Five years of peace, following the battle of Marengo, had enabled
Napoleon Bonaparte to do much for France, and more for his own
elevation. Under his wise and vigorous administration, the country made
wonderful progress. But the price she paid was first the Consulship for
Life, and finally the imperial crown. Napoleon now appears as Emperor of
France. His old brothers-in-arms, are Marshals. His beloved Josephine is
an Empress. Besides, he has cherished designs of placing his brothers
upon the thrones of Europe. Yet the man who has achieved all this
greatness, is only thirty-eight years of age.
But now, (1805) the peace of Europe is again disturbed. The treaty of
Amiens is alleged by both parties to have been violated, and once more
vast armies traverse the fertile fields seeking for conflict. A
coalition against Napoleon has been formed by Great Britain, Austria,
and Russia. Napoleon has formed the plan of a campaign on a gigantic
scale, and has executed a part of the proposed scheme with a rapidity
and precision that has astonished the enemy. By a brilliant series of
manœuvres, he has completely surrounded the Austrian army, commanded
by General Mack, in the city of Ulm, (October 13.) In several great
actions, the French had already captured twenty thousand Austrian
troops, and Napoleon now has the satisfaction of knowing that thirty
thousand more are within his reach.
On the 13th, Napoleon (who expected that Mack would rouse himself with
one last effort to avoid a surrender) made an exciting address to the
troops, on the bridge of the Lech, amid the most intense cold, the
ground being covered with snow, and the troops sunk to their knees in
mud. He warned them to expect a great battle, and explained to them the
desperate condition of the enemy. He was answered with acclamations, and
repeated shouts of “Vive l’Empereur.” In listening to his exciting
words, the soldiers forgot their fatigues and privations, and were
impatient to rush into the fight. אליה Bernadotte entered Munich on the
14th of October, taking eight hundred prisoners. On the same day,
Marshal Ney forced the strong position of Elchingen, taking three
thousand prisoners and many pieces of cannon; and the Emperor’s
head-quarters were fixed there, in the evening. The French soldiers were
in a state of great excitement from these rapid successes, and were with
difficulty restrained.
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[Illustration: THE CAMP-FIRE AT ULM. Page 159.]
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From the height of the Abbey of Elchingen, Napoleon now beheld the city
of Ulm at his feet, commanded on every side by his cannon; his
victorious troops ready for the assault, and the great Austrian army
cooped up within the walls. He expected a desperate sally, and prepared
the soldiers for a general engagement; but four days passed without any
movement whatever. Meanwhile, his own troops clamored for the assault,
but he chose to wait in vigilant patience for the result. A scene of
horrible carnage and the probable destruction of a fine city would have
been the consequences of his acting differently; being what he would
have called “unnecessary evils,” and therefore criminal in his eyes. The
weather continued dreadful; the rain fell incessantly, and the soldiers
were often up to their knees in mud. The Emperor only kept his feet out
of the water in his bivouac, by means of a plank. He was in this
situation when Prince Maurice Lichtenstein was brought before him, with
a flag of truce from General Mack. The looks of the prince evidently
showed that he did not expect to have found the Emperor there in person;
otherwise it is probable he would not have brought such a proposition as
that which he delivered. He came commissioned to treat for the
evacuation of Ulm, with permission for the Austrian army to return to
Vienna. The Emperor could not help smiling as he listened to him. “I
have not forgotten Marengo,” he replied; “I suffered M. de Melas to go,
and in two months Moreau had to fight his troops, in spite of the most
solemn promises to conclude peace. You will be forced to surrender, for
want of provisions, in eight days. The Russians have scarcely reached
Bohemia. There is the capitulation of your general at Memingen, his
whole garrison becoming prisoners of war: carry it to General Mack; I
will accept no other conditions.” The same evening General Mack sent his
surrender to the Emperor, and on the following morning the capitulation
was signed.
On the 20th of October, the French army was drawn up on the heights,
overlooking the fine city of Ulm, to receive the surrender, according to
the conditions. The rain had ceased, and the sky was bright and clear.
The dress and accoutrements of the French troops, and especially those
of the cavalry, shone resplendent in the sun. The Emperor was posted on
a slight eminence in front of the centre of his army. He had caused a
large fire to be kindled there, for the air was intensely cold. A short
distance in the rear, that faithful Mameluke who always accompanied
Napoleon after the Egyptian campaign, held the bridle of a restless
horse. His gaudy, Asiatic costume, was in singular contrast with that of
the French soldiers. The French marshals and generals were grouped in
the vicinity of the fire. Among them were the commanding forms of Ney,
Lannes, Murat, Davoust, Duroc, Bernadotte, Bessiere, Soult and Dupont—a
brotherhood of daring valor. The calm, immovable countenance of Marshal
Soult was in strange contrast with the more vivacious faces near him,
and bespoke the cool, steady mind of that skilful general. The Emperor
stood, as usual, with his hands behind him, and his head slightly bent.
His figure had grown stout, and had a decided tendency to corpulency.
The countenance was stern, but the eyes were unquiet, and his mind was
evidently very busy, as usual. In every lineament could be traced that
keen, daring genius, which had raised the lieutenant of artillery to an
imperial throne.
It was a glorious day for the French. Their drums beat, and their bands
poured forth the swelling strains of triumph. The gates of Ulm were
opened; and then the long line of white uniforms marked the egress of
the Austrians. They advanced in silence, becoming the dejection of the
vanquished, filed off slowly, and went, corps by corps, to lay down
their arms upon the plain between them and the heights on which the
French army appeared. The ceremony lasted the whole day. In the morning,
General Mack and his principal officers, to the number of sixteen,
advanced to meet the conqueror at the fire near which he stood. He
received the conquered generals with respect, and addressed many remarks
to them; but the officers were too deeply humiliated to reply. To
General Mack, he said—
“I must complain of the iniquitous proceeding of your government, in
coming without any declaration of war to _seize me by the throat_. The
Aulic Council would have done better, if, instead of mixing up Asiatic
hordes in European quarrels, it had joined with me to repel Russian
encroachment.” Mack bowed, but made no reply.
During the interview, a general officer, more remarkable for his
petulance than his wit, repeated aloud an expression as coming from one
of the soldiers, throwing ridicule upon the vanquished. Napoleon, whose
ear was quick to catch the words, immediately sent Savary to tell the
officer to retire, saying then to those near him, “He must have little
respect for himself, who insults men in misfortune!”
All the officers were allowed to return home, on giving their word of
honor not to serve against France until a general exchange of prisoners
should take place. The men were to be marched into France, to be
distributed throughout the agricultural districts of the country, where
their work in the field might supply the place of that of the conscripts
required for the army. The unfortunate Mack was immediately consigned to
a dungeon on the charge of treachery, upon his return to Vienna.
The capitulation of Ulm gave Napoleon the remainder of the Austrian
army, which had numbered fifty thousand men. The campaign was, perhaps,
unexampled in the annals of war. Of the French army, scarcely fifteen
hundred men were killed and wounded; while the enemy had lost an immense
number of men in battle, fifty thousand excellent troops by
capitulation, two hundred cannon, ninety flags, and a large number of
horses. Such were the glorious results of Napoleon’s skilful
manœuvres and rapid movements.
The Emperor slept that night at Elchingen. Joy pervaded the French camp.
The troops were now more strongly convinced than ever, that their
Emperor was invincible.
[Illustration]
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[Illustration]