both inclufive, to whofe luminous views, we take this opportunity of making our acknowledgements, and to which we beg leave to refer the military reader, rather than to put them off with any compreffed abridgement of their narratives. Our object, in this general hiftory, is not to enter into a full detail of military operations, but rather to mark fituations, defigns, and refults, and the principal means, whether prepared or accidental, by which plans were accomplished, on the one hand, or failed on the other.

Of the three hundred and twenty thousand, who, at this time compofed the French army, forty-five thoufand under the orders of general Maflena, occupied Switzerland and the left bank of the Rhine, almoft from its fource, to the western extremity of the lake of Constance, and from that point, the two banks of the river as far as Bafle. Between that town and Duffeldorf were stationed about 65,000 men, commanded by general Jourdan, and forming what was called, the army of Mentz. They occupied the fort of Kehl, on the right bank of the Rhine, lined the left bank, from the frontier of Switzerland to Mentz, and from the latter town to Duffeldorf, poffeffed, all the country upon the two banks. The corps, in the latter pofition, amounting to about twenty thousand men, was called the army of obfervation. The plan of the directory was the fame that had been purfued in 1796, and 1797; namely, the invafion of the hereditary ftates of the houfe of Auftria, and the junction of the French armies under the walls of Vienna. For this end it was ne

ceffary that the army of obfervation fhould take poffeffion of Philipfburg, the only fortrefs remaining on the Rhine to the empire; that the army of Jourdan fhould crofs that river, traverse the defiles of the Black Foreft, extend itself into Suabia, turn the lake of Conftance, and the fouthern part of the Tyrol; that the army of Switzerland should drive the Auftrians from the country of the Grifons, attack the Tyrol in front, and feize the vallies of the Lech and of the Inn, while the army. of Italy fhould penetrate into Germany, either through the Tyrol or Friuli. Thus the Auftrian troops, pofied on the lake of Conftance, in the country of Regentz and that of the Grifons, would have been encompaffed by Jourdan's army, and that of Maffena; and thofe which defended the Italian Tyrol and the Veronefe, between Maffena's army and that of Italy. The fituation and the views of the Auftrians were as follows:

More than fixty thouland were concentrated under the archduke Charles, on the Lech. Twenty thoufand were collected in the Palatinate, in the environs of Auberg, or at Wurtzburg, under the orders of general Sztarray. A like number was under those of general Hotze, in the Voralberg, and the country of the Grifons. Near twenty-five thousand, commanded by general Bellegarde, were on the frontiers of the laft-mentioned country and the Tyrol. The army of Italy, part of which was on the Adige, and the reft in Friuli and Carinthia, was reckoned to be more than fixty thoufand ftrong. Thus the emperor had to oppofle to the

French,

French, one hundred and eighty-five thousand fighting men, ninety thoufand of whom were in a fituation for acting against Jourdan and Maffena. But, determined as the Auftrians were to let the odium of recommencing hoftilities fall on the French, their firft operations could only be defenfive, and dependent on thofe of their enemies. Generals Hotze and Bellegarde could do nothing but watch the motions of the French, and fortify and defend, as well as poffible, the pofts occupied in Suabia, Tyrol, and the country of the Grifons, as likewife thofe held on its frontiers, in the Valtelline and in Italy. It was the business of the archduke, on his part, to confine himself, in the first instance, to preparations for the paffage of the Lech with all his army, the moment he fhould hear that the French had paffed the Rhine, and, in that event, to advance fo rapidly as to come up with them, not only before they fhould arrive on the Iller, but even before they could push beyond the lake of Conftance.

On the fecond of March, a detachment of the French army of obfervation took poffeffion of the town of Manheim, in confequence of a capitulation. On the fame day, general Bernadotte prefented himfelf before the town of Philipsburg, which, in confequence of the treaty of Campo Formio, was garrifoned only by the troops of the empire, commanded by the thingrave of Salm. To an infolent letter of fummons from Bernadotte, in which he ftated that the garrifon was ready to revolt, and denounced the moft terrible punishment to thofe who fhould oblige him to give orders, for the affault, the rhingrave, neither deceived nor intimidated, returned

a fpirited though moderate answer, " Surely, general," faid he, "it must be your own opinion that I fhould be culpable, were I to deliver up, a fortrefs, the command of which has been intrufted to me by the commander-in-chief of the army of the empire. The fituation of the fortrefs under my command is not fuch as you appear to believe, nor do I know of any difcontents among the garrifon. I muft, therefore, declare to you that I will not. receive a French garrifon into the place, nor commence hoftilities, though I will refift any attack." This foldierly, and gentlemanlike reply to Bernadotte, was juftified by the conduct of the garrifon, compofed of nearly two thousand chofen troops of the empire, who had ferved with distinction in the preceeding campaigns. The officers, imitating the zeal of their leader, protested with indignation against the difhonoura> ble views imputed to them by the French general. The inundations, which form the principal defence of Philip burg, prevented the French from approaching near enough for the purpofe of reducing the place in a fhort time. Thefe local cir cumftances, with events which took. place about this time in Suabia, compelled him to turn the fiege into a blockade, and even that he was obliged to raise foon after.

