Waterloo - La chute de la grande armée de Napoléon

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Between 1804 and 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte reigns on the French Empire. Military genius and builder, he leads with his troops countless battles. His army is then considered as the most powerful in the world. Alongside the emperor, tens of thousands of soldiers, march on Europe. Powerful artillery pieces, pour out deadly fire on their enemies. And over the course of victories, Napoleon's Great Army, quenches his thirst for conquest and made his legend grow. Two centuries later the fall of the Empire, many remains of this mythical army still remain to be discovered and are the subject of new studies by archaeologists and historians. Thanks to these exceptional treasures and reconstructions, in synthetic images, Thierry Lentz, director of the Fondation Napoléon, and Hervé Drévillon, expert in military tactics, will make us discover the Napoleonic epic, like we've never seen her before. With them, we will follow the work of specialists in the field who study, organization of training camps of the Great Army. The daily life of men military campaigns, or the fate of the wounded at the heart of the fighting. These 200-year-old remains bring today, new clues about the reasons which caused, after ten years of domination without sharing, the fall of the Grande Armée of Napoleon. General in the armies of the Republic French after the Revolution, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy, then the army of the East, Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power, in 1799. First appointed First Consul, then consul for life, it is then proclaimed Emperor of the French, on May 18, 1804. From then on begins an unprecedented reign in the history of France. A decade during which they oppose each other with weapons, to the great European monarchies and control without sharing the French Empire and its allies. - This France of 1805 is obviously not, the France we know today. We created 83 departments at the beginning of the Revolution and then, we added others from annexation, the left bank of the Rhine, Belgium, Luxembourg, Savoie, the county of Nice... And it all adds up to 106, the number of departments which constitute the French Empire. - What we call at the time a great nation. And this great nation has allies, which were formed at the time of the Revolution. That we, in France, we call the French Revolution, but who is actually a European phenomenon. And these sister republics, they are found in Holland, they are found in Switzerland and they are found in Northern Italy. - France has friends, but she also has adversaries, who are the big ones European monarchies, who did not accept the Revolution French and will then fight, against the French preponderance that Napoleon will want to impose. We can cite a few of them, the Russian Empire, obviously, Austria, Prussia, Portugal. But the major enemy of this Napoleonic France is England. - It creates adversaries numerous and formidable. And we can even ask ourselves how France, was able to face so many allied countries. The answer is that France is at that moment, with 28 to 30 million inhabitants, the most populous country in Europe. And moreover, Napoleon has a means of mobilization, who is the conscription appeared at the end of the French Revolution and it obliges every man aged 20 to 25, to register in registers. All conscripts are not mobilized. It's about a third who go to war. But even though, it allows Napoleon, to build a massive army. And we can say that conscription was the instrument, of Napoleon's conquests. At the beginning of 1805, more than 200,000 young people conscripts are called up, to complete the army of the First Empire. It has already been a year since Napoleon considered to attack the kingdom of England, sworn enemy of France. He then ordered the construction gigantic training camps, all along the Channel coast. They shelter the one we call the army of the coasts of the Ocean. Tens of thousands of soldiers who train hard, to face the powerful Royal Navy. Still, the landscapes of the region, bear the traces of these vast facilities. Seen from the sky, alignments appear sometimes in the middle of the fields. These are the remains of the barracks which sheltered the soldiers. Frédéric Lemaire is an archaeologist. It's been over ten years that he studies these camps, exceptional symbol of thirst of Napoleonic conquest. Today he is scouting not far from the village of Camiers, on the Opal Coast. In this space, facing the sea, were stationed more than 5,000 men divided into three regiments. Among them was the 96th regiment line infantry. 1800 fighters installed in basic barracks, of which the specialist restores easily organized. - There we are precisely to the place, from the first line of barracks, that you have to imagine over nearly 350 meters, from North to south. Dozens of perfectly huts aligned, 1.50 m apart, each other. Behind the first row, a second row of barracks, and then a third row, perfectly parallel. Behind the men's barracks of troops were the kitchens. Behind the kitchens were the musicians' huts, of the vicandiers, of the major surgeon, staff personnel. Behind, the barracks company officers, battalion commanders and the colonel's barracks. These last years, Frédéric Lemaire and his team, carried out several campaigns archaeological excavations in Camiers and on other training camps of the region. They uncovered the foundations several dozen huts, semi-buried constructions with fifty centimeters in the ground and measuring on average 15 to 20 square meters. On the front line, the men of troops had to pile up at 16, in these narrow huts with roofs of thatch and cob walls. - The soldiers return, they have 3 steps to go down. They have on the right or on the left a bed, a low side, which occupies the entire length, there are 14-16 of them sleeping, on this side of the barracks. And then the other part of the house, it is the living space, where men store their equipment on racks, guns, the pouches and the haversack hung on coat racks. Everything is very crowded. Promiscuity, but also the cold and the incessant wind, make living conditions particularly difficult in the camps. However, the thousands of men stationed in Camiers, will stay in these barracks for many years, waiting for the trigger hostilities, with the Kingdom of England. The Camiers camp that we come from to see does not constitute, only a very small part of the device, which is concentrated along of the Channel coast. In all, three main camps are formed by Napoleon, Boulogne, Bruges and Saint-Omer, and in these three camps, a set approximately 160,000 men, are camping and ready to invade England. - You will tell me, why invade England? Because between France and England, it's an old story of rivalry, which dates back at least to Louis XIV, which is due different design between the 2 nations, of the Organization of Europe. On the one hand, the English, would like European balance, i.e. medium powers which neutralize each other. Faced with this, France would like a Europe revolving around, of one or two predominant nations. So invade England is a beautiful project, but you still have to succeed to dominate the English fleet, who is at that moment, the most powerful in the world. So you