Napolean’s Russian missive up for grabs
2 Dec 2012 5:26 AM IST
The single line of Napoleon's secret code told Paris of his desperate, last order against the Russians: ‘At three o'clock in the morning, on the 22nd I am going to blow up the Kremlin.’
By the time Paris received the letter three days later, the Russian czar's seat of power was in flames and the diminished French army was in retreat. Its elegantly calligraphic ciphers show history's famed general at one of his weakest moments.
‘My cavalry is in tatters, many horses are dying,’ dictated Napoleon, the once-feared leader showing the strain of his calamitous Russian invasion, which halved his army.
The rare document dated 20 October, 1812, signed ‘Nap’ in the emperor's hand and written in numeric code is up for auction Sunday at France's Fontainebleau Auction House.
The Napoleon code, used only for top-secret letters when the French emperor was far from home, aimed to stop enemies from intercepting French army orders. The code was regularly changed to prevent it from being cracked. Napoleon must have dispatched his strongest horses and riders to carry the news: It only took three days to reach France's interior ministry 2,480 kilometres across Europe. ‘This letter is unique. Not only is it all in code, but it's the first time we see this different Napoleon. He went into Moscow in 1812 at the height of his power. He returned profoundly weakened.
In Moscow, the Russians had fled days before and burnt down the city.
By the time Paris received the letter three days later, the Russian czar's seat of power was in flames and the diminished French army was in retreat. Its elegantly calligraphic ciphers show history's famed general at one of his weakest moments.
‘My cavalry is in tatters, many horses are dying,’ dictated Napoleon, the once-feared leader showing the strain of his calamitous Russian invasion, which halved his army.
The rare document dated 20 October, 1812, signed ‘Nap’ in the emperor's hand and written in numeric code is up for auction Sunday at France's Fontainebleau Auction House.
The Napoleon code, used only for top-secret letters when the French emperor was far from home, aimed to stop enemies from intercepting French army orders. The code was regularly changed to prevent it from being cracked. Napoleon must have dispatched his strongest horses and riders to carry the news: It only took three days to reach France's interior ministry 2,480 kilometres across Europe. ‘This letter is unique. Not only is it all in code, but it's the first time we see this different Napoleon. He went into Moscow in 1812 at the height of his power. He returned profoundly weakened.
In Moscow, the Russians had fled days before and burnt down the city.
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