The King of Prussia is really treading on thin ice ...
Very early on the morning of 30 August 1813, the attached message arrived at the King of Prussia's personal field tent.
It was delivered by a visibly tired member of Julius August Reinhold von Grawert delegation. He had crossed the lines from the French side only 6 hours ago.
(contents of message)
Emmisary of King Fredrick William III
Julius August Reinhold von Grawert
plus 20 staff escorts.
Request an audience with Napoleon Bonaparte.
Oudinot message for delegation:
Proposition to the delegation.
“Napoleon has agreed to meet you for formal discussions
regarding the current hostilities.
In order for this to happen a temporary truce be put into
effect immediately between the forces under my command and those of General der
Kavallerie Blücher (Russian, Prussian and Austrian) in the area around
Grossraschen and Elsterwerda.
Neither side may advance towards the other until after the
proposed meeting has been concluded and your delegation has returned to General
der Kavallerie Blücher’s HQ.
The meeting will take place at the fortress of Torgau on 1st
September.
Further the delegation will be permitted to meet with, and
discuss the current situation with Crown Prince Charles John, Commander of the
Swedish Army, formerly Maréchal Bernadotte, who is held captive in that
fortress.
We will also provide evidence to the delegation of the fall
and capture of Berlin.
Signed for and on behalf of Napoleon
Maréchal Oudinot, Duke of Reggio
29th August 1813”
(message ends)
Truly now the Kingdom of Prussia was no-more, for their armies were shattered and their capitol in the hands of the Ogre - there was no more 'Army of the North' and the King of Prussia was now the first to know of it.
XXX
The King turns earnestly to his advisers. I can see, he says, how we can
give an order to Blucher to disengage Prussian troops, but how can this
be enforced as to the other nationalities under his command? Also, what
about the numerous Prussian forces trapped elsewhere in Germany under
others' command? How can we effect a truce with Napoleon ourselves,
without putting at risk Prussian lives elsewhere?
XXX
Haugwitz was quick to respond:
Ausgezeichnet, Preussen ist gerettet! Gott sei Dank!
But the text of the proposal, Eurer Majestaet, wenn ich bitten darf?
What
exactly is being offered in return for the huge boon which is the
removal of the Kingdom from the war? Are the French going to evacuate
Berlin? Are they promising to evacuate the Kingdom? Was geschah?
I
suspect that if the proposal-which must be acted upon or not
immediately, I see-is satisfactory to your Majesty, then the best course
is to announce oeffentlich und sofort
that the Kingdom declares neutrality and all Prussian commanders are
under orders to withdraw upon some central point, which will depend on
the generals to arrange, I suppose.
After that, of course, orders can go out to the civil administration-the Kreise-to
withdraw any support from the Habsburg and Muscovite forces still on
our territory, except as may speed their removal to the boundaries.
It's
possible that these forces will create some sort of difficulty, as your
Majsety wisely observes. We can trail past them the fact that there is
an opening for peace for all parties-the August Habsburger may wish to consider whether this is an opportunity for him to
take up negotiations, in the interest of his daughter and grandson, who
may rule in Versailles one of these days, if the rumours of the health
of the Great Beast himself are anything to go by, and the wish of the
Russians to go home is manifest, has been for months. Provided that the
French are evacuating the Kingdom, and that this commences forthwith, I
cannot see that our erstwhile sogennanten Allierten
will have any true grounds to object or interfere, it cannot be in
their interests to recommence hostilities on Prussian and now neutral
soil with a surly and unco-operative population all around and the
Prussian portion of their own army retiring from the field, the French
will know how to take advantage of that situation far better than any
stodgy Habsburger, after all, and the end result would be little
different from the present one, except that they would be ohne Preussen.
But the text of the proposal, Euerer Majestaet, wenn ich bitten darf?
XXX
The King answered:
Yes, indeed, this is exactly what I was thinking, my advisers as usual along precisely the right lines. The proposal, how are we to see and discuss it in detail? Especially such matters as the French evacuation of Berlin and indeed the kingdom as a whole. All this cannot be hurried, this we understand, but it does not behove any of us to wait unnecessarily long...
