ABSTRACT
Not only was France itself under threat, but Bonaparte's reputation had also been seriously dented. The 29th Bulletin of the Grande Armee,' issued from Molodetchno on 3 December, reached Paris on 16 December. In it Napoleon confessed that an atrocious calamity had befallen the army, so that only his personal presence in Paris would forestall the consternation, perhaps even panic, that the Bulletin would cause. Moreover, in the longer term, his imperial ambitions still remained and he was already resolved to recover both his prestige and the territory which he had lost. No thought of any compromise peace settlement entered his mind; complete victory was his aim. And indeed, there would be times during the forthcoming year that this would look distinctly possible.
