Napoleon in 1812 - Chapter 50

Chapter 50

9. Burgos – 2

It was during Napoleon’s stay at the Tuileries Palace in Paris, before leaving for the Iberian expedition.

Malet-Roquefort, who was serving as a police inspector, rushed to the palace at the call of the Emperor. He could not figure out why he was called, so his forehead was sweating in anxiety. When he entered the multi-purpose room of the Tuileries Palace, guided by the court attendants, he saw the room filled with very prominent faces.

Pierre Daru, 11 Secretary of State and War Administration, Jean-Pierre de Montalivet, Minister of the Interior, Baron Fusois, Treasurer of the Council of State, Marshal Louis-Alexandre Berthier, and his distant superior, Jean Marie Savary, 121 Police Minister.

They were simply the heads driving the Empire. And among them was standing Napoleon Bonaparte, the French Emperor. After swallowing his saliva, Malet-Roquefort bowed down to the Emperor. What the Emperor said to Malet, who was so nervous, was surprising and shocking.

“From now on, you will step down from the position of inspector of the police department. And you will serve as the head of the newly established Iberian spy organization.”

Malet-Roquefort was so surprised that he kept his mouth opened, which could have been seen as rude, but the Emperor did not care.

“War is intelligence. In particular, the importance of information is prioritized over any value, especially in places where troops are inevitably separated by mountain ranges, streams, and basins, such as on the Iberian Peninsula. I think an intelligence organization that can pass through the entire peninsula is necessary not only for the victory of the war but also for the future.”

Fitting his nickname of a war genius, the Emperor seemed to have steadily paid attention to the Iberian Peninsula war while carrying out various reforms and reorganizations within the Empire. But Malet could not understand it. Of course, he knew the importance of intelligence in a war.

Why would he leave such a crucial position to him, who was only a police inspector? What on earth did the Emperor see in him? Instead of answering his questions directly, the Emperor asked him something else.

“Explain two ways you think you can win an information war against an enemy. Tell me the thoughts that come to your mind without hesitation.”

“…First, it’s about gathering as much information as possible from a large number of skilled agents. Cross-validation can determine the validity and authenticity of the information. The second is to seek cooperation from indigenous forces. They can provide direct information on the path, situation, deployment, etc. of enemy units.”

The Emperor replied with a smile.

“That’s why I chose you.”

He found out only later that when the Emperor put him in charge of a spy organization on the entire Iberian Peninsula, all of the Emperor’s aides expressed displeasure and objected his decision. If he had been one of them, of course he would have objected.

But the Emperor pushed it to the end and eventually made him the head of the spy organization.

“No matter how much I think about it, it seems that His Majesty the Emperor is loved by God. How did he know my talent that even I didn’t know…”

Currently, all of the Iberian Peninsula inhabitants were filled with hatred and anger against France. Turning their minds around and making them faithful spies? No one would consider it possible. But Malet had a different idea.

“War is also a good time for opportunists. There are people everywhere who want to use this opportunity, regardless of their reputation. These are the people we will be trying to convince.”

Malet, who had dealt with numerous criminals and reactionaries as a police inspector, knew well when and how a person turned around. Spain was overflowing with people who lost their jobs and their joyful life due to the war, and were only living one day at a time. At first, they would curse France and the Emperor, the root cause of their misery. But on a devastated land, they had to lead a miserable and arduous life to support their entire family. No one was responsible for this.

The Spanish government was basically looking away, saying that they did not know, public resentment among neighbors competing for daily necessities was worsening, and the administrative and judicial systems of towns and cities were collapsing in real time. Individual conscience and anger wore out in the process. Humans could do anything to survive in such extreme circumstances.

It was not difficult to take advantage of their selfishness and desperation.

What was scarier than a foreign army was its own citizens turning away. Certainly, there were only a few Spanish people who turned away, dissatisfied with their government. But the size of the hatred they harbored was by no means small. Their families’ lives now depended on the French Empire. They sold out information from the coalition forces.

Some even joined Wellesley’s troops and took on the role of spies.

“If you think about it again, the human mind is very complicated. And extreme. Well, this is why it’s fun.”

Contrary to everyone’s concerns, the Spanish people easily betrayed their country for bread, milk, meat and the safety of their families. Malet provided them with what they wanted. Soon after, the Iberian spy organization was able to train a large number of intelligence agents who were faithful to the organization, knew well the language, and had a clean identity.

Malet deliberately broke the core of the organization and scattered it among various units, corps, and local groups so that even if some of them betrayed it, the whole part would not be revealed.

A list of spies working for the Wellesley Corps was in Malet’s hands. Malet-Roquefort displayed his talent that had not been shown in this world.

Colonel Jean-Louis Dubreton, who was tasked with defending Fort Burgos, was a man of impressive build with a mustache. Upon hearing the news that the British, Spanish and Portuguese forces were moving northward, he focused on supplies.

The most important thing in a siege was whether or not the internal defenders could withstand the siege of the fortress. Colonel Dubreton prepared steadily and silently for the siege as if he was putting into practice what he had learned through his whole career.

