CHAP. LVII. 1809. 24. May 8. Retired behind the Piave, the Archduke conceived it practicable to defend the course of that torrent, and thereby both arrest the enemy's progress in that quarter, and maintain a position from which either the projected Battle of the lateral movement upon Lintz, or the ultimate retreat upon Piave. Vienna, might be effected. Like all the other streams which, in the lower parts of Lombardy, descend from the summits of the Alps to the Italian plains, this river flows in the middle of an immense gravelly bed, elevated for the most part above the adjoining meadow, and fordable in all parts except after heavy rains. At that season, however, the melting of the snows in the higher Alps rendered the torrent swollen, and made any attempt to cross a hazardous operation. But, finding that the spirits of his troops had been most powerfully elevated by the triumphs of the Grand Army, Eugene resolved to attempt the passage by main force; and hoped, by rivalling the brilliant exploit of Napoleon at the passage of the Tagliamento,* to wipe out the disgrace of his defeat at Sacile. The attempt was made on the 8th May at two points, viz. the fords of Toreillo and St Nichol, distant two miles from each other, in front of Lovadina. Dessaix, with six battalions, crossed at the first of these points at daybreak; but he had no sooner drawn up his troops in square, on the opposite bank, than they were charged with great vigour by three thousand Austrian horse. The Imperial cavalry, notwithstanding the most gallant exertions, were unable to break that solid mass of infantry. Had a body of foot-soldiers been at hand to support their attacks, or cannon to break the firm array of the enemy, without doubt their efforts would have proved successful; but the infantry, considerably behind, could not get up in time; and meanwhile, Eugene succeeded in bringing 1 Erz. Johan. up a large body of French horse, which quickly passed 99, 104. Pel. over, and by charging the Imperial cavalry in their turn, iii. 196, 201. relieved the grenadiers, now almost sinking under the 226. fatigues of the continued combat, from the weight which had oppressed them.1 Wolfskehl, however, who commanded the Austrian dragoons, turned fiercely on these new assailants. The Imperial horsemen, the flower of their army, fought * Ante, chap. xxiii. § 10. Feldz. 1809, Jom. iii. 225, LVII. 1809. 25. CHAP. bravely a terrible combat ensued, in which their gallant commander was slain; and it was not till half their number were stretched on the plain, and an overwhelmDefeat of the ing superiority of force had rendered further resistance Austrians. unavailing, that these intrepid cavaliers fell back upon their infantry, who were slowly advancing to the charge. The foot-soldiers were ridden over and thrown into confusion by the flying dragoons: disorder speedily spread in the columns; several cannon and large quantities of baggage were taken; and it was only by bringing up in person the reserve of grenadiers that the Archduke succeeded in arresting the rout. Meanwhile, as the waters of the Piave still continued to rise from the melting of the snows in the mountains, Eugene hastily constructed a bridge of boats, by means of which Macdonald's division was crossed over, which was soon followed by that of Grenier and the rest of the army; Dessaix, with his unconquerable squares, still keeping his ground in front, and covering the deploying of the columns to the right and left. At two in the afternoon, Eugene, having collected thirty thousand foot and six thousand horse on the left bank, marched forward to attack the enemy; but the Archduke was already in full retreat by the great road of Cornegliano, which was effected in excellent order, though not without much bloody fighting; the numerous canals, dykes, and hollow ways of the country affording every facility for arresting the progress of the enemy. In this disastrous affair, in which the Austrian commanders vainly attempted to defend seven leagues of a fordable river, and uselessly sacrificed their noble cavalry by bringing it into action against infantry without the aid either of foot or cannon, the Archduke John lost 1 Erz. Johan, nearly six thousand men, fifteen guns, and thirty caissons, Feldz. 1809, while the French had not to deplore the fall of more than iii. 196, 207. four thousand. But what was far more important, he Jom. iii. 225, lost the whole moral influence of the victory of Sacile; and the prestige of success, with all its incalculable effects, had passed over to the enemy.1 99, 110. Pel. 227. Thib. vii. 265. After this defeat, the Archduke John retired without any further struggle, and without being disquieted in his retreat, to Villach in Carinthia. The strong forts which he had constructed at Malborghetto, Tarwis, and Prediel, CHAP. 1809. 26. roads to that town, and at the Prevald on that to Laybach, gave him the means of effecting this movement without any molestation. Arrived at Villach, he received intelligence of the fall of Vienna, and, at the same time, a Retreat of the letter from the Archduke Charles, of 15th May, directing Austrians from Italy him to move with all his forces upon Lintz.* Conceiving into Hungary. that these orders had now become impracticable, and that. May 17. the reduction of the capital had totally extinguished the object for which they had been framed, the Archduke unfortunately thought that he must act for himself, and take counsel from the disastrous circumstances in which the monarchy was placed. Impressed with these ideas, instead of turning his face towards Lintz, he directed his march to Gratz, and sent orders to Jellachich—who had been detached in the first instance to the northward, towards Salzburg, to open up a communication with Hiller and the corps which might operate towards Lintz -to retreat in the same direction, by following the romantic defiles of the Muhr. There he arrived on the 24th, without any further engagement, and descended 1 Pel. iii. 214, into the plains of Hungary, having abandoned the Tyrol, 227, 229. with its heroic defenders, the forts on the crest of the Erz. Johan. mountains which had covered his own retreat, with their 135. gallant garrisons, and the whole projected operations on the upper Danube, to their fate.1 223. Jom. iii. Feldz. 