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josefavomjaaga · 3 years

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Eugène disobeys. Kinda.

As related before, in November 1813 Eugène had refused an offer made to him by his father-in-law to join the Allies, and he had sent a report of the event to Napoleon. Who had answered in his usual laconic way:

Paris, November 28, 1813

My son, I receive your letter of the 22nd, 11 PM. I recognize Austria's politics very well in there; that's how she creates so many traitors.

(According to the secret envoy, Prince von Thurn und Taxis, the reaction of Eugène’s father-in-law on hearing that Eugène had refused was similarly brief: »Je les ai bien dit.« - »I had so told them that before.«)

So, that was that. In case Eugène had expected a pat on the head (which he clearly had), he got no such thing.

However, three months later Eugène would be in a position to be accused of treason (or at least disobedience) himself. On February 16, 1814, he received an order via Clarke:

Le Duc de Feltre (Clarke) à Eugène, Fevrier 9, 1814

Monseigneur,

l'Empereur me prescrit par sa lettre datée de Nogent-sur-Seine le 8 de ce mois de réitérer à Votre Altesse Impériale l'ordre que Sa Majesté lui a donné de se porter sur les Alpes aussitôt que le roi de Naples aurait déclaré la guerre à la France. D'après les intentions de Sa Majesté, Votre Altesse Impériale ne doit laisser aucune garnison dans les places d'Italie, si ce n'est des troupes d'Italie, et elle doit de sa personne venir avec tout ce qui est français sur Turin et Lyon, soit par Fenestrelle, soit par le mont Cenis. L'Empereur me charge de mander à Votre Altesse qu'aussitôt qu'elle sera en Savoie elle sera rejointe par tout ce que nous avons à Lyon.

***

Monseigneur,

the Emperor instructs me by his letter dated Nogent-sur-Seine on the 8th of this month to reiterate to Your Imperial Highness the order which His Majesty gave him to proceed to the Alps as soon as the King of Naples had declared war on France. According to the intentions of His Majesty, Your Imperial Highness must not leave any garrison in the places of Italy, except for the troops of Italy, and he himself is to come with all that is French to Turin and Lyon, either by Fenestrelle, or by Mont Cenis.

The Emperor charges me to mandate to Your Highness that as soon as he is in Savoy he will be joined by all that we have in Lyon.

This message was also supposed to be sent via telegraph, but it never seems to have reached Milan that way. Only on February 16, after receiving it via courier, Eugène writes back, asking Clarke for clarification. Leave? In the case that Murat attacks us? Or like – right now? Why? So far the Neapolitans still seem to be quite undecided; we can hold on a lot longer here.

Before Clarke can send another order, Eugène, on February 18, receives not one but two family letters:

Josephine à Eugène, (Février 9)

Ne perds pas un instant, mon cher Eugène, quels que soient les obstacles, redouble d'efforts pour remplir l'ordre que l'Empereur t'a donné. Il vient de m'écrire à ce sujet. Son intention est que tu te portes sur les Alpes, en laissant dans Mantoue et les places d'Italie seulement les troupes du royaume d'Italie; sa lettre finit par ces mots: « La France avant tout, la France a besoin de tous ses enfants! »

Viens donc, mon cher fils, accours ; jamais ton zèle n'aura mieux servi l'Empereur. Je puis t'assurer que chaque instant est précieux.

Je sais que ta femme se disposait à quitter Milan; dis-moi si je peux lui être utile? Adieu, mon cher Eugène, je n'ai que le temps de t'embrasser et de te répéter d'arriver bien vite.

***

Do not lose a moment, my dear Eugene, whatever the obstacles, redouble your efforts to fulfil the order the Emperor has given you. He has just written to me on this subject. His intention is that you should go to the Alps, leaving in Mantua and the places of Italy only the troops of the kingdom of Italy; his letter ends with these words: "France above all, France needs all her children! "

Come then, my dear son, hurry; never has your zeal served the Emperor better. I can assure you that every moment is precious.

I know that your wife was preparing to leave Milan; tell me if I can be of use to her? Farewell, my dear Eugene, I have only time to embrace you and to tell you again to arrive very soon.

