This story took place in the Fall of 1812, during the chaotic retreat of the ‘Great Army’ from Russia. Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, the son of Napoleon's first wife Josephine, commanded the IV Corps.
On November 16, in the ‘Battle of Krasnoye’, the commander suffered a crushing defeat and, at the head of the remnants of his routed troops, found himself cut off from the main forces. At night, Beauharnais tried to lead his men out of the trap.
François Gérard
César Laugier de Bellecourt, an officer of the IV Corps, recalled: "We walked silently, with great caution; we passed through fields, through ravines, through undulating terrain covered with snow, leaving the left flank of the Russian battle line on our left, passing their fires and their posts. The first carelessness could have destroyed these forces that survived the battle."
Suddenly, the moon came out from behind the clouds and dispelled the impenetrable darkness. And then, the voice of the Russian sentry could be heard: "Who goes there?"
The situation for the French became critical, but a Polish colonel from Beauharnais’ corps, a certain Kliski, came to the rescue. He spoke Russian fluently.
Kliski ran up to the sentry and quietly said to him: "Be quiet, unfortunate man; don't you see that we are from Uvarov's corps and have been assigned to a secret expedition?" The Russian general Fyodor Uvarov was just taking part in the battle near Krasnoye.
The sentry said nothing more, and Beauharnais, miraculously saved, soon reached the positions of the French army with the remnants of his troops.
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