The Passage of the Alps
(1799-1801)
It must be conceded that Napoleon signalised this phase of his career
by measures which promised exceedingly well for the future. He showed
the velvet glove, but it was obvious that he, and he alone, was the
controlling power in France. The Republic was in chaotic disorder;
his first task was to unravel the tangled skein. Under the careful
nursing of Gaudin, subsequently Duke of Gaëta, aided by the energy
of Napoleon, some kind of business stability was ensured. The claims
of religion were recognised and re-established; the horrible law of
hostages, which visited the presumed sins of the fathers upon the
heads of their children, and made the latter responsible for the
actions of the former, was revoked; such eminent exiles as Lafayette
and Latour-Maubourg were allowed to return. Civil war was almost, if
not entirely, stamped out by the introduction of strong measures, and
several of the more untractable leaders were shot.
Under Berthier, who became Minister of War, the army was speedily
rejuvenated. Sieyès produced a new constitution, a not too practicable
one be it said. It was obviously designed to limit the power of
Napoleon as much as possible, the actual reins of government being in
the hands of his two colleagues. Sieyès reckoned without his host,
who was not prepared to play second fiddle to anyone, and Napoleon
soon had everything in his grip. Eventually the Government, according
to the Constitution of the year VIII. of the Republican Calendar,
was established as follows: After the Consuls and Ministers came the
Council of State, consisting of not more than forty Members, all of
whom were appointed by the First Consul. They were divided into five
sections--Legislation, the Interior, War, Marine and Colonies, Finance.
The Consuls or their seven Ministers of State placed all proposed Bills
before the section to which they belonged, who reported upon them to
the Council as a whole. If they were deemed worthy they were passed on
to the Tribunat, who debated on them, and the Corps Législatif, who
adopted or rejected them, the Council carrying out those which were
accepted. Then there was the Conservative Senate, the members of which
held office for life. They discussed and decided whether acts or laws
submitted to them by the Government or the Tribunat were constitutional
or otherwise. A list of National Notability was to be formed from which
the Conservative Senate was to select the Consuls, members of the
Tribunat and Corps Législatif, and various other officials.
The Sovereignty of the People was doomed; their power was strictly
limited. As to Napoleon’s own aim at the time perhaps Sir Walter Scott
is not far wrong when he suggests that “his motives were a mixture of
patriotism and the desire of self-advancement.”
Before long Sieyès and Ducos resigned. Their places were filled by
Cambacérès, a lawyer who had been a member of the Convention, and
Lebrun, who had royalist sympathies--men eminently fitted for the
positions of Second and Third Consuls respectively. Neither was
too clever nor too dull to exercise the strictly limited power they
enjoyed, both were moderate in their views, and possessed a fair stock
of common sense. Of other persons whom Napoleon attached to himself and
his now rapidly-increasing prospects we need only mention Talleyrand,
who combined the wisdom of the serpent with its cunning, and who was
reinstated Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Fouché, of even more easy
conscience, who became Minister of Police, a department with which he
likewise had made acquaintance previously.
Napoleon, now officially styled First Consul and having a salary of
half a million francs a year, speedily removed to the magnificent
palace of the Tuileries, where he had a Court worthy of a reigning
monarch. The levelling process of the Revolution gave place to the
observance of formal rules and the stateliest ceremonies. Napoleon was
monarch in all but name, which was to come.
So much for home affairs; the outlook abroad was not so bright. A
second coalition had been formed by Russia Austria, England, Turkey,
Naples, and Portugal against France during Napoleon’s absence in Egypt,
and the Republic was still at war with Great Britain and Austria. In
order to make it appear that he was sincere in his expressions of a
desire for peace, Napoleon wrote personal letters to the heads of the
belligerent States. It is extremely unlikely that he meant what he
said. Neither the means by which he had obtained power nor his previous
career were calculated to give confidence in his sincerity. Nothing
practical came of the overtures. Austria and Russia had defeated such
tried generals as Schérer, Moreau, Macdonald, and Joubert, and as
“nothing succeeds like success,” the Emperor Francis was unusually
optimistic. In Northern Italy, Genoa alone remained to the French, and
although the Republicans had gained splendid victories in Holland and
Switzerland, Austria was determined to bring the war to the very doors
of the French. In order to make the succeeding operations clear the
movements of the various armies will be detailed separately.
The French army of Italy, on the Riviera and at Genoa, which was in a
most distressing condition, was under Masséna, their opponents being
commanded by Melas, whose actual fighting strength was more than double
that of the Republicans. The Imperialists succeeded in dividing the
French army, whereby Suchet was cut off from the main force, but he
defended himself with conspicuous energy. Masséna retreated to Genoa,
the British under Lord Keith preventing exit and ingress at sea, the
Austrians besieging the city. The French general held out until the 4th
June, when he was allowed to evacuate the place by the Allies.
