_The Chief Consul leaves Paris on 6th May, 1800--Has an
Interview with Necker at Geneva on 8th--Arrives at Lausanne on
the 13th--Various Corps put in motion to cross the
Alps--Napoleon, at the head of the Main Army, marches on the
15th, and ascends Mont St. Bernard--On the 16th, the Vanguard
takes possession of Aosta--Fortress and Town of Bard threaten to
baffle the whole plan--The Town is captured--and Napoleon
contrives to send his Artillery through it, under the fire of
the Fort, his Infantry and Cavalry passing over the
Albaredo--Lannes carries Ivrea--Recapitulation--Operations of
the Austrian General Melas--At the commencement of the Campaign,
Melas advances towards Genoa--Actions betwixt him and
Massena--In March, Lord Keith blockades Genoa--Melas compelled
to retreat--Enters Nice--Recalled from thence by the news of
Napoleon's having crossed Mont St. Bernard--Genoa
surrenders--Buonaparte enters Milan--Battle of Montebello--The
Chief Consul is joined by Desaix--Battle of Marengo on the
14th--Death of Desaix--Capitulation on the 15th, by which Genoa,
&c., are yielded--Napoleon returns to Paris on the 2d July._
On the 6th of May 1800, seeking to renew the fortunes of France, now
united with his own, the chief consul left Paris, and, having reviewed
the pretended army of reserve at Dijon on the 7th, arrived on the 8th at
Geneva. Here he had an interview with the celebrated financier Necker.
There was always doomed to be some misunderstanding between Buonaparte
and this accomplished family. Madame de Staël believed that Buonaparte
spoke to her father with confidence on his future prospects; while the
first consul affirms that Necker seemed to expect to be intrusted with
the management of the French finances, and that they parted with mutual
indifference, if not dislike.[536] Napoleon had a more interesting
conversation with General Marescot, despatched to survey Mont Bernard,
and who had, with great difficulty, ascended as far as the convent of
the Chartreux. "Is the route practicable?" said Buonaparte.--"It is
barely possible to pass," replied the engineer.--"Let us set forward
then," said Napoleon, and the extraordinary march was commenced.[537]
On the 13th, arriving at Lausanne, Buonaparte joined the van of his real
army of reserve, which consisted of six effective regiments, commanded
by the celebrated Lannes. These corps, together with the rest of the
troops intended for the expedition, had been assembled from their
several positions by forced marches. Carnot, the minister at war,
attended the first consul at Lausanne, to report to him that 15,000, or
from that to the number of 20,000 men, detached from Moreau's army, were
in the act of descending on Italy by St. Gothard, in order to form the
left wing of his army.[538] The whole army, in its various divisions,
was now united under the command of Berthier nominally, as
general-in-chief, though in reality under that of the first consul
himself. This was in compliance with a regulation of the Constitution,
which rendered it inconsistent for the first consul to command in
person.[539] It was a form which Buonaparte at present evaded, and
afterwards laid aside; thinking truly, that the name, as well as office
of generalissimo, was most fittingly vested in his own person, since,
though it might not be the loftiest of his titles, it was that which
best expressed his power. The army might amount to 60,000 men, but
one-third of the number were conscripts.
[Sidenote: PASSAGE OF THE GREAT ST. BERNARD.]
During the interval between the 15th and 18th of May, all the columns of
the French army were put into motion to cross the Alps. Thurreau, at
the head of 5000 men, directed his march by Mont Cenis, on Exilles and
Susa. A similar division, commanded by Chabran, took the route of the
Little St. Bernard. Buonaparte himself, on the 15th, at the head of the
main body of his army, consisting of 30,000 men and upwards, marched
from Lausanne to the little village called St. Pierre, at which point
there ended every thing resembling a practicable road. An immense, and
apparently inaccessible mountain, reared its head among general
desolation and eternal frost; while precipices, glaciers, ravines, and a
boundless extent of faithless snows, which the slightest concussion of
the air converts into avalanches capable of burying armies in their
descent, appeared to forbid access to all living things but the chamois,
and his scarce less wild pursuer. Yet foot by foot, and man by man, did
the French soldiers proceed to ascend this formidable barrier, which
nature had erected in vain to limit human ambition. The view of the
valley, emphatically called "of Desolation," where nothing is to be seen
but snow and sky, had no terrors for the first consul and his army. They
advanced up paths hitherto only practised by hunters, or here and there
a hardy pedestrian, the infantry loaded with their arms, and in full
military equipment, the cavalry leading their horses. The musical bands
played from time to time at the head of the regiments, and, in places of
unusual difficulty, the drums beat a charge, as if to encourage the
soldiers to encounter the opposition of Nature herself. The artillery,
without which they could not have done service, were deposited in trunks
of trees hollowed out for the purpose. Each was dragged by a hundred
men, and the troops, making it a point of honour to bring forward their
guns, accomplished this severe duty, not with cheerfulness only, but
with enthusiasm. The carriages were taken to pieces, and harnessed on
the backs of mules, or committed to the soldiers, who relieved each
other in the task of bearing them with levers; and the ammunition was
transported in the same manner. While one half of the soldiers were thus
engaged, the others were obliged to carry the muskets, cartridge-boxes,
knapsacks, and provisions of their comrades, as well as their own. Each
man, so loaded, was calculated to carry from sixty to seventy pounds
weight, up icy precipices, where a man totally without encumbrance could
ascend but slowly. Probably no troops save the French could have endured
the fatigue of such a march; and no other general than Buonaparte would
have ventured to require it at their hand.[540]
He set out a considerable time after the march had begun, alone,
excepting his guide. He is described by the Swiss peasant who attended
him in that capacity, as wearing his usual simple dress, a grey surtout,
and three-cornered hat. He travelled in silence, save a few short and
hasty questions about the country, addressed to his guide from time to
time. When these were answered, he relapsed into silence. There was a
gloom on his brow, corresponding with the weather, which was wet and
dismal. His countenance had acquired, during his Eastern campaigns, a
swart complexion, which added to his natural severe gravity, and the
Swiss peasant who guided him felt fear as he looked on him.[541]
Occasionally his route was stopt by some temporary obstacle occasioned
by a halt in the artillery or baggage; his commands on such occasions
were peremptorily given, and instantly obeyed, his very look seeming
enough to silence all objection, and remove every difficulty.