have to have a plan and that of Napoleon, is very bold. - Very bold, because it actually assumes, to surprise English vigilance. At this moment, the English fleet is blockading, of the main French ports where are concentrated, the Mediterranean squadrons in Toulon, the Atlantic squadrons in Rochefort, in Brest, but also the Spanish fleet, which is the ally of France. And therefore the principle of the plan, is simple in its idea, is to force the English blockade and to move towards the Antilles, to make the English believe that we are going to attack, their positions in the Antilles. Once the Royal Navy is attracted, the idea is to get ahead of it, to return very quickly to the Channel and therefore to protect crossing the Channel by fleets, who will transport the soldiers, who are massaged all the way from the coasts of France. A plan that plays out on thousands of kilometers. But Napoleon was convinced that if he manages to land in England, he will spray the English army, which is relatively weak and therefore will give himself up, on a military walk which will take him to London. The Army of the Ocean Coasts prepares for months, to this great offensive imagined by the emperor. Of their long stay in training camps, the soldiers left countless traces, which resurface today during excavation campaigns. Over the years, Frédéric Lemaire and his colleagues, have unearthed more than 10,000 objects having belonged to officers, or to simple soldiers. They are now kept at the Center archaeological research of Achicourt, in the north of France. In these boxes carefully referenced, we find fragments of sabers, rifle maintenance items, uniform buttons, dishes, but also a lot personal items, precious witnesses of human life waiting for the fight. On the floor of the barracks, archaeologists also discovered these little bone dominoes, rare objects that let you imagine, what do they look like soldiers' leisure time. The reality was very different of that which historians, wanted to give camp, where Napoleon was formed a highly trained army of elites. There are witnesses who say that's not true at all, finally, they were left to their own devices, that they maneuvered very little. There was practically no no education. As a result, there reigned a very great idleness in the camps. It played a lot of games of money which were forbidden, but ultimately practiced by everyone. There were a lot of problems alcoholism, fights, duels, because the soldiers were idle. During his research, he found several testimonies, written by men who stayed in the camps. Many of them confirm this glaring lack of supervision, as well as boredom and the resulting disorder. They also offer lighting unprecedented on living conditions, extremely rough which reigned at the time. Officer Maurice Dupin, father of the famous novelist George Sand, writes this letter like this December 22, 1803. You can't make up your mind of the shortage that reigns here. We will spend our winter on the straw. And in truth, I'm not complaining. When I see our unfortunates soldiers in detestable barracks, built on marshy land, that they sag under their own weight and enter the earth. They are literally lying in the mud and the number of patients will soon be incalculable. - Are you okay, Thibault? You advance on determination foreign currencies. These men condemned to live in these unsanitary barracks, see their daily lives worsened by a crying lack of money. Thibault Cardon is a numismatist, specialist in ancient coins. He analyzed the 600 pieces copper and bronze, discoveries at the location of the camps. Fallen currency from the pockets of the soldiers, remnants of the meager pay which was paid to them. The soldier who is not ranked, will receive €0.30 per day. There is a whole part of this pay, which will be retained, which will not be paid to him. So out of the €0.30, five cents ago which will be retained for clothing care, possibly small equipment. Then there are 20 cents which will be retained per day, for what we call the ordinary, it is both food, but also the straw for benches and wax to light in the barracks. So in fact, on the €0.30 balance, five cents ago which are only paid. By studying these currencies from of the combatants' pay, Thibault Cardon did a surprising observation. In addition to French pieces regulatory, there are also many currencies old and of foreign origin. Like this coin minted in Germany. Or this one from of the Kingdom of Sweden. We have the impression that there is specific circulation at the camp, which does not have the same characteristics that we find, in the same era in the surrounding villages. The hypothesis that we can pose, it is that there was a conscious choice, from paying centers to issue pay, in copper money which will be recovered at a discount. We are going to buy copper coins for the weight of the metal, not for their real value. Then we will use it to pay the salary, but with an official price. The authorities therefore seem to recycle old and foreign pieces, to pay the soldiers. Bought in bulk with no value or almost on the national market, they are artificially endowed from a hill inside the camp. This will allow us to make margins more or less significant profit, of the order of a few percent. But it is also an element of social control, these soldiers will be paid with currencies which are a forced course, within the camp, it is not only of habitat, there are fishmongers, temporary cabarets in which the soldiers will be able, spend the money they have. Most of these currencies will have closed circuit circulation, within the camp. Outside, as they are unusual currencies, they will be or refused or taken at a discount. According to specialists, this speculation on soldiers' pay, would have been widespread throughout from the Napoleonic era. In training camps from the coast of the Channel, men will thus be kept in great poverty for almost two years, between 1803 and 1805. - We are at the beginning of the year 1805. Everything is theoretically ready to go to the invasion of England, but the plan doesn't work out happen as planned. - It's very difficult indeed. First on site, because 160,000 men concentrated, it is the equivalent of several big cities. It is necessary to supply permanently these camps, what constitutes a difficulty extremely important logistics. Moreover, the construction of the flotilla, intended to take them through the Channel, is falling behind. These are the difficulties first in the camps. But on the other hand, the plan majestic that we had mentioned, itself does not go as planned. The squadrons fail at the same time in the West Indies. Some fail to force the blockade. The admiral who is in command general of the operation, Villeneuve, manages difficult to transmit, information to Napoleon, so that, at the time when this thought I could throw, invasion operations against England, he does not know where his ships are. - In addition, during this time, politics continues. England understood that to avoid invasion, it must create on the continent a new coalition, so that Napoleon would be obliged to fight on earth and no longer in the direction from England. And so she will help Napoleon's adversaries, to coordinate. And the Austrians will with others, Sweden, Russia obviously and England enter into a new coalition, which will oblige Napoleon to totally upset his