Fire and Sword (61 page)
Authors: Simon Scarrow
Arthur nodded towards the militiamen watching them closely from a short distance away. ‘Did you say anything about the column to that officer?’
‘No. I will save it for his commander.’
Arthur felt his pulse quicken.This was bad news indeed and made it essential that the Danes surrender as soon as possible. He cleared his throat and continued calmly. ‘It would seem that Denmark faces a choice of giving way to us, or to France. I need not tell you that the consequences of the latter option are far more dire than permitting Lord Cathcart to remove your warships. Once we have those there is no purpose to our remaining on Danish soil. I doubt the French would leave your country quite so readily.’
Schmeiler thought on this a moment and then nodded slowly. ‘I think you are right.’
‘Then can I count on your assistance in helping to persuade the commander of the Copenhagen garrison to lay down his arms?’
‘I will not go that far,’ Schmeiler replied.‘But I will present your case fairly.’
‘Thank you.’
A quarter of an hour later a small party of horsemen reined in a short distance from Arthur and his two companions. Some were dressed in civilian clothes and one, their leader, wore a gaudy uniform. He saluted Arthur as he approached, and then frowned as he saw General Schmeiler. He addressed the latter sharply and there was a brief exchange before he turned his attention back to Arthur.
‘Sir, I am General Peymann, commander of the garrison. Whom do I have the honour of addressing?’
‘Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley at your service, sir.’ Arthur touched the brim of his hat.
Peymann eyed him appraisingly.‘Is it true that your brigade defeated a division of regular troops?’
‘Why, yes, sir.’ Arthur sensed Schmeiler flinch at his side and decided it would be best to spare the man as much embarrassment as he could. ‘But only after a stiff fight, sir.Your compatriots did all that they could before yielding to my men.’
‘I am gratified to hear that,’ Peymann responded flatly. ‘Though it would have been better if our men had fought with more zeal. I can assure you that the defenders of Copenhagen will fight with rather more heart than General Schmeiler and his men.’
‘I have no doubt of that,’ Arthur replied politely. ‘I am sure that they are all good patriots. Like any man who volunteers for the militia. Be that as it may, they are up against regular soldiers, the best trained infantry in Europe. Our fleet anchored off the approaches to your harbour is manned by the victors of Trafalgar. Sir, there can only be one result if you should make the tragic mistake of opposing our demands. Admiral Gambier’s fleet will bombard Copenhagen.Thousands will die and many fine buildings will be crushed to rubble. Then the army of General Cathcart will storm the city.You know the rules of war, sir. If you fail to come to terms with us before the assault begins then our men will be fully within their rights to sack Copenhagen and take what, and whom, they like.’
General Peymann eyed him coldly. ‘You would let them do that?’
‘I regret to say that I, or any British general, could do little to stop them,’ Arthur replied.The redcoats were fine soldiers on the battlefield but could be perfect devils when given their head and Arthur dreaded to consider the consequences should a drunken host of British soldiers descend on the helpless population of the Danish capital. He decided to make one final effort to persuade General Peymann to see reason. ‘Sir, much as I admire your determination to defend your country’s honour, I would beg you to spare your people the horrors of war.What glory is there in such an end? I implore you. Surrender your fleet to Admiral Gambier while there is still time.’
‘You know that we cannot do that. Do you think for a moment that the French Emperor would tolerate such meek behaviour? No, he would punish Denmark severely.’ General Peymann smiled bitterly. ‘So it seems that my people are damned either way.’
It was true, Arthur reflected sadly. There was no easy choice for the Danes.
General Peymann stiffened his back and continued. ‘Besides, what gives your government the right to demand possession of our warships?’
‘Only the right of self-preservation. Britain cannot let those ships fall into French hands.You would do the same in our position.’
‘Perhaps,’ Peymann conceded. ‘And what about you, General Wellesley? If our positions were reversed, would you surrender your capital city and your warships?’
Arthur thought for a moment and shrugged.‘I doubt it. But we must deal with the present realities, sir. Will you surrender?’
‘No.’
‘Then there is nothing more to say.’
Peymann shrugged. ‘I bid you farewell.’
The Danish commander tugged on his reins and turned his mount away. Arthur glanced at Schmeiler and thought quickly.There was still a chance that General Peymann might yet be persuaded to see sense. He reached over and touched Schmeiler’s arm.
‘I release you from your parole.’
Schmeiler looked at him in surprise. ‘You release me? Why?’
‘There is no point in keeping you prisoner any longer. It serves no purpose. You are free. I hope that you live through what is to come.’ Arthur offered the Dane his hand and Schmeiler shook it warmly before Arthur turned his mount away and spurred it back towards the British lines, hurriedly followed by the ensign still carrying the flag of truce.
That night the British fleet sailed within range of the city and began to bombard Copenhagen.Arthur watched from one of the British outposts close to the coast. Scores of flashes illuminated the sides of the warships as their solid shot arced across the harbour and pounded the buildings of the Danish capital. Fire was returned from the citadel that guarded the harbour until the guns there were silenced, and for the rest of the night the ships of the Royal Navy continued to pour a devastating barrage of shot on the Danes.
