17th of May, and took the route to Thorn, where he arrived on the 24th. He now determined not to delay the campaign, for fear of losing the favourable season for military operations, in useless negociations. He ordered the asked for passports to be sent to prince Kurákin the Russian ambassador, and caused general Lauriston also to demand his passports. The French troops had already passed the Vistula, and approached the frontiers of Russia."

Napoleon's force amounted, at the beginning of the year 1812, to considerably above a million of men, and consisted of the following armies:

9,000

The troops of the princes of the confederation of the Rhine

23,000

The Prussian corps

20,000

The Austrian corps

30,000

The army of Naples

But notwithstanding the immensity of resources which he already had in his hand, he also thought of the means of putting a powerful reserve on foot.

"The channel of the conscription appearing to him exhausted, he ordered all the males fit to carry arms in the empire of France and in the kingdom of Italy to be organized, as a national guard, divided into three bans. The first ban comprized the males from 20 to 26 years of age; the second ban was composed of those from 26 to 40 years; finally, the males from 40 to 60 years formed the arrière ban."

The grand army destined for the invasion of Russia consisted of thirteen corps d'armée, and four corps of cavalry, besides the particular corps of the guard and the Austrian auxiliary troops, under the direct orders of Prince Schwartzenberg. The composition of each of these corps is enumerated with great minuteness, and the commanders names are mentioned in Boutourlin's work.

"In the course of the month of April these enormous masses began to move." Some of them inundated the states of Prussia, and after having passed the Oder, advanced toward the Vistula; some parted from Verona, traversed the Tyrol and arrived in Galicia. The Poles assembled upon the Vistula. The different divisions of the 10th corps united between Dantzick and Konigsberg. The Austrian contingent formed itself in Galicia in the environs of Lemberg. The guard of Napoleon departed from Paris and directed its course toward Dresden. The 9th corps remained in reserve between the Elbe and the Oder. The 11th corps began to organize itself in the environs of Mentz. At the commencement of May the army reached the banks of the Vistula, at Marienbourg, Marienwerder, Thorn, Plosk, Warsaw, &c., and the guards arrived at Dresden.

While Napoleon prepared his means of aggression, the emperor of Russia did not neglect to put himself in a state of defence. As a rupture between the two sovereigns was foreseen in 1810, orders were given to fortify some places which were to support the operations of the armies, and likewise to augment the defences at Kief and Riga, and to raise new fortresses at Bobrouisk upon the Beresina, and at Dunaburg upon the Dvina. The minister of war also applied himself to the augmentation of the army. In 1810 the whole Russian army consisted of 437 battalions and 399 squadrons, which composed 25 divisions, and included 400,000 men, who were ́stationed in various parts of the Russian empire. In the course of the year 1811 the army underwent many changes in its organization, and was augmented by new levies, different corps of which took up their stations upon the western frontiers. On the first of January 1812, the forces of Russia were disposed in the following manner: in Finland the corps of Count Steingell, consisting of 30,653 men: the corps of the grand duke Constantine, 28,526 men at Petersburgh: the corps of Count Wittgenstein of 34,290 men, in Livonia and Courland: the corps of general Baggovout of 47,520 men, in the governments of Wilna and Witepsk; the corps of general Essen of 41,045 men, in the governments of Grodno, Minsk, and Mohilef; the army of prince Bagration of 104,322 men, in Volchinia and Podolia; the Moldavian army of general Kutúsof of 87,026 men, upon the Danube; the corps of the duc de Richelieu of 19,501 men, in the Crimea; and the corps of general Rtítchef of 9,928 men, in the Caucasus; the corps of general the Marquis de Paulucci of 23,745 men, in Georgia; and at Moscow, the 27th division, newly formed, of 10,641.

By adding to the general sum of the above-mentioned forces, 2,417 men (de troupes d'exercise), 4,051 pioneers, 4,851 artillery of reserve, and lastly, 69,166 garrison and invalid soldiers in active service, we find the number of 517,682 men, who at this epoch formed the total of regular troops of the Russian empire.

"The hostile dispositions of the emperor of the French were evident. Still the Russian government wished to avoid giving any pretext to Napoleon. On the introduction, however, of French troops into Prussia, and their march towards the Vistula, the emperor Alexander felt that the moment was arrived, for the greatest activity."

The whole forces, assembled upon the western frontier, formed two armies, which were divided into corps. The first army of the west was placed under the command of General Barclay de Tolly, whose head-quarters were at Wilna. It was composed of six corps, and two of cavalry of reserve. The first corps was commanded by Count Wittgenstein, the second by general Baggovout, the third by general Tutchkof, the fourth by Count Shuválof, the fifth by the grand duke Constantine, the sixth by general Essen. The first corps of cavalry of reserve was commanded by general Uvárof, and the second by general Korf.

The second army of the west was placed under the command of prince Bagration, who received orders to transport his head-quarters from Jitomir to Loutsk. It was formed of four corps, and two of cavalry of reserve. The seventh corps was commanded by general Raëvskoi, the eighth by Count Kamenskoi, the ninth by general Markof, the tenth by general Doktorof. The fourth corps of cavalry was commanded by general Tchaplits, and the fifth by Count Lambert. Besides the second army had in its suite twelve companies of artillery, and ten regiments of Kozáks.

