HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



75 



courage and circumspection, be 

 directed his march to a strong hold; 

 which having secured, he next ad- 

 vanced to the foot of Mount Cenis, 

 This formidable mountain was 

 covered' with redoubts and bat- 

 teries that' did great executian on 

 his best troops, as he led them to 

 the assault. But, after a vigorous 

 defence, they were all taken by 

 storm, and the Sardinians driven 

 from their position. Wnile this 

 was a doing, another division of the 

 French army came upon them, by 

 a circuitous march across precipices 

 that were not thought passable. 

 This sudden appearance of an ad- 

 ditional and unexpected enemy, .so 

 discourai^ed the Sardinian trt-o'js, 

 that thv-y immediacely reireated ; 

 leaving behind them all their can- 

 non and warlike stores, and a 

 great number of prisoners and of 

 slain. 

 ' This was a victory of the highest 

 I importance to the French, it not 

 I only enabled them to subjugate a 

 considerable extent of this nioun- 

 tainous country, but it struck such 

 a damp on their enemies, that it 

 was with the utraosi precaution they 

 I ventured to encounter them on 

 open ground, and were continually 

 throwing up intrenchmenls in 

 \ every place where they expected 

 thera in considerable force. A va- 

 I rjety of partial eiTgagements and 

 I skirn ishes occupied the remain- 

 der of the summrr, till the middle 

 ; of September; when the Sardinians 

 came to a more serious action with 

 ' the Frencu : by whom, after ma n- 

 taininga regular conte.st, they were 

 ' at length defeated with a great loss, 

 I Tbey still however continued to 

 i dispute their ground witii so much 

 j judgment and vigour, that the 

 Flench, notwithstanding their ac- 



tivity, received several checks, 

 and were not able to make 

 farther progress in those parts. 



In order to retrieve the disasters 

 of this camjjaign, and to terminate 

 it more auspiciously than it had 

 begun, the court of Turin con- 

 certed a plan with the Austrian 

 commanders, the obj' ct of whicU 

 was, to attack in great force the 

 various posts occupied by the 

 French to the north of (he Ge- 

 noese territory ; and by means of 

 which they were enabled to make 

 incursions far into the Sardinian 

 districts. Whether the French dis- 

 covered this project, or had formed 

 another to a sim lar purpose against 

 their enemies, they counteracted it 

 so effectually, that before it could 

 be ready for execution, the Sardi- 

 nians and Ausirians were assailed 

 in all their posts, defeated in the 

 completest manner, and co.mpelled 

 to retreat with the utmost precipi- 

 tation, as far as the strong town of 

 Alexandria ; to the gates of whicll 

 they were pursued. 



This great defeat, which hap- 

 pened in the latter part of Sep- 

 tember, closed all the material ope- 

 rations of the campaign. After 

 rallvmg their scattered forces, the 

 yardinians and Austrians remained 

 wholly on the defensive ; and by 

 chusi;ig advantageous positions, so 

 far recovered the credit of their 

 arms, as to prevent th.e French 

 fiom advancing further into Pied- 

 mont, and even to worst them in 

 some encounters. Eut these were 

 not of a nature to raise any ap- 

 prehensions in the French that 

 tiiey should suffer a reverse of for- 

 tune. They seemed indeed to 

 others, as m ell as >hen!selves, so 

 firmly settled in Italy, that the va- 

 rious Princes and states of this 



country 



