HISTORY OF EUROPE. [201 



attacked the post at Stockach. The 

 force that defended it, under the 

 orders of prince Joseph of Lorraine, 

 being too weak, was soon over- 

 powered, and obliged to retreat, 

 with considerable loss. The post, 

 at Engen, was commanded by ge- 

 neral Kray in person. He was at- 

 tacked, on the fourth, by Moreau, 

 who, in repeated charges, lost a 

 great number of men. Inthecourse 

 of these conflicts, a body of the 

 Austrian array, under the archduke 

 Ferdinand, in their retreat from 

 Donaueschingen, were attacked, 

 in their rear, by general Susanne's 

 division, and nearly cut off. The 

 archduke, on this occasion, display- 

 ed that personal bravery, which dis- 

 tinguishes the princes of his house. 

 By great exertions of judgement, 

 and presence of mind, as well as va- 

 lour, he was enabled to join the 

 main army. General Kray main- 

 tained his post, and prevented the 

 enemy from making any great im- 

 pression, and kept the field during 

 the night. But, at day-break, he 

 thought it prudent to commence a 

 retreat ; which he had continued to 

 the length of about fifteen miles, 

 when he was again attacked, on 

 the fifth, by the indefatigable Mo- 

 reau ; one of whose leading maxims 

 it appears to have been, to hang on 

 and harass, the enemy, at every 

 turn, and in every fortune, and to 

 give him no respite either for the 

 execution, or even the formation, 

 of new designs. Being ably assisted 

 by Lecourbe, he made some impres- 

 sion on the Austrian battalions, not- 

 jvithstanding their intrepid exer- 

 tions : but, though superior in num- 

 bers, he did not think it proper to 

 renew the combat on the following 

 day. His loss was supposed to have 

 been greater than that of general 



Kray. The loss on both sides must, 

 by all accounts, have been great. 

 Mr. Wickham, the British narrator 

 of these engagements, affirmed, in 

 his dispatches to our court, " that 

 few prisoners were made on either 

 side ;" while Moreau asserted, that, 

 in the two engagements, the French 

 made no less than about ten thou- 

 sand prisoners. The exaggeration 

 in both these accounts is obvious. 

 We have not been able, from any 

 statements we have yet received, 

 to ascertain the truth, or any thing 

 near it, on this subject. 



In this last action, denominated 

 the battle of Mosskirk, the Bava- 

 rian subsidiaries fought with such 

 spirit, as excited the praise of their 

 fellow combatants. The Swiss re- 

 giment of Roverea also particularly 

 distinguished itself. 



Mr. Wickham reported, that, in 

 the battle of Mosskirk, the French 

 were repulsed. The Austrians, how- 

 ever, on the day thereafter, sixth 

 of May, retreated across the Da- 

 nube, here a small stream, to the 

 ground between Sigmaringen and 

 ReitHngen, a distance of at least 

 fifteen miles farther. 



The Austrians, in their retreat 

 from Mosskirk, were pui-sued by a 

 division of the French, under gene- 

 ral Ney, who took fifteen hundred 

 prisoners. A very serious engage- 

 ment was the consequence of an 

 opportunity afforded to the French 

 of attacking the Austrian advanced 

 posts, on the ninth of May, at Bi- 

 berach. The result of this battle 

 was, that the Austrians were forced 

 to retreat with the loss of above 

 one thousand killed on the spot, and 

 above two thousand prisoners. Ano- 

 ther bloody engagement took place, 

 on the eleventh, near Memmingen. 

 On the termiaatiuu of this battle. 