124, 27. the mountain The French advanced guard crossed the frontier of the Austrian States on the 14th, on the Ponteba; and speedily, in great strength, surrounded the fort of Capture of Malborghetto. When summoned to surrender, the com- forts of Carinmander replied, "that his orders were to defend him- thia and Styria by the self, and not to negotiate;" and the intrepidity of the French. defence corresponded with such an announcement. The May 14. works consisted of a rampart of wood surmounting a ditch, and enclosing a wooden tower three stories * The orders, dated Enzersdorf, 15th May 1809, were quite precise :-" To march from Villach by Spital and Salzburg, on the Danube; to summon to his aid the corps of Jellachich, to co-operate with Kollowrath, who, at the same period, was to be before Lintz, on the left bank of the river, and to act in unison on the rear and communications of Napoleon, now master of Vienna." It was eight days' march from Laybach to Lintz; Prince John, therefore, might have been there by the 24th or 25th, where no one remained but Bernadotte with the Saxons. Of what incalculable importance would such a concentration of 50,000 men have been on the direct line of Napoleon's communications immediately after his defeat at Aspern, which took place on the 22d !-See PELET, ii. 221, 222. LVII. 1809. CHAP. high, which were filled with musketeers; and, as the assailants had only been able to bring up guns of a light calibre, they presented, when defended by brave men, very formidable obstacles. By climbing, however, to the summit of the cliffs by which they were overhung, at the same time that several regiments assailed them on the lower side, the besiegers succeeded in entirely surrounding the enemy, and exposing them to a plunging fire, to which they could make no adequate reply, from the heads only of their adversaries being seen behind the rocks. Still, however, the brave Imperialists refused to surrender: their heroic commander, Henzel, fell desperately wounded while exclaiming, "Courage, my comrades!" Rauch, who succeeded him in the command, defended himself like a lion. But nothing could in the end withstand the impetuosity of the French. Irritated by the prolonged resistance and firm countenance of the enemy, they rushed headlong against the rampart, and, crowding up on each other's shoulders, and mounting on the dead bodies which encumbered the ditch, at length succeeded in forcing their way in at the embrasures. Still the central tower, from its three stages, vomited forth a furious and incessant fire: but the exter1 Pel. iii. 224, nal rampart being carried, its gates were at last forced; and it was only by the noble efforts of Eugene and his Feldz. 104,.. officers, who were penetrated with admiration at the heroic defence of their antagonists, that the lives of the few survivors of this desperate conflict were spared.1 230. Erz. Johan. 111. Jom. iii. 228. 28. Col di Tar forts. This brilliant success proved decisive of the fate of all these mountain fortifications. The Col di Tarwis, already Assault of the the theatre of glorious strife in 1797, was defended by wis and other a long rampart running the whole way across the summit of the pass, from the mountain of Flitschel to that of Burqueburg, strengthened by sixteen redoubts. It was attacked at the same time as Malborghetto, and Giulay successfully defended himself for two days against very superior forces. But the fall of the forts enabled the enemy to turn this strong line, and take the defenders in rear, which Eugene was already preparing to do; so that the Archduke, on the 16th, sent orders to Giulay to evacuate his post, and effect his retreat in the night down the valley of the Saave. This order was May 16. CHAP. 1809. May 16. May 17. promptly obeyed; but at daylight the French discovered the evacuation, and pressed on in pursuit. They overtook the retiring Austrians in front of Weissenfels, and put them to the rout, taking eighteen guns and two thousand prisoners. Another mountain fort, on the Prediel, blocked up the road from Gorizia to Tarwis, and so arrested the march of Serras with the centre of the French army. Its garrison was only three hundred men, with eight pieces of cannon; but they were commanded by a hero, Hermann, who had inspired May 17. his handful of followers with the resolution of the defen- 239. Erz. ders of Thermopyla. When summoned to surrender, and Johan. Feldz. 120, informed of the retreat of the Archduke, and the fall of 124. Malborghetto, he replied, nothing daunted, that "he was resolved to lay down his life for his country."1 Nor did his defence derogate from these heroic sentiments. Though assailed by forces twenty times as numerous as his own, he persevered in the most desperate resistance, made good the external rampart as long as a man was left upon it who could hold a bayonet; and, when its defenders were all maimed or slain, fell back alone to the blockhouse in the centre; and, when it was set on fire, sallied forth at the head of a band of devoted followers, and fell gloriously, pierced with innumerable wounds.* Macdonald, who 1 Pel. iii. 236, 29. Noble defence of Hermann, and progress of Macdonald. with the right wing was to advance, farther to the south, across the Isonzo and the mountains of Prevald, encountered a less serious opposition. On the night of the 14th he effected the passage of the swollen torrent of May 14. the Isonzo near Gorizia, and at that place made himself master of the battering-train destined for the siege of Palma-Nuova. Two thousand men were stationed in the forts of the Prevald, constructed on the same plan as those of Malborghetto, and, like them, commanding entirely the summit of the pass. Several assaults were May 21. in the first instance repulsed by the garrison; but when 2 Erz. Johan, the besiegers' artillery was brought up, and the occupa- 124. Pel. iii. tion of the adjacent heights exposed them without 236, 239. resource to a plunging fire,2 against which their forti * The Archduke John was so impressed with the gallantry of the Austrian commander on this occasion that he wrote a letter to Hermann's father, consoling him as he best could for the loss of so heroic a son.-ERZ. JOHANN'S Feldzug, 129. Feldz. 120, VOL. XII. S |