Chasseur à Cheval (Napoleonic Horseman Book 1)

by Griff Hosker

  We would see the blue columns as they approached. Suddenly the light infantry battalions left the column and began to spread out to head up the slope. They scurried like ants disturbed from an anthill. They moved in ones and twos and not in great solid lines. The Austrians opened fire and Jean laughed. “They are wasting powder and ball. Look, not one man has been hit.”

  I could see what he said was true. The range was too far anyway. They fired again. I could see the problem immediately. The light infantry were not standing but running and ducking when the order to fire was given. The light infantry waited until they were less than a hundred paces and then began to fire from a kneeling position. They did take casualties but I could see that they were causing more amongst the tightly packed ranks of Austrians. They were firing into solid blocks of men and even a bad shot was bound to hit something. I saw Austrians begin to fall. The Austrian cannons were firing at the distant columns that were slowly approaching but the slope was not helping them and the smoke from their own infantry meant they could not see fall of shot.

  The firing from the Austrians slowed and I saw men peeing down the barrels of their guns. “Sergeant Boucher,” I asked quietly, “why are they doing that?”

  “The powder cakes in the barrel and the barrel gets hot. It is the quickest way to clear your barrel and cool it. If they had not fired so early they would not have had to do that.”

  I stored that information. I could now see why a ragged volley would not hurt us when in skirmish order and it would take battalion fire at a solid line to cause casualties. The light infantry were advancing again and causing more casualties amongst the Austrians. Suddenly we heard the pas de charge as the columns of line infantry began their attack. The Austrian cannons still had no target and were firing blind and the light infantry were now targeting the artillerymen. The battle was mesmerising to watch. The French columns did not halt when they neared the Austrian lines. They charged. There was a small volley from the men at the head of the column but the main musket attack still came from the light infantry who were picking off the Austrian officers and sergeants. When the three columns struck the white line, the Austrians broke and ran.

  Jean shouted, “Ready muskets!”

  I looked down my men and saw Tiny grinning as he pointed to his musket. I shook my head. He was young. The Austrians did not take long to reach Captain Aristide’s men. There was a volley which sounded like the popping of corks. It slowed down the exodus but did not stop it. Captain Aristide and his mounted men took off after those who escaped down the road while we began to fire at those who attempted to cross in our direction. After I had fired my first ball the enemy were hidden by a pall of smoke. I reloaded and peered through the gloom. There was little point in firing blind and I waited until I saw a shape loom up ten yards away. I fired and the body fell to the ground.

  “Cease fire!”

  When the smoke cleared we could see that the Austrians had surrendered. The soldier I had shot had been so close that I had completely destroyed his face. His mother would not have recognised him.

  “Disarm them and line up on the road over there.” Jean pointed to the road leading from the town. All the way back into the town we could see Austrian and Piedmontese surrendering. We had won.

  Captain Aristide returned with some prisoners. “We had better take them into the town and see what the general has in mind for us next.”

  Bonaparte was delighted with our victory and with our role in it. Captain Bessières took it all as though it was a compliment personally directed to him. His squadron had had little action and they had captured only four prisoners. Pierre was phlegmatic about it. “The ones who do all the hard work, the ordinary soldiers never gets any credit so what difference does it make which officer is praised. It doesn’t help us.” He gestured at the prisoners. “This lot were piss poor.” He held out a handful of coins. “This won’t even buy a pichon of wine. Not that you could get one up here.” Pierre had this ability to bring every military action down to the basics of food, drink and money. It was much later that I realised the wisdom of such a philosophy. In those days I was still a naïve idealist and not the cynic I became.

  We had no time to rest on our laurels. The general had no sooner given us praise than he ordered us to head west. I found out from Captain Aristide that the general intended to destroy the army of Piedmont and Sardinia so that he could concentrate on the Austrians. What we did not discover until much later was that there were two other armies attacking the Austrians from the north and the west but they were being trounced. We were the only force which was having any success.

  Once again Jean and our troop were given the honour of scouting. We passed through Ferrania and Carcare without seeing anyone. Pierre was delighted when we reached Carcare as he was able to use the coins he had acquired from our prisoners to buy some olives, cheese, bread and wine. He was a happy man once more. I had been spared the scouting duties until the midday break but I was sent, with Charles and Francois this time to look for a billet for the night. “I don’t think there are any more soldiers in these parts. The general looks to have cleared them all out.”

  He was wrong. We had passed the ruined castle of Cosseria and were approaching the tiny mountain hamlet of Millesimo when the troopers following the three of us were subjected to a fierce fusillade. The hidden soldiers had allowed us to pass by. I was furious with myself. As soon as the fusillade began I could see where they were. There was a low wall half way towards a farm and there must have been a company of light infantry, at least, there. As I drew my musket to fire, musket balls came from the town ahead. The walls of the town gave them shelter and enabled them to fire down on us. A chip of rock from the wall flew up and gouged Charles on the cheek. I shouted my command, “Right boys back to the lieutenant.” We galloped through a gunpowder shrouded storm of lead but we reached them unscathed. I saw two dead troopers as I rode along the scene of the attack. “Sorry sir, we didn’t see them. There are a lot more in the town ahead. I couldn’t estimate numbers.”

