38. Entrusting the Fate of an Army to a Corporal
Napoleon planned to use part of his army to hold off the enemy with street-to-street fighting in Leipzig, while the rest of the army and its heavy equipment crossed the town’s only bridge. According to a precise timetable, once the last of Napoleon’s men had crossed, the bridge would be blown up. The plan and the orderly retreat went without a hitch, until things suddenly went haywire early in the afternoon of October 19th, 1813.
Napoleon had entrusted the task of blowing up the bridge to General Dulauloy. Dulauloy delegated it to Colonel Montfort. Montfort was not completely clear about the timetable, so he headed to Napoleon’s headquarters, seeking clarification. While away, he left Corporal Lafontaine in charge of the bridge’s explosives. Lafontaine knew even less than his Colonel about the retreat timetable. When he heard distant gunfire, he panicked.