The Republican army of the Rhine, commanded by Moreau, was distributed
between Strassburg and Constance, and was also in smaller numerical
strength than the Austrian forces under Kray, whose total forces
reached 150,000, or some 40,000 more than the French. The Imperialists
had also the additional advantage of occupying a magnificent strategic
position at Donaueschingen. Moreau crossed the Rhine, fought several
victorious battles, and prevented the enemy from keeping in touch
with Melas. Napoleon had wished him to strike a decisive blow at
Donaueschingen, but the more cautious Moreau, lacking the military
genius of the First Consul, regarded so drastic an operation as
extremely hazardous and exposing his force to annihilation. He
was successful, however, in enticing the Austrian general from
his commanding position, and Kray’s subsequent movements were so
disastrous that he was forced to take shelter in Ulm, a town so
strongly fortified as to be almost impregnable.
There was much hard fighting before the city capitulated. Subsequently
Munich was entered, and it seemed as though nothing could stop Moreau’s
progress save only his want of faith in himself, for even a brave
soldier does not always realise his own strength. The Armistice of
Parsdorf, signed on the 15th July 1800, suspended hostilities in
Germany for a short period.
Meantime Napoleon, with a reserve army numbering from 40,000 to
50,000 troops, decided to cross the Alps and so manœuvre that the
“white coats” would be placed between Masséna’s forces and his own.
In addition he was determined that Austria should surrender what he
doubtless considered her ill-gotten gains, namely those parts of
Italy which the French had lost. It was a bold plan, for the ranges
were in very truth “mountains of difficult.” The greatest secrecy
was observed, a corps being assembled at Dijon to deceive the enemy,
the troops intended for the expedition being quietly concentrated at
Geneva and Lausanne. It was a deep-laid plot and worked wonderfully
well. While Austria was poking fun in caricature and print at the
nondescript troops which were to be seen lounging about or parading
in the streets of the old capital of Burgundy, Napoleon and Berthier,
the latter of whom had been appointed Commander-in-Chief, were working
all day and oftentimes far into the night perfecting arrangements for
the great surprise. The means of transport for the heavy artillery
alone presented considerable difficulty, and this was but one of many
difficulties unknown in previous campaigns. It was finally decided that
the cannon should be placed in hollowed-out tree-trunks sawn in half
after the manner of primitive boats. When on the march these were to
be hauled by gangs of peasants or soldiers, for it was soon found that
sufficient mules were not procurable.
In May 1800, Napoleon was at Geneva. After consultations with the
engineers it was determined that the main army should cross into
Lombardy by the Great St Bernard, smaller divisions travelling by the
St Gothard, Mount Cenis, and Little St Bernard routes, the better to
mislead the enemy. A start was made on the 15th. Column after column
began the weary tramp along the desolate, snow-covered tracks, feeling
their way across narrow ledges over precipices, cheered again and again
by a sight of the First Consul as, wrapped in a grey overcoat and
seated on a mule led by a guide, he traversed the rugged route of the
Great St Bernard. The twenty miles of soldiers crossed in less than a
week, and considering the treacherous nature of the march, or rather
scramble, very few lost their lives.
The post of Bard, on the banks of the Aosta in the valley of that
name, garrisoned by the Austrians, had been attacked by the advance
guard under Lannes without success. It was the most serious opposition
they had yet encountered, and it was necessary to pass almost under
the shadow of the guns. Marmont conceived a happy device which proved
entirely successful. At night the streets through the village were
liberally strewn with straw and other stubble by the French soldiers.
The wheels of the gun-carriages were then carefully covered to avoid
rattling, and the passage was successfully achieved, although the alarm
was sounded and there was some desultory firing.
On the 2nd June Napoleon, marching with the utmost rapidity, entered
Milan. A week later, and almost at the same time as the First Consul
was withdrawing his troops from the old city for further offensive
operations, Lannes with the advance guard won the important victory of
Montebello. The nature of the battle was such that the French general
said he could hear the bones crash in his division like hail falling
on a skylight. Cremona, Piacenza, and other places fell, but on the
14th, at a specially inopportune time, because Napoleon had thought
it necessary to divide his forces owing to his uncertainty as to the
precise whereabouts of the enemy, Melas and 31,000 Austrians appeared
in the plain of the Bormida. The skill of Lannes and Victor proved of
no avail; the reinforcements which the First Consul brought up could
not shake the determination of the Imperialists. The wounded Austrian
commander, foreseeing no further engagement and complimenting himself
on his success, left the field. In this he committed an irretrievable
blunder. Desaix, but recently returned from Egypt, was in command of
6000 men some miles away, and having heard the dull roar of cannon, was
hurrying to Napoleon’s assistance. He arrived late in the afternoon,
and is said to have assured the First Consul that “the battle is lost,
but there is time to gain another.”