plans, to do, as he himself said, pirouette the Grande Armée so that she surrenders, towards the center of Europe. On August 29, 1805, 150,000 infantrymen and 40,000 horsemen leave the coast, to surge towards the east, the gun in his hands and the saber at his belt. These weapons are the emblems of Napoleon's troops. For months, young conscripts learned to handle them and they are now ready to fight on the battlefields. Two centuries later, many rifles, sabers and pistols, having belonged to the soldiers of the emperor, were found and restored. Somewhere in France, in a place kept secret to protect it from looters, some of his treasures are carefully preserved. We are in the reserves of the prestigious army museum. A gigantic site housing more than 300,000 objects, countless remains of the country's military history. Major Jean-Marie Van Hove, is the weapons expert of the institution. Today he is examining a series objects that have passed through the years, in a perfect state of conservation. Equipping sabers and pistols cavalry troops and especially guns, Model 1777 Napoleonic infantry. Developed during the Ancien Régime, these imposing weapons weigh 4.6 kilos, measurements, 1.52 m long and have a range of approximately 200 meters. Their handling is for the least tedious. A single charge requires twelve successive stages. - For loading the rifle, the first operation, is to put the dog at first time. Afterwards, the soldier will take its cartridge composed of 3 parts. You have a small part with a little powder, a large part with a small a little more powder and a bullet. The soldier on the ground, goes with his teeth to tear this paper envelope and will put the small amount of powder in the basin. He folds the battery. Afterwards, he will pour the other part of powder, in the barrel and the bullet, he will keep it, with the envelope paper. He will use of this paper as stuffing and he's going to put the ball in. With the chopstick, he packs everything together. He returns to the deck. He arms the second time and from that moment on, the weapon is ready to fire. To handle these guns, long training is necessary. Even a fast and experienced soldier cannot shoot on average, only 2 to 3 strokes per minute. A relatively low cadence when on the battlefield, the enemies charge in close ranks. At that time, we were not in a ballistic logic, as the enemy comes in line, what we want, it's a rapid rate of fire, at the limit, whether it is the 1st, the 2nd or the 3rd rank that is affected, it does not matter. To have a good rate of fire, we're going to use three soldiers. The first is on his knees and the 2 others are standing behind. They shoot on order. It is the officer who orders the shooting. When a soldier fired, he goes to the back. He reloads his gun and a second shoots on order And so on. With three of them, they will practically have a permanent rhythm of fire. When the two camps clash and gunshots echo in the air, men have orders to move forward without wavering, to maintain the pace, even when a comrade falls under the fire of bullets, right in front of you. When men meet a few meters from each other, It’s time for hand-to-hand combat. Each rifle is equipped with a bayonet, thin dagger with a tapered tip, which pierces the flesh and protects against attacks cavalry. Companions in misfortune infantry troops, the 1777 rifle, almost never leaves the hands of the soldiers. During the long forced marches, it weighs on the stiff arms, and adds to the men's equipment already heavily loaded. Our conscripts were bending under the weight of a bag, a rifle, a cartridge case. Add to that 50 cartridges, bread, meat, a pot or an axe, and you will have an idea of ​​the twist, of these poor devils. I don't think I'm risking anything saying that the fatigues, killed more young conscripts, than the enemy's cannon. But despite these obstacles, despite the bag lacerating the shoulders and the shoes who scratch the feet, men walk and walk again, sometimes up to 10 hours a day. In 1805, after leaving training camps, they travel like this more than 800 kilometers, to go face the enemies of the Empire. - So here is this army on the march, these columns which are heading towards the center of Europe. Napoleon spoke of torrents which will spill out. All these men don't walk not messy. It's all very structured. - The first level of organization, this is regimental level, which is constituted according to arms, from 1000 to 3000 men. The regiments are specialized, there are infantry, cavalry and artillery. Then, when several regiments assemble, it forms a division, which therefore represents a set from 10 to 15,000 men. A division also has his speciality. There are infantry divisions, cavalry divisions. But despite everything, we are obliged, in these specialized gatherings, to maintain a combined arms dimension. And when several divisions assemble, it gives a whole approximately 40,000 men, that gives an army corps. An army corps is complete, that is to say that all the specialties are represented there and so it's a kind of reduction, of the entire Grande Armée. - Let us add that in these army corps, there is also genius, of the health service, which means that these bodies, can work almost in an autonomous way. Everyone will take care of their own supply, it's simpler, that if we supplied the whole of the army in one fell swoop. especially in the operational area, these army corps are capable to resist for a day, they say to the enemy army, the time that the rest of the bodies come to congregate, so that the army is somehow reconstituted. You are describing a system where the army corps, have relative autonomy. And it all doesn't work that if there is a central authority, to coordinate all these movements and this central authority, it is that of the Emperor, since it is both the political leader, it is he who gives the great strategic directions, but also the military leader. It is he who regulates the movement troops, on the ground at all levels. And so this system works thanks to the central authority. But there is no authority without delegation. And so Napoleon delegates the commandment, of each army corps to a marshal of the Empire. Massena, Murat, Berthier. Davout, Kellermann. These illustrious surnames, still resonate today gloriously to our ears. The 26 Marshals of the Empire appointed between 1805 and 1815, constitute in some way the emperor's personal guard. These men with an exceptional destiny, seasoned soldiers and brilliant tacticians, fight countless battles and participate at all stages, of the great Napoleonic epic. Behind the scenes of the prestigious Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, an object that belonged to one of these famous characters, is being restored. This is the ceremonial outfit that Marshal Michel Ney wore, during the coronation of the Emperor. A velvet frock coat midnight blue silk, richly decorated with golden embroidery. This historic piece has just been acquired by the Army Museum and the castle of Fontainebleau, directly from, of the marshal's heirs. Isabelle Grisolia is in charge catering, of this prestigious garment. A delicate task because it is not necessary especially not damage the textile, weakened by time. It is a luxurious, prestigious outfit, with noble materials, which is in very good condition conservation. Apart from a few