#alexandre berthier

By Command of the Emperor, by SJ Watson

(my copy is plain and blue, but I'm guessing it once had a book jacket like the one on the right)

I initially did not know very much about Marshal Berthier but through @gabrielferaud I began to learn of the abuse he endured from Napoleon and I remembered I had this book.

I was surprised to learn that Berthier was 16 years older than our Emperor, and already had an accomplished life before Napoleon came into the picture.

In 1779,

Alexandre was now twenty-six years old. He had served as a topographical engineer, as a lieutenant in the infantry, and as a cavalry captain; and he was now on the personal staff of an army commander.

By the next year, he was serving overseas under General Rochambeau in the American Revolution alongside Washington and La Fayette! After three years in America, he returned to France.

And so Berthier - a cadet at the age of twelve, a general at thirty-nine and a private at forty - quietly resigned himself to the end of his military career, the more so because he had never held any personal ambitions other than to do his best.

Berthier would have been better off if he had retired at forty and had never met Napoleon Bonaparte. He would have disappeared into obscurity, but fate would have different plans. Alternately, Napoleon was very lucky to have found Berthier. I'm going to go out on a limb and say without Berthier, Napoleon wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful as he was. Yes, he was a great general, a great leader, a genius, but he needed someone who could understand his intentions and make sure his plans were executed with precision. That man was Alexandre Berthier.

For 18 years, Berthier served Napoleon. He was the chief of staff and the first to be made a Marshal of France under Napoleon. He endured Napoleon's temper and unjust scorn. Napoleon called him, "Uninteresting" and "no good" and "in the way". Napoleon hardly ever let Berthier take credit for his success but was quick to blame his own faults on Berthier. But Berthier was loyal through and through. When warned of Napoleon's temper early on, he said, "But remember that one day it will be a fine thing to be second to that man."

It was a very good book with only two things I thought were odd. 1) Napoleon forced Berthier to marry and it was later mentioned that he had two young sons. Nothing was mentioned about his wife being pregnant or the birth of his sons, or even their names. 2) Berthier died from a fall out of a window. The book implied that he was dizzy and fell out or that Caulaincourt (his friend!) had him murdered. I think he either fell or jumped on his own. I don't think anyone - especially Caulaincourt - had anything to do with it.

I tend to be scattered, and I want to finish Countess Potocka's portraits of the Napoleonic people she met, but I found this amusing little tidbit from the war of 1812 (a time not rife in amusing tidbits), and I could not resist. Not my best translation, but I might be forgiven; I will let readers judge for themselves.

Le 23 juin, nos cavaliers (6ème régiment de lanciers polonais) reposaient encore dans leurs bivouacs, lorsqu'une voiture de voyage, attelée de six rapides coursiers et arrivant au grand trot par la route de Koenigsburg, s'arrêta tout à coup au milieu de notre camp; elle n'était escortée que de quelques chasseurs de la garde, dont les chevaux étaient haletants et harassés de fatigue.

La portière s'ouvrit et l'on vit Napoléon sortir avec vivacité de la voiture, accompagné du prince de Neufchâtel [sic] : aucun des aides de camp, aucun officier d'ordonnance ne se montraient. Peu après, le général Bruyères arriva seul, au galop. Napoléon était vêtu de son uniforme de chasseur de la garde ; il paraissait très fatigué du voyage, et ses traits offraient l'empreinte de la préoccupation. Quelques officiers parmi lesquels je me trouvais, ainsi que le major du régiment (Suchorzewski), accoururent. Tout en continuant ses interrogations, il demanda à changer d'habits, voulant prendre l'uniforme polonais; car il avait été convenu, ou plutôt ordonné, qu'aucun militaire français ne serait montré aux Moskowites [sic; this word is used to mean “Russians”]. Il mit donc bas son habit, le prince de Neufchâtel fit de même, Suchorzewski, moi et le colonel Pagowski, qui venait d'accourir, suivîmes son exemple, ainsi que le général Bruyères; de sorte que nous nous trouvâmes cinq ou six personnes en chemise au milieu du bivouac, entourant l'Empereur, et chacun de nous tenant son uniforme à la main. Les Polonais offraient les leurs aux Français, ce qui présentait un tableau singulièrement original. De tous nos uniformes, la redingote du colonel Pagowki et son bonnet de police convinrent le mieux à l'Empereur. [...] Tout cela fut l'affaire de quelques minutes. Berthier se revêtit aussi d'un uniforme polonais. On amena promptement les chevaux du colonel. Napoléon monta sur l'un d'eux et Berthier sur l'autre. [Here Napoleon and Berthier reconnoiter the area]. Après avoir terminé cette reconnaissance, Napoléon revint à notre bivouac.

[...]

Au retour de Napoléon, nous remarquâmes un changement visible sur sa figure; il avait l'air gai, et même d'une humeur enjouée [...]. On lui apporta d'abord quelques rafraîchissements, qu'il mangea au milieu de nous, sur la grande route; il semblait prendre plaisir à son travestissement, et nous demanda, à deux reprises, si l'uniforme polonais lui allait bien. Après avoir déjeuné, il nous dit en riant: "A présent il faut rendre ce qui n'est pas à nous." Puis il ôta les vêtements qu'il avait empruntés, reprit son uniforme de chasseur de la garde, remonta en voiture, accompagné de Berthier, et partit brusquement. [...]

