DEATH OF GENERAL CAULINCOURT. 483

commenced at six o’clock on the morning of the 7th ofSeptember by a cannon shot from a field battery in theright wing of the French army. Murat had taken hisstation at this right wing, and advanced with infantryonly to the attack. At nine o’clock he called up hiscavalry, and wdth it undertook the arduous task of at-tacking the grand Russian redoubt. The reverse of thisredoubt had been left open without parapet, and GeneralCaulincourt, who was Colonel General of the Cuirassiers,charged into the redoubt at the head of his Cuirassiers, andthere met his death.* The Russian artillery men were allsabred at their guns, as were the other troops within it, andthe guns turned against the enemy. Now Murat, Ney , andDavoust, conjointly press the left wing of the Russians , butstrong reinforcements are brought up by General Bagawout,which for a moment check the ardour of the French . TheRussian Commander-in-Chief sends more aid from his rightwing, and the French are repulsed. Murat taken by sur-prise, was obliged to throw himself into the grand redoubtwhich was crammed with French troops in disorder. TheRussians surround them—Murat, by his exhortations andhis example established order, and at this moment MarshalNey furiously attacked the line of Russian Cuirassiers andthrew them into utter disorder. The redoubt and heightsof the enemy’s left remained in possession of the French .Extricated from his difficulty Murat put himself at thehead of the division of light cavalry of Generals Bruyeresand Nansouty, and by repeated charges broke and drove theremains of the Russian left upon its centre. But this centrewas as yet intact, and was being continually reinforced byKutasoff from his right. Murat now charged the centre up theacclivities, and supported by the infantry of General Friant,dislodged the Russians . This was the third great cavalry

* He was without his Cuirass which would have saved him.

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