General Jourdan's army, conti nuing to advance in the direction it had taken, was beyond the mountains of the Black Foreft. Its right was at Rhinberg near Schaffhaufen, and its left at Rothwell, The army of obfervation, at the fame time, fpread itfelf into the country of Helle Darmstadt, and the Palatinate, and was bufily employed in repairing the fortifications

at Manheim. The different corps of Jourdan's army met with no impediment, in their march, as the Auftrians were ftill at a great diftance, and the duke of Wurtemberg, the only prince who could have thrown any obftacles in their way, obferved the ftricteft neutrality; to which he was compelled by the armiftice fubfifting between France and the empire, by his own military weakness, and ftill more by the dread of giving the French a pretext for effecting a revolution in his ftates: to which the French plenipotentiaries, taking advantage of their refidence at Raftadt, and of differences then exifting between that prince and his fubjects, had applied themselves, with their ufual affiduity and addrefs, to difpose them. That the entry of the French into the duchy of Wurtemberg did not produce a revolution in that state, is to be attributed to the hope they entertained of being able to detach the princes of the empire from the caufe of the emperor. They contented themselves with preying on that country, notwithstanding all the fine promiles of general Jourdan, and treated it almoft as badly as the Brifgaw, on which they levied all kinds of contributions. Their amity with the new elector of Bavaria did not protect even the Palatinate from their rapacity. The abfolute neceffity, under which the French government lay, of fubfifting its armies, and the impoffibility of doing this at their own expenfe, outweighed every other confideration. The diftrict of Raftadt was alone refpected the circumftances of its being almoft feparated from Germany, by the advance of the French armies, and having, befides, but a very precarious and limited commu

11

nication with the reft of the empire, enlivened the hopes of the directory of realizing its project of a partial pacification. The name of the army of Mentz, after it had penetrated fo far into Suabia, was changed into that of the army of the Danube; and Jourdan was appointed commander-in-chief of the three armies of the Lower Rhine, the Upper Rhine, and of Switzerland, under his fuperior direction. The first of thefe armies was commanded by Bernadotte, the last by Maffena.

In order to form a junction, according to the French plan, on the eaftern fide of the lake of Constance, between the armies of Jourdan and Maffena, the former general had only to march through coun'tries without defence, but the latter, in the very outfet, to encounter the Auftrians, in fpite of their oppofition, to pass the Rhine, to drive them from the country of the Grifons and the Voralberg, and to force them to retreat into the Upper Tyrol. The difficulties attending these operations, rendered it neceffary for Maflena to begin his attack before the archduke could oppofe the march of Jourdan, and find time to fend reinforcements to the lake of Conftance. A body of Auftrians, to the number of about fix thoufand, under the command of general Auffenberg, and ftationed in different pofts, communicated along the left bank of the Rhine, with the army of general Hotze, from which it had been detached, and which lay, part at Fieldkirk, and part at Bregentz, and the intermediate places. In this manner were the Auftrians fhut up in valley, having the Rhine before" them, and behind them a chain of extenfive mountains, rendered impaf

narrow

fable,

fable, during almoft the whole year, by fnow. Although they had but an inadequate force, and the pofition afforded but few local resources in cafe the paffage of the river fhould be effected, yet they ftill poffeffed many means of impeding that paffage, which was to be forced only through great difficulties and dangers. General Maflena, with a great part of his army, took poft on the evening of the fifth of March along the left bank of the Rhine, from the point where the two fources of that river unite, as far as the lake of Conftance. Be fore day-break, on the fixth, he fent a fummons to general Auffenberg to evacuate the country of the Gri fons within two hours; but, without waiting for an answer to this demand, and with which it was even phyfically impoffible, had Auffenberg been willing to comply, he made a general attack through all the line, flattering himself, that by this mode of conduct, he fhould avoid the odium of having begun the war without declaring it, and, yet fecure to himself all the advantages of furprize. Malena, at the fame time that he made a fhew of an intention to attack the Auftrians in the whole extent of their line, and threatened to pass the Rhine in feveral places, threw a bridge over the river at Almooz, oppofite the narrow pals of the Lucien-fteig, and marched to that point with 5000 or 6000 men. The poffeffion of this poft being the principal object the French had in view, it was there that they united the greatest force, and the engagement at that point was very obftinate during the whole day. The Auftrians had the fuperiority in pofition, and their enemies in numbers, ..VOL. XLI.

with the additional advantage of having concerted before hand, all their meafures. This circumstance, in the end, turned the fcale, and towards the evening of the fixth, the French made themselves masters of the paffage and fort of Lucienfteig, which commands the fort from Chur, called otherwise Coire, to Bregentz. While things were in this state of progreffion in the centre, the French had likewise gained ground on the right above Chur, and their left, commanded by general Oudinot, which had forded the Rhine at Hag; near Wordenberg, kept general Hotze in check near Field-kirk, and prevented him from fending reinforcements to the troops which defended the country of the Grifons.

The lofs of the important poft of the Steig having entirely interrupted the communication between the corps of general Hotze and Auffenberg, the latter had no other source than to concentrate his remaining forces for the defence of Chur. After feveral combats, during the night and the morning of the feventh, he had reached the heights near Chur, when he found another column of the enemy advancing on his rear. Attacked on all fides, he ftill endeavoured, notwithstanding his inferiority in number, and the fatigue of his foldiers, to defend himself in vain. He was obliged to furrender with all his forces. In the meantime, general Hotze, in order to carry affiftance to general Auffenberg, made every effort to penetrate into the valley of the Rhine, but he was obliged to return to Field-kirk with the lofs of feveral pieces of cannon, and a confiderable number of men. General Maffena eftimated the lofs of the Auftrians in thofe two days [R]

at