They ran immediately to acquaint the emperor with this victory, and the loss which it had occasioned.  The grand-equerry, brother of the unfortunate general, listened, and was at first petrified; but he soon summoned courage against this misfortune, and, but for the tears which silently coursed down his cheeks, you might have thought that he felt nothing.  The emperor, uttering an exclamation of sorrow, said to him, “You have heard the news, do you wish to retire?” But as at that moment we were advancing against the enemy, the grand-equerry made no reply; he did not retire; he only half uncovered himself to thank the emperor, and to refuse.

While this determined charge of cavalry was executing, the viceroy, with his infantry, was on the point of reaching the mouth of this volcano, when suddenly he saw its fires extinguished, its smoke disappear, and its summit glittering with the moveable and resplendent armour of our cuirassiers.  These heights, hitherto Russian, had at last become French; he hastened forward to share and terminate the victory, and to strengthen himself in that position.

But the Russians had not yet abandoned it; they returned with greater obstinacy and fury to the attack; successively as they were beat back by our troops, they were again rallied by their generals, and finally the greater part perished at the foot of these works, which they had themselves raised.

Fortunately, their last attacking column presented itself towards Semenowska and the great redoubt, without its artillery, the progress of which had, no doubt, been retarded by the ravines.  Belliard had barely time to collect thirty cannon against this infantry.  They came almost close to the mouths of our pieces, which overwhelmed them so apropos, that they wheeled round and retreated without being even able to deploy.  Murat and Belliard then said, that if they could have had at that moment ten thousand infantry of the reserve, their victory would have been decisive; but that, being reduced to their cavalry, they considered themselves fortunate to keep possession of the field of battle.

On his side, Grouchy, by sanguinary and repeated charges on the left of the great redoubt, secured the victory, and scoured the plain.  But it was impossible to pursue the fugitive Russians; fresh ravines, with armed redoubts behind them, protected their retreat.  There they defended themselves with fury until the approach of night, covering in this manner the great road to Moscow, their holy city, their magazine, their depot, their place of refuge.

From this second range of heights, their artillery overwhelmed the first which they had abandoned to us.  The viceroy was obliged to conceal his panting, exhausted, and thinned lines in the hollows of the ground, and behind the half-destroyed entrenchments.  The soldiers were obliged to get upon their knees, and crouch themselves up behind these shapeless parapets.  In that painful posture they remained for several hours, kept in check by the enemy, who stood in check of them.