ving been at this affair, the Auftrian foldiers, to whom their officers called out parce ferro, as much in vain as Hannibal did to his at Thrafymene, would give no quarter, but exterminated with their bayonets, and the but-ends of their muskets, all the men of that legion who fell into their hans. The engagement feemed fo decifive in favour of the Auftrians, that general Kray was on the point of pufhing on to Mantua, when a courier brought him intelligence of the difafter experienced on his right, from the fuccefful attack by Scheerer's left.— Notwithstanding the fatigue of his troops, he marched them the fame evening to the affiftance of the centre and of the right, leaving, however, a fufficient corps of obfervation between Mantua and Legnago. A part of thefe re-inforcements arrived at Verona on the twenty-feventh, and the rest on the twenty-eighth. During thefe two days, Scheerer, difconcerted with the fevere check on his right, attempted nothing decifive againft Verona. The two armies were fill fo near to each other, that, on the twenty-ninth, they were obliged to agree on a fufpenfion of arms, to bury their dead, who lay on the field fince the twenty-fixth, and began already to infect the air. On the thirtieth, two hours before the expiration of the truce, according to the Auftrians, the half of the troops, commanded by Moreau, that is, about 10,000 men, having paffed the Adige, by the bridge of Polo, attacked the pofts of the Auftrians, which guarded the left bank, overcame them and advanced till within half a league of Verona, while another column endeavoured to gain the heights, which flanked the

right of the Auftrians, and the road of Vicenza, on which general Kray had wifely pofled his referve, or, more properly fpeaking, the main body of the army. Three Auftrian columns came up with them on their march, and attacked them with fuch fpirit, that they could not resist, but were obliged to retire towards their bridge, full three leagues dif tant. Their retreat was nothing but a continued engagement. They continued it for a long time in good order; but, when the left Auftrian column faw that they approached the bridge, two battalions of grenadiers, detached from it with the greateft rapidity along the bridge, without firing, and using only the bayonet, overcame all refiftance, feized the bridge, and thus all who had not already paffed were cut off. The French column, which had been fent by the mountains, and which, in order to arrive at the bridge, had more ground to traverse, met with a like fate. A party of it immediately laid down its arms, and the reft, in endeavouring to elcape across the mountains, were likewite almost all taken. Two thousand men fell into the hands of the Aufirians on this day, and the French loft all the advantages they had gained on the twenty-fixth. On the first of April, general Scheerer, abandoning all his poits which he occupied between the Adige and the lake of Garda, and placing a ftrong garrifon in Pefchiera, took a pofition, with his left and centre, beyond the Tartaro, at Magnan, between Villa Franca, and Yoladella-Scala, his right wing being before Legnago. On the following day the Auftrian army encamped on the right bank of the Adige, before Verona, and on the road to Villa [T 4]

Franca,

Franca. These firft days of the campaign coft the French the immente lofs of 10,000 men in killed, wounded, taken, or deferted. And that of the Auftrians to half the number.

Scheerer feeing that the Auftrians already acted partially on the offenfive, and perceiving that they would attack him with an irrefiftible fuperiority, when they fhould be joined by the Auftrians, who had left Auftria on the twentieth of March, and were rapidly advancing, judged that but little time remained to give the campaign a favourable turn. He refolved, therefore, to make a new effort to drive the Auftrians over the Adige, and to establish himself on the other fide of that river. At the fame time general Kray formed on his fide the project of driving the French from their grand camp of Magnan, and driving them beyond the Tartaro, or, if poflible, behind, the Mincio. It was on the fame day, the fifth of April, that the two generals refolved to attack each other. The French army, already reduced to 36,000 men, moved from their camp in three columns, exclufive of the advanced guard. Similar reafons influencing general Kray, his plan was fimilar. His army, amounting to 45,000 men, advanced in order to attack the French. The two armies were too near each other, as they were marching forward, to be long in meeting. The engagement was foon begun, and by ten o'clock was general along all the front of the line. For the first two hours it was favourable to the French, who gained ground, on all fides. General Serrurier got poffellion of Villa-Franca and maintain ed himself there. The centre and