The army now arrived at that singular convent, where, with courage equal
to their own, but flowing from a much higher source, the monks of St.
Bernard have fixed their dwellings among the everlasting snows, that
they may afford succour and hospitality to the forlorn travellers in
those dreadful wastes. Hitherto the soldiers had had no refreshment,
save when they dipt a morsel of biscuit amongst the snow. The good
fathers of the convent, who possess considerable magazines of
provisions, distributed bread and cheese, and a cup of wine, to each
soldier as he passed, which was more acceptable in their situation,
than, according to one who shared their fatigues,[542] would have been
the gold of Mexico.[543]
The descent on the other side of Mont St. Bernard was as difficult to
the infantry as the ascent had been, and still more so to the cavalry.
It was, however, accomplished without any material loss, and the army
took up their quarters for the night, after having marched fourteen
French leagues. The next morning, 16th May, the vanguard took possession
of Aosta, a village of Piedmont, from which extends the valley of the
same name, watered by the river Dorea, a country pleasant in itself, but
rendered delightful by its contrast with the horrors which had been left
behind.
Thus was achieved the celebrated passage of Mont St. Bernard, on the
particulars of which we have dwelt the more willingly, because,
although a military operation of importance, they do not involve the
unwearied details of human slaughter, to which our narrative must now
return.
[Sidenote: BARD.]
Where the opposition of Nature to Napoleon's march appeared to cease,
that of man commenced. A body of Austrians at Chatillon were overpowered
and defeated by Lannes; but the strong fortress of Bard offered more
serious opposition. This little citadel is situated upon an almost
perpendicular rock, rising out of the river Dorea, at a place where the
valley of Aosta is rendered so very narrow by the approach of two
mountains to each other, that the fort and walled town of Bard entirely
close up the entrance. This formidable obstacle threatened for the
moment to shut up the French in a valley, where their means of
subsistence must have been speedily exhausted. General Lannes made a
desperate effort to carry the fort by assault; but the advanced guard of
the attacking party were destroyed by stones, musketry and
hand-grenades, and the attempt was relinquished.
Buonaparte in person went now to reconnoitre, and for that purpose
ascended a huge rock called Albaredo, being a precipice on the side of
one of the mountains which form the pass, from the summit of which he
could look down into the town, and into the fortress. He detected a
possibility of taking the town by storm, though he judged the fort was
too strong to be obtained by a coup-de-main. The town was accordingly
carried by escalade; but the French who obtained possession of it had
little cover from the artillery of the fort, which fired furiously on
the houses where they endeavoured to shelter themselves, and which the
Austrians might have entirely demolished but for respect to the
inhabitants. Meanwhile, Buonaparte availed himself of the diversion to
convey a great part of his army in single files, horse as well as foot,
by a precarious path formed by the pioneers over the tremendous
Albaredo, and so down on the other side, in this manner avoiding the
cannon of fort Bard.[544]
Still a most important difficulty remained. It was impossible, at least
without great loss of time, to carry the French artillery over the
Albaredo, while, without artillery, it was impossible to move against
the Austrians, and every hope of the campaign must be given up.
In the meantime, the astonished commandant of the fort, to whom the
apparition of this large army was like enchantment, despatched messenger
after messenger to warn Melas, then opposed to Suchet, on the Var, that
a French army of 30,000 men and upwards, descending from the Alps by
ways hitherto deemed impracticable for military movements, had occupied
the valley of Aosta, and were endeavouring to debouche by a path of
steps cut in the Albaredo. But he pledged himself to his
commander-in-chief, that not a single gun or ammunition-waggon should
pass through the town; and as it was impossible to drag these along the
Albaredo, he concluded, that, being without his artillery, Buonaparte
would not venture to descend into the plain.
But, while the commandant of Bard thus argued, he was mistaken in his
premises, though right in his inference. The artillery of the French
army had already passed through the town of Bard, and under the guns of
the citadel, without being discovered to have done so. This important
manœuvre was accomplished by previously laying the street with dung
and earth, over which the pieces of cannon, concealed under straw and
branches of trees, were dragged by men in profound silence. The
garrison, though they did not suspect what was going on, fired
nevertheless upon some vague suspicion, and killed and wounded
artillerymen in sufficient number to show it would have been impossible
to pass under a severe and sustained discharge from the ramparts.[545]
It seems singular that the commandant had kept up no intelligence with
the town. Any signal previously agreed upon--a light shown in a window,
for example--would have detected such a stratagem.
A division of conscripts, under General Chabran, was left to reduce fort
Bard, which continued to hold out, until, at the expense of great
labour, batteries were established on the top of the Albaredo, by which
it was commanded, and a heavy gun placed on the steeple of the church,
when it was compelled to surrender. It is not fruitless to observe, that
the resistance of this small place, which had been overlooked or
undervalued in the plan of the campaign, was very near rendering the
march over Mont St. Bernard worse than useless, and might have
occasioned the destruction of all the chief consul's army.[546] So
little are even the most distinguished generals able to calculate with
certainty upon all the chances of war.
From this dangerous pass, the vanguard of Buonaparte now advanced down
the valley to Ivrea, where Lannes carried the town by storm, and a
second time combated and defeated the Austrian division which had
defended it, when reinforced and situated on a strong position at
Romano. The roads to Turin and Milan were now alike open to
Buonaparte--he had only to decide which he chose to take. Meanwhile, he
made a halt of four days at Ivrea, to refresh the troops after their
fatigues, and to prepare them for future enterprises.[547]
During this space, the other columns of his army were advancing to form
a junction with that of the main body, according to the plan of the
campaign. Thurreau, who had passed the Alps by the route of Mont Cenis,
had taken the forts of Susa and La Brunette. On the other hand, the
large corps detached by Carnot from Moreau's army, were advancing by
Mont St. Gothard and the Simplon, to support the operations of the first
consul, of whose army they were to form the left wing. But ere we
prosecute the account of Buonaparte's movements during this momentous
campaign, it is necessary to trace the previous operations of Melas, and
the situation in which that Austrian general now found himself.
