How the Brigadier Rode to Minsk

Name: How the Brigadier Rode to Minsk
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

In “How the Brigadier Rode to Minsk,” Etienne Gerard, an ageing veteran, is stirred by a military review in the Champ de Mars, especially when he sees Hussars resembling his own old regiment. The sight makes him feel sharply the loss of youth and strength, and he turns to memories of the terrible Russian retreat: snow, starvation, Cossacks, and the shattered Grand Army protected by the rearguard under Ney. Gerard explains that his Hussars of Conflans had been left at Borodino and later placed under Ney in the rearguard. As hunger becomes unbearable between Wilna and Smolensk, Ney sends him on a hazardous mission. A Russian deserter has reported that Minsk contains stores of corn; Gerard is to seize the grain, load it into carts, and bring it back to the army. He chooses a small force: one squadron of Hussars and thirty Polish Lancers, hoping to evade the Cossacks by stealth. After riding south through the night, Gerard sees Minsk in the distance. Near the village of Dobrova, he pursues and captures a Russian officer, Captain Alexis Barakoff, who tries to swallow a message. Gerard recovers the note but cannot read its Russian. In Dobrova he questions a priest and becomes acquainted with the priest’s daughter, Sophie. She asks him to free Barakoff, fearing that the captive will die if taken back to the starving French army. Gerard releases him on parole, then asks Sophie to translate the note as payment for a Russian lesson. She tells him it means that if the French reach Minsk, all is lost. Convinced that the town is undefended and its grain available, Gerard rides rapidly for Minsk. At the town hall, however, Gerard and his sergeants encounter a triple line of Russian Grenadiers. A volley kills Sergeants Oudin and Papilette, while troops pour into the square from every direction. Half Gerard’s men and horses are killed or wounded, and he is seized after fighting a massive Dragoon officer. He realizes that his detachment has been lured into a prepared ambush and grieves both for his ruined squadron and for Ney’s starving army, which will not receive the promised food. The Russian officer, Major Sergine, cruelly abuses the prisoners and leads them back to Dobrova. There Gerard sees Sophie apparently congratulating Sergine, while her father mocks him. Sophie nevertheless pleads that he be sheltered for the night, reminding the Russians that Gerard generously released Barakoff. Sergine demands Gerard’s parole; Gerard refuses to give it to him, but agrees when Sophie asks for his word, allowing her to be responsible for him. He is locked in a cold cellar. Barakoff secretly brings Gerard food and urges him to stay awake and ready. Later Sophie reveals the truth: she deliberately mistranslated the note. Its real meaning was, “Let the French come to Minsk. We are awaiting them.” She defends her conduct as the duty of a Russian woman to her country, just as Gerard would expect loyalty from a French girl. Yet, following Gerard’s own principle that one man matters little in a war between great armies, she offers him escape through an unguarded door. Gerard initially refuses because he has given his parole to Sophie, but she releases him from it. Barakoff waits with Violette, Gerard’s mare, and his sword. Gerard escapes through the Russian lines using the watchword “Poltava.” Major Sergine catches him and accuses him of breaking parole, then threatens Sophie with Siberia for helping him. Gerard declares that he gave no parole to Sergine and will answer only to Sophie. Since Sergine’s threat endangers her, Gerard fights and kills him. Two days later he rejoins the army at Smolensk and resumes the dreadful retreat. He insists that, despite accusations against him, he did not abandon his honour.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · First published 1903 · Genre: Historical Fiction, War Fiction, Napoleonic Fiction · 9,074 words

First lines

I would have a stronger wine tonight, my friends, a wine of Burgundy rather than of Bordeaux. It is that my heart, my old soldier heart, is heavy within me. It is a strange thing, this age which creeps upon one. One does not know, one does not understand; the spirit is ever the same, and one does not remember how the poor body crumbles. But there comes a moment when it is brought home, when quick as the sparkle of a whirling sabre it is clear to us, and we see the men we were and the men we are. Yes, yes, it was so today, and I would have a wine of Burgundy tonight. White Burgundy -- Montrachet -- Sir, I am your debtor!

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Genres

Historical Fiction — The story is set during Napoleon's disastrous 1812 retreat from Russia and incorporates real historical figures, military conditions, and locations into a fictional narrative.
War Fiction — Its central conflict concerns military survival, combat, imprisonment, starvation, and the catastrophic consequences of the French campaign in Russia.
Napoleonic Fiction — The work belongs specifically to fiction about the Napoleonic Wars, narrated by Conan Doyle's recurring Hussar officer, Brigadier Etienne Gerard.
Historical Adventure — Gerard's mission to seize grain at Minsk, his pursuit of a Russian officer, capture, escape, and final duel create a fast-moving adventure plot within a historical setting.

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How the Brigadier Rode to Minsk is listed on Textopian as a short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dated 1903 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Date: 1903 CE
Language: English
Genres: Historical Fiction, War Fiction, Napoleonic Fiction, Historical Adventure, Military Adventure
Length: 9,074 words
Structure: 1 section, 137 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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