XXX
Haugwitz continued:
Euerer Majestaet, might I most respectfully draw your attention to the advice which I offered [earlier], as to the importance of the sogenannten Alliierten seeing this as their own opportunity to negotiation a settlement, albeit on less favourable grounds than ourselves, of course?
XXX
The King's response:
On this point I must demur, I do not envisage this as an opportunity
for our Allies to negotiate a separate peace, not at all....
XXX XXX XXX
Meanwhile Bonaparte's orders came out looking like this:
Orders and despatches from Napoleon and
others
Written at 23.30hrs on the day of our Lord
the August 29, 1813
Napoleon with the Polish Lancers (at 18/26)
to move, on the road, to Lubben (22/29) & join up with the Imperial Guard.
Guard Light Cavalry under Dejean escorting
the prisoner Bernadotte to Torgau, please report when you reach Torgau. Also be
prepared to move the prisoner to Wittenberg,
using your initiative, should events transpire against us in the area around
Lubben / Luckau / Cottbus.
New orders from Napoleon
The Imperial Guard at Lubben (22/29); Maréchal
Mortier make your troops ready to move as soon as I arrive tomorrow, 30th
August. Maintain cavalry patrols towards Cottbus.
Despatch to be sent to Latour-Maubourg and
Flahault
“Maintain your cavalry on recce duty. You are
not to advance any further than Luckau until you receive fresh orders from me.
Please report all enemy activity to Imperial HQ at Lubben”
Oudinot (at 27/29)
Meeting with
Prussian delegation headed by Julius August Reinbold von-Grawert: to ascertain
the reason for their seeking a meeting with Napoleon.
Napoleon has
been notified of your presence at my HQ.
Proposition to
the delegation.
“Napoleon has
agreed to meet you for formal discussions regarding the current hostilities.
In order for
this to happen a temporary truce be put into effect immediately between the
forces under my command and those of General der Kavallerie Blücher (Russian,
Prussian and Austrian) in the area around Grossraschen and Elsterwerda.
Neither side
may advance towards the other until after the proposed meeting has been
concluded and your delegation has returned to General der Kavallerie Blücher’s
HQ.
The meeting
will take place at the fortress of Torgau on 1st September.
Further the
delegation will be permitted to meet with, and discuss the current situation
with Crown Prince Charles John, Commander of the Swedish Army, formerly Maréchal
Bernadotte, who is held captive in that fortress.
We will also
provide evidence to the delegation of the fall and capture of Berlin.
Signed for and
on behalf of Napoleon
Maréchal
Oudinot, Duke of Reggio
29th
August 1813”
Orders
The troops
under Drouot, to regroup and collect in all stragglers at Luckau
Orders to VI
Corps, VII Corps, XII Corps and to I & II Cavalry Corps.
Prepare
defensive positions and be prepared for enemy action. The cavalry commanders to
maintain a light cavalry screen between our forces and the enemy; any and all
enemy movement to be reported to my HQ to the south of Luckau
Signed
Maréchal
Oudinot, Duke of Reggio
29th
August 1813”
Despatch to
Napoleon:
“Sire, today I
have written a proposal to the delegation from the Allied forces. A copy is
attached.
I am suggesting
a cessation of fighting in this area of operations whilst the meeting is held
at the fortress at Torgau.
The news that Berlin will fall to the
French within a day or two will not sit well with General der Kavallerie
Blücher, commander of the Army of Silesia currently at Grossrascen.
The news of Bernadotte’s capture has been confirmed to the
delegation by myself.
My command is partly at Luckau and the remainder here with
me . I await your further orders.”
Davout HQ (at 8/10) to advance, with XIII
Corps, along the road to Parchim (9/12)
Davout (at 8/10) sends out the following
orders:
To the Danish Auxillary force en route to Schwerin (7/9): continue your advance through Schwerin on the road to Pritzwalk following XIII Corps and
my HQ along the road from Schwerin
to Pritzwalk.
