468 



State of Public Affairs in November ^ 1805. [Dec. 1, 



were piefent, belJde* the General in Chief, 

 Mack, eight Generals, and feven Lieu- 

 tenant Generals. 



Thus ended the firft part of the cam- 

 paign in Germany. On the a4.ih of Sep- 

 tember Bonaparte had not left his capital, 

 and on the zotii of 06lober, a period of 

 only twenty-fix days, he could boaft of 

 having taken 6o,ooo prifoners and up- 

 wards, with comparatively but a fmall 

 lol's of men and other refources. In his 

 aiidieTs to his foldiers he fays, " I had 

 announced to you a great battle ; but, 

 thinks to the iil-contrived plans of the 

 enemy, I have been able to obtain the 

 gieateft fuccefles without running any 

 rifk ; and what is -jnexampled in the liif- 

 tory of nations, fo great a refult has not 

 weakened us above 1500 men. 



The campaign in Italy, up to our laft 

 accounts (N>,v. 13), though not of fo 

 difaftrous a nature as that of Germany, 

 has been unfortunate to the caul'e of the 

 allied poweis. On the i8tU of October, 

 at four o'clock in the morning, General 

 Maflsna attacked the bridge of the Old 

 Caftle of Verona, and pa/led the Adife : 

 he had afTembled his army at Ztvis and 

 its environs, (o as to be able to repair to 

 any quarter that circumftances fhould de- 

 mand. The wall which blocked up the 

 bridge in the middle was battered down, 

 and though the paffage was obftinaiely 

 defended by the Aultrians, they were 

 finally beaten cfF with great (laughter, 

 and with thtlofs of feveral pieces of can- 

 non, and many men. This aftion was 

 fucceeded by others not more propitious 

 to tiie caule of the allies. The French 

 account of the battle on the 30th of Odo- 

 ber, though perhaps not implicitly (o be 

 relied on, we Ihall give in their own 

 words. 



Head-J)iiarters at Vago, 0£l, 30. 



•• After the adtio.T of the agth, the army 

 took a pofition two miles on this fide of Cal- 

 diero. On the 30th it attacked the enemy 

 the whole length of their line. The divifion 

 of Moltier, forming the left, began the 

 aftion j that of General Girdanne attacked 

 the centre, and that of General Duhefme the 

 right. Thefe dift'erept attacks were well 

 executed, and happily conduced. The vil- 

 lage of Caldiero was carried amidft cries of 

 * Long live the Emperor,' and the enemy 

 was purfued to the very heights. 



" At half paft four Prince Charles ordered 

 his referve, confiding of twenty-four batta- 

 lions of grenadiers and feveral regiments, to 

 advance. The battle then became more ge- 

 neral. The troops of his Majefty difplayed 

 their ufual bravery. The cavalry made fe- 

 Teral f»iccefsful charges j feme batulions of 



grenadiers engaged at the fame time, and the 

 bayonet decided the fate of tiie day. The 

 enemy kept up a fire from tliiity pieces of 

 cannon planted in their entrenchments. Not- 

 vvithftanding the obftiHacy of their refiftance, 

 they were beaten and purfued to the very 

 redoubts at the other fide of Caldiero. 



" We have taken 3500 prifoners ; the 

 field of battle was ftrewed with Auftrians ; 

 their lofs in killed and wounded was at leall 

 equal to the number that were taken pri- 

 foners. Prince Charles requcfied a truce to 

 bury the dead." 



On the 3d of November, Montebello, 

 another Auftrian citadel, furrendered by 

 capitulation to the French arms under 

 General Solignac. 



The Emperor of Germany could not 

 but be fenfibly affecled at fo much afflift- 

 ing intelligeHce. His mind, however, did 

 not bead under the weight of cahmity. 

 Though deprefled by the misfortunes 

 which attended his armies, he does not 

 feem to del'pair of the gcodnefs of his 

 caufe, nor of the means which he pof- 

 felfes to render it finally viftorious : as is 

 evident from the excellent State Paper, 

 which he caufed to be circulated through- 

 out Europe. 

 P ICC lama lien of the 'Eynferor cf Auftria, Francis 



II. EU^Hue Emperor of the Romans, Here- 

 ditary Emperor oj Auftria^ &c. 



" The Emperor of France has compelled 

 me to take up arms. 



*' To his ardent defire of military achieve- 

 ments—his paffion to be recorded in hiftory 

 under the title of a conqueror— the limits of 

 France, already fo much enlarged, and de- 

 fined by facred treaties, ftill appear too narrow. 

 —He wiflies to unite in his own hands all 

 the ties upon which depends the balance of 

 Europe. The faireft fruits of exalted civiliz- 

 ation, every fpecies of happinefs which a 

 nation can enjoy, and which refults from 

 peace and concord ; every thing which, even 

 by himfelf, as the fovereign of a great ci- 

 vilized people, muft be held dear and inefti- 

 mable, is to be deftroyed by a war of con- 

 queft; and thus the greater part of Europe 

 is to be compelled to fubmitto the laws and 

 mandates of France. 



" This projeft announces all that the Em- 

 peror of France has performed, threatened, 

 or promifed. He refpedls no propofition 

 which reminds him of the regard prefcribed 

 by the law of nations, to the facrednefs of 

 treaties, and of the firft obligations v/hich 

 are due towards the foreign independent ftatcs. 

 At the very time that he knew of the me- 

 diation of Ruflia, and of every ftep which, 

 direfted equally by a regard to my own tiig- ■ 

 nity, and to the feeling of my heart, I 

 adopted, for the re-eftabli(hment of tranquil- 

 lity, the fecurity of my ftates, and the pro- 



mocioa of a geacial pe^cei bli visws were 



fully 