And Hortense to Eugène (10 Février)

Je t'envoie la lettre de l'Empereur à l'Impératrice et la réponse de notre mère; je ne comprends rien à tout cela... Au reste, la paix se fait, car on en parle beaucoup; cela ne nous empêchera peut-être pas d'être pris à Paris, mais tout cela sera décidé dans peu de jours. Ce qui prouve bien que l'Empereur ne comptait pas sur toi pour venir en France, c'est que d'après sa lettre il dit ne t'avoir ordonné de quitter l'Italie que quand le roi de Naples lui déclarerait la guerre, et cette guerre à laquelle il devait bien s' attendre depuis longtemps, je parie qu'il s'est toujours fait illusion et ne l'a pas crue possible... Il est vrai qu'il est plus pénible de voir des torts à ceux qu'on a beaucoup aimés. Tes proclamations sont à merveille et tu ne dois jamais envier ton voisin victorieux et puissant. Tu vas t etrouver dans un grand embarras... Suis ta tête, elle te fera mieux juger ce qu'il faut faire étant de près, et je suis sûre que tu suivras toujours ton cœur en faisant ce qui sera le mieux pour servir l'Empereur, et que lui-même ne pourra jamais en douter. Comme c'est là la seule récompense que tu attends, il serait pénible de ne pas l'obtenir...

***

I am sending you the Emperor's letter to the Empress and our mother's reply; I do not understand any of this... Besides, peace is on the way, because there is a lot of talk about it; this will perhaps not prevent us from being caught in Paris, but all that will be decided in a few days. What proves that the Emperor did not count on you to come to France, is that according to his letter he says that he ordered you to leave Italy only when the King of Naples declared war on him, and this war, that he must have expected for a long time, I bet that he was always under the illusion and did not believe it possible... It is true that it is more painful to see faults in those whom one has loved very much. Your proclamations are wonderful and you should never envy your victorious and powerful neighbour. You will find yourself in great trouble... Follow your head, it will make you better judge what to do being close, and I am sure that you will always follow your heart in doing what is best to serve the Emperor, and that he himself can never doubt it. As this is the only reward you expect, it would be painful not to obtain it...

Now Eugène, usually rather stoic and timid when dealing with Napoleon, and used to some level of verbal abuse from his step-father ever since he became viceroy of Italy, for once has had enough. What do his mother and sister have to do with any of this? He’s held out in Germany in 1813, after the Russian disaster, after Murat had left, and (as he seems to have told his Bavarian family) never even got a »thank you« for his efforts to keep the remnants of the Grande Armée together. Back in Italy he receives some lukewarm allusions about »Don’t forget to bring the silverware when you leave Italy!« - and now, instead of giving a clear order for once, Napoleon feels the need to make Eugène obey by getting involved the ex-empress? As if Eugène needed some extra incentive to follow Napoleon’s orders?

So Eugène does the logical thing: not follow Napoleon’s order. Instead, he indignantly points out how he has done nothing wrong and goes to great lengths to explain to Napoleon why he thinks this whole evacuation plan is crap anyway. (Which, admittedly, he is probably right about.)

Eugène to Napoleon, Volta, February 18, 1814

Sire, une lettre que je reçois de l'impératrice Joséphine m'apprend que Votre Majesté me reproche de n'avoir pas mis assez d'empressement à exécuter l'ordre qu'elle m'a donné par sa lettre en chiffres, et qu'elle m'a fait réitérer le 9 de ce mois par le duc de Feltre.

Votre Majesté a semblé croire aussi que j'ai besoin d'être excité à me rapprocher de la France dans les circonstances actuelles, par d'autres motifs que mon dévouement pour sa personne et mon amour pour ma patrie.

Que Votre Majesté me le pardonne, mais je dois lui dire que je n'ai mérité ni ses reproches ni le peu de confiance qu'elle montre dans des sentiments qui seront toujours les plus puissants mobiles de toutes mes actions.

