- Beresinalied
The "Beresinalied", originally known as "Unser Leben gleicht der Reise" (the incipit) is a "
Lied " composed byFriedrich Wilke after the 1792 poem "die Nachtreise" byLudwig Giseke .It became a symbol of the sacrifices of
Swiss mercenaries in foreign service following popularization as "Beresinalied" byOtto von Greyerz undGonzague de Reynold , tying it to theBattle of Berezina . The context is thatOberleutnant Thomas Legler, (1782-1835, born in Glarus) who served in the II corps of MarshalNicolas Oudinot inNapoleon Bonaparte 's invasion army in Russia in his memoirs "Denkwürdigkeiten aus dem russischen Feldzug" tells how his commander during the Battle on 28 November 1812 reminded him of the song and asked him to sing it.Of the originally 8,000 men of the four
Swiss regiments (division Merle), about 1,300 were left by the time the retreating army reached the Berezina River. Under GeneralJean Baptiste Eblé two bridges were built across the Berezina, and the second corps crossed to the western bank to beat back the Russian troops hindering the crossing. The Swiss engaged the Russian troops on 28 November 1812 on the road toBarysaŭ . The Russians pressed back the Swiss vanguard, trying to force them back into the river. Only 300 Swiss survived the day.
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