midday
And Olsuvieff , with all the advantages of the position , made a magnificent defense . As a defensive fighter the stubborn Russian took a back seat for no soldier in Europe . But the most determined resistance , the most magnificent courage , could not avail against overwhelming numbers , especially directed and led by Napoleon in person , for with every hour the numbers of the assailants were increased by the arrival of fresh troops , while with every hour the defense grew weaker through casualties . Olsuvieff might have surrendered with honor at midday , but he was a stubborn soldier , and he realized , moreover , that it was his duty to hold Napoleon as long as possible . Even the most indifferent commander could not fail to see the danger to Blücher 's isolated corps . Couriers broke through to the east to Sacken and Yorck , who together had over thirty-five thousand men under their command , and to the west to Blücher , with as many more men , telling all these commanders of the extreme peril of the center and of the frightfully dangerous situation in which their carelessness and the ability of their great enemy had involved them . The noise of the firing , too , was carried far and wide over the broad open fields and cultivated farms of the rolling prairie of Champagne .