HISTORY OF EUROPE. [185 



was to attack the detachment at 

 Campani, and proceed, thereafter, 

 to Voltri, in order to cut off the 

 retreat of the French column that 

 marched on the coast, along side of 

 the Marine, and which was headed 

 by general Massena in person. 



General Melas leaving, under 

 the orders of general Elnitz, a suf- 

 ficient force for keeping gf.'neral 

 Suchet in check, marched against 

 general Massena with three bodies 

 of his army. The division on the 

 right consisted of the brigades of 

 Bussy, Latterraan,and Sticher,com- 

 manded by the count de Palfy. The 

 centre was composed of the bri- 

 gades of Bellegarde, and Beautano, 

 commanded by general Bellegarde. 

 The left division was under the or- 

 ders of general St. Julian ; and of 

 which, the eight thousand men 

 above mentioned formed a part. 



To disconcert and overthrow 

 this project, general Gazau took a 

 position, on the road which leads 

 from Verneria to Pouzonne ; and 

 general Poinsot received orders to 

 attack, on the heights of Sasello, 

 the enemy's rear-guard, which 

 was bearing on Verneria. 



General Poinsot executed this 

 movement with so much impetuo- 

 sity, that he cut off a part of the 

 regiment of Deutchmeister, took 

 three pieces of cannon, and carried 

 the town of Sasello ; where he also 

 took two hundred thousand car- 

 tridges, and six hundred prisoners. 

 The success of this attack was aided 

 by that of another made by general 

 Godinat, cliief of brigade, on Costa- 

 la-Longa. The great difficulty of 

 making war in a mountainous 

 country, consists in that of concert- 

 ing movements, and forming any 

 harmonious system of action. 



Massena, who could not be in- 



formed of the obstacles which una- 

 voidably retarded the march of ge- 

 neral Soult, on Monte Notte, ne- 

 vertheless completed his own, with 

 the division under general Gar- 

 danne. This column, setting out 

 from Varraggio, about eight o'clock 

 in the morning directed its march 

 to I/a Stella. About midway, be- 

 tween these two places, this column, 

 composed of no more than twelve 

 hundred men, fell in with that of 

 the Austrians, near ten thousand 

 strong, who were marching on the 

 same point. The firing commen- 

 ced on the part of the Austrians. 

 The French took a position in 

 which they were enabled to repel 

 reiterated attacks. Their certainty 

 of being seconded and supported 

 by general Soult, whom they ex- 

 pected every moment to turn the 

 Austrian rear, supported their car- 

 nage under so great an odds of 

 numbers. General Gardanne in 

 this conflict was wounded ; and the 

 small French column, in danger of 

 being surrounded by the Austrians, 

 made a speedy retreat in the night, 

 directing their flight to the corps 

 under general Soult : but the junc- 

 tion between these two French 

 corps was not so easy a matter as 

 general Massena had imagined. 

 The Austrians followed them close, 

 and annoyed them severely in all 

 their movements. 



In the mean time general Soult 

 had gained some successive advan- 

 tages, and the small body, which 

 followed Massena on the coast, com- 

 manded by general Fressinet, effect- 

 ed a junction with general Soult on 

 the mountain of St. Hermitte, not 

 without considerable loss on the 

 side of both the Austrians and the 

 French. The Austrians lost seve- 

 ral officers of rank, and, it was said. 



