News World Napoleon's secret coded Kremlin letter on sale

Napoleon's secret coded Kremlin letter on sale

Fontainebleau, France, Nov 30:  The single line of Napoleon's secret code told Paris of his desperate, last order against the Russians: "At three o'clock in the morning, on the 22nd I am going to blow


Its elegantly calligraphic ciphers show history's famed general at one of his weakest moments.

"My cavalry is in tatters, many horses are dying," dictated Napoleon, the once-feared leader showing the strain of his calamitous Russian invasion, which halved his army.

The rare document -- dated Oct. 20, 1812, signed "Nap" in the emperor's hand and written in numeric code -- is up for auction Sunday at France's Fontainebleau Auction House.

The Napoleon code, used only for top-secret letters when the French emperor was far from home, aimed to stop enemies from intercepting French army orders.

The code was regularly changed to prevent it from being cracked.

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