From the landward side the siege guns added their weight, pounding the defences before them, while the rockets shrieked out from their launchers, inscribing a flaring parabola across the night sky before they fell inside the city and exploded with bright flashes that brought cheers from the ranks of the excited British soldiers who had gathered to watch the spectacle. Some fires began to start where the rockets had landed and wavering orange flames steadily spread across expanses of the city as the night drew on. Only as the first glimmer of dawn appeared did the fire begin to slacken as the British warships made sail and withdrew out of range of the remaining Danish guns. As the light strengthened and Arthur trained his spyglass on the city his heart sank at the sight of the shattered roofs and the clouds of smoke billowing up from the fires that still raged.
The bombardment continued for the following two nights, increasing in intensity. Once the initial exuberance of the first night had worn off the redcoats watched the terrible pounding in awed silence, their faces dimly lit by the distant glow of flames and the sudden flare of explosions as they witnessed the death of a great city. Then, on the morning after the terrible destruction of the third night, General Peymann sent a message to Lord Cathcart offering to surrender both Copenhagen and the fleet. A treaty was signed two days later and the garrison laid down its arms and opened the city to the victors.
When Arthur inspected the town he was horrified to see the damage that had been inflicted.Wide stretches of ground were little more than charred ruins and most buildings had been damaged by round shot that had carried away chimneys, smashed through roofs and walls and left the streets littered with debris. Then there were the bodies. In places they had been laid out neatly and covered with blankets. There had been little time to bury them as the citizens had struggled to fight the fires and find shelter for themselves and their families. But there were still hundreds sprawled in the street or buried in the ruins and the air was thick with the sickly sweet smell of corpses rotting in the heat of the late summer.
By the terms of the treaty the Danes gave up their fleet, together with those naval stores and supplies that had survived the bombardment. In return Britain agreed to quit Copenhagen as soon as the troops could be embarked. Over the following days the heavy guns were carefully loaded back on board their transports and then the infantry battalions followed suit. Arthur’s brigade was the last to go aboard the final squadron of warships that lay at anchor in the harbour. He had received reports that a French corps was on the march towards Copenhagen and the leading elements were already little more than a day’s march from the city.While the other battalions waited on the quay to be rowed out to the warships Arthur took command of the rearguard and positioned them in a cordon around the dock area.
The streets were eerily silent as the Danish inhabitants hid away, bolting their doors and shuttering their windows before retreating further inside to pray for their deliverance. Arthur stood in the tower of the customs house resting his telescope on the back of a chair as he fixed his attention on a French cavalry patrol that had appeared on a low rise inland that overlooked the capital. Well, let them look, he mused to himself. They were already too late. The Danish fleet had weighed anchor and was already on its way across the North Sea to Britain. Eighteen ships of the line together with twelve frigates. Those ships undergoing repairs in the dry docks had been fired a few days earlier and only the skeletal remains of their great timbers remained.
He turned at the sound of footsteps and saw General Stewart climbing into the tower behind him.
‘How is the loading proceeding?’
‘Almost done with the first battalion, sir.’ Stewart saluted.‘The second should be aboard within an hour or so.Then it’s just the rearguard.’
‘Very well. I shall be glad when we have quit this place.’
Stewart nodded.‘I am sure that some in Britain will say that this was not our finest hour.’
‘That is true. However, we must let them say what they like as long as they leave the soldiering to us.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Right then, time to be off.’ Arthur took a last look at the enemy cavalry scouts, and was about to collapse his spyglass when a new movement caught his eye. Just to one side of the enemy horsemen the head of a column of infantry had appeared and was already pouring down the far slope and marching towards Copenhagen as swiftly as they could. Arthur waited a moment longer so that he could ascertain their strength. When the first three battalions had crossed over the rise he snapped his glass shut and stood up stiffly. ‘We have company.’
Stewart scanned the horizon, saw what Arthur had seen and nodded. ‘They’ll reach the city within the hour.’
‘Yes,’ Arthur responded dully. ‘Best prepare for them. Have the rearguard occupy the buildings along the waterfront.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Stewart saluted and disappeared back down the stairs.Arthur stared at the French for a few minutes longer, gauging the pace of their advance.They were making good time and he felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he realised they would reach the quay well before the last men of the brigade could quit the city.
‘This is going to take some careful timing,’ he muttered to himself. ‘Very careful timing.’
Down on the quayside, the last companies of the other battalions were being herded aboard the launches as Arthur emerged from the customs house. He marched along the quay making sure that his men were well placed to guard the approaches to the embarkation area.Time seemed to crawl as the boats rowed steadily to and fro between the ships and the waiting soldiers, and Arthur tried not to let himself fret at the time it took his men to climb aboard and take their seats on the thwarts before each small vessel was fended away and the oars dipped into the calm sea to power the boat to the waiting warships.
Then at last he heard the drums of the approaching French soldiers and almost at once the crackle of musketry as they ran into the first of the British outposts.The sound quickly increased in intensity as General Stewart came striding up to join him.
‘Now we’re in for it, sir.’
‘Yes, quite,’ Arthur replied absently as he tried to gauge the direction of the main thrust of the enemy. ‘Seems to be heaviest towards the left flank. As soon as the next boat reaches the quay pull back one company at a time from our right and have them embark as swiftly as possible. Have the Grenadier Company form up on the quay.’
‘Yes, sir.’
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