LFEV - "Berthier"

ALEXANDER BERTIER 

1) LOGIC ("dogmatic") 

2) PHYSICS ("toiler") 

3) EMOTION ("dry") 

4) WILL ("serf") 

For those who are unfamiliar with the history of the Napoleonic wars and to whom the name of Berthier does not say anything, so I will begin with a brief biographical note: "Berthier Louis-Alexandre, French Marshal (1763 - 1815)... His royalism did not prevent him from becoming first a brigadier general in Lucner's army in 1792 and from taking an active part in the suppression of the Vendée rebellion in 1793-96. Appointed chief of staff of the Italian army in 1796, he gained the full confidence of General Bonaparte, who appreciated his technical knowledge, accuracy in the execution of orders and rare ability to work. For 18 years Bertier was almost never separated from Napoleon and in all campaigns until 1814 was the constant chief of staff of his army. After the peace of Campo Formio, Berthier was placed at the head of the Italian army, occupied Rome, and proclaimed a republic there (1798). Then he took part in the Egyptian expedition and, returning with Napoleon, actively helped him during the coup of 18 Brumaire, after which he was appointed Minister of War. In 1804 Berthier was promoted to marshal, and after the victories of 1805-1807 he was made duke of Neuchâtel, which was taken from Prussia, vice-connetcell and imperial prince. At the same time he married the niece of the King of Bavaria, Princess Maria. Bertier's actions during the 1809 campaign were severely criticized, but this did not prevent Napoleon from giving him a new reward in the form of the title of Prince of Wagram. Despite all Napoleon's favors, by the end of his reign Berthier had become severely disgusted with his policies. When the fall of the empire became inevitable, he was one of the first to go over to the side of the Bourbons and accompanied Louis XYII on his arrival in Paris. As a reward, he was appointed peer of France. Napoleon, not believing in the sincerity of his royalism, tried to get him on his side again, and shortly before his departure from Elba informed him of his plans. Berthier did not answer him, but at the same time he said nothing to Louis XYII about the letter he had received. When Napoleon landed, in March 1815, on the coast of France, Berthier hesitated greatly about which side he should take, but in the end he left for Bamberg. Here, during the Russian troops' passage through Bamberg on June 1, 1815, he fell from the window of the castle in which he lived into the street and crushed to death. 

Among other things, this excerpt from the encyclopedic dictionary is remarkable in that it clearly demonstrates the inability of any, the most detailed and accurate record to convey our human essence. And Bertier, real, warm, alive, did not at all resemble the Bertier that appears to us from the pages of the encyclopedia. 

* * * 

Napoleon, a man extremely self-confident and not always restrained with his tongue, said of Berthier that he "made an eagle out of a chicken. Napoleon, of course, was, to put it mildly, oblivious: you can make a chicken an eagle, but you can't make one. Nor did he make anything of Berthier. But the fact that Napoleon found in Berthier the perfect executor of his will is certain. 

Strange, at first sight, relations developed between these two so different people. Berthier was one of the few people close to him whom the emperor in fits of irritation did not hesitate to slap. Which had no effect on the Chief of Staff, either physically or morally, since his strong, flexible 2nd Physique and his weak, flexible 4th Will were equally insensitive to beatings and humiliation. At the same time, his handiwork had no bearing on the special trust Napoleon had placed in Berthier; the Emperor constantly consulted him and seemed to recognize his intellectual superiority, which is understandable if we remember the Emperor's 3rd Logic. Indeed, the strong head of Berthier's 1st Logic helped Napoleon greatly, and it also made the chief of staff one of the first to leave the defeated master. 

"What was he striving for? No one knew that. He had an astonishing capacity for work, an almost unbelievable professional staff memory, and a special talent for turning general directives from the commander into precise paragraphs of order. He was not suitable for the first and independent roles, but no one could replace him with equal success as chief of staff," the historian wrote, noting unwittingly the main parameters of the "Berthier" type: a powerful and clear 1st Logic, a tireless 2nd Physics and a 4th Will without initiative. In fact, this is exactly what Napoleon demanded of his staff when he said: "I am my own minister. I conduct my own affairs, and consequently I am strong enough to benefit from mediocre people. Honesty, lack of talkativeness, and efficiency are all that I require." And is it necessary to explain how fully Berthier met these kinds of requirements? 