  “Don’t worry Brigadier. That was probably my fault. I was complacent and these men died because of it. I have sent a rider back to the general. Let’s form a skirmish line. We might be able to shift those men ahead. Dismount!”

  Captains Bessières and Aristide arrived. Captain Bessières did not look happy at the delay. “Can we not just charge them Lieutenant Bartiaux?”

  Captain Aristide rolled his eyes as Jean explained. “They have cover behind a wall and the slope is steep and rock covered. We would lose too many men. I am sending the men up on foot.”

  His arrogant sniff told us of his view. “Very well they are your men. Take command, Captain Aristide, I will report to the general.”

  Once he had gone I heard Albert say to Jean, “Arrogant little prick. I’ll use my men as well. Troop, dismount.”

  I reloaded my musketoon and turned to my men. “Make sure you have the best ball you can.” I saw someone fiddling with his bayonet. “Don’t bother with that. It pulls the barrel down too much. If we get close use your sabre.”

  “Then why do we get issued bayonets?”

  “It’s handy for digging holes,” I heard one old soldier say that and it had stuck. I chuckled, he was right. I had never used my bayonet for anything as yet.

  “Forward!”

  Rather like the light infantry at Montenotte we walked crouched over and with a healthy space between us. The puff of smoke and the rippled cracks told me that they had fired their muskets at our movement. The balls flew around us but I only heard one trooper cry out. “Hold your fire until I say. Do you hear me?”

  I heard my section shout, “Yes Brigadier.” The smoke of their guns hid us from the enemy but they showed us where they were. When we were eighty yards away I shouted, “Drop and crawl!” The slope and the wall meant that we would be safe from their fire. I waited until we were forty yards away, when even our musketoons would be accurate and I said, “Kneel! Find a target and fire!” I
could hear the others ordering their men to fire too. I lifted up my musket and aimed at the line of smoke. I fired and then shouted. “Charge!”

  I dropped my gun and drew my sword. A musket ball plucked at my sleeve and then I saw a ramrod, hurtling like a spear through the air. One soldier was not going to be able to fire again soon. The smoke had thinned and I saw a soldier aiming his gun at me. I knocked the barrel up with my left hand and stabbed him with my sword. I quickly clambered over the wall. A Sardinian officer raced at me with sword raised. I parried his blow and then, with a deft flick of the wrist, disarmed him and held the point of my blade at his throat. He threw his arms in the air and shouted, “Quarter! Quarter!”

  I gestured for him to kneel. As I looked around for any others I could see the remnants of the outpost fleeing back to the hamlet.

  The general arrived soon afterwards. He dismounted close to where we were guarding the prisoners. He gestured to me to approach. I wondered what he was going to say but he merely rested his telescope on my shoulder so that he could view the town. He turned to the general of brigade next to him. “Joubert take the light infantry and Banel’s brigade. I cannot see guns. You can take the town.”

  He nodded curtly to me and then said to Albert, “Captain, take your men and scout the area around Dego. One of the prisoners from Montenotte told me that there was an army there.” He suddenly grinned. “We should be able to finish off these Sardinians sooner rather than later eh?”

  “Yes General Bonaparte.” Had he been a dog then Captain Bessières would have wagged his tail! He promised the general that the area would be sealed off tightly.

  Pierre, of course, was delighted. He had noted that there was a bakery in Carcare and he was sure that we would find some wine too. I was more concerned with the men we had lost. Although the enemy had lost more we still had five wounded troopers and four dead ones. The war was proving expensive.

  I rode next to Charles as we headed east. I still felt guilty that my lack of attention had caused him to be wounded. “How is the cheek?”

  He beamed at me and then winced. “It still hurts but this will become a wonderful scar. The women will all believe I earned it duelling. I will still have my moustache and it will add a certain elegance and style to my looks.”

  I shook my head. Many of the chasseurs were so vain that they cared more about their appearance than their health. “Well make sure you keep the wound clean. You don’t want to get an infection.”

  He suddenly looked serious. “Thank you Brigadier. That is sound advice and I will heed it.”

  We halted in Carcare to allow the horses to be watered. Jean and I wandered the streets to pick up any gossip we could. This was the heartland of the Piedmont. If these people felt like peace then we might stand a chance of achieving what we had in the Low Countries; a relatively bloodless victory. The people we met were friendly and did not seem at all belligerent. In fact they appeared to welcome us. The Ligurian Republic along the coast was seen as a better form of government and they were hoping that our little general would do the same.

  We reported the facts to Captain Aristide who just shook his head. “This young general appears to have the luck.”

  “But sir, isn’t he a good general?”

  “The soldiers we have been fighting are not very good soldiers. Remember the Austrian cavalry that we fought in the Low Countries? They were real soldiers. This is the soft underbelly of the Empire. Wait until he meets some real soldiers and then you can judge.” Albert was a wise man. He was the sort of soldier who had made France great for so many years. He was solid and dependable. I suppose he was one of the success stories of the revolution. If there had not been a revolution he would just have served as a sergeant major. As a captain he could put his experience and knowledge to real use.

