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On December 5, 1812, with Napoleon"s troops in disarray and freezing temperatures taking a heavy toll, Napoleon abandoned his Grand Army at Smarhon (then in the Russian Empire, now in Belarus) and retreated to Paris. Napoleon was accompanied only by a Mameluke bodyguard and Captain (Count) Dunin-Wąsowicz. Napoleon ordered that he should never be allowed to be captured alive and handed Count Dunin-Wąsowicz a set of pistols.