-Saint-Bernard for their hospitality and advice. As ever, I must thank my editor at Pen and Sword, Philip Sidnell, and last but never least my wife Sarah, who supported me with endless patience and encouragement as this long project drew to an end.
Bibliography
1. Regimental Histories
Note: Many of the regiments which fought at Marengo were subsequently retitled, renumbered, disbanded or reformed. It is therefore sometimes difficult to trace the ancestry of a regiment. The following list will help readers locate the correct regiments.
A. Austrian Empire
I. Cavalry regiments
1st Kaiser Dragoons:
− Pizzighelli, Cajetan, Geschichte des k. u. k. Ulanen-Regimentes Kaiser Joseph II. No. 6 (Wien: 1908).
4th Karaczay Dragoons:
− Theimer, Alexander, Geschichte des k. k. 7. Uhlanen-Regimentes Erzherzog Karl Ludwig von seiner Errichtung 1758 bis Ende 1868 (Wien: 1869).
8th Würtemberg Dragoons:
− Dedekind, Franz, Geschichte des k. k. Kaiser Franz Joseph I dragoner-regimentes Nr.11 (Wien, 1879).
9th Lichtenstein Dragoons:
− Amon von Treuenfest, Gustav Ritter von, Geschichte des k. u. k. Bukowina’schen Dragoner-Regimentes General d. Cavallerie Freiherr Piret de Bihain Nr. 9 von seiner Errichtung 1682‑1892 (Wien: 1892).
10th Lobkowitz Dragoons:
− Grosser, Beitrag zur Regiments Geschichte des 3ten Chevauleger-Regiments (1805).
− Thürheim, Andreas Graf, Geschichte des k. k. 8. Uhlanen-Regimentes Erzherzog Ferdinand Maximilian (Wien: 1860).
5th Hussars:
− Amon von Treuenfest, Gustav Ritter von, Geschichte des k. k. Feldmarschall Graf Radetzky Husaren-Regimentes Nr. 5 (1798‑1884) (Wien: 1885).
7th Hussars:
− Anon., Geschichte des k. k. Husaren-Regimentes Nr. 7 von dessen Errichtung im Jahre 1798 bis 1855 (Wien: 1856).
8th Nauendorf Hussars:
− Amon von Treuenfest, Gustav Ritter von, Geschichte des k. k. Husaren-Regimentes Alexander Freiherr von Koller Nr. 8 (1696‑1880) (Wien: 1880).
9th Erdödy Hussars:
− Korda, Ignác Geschichte des k. u. k. Husaren-Regimentes Graf Nádasdy Nr. 9 (1688‑1903) (Sopron: 1903).
II. Infantry regiments
IR 11 Michael Wallis:
− Jäger, Franz, Masak, Stefan, and Novak, Wenzel, Schicksale und Thaten des K. u. K. Infanterie-Regiments Georg Prinz von Sachsen Nr. 11 (Wien: 1901).
IR 23 Grossherzog Toscana:
− Babich von Lorinach, A, Geschichte
des K. K. Infanterie Regiments 23 (1911).
IR 17 Hohenlohe:
− Steiner, D. Franz, Geschichte des K. K. Prinz Hohenlohe-Langenburg Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 17 seit dessen Errichtung 1632 bis 1851 (Leykam: 1858).
− Strobl von Ravelsberg, F., Geschichte des K. u. K. Infanterie-Regiments Ritter von Milde Nr. 17. 1674‑1910 (Laibach: 1911).
IR 18 Stuart:
− Amon von Treuenfest, Gustav Ritter, Geschichte des K. K. Infanterie-Regimentes Nr. 18, Constantin Grossfürst von Rußland, von 1682 bis 1882 (Wien: 1882).
− Novak, Friedrich: Achtzehner ‘immer vorwärts!’: Kriegsgeschichten vom K. und K. Infanterie-Regimente Erzeherzog Leopold Salvator Nr. 18 (Theresienstadt: 1896).
− Padewieth, Mansuet von, Geschichte des kaiserl. Königl. 18. Linien-Infanterie-Regiments Grossfürst Constantin von Russland (Wien: 1859).
− IR 28 Fröhlich:
− Schmedis, Emil, Geschichte des K. K. 28. Infanterie-Regiments FZM. Ludwig Ritter von Benedek (Wien: 1878).
IR 40 Mittrowsky:
− Posselt, Oskar, Geschichte des k. und k. Infanterie-Regiments Ritter v. Pino Nr. 40 (Rzeszow: 1913).
IR 47 Franz Kinsky:
− Amon von Treuenfest, Gustav Ritter: Geschichte des k. u. k. Infanterie-Regimentes Nr. 47 (Wien: 1890).
− Vogelsang, Ludwig Freiherr von, Das Steierische Infanterie-Regiment Graz Nr. 47 im Weltkrieg (Graz: 1932).
IR 51 Splényi:
− Maendl, Maximilian, Geschichte des K. und K. Infanterie-Regiments Nr. 51 (Klausenburg: 1897‑1899).