There must be no retreat on the part of the French. This was the
decision arrived at after a short council of war. New dispositions were
made; Desaix was to stop the Austrian columns, the main forces were to
fall upon the enemy’s flank. Thiers tells us what happened during the
second battle of Marengo.
“General Marmont suddenly unmasked a battery of twelve pieces of
cannon; a thick shower of grape-shot fell upon the head of the
surprised Austrian column, not expecting any fresh resistance, for they
fully believed the French were decidedly retreating. It had scarcely
recovered from this sudden shock, when Desaix drove down the Ninth
Light Infantry. ‘Go tell the First Consul,’ said he to his aide-de-camp
Savary, ‘that I am charging, and want some cavalry to support me.’
Desaix, on horseback, led this half-brigade. At its head he ascended
the gentle elevation which concealed him from the Austrians, and
abruptly disclosed himself to them by a volley of musketry from his
leading column, at point blank distance. The Austrians replied to this,
and Desaix fell, struck by a bullet in the chest. ‘Conceal my death,’
said he to General Boudet, who was his chief of division; ‘it may
dispirit the troops.’
[Illustration: The Death of General Desaix
By A. Le Dru
Photo Neurdein]
“Useless precaution of this hero! They saw him fall, and his soldiers,
like those of Turenne, with a terrific shout, insisted on avenging
their leader. The Ninth Light Infantry--which on that day earned the
title of ‘Incomparable,’ a name which it bore to the termination of our
war--having poured forth their fire, formed in column, and fell upon
the dense mass of the Austrians. At the sight of it, these two first
regiments which headed the line of march, taken by surprise, fell back
in disorder upon the second line, and disappeared in its ranks. The
column of grenadiers of Latterman then found itself alone at the head,
and stood this charge like troops inured to fight. It stood firm. The
conflict extended on both sides of the road; the Ninth was supported
on the right by Victor’s rallied troops, on the left by the Thirtieth
and Fifty-ninth half-brigades of the division of Boudet, which had
followed the movement. The grenadiers of Latterman were with difficulty
defending themselves, when suddenly an unlooked-for storm now burst
upon them. General Kellerman, who, on the application of Desaix, had
received the order to charge, galloped forward, and passing Lannes and
Desaix, posted part of his squadrons, to make head against the Austrian
cavalry which he saw before him, then with the remainder charged the
flank of the column of grenadiers, already attacked in front by the
infantry of Boudet. This charge, executed in brilliant style, divided
the column in two. The dragoons of Kellerman sabred the Austrians right
and left, until, pressed on all sides, the unfortunate grenadiers laid
down their arms. Two thousand surrendered prisoners of war. At their
head, General Zach himself was obliged to surrender.”
The fight continued, Kellerman charged again and again, while Lannes
and Saint Cyr showed that they had lost none of their prowess. The
Austrian cavalry was driven back by Bessières and Eugene Beauharnais.
“The confusion at the bridges of the Bormida,” adds Thiers, “became
every moment still more irremediable. Infantry, cavalry, and artillery
crowded together in disorder, the bridges could not afford a passage
for the entire army, then _en masse_; multitudes threw themselves into
the Bormida for the purpose of fording it. An artilleryman attempted
to cross it with his gun, and succeeded. The entire artillery then
followed his example, but without success, as several of the carriages
stuck fast in the bed of the river. The French, now hotly pursuing,
took men, horses, guns, and baggage. The unfortunate Baron Melas, who,
but two hours before, had left his army in possession of victory,
galloped up on report of this disaster, and could scarcely credit what
he saw; he gave himself up to despair.”
“Tell the First Consul,” gasped the dying Desaix, “that my only regret
in dying is to have perished before having done enough to live in the
recollection of posterity.” His fame, however, will always be recorded
in connection with the battle of Marengo. “A glorious day’s work,” said
Napoleon. “If only I could have embraced Desaix upon the battlefield! I
should have made him Minister of War, and a prince, too, had it been in
my power.” During his weary exile Napoleon also spoke lovingly of the
fallen general, as he did of Kléber, who perished on the same day in
Egypt, the victim of an assassin’s dagger.
