N. Muromtsev - An Episode from the Battle of Leipzig, 1813

The entire [Allied] army proceeded to one point, Leipzig. Napoleon, trying to prevent our concentration, attacked the Russian, Austrian and part of the Prussian armies on 4 [16] October. The French attack was swift and vigorous and an intense fight began at all points. In the middle, there was the village of Gossa, which we all called ‘red roof’. The Prussian troops were constantly sent against it during the day, but were repulsed with heavy casualties because the French were deployed as tirailleurs. In the afternoon, [general Alexey] Yermolov was ordered to seize this village by assault. The French were fortified behind its stonewalls and it was very difficult to dislodge them. Yermolov then commanded the Russian and Prussian Guards. He deployed the regiments in columns on both flanks and in the centre and marched with a drumbeat, having scattered the Guard Jägers as skirmishers in front of him. Observing our flanking columns, the French had to retreat pursued by the Jägers. There was a large stone house (it was the ‘red roof’) in the middle of the village and, as the Jägers rushed in, fierce fighting broke out; all the windows and mirrors were smashed to pieces. The French were finally driven out of the village. Corpses were taken out of the house and several of us, aides-de-camp, occupied it with out general [Yermolov].

There were many interesting incidents on that memorable day of 4 [16] October] and I want to describe one of them. Before noon, while our corps commanded by General Yermolov was still idle,  our  general  decided  to observe the actions on the left flank, where General Rayevskii’s troops were under heavy attack and could barely hold their ground. He took me with him and we rode there, about half a verst away. Having witnessed the action and talked to courageous Rayevskii, we turned back to our positions. The Guard cavalry was moving to the left of us, by threes to the right, and presented a long but thin line. The French, meanwhile, were deployed in squadron columns. Yermolov noted our mistake and told me, ‘Look, the French will soon charge and rout them.’ He had hardly finished when the French cavalry indeed charged. The entire Russian line shook and then fled. Thus, we found ourselves in the middle of our fleeing cavalry and the pursuing French, but were a bit to the left and so had some open space in front of us. We soon saw several French cavalrymen, who noticed us too and galloped in our direction. We immediately spurred our horses and, thanks to their agility, quickly outdistanced them. It is well known that the French horses moved awkwardly. The general had his hat blown off by the wind and I managed to dismount, pick it up and then ride away. We soon reached a small dam on the creek, which separated us from the czar and his entire suite, and encountered the Life Guard Cossacks, the czar’s escort, that were dispatched to support our cavalry. These good lads routed the French at once and our cavalry recovered.