One of the men holding him suddenly lashed out and smashed a fist into the soldier’s jaw. ‘Shut your mouth!’
Napoleon paused in the street as the little party drew close to the church. As soon as they recognised him the soldiers halted and stared at him awkwardly.
‘Well?’ Napoleon glared at them. ‘Don’t you salute your emperor?’
The officer recovered first. ‘Attention!’
The three men ahead of him snapped their arms to their sides and stood straight-backed, chins up.The man in the middle stood still as the blood oozed from his cut lip and dripped on to his white cross-straps. Napoleon strode up to them.
‘What is the meaning of this? Lieutenant, what has this man done?’
‘We caught him looting a shrine on the edge of the village, sir.’
‘Looting, eh?’ Napoleon turned to the middle man. ‘What is your name?’
‘Geunet, sire.’The man’s gaze did not flicker as he continued to stare straight ahead. ‘Jean Geunet, private, third company, first battalion, forty-second regiment of the line, sire.’
‘One of General Ruffin’s regiments then.’ Napoleon nodded. ‘And what did you manage to loot from the shrine, Geunet?’
‘Sire, it was only an offering of food. Half a loaf of bread and a joint of lamb.’
‘I see. And you are of course aware of my orders concerning pillaging?’
‘Yes, sire.’The man straightened up.‘But it was not pillaging. I did not steal it from anyone.’
‘But you did steal it from the shrine, did you not?’
The soldier nodded. ‘I was hungry, sir. All the lads are. Almost starving.’
‘But these men with you have not stolen anything, have they?’
The soldier’s eyes met those of his Emperor.‘I don’t know.Why don’t you ask them, sire?’
‘Because you were caught and they weren’t. That’s why, you impudent dog.’ Napoleon turned to the lieutenant again.‘Is this man in your unit?’
‘Yes, sire.’
‘And where are you taking Private Geunet?’
‘To battalion headquarters, sire.’ The lieutenant held up a haversack. ‘The bread and meat are in here, sire, and these two men witnessed the theft. The private’s case will be heard by the colonel, and then he will be sentenced, according to your general order, sire.’
Napoleon frowned.‘Your colonel is about to be a very busy man. He has no time to deal with this matter.’ Geunet puffed his cheeks out in relief and looked towards the Emperor with a grateful expression. In other circumstances Napoleon might have pardoned the man, but that morning, in the chill of the fog, with the ache in his head and several restless nights behind him, the Emperor’s mood was surly and cold to the point of cruelty. He turned round and beckoned to one of the orderlies who accompanied him along with his personal escort of Polish light cavalry.
‘Give me some paper and a pencil.’
‘Yes, sire.’ The orderly delved into his despatch bag and handed the requested materials to his Emperor with a bow.
‘Turn round,’ Napoleon ordered. ‘Keep your back still.’
As the orderly did as he was ordered Napoleon held the paper to his back and began to write. By the authority of his imperial majesty, the Emperor Napoleon, Private Jean Geunet has been found guilty of pillaging. In accordance with standing orders he is sentenced to summary execution. By order of Napoleon.
He signed his name and handed the document to the lieutenant. ‘There. Have it entered into regimental records. Now take Private Geunet back to the shrine and shoot him.’
‘Sire?’The lieutenant stared back.
‘Did you not hear my order?’
‘Well, yes, sire.’
‘Then carry it out immediately or I will have you charged with insubordination.’
‘Yes, sire!’ The lieutenant saluted and turned at once to his men. ‘Take hold of him!’
Geunet’s expression was one of pure horror. A moment earlier he had been convinced that the Emperor had been about to pardon him, or at least order a lenient punishment. Now he collapsed to his knees and clasped the hem of Napoleon’s greatcoat.
‘Sire! I beg you. Show me mercy. I have a family, in Toulon. A wife, two children.’
Napoleon looked down at him coldly. ‘Get your hands off me.’
‘Sire.’ Geunet’s eyes widened. ‘Don’t have me shot. Put me in the front rank. At least give me a chance to die with a musket in my hand. For my country. For you, sire.’
Napoleon ignored him. ‘Take this man away, and carry out the sentence.’
Geunet’s two companions grabbed his elbows and hauled him roughly to his feet before pinning his arms behind his back and thrusting him away from the Emperor, back down the street in the direction they had come from. Geunet struggled to twist his head round and called out, ‘Sire! Don’t let them shoot me. Please, sire!’
Napoleon ignored his calls and walked to the horse being held by a groom. Once in the saddle he spurred the animal forward and rode down the street that led towards the pass.The escort followed him in a rumbling cascade of hooves, and as the party left Sepúlveda behind them the sound of two musket shots rang out.
A short distance from the village the gradient of the road began to increase noticeably and within minutes they had emerged from the dawn fog and could clearly see the way ahead of them. Already some of Ruffin’s skirmishers were advancing up the hill, on either side of the road, warily watching for any signs of their opposite numbers. But there was no movement below the summit and Napoleon was sure that the enemy had positioned all available men in the pass itself. He went forward with his escort along the narrow cart track that began to zigzag up the slope. When they neared the small hillock he had spotted from the church, he led them off the track and towards the crest.As Napoleon had hoped, the slightly elevated position gave a good view of the Spanish defences less than a mile ahead.
The Polish captain commanding the escort edged his mount closer to the Emperor and coughed. ‘Excuse me, sire. But aren’t we in range of the nearest battery?’
Napoleon glanced at the earthworks opposite and slightly higher than the hillock.‘It would be extreme range. I doubt they will waste the ammunition.’
‘Even so, I would rather you did not take the risk, sire.’
Napoleon turned towards him and glared.‘We are safe here, Captain. Besides, there is no other position from which to observe the fight. Now still your tongue.’
The captain opened his mouth, then nodded and saluted before walking his horse away to a respectful distance behind the Emperor.
Napoleon watched as Ruffin’s division marched out of the fog and began to climb the road up to the pass.As the men passed the Emperor’s position they cheered and Napoleon made himself raise his hat in acknowledgement, provoking fresh cheers from soldiers delighted by the simple gesture.As they neared the pass, the division halted and began to deploy in line. Ahead of them the skirmishers fired the first shots of the day at the enemy’s light infantry, who were sheltering behind rocks and folds in the ground just ahead of their main position. Soon tiny puffs of smoke were blossoming across the slope. Napoleon watched the deployment with a growing sense of impatience, tapping the top of his boot with his riding crop. At length the drums rolled and the division edged forward. As soon as they came in sight of the Spanish guns the latter opened fire and the first balls tore through the French ranks, scattering bodies in all directions. Ruffin’s men continued on towards the line of enemy infantry, the units on each flank taking the heaviest casualties as they approached the Spanish batteries. Inevitably, the line began to bow as the men being pounded by artillery slowed down, and finally stopped a short distance in front of the battery opposite Napoleon.