Memory of Flames

CHAPTER 42

ON 29 March, Napoleon rose at two in the morning. The French army set off on a frenzied march.

But it was not fast enough to worry the Allies, so the Emperor decided he needed to take more dramatic risks. He sent an advance guard of only a thousand cavalry commanded by General Guyot. The rest of the army would follow as quickly as possible. It was important for the French to show themselves, to appear with a great fanfare behind the enemy. Their only hope was to play on the fear that Napoleon inspired and to fool the enemy into thinking that he would suddenly materialise with all his troops.

That day Parisians were alarmed to watch Empress Marie-Louise and her son, the King of Rome, leaving Paris for Blois, escorted by two thousand soldiers.

The evening before, Joseph Bonaparte had convened the regency council to decide whether the Empress should leave or stay.

Talleyrand had proposed that the Empress and her son remain in Paris, and most of the council agreed. Marie-Louise herself wanted to stay. But Joseph produced a letter from Napoleon dated 6 March in which he ordered that his wife and son should be helped to leave Paris if the city were menaced. The order was intended to ensure that they would not fall into the hands of the enemy. Everyone agreed to obey Napoleon’s injunction, which also included a number of dignitaries, ministers and members of the Senate. Joseph hoped to lessen the impact of the Empress’s departure by having a proclamation posted all over Paris stating that he would be staying. But all that did was give rise to a little ditty:

Great Kingjoseph wan and pale

Stayed behind to save us all

But if this plan of his should fail

Rest assured he’ll save himself!

Marshals Marmont and Mortier arrived on the outskirts of the capital and immediately positioned their twelve thousand men to protect the city.

The Allies, on their side, were organising their multitudes of combatants. Troops were dispatched to occupy various strategic points, others were held back to support the troops in front or to await Napoleon’s arrival. The attack on Paris was to be led by thirty-five thousand men split into three giant columns, which would descend on Paris like three Titans. The Allies expected little resistance, but they were nevertheless going to throw all their available resources into the battle. They wanted to conquer Paris as quickly as possible.

The Allied regiments rejoiced as they arrived in sight of the capital. Thousands of voices could be heard crying, ‘Paris! Paris!’ as the soldiers brandished rifles and sabres.