On June 23, our horsemen (the sixth regiment of Polish lancers) were still resting in their encampments, when a traveling coach, harnessed with six speedy steeds and coming at a rapid trot from the Koenigsburg road, stopped suddenly in the midst of our camp; its only escort consisted of a few chasseurs from the Guard, whose horses were worn out with exhaustion.

The door opened, and Napoleon briskly came out of the coach, accompanied by the Prince of Neuchatel; none of his aides de camp, none of the officers of his personal suite were in evidence. Shortly thereafter, General Bruyères arrived alone at a galop. Napoleon was dressed in his uniform of a chasseur de la garde; he seemed quite tired out from his travel, and his features gave every indication of concern. A few officers, myself included, as well as the major of the regiment (Suchorzewski), came running. [Here Napoleon asks many questions about roads and the like.] In the course of questioning us, he asked to change his clothing, as he wished to wear a Polish uniform; it had been agreed, or rather it had been ordered, that no French military man would be seen by the Muscovites. Therefore he removed his uniform, the Prince of Neuchatel followed suit, Suchorzewski, myself, and Colonel Pagowski, who had come running, followed their example, as well as General Bruyères; so that five or six persons found themselves in their chemise at the centre of the bivouac, circling the Emperor, and each of us holding his uniform in his hands. The Poles were offering theirs to the French, which presented a singularly novel spectacle. Out of all our uniforms, Colonel Pagowski's coat and his bonnet de police [a soft campaign hat?] suited the Emperor best. [...] All this took but a few minutes. Berthier also dressed in a Polish uniform. The colonel's horses were promptly brought forth. Napoleon mounted one and Berthier the other [...] [Here is a description of how our two false Polish officers go off with the help of a real Polish officer as a guide, to have a look at the terrain on the other side of the Niemen, this being the day before the Grande Armée crossed it]. After completing this reconnaissance, Napoleon returned to our bivouac. [He now proceeds to ask many more questions.]

After Napoleon's return, we noticed a visible change in his face; he seemed cheerful, and even is a playful mood [...]. Some refreshments were brought to him, which he ate in our midst, on the main road; he seemed to enjoy his disguise, and asked us, twice, whether the Polish uniform suited him. After his meal, he told us laughingly: "Now we must give back waht is not ours." He then took off the garments he had borrowed, dressed again in his uniform of chasseur de la garde, climbed back into his traveling coach, accompanied by Berthier, and was gone in an instant.

Entry of General Berthier on 15 February 1798. He proclaimed the Roman Republic and left Italy to become Bonaparte's chief of staff for the Egyptian expedition by Hippolyte Lecomte (1781-1857).

From a site with lots of uniforms dedicated to military miniatures.

Naples, 1er janvier 1807

Monseigneur,

Après une campagne pénible dans la Calabre, je me trouve à Naples sans rien faire, parce qu’il n’y a rien à y faire. Cette oisiveté, jointe à la mollesse du climat, détruit ma santé. Je suis malade, Monseigneur, et je ne puis me rétablir à moins que Votre Excellence ne daigne me tirer d’ici. Les médecins tous d’une voix assurent qu’il faut pour me guérir un air moins tiède que celui-ci et une vie plus active. Je vous supplie donc, Monseigneur, si cela peut s’accorder avec le bien du service, de me faire passer à la Grande armée.

Salut et respect

Courier Chef d’escadron au 1er régiment d’artillerie à cheval

Naples, January 1st 1807

Monseigneur,

After a painful campaign in Calabria, I find myself in Naples doing nothing, because there is nothing to do. This idleness, along with the languid climate, is destroying my health. I am sick, Monseigneur, and I cannot recover unless Your Excellency deigns to pull me out of here. Doctors are unanimous in saying that my healing requires a less lukewarm air and a more active lifestyle. I beg you, Monseigneur, if this is compatible with the army’s interests, to reassign me to the Grande Armée.

Greetings and respect

But it was not only as an organiser and transmitter of orders that Berthier proved his usefulness to his chief. At Lodi he showed his personal courage and bravery among the band of heroes who forced the bridge, and Bonaparte paid him a fine tribute when he wrote in his despatches, "If I were bound to mention all the soldiers who distinguished themselves on that wonderful day, I should be obliged to mention all the carabiniers and grenadiers of the advance guard, and nearly all the officers of the staff; but I must not forget the courageous Berthier, who on that day played the part of gunner, trooper, and grenadier." At Rivoli, in addition to his staff duties, Berthier commanded the centre of the army, and fought with a stubbornness beyond all praise. By the end of the campaign of 1796 he had proved that he was as great a chief of the staff as Bonaparte was a great commander. Doubtless it is true that before the commencement of a campaign an army possesses in itself the causes of its future victory or defeat, and the Army of Italy, with its masses of enthusiastic veterans and the directing genius of Bonaparte, was bound to defeat the Austrians with their listless men and incompetent old generals; but, without the zeal, activity, and devotion which Berthier transfused through the whole of the general staff, success could not have been so sudden or so complete. 

Part Two

Books in my collection, The Age of Napoleon,  Costume From Revolution To Empire: 1789-1815, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pictures: 

1. Cover

2. Court outfit of Marshal Berthier

3. Ball dress of Empress Josephine

4. Dress belonging to Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte (Jerome’s first wife)

5. Christening gown for the King of Rome

6. Vestments belonging to Cardinal Fesch (Uncle to Napoleon)

7. Uniform of Colonel of the Foot Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard belonging to Napoleon.

8. Uniform of a Colonel of the Chasseurs a cheval of the Imperial Guard belonging to Napoleon.

9. Napoleon’s hat and greatcoat.