9533. Proclamation to the Army before Austerlitz (December 1, 1805)
Original French
9533 — A L’ARMÉE.
Au bivouac, 10 frimaire an XIV (1er décembre 1805).
Soldats, l’armée russe se présente devant vous pour venger l’armée autrichienne d’Ulm. Ce sont ces mêmes bataillons que vous avez battus à Hollabrunn, et que depuis vous avez constamment poursuivis jusqu’ici.
Les positions que nous occupons sont formidables; et, pendant qu’ils marcheront pour tourner ma droite, ils me présenteront le flanc.
Soldats, je dirigerai moi-même tous vos bataillons; je me tiendrai loin du feu, si, avec votre bravoure accoutumée, vous portez le désordre et la confusion dans les rangs ennemis; mais, si la victoire était un moment incertaine, vous verriez votre Empereur s’exposer aux premiers coups, car la victoire ne saurait hésiter, dans cette journée surtout où il y va de l’honneur de l’infanterie française, qui importe tant à l’honneur de toute la nation.
Que, sous prétexte d’emmener les blessés, on ne dégarnisse pas les rangs, et que chacun soit bien pénétré de cette pensée, qu’il faut vaincre ces stipendiés de l’Angleterre qui sont animés d’une si grande haine contre notre nation.
Cette victoire finira notre campagne, et nous pourrons reprendre nos quartiers d’hiver, où nous serons joints par les nouvelles armées qui se forment en France; et alors la paix que je ferai sera digne de mon peuple, de vous et de moi.
Napoléon.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean translation directly from the French transcript; source-language model review covered the earlier corpus, with later changes separately checked as documented in corpus/raw/napoleon-proclamations/source-language-review.md.
To the army.
At the bivouac, 10 Frimaire, Year XIV (December 1, 1805).
Soldiers, the Russian army stands before you to avenge the Austrian army of Ulm. These are the same battalions you defeated at Hollabrunn, and have pursued relentlessly ever since, all the way here.
The positions we occupy are formidable; and as they march to turn my right, they will expose their flank to me.
Soldiers, I will personally direct all your battalions; I will keep away from the fire if, with your customary bravery, you bring disorder and confusion into the enemy ranks. But if victory were for a moment uncertain, you would see your Emperor expose himself to the first shots, for victory must not waver, especially on this day when the honor of the French infantry is at stake, a matter so important to the honor of the whole nation.
Let no one thin the ranks on the pretext of carrying away the wounded, and let everyone be deeply mindful that we must defeat these hirelings of England, who are filled with such hatred for our nation.
This victory will end our campaign, and we will be able to return to our winter quarters, where the new armies forming in France will join us; and then the peace I make will be worthy of my people, of you, and of me.
Napoleon.
Plain English translation
Independently produced machine-assisted Plain translation directly from the same French transcript; source-language model review covered the earlier corpus as documented in corpus/raw/napoleon-proclamations/source-language-review.md.
To the army
Bivouac, 10 Frimaire, year XIV (December 1, 1805).
Soldiers, the Russian army has come to face you and avenge the Austrian army of Ulm. You beat these same battalions at Hollabrunn, and ever since then you have kept chasing them, right up to this place.
The positions we hold are very strong. As they march to get around my right, they will expose their flank to me.
Soldiers, I will command all your battalions myself. If you show your usual courage and throw the enemy's ranks into disorder and confusion, I will keep away from the fire. But if victory were in doubt even for a moment, you would see your Emperor put himself in the path of the first shots, because victory cannot waver, especially on this day, when the honor of the French infantry is at stake. That honor matters so much to the honor of the whole nation.
Let no one leave the ranks on the pretext of taking away the wounded. Let everyone keep this thought firmly in mind: we must defeat these men paid by England, who feel such great hatred for our nation.
Once we have won this victory, our campaign will be over. We can go back to our winter quarters, where the new armies now being formed in France will join us. Then I will make a peace worthy of my people, of you, and of myself.
Napoleon.
About this section
9533. Proclamation to the Army before Austerlitz (December 1, 1805) is part of Proclamation to the Army before Austerlitz by Napoléon Bonaparte. This page sets the French original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is part 1 of 1 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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