I don't 'fee' anything. I believe that Bernadotte should have stayed with Davout as the orders indicated from Berthier.
Bernadotte was guilty of gross negligence in the performance of his duties. I also believe that it was done on purpose and probably because of a grudge against Davout. Bernadotte was a self-centered egotist who thought only of himself. Napoleon had been both tolerant and generous to him, and he repaid those favors by not doing his assigned duty.

Kevin:
Well, I understood what you believed with the first post, and your character analysis of Bernadotte is certainly clear and consistent throughout. Why he *should* have stayed with Davout when he was obviously expected to be in Dornberg on the 14th is not. I get the impression that you believe that Beradotte, being a competent and intelligent officer, *should* have ignored Napoleon's directive and instead, reversed direction and backtracked miles to follow Davout North. Why you believe that is the obvious or militarily expected action is not clear to me at all.

At this point, whether he had a grudge against Davout [Such 'grudges' were rampant in the French army, most generals being ambitious and self-promoters], I don't know. That his actions on the 14th demonstrate his desire to hurt or ignore Davout, I don't see that at all. Following the only directions he had, marching to the Dornberg, would seem the logical and militarily prudent thing to do. To make such a poor march of it is certainly negligent and speaks volumes about him.

However, I don't see how such behaviors could help Bernadotte or hurt Davout, even assuming Bernadotte had a better sense of the Prussian movements than Napoleon. It was stupid behavior on Bernadotte's part, but it wasn't the only stupid behavior he demonstrated during his tenure as a French General and Marshal. He may even have been sulking because he had apparently been 'overlooked' in the general orders as Maude suggests. Who knows, without evidence.

Bill