[Sidenote: OPERATIONS OF MELAS.]
It has been already stated, that, at the commencement of this campaign
of 1800, the Austrians entertained the highest hopes that their Italian
army, having taken Genoa and Nice, might penetrate into Provence by
crossing the frontier at the Var, and perhaps make themselves masters of
Toulon and Marseilles. To realize these hopes, Melas, having left in
Piedmont a sufficient force, as he deemed it, to guard the passes of the
Alps, had advanced towards Genoa, which Massena prepared to cover and
defend. A number of severe and desperate actions took place between
these generals; but being a war of posts, and fought in a very
mountainous and difficult country, it was impossible by any skill of
combination to ensure on any occasion more than partial success, since
co-operation of movements upon a great and extensive scale was
prohibited by the character of the ground. There was much hard fighting,
however, in which, though more of the Austrians were slain, yet the loss
was most severely felt by the French, whose numbers were inferior.
In the month of March, the English fleet, under Lord Keith, appeared, as
we have already hinted, before Genoa, and commenced a blockade, which
strictly prevented access to the port to all vessels loaded with
provisions, or other necessaries, for the besieged city.
On the 6th of April, Melas, by a grand movement, took Vado, and
intersected the French line. Suchet, who commanded Massena's left wing,
was cut off from that general, and thrown back on France. Marches,
manœuvres, and bloody combats, followed each other in close detail;
but the French, though obtaining advantages in several of the actions,
could never succeed in restoring the communication between Suchet and
Massena. Finally, while the former retreated towards France, and took up
a line on Borghetta, the latter was compelled to convert his army into a
garrison, and to shut himself up in Genoa, or at least encamp in a
position close under its ramparts. Melas, in the meantime, approached
the city more closely, when Massena, in a desperate sally, drove the
Austrians from their advanced posts, forced them to retreat, made
prisoners twelve hundred men, and carried off some warlike trophies. But
the French were exhausted by their very success, and obliged to remain
within, or under the walls of the city, where the approach of famine
began to be felt. Men were already compelled to have recourse to the
flesh of horses, dogs, and other unclean animals, and it was seen that
the place must soon be necessarily obliged to surrender.[548]
Satisfied with the approaching fall of Genoa, Melas, in the beginning of
May, left the prosecution of the blockade to General Ott, and moved
himself against Suchet, whom he drove before him in disorder, and who,
overborne by numbers, retreated towards the French frontier. On the 11th
of May, Melas entered Nice, and thus commenced the purposed invasion of
the French frontier. On the 14th, the Austrians again attacked Suchet,
who now had concentrated his forces upon the Var, in hopes to protect
the French territory. Finding this a more difficult task than he
expected, Melas next prepared to pass the Var higher up, and thus to
turn the position occupied by Suchet.
But on the 21st, the Austrian veteran received intelligence which put a
stop to all his operations against Suchet, and recalled him to Italy to
face a much more formidable antagonist. Tidings arrived that the first
consul of France had crossed St. Bernard, had extricated himself from
the valley of Aosta, and was threatening to overrun Piedmont and the
Milanese territory. These tidings were as unexpected as embarrassing.
The artillery, the equipage, the provisions of Melas, together with his
communications with Italy, were all at the mercy of this unexpected
invader, who, though his force was not accurately known, must have
brought with him an army more than adequate to destroy the troops left
to guard the frontier; who, besides, were necessarily divided, and
exposed to be beaten in detail. Yet, if Melas marched back into Piedmont
against Buonaparte, he must abandon the attack upon Suchet, and raise
the blockade of Genoa, when that important city was just on the eve of
surrender.
Persevering in the belief that the French army of reserve could not
exceed twenty thousand men, or thereabouts, in number, and supposing
that the principal, if not the sole object of the first consul's daring
irruption, was to raise the siege of Genoa, and disconcert the invasion
of Provence, Melas resolved on marching himself against Buonaparte with
such forces, as, united with those he had left in Italy, might be of
power to face the French army, according to his computation of its
probable strength. At the same time, he determined to leave before Genoa
an army sufficient to ensure its fall, and a corps of observation in
front of Suchet, by means of which he might easily resume his plans
against that general, so soon as the chief consul should be defeated or
driven back.
The corps of observation already mentioned was under the command of
General Ellsnitz, strongly posted upon the Roye, and secured by
intrenchments. It served at once to watch Suchet, and to cover the
siege of Genoa from any attempts to relieve the city, which might be
made in the direction of France.[549]
[Sidenote: MASSENA SURRENDERS GENOA.]
Massena, in the meantime, no sooner perceived the besieging army
weakened by the departure of Melas, than he conceived the daring plan of
a general attack on the forces of Ott, who was left to carry on the
siege. The attempt was unfortunate. The French were defeated, and Soult,
who had joined Massena, was wounded and made prisoner. Yet Genoa still
held out. An officer had found his way into the place, brought
intelligence of Buonaparte's descent upon Piedmont, and inspired all
with a new spirit of resistance. Still, however, extreme want prevailed
in the city, and the hope of delivery seemed distant. The soldiers
received little food, the inhabitants less, the Austrian prisoners, of
whom they had about 8000 in Genoa, almost none.[550] At length, the
situation of things seemed desperate. The numerous population of Genoa
rose in the extremity of their despair, and called for a surrender.
Buonaparte, they said, was not wont to march so slowly; he would have
been before the walls sooner, if he was to appear at all; he must have
been defeated or driven back by the superior force of Melas. They
demanded the surrender of the place, therefore, which Massena no longer
found himself in a condition to oppose.[551]
Yet could that brave general have suspended this measure a few hours
longer, he would have been spared the necessity of making it at all.