L'ordre de Votre Majesté portait expressément que, dans le cas où le roi de Naples déclarerait la guerre à la France, je devais me retirer sur les Alpes. Cet ordre n'était que conditionnel; j'aurais été coupable si je l'eusse exécuté avant que la condition qui devait en motiver l'exécution eût été remplie. Mais, cependant, je me suis mis aussitôt, par mon mouvement rétrograde sur le Mincio et en m'échelonnant sur Plaisance, en mesure d'exécuter la retraite que Votre Majesté me prescrivait, aussitôt que le roi de Naples, sortant de son indécision, se serait enfin formellement déclaré contre nous. Jusqu'à présent ses troupes n'ont commis aucune hostilité contre celles de Votre Majesté; le roi s'est toujours refusé à coopérer activement au mouvement des Autrichiens, et, il y a deux jours encore, il m'a fait dire que son intention n'était point d'agir contre Votre Majesté, et il m'a donné en même temps à entendre qu'il ne faudrait qu'une circonstance heureuse pour qu'il se déclarât en faveur des drapeaux sous lesquels il a toujours combattu. Votre Majesté voit donc clairement qu'il ne m'a point été permis de croire que le moment d'exécuter son ordre conditionnel fût arrivé.

Mais si Votre Majesté veut supposer un instant que j'eusse interprété ses ordres de manière à me retirer aussitôt que je les aurais reçus, qu'en serait-il résulté?

J'ai une armée de 36,000 hommes, dont 24,000 Français et 12,000 Italiens. Mais de ces 24,000 Français, plus de la moitié sont nés dans les États de Rome et de Gênes, en Toscane et dans le Piémont, et aucun d'eux assurément n'aurait repassé les Alpes. Les hommes qui appartiennent aux départements du Léman et du mont Blanc, qui commencent déjà à déserter, auraient bientôt suivi cet exemple des Italiens, et je me serais trouvé dans les défilés du mont Cenis ou de Fenestrelle, comme je m'y trouverai aussitôt que Votre Majesté m'en aura donné l'ordre positif, avec 10,000 hommes à peine, et attirant à ma suite sur la France 70,000 Autrichiens, et l'armée napolitaine qui alors, privée de la présence de l'armée française qui lui sert encore plus d'appui que de frein, eût été forcée aussitôt d'agir offensivement contre nous. Il est d'ailleurs impossible de douter que l'évacuation entière de l'Italie aurait jeté dans les rangs des ennemis de Votre Majesté un grand nombre de soldats qui sont aujourd'hui ses sujets.

Je suis donc convaincu que le mouvement de retraite prescrit par Votre Majesté aurait élé très funeste à ses armes, et qu'il est fort heureux que, jusqu'à présent, je n'aie pas dû l'opérer.

Mais si l'intention de Votre Majesté était que je dusse le plus promptement possible rentrer en France avec ce que j'aurais pu conserver de son armée, que n'a-t-elle daigné me l'ordonner? Elle doit en être bien persuadée, ses moindres désirs seront toujours des lois suprêmes pour moi; mais Votre Majesté m'a appris que dans le métier des armes il n'est pas permis de deviner les intentions, et qu'on doit se borner à exécuter les ordres.

Quoi qu'il en soit, il est impossible que de pareils doutes soient nés dans le cœur de Votre Majesté. Un dévouement aussi parfait que le mien doit avoir excité la jalousie; puisse-t-elle ne point parvenir à altérer les bontés de Votre Majesté pour moi, elles seront toujours ma plus chère récompense. Le but de toute ma vie sera de la justifier, et je ne cesserai jamais de mettre mon bonheur à vous prouver mon attachement, et ma gloire à vous servir.

***

Sire, a letter I received from Empress Joséphine informs me that Your Majesty blames me of not putting enough eagerness into carrying out the order which you gave me by your letter in cipher, and which you had reiterated to me on the 9th of this month by the Duke of Feltre.

Your Majesty also has seemed to believe that I needed to be induced to approach France in the present circumstances, by other motives than my devotion to His person and my love for of my fatherland.

May your Majesty forgive this, but I have to tell Him I have not deserved either his reproaches or the little confidence He shows in sentiments which will always be the most powerful motives for all my actions.