* * * 

The perfect match for Alexander Berthier is another "Berthier" (not to be mentioned at night) - Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, Stalin's closest aide. Bertier and Molotov made a fantastic career, without even dreaming about it and without wanting to. And Berthier, like Molotov, could answer the question: how he found himself where he found himself, answer: "The wind has blown ... The wind carried him, carried him, carried him..." Indeed, she is such, this 4th Will, she is carried by the wind... 

Lenin, quick on the ugly side, used to call Molotov a "stone ass. But neither he nor his successors were ever able to incriminate this perfect bureaucrat with anything other than monstrous efficiency. In recent years a vast literature has emerged that speaks frankly about the top brass of the Soviet regime; much space has been given to the figure of Molotov. It is therefore now possible to compile from memoir quotations an almost exhaustive psychological portrait of Molotov in particular, and of the "Berthier" in general. 

Contemporaries recalled: "I worked a lot with Molotov. He is a very conscientious, not brilliant, but extremely efficient bureaucrat. He is very calm and composed. He was always extremely friendly and courteous to me and very nice in his personal relations with me. He was also very nice to everyone who came near him. He is polite, quite acceptable, no rudeness, no arrogance, no bloodthirstiness, no desire to humiliate or crush anyone... 

Is it really possible to make everything out of this man? Put him in the hands of Stalin, elevate him in a system where man is a wolf to man, and he will watch indifferently as millions of people perish in cruel suffering. Put him as an ordinary official in a good human system of society, and he will work nights, seeking funds to help the starving peasants of the village of Neelovka ..." 

"By character he was a dry and sullen man. Even in such surroundings as watching some movie comedy with Stalin and the guests, he was formal, rarely smiled and allowed no 'liberties.'" 

"I didn't see such bad, mean-spirited sucking up only from Molotov's side. Molotov made an impression on me at that time as an independent man, independently reasoning. He had his own judgment on one issue or another, and he spoke out and told Stalin what he thought. It was obvious that Stalin did not like it, but Molotov still insisted."

"It struck me that such a tough politician has such a lax handshake of a weak-kneed man." 

"His cannonball-like head, his black mustache and smart eyes, his stone face, his dexterity of speech, and his unperturbed manner were a fitting expression of his qualities and dexterity... 

His smile of Siberian winter, his carefully considered and often reasonable words, his affable manner made him the perfect instrument of Soviet policy in a world breathing death. 

Only once did I see, as if he had a normal human reaction... We had signed the AngloSoviet treaty, and he had a dangerous flight home ahead of him. At the garden gate in Downing Street, which we used to keep the secret, I took him firmly by the arm, and we looked into each other's faces. Suddenly he seemed deeply disturbed. Behind the mask a man showed himself." 

To the above it remains to add that this man "with the smile of a Siberian winter" liked to play the violin in short moments of rest, which in the Bolshevik barracks environment was a unique, almost unbelievable phenomenon and caused constant mockery from the cadres of Stalin's Politburo. 

The appearance of the "Berthier" is usually unremarkable: a short, dense figure, his face is round, with almost no facial expression, and there is no scope in his gestures, his elbows are tightly pressed to his sides. He is dressed neatly, cleanly, but dimly, and his haircut is short, without gimmicks. He only attracts attention with a gleamless, tilted gaze that strangely combines intelligence, good-naturedness, and gentleness. The vocabulary is emphatically delicate and dry. A great interest in everyday life, housekeeping, and tirelessness in his work is noticeable. In principle, the "rentier" is Akaky Akakievich from Gogol's "The Overcoat": docile, mild, kind, thoughtful, hard-working, loving to sing something heartfelt at his leisure in a soft monotone voice and play with pets. That's it. Only extraordinary circumstances could make him Prince of Neuchâtel or Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.