General Ott had just received commands from Melas to raise the blockade
with all despatch, and to fall back upon the Po, in order to withstand
Buonaparte, who, in unexpected strength, was marching upon Milan. The
Austrian staff-officer who brought the order, had just received his
audience of General Ott, when General Andrieux, presenting himself on
the part of Massena, announced the French general's desire to surrender
the place, if his troops were permitted to march out with their arms.
There was no time to debate upon terms; and those granted to Massena by
Melas were so unusually favourable, that perhaps they should have made
him aware of the precarious state of the besieging army.[552] He was
permitted to evacuate Genoa without laying down his arms, and the
convention was signed 5th June, 1800. Meantime, at this agitating and
interesting period, events of still greater importance than those which
concerned the fate of the once princely Genoa, were taking place with
frightful rapidity.
Melas, with about one half of his army, had retired from his operations
in the Genoese territory, and retreated on Turin by the way of Coni,
where he fixed his headquarters, expecting that Buonaparte would either
advance to possess himself of the capital of Piedmont, or that he would
make an effort to relieve Genoa. In the first instance, Melas deemed
himself strong enough to receive the first consul; in the second, to
pursue him, and in either, to assemble such numerous forces as might
harass and embarrass either his advance or his retreat. But Buonaparte's
plan of the campaign was different from what Melas had anticipated. He
had formed the resolution to pass the rivers Sesia and Ticino, and thus
leaving Turin and Melas behind him, to push straight for Milan, and form
a junction with the division of about 20,000 men, detached from the
right wing of Moreau's army, which, commanded by Moncey, were on their
road to join him, having crossed the mountains by the route of St.
Gothard. It was necessary, however, to disguise his purpose from the
sagacious veteran.
With this view, ere Buonaparte broke up from Ivrea, Lannes, who had
commanded his vanguard with so much gallantry, victorious at Romano,
seemed about to improve his advantage. He had marched on Chiavaso, and
seizing on a number of boats and small vessels, appeared desirous to
construct a bridge over the Po at that place. This attracted the
attention of Melas. It might be equally a preliminary to an attack on
Turin, or a movement towards Genoa. But as the Austrian general was at
the same time alarmed by the descent of General Thurreau's division from
Mont Cenis, and their capture of Susa and La Brunette, Turin seemed
ascertained to be the object of the French; and Melas acted on this
idea. He sent a strong force to oppose the establishment of the bridge,
and while his attention was thus occupied, Buonaparte was left to take
the road to Milan unmolested. Vercelli was occupied by the cavalry under
Murat, and the Sesia was crossed without obstacle. The Ticino, a broad
and rapid river, offered more serious opposition; but the French found
four or five small boats, in which they pushed across an advanced party
under General Gerard. The Austrians, who opposed the passage, were in a
great measure cavalry, who could not act on account of the woody and
impracticable character of the bank of the river. The passage was
accomplished; and, upon the 2d of June, Buonaparte entered Milan,[553]
where he was received with acclamations by a numerous class of citizens,
who looked for the re-establishment of the Cisalpine Republic. The
Austrians were totally unprepared for this movement. Pavia fell into the
hands of the French; Lodi and Cremona were occupied, and Pizzighitone
was invested.[554]
Meanwhile, Buonaparte, fixing his residence in the ducal palace of
Milan, employed himself in receiving the deputations of various public
bodies, and in re-organizing the Cisalpine government, while he waited
impatiently to be joined by Moncey and his division, from Mont Saint
Gothard. They arrived at length, but marching more slowly than accorded
with the fiery promptitude of the first consul, who was impatient to
relieve the blockade of Genoa, which place he concluded still held out.
He now issued a proclamation to his troops, in which he described, as
the result of the efforts he expected from them, "Cloudless glory and
solid peace."[555] On the 9th of June his armies were again in motion.
[Sidenote: SITUATION OF MELAS.]
Melas, an excellent officer, had at the same time some of the slowness
imputed to his countrymen, or of the irresolution incident to the
advanced age of eighty years,--for so old was the opponent of
Buonaparte, then in the very prime of human life,--or, as others
suspect, it may have been orders from Vienna which detained the Austrian
general so long at Turin, where he lay in a great measure inactive. It
is true, that on receiving notice of Buonaparte's march on Milan, he
instantly despatched orders to General Ott, as we have already stated,
to raise the siege of Genoa, and join him with all possible speed; but
it seemed, that in the meantime, he might have disquieted Buonaparte's
lines of communication, by acting upon the river Dorea, attacking Ivrea,
in which the French had left much baggage and artillery, and relieving
the fort of Bard. Accordingly, he made an attempt of this kind, by
detaching 6000 men to Chiavaso, who were successful in delivering some
Austrian prisoners at that place; but Ivrea proved strong enough to
resist them, and the French retaining possession of that place, the
Austrians could not occupy the valley of the Dorea, or relieve the
besieged fortress of Bard.[556]
The situation of Melas now became critical. His communications with the
left, or north bank of the Po, were entirely cut off, and by a line
stretching from Fort Bard to Placentia, the French occupied the best and
fairest share of the north of Italy, while he found himself confined to
Piedmont. The Austrian army, besides, was divided into two parts,--one
under Ott, which was still near Genoa, that had so lately surrendered to
them,--one with Melas himself, which was at Turin. Neither were
agreeably situated. That of Genoa was observed on its right by Suchet,
whose army, reinforced with the garrison which, retaining their arms,
evacuated that city under Massena, might soon be expected to renew the
offensive. There was, therefore, the greatest risk, that Buonaparte,
pushing a strong force across the Po, might attack and destroy either
the division of Ott, or that of Melas himself, before they were able to
form a junction. To prevent such a catastrophe, Ott received orders to
march forward on the Ticino, while Melas, moving towards Alexandria,
prepared to resume his communications with his lieutenant-general.
Buonaparte, on his part, was anxious to relieve Genoa; news of the fall
of which had not reached him. With this view he resolved to force his
passage over the Po, and move against the Austrians, who were found to
occupy in strength the villages of Casteggio and Montebello. These
troops proved to be the greater part of the very army which he expected
to find before Genoa, and which was commanded by Ott, but which had
moved westward, in conformity to the orders of Melas.