problems at the level of the linings. It is a garment that has been very well preserved. Our intervention must allow to maintain the object in the state and make it last over time. We are very minimalist in terms of of our interventions. We are not going to recolor when there are discolored parts, we are not going to re-embroider if there are any missing parts, we restore an optical unit to the object, but that's all. This luxury garment, undoubtedly made to measure, by a great fashion designer, reminds us of the splendor of the court under the First Empire and highly privileged status from which the marshals benefit. End of the 18th century, beginning of the 19th century, it was still things of great value. In terms of work execution, embroidery, but also at the level materials used. They are obviously great embroiderers, because even now, there are very few people who know do this kind of thing. Over this garment, Marshal Ney also wore this sumptuous coat, also decorated with embroidery of great finesse. Recently, the whole outfit was officially designated National Treasure by the French authorities. So she now does integral part, of historical heritage. Ultimate witness to power of the man who wore it. In the middle of 1805, Marshal Ney is at the head of the Sixth Army Corps, who walks alongside the emperor towards the Rhine. At the end of October, it's in Ulm, that the Grande Armée wins its first victory, against the Austrians. Then the campaign of 1805 ends on December 2, by the famous battle of Austerlitz, where Napoleon inflicts a humiliating defeat, to his allied enemies. In the following years, the campaigns soldiers are increasing and the emperor's soldiers fly from success to success. Victories of Jena against the Prussians in 1806, from Eylau, then from Friedland against the Russians in 1807, from Wagram in 1809 against the Austrians. Gradually, Napoleon expands his empire and acquires a degree of power unrivaled in Europe. His exploits on the fields of battle, are accompanied by intense propaganda towards the French troops and people. The emperor applies to build his legend and that of his glorious army. Today, many of these writings written by Napoleon and his entourage, are kept here, in the heart of the Château de Vincennes, in the department shelves Defense history. Michel Roucaud is responsible of this voluminous Napoleonic fund, invaluable witness of talents communicator of the Emperor. Napoleon is a man of letters, Communication, a propagandist. He will not only use the verb to galvanize his men, but also to justify his regime, which is an authoritarian regime which is based, on a military coup and which cannot be justified that through victory, the victory of arms, the victory of the Empire. Among the texts preserved here, there is this proclamation dated December 2, 1805. A simple blank page devoid of header, or prestige brand, but which nevertheless represents a real treasure. The text is written by one secretaries of the Emperor and signed by hand of Napoleon himself. Distributed to all corps commanders, this letter is read before the soldiers gathered, the day after the victory of Austerlitz. Soldiers, I am happy with you. You have, on the day of Austerlitz, justified everything I expected of your intrepidity. You decorated your eagles of immortal glory. My people will see you again with transports of joy, and you just need to say: "I was at the Battle of Austerlitz for us to respond, here's a brave man." We see the writing, we see the words chosen. We are satisfied of the father, of the emperor, to these men who says they scored, their flag of immortal glory. It is the glory that justifies victory. It is for glory that we fight, it is no longer for ideals, but it's for honor and the immortal glory of the Empire. From October 1805 also appear, the bulletins of the Grande Armée, real novels telling in detail, the progress of the campaigns. They are broadcast in all departments and the French people literally live at the rate of their publication. The style of the texts is carefully studied so that readers, are as if transported on the battlefield. But it is also about depicting the Emperor as a leader of men, very close to his soldiers. An Austrian colonel testified his astonishment to see, the French emperor soaked, covered in mud, as much and more tired, as the last drum of the army. The emperor made him reply: "Your master wanted to make me remember that I was a soldier. I hope it will suit the throne and the imperial purple, didn't make me forget my first job." Napoleon is an emperor, but he is an emperor, different from other emperors of the time. He is close to his men, he goes to the bivouac, he galvanizes them, but he is also sometimes horrified, facing death in battle. So indeed, proximity to these men, this needs to be known and it is also, because it's staged, because it will be read in society, proximity to the people of France. He is the emperor of the French. During the first years of the Empire, this large-scale propaganda, brings to the supreme leader immense popularity. At the beginning of 1812, after 7 years of military victories, he is at the peak of his reign and his notoriety, throughout the European continent. It is January 1812, it is the territorial apogee of Napoleon's empire. It is organized into three concentric circles. The first is what we call the French Empire, that is to say everything that has been aggregated to France of origin, who matters at that moment, 134 departments. Second organizational circle from Europe, brother kingdoms, since Napoleon places his family on a number of thrones. This is how Jérôme Bonaparte is king of Westphalia, that Louis Bonaparte was during a moment king of Holland, that Marshal Murat, brother-in-law of Napoleon, is king of Naples, and then of course, Joseph Bonaparte is king of Spain. The third circle, they are allied countries, then willing allies, sometimes forced allies. And so, we see, a very organized Europe, around this French empire. All this has consequences on the military organization, since the Grande Armée which in 1804 was essentially, a national army, is now truly an imperial army, i.e. multinational. We find in this great army, approximately 20%, of the total workforce, foreign soldiers, so of course, there are the Italians, the Dutch became French, but we also find Poles, Germans, which constitute what we are going to call the 20 nation army. This army is the best army of the world at that time. She won resounding victories. But there is obviously a downside of the medal, it is that the Napoleonic wars, will cause many victims. The number of victims is very difficult to establish. From 650,000 to 1,200,000 deaths. on the side of the French armies, about as much for the rest of Europe. It is also a procession of wounds, suffering, death, which spreads throughout from Europe. After each fight, the battlefields, offer an unbearable spectacle of death and desolation. The floors are littered with victims, broken cannons, of sunken breastplates. Today, the records hospital histories, bear witness to the incredible suffering that these men endured. Some remains of these bloody clashes, have also become museum pieces. Like this uniform of General de La Roncière, torn with eleven saber blows, at the Battle of Wagram. Or this eagle, emblem of the Napoleonic regime, pierced by two