the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

Ever cheerful, vigilant and heedless of danger and disaster, Bagration was,
like his subordinate, worn out from lack of sleep and food. His close
associates, who were just setting out on the road to fame – Count Pahlen,
Rayevsky, Yermolov, Kulnev – were carrying out their duties by sheer
willpower; the infantry barely dragged their feet; the horsemen were
dozing off and swaying in their saddles. 243
Another Russian officer also noted the difficulties Bagration could have faced if
the French attacked him. Yermolov wrote, “There was only one bridge over the Nieman
at Tilsit. It was impossible to establish tête du pont there and everyone realized what a
difficult mission was assigned to Bagration; the rear guard could have been destroyed
while retreating across a single bridge…” 244 Nevertheless, Bagration arranged his troops
in positions before Tilsit. He retained the Cossacks and part of the regular cavalry,
dispatching the rest of it across the river. 245 Late in evening, Murat’s cavalry approached
the Russian outposts but avoided attacking Bagration in darkness. At dawn on 19 June,
Prince Peter withdrew his troops to Tilsit and began crossing the river under protection of
the jager regiments in town. Around 9:00 a.m., Murat entered the town but failed to
capture the bridge that Bagration had burned. Prince Peter deployed light artillery
batteries along the riverbank and set up a cavalry screen to monitor the French
movements. 246
On 19 June, Prince Peter received Bennigsen’s letter instructing him to offer an
armistice to the French. Bennigsen wrote, “After the torrents of blood which have lately
flowed in battles as sanguinary as frequent, I should desire to assuage the evils of this
destructive war, by proposing an armistice before we enter upon a conflict, a fresh war,
243 Denisov, “Tilsit in 1807,” in Writings, 229.
244 Yermolov, Memoirs, 107.
245 Journal of Military Operations of the Russian Imperial Army, 271. Bennigsen sent all of
the heavy cavalry to reinforce the rear guard, but Bagration returned it arguing it would
complicate his crossing over the Nieman.
246 Yermolov, Memoirs, 108; Journal of Military Operations of the Russian Imperial Army,
273-74; 80 th Bulletin, 19 June 1807, Correspondance de Napoleon Ier, No. 12,775, XV, 434-36.
426