[Sidenote: 9th June.]
General Lannes, who led the vanguard of the French, as usual, was
attacked early in the morning, by a superior force, which he had much
difficulty in resisting. The nature of the ground gave advantage to the
Austrian cavalry, and the French were barely able to support their
charges. At length the division of Victor came up to support Lannes, and
the victory became no longer doubtful, though the Austrians fought most
obstinately. The fields being covered with tall crops of grain, and
especially of rye, the different bodies were frequently hid until they
found themselves at the bayonet's point, without having had any previous
opportunity to estimate each other's force; a circumstance which led to
much close fighting, and necessarily to much slaughter. At length the
Austrians retreated, leaving the field of battle covered with their
dead, and above 5000 prisoners in the hands of their enemies.[557]
General Ott rallied the remains of his army under the walls of Tortona.
From the prisoners taken at the battle of Montebello, as this action was
called, Buonaparte learned, for the first time, the surrender of Genoa,
which apprised him that he was too late for the enterprise which he had
meditated. He therefore halted his army for three days in the position
of Stradella, unwilling to advance into the open plain of Marengo, and
trusting that Melas would find himself compelled to give him battle in
the position which he had chosen, as most unfavourable for the Austrian
cavalry. He despatched messengers to Suchet, commanding him to cross the
mountains by the Col di Cadibona, and march on the river Scrivia, which
would place him in the rear of the Austrians.
[Sidenote: DESAIX--MARENGO.]
Even during the very battle of Montebello, the chief consul was joined
by Desaix, who had just arrived from Egypt. Landed at Frejus, after a
hundred interruptions, that seemed as if intended to withhold him from
the fate he was about to meet, he had received letters from Buonaparte,
inviting him to come to him without delay. The tone of the letters
expressed discontent and embarrassment. "He has gained all," said
Desaix, who was much attached to Buonaparte, "and yet he is not happy."
Immediately afterwards, on reading the account of his march over St.
Bernard, he added, "He will leave us nothing to do." He immediately set
out post to place himself under the command of his ancient general, and,
as it eventually proved, to encounter an early death. They had an
interesting conversation on the subject of Egypt, to which Buonaparte
continued to cling, as to a matter in which his own fame was intimately
and inseparately concerned. Desaix immediately received the command of
the division hitherto under that of Boudet.[558]
In the meanwhile, the headquarters of Melas had been removed from Turin,
and fixed at Alexandria for the space of two days; yet he did not, as
Buonaparte had expected, attempt to move forward on the French position
at Stradella, in order to force his way to Mantua; so that the first
consul was obliged to advance towards Alexandria, apprehensive lest the
Austrians should escape from him, and either, by a march to the left
flank, move for the Ticino, cross that river, and, by seizing Milan,
open a communication with Austria in that direction; or, by marching to
the right, and falling back on Genoa, overwhelm Suchet, and take a
position, the right of which might be covered by that city, while the
sea was open for supplies and provisions, and their flank protected by
the British squadron.
Either of these movements might have been attended with alarming
consequences; and Napoleon, impatient lest his enemy should give him the
slip, advanced his headquarters on the 12th to Voghera, and on the 13th
to St. Juliano, in the midst of the great plain of Marengo. As he still
saw nothing of the enemy, the chief consul concluded that Melas had
actually retreated from Alexandria, having, notwithstanding the
temptation afforded by the level ground around him, preferred
withdrawing, most probably to Genoa, to the hazard of a battle. He was
still more confirmed in this belief, when, pushing forward as far as the
village of Marengo, he found it occupied only by an Austrian rear-guard,
which offered no persevering defence against the French, but retreated
from the village without much opposition. The chief consul could no
longer doubt that Melas had eluded him, by marching off by one of his
flanks, and probably by his right. He gave orders to Desaix, whom he had
intrusted with the command of the reserve, to march towards Rivolta with
a view to observe the communications with Genoa; and in this manner the
reserve was removed half a day's march from the rest of the army, which
had like to have produced most sinister effects upon the event of the
great battle that followed.
[Sidenote: MARENGO.]
Contrary to what Buonaparte had anticipated, the Austrian general,
finding the first consul in his front, and knowing that Suchet was in
his rear, had adopted, with the consent of a council of war, the
resolution of trying the fate of arms in a general battle. It was a
bold, but not a rash resolution. The Austrians were more numerous than
the French in infantry and artillery; much superior in cavalry, both in
point of numbers and of discipline; and it has been already said, that
the extensive plain of Marengo was favourable for the use of that
description of force. Melas, therefore, on the evening of the 13th,
concentrated his forces in front of Alexandria, divided by the river
Bormida from the purposed field of fight; and Napoleon, undeceived
concerning the intentions of his enemy, made with all haste the
necessary preparations to receive battle, and failed not to send orders
to Desaix to return as speedily as possible and join the army. That
general was so far advanced on his way towards Rivolta before these
counter orders reached him, that his utmost haste only brought him back
after the battle had lasted several hours.
[Sidenote: June 14.]
Buonaparte's disposition was as follows:--The village of Marengo was
occupied by the divisions of Gardanne and Chambarlhac. Victor, with
other two divisions, and commanding the whole, was prepared to support
them. He extended his left as far as Castel-Ceriolo, a small village
which lies almost parallel with Marengo. Behind this first line was
placed a brigade of cavalry, under Kellermann, ready to protect the
flanks of the line, or to debouche through the intervals, if opportunity
served, and attack the enemy. About a thousand yards in the rear of the
first line was stationed the second, under Lannes, supported by
Champeaux's brigade of cavalry. At the same distance, in the rear of
Lannes, was placed a strong reserve, or third line, consisting of the
division of Carra St. Cyr, and the consular guard, at the head of whom
was Buonaparte himself. Thus the French were drawn up on this memorable
day in three distinct divisions, each composed of a _corps d'armée_,
distant about three-quarters of a mile in the rear of each other.