bullets rifle in 1812. In Belgium, a group of enthusiasts has been interested for a long time, to the fate of the wounded of the Grande Armée. Today, the team took over a barn, to reconstitute a field hospital. Located behind the battlefield, this makeshift setting welcomes victims repatriated by ambulance. Rudy Meylemans is the founder of this association, called First Company ambulance 1809. He is a paramedic professional emergency doctor and medical specialist of war under the First Empire. The wounded were generally lying around the battlefield for 2 reasons. The first is that the emperor forbade picking up the wounded, on the battlefield because to the extent that 1 or 3 soldiers, leave the ranks to pick up a injured, that's 3 people leaving, who leave the battlefield, for remote hospitals. These are 3 people who no longer fight. The second is service health who was disadvantaged, compared to the number of men. It took an incredible amount of time to get ahead of the fights. So the wounded on the front line, remained wounded on the front line for hours, sometimes half days, days. We could die bloodless, stripped since there was highway robbers, who were trying to rob, to collect everything they could. - So, my guy, what is happening ? We're talking about disaster medicine. It's caring for people as quickly as possible, at the easiest. It's broken ! We'll extract the bullet to start. When we talk about a chest wound, it was automatically a suture to avoid, air contact at the lungs. If it were wounds at the level of the skull, or a simple bandage, or if it was a wound which disabled the injured person, we were moving towards trepanation. If it were wounds with fractures, unfortunately, we arrived in a situation where disaster medicine, did not allow to treat a fracture. Most of the time, we were heading towards an amputation. - He fainted. - Come on, let's continue. I have the ball. We'll have to cut off his leg. Will you give me the tourniquet? Amputation is one of the operations, the most practiced during the campaigns. Surgeons often perform several dozen per day. On Rudy's table, all instruments are exact replicas of those, equipping doctors of the time. - Are you okay, is he still there? - Yes. Some utensils, like this amputation saw, are even historical vestiges who really served, 200 years ago. Over the years, the great doctors of the Empire, improve techniques surgery and develop new tools. A big invention of the Empire, it is the arched knife, which made it easy to circumvent and be able to cut flesh easily. We move quickly to let him hold on. When the flesh was good cut right down to the bone, primary instrument to the amputation that was created, by Pierre-François Percy, This is Percy's flesh retractor, which made it possible to retract the flesh farthest away, so as to bring the saw cuts the bone. And when the retractor flesh was removed, we could fold the flesh in such a way to be able to make a beautiful stump, which allowed to an amputee, to be fitted with a prosthesis. All these instruments allow to carry out an amputation, in just ten minutes. Indispensable speed because the wounded do not benefit, of any anesthesia product. The only sedatives available laudanum, a maceration of opium and spices. But this product is so rare that only high-ranking officers, can benefit from it. He comes to himself. Come on, it'll be fine. It's okay my guy. Look at me. How are you ? You're still here, it's impeccable. Parked at night in a bad shack, near a farm in which we had transported, wounded, who were bandaged there, stunned by lamentations and cries heartbreaking of his poor soldiers, on which we practiced painful operations. I had fallen into a stupor that further increase the apprehension, where I was, not being able to overcome this painful feeling. Fear, homesickness, shocking images of dying comrades. Beyond physical injuries, men are also confronted to countless psychological disorders. François Houdecek is a historian. For many years, he analyzes soldiers' letters, officers' memoirs and medical reports to draw up an inventory war trauma, during the reign of Napoleon. The empire is special, it’s a glorification of the war, of the hero, and that all this suffering, have disappeared a little under the gilding and uniforms. The imperial regime, Napoleon, would like the soldiers to surpass themselves and show themselves to be brave and courageous, all the time. Which is more truthful, it's just fear, absolutely accompanies the soldier all the time. They all say it in their memoirs. They are afraid at night around the campfire, in the morning before the fights and in the heat of battle, they deal with it because they do their profession as a soldier. But they never get used to this fear and this vision and these sounds of the battlefield absolutely Dantesque. For young conscripts, to be torn from his village, to embrace military life, is also revealed very difficult to live with. The departure from home plunges the weakest men, in a state of deep despondency, that the doctors call, nostalgia. On January 24, 1812, Joseph Florkin, 20 years old, writes to his parents. In the night, I think of you. I believe I am with you. I cry but no matter how much I call, This is useless. I am no longer living at the moment because I have no no more entertainment in this world. The hours seem like days to me, days, weeks and the weeks of the months. For the men who survive to the horrors of combat, the return to civilian life does not mean not the end of suffering. Most are heavily traumatized by the violence of the countryside. Some are affected by what we calls for war fatigue. An evil that causes many symptoms, from insomnia to attacks of dementia, going through amnesia, epilepsy, or personality disorders. In the 20th century, this pathology will take the name, post-traumatic stress disorder and will be the subject of numerous studies. But 200 years ago, rare are the testimonies of this little-known disorder. The doctors started to study certain aspects. They can't understand, that it's war, which triggers certain symptoms. Psychology will not be discovered only 30 years later and therefore automatically, they don't have this notion. They don't completely understand the cause, the origin. We just saw it, these men suffered damage, significant psychological and physical, but a little compensated, in part 1 Napoleonic Wars, by obtaining glory and possibly also rewards... It's nothing compared to this that they will know from 1812, since 1812, it will be a political turning point, of course, but above all a military turning point, A military turning point that will first to be played in Spain, from 1807, Napoleon wishes to attack to an ally of England, Portugal but to arrive in Portugal, you have to cross Spain. When the French troops cross Spain, they meet a troubled political situation, an insurrection and now Napoleon's soldiers, will play a unique role, an occupying army. But on the other hand, they will also having to face the English, who landed in Portugal and who, from 1812, directly threaten Spain. And in all, it's more than 300,000 men, who will have been mobilized in Spain. Which meant that, in 1812, Napoleon is confronted to a very complicated situation because, at the other end of Europe, Russia wakes up. Russia, which has always made an ally, of uncertain