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‘Animals . . . Barbarians . . . Very well, then they shall be treated as such. Berthier!’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘I want our guns to open fire as soon as possible. I want a good breach in that wall and then, La
‘Yes, sir.’ La
Chapter 42
Under the covering fire of occasional blasts of grapeshot from the batteries the engineers began to dig their siege trenches, steadily zigzagging towards the walls so as not to provide any chance of enfilading fire when the assault troops moved forward to make their attack. The army went about its work with a grim determination to avenge the butchering of the officer, whose head and body still lay before the gate. When the trenches had been completed the batteries were loaded with iron shot and the bombardment of a length of wall close to the gate began in earnest. As Napoleon had suspected, the masonry was weak and within hours the ramparts had been blown away. Soon the rubble had formed a scalable slope, almost up to the level of the breach. The gu
As the guns fell silent, Napoleon went forward along the trench, nodding a greeting to the men lining each side as he passed. General La
Napoleon’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at headquarters.’
‘Sir, I volunteered to join the attack,’ Eugène protested.
‘I don’t care.Your place is at headquarters.’
‘Not today. It’s time for me to become a proper soldier.’
‘A staff officer is every bit as important as a field officer.’
‘Really, sir?’ Eugène smiled.‘Did you think that when you led the charge at Arcola?’
La
For a moment Napoleon was tempted to order Eugène to the rear, but there was truth in what the boy had said. An officer, above all men, must prove himself in battle if he was to win the respect and loyalty of his comrades, common soldiers and officers alike. He nodded slowly. ‘Very well, then. But promise me that you will not take any u
Eugène smiled. ‘I’ll be careful then, sir. For your sake.’
‘You rascal!’ Napoleon pinched his cheek. Then he turned to La
La
‘Then I’ll see you in hell.’ Napoleon slapped him on the shoulder and started to make his way back to the nearest battery to watch the assault as General La
‘Soldiers of the 8th! On your feet!’ La
From the battery Napoleon watched as La
Once the sounds of the fighting had died away Napoleon made his way down the trench and up on to the ground in front of the breach, accompanied by fifty of the guides, who watched the walls on either side closely as they guarded their general.The rubble shifted under his boots and he had some difficulty in scrambling through the breach.There were bodies in the streets, scores of them. Mostly Turks, cut down in the ferocious assault mounted by La
He found General La
Napoleon thrust his arm towards the prisoners. ‘What is the meaning of this?’
La
‘I take it that they are prisoners.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘I told you not to show the enemy any mercy.’
‘I know that, sir. But they fought hard and fair before they were forced to give up.’
‘Fine. And what do you propose to do with them now?’
‘I don’t know, sir,’ La
‘We can’t have any prisoners.’ Napoleon spoke with quiet intensity. ‘We have no spare supplies to feed them with, no spare troops to guard them, and, in any case, those from El Arish have broken the terms of their parole . . .’
La
‘I want you to dispose of the prisoners. All of them.’
La
‘I’m not interested in the number, General, just the outcome. You have your orders, now carry them out.’
‘Wait!’ Eugène called out, striding towards Napoleon with an angry expression. ‘You can’t do it, sir. I took the surrender of the men from the citadel. I gave them my word that they would be well treated.’
‘On whose authority did you make such a promise? Not mine.’>
‘I . . . I gave them my word they would be spared, sir.’
‘Then you gave them what was not in your power to give. The dishonour is yours, Eugène, and you will be responsible for the consequences,’ Napoleon said coldly. ‘General La
‘Yes, sir.’
Napoleon leaned close to his stepson. ‘Let this be a lesson to you. Next time you will obey my orders to the letter.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Eugène replied through clenched teeth.
‘Good.’ Napoleon turned to La
They exchanged a salute and then Napoleon and the guides turned and marched back through the town. As they reached the street where they had earlier encountered Desgenettes, the doctor emerged from an entrance into a courtyard and hurried over to Napoleon. He looked afraid as he saluted his general.