190] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



C H A P. XII. 



j4rmif of Reserve. — Plan of Buonaparte for retrieving the French Affairs 



in Italy. — He Marches his Armj/ across the Alps Takes Possession 



of Milan. — Decisive Battle of Marengo. 



HAD any disaster happened to 

 theannyof Moreau, on open- 

 ing the campaign, Buonaparte might 

 have been induced to balance the 

 necessity of sending relief to the 

 army of Italy, with that of sending 

 succours to Germany. The splen- 

 did successes of Moreau left him 

 at liberty to do that to which he 

 was most inclined : to send the army 

 of reserve into Italy. This army 

 was ordered to Geneva, through 

 the Pais de Vaud, and the lower 

 Valais to Martigny, a village six 

 leaguesfrom the Great St. Bernard, 

 where the first consul, leaving Paris 

 on the sixth of May, joined it, and 

 made a stay of three days, during 

 which preparations were made for 

 the ascent of the mountain. 



The first consul had determined 

 upon the measure of marching an 

 army to Italy with the utmost ex- 

 pedition, on account of the situa- 

 tion in which Massena was then 

 placed ; who was shut up in Genoa, 

 and reduced to great straights, by 

 general Melas. In this extremity, 

 Buonaparte had resolved to sur- 

 mount every difficulty in the passage 

 of the Alps, in order to attack the 

 rear of the Austrian army. 



Fortunately, about this time, ge- 

 neral Dessaix had arrived at Paris 

 from Egypt ; and, as the first con- 



sul was well acquainted with the 

 skill and abilities of that officer, he 

 was glad of his assistance in this 

 enterprize. 



The principal part of the army 

 was intended to pass by Mount St. 

 Bernard ; other divisions were in- 

 tended to cross by Mount Cenis,thc 

 Simplon, and Mount St. Gothard. 



On the fifteenth of May, Buona- 

 parte passed St. Bernard, and at 

 Remi, distant six leagues from the 

 monastery, first saw the Austrians, 

 who, though inferior in numbers, 

 disputed the ground step by step 

 with the republicans, until they 

 saw another part of the army de- 

 scending, as if with intent to attack 

 them in the rear. 



No part of the artillery of this 

 army had at that time crossed the 

 mountains. It had been collected 

 at the village of St. Pierre, and it 

 may be supposed it was a work of 

 no small difficulty to transport it 

 across the Alps. It was, however, es- 

 sentially necessary that such a trans- 

 port should be made, and the fol- 

 lowing means were used to effect it : 



Every piece of cannon was dis- 

 mounted, and placed in troughs 

 hollowed out of trees cut down for 

 the purpose. Tliese were drawn 

 by five or six hundred men, ac- 

 to the 



cording 



size and weight of 



