An unorthodox display of leadership

I am currently reading the memoirs of Henryk Brandt, who was an officer in the Vistula Legion during the Napoleonic Wars. It is full of anecdotes, some of them quite revealing of the tough culture in the French army serving in Spain. His account of the siege of Saragossa is particularly frank. I found the following passage interesting.

“Our brigade commander, Habert, enjoyed a good reputation with the troops. He was tall, energetic and serious, with the bearing of an athlete and a rough manner that was much appreciated by his soldiers.

I recall one incident involving him during the street fighting at Saragossa. We had taken a street that opened onto a square that was still occupied by our enemies and had barricaded the entrance to the square so we could pass without danger from one side of the street to the other. When passing behind the barricade we had to bend down to avoid the Spanish fire, and tall men like Habert had to crouch even lower. The general was crossing the street in this manner when a nearby soldier declared: “What? So generals are afraid as well?” Habert, enraged, spun around, grabbed the unfortunate soldier by the shoulder and dragged him into the centre of the street, holding both himself and the soldier to their full height. A shower of musket fire fell around them: the soldier was pierced by 5 or 6 musket balls and the general emerged unscathed except for a light wound on his arm. He then threw the bloodied corpse of the soldier on the ground, kicked it, uttered a filthy insult and walked away.

“He did the right thing” said the French. “It’s wicked to say something like that about a general like him”.

Translated from “Moja służba w Legii Nadwiślańskiej” by Henryk Brandt, Armagedon, Gdynia 2002.

General Pierre-Joseph Habert, 1773 - 1825