To V Cavalry Corps (at 9/12)
The Corps is to probe the enemy forces to
their east.
They are not to initiate any combat.
However should the enemy attack then V
Cavalry Corps are to stage a feigned withdrawal westwards towards Parchim and
XIII Corps which is moving into close support.
Despatch from V
Cavalry Corps to Maréchal Davout
“Excellency we
have encountered troops of the Royal Swedish Army: under the command o
Fieldmarshal Graf Stedingk. It seems to consist of three infantry divisions.
From the
captured stragglers it is known that both Crown Prince of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
Generallieutenant Count Sparre are in command positions; they are supported
by the Corps of the Lower
Elbe, a small contingent of around 1600 men.
We will maintain
our position and report any movements by the enemy whilst we await infantry and
artillery support.”
To XIII Corps (at 8/10) advance along the
road to Parchim (9/12) to support V Cavalry Corps, who are shadowing the enemy
force to the east of Parchim.
Despatch from V
Cavalry Corps to Maréchal Davout
To 9th Light Cavalry at Gustrow
(6/12)
You are to recce for any enemy formations
in that area, and to the south. Should the enemy move against you then you may
retreat, if faced by overwhelming numbers: the enemy infantry has reached a
position to the east of Parchim. We still think they are moving toward Berlin, but cannot be
sure at the moment. Report any enemy sightings post haste to my HQ which will
be on the road between Schwerin
and Parchim.
Despatch from 9th Light Cavalry
to Maréchal Davout
“Excellency we
have reached Gustrow and have not encountered any enemy troops.
We will send out
small recce patrols towards Muritz and Plau at first light. The main body of
the regiment will then move south to Plau.
Should the enemy
move against us in overwhelming numbers then we will retreat to Gustrow.
Otherwise we
will maintain our position at Plau and report any movements by the enemy whilst
we await further orders.”
To 30th
Light Cavalry now at (11/12)
You are to continue
as ordered - advance towards Pritswalk; where you will recce for any enemy
formations in that area. Should the enemy move against you in overwhelming
numbers then you may retreat: you are my eyes and ears, your continued ability
to recce and harry the enemy are crucial to our operations.
The enemy
infantry has reached a position to the east of Parchim. We still think they are
moving toward Berlin,
but cannot be sure at the moment. We are not aware of the whereabouts of the
Swedish Cavalry Division, they may be near your position; DO NOT ENGAGE WITH
THEM.
Report all
enemy sightings post haste to my HQ which will be on the road between Schwerin and Parchim.
Despatch from 30th Light Cavalry
to Maréchal Davout
“Excellency we
have moved through Karstadt and would be approaching Pritzwalk tomorrow.
However there is
evidence of a large cavalry presence in and around Pritzwalk. The local
populace say that a large (??) Swedish cavalry division has entered Pritzwalk.
Our patrols sent towards Pritzwalk report Swedish cavalry patrols to the south
and west of that town. We have not encountered any other enemy troops.
In view of the
size of the Swedish force I will not be advancing further; I do await your
further orders.
We will send out
small recce patrols at first light.
Should the enemy
move against us in overwhelming numbers then we will retreat to Karstadt.
Otherwise we
will maintain our position and report any movements by the enemy whilst we await
further orders.”
“Your Exellency,
It appears that events elsewhere have contributed to the Royal Swedish Army and
the Corps of the Lower Elbe moving away from Schwerin, retreating eastwards. My cavalry
scouts have reported their infantry to the east of Parchim. The local populace
say that a large (??) Swedish cavalry division has entered Pritzwalk. I am
following them with XIII Corps and V Cavalry Corps along the Schwerin to Pritzwalk road. Two Cavalry
Regiments are scouting out the roads to the north and south of this road. These
cover Rostock
to Gustrow and Domitz to Karsstadt.
I have sent further
orders for the Danish Auxillary to join with XIII Corps as soon as possible.”
AN ENDING SITUATION WAS NOW BUILDING FOR THE CAMPAIGN
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French situation map end of August 29th
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