“Of all the generals I ever had under my command,” said the fallen
Emperor, “Desaix and Kléber possessed the greatest talent--Desaix
pre-eminently, as Kléber loved glory only as the means of acquiring
wealth and pleasure. Desaix loved glory for itself, and despised
every other consideration. To him riches and pleasure were of no
value, nor did he ever give them a moment’s thought. He was a little,
black-looking man, about an inch shorter than myself, always badly
dressed, sometimes even ragged, and despising alike comfort and
convenience. Enveloped in a cloak, Desaix would throw himself under a
gun and sleep as contentedly as if reposing in a palace. Luxury had
for him no charms. Frank and honest in all his proceedings, he was
called by the Arabs, ‘Sultan the Just.’ Nature intended him to figure
as a consummate general. Kléber and Desaix were irreparable losses to
France.”
Melas, broken in spirit and wounded, requested an armistice. After
considerable dallying on the part of the Court of Vienna and ruthless
determination to have his own way on that of Napoleon, hostilities were
resumed in November, 1800.
The First Consul had now returned to Paris, and the interest of the
campaign centres around the armies led by Moreau and Brune, who had
succeeded Masséna. It will be remembered that the former had agreed to
a truce in the previous July, and when the sword was again unsheathed
owing to the causes briefly mentioned in the previous paragraph his
opponent was no longer Kray, but the Archduke John, a brother of the
Emperor. At first the Archduke enjoyed a temporary triumph, but Moreau
wreaked a terrible vengeance at the battle of Hohenlinden, fought on
the 2nd December. No fewer than 20,000 Austrians were captured or left
dead or wounded on the snow-clad plain and in the under-growth of the
forest.
The poet Campbell has painted a vivid picture of the tragic scene:
On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay th’ untrodden snow;
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.
But Linden saw another sight,
When the drum beat, at dead of night,
Commanding fires of death to light
The darkness of her scenery.
By torch and trumpet fast arrayed,
Each warrior drew his battle-blade,
And furious every charger neighed,
To join the dreadful revelry.
Then shook the hills with thunder riven;
Then rushed the steed to battle driven,
And louder than the bolts of Heaven,
Far flashed the red artillery.
But redder yet that light shall glow
On Linden’s hills of stainèd snow;
And bloodier yet the torrent flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.
’Tis morn, but scarce yon level sun
Can pierce the war-clouds, rolling dun,
Where furious Frank, and fiery Hun,
Shout in their sulph’rous canopy.
The combat deepens. On, ye brave
Who rush to glory, or the grave!
Wave, Munich! all thy banners wave!
And charge with all thy chivalry!
Few, few shall part, where many meet!
The snow shall be their winding-sheet,
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldier’s sepulchre.
Moreau gave the enemy no time to recover from the disaster, and brought
them to action again and again with the most favourable results.
Indeed, he was within easy distance of Vienna itself when he agreed to
sign an armistice at Steyer on Christmas Day 1800, the terms of which
were particularly advantageous to his own country.
Macdonald hastened to the assistance of Brune. He crossed the Splügen
from Switzerland to Italy in the face of colossal difficulties,
difficulties far greater than those when Napoleon turned the Alps. The
passage was made in winter, snow beating in the faces of the soldiers,
some of whom were whirled to destruction by an avalanche. Eventually
the junction was effected, Brune having bravely forced his way to
Macdonald by overcoming the opposition of the Imperialists whenever he
had an opportunity. Finding that he could make no progress, Bellegarde,
the Austrian commander, proposed a truce, and the armistice of Treviso
was signed on the 16th January 1801.
Peace, a “peace at any price” let it be said, was secured by the
signature of the Treaty of Lunéville on the 9th February 1801, by
which France added considerably to her greatness and Napoleon to his
fame, both in the Republic and abroad. Foreign admiration of the First
Consul’s genius, however, was not unmixed with disgust at the exacting
nature of his demands. Belgium and the left bank of the Rhine again
became French territory; the Batavian (Dutch), Helvetic (Swiss),
Ligurian, and Cisalpine republics were recognised, and various changes
effected in Tuscany and elsewhere. The River Adige became Austria’s
boundary in Italy, and she retained Venice.
Brief mention must be made of an alliance arranged by the Czar and the
First Consul which almost certainly would have had far-reaching results
but for the assassination of the former and the British naval victory
off Copenhagen in which Nelson played so conspicuous a part. Alexander
I., who succeeded his father, refused to play into the hands of
Napoleon, and friendly relations between his Court and that of St James
was definitely re-established by the Treaty of St Petersburg, the 17th
June 1801. The Maritime Confederacy was dissolved, the Czar’s example
being followed by Sweden and Denmark.
The First Consul felt Paul’s death very keenly, but more from a
political than a friendly point of view. “In concert with the Czar,” he
told Bourrienne, “I was sure of striking a mortal blow at the English
power in India. A palace revolution has overturned all my projects.”
One can imagine how the vexation caused by the complete abandonment
of such a scheme was intensified by the knowledge that Great Britain
continued to hold command of the sea.