reliability, moves closer to England. And so we have there, on both theaters, the furthest from Europe, a strategic location who will constrain Napoleon, to make a real big difference. To bring the Russian tsar to his senses, Napoleon decides to prepare a great offensive. It brings together the greatest army never assembled, more than 600,000 soldiers massed, on the borders of the enemy Empire. On June 22, 1812, he issues a proclamation to galvanize his troops. Russia has sworn an eternal alliance to France and hardly to England. She is now violating her oaths. She places us between dishonor and war. The choice cannot be doubtful. Let us therefore march forward, let's cross the Niemen. Let's bring the war to its territory. At the end of June 1812, the emperor crossed therefore the river Niemen and seeks confrontation. But in front of him, the Russian army seems to be slipping away. She refuses the fight and falls back, further and further towards the east. Napoleon cannot resist temptation to pursue them. He advances into the depths from the country, to Vilnius. Vitebsk. Then Smolensk. It has often been said that armies Russians had fled before Napoleon. In reality, not at all, it is a deliberate strategy, to attract Napoleon more further into the territory. While the Russian peasants go lead a scorched earth policy, destroying crops, places where we can take shelter, poisoning the wells... And this scorched earth policy, deprives the army of the possibility to live in the country. It must therefore exclusively count on these logistical bases. But we are very far away bases of operation on which, Napoleon could lean on. So that, as he advances, it stretches its logistics flow and he is obliged, to give up on the spot soldiers who will have to, secure these roads which are absolutely vital. Yes, the Russians, although constantly retreating, will still try to score a stop to defend Moscow. And so it is September 7, 1812, that the great battle takes place in the countryside, that the French call the battle of the Moskva and the Russians the Battle of Borodino. It's going to be a battle extremely bloody, which will lead to the withdrawal of the Russians. We cannot say completely a French victory, since the French army was bled dry. And on September 14, 1812, there are approximately 140,000 soldiers of the Great Army, who enter Moscow and who rejoice a priori, to be able to find rest there, refueling... In reality, they will be faced with a second tragedy, which will be the fire of the city decided by the Russians. And so Moscow will burn for five days, 90% of the city will be destroyed, he became completely impossible to stay there. Especially since Tsar Alexander, refuses to negotiate with Napoleon. And so, after 35 days of wasted time, the Grande Armée leaves Moscow. So what makes his appearance in the theater of operations, a new actor, one that we could call General Winter, which will do great harm to the Great Army on the way home. This year, winter in the steppes of Russia, turns out to be particularly rigorous. Temperatures are falling up to -30 degrees. The soldiers having on their backs than their summer uniform, are completely taken by surprise. In this white hell, they must travel, almost 3,000 km by borrowing, the path they took on the way out. They cross devastated regions and suffer constant attacks Cossack troops. In these conditions almost apocalyptic, the beautiful organization of the Great Army, literally collapses. For men, it's the general escape and retirement is transformed in disarray. At the end of 1812, when she arrived in France, after two months of walking, the imperial army is annihilated. There are more than 390,000 deaths, prisoners and deserters. For months, Napoleon tried then to push back Europe, united against him. But finally, in April 1814, the enemies of the Empire are coming at the gates of Paris and push the Emperor to abdicate. With some of his faithful, Napoleon is sent into exile on the island of Elba, between Corsica and Tuscany. In France, it is the return of the monarchy. King Louis XVIII ascends the throne, supported by large European powers. But the eagle's retreat is short-lived. Less than a year later, Napoleon escapes and docks on the continent. His former soldiers welcome him as a hero and he makes a triumphant ascent from the shores of the Mediterranean, to the capital. But while the tricolor flag floats again over Paris, the whole of Europe is in turmoil. Former enemies prepare feverishly to the war to end, a second time during the reign of the Emperor. When Napoleon returned, France appears, like a besieged fortress. The whole of Europe united against her and first and foremost the four great powers, England, Russia, Prussia and Austria. And all these powers march their armies, towards the national sanctuary. So several hundred thousands of Austro-Russians, march towards Lorraine. Piedmontese try to penetrate in the southeastern territory. Spaniards will try to cross the Pyrenees. Napoleon, in this situation, has only one solution, is to attempt an exit and he will try this exit on the weak part, of the opposing device which is located in present-day Belgium, where 2 armies are stationed, the Prussian army commanded by Marshal Blücher, around Charleroi and the Anglo-Dutch army commanded by the English Marshal Wellington, who instead parks towards Mons. And to exploit the weakness from this point of the allied device, Napoleon, finally, will use recipes, which have worked well so far. The first component of this recipe, it’s the speed of action. And so, from June 15, he enters Belgium, near Charleroi, where he meets the Prussian avant-garde, which he manages to push back. The second component, is to beat the Allies separately, before they have makes their junction. This is the reason for which he continues, with part of his army, the Prussians, with the intention of delivering battle at Ligny, and the other part of his army, placed under the command of Marshal Ney, aims for English concentration and intends to fight in Quatre-Bras, which is a strategic crossroads. The objective being, by defeating allies separately, to repel the Prussians to Prussia and to chase the English towards the sea. For Napoleon, Wellington and Blücher, the chief generals of the three great armies, the day of June 16 promises to be decisive. In the early morning, 2 simultaneous battles are about to be carried out, at remote locations of only eleven kilometers. At this precise moment, Napoleon is sure of his power. Its cannons, mortars and howitzers, constitute the centerpieces of his tactics. Inherited from the Ancien Régime, they have were improved by Napoleon himself, trained artilleryman. The emperor is then convinced that on the vast land that stretches before him, the shots of his artillery will decimate his enemies and that his soldiers will not have just finish the job. Two centuries later, no trace remains battles that took place in Quatre-Bras and Ligny. But the topography of the land has hardly changed. Alain Lacroix is ​​a specialized guide for over 40 years. He knows the region better than anyone, as well as every minute of the unfolding fighting here in Ligny. The French have arrived Friday June 16, 1815, in the morning. They were spread out. The French army practically in its entirety, over three, four kilometers deployment. Behind this mound