  The prisoner had been correct about Dego. There was a mixture of Sardinian and Austrian uniforms which lined its defences. The large hill next to the town had been heavily fortified with ditches but I could see no artillery and nor could I see any cavalry. We placed ourselves across the main road into Dego and awaited the arrival of the rest of the army. We did not expect them before the next day. Captain Aristide chose a camp site which was on the other side of the river and also on an elevated piece of ground. To Captain Bessières this was not important. When Captain Aristide announced that he would put vedettes out, the temporary commanding officer, Captain Bessières, laughed in his face.

  “I think you over-estimate these Piedmontese soldiers. Why I am certain that we could take all of them with just our two squadrons.”

  “Nevertheless Captain Bessières I feel we ought to put sentries out. It is what the colonel would have done.”

  “Pah! An old man still fighting old wars but if it makes you happy then so be it.”

  I could see the anger on Albert’s face. His beloved colonel had been insulted but the old sergeant major kept his voice under control as he ordered Jean to set sentries.

  The next day Captain Bessières had a superior look on his face as no one had attempted to breach our lines. He had the good grace not to say anything but you could see he felt vindicated.

  When Bonaparte arrived he had General Massena with him. This was the first time I saw the little general who was so successful. He struck me as a greedy little man but the general thought highly enough of him to have him as his subordinate. This time he gave us a real role rather than just watching. He was determined to break the will of the Austrian allies and we were placed in a three deep line to the north of the town. Our orders were quite simple, as soon as we received our orders we were to charge and break the enemy.

  Captain Bessières was delighted with the new role while Albert was sceptical. “There are very few of us who have ever charged. It is not an easy skill.”

  “They are cavalrymen and this is what they were born to do.”

  He led the first line, Albert the second and we were with Jean, in the third line. Some of the younger troopers were unhappy at this but I was delighted. I had never charged boot to boot before and the chance to do it without anyone firing at me seemed eminently preferable to being in the front rank.

  Captain Bessières was correct about one thing, however, the enemy were not the best soldiers we had ever fought and they soon began to retreat from the relentless attack of light infantry and heavy columns of determined men. As soon as the signal was given the captain ordered the bugle to sound the charge and two hundred troopers began to trot, then canter and finally gallop towards the fleeing enemy. It was not as easy as one might think to keep to the same speed as the other horsemen. I had to keep shouting at my troopers to hold their horses back a little. The point of a cavalry charge was that you hit the enemy as a solid unbroken line. When we hit them the captain was well ahead of the rest and the Piedmontese were struck piecemeal. They were still slaughtered but had it been a more disciplined army then things might have ended differently. The third rank had nothing to do as the enemy all surrendered. It was the end of the armies of Sardinia and Piedmont. General Bonaparte was delighted.

  He slapped Captain Bessières heartily on the back. “You and your chasseurs have done well. I will take a squadron with me now to accept the surrender of the Savoyards.” I could see the eager anticipation on Bessières face. “You have done enough today my friend. I will take Captain Aristide and the other squadron. You and your brave men can celebrate your victory. General Massena is in command during my absence.”

  He put on a brave face but we could all see that the ambitious horseman wanted to be as close to this mercurial comet called Bonaparte as possible. For our squadron it was just a job. None of us were under the spell of Bonaparte. He was a good general but as Albert had said, the proof would be when he faced a better enemy than the poor Sardinians and Savoyards.

  We left the celebrating army and headed north to the old capital of Savoy, Turin.

  Chapter 7

  It was a long ride. The staff, which accompanied Bonaparte, was used
to quick decisions and his equipment was ready on packhorses just as soon as we were. The general, to be fair to him, was a hard man on himself and he was just as hard on us. He just kept going. We had two stops for food but none for sleep. Ten hours after we left Dego we entered Turin. For a little man he had a great deal of presence. While we kept guard outside the palace he and his advisers strode in as though they owned the place. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep but that was out of the question until the general gave us permission.

  Eventually one of his aides came out and told the captain that we just needed to leave ten men on guard and the rest could sleep. Jean arranged the rota and my section had the midnight stint. I didn’t mind, after all mine had the youngest troopers and the ones best able to cope with sleep deprivation. When Pierre woke me and my men I was more than a little worried. I had never guarded such an important person before. I was determined to do a good job. I wondered where he was sleeping.

  We found the troopers we were to replace and they were, thankfully, inside the building for it was exceptionally cold. I placed my men in their assigned positions. I would not be able to relax until we were relieved in two hours. I walked all round the sentry posts until I was almost dizzy. Suddenly the door opened and the general stood there. I had been convinced that he would be asleep.

  “Ah Brigadier, I have an urge for some bread and cheese…”

  I waved over Francois. “Fetch some cheese and bread. Would you like wine as well sir?”

  “Thank you but no I need a clear head.” He started to go back in and then stopped. “You may be able to help me, come and join me.”

  The room was devoid of people but the table was covered in maps and jottings. He saw my look of surprise and smiled. “We concluded the treaty hours ago. I am planning my next moves in this game of chess. Tell me Brigadier, you have fought the Austrians before; what do you think of them?”