The force which the French had in the field in the commencement of the
day, was above twenty thousand men; the reserve, under Desaix, upon its
arrival, might make the whole amount to thirty thousand. The Austrians
attacked with nearly forty thousand troops. Both armies were in high
spirits, determined to fight, and each confident in their general--the
Austrians in the bravery and experience of Melas, the French in the
genius and talents of Buonaparte. The immediate stake was the possession
of Italy, but it was impossible to guess how many yet more important
consequences the event of the day might involve. Thus much seemed
certain, that the battle must be decisive, and that defeat must prove
destruction to the party who should sustain it. Buonaparte, if routed,
could hardly have accomplished his retreat upon Milan; and Melas, if
defeated, had Suchet in his rear. The fine plain on which the French
were drawn up, seemed lists formed by nature for such an encounter,
when the fate of kingdoms was at issue.
Early in the morning the Austrians crossed the Bormida, in three
columns, by three military bridges, and advanced in the same order. The
right and the centre columns, consisting of infantry, were commanded by
Generals Haddick and Kaine; the left, composed entirely of light troops
and cavalry, made a detour round Castel-Ceriolo, the village mentioned
as forming the extreme right of the French position. About seven in the
morning, Haddick attacked Marengo with fury, and Gardanne's division,
after fighting bravely, proved inadequate to its defence. Victor
supported Gardanne, and endeavoured to cover the village by an oblique
movement. Melas, who commanded in person the central column of the
Austrians, moved to support Haddick; and by their united efforts, the
village of Marengo, after having been once or twice lost and won, was
finally carried.
The broken divisions of Victor and Gardanne, driven out of Marengo,
endeavoured to rally on the second line, commanded by Lannes. This was
about nine o'clock. While one Austrian column manœuvred to turn
Lannes's flank, in which they could not succeed, another, with better
fortune, broke through the centre of Victor's division, in a
considerable degree disordered them, and thus uncovering Lannes's left
wing, compelled him to retreat. He was able to do so in tolerably good
order; but not so the broken troops of Victor on the left, who fled to
the rear in great confusion. The column of Austrian cavalry who had come
round Castel-Ceriolo, now appeared on the field, and threatened the
right of Lannes, which alone remained standing firm. Napoleon detached
two battalions of the consular guard from the third line, or reserve,
which, forming squares behind the right wing of Lannes, supported its
resistance, and withdrew from it in part the attention of the enemy's
cavalry. The chief consul himself, whose post was distinguished by the
furred caps of a guard of two hundred grenadiers, brought up Monnier's
division, which had but now entered the field at the moment of extreme
need, being the advance of Desaix's reserve, returned from their half
day's march towards Rivolta. These were, with the guards, directed to
support Lannes's right wing, and a brigade detached from them was thrown
into Castel-Ceriolo, which now became the point of support on
Buonaparte's extreme right, and which the Austrians, somewhat
unaccountably, had omitted to occupy in force when their left column
passed it in the beginning of the engagement. Buonaparte, meantime, by
several desperate charges of cavalry, endeavoured in vain to arrest the
progress of the enemy. His left wing was put completely to flight; his
centre was in great disorder, and it was only his right wing, which, by
strong support, had been enabled to stand their ground.
In these circumstances, the day seemed so entirely against him, that, to
prevent his right wing from being overwhelmed, he was compelled to
retreat in the face of an enemy superior in numbers, and particularly in
cavalry and artillery. It was, however, rather a change of position,
than an absolute retreat to the rear. The French right, still resting on
Castel-Ceriolo, which formed the pivot of the manœuvre, had orders to
retreat very slowly, the centre faster, the left at ordinary quick time.
In this manner the whole line of battle was changed, and instead of
extending diagonally across the plain, as when the fight began, the
French now occupied an oblong position, the left being withdrawn as far
back as St. Juliano, where it was protected by the advance of Desaix's
troops. This division, being the sole remaining reserve, had now at
length arrived on the field, and, by Buonaparte's directions, had taken
a strong position in front of St. Juliano, on which the French were
obliged to retreat, great part of the left wing in the disorder of utter
flight, the right wing steadily, and by intervals fronting the enemy,
and sustaining with firmness the attacks made upon them.
At this time, and when victory seemed within his grasp, the strength of
General Melas, eighty years old, and who had been many hours on
horseback, failed entirely; and he was obliged to leave the field, and
retire to Alexandria, committing to General Zach the charge of
completing a victory which appeared to be already gained.
But the position of Desaix, at St. Juliano, afforded the first consul a
rallying point, which he now greatly needed. His army of reserve lay
formed in two lines in front of the village, their flanks sustained by
battalions _en potence_, formed into close columns of infantry; on the
left was a train of artillery; on the right, Kellermann, with a large
body of French cavalry, which, routed in the beginning of the day, had
rallied in this place. The ground that Desaix occupied was where the
high-road forms a sort of defile, having on the one hand a wood, on the
other a thick plantation of vines.
The French soldier understands better perhaps than any other in the
world the art of rallying, after having been dispersed. The fugitives of
Victor's division, though in extreme disorder, threw themselves into the
rear of Desaix's position, and, covered by his troops, renewed their
ranks and their courage. Yet, when Desaix saw the plain filled with
flying soldiers, and beheld Buonaparte himself in full retreat, he
thought all must be lost. They met in the middle of the greatest
apparent confusion, and Desaix said, "The battle is lost--I suppose I
can do no more for you than secure your retreat?"--"By no means,"
answered the first consul, "the battle is, I trust, gained--the
disordered troops whom you see are my centre and left, whom I will rally
in your rear--Push forward your column."
[Sidenote: 14th June.]