which did not exist in 1815, there was the village of Fleurus with the Naveau mill, organized as an observation post for Napoleon. At the end of the morning, Napoleon distributed 70,000 men ready for battle, on either side of Fleurus. Facing him, the Prussians have also taken a stand. Blücher's HQ is located, a few hundred meters away. This is the Bussy mill and there is his post observation there. You have to realize that the Prussians occupied, all this side of the valley, but they also occupied, the village of Saint-Amand, the village of Ligny that they had transformed into a fortified place, and they were waiting for the shock. Everything was ready for the shock. At 3 p.m., the first cannon shots ring out. The assault is given and the men of both camps, engage in face-to-face devastating. It's 3 p.m., the battle of Ligny has begun. It will last until night. and is going to be a hard, bitter fight. For the first time, we will fight almost man to man, as if we had accounts personal matters to be paid. At the end of the day, Napoleon is the winner of this battle and as he had planned, he forces the Prussians to withdraw. So Napoleon is quite confident. He will make 2 mistakes at this moment. The first is that it takes too long to launch the pursuit of the Prussians. He thinks they are coming back at home and therefore, completely unconsciously, he will wait 12 hours and detach 33,000 men, with Marshal Grouchy to pursue the Prussians. These 33,000 men will not catch up never the Prussians with this delay. And his second mistake is that he does not suspect for a single moment, that his adversaries agreed, to never separate. What makes Blücher, instead to return to Germany, Blücher, goes back towards Wavre and will then slant, to the left to go to Wellington, at this moment. And at the same time, another battle is fought, at Quatre-Bras between Marshal Ney and the English army commanded by Wellington. And Ney is confronted to an English army, which seems to be slipping away. In particular, he does not see at the end of the day, the withdrawal movement which is operating the English army. This army is giving up the battlefield, from Quatre-Bras to head to Mont-Saint-Jean and make the famous junction, so feared with the Prussians. On June 17, Napoleon has no conscience, troop movements Prussian and British. He thinks more expensively on the run and finds himself facing Wellington's army, apparently alone on a large plain south of Brussels. It is therefore particularly confident that on the evening of the 17th, he prepares for his final fight, for European supremacy. The Battle of Waterloo. 200 years later, the name of this battle resonates as one of the most famous, of the Napoleonic epic. The location of the fighting was preserved over the years. No construction was authorized and even today, only cultivated fields cover this ground. By climbing the Lion Butte, artificial hill 40 meters high, we dominate the entire site. An area of ​​barely 3 km over 1.5 km, where 140,000 men clashed weapons in hand, June 18, 1815. We are in the middle of the field of the Battle of Waterloo, right next to the line defense of Wellington, which is 3 km long. Very easy to distinguish, it starts about a kilometer away, on the far right and is located opposite the Hougoumont farm. It revolves around the Butte du Lion, right in the center of the battlefield, a little in front of the defense lines, the Haye Sainte farm and further, we see the Papelotte farm, which is the far left of the line Defense of Wellington. Behind Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte and Papelotte, which he transformed into a stronghold. Wellington lines up 70,000 men and 184 artillery pieces. Wellington's initiative, is to have placed all his troops, on the opposite slope, behind closed doors, of Napoleon's troops. For Napoleon, it was very destabilizing because in fact, he didn't see the troops allies of Wellington. All he saw was at the top from the crest an alignment of cannons. Impossible for him, during the battle, to predict which troops were reserve, tactical movements, all this was happening behind closed doors. Facing the English, approximately one kilometer south of the plateau, Napoleon also positioned his troops. In the middle of the device sits the Belle Alliance farm. Numerical superiority and power fire are on the side of the French. The emperor has under his orders 72,000 infantrymen, horsemen and gunners and more than 250 cannons. On June 18, at 11 a.m., both camps are ready to confront each other. The trumpets sound, the drums beat to the songs and the French army moves with a crash. Over time, an unprecedented outburst of violence, invades the board. But that day, the progression of men is made difficult, by weather conditions particularly terrible. The previous two days, it rained a lot. It is clay soil so with 48 hours of rain, you have 30 cm of mud and 30 cm of mud, it completely breaks Napoleon's attack tactics. His horses that attacked were not able to do it at a gallop. And at the same time, what we have noticed after the battle, is that there was a lot of shoes on the muddy slope. These shoes, in fact, remained on the ground, in the clay, the clay which was muddy. And a lot of these French soldiers attacked barefoot. Another victim of the bad weather conditions, artillery. On the muddy ground, these weapons with deadly power, appear less effective than Napoleon had anticipated. Wooden wheels slide or get stuck. The impassable terrain makes it almost impossible, the movement of the cannons. Worse, the projectiles reach hardly their target. French artillerymen used the ball bounce technique. They were aiming at a virtual point a few tens of meters away, before the objectives and the rebound took place and eliminated, killed and injured, Several dozens infantrymen at the same time. But on muddy ground, it does not work. And therefore the effectiveness French artillery, was reduced to a minimum and there was not a huge impact on Wellington's troops. The state of the ground weakens therefore considerably, attacks by the emperor's troops. A first difficulty to overcome for Napoleon and the beginning of a series of setbacks, who will tip over the battle against him. How does it take place this battle of Waterloo? The English took up position in the North. The French took up positions to the south. Wellington wants to be resolutely defensive, so it is Napoleon who must attack and he decides to wear his main effort, on the center, on the Haye Sainte farm. But to achieve this, he first launches, a diversionary attack on the farm de Hougoumont, on its left. However, this first part of the plan does not work. In fact, the English hold well the Hougoumont farm and are not obliged to bring their reserves there, so that during all day of June 18, a fight, a battle in battle, will take place around this farm and will mobilize much more more French than English. In the early afternoon. Napoleon decides despite everything to throw, its main attack on the center, on the Haye Sainte farm, by multiplying the cavalry charges, commanded by Marshal Ney. And it's only late in the afternoon, around 6:30 p.m., that the Haye Sainte farm is finally taken. But in the meantime, Napoleon has a problem extra on the arms, the Prussians arrive. And so all these little people will fall on the backs of the