The battalions and squadrons of reserve were organized into eight new divisions of infantry and four of cavalry. These troops formed two corps. The first corps of reserve, of which baron Muller-Zakoméĺskoi took the command, had its headquarters at Toropets: the second corps of reserve was commanded by general Ertell, and had its head-quarters at Romen. The thirtieth and thirty-first divisions formed the garrison at Riga, under the orders of prince Labánof, its military governor. The twelfth division of cavalry remained in reserve at Olviopole ready to join either the Moldavian army, or the second army of the west,

Thirty-six dépôts of recruits, disposed in three lines, were spread over the provinces of the interior nearest the theatre of war, à alimenter, the corps put in action."

"The establishment of parks of reserve for artillery also excited the solicitude of the Russian government," and three lines of them were formed on the frontiers of Poland and Russia.

"The emperor Alexander now quitted Petersburgh, and took the road to Wilna, where he arrived on the 16th (28th)* of April.”

As it appeared probable that the country between the Niemen, the Beresina, and the Dvina, would become the seat of war, it was determined to trace an entrenched camp at Drissa, on the left of the Dvina, with the view of presenting a point of retreat to the different corps of the first army. A tête de pont was also raised at Borissof upon the Beresina, for the purpose of securing the passage at that important point, upon the route of Wilna and of Minsk, by Smolensk to Moscow.

"The French armies continued their march toward the Niemen. At the end of May, Marshall Davoust directed himself on Konigsberg, Marshal Oudinot on Wehlau, marshal Ney on Goldapp; the vice-roi on Rastemburgh, the king of Westphalia on Warsaw, and prince Poniatovskii on Pultusk. On the 31st of May (11th of June), Napoleon marched the imperial quarters to Konigsberg. These movements, which appeared to indicate that the principal operations would take place on the lower Niemen, necessitated a change in the organization and destination of the second army of the west, which it was judged proper to move nearer to the first, and the formation of a new army to cover Volchinia."

This army was made up of divisions of the other armies, and was put under the command of general Tórmasof; prince Bagration received orders to move from the environs of Loutsk to Proujani with the greatest part of his troops: general Borozdín had the command of the eighth corps of the second army; and general Sacken had a corps under his command in the third army of the west.

"The French army had continued its advance. On the 5th (17th) of June, Napoleon had moved his head-quarters to Insterburgh, on the 7th (19th) to Gumbinnen, and on the 10th (22d) to Vilkovski. The mass of his forces directed itself upon Kovno. The Russians now felt the necessity of reinforcing their first army, and the movements were scarcely completed when the enemy commenced hostilities.

The dates are according to the Old Style, but we put them also accord. ing to the modern calculation.

"Mittau, Wilna, Nesvig, and Jitomir, are the four points of intersection of all the grand communications of the frontier provinces of the empire.

"But whatever be the extent of the frontier, it is incontestable that there is always but a single decisive point where it is urgent to concentrate the army charged to defend it. In the circumstances in which the Russians were placed, this point, without contradiction, was Wilna, since it was easy to foresee that the enemy, who assembled themselves in oriental Prussia, would not fail to direct the mass of their forces upon this point.

"The Russians, perfectly sensible of the importance of this point, united their grand army in the environs of the town, and caused the second army even to approach it.”

"The total of the three active armies amounted to about 209,000 men. Besides these forces displayed in the first line, the Russians had upon this frontier mentioned, a reserve composed of 87 battalions, and of 54 squadrons."

"The peace with Turkey left a disposable force of 50,000 men, without comprizing the Kozáks, which was destined to invade Italy, by passing through Servia, Bosnia, and Croatia :-Admiral Tchitchagóf in command. A singular project, but the admiral contrived to fail nearer home."

The Russians suddenly perceived, upon the advance of the grand French army towards Kovno, that they were not in a state to prevent this invasion, and the general-in-chief, Barclay de Tolly, with the object of uniting all the corps of his army, determined on a retreat. The general rendezvous was fixed at Sventsiani.

"Napoleon now made his dispositions to open the campaign. He had divided his disposable forces, which amounted to nearly 500,000 men, into three grand divisions. He himself with his guards, the corps of Davoust, Oudinot, and Ney, the cavalry corps of Nansouty, of Montbrun, and Grouchy, in all 250,000 men, prepared to crush the first army of the west, by falling upon its centre before it was assembled. The king of Westphalia with the corps of Junot, Poniatóvski, and Regnier, and the cavalry of Latour-Maubourg, forming a mass of 80,000 men, was to perform the same manoeuvre against the second army. The vice-roi of Italy with a central army also of 80,000 men, composed of his own corps and of that of Saint-Cyr, was to throw himself between the two Russian armies, and to cut off their communication. Besides these three grand masses, the enemy had formed two flank corps. On the left Marshal Macdonald, with his corps of 30,000 men, was to penetrate into Courland, in order to menace the right flank of the Russians, and to excite their jealousy as to Riga; on the right, prince Schwartzenberg, with the Austrian auxiliary corps, also of 30,000 men, was to keep Tórmasof in check."