HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



5i 



•f vigilance or of skill. They neg 

 lected of course no means of fa- 

 cing him successfulh^ ; and were as 

 circumspect in their ojyeratlons with 

 him, as with any General in the 

 confederacy. 



They acted on the present occa- 

 sion with a precaution that sliewed 

 how much they stood in awe of 

 his valour and experience. They 

 waited at Aix la Ctiapellc till they 

 had collected such a strength as 

 would justify the bold attempt they 

 had projected, which was, by a de- 

 cisive action, to render themselves 

 masters of all those parts that lay 

 between the iMeusc and the Lower 

 Rhine, and to force the Aiistrians 

 to retire wholly on the other side 

 of that river. 



General Clairfait clearly com- 

 prehended their desing, and made 

 suitable arrangements to oppose it. 

 The importance of the event was 

 equal to both parties ; and they 

 were alike determined to dispute 

 the point with the utmost ob-Jti- 

 nacy. Tlie French commrnced 

 their attack on the 2[)th of Sep- 

 tember. It extended along the 

 whole chain of Austrian posts. 

 T!iey first made good their passage 

 over a river in their front, and as- 

 sailed the Austrian lines with the 

 utmost fury. Tlie resistance they 

 met with was of the bravest a:id 

 most skilful kimi ; and they soo.i 

 found that, in case of iuccess, tliey 

 must purcliHseit at the dearest rate. 

 The conflict lasted witli various suc- 

 cess, on the lirst and sce<ind day; 

 and the dispositions made by Ge- 

 Eeral Clairfait were so judicious, 

 tliat, notwithstanding the disparity 

 of strength, it remained doubtful 

 to some of tlie riCi-,ca commanders 

 whellicr ihey would not linaily be 



obliged to abandon the attempt ; 

 so resolute in the mean time were 

 the combatants, that after lighting' 

 the 29th and 30th of September, 

 without comang to a decision, they 

 r:«comrnenced the action on the 1st 

 of October, and continued it until 

 the Sd. The slaughter on both 

 sidco was dreadful, and nearlyequal. 

 But superiority of numbers and 

 perseverance gave the victory to 

 the French. The principal dif- 

 iicuky tiiey had to overcome, was, 

 a lofty mountain well fortiiied, and 

 covered with batteries of h«a'.-' 

 metal. It was assaulted four times 

 by the most intrepid of the Froiiclt 

 troops, before it was carried. On 

 the morning of the 5th day of this 

 destructive battle a fog arose, which 

 enabled General Clairfdit to con- 

 ceal tiie motions he v/as now under 

 the necessity of making to secure 

 a retreat. Upwards of ten thou- 

 sand of his men liad fallen ; and 

 tiie remainder of iiis army was u)i- 

 equal to any further contest. He 

 was followed hov/cver so closely by 

 the victors, that nolesstiian three 

 thousand mare were added to tlie 

 slaiitrhter of tins day. 



This was truly a decisive battle : 

 it was considered in that light by 

 all parties ; and all hopes of repair- 

 ing for a long time the losses ot tiiis 

 campaign, vicre now extinguished. 

 It app?ared even more decisive than 

 the baLlle of Fleurus that had be- 

 gun (but not completed) the ruin 

 of tiie Austrian arm.ies in the I^ow 

 Cjuntrie;-,' from whence thev v/ere 

 now totally expelled, without any 

 prospect of return. 



It was however- allowed, that 



this last conflict was maintained 



wiih a skill and r.-solution that 



did honour to bot!\ ]>arties. They 



ii S fought 