French. Totally surprised while Wellington, he is not, since since the morning, he is waiting for the Prussians. The surprise, in fact, is total on the French side and the arrival of the Prussians will mobilize, the entire reserve of the French army, what forces Napoleon, to try a final poker move. The intervention of the guard. The guard, it is the soul of the Grande Armée. She's the one who's supposed to take the blow, at the end of a battle. And generally his interventions, are indeed victorious. Now, here, the guard faces, an English army who is firm in his positions, who opposes him with extremely heavy fire and very deadly. And this time, the guard retreats and the retreat of the guard truly gives, the signal of general withdrawal and the disarray that takes hold of the French army. Yes, it's even a general leak. Prussian witnesses tell us that the mounted French on top of each other, to escape as quickly as possible from the battlefield and that obviously, they did not have to give in to their heart's content, to massacre these fugitives. It is a terrible defeat. The French army is destroyed. At the end of the day, Wellington and Blücher meet, not far from the farm of the Belle-alliance, to seal their victory. Napoleon manages to escape, narrowly escaping to the Prussian avant-gardes. On the battlefield, an apocalypse spectacle offers itself at nightfall. Nearly 11,000 people were killed and 40,000 injured, in both camps. Today, many remains of this battle, are kept in museums from Belgium, England, from France and elsewhere. Sabers, rifles, ammunition. Or this rifleman’s breastplate François Antoine Fauveau, pierced by a cannonball. The Waterloo site is for its part become a place of memory, classified as a world heritage site. Fortified farms are still standing and partly preserved in their original state. Under the earth, forgotten by all, no doubt that still exist, traces of clashes which took place. Recently, on occasion development work, archaeologists have also done an exceptional discovery. They unearthed the skeleton almost complete, of a soldier who fell on the field of battle two centuries ago. Bones and objects accompanying the deceased, were transported to the Center of archeology of Walloon Brabant, not far from Brussels. Dominique Bosquet, archaeologist, and Geneviève Yernaux, anthropologist, are responsible for their analysis. - You tell me if it's right. Should I reverse them? - No, it's the fifth. - Yes, I reversed them. The position in which they were found the bones are very evocative, of his last moments, since he was not found in a burial. We didn't dig a grave. He was really found in the position in which, either, he was dropped off or, he himself collapsed on the ground. How was he buried? That remains a bit of a mystery. It remained hidden for 200 years until we found him. Who was this man ? How old was he? His health ? Specialists observe carefully the bones, who have passed through time a very good state of conservation. The measurements reveal that this man measured between, 1.58 m and 1.64 m. He was therefore of a rather frail stature. The detailed analysis of these bones indicates that he was, slightly hunchbacked and that he was suffering from spina bifida, a malformation at the bottom of the spine. Dominique Bosquet and Geneviève Yernaux now determine, the cause of his death. His skeleton shows no trace apparent injury or trauma. But at the time of the search, we found a rifle bullet in the middle of his ribcage. We found him at the level of the right lung. This is one of the most common causes probable cause of his death. On the other hand, the ball, he must have received it face to face, because the rear of the rib cage, does not show any traces of impact. The front of the ribs has not been preserved, probably weakened by the passage of the ball. Who was this soldier? who lost his life, on the battlefield of Waterloo? Which side did he belong to? Analysis of the ball and others objects discovered near the deceased, allows you to scaffold solid hypotheses. 16.2mm. This is the diameter French bullets. The English bullets measured 19 mm. So there is no doubt, on the origin of this projectile. In action, it must have pulled in all directions, there are indeed other clues, and in particular gunflints, made from flint which is dark gray with fine grain, which is a flint that is used by the English for their gunflint, and the dimensions of these stones are suitable for the Brown Bess musket, which is the iconic musket British armies and allies. French bullet, English weapon, so we are on a victim ally very clearly. This man would therefore have fought facing the French army, under the orders of Wellington. A conclusion that is confirmed the many coins, found next to the body. We actually have the majority of French currency. We recognize here, a 5 franc silver coin, bearing the image of Napoleon. These are not discriminating currencies from the point of view of nationality, because French francs, at the time of the Empire, were imposed throughout the Empire. However, he also had 2 Hanoverian pfennings. These are the currencies which allow us to tighten, its identification, all the more that we are in the place where were Hanoverian troops at the time of the battle. In archaeology, there is never 100% certainty, but there actually, he is most likely Hanoverian. This is all completely consistent. This frail and tired young soldier, now has a nationality. The investigation will probably not allow never go further and give it a name and a face again. But after two centuries gone underground, despite everything, he emerged from oblivion and will integrate the Waterloo memorial. He thus becomes the ultimate witness of this bloody battle, which marks the end of the Napoleonic epic. Four days after his crushing defeat, the French Emperor is forced to abdication. He is sent into exile on the island of Saint Helena, in the heart of the South Atlantic. This is where he passes the rest of his existence, before passing away on May 5, 1821. Today his body rests under the glittering dome, of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris. A monumental tomb, like fascination that Napoleon exercises, since the end of his reign. The legend of the emperor, it is also the one, of these hundreds thousands of soldiers, who fought in his name. Never so many men of the same generation, had not been mobilized to wage war. By studying the remains that they left behind, archaeologists and historians contribute to perpetuate their memory. They give us another look on living conditions, of these fighters who have known glory and the setbacks of the Grande Armée. Of these men whose destiny continues to fascinate, two centuries later.
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Channel: imineo Documentaires
Views: 210,104
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Keywords: 4k, France, archive, archéologie, armée, conflit, costume, culture, dictateur, documentaire, enquête, export22, export22-MTA, hd, histoire, historien, historique, infanterie, interview, investigation, militaire, musée, patrimoine, reconstitution, reportage, stratégie, tactique, tenue, équipement
Id: 5FDVbmaJB_s
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Length: 79min 23sec (4763 seconds)
Published: Fri Mar 01 2024
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