Middle aged man (50s) with nothing to prove.

“Before departing the half-destroyed Moscow, he had made great efforts to collect “sheepskins,” the favorite winter apparel of the hard-riding Cossacks, to protect his troops from the inevitable wrath of the Russian winter, whose fury knew no bounds. Therefore, Ney, therefore cautioned his to carry their muskets with the butt over their shoulders to keep barrels down and dry from the inclement weather.To save the lives of his men, Ney also might have cautioned them to cut a slit in the trousers with pocket-knives or bayonets to decrease chances of frostbite when attending to the calls of nature.This was a top priority, especially at a time when Ney could ill-afford to lose any more men. French Surgeon Rose, for instance, described the extent of the danger when “Many had their hands, feet, and ears frozen. A great many were mortally stricken when obliged to stop to relieve nature; the arrival of that dreaded moment was in fact very embarrassing, on account of the danger of exposing oneself to the air as well as owing to the numbness of the fingers which rendered them unable to readjust the clothes.”

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I had no idea Ney paid such meticulous attention to his subordinates...