the right pushed on to Verona. At this critical moment, nine battalions of the Auftrian referve, led by general Latterman, march rapidly against the enemy, to the found of Turkish mufic, The French, hitherto victorious, attacked both in flank and rear, were at once stopped, broken, and put to flight. To prevent the Auftrians from following up this fuccefs, Scheeret and M reau, with their central column, reinforced by fome troops that had remained in referve, rushed fo vigoroufly on the centre of the Auftrians, that they compelled it to give way; and general Kaim, notwithstanding this brave resistance, was repulfed till within half a league of Verona.— General Lufignan having then come up to his affiftance, with three battalions of grenadiers, still kept in referve, the battle was renewed with redoubled fury, and long maintained with equal fuccefs. The obfinacy of the Auftians at laft prevailed, and the French on this point likewife were broken, routed, and purfued with the bayonet at their backs. Defeated on the right and in the centre, the French could not think of drawing any advantage from the fuccefs they had had on their left. Serrurier followed the retrograde movement of the rest of the army, which it executed with great confufion, leaving behind them cannon, ammunition, waggons, and wounded. The trophies of this victory were feventeen pieces of cannon, and near 3000 prifoners. It coft the victors in killed and wounded 2500 men. The lofs of the French, in killed and wounded, was at least 3500 men.

On the day after the battle of Magnan, general Scheerer abandoned Villa-Franca and Ilola-della

Scals,

Scola, and concentrated his army between Mantua and Goito. Continuing his retreat, on the feventh, he pafled the Mincio, near Goito, at the fame time throwing a reinforcement of men and provifions into Pefchiera. The Auftrian van guard occupied the extent of country abandoned by the French, and pushed on to Valeggio, where it leized the bridge over the Mincio. In the mean time, a flying corps, under general Klenau, either funk or took the armed and provifion boats of the French on the Po, and gained poffeffion of the countries of Oftiglia and Governovolo on the feventh, thus cutting off the communication between the Lower Po, and Mantua. The long fupprefied deteftation of the Italians for the French now broke forth. The inhabitants of the two banks of the Po took up arms for themfelves, cat down the trees of liberty, ab. jured all revolutionary infignia, and compelled the French troops to difperfe about the country, and to fhut themfelves up in Ferrara and Bologna, Affairs were equally prof perous at the other extremity of the ine formed by the imperial army. General Wuckaffowich, with different fmall columns, after driving the enemy from the valley of the Chiefa, and the two fhores of the Lake of Idro, had taken poffeffion, on the eighth, of the important defile of Rocca d'Anfo, which opened the entrance of the Brefcian, and placed him in the rear of the French army. This threatening circumftance determined Scheerer to quit the Mincio entirely, and to retire behind the Chiefa, leaving Pelchiera and Mantua to their fate. General Melas, who had arrived sa the eighth, to take the command 7

of the Auftrian army, fent his vanguard, on the tenth, beyond the Mincio, to occupy the approaches to Pefchiera; whilft, on the left, general Klenau pushed on to the vicinity of Mantua. On the thirteenth, the firft columns of the Ruffian auxiliary army, which were immediately followed by the others, arrived at Verona, and the day after, general Melas, having no longer any thing to fear for his rear, paffed the Mincio with all his army, which on that day he encamped near to Campagnola, his headquarters being at Valteggio. In this pofition he was joined by the Ruf fian army, eftimated at 23.000, but not much exceeding 20,000 fighting men, and by marthal Suwarrow, who took the chief command of the troops of the two emperors. The marihal immediately took meafures for pushing forwards, and made the neceflary arrangements for the double blockade of Mantua and Pefchiera. Between 18 and 20,000 men were allotted to that fervice, and the command given to general Kray, who haftened to invest the two fortreffes. On the fourteenth, filteenth, fixteenth, and feventeenth, Scheerer, with his army, reduced to lefs than 20,000, purfued his retrograde movements. laft of thefe days, his right paffed the Adda: his rear-guard remained on the left bank of the Rhine; his left in front of the Oglio, be hind Brefcia: his head-quarters were at the famous Lodi on the Adda. Two days afterward his head-quarters were transferred to Calao on the Oglio; and the right of the army, by an oblique movement, approached the left of that river and of Brefcia. The allied army, followed clote on the footsteps of Scheerer,

On the

Scheerer, reduced the town and citadel of Brefcia, and forced the French to abandon the Oglio. On the twentieth, general Kaim feverely beat the rear guard of the enemy's right, at Cremona, and took four hundred prifoners. In this action, the Ruffians, for the first time, were engaged with the French.