Then a messenger brought him a letter with a message from the Emperor, Napoleon.

Colonel Dubreton, of course, was a soldier loyal to the Emperor and the French Empire. Nevertheless, he did not intend to blindly obey the Emperor’s orders. Because he knew so well the importance of field command. He shouted when receiving the message ‘I will obey the orders of His Majesty the great Emperor!’ but he knew that at the critical moment, he would move according to his own judgment.

Thinking like this, he opened the Emperor’s letter with determination, but his expectations suddenly broke. Still, doubts lingered in his mind, as he wondered ‘Will this really work?…’

“In the end, the Emperor’s judgment was all right.”

These were the words of Colonel Jean-Louis Dubreton, who interrupted the Allied efforts and shook them mentally. It was technically the new Iberian spy organization that made a decisive contribution to this performance, not himself or the defensive battery.

They succeeded in planting spies in the Wellesley Corps into a wide variety of occupations and units, ranging from food distributors, sewing and mending workers, handymen, cleaners, and even prostitutes. When he first heard this news, he was really surprised. It was not because people did not know how to use the above method that many spy organizations and secret police had not been created. They had given up because it was impossible.

But how did a newly formed spy organization succeed in infiltrating so many spies into the Wellesley Corps, the core of the Allied Forces?

This was a variable that could shake the war.

Colonel Dubreton had access to several secrets from them.

Although it was not possible to obtain advanced information from the general meeting or the staff meeting, information on which direction the enemy concentrated the troops, the arrangement of the batteries and grenadiers, and the state of the gunpowder were like gold for Colonel Dubreton.

Knowing that an explosive unit would move toward some part of the citadel, and knowing the location, was crucial information. He just had to put the canons on that side, calculate the distance, and shoot. With some luck, the first shelling landed on the spot and he was able to hit the jackpot like that.

The Wellesley Corps pulled out and Colonel Dubreton was able to smile among the cheering defenders.

“That British bastard can’t give up on this once. He will surely do more tricks in a variety of ways, so make sure you’re all prepared and eat well!”

In the roaring response of the soldiers, Colonel Dubreton looked at the retreating coalition.

“Hahahaha! These guys are looking down on us!”

It was a reenactment of the same situation as yesterday. Only the location of the explosives had changed. Arthur Wellesley must have thought yesterday’s incident was a coincidence. More field cannons and artillery were used to increase the density of smoke to block the view, but it was useless. The defenders already had exact information.

And this time they had a little more special weapon in store.

“Everyone, cover your noses and mouths!”

At the command of the officers, the soldiers covered their mouths from ear to ear with dry cotton cloths. Afterwards, the strong soldiers opened the lid of a wooden barrel that they had prepared, and spilled its content, right down the ramparts! Small powders were pouring out of the barrel.

The powders flew in a whirlwind amid the constant shelling and soon reached the explosive unit carrying explosives.

“Cough! Cough!”

“Huh? What’s this!?”

At first, a slight cough followed.

Soon, however, the soldiers began to vomit blood and their skin began to crumble.

“Ahhhhhh!…”

“Ugh!… Stop it!!…”

“Argh! It’s, it’s hot!”

It was calcium oxide 31 called the powder of hell.

When in contact with water, it reacted violently by generating a sudden heat, and it was therefore also reacting with saliva and body fluids. The finely ground small powder easily penetrated the human respiratory system and reached the inside of the body. Reaching the moisture in the respiratory tract, calcium oxide powder instantly shot up to about 367 degrees Celsius. The soldiers who breathed this powder would feel burning pain from the inside.

In an instant, the explosive unit scattered, covered in blood. Who would stay sane and lead the explosive cart in such a situation? No one.

“They’re just shooting like crazy with their artillery to cover everything in smoke. They don’t even know what happened to those carrying the explosives.”

“Stop chatting and get me a bucket of water!”

It was good enough to blow up the entire explosive unit like this, but Colonel Dubreton changed his mind, trying to be even more productive. They were only firing to generate smoke, and were not aiming toward the path of the explosive unit.

‘So if we follow that route, wouldn’t we be able to safely access the explosives?’

The shift of thought made it possible to achieve more. The defenders, who had their mouths and noses covered with cotton cloths, sprayed water to remove the calcium oxide floating in the air, and were able to quickly reach the explosives. They managed to take the cart full of explosives, ignoring the enemy soldiers who were rolling around in blood.

“We never have enough gunpowder.”

Thank you well. Mumbling, Colonel Dubreton was able to return to Fort Burgos with precious gunpowder with his defenders. Recognizing something strange, the Allied command stopped firing and dispatched support units, but the situation was already over.

The fortress defenders had already loaded a battery full of gunpowder.

“Fire!”

Booom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The shells that had been cherished and saved smashed the dazed Allied Forces units with a terrifying kinetic energy.

They fled like scared puppies and the defenders were able to taste the joy of victory again.

TL notes

[1] Pierre Daru

[2] Anne Jean Marie Savary

[3] calcium oxide