Moscow and Napoleon

16^th of September Mikhail Kutuzov and his army passed through Moscow and moved further by the Ryuzan Road. After having a rest at the village of Kulakovo, the Russian army made a maneuver and secretly making a turn to the right started moving along the river of Pakhra and on the 19^th of September occupied a position on its left bank at the village of Red Pakhra on the old road of Kaluga. As a result of this maneuver a single communication way of Napoleon, Smolensk road, was blocked and controlled by the Russian horse guards.

The French Emperor entered Moscow and stayed at the Kremlin on 15^th of September. When he was reported about numerous fires in Moscow for the first time, he didn’t worry much about it. On the 16^th of September the fires increased and due to strong winds the fires went on strengthening and expanding. The Emperor was watching these fires silently and said gloomy, “What a terrible view! They’re putting the own town on fire! What a determined people! They’re not people! They’re skiffs! ”

When a thread of fire became real to the Kremlin, Napoleon following advices of his marshals moved to the Country Palace of Peter. Numerous sparks were dropping to all directions making breathing hard of smoke and heat. “We were walking on the fire land under fire sky along the walls made of fire”, wrote one of his escorting officers. Napoleon had no doubts that Russians were burning Moscow to prevent it belong to the enemy. Certainly, it was driving the emperor mad crazy and violent. He was asking himself only one question – What to do then? The emperor wrote a suggestion of a liberal peaceful treaty to the Russian Emperor Alexander, but kept waiting for the reply in vain. He made another try and got no response again. On the 4^th of October Napoleon made his third and last attempt to persuade Alexander on a peaceful treaty. He sent Marquises Loriston, a former Ambassador to Russia, to the Headquarters of Mikhail Kutuzov, priory instructing him with words “I need peace for saving the honor. Move forward to the Russian camp.”

Mikhail Kutuzov received the ambassador of peace and refused to conduct any talks on peace and only promised to inform the Russian Emperor about this proposal. The Russian tsar did not answer for the third time.

Exercise №.46. Study this text and made your own summarizing sentences using linking phrases so …that, such …that where necessary.

Napoleon Leaves Moscow

The French Emperor made a decision to leave Marshal Mortue with 10 thousand of the French guard at Moscow and move toward to Kutuzov with the rest of his army by the old road of Kaluga. And on the 19^th of October French troops started moving to Kutuzov and his Russian army. A day later Napoleon changed his mind and commanded Marshal Mortue to leave Moscow and join the rest of the French army priory exploding the Kremlin. Marshal Mortue executed this order only partially as he didn’t have enough time and means for blowing the Kremlin.

At the dawn of 24^th of October corps of General Dohturov and Rayevsky stormed forceful attacks on Maloyaroslavets occupied by the French general Delsone. It developed into bloodshed for both sides and the town was shifting from one side to another eight times. French lost around 5 thousand soldiers during this battle. The town was burned down to ashes.

The next day Napoleon and his escort came out of the village of Gorodni to observe the Russian troops and were attacked by a strong group of Cossacks. Two French marshals escorting Napoleon, Murat and Bossier, General Rapp and several officers crowded around Napoleon trying to protect the French Emperor. The Polish horse guardsmen came to save the emperor and actually prevented a capture of Napoleon. A tread of capture and imprisoning of Napoleon was so much real that the next day he asked his private doctor Yuvan to give him a capsule of poison for the reason of thread of capturing.

Exercise № 47. Make your own sentences about the battle of Moscow, using conjunctions as, since, because, so that.