The French had fearcely fuffered a firft defeat, when the hatred felt, and the revenge referved for them broke forth with Italian heat. In a moment, the infurrection fpred itfelf on the two banks of the Po. The French, difperfed about the country, fell under the blows of thole Italians, who were a few days before fo obedient, or were obliged to take refuge in the towns in which they had garrifons. Even fome towns, and among others Mirandola, were taken from them by the armed pealants, fupported by fome light imperial troops. The fparks of this fire passed, as it were, over the heads of the French, and lighted up the Brefcian, the Bergameie, and Piedmont. The people affembled in feveral places, and where it did not burst it threatened. The fear of fecing a numerous population arriving behind him, and the impoffibility of making head at once against this and the Auftrians, contributed not a little to determine Scheerer to retire, that he might concentrate his force, fecure the fortified places of Piedmont, and receive thofe reinforcements fooner, which were on their way from France, and from Switzerland. But the reverfes, and retreat of this commander, though the former do not appear to have been owing to any thing that could be mech, if at all, blared in his conduct, and the la.ver, in his circumfuances, was

manifeftly prudent, heightened the deteftation in which he had been held in Paris: where the people, according to the natural exaggera tion of their impetuous minds, did not fcruple to fay, that, during lis adminiftration, he had intentionally prepared the ruin of the French army. A court martial was talked of. The cries of the army, and of the jacobin councils, compelled the directory to ftrip Scheerer of his command, which was given to Moreau, who was not in their favour,' and who was invested with the command on the banks of the Adda;' where the French army was reinforc ed by fome troops from Piedmont, from Genoa, and from the interior of France, which, in part, made up for the facrifices of men it had been obliged to make, in forming the garrifons of Mantua, Pefchiera, Brescia, and Pizzighetone.

The pofitions taken by the French were thefe: the left wing of the French army, commanded by Serrurier, defended the upper Adda from Lecco, on the lake of Como, to Trezzo, where it joined to the centre, where Moreau took his ftation, compofed of the divifions of generals Victor and Grenier. All the place comprized between Trezzo and Caffano was occupied by thefe two divifions. At their right, and behind Gaffano, was placed the main body of their ca valry. The bridge-head of Caifano was ftrongly entrenched, and protected by the artillery of the caitle, It was protected likewife by the canal between the Adda and Miba, lined with rideinen, and defende! by a great number of batteries railed along the banks of the river. T right of the French army, gardei by general Delans, had its prin

ipal force at Lodi and Pizzighe

tone.

On the twenty-third, the allies continued their march without impediment, and encamped on the banks of the Adda, taking their pofitions along that river, and leaving thole occupied by the French. Their head-quarters were placed at Treviglio. General Kaims' divifion held Pizzighetone in check, obferved the Lower Adda, and advance parties beyond the Po, to Placentia and Parma. One of thefe parties was fent into the latter place to carry off the Pope, whom the French were conducting into France. But the Auftrians, who were not informed of this circumftance, before it was too late, did not arrive at Parma till twenty-four hours after the unfortunate Pius the fixth, had been torn from thence.

*

The line occupied by the French on the Adda, though they were only 25,000 ftrong, was of more than fiity miles. Marthal Suwarrow, unable to turn this line, and unwilling to be impeded by it, refolved to force it on the twenty-feventh, and to make attacks, at the fame time, on its centre and left points, on which it was beft defended. In the night, between the twenty-fixth and twenty-feventh, general WucKatowich made himfelf mafter of a fying bridge, which the enemy had been negligent enough to deftroy but imperfectly. Having quickly repaired it, he marched four battalions and two fquadrons acrofs the

river, and took up a pofition at Brivio, an important point, fituated at the end of the road leading to Milan, from the lake of Como, on the centre of the allied army to reach the oppofite banks of the Adda, was not fo eafy. It was ftrongly guarded, its courfe rapid and finuous, and its banks fteep. This paflage could be effected only by a concurrence of boldness, acti vity, and good fortune. This concurrence marthal Suwarrow hoped to find and obtain in the marquis de Chafteller, his quarter-master general. The marquis having fent an officer of pontooneers, on the night of the twenty-fixth, to reconnoitre the banks of the river oppofite Trezzo; and having received a report that it was impoffible to throw over a bridge at that place, repaired to the fpot himfelf. He employed fome hundreds of the troops almoft all night, in carrying the pontoons and planks neceflary to the conftruction of a bridge, to the edge of the water. At half after five the next morning the bridge was completed. All the light troops belonging to the centre of the allied army, having made hafte to pa's the bridge, fell upon that part of the divifion which had occupied Trezzo, drove it from thence and repulfed it to Pozzo. Á battle enfued between Pozzo and Brivio, the French were driven out of the village, and fome hundreds made prifoners. General Melas threw a flying bridge, which he had in readiness, over the

Adda,