Your Majesty's order explicitly stated that, in the event that the King of Naples should declare war on France, I was to withdraw to the Alps. This order was only conditional; I would have been guilty if I had executed it before the requirement for its execution had been fulfilled. But, nevertheless, I placed myself at once, by my retrograde movement on the Mincio and by spreading out towards Piacenza, in a position to execute the retreat which Your Majesty prescribed for me, as soon as the King of Naples, coming out of his indecision, had finally formally declared himself against us. Up to now his troops have not committed any hostility against those of Your Majesty; the King has always refused to cooperate actively in the movement of the Austrians, and, only two days ago, he informed me that his intention was not to act against Your Majesty, and at the same time he gave me to understand that it would only take a fortunate circumstance for him to declare himself in favour of the flags under which he has always fought. Your Majesty can therefore clearly see that I was not allowed to believe that the moment to execute his conditional order had arrived.

But if Your Majesty wishes to suppose for a moment that I had interpreted his orders in such a way as to withdraw as soon as I had received them, what would have been the result?

I have an army of 36,000 men, 24,000 of whom are French and 12,000 Italians. But of these 24,000 Frenchmen more than half were born in the states of Rome and Genoa, in Tuscany and Piedmont, and surely none of them would have re-crossed the Alps. The men from the departments of Lake Geneva and departments of Léman and Mont Blanc, who are already beginning to desert, would soon have followed the Italians' example, and I would have found myself in the defiles of Mont Cenis or Fenestrelle, as I will find myself there as soon as Your Majesty has given me a positive order, with barely 10,000 men, drawing after me 70,000 Austrians as well as the Neapolitan forces, which then, deprived of the presence of the French army which is still more of a booster than a brake, would have been forced at once to act offensively against us. Moreover, it is impossible to doubt that the entire evacuation of Italy would have thrown into the ranks of Your Majesty's enemies a great number of soldiers who are today His subjects.

I am therefore convinced that the movement of retreat prescribed by Your Majesty would have been very fatal to His arms, and that it is fortunate that, up to now, I have not had to carry it out.

But if Your Majesty's intention was that I should return to France as quickly as possible with what I could have kept of His army, why did He not deign to order me to do so? He must be well persuaded of this: His smallest desires will always be supreme laws for me; but Your Majesty has taught me that in the profession of arms it is not permitted to guess at intentions and that one must limit oneself to carrying out orders.

Be that as it may, it is impossible for such doubts to have arisen in the heart of Your Majesty. Such perfect devotion as mine must have excited jealousy; may it not succeed in altering Your Majesty's goodness to me, it will always be my dearest reward. The aim of my whole life will be to justify it, and I shall never cease to place my happiness in proving my attachment to you, and my glory in serving you.

In his letter to Josephine of the same date, he opens up even more, complaining loudly:

[…] I had not believed I had reached the point where I needed to give the Emperor proof of my fidelity and my devotion! I can, in all this, see only one thing: that I have enemies, and that they are jealous of the, I dare say honourable, way in which I have managed to get through the most difficult circumstances. To this, I will respond by the testimony of truth. Here it is in its entirety:

For over three months that I had remained without direction or instruction from the Emperor, I received from him, around the 1st of February, only a ciphered letter, which told me that, in the event that the King of Naples declared war on France, I was to withdraw to the Alps. This order was thus conditional, and seemed to say to me: " In such a case you will not be able to hold out in Italy; in this case you must cover the gates of France, etc."

But I had put myself in direct contact with the king; I sent him every day, since his arrival in Bologna, an officer who made him think of peace as being near, who confided in him the indignation which the army felt, who told him that he would be lost forever in history if he dipped his hands in French blood; finally, that it was quite obvious that the enemy was playing with him. […]

And so on, and so on. He’s clearly feeling hurt by what he sees as Napoleon’s distrust. He – of course – also tells his (pregnant) wife Auguste about it, who is not too happy about Napoleon’s behaviour towards Eugène anyway and only too ready to share Eugène’s indignation.

And this in turn will set the stage for the final chapter of this tragicomedy: the big question of Auguste’s confinement.

#eugene de beauharnais #napoleon #auguste of bavaria #josephine #hortense de beauharnais #italy1814 #father-son-relationships tend to be a bumpy road

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