And always they were cold.
The enormous armies of Schwarzenberg had been extended on either side.
They were constantly threatened with being outflanked.

Most of them were young soldiers, weary and dispirited, and many of them unarmed.
Every battle had reduced the stock of good muskets.

Many of those still in possession of the troops had been ruined by their unskillful handling.
The supply of regimental officers was utterly inadequate to the demand.
The bravest and the best are usually the first to fall; the boldest and most venturesome the most liable to capture.

Perhaps, if the Emperor had broken up his guard and distributed the veterans among the raw troops, the effect might have been better, but in that case he would have destroyed his main reliance in his army.

No, it was better to keep the guard together at all hazards.