Desaix, at the head of the ninth light brigade, instantly rushed
forward, and charged the Austrians, wearied with fighting the whole day,
and disordered by their hasty pursuit. The moment at which he advanced,
so critically favourable for Buonaparte, was fatal to himself. He fell,
shot through the head.[559] But his soldiers continued to attack with
fury, and Kellermann, at the same time charging the Austrian column,
penetrated its ranks, and separated from the rest six battalions, which,
surprised and panic-struck, threw down their arms; Zach, who, in the
absence of Melas, commanded in chief, being at their head, was taken
with them. The Austrians were now driven back in their turn. Buonaparte
galloped along the French line, calling on the soldiers to advance. "You
know," he said, "it is always my practice to sleep on the field of
battle."[560]
The Austrians had pursued their success with incautious hurry, and
without attending to the due support which one corps ought, in all
circumstances, to be prepared to afford to another. Their left flank was
also exposed, by their hasty advance, to Buonaparte's right, which had
never lost order. They were, therefore, totally unprepared to resist
this general, furious, and unexpected attack. They were forced back at
all points, and pursued along the plain, suffering immense loss; nor
were they again able to make a stand until driven back over the Bormida.
Their fine cavalry, instead of being drawn up in squadrons to cover
their retreat, fled in disorder, and at full gallop, riding down all
that was in their way. The confusion at passing the river was
inextricable--large bodies of men were abandoned on the left side, and
surrendered to the French in the course of the night, or next
morning.[561]
It is evident, in perusing the accounts of this battle, that the victory
was wrested out of the hands of the Austrians, after they had become, by
the fatigues of the day, too weary to hold it. Had they sustained their
advance by reserves, their disaster would not have taken place. It seems
also certain, that the fate of Buonaparte was determined by the arrival
of Desaix at the moment he did,[562] and that in spite of the skilful
disposition by which the chief consul was enabled to support the attack
so long, he must have been utterly defeated had Desaix put less despatch
in his counter-march. Military men have been farther of opinion, that
Melas was guilty of a great error, in not occupying Castel-Ceriolo on
the advance; and that the appearances of early victory led the Austrians
to be by far too unguarded in their advance on Saint Juliano.
In consequence of a loss which seemed in the circumstances altogether
irreparable, Melas resolved to save the remains of his army, by
entering, upon the 15th June, 1800, into a convention,[563] or rather
capitulation, by which he agreed, on receiving permission to retire
behind Mantua, to yield up Genoa, and all the fortified places which the
Austrians possessed in Piedmont, Lombardy, and the Legations. Buonaparte
the more readily granted these terms, that an English army was in the
act of arriving on the coast. His wisdom taught him not to drive a
powerful enemy to despair, and to be satisfied with the glory of having
regained, in the affairs of Montebello and of Marengo, almost all the
loss sustained by the French in the disastrous campaign of 1799. Enough
had been done to show, that, as the fortunes of France appeared to wane
and dwindle after Buonaparte's departure, so they revived with even more
than their original brilliancy, as soon as this Child of Destiny had
returned to preside over them. An armistice was also agreed upon, which
it was supposed might afford time for the conclusion of a victorious
peace with Austria; and Buonaparte extended this truce to the armies on
the Rhine, as well as those in Italy.
Two days having been spent in the arrangements which the convention with
Melas rendered necessary, Buonaparte, on the 17th June, returned to
Milan, where he again renewed the Republican constitution, which had
been his original gift to the Cisalpine state.[564] He executed several
other acts of authority. Though displeased with Massena for the
surrender of Genoa, he did not the less constitute him commander-in-chief
in Italy;[565] and though doubtful of Jourdan's attachment, who, on
the 18th Brumaire, seemed ready to espouse the Republican interest,
he did not on that account hesitate to name him minister of the
French Republic in Piedmont, which was equivalent to giving him the
administration of that province.[566] These conciliatory steps had
the effect of making men of the most opposite parties see their own
interest in supporting the government of the first consul.
[Sidenote: PARIS.]
The presence of Napoleon was now eagerly desired at Paris. He set out
from Milan on the 24th June,[567] and in the passage through Lyons
paused to lay the foundation-stone for rebuilding the Place Bellecour; a
splendid square, which had been destroyed by the frantic vengeance of
the Jacobins when Lyons was retaken by them from the insurgent party of
Girondins and Royalists. Finally, the chief consul returned to Paris
upon the 2d July. He had left it on the 6th of May; yet, in the space of
not quite two months, how many hopes had he realized! All that the most
sanguine partisans had ventured to anticipate of his success had been
exceeded. It seemed that his mere presence in Italy was of itself
sufficient at once to obliterate the misfortunes of a disastrous
campaign, and restore the fruits of his own brilliant victories, which
had been lost during his absence. It appeared as if he was the sun of
France--when he was hid from her, all was gloom--when he appeared, light
and serenity were restored. All the inhabitants, leaving their
occupations, thronged to the Tuileries to obtain a glimpse of the
wonderful man, who appeared with the laurel of victory in the one hand,
and the olive of peace in the other. Shouts of welcome and
congratulation resounded from the gardens, the courts, and the quays, by
which the palace is surrounded; high and low illuminated their houses;
and there were few Frenchmen, perhaps, that were not for the moment
partakers of the general joy.[568]
FOOTNOTES:
[536] "The famous Necker solicited the honour of being presented to the
first consul. In all he said he suffered it to appear, that he wished
and hoped to have the management of the finances. The first consul was
but indifferently pleased with him."--NAPOLEON, _Gourgaud_, tom. i., p.
264. "During this conversation, the first consul made a rather agreeable
impression on my father, by the confidential way in which he spoke to
him of his future plans."--MAD. DE STAËL, tom. ii., p. 281.
[537] Thibaudeau, tom. vi., p. 260; Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 176.
[538] Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 177.
[539] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 260.
[540] Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 184; Thibaudeau, tom. vi., p. 264;
Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 267; Dumas, tom. ii.
[541] Apparently the guide who conducted him from the Grand Chartreux
found the Chief Consul in better humour, for Buonaparte says, he
conversed freely with him, and expressed some wishes with respect to a
little farm, &c. which he was able to gratify. [Gourgaud, tom. i., p.
268.] To his guide from Martigny to St. Pierre, he was also liberal; but
the only specimen of his conversation which the latter remembered, was,
when shaking the rain water from his hat, he exclaimed, "There! see what
I have done in your mountains--spoiled my new hat. Pshaw, I will find
another on the other side." For these and other interesting anecdotes,
see Mr. Tennant's "Tour through the Netherlands, Holland, Germany,
Switzerland," &c.--S.
