By now Napoleon was describing Acre to Berthier as a mere ‘grain of sand’, an indication that he was considering abandoning the siege. He was also convinced that Sir Sidney Smith was ‘a kind of lunatic’, because the British commodore had challenged Napoleon to single combat under the walls of the city. (Napoleon replied that he didn’t see Smith as his equal, and ‘would not come forth to a duel unless the English could fetch Marlborough from his grave’.)
Smith also devised the forging of an ‘intercepted’ letter from Napoleon to the Directory bemoaning his army’s perilous situation. Copies were distributed around the French army by deserters, and it was said that when one was handed to Napoleon he ‘tore it up in a great rage’ and forbade anyone to discuss it. This ruse de guerre certainly fooled the Turks, whose ambassador in London sent a copy to the Foreign Office under the impression that it was genuine.
Source:
Roberts, Andrew. "Acre." Napoleon: A Life. New York: Penguin, 2014. 196. Print.
Original Source(s) Listed:
Lockhart, History of Napoleon I p. 150.
Sparrow, Secret Service p. 191.
Further Reading:
No comments, yet...