[542] Joseph Petit, Fourrier des grenadiers de la garde, author of
"Marengo, ou Campagne d'Italie," 8vo, an. ix.--S.
[543] "Never did greater regularity preside at a distribution. Each one
appreciated the foresight of which he had been the object. Not a soldier
left the ranks; not a straggler was to be seen. The first consul
expressed his gratitude to the Community, and ordered 100,000 francs to
be delivered to the monastery, in remembrance of the service it had
rendered him."--_Memoirs of Savary_, vol. i., p. 165.
[544] "The infantry and cavalry passed one by one, up the path of the
mountain, which the first consul had climbed, and where no horse had
ever stepped; it was a way known to none but goatherds."--GOURGAUD, tom.
i., p. 271.
[545] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 271; Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 185.
[546] "Supposing it had proved quite impossible to pass the artillery
through the town of Bard, would the French army have repassed the Great
Saint Bernard? No: it would have debouched as far as Ivrea--a movement
which would necessarily have recalled Melas from Nice."--NAPOLEON,
_Gourgaud_, tom. i., p 272.
[547] Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 188; Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 274.
[548] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 202; Thibaudeau, tom. vi., p 286.
[549] Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 198.
[550] Napoleon says, that Massena proposed to General Ott to send in
provisions to feed these unhappy men, pledging his honour they should be
used to no other purpose, and that General Ott was displeased with Lord
Keith for declining to comply with a proposal so utterly unknown in the
usages of war.--S. [Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 227.] It is difficult to give
credit to this story.
[551] Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 231; Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 228. See also
Thiébaut, Journal Historique du Siège de Gênes.
[552] "Massena ought to have broken off, upon the certainty that within
four or five days the blockade would be raised; in fact, it would have
been raised twelve hours after."--NAPOLEON, _Gourgaud_, tom. i., p. 241.
[553] Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 210; Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 279.
[554] "One of the first persons who presented themselves to the eyes of
the Milanese, whom enthusiasm and curiosity led by all the by-roads to
meet the French army, was General Buonaparte. The people of Milan would
not believe it: it had been reported that he had died in the Red Sea,
and that it was one of his brothers who now commanded the French
army."--NAPOLEON, _Gourgaud_, tom. i., p. 280.
[555] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 282.
[556] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 283.
[557] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 287; Thibaudeau, tom. vi., p. 300. At the
battle of Montebello, which afterwards gave him his title, General
Lannes added to his already high reputation. In describing the desperate
conflict--"bones," he said, "crashed in my division; like hailstones
against windows."
[558] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 289.
[559] The _Moniteur_ put in the mouth of the dying general a message to
Buonaparte, in which he expressed his regret that he had done so little
for history, and in that of the chief consul an answer, lamenting that
he had no time to weep for Desaix. But Buonaparte himself assures us,
that Desaix was shot dead on the spot. [Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 300.] Nor
is it probable that the tide of battle, then just upon the act of
turning, left the consul himself time for set phrases, or sentimental
ejaculations.--S. Savary, who was aide-de-camp to Desaix, had the body
wrapped up in a cloak, and removed to Milan, where, by Napoleon's
directions, it was embalmed, and afterwards conveyed to the Hospice of
Saint Bernard, where a monument was erected to the memory of the fallen
hero. "'Desaix,' said Napoleon, 'loved glory for glory's sake, and
France above every thing. Luxury he despised, and even comfort. He
preferred sleeping under a gun in the open air to the softest couch. He
was of an unsophisticated, active, pleasing character, and possessed
extensive information.' The victor of Marengo shed tears for his
death."--MONTHOLON, tom. iv., p. 256.
[560] Thibaudeau, tom. vi., p. 312.
[561] Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 296, 303; Jomini, tom. xiii., p. 278, 296;
Dumas, tom. ii.; Savary, tom. i., p. 176.
[562]
----"Desaix, who turn'd the scale,
Leaving his life-blood in that famous field,
(Where the clouds break, we may discern the spot
In the blue haze,) sleeps, as thou saw'st at dawn,
Just where we enter'd, in the Hospital-church."
ROGERS' _Italy_, p. 10.
[563] See Gourgaud, tom. i., p. 303.
[564] "The victory of Marengo had revived the hopes of the Italian
people. Each resumed his post; each returned to his functions; and the
machinery of government was in full operation in the course of a few
days."--SAVARY, tom. i., p. 186.
[565] "Though Massena was guilty of an error in embarking his troops at
Genoa, instead of conducting them by land, he had always displayed much
character and energy. In the midst of the fire and confusion of a
battle, his demeanour was eminently noble. The din of the cannon cleared
his ideas, and gave him penetration, spirit and even gaiety."--NAPOLEON,
_Gourgaud_, tom. i., p. 243.
[566] "General Jourdan felt grateful on finding that the first consul
had not only forgotten the past, but was also willing to give him so
high a proof of confidence. He devoted all his zeal to the public
good."--NAPOLEON, _Gourgaud_, tom. i., p. 310.
[567] "The first consul's train consisted of two carriages. Duroc and
Bourrienne were in the same carriage with him. I followed with General
Bassières in the other. There is no exaggeration in saying, that the
first consul travelled from Milan to Lyons between two rows of people in
the midst of unceasing acclamations. The manifestations of joy were
still greater at Dijon. The women of that delightful city were
remarkable for the vivacity of an unaffected joy, which threw animation
into their eyes, and gave their faces so deep a colour, as if they had
trespassed the bounds of decorum."--SAVARY, tom. i., p. 187.
[568] "The first consul was partaking also of the prevailing gladness
when he learned that a courier from Italy had brought an account of the
loss of the battle of Marengo. The courier had been despatched at the
moment when Paris every thing seemed desperate, so that the report of a
defeat was general in before the first consul's return. Many projects
were disturbed by his arrival. On the mere announcement of his defeat,
his enemies had returned to their work, and talked of nothing less than
overturning the government, and avenging the crimes of the eighteenth
Brumaire."--SAVARY, tom. i., p. 190.