GENERAL HISTORY. 



[127 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Armistice prolonged. — Congress at Prague. — Hostilities renimed. — 

 Austrian Declaration of War against France.— Crown- Prince of Swe- 

 den at the Head of the combined Army of the North of Germany. — 

 Advances to Berlin. — Interview of the Sovereigns at Prague — 'Iheir 

 Plans. — Action between Blucher and the French on the Bober.— French 

 driven back to Dresden. — Attack of the Allies on that City. — Their 

 retreat into Bohemia. — Defeat of Vandamme. — Blucher s Defeat of 

 Macdojiald. — Silesia freed from the Enemy. — Crown-Prince's Ad- 

 vance. — Victory at Juterboch. — Davoust's Retreat from Mecklenburg. 

 — Actions in Bohemia. — Allies assemble around Leipzic. — Cassel taken 

 and retaken. — Bremen recovered. — Napoleon quits Dresden. — Alliance 

 between Austria and Bavaria. — Blucher's Victory near Leipzic. — 

 Grand Attack upon Leipzic and its Capture. — Retreat of the French 

 Army. — Action with General Wrede at Hanau. — Napoleon arrives 

 with his Army at Mentz. 



DURING the armistice Napo- 

 leon took up his residence 

 chiefly at Dresden, where he em- 

 ployed himself in reviewing the 

 reinforcements of troops that were 

 frequently arriving from France, 

 and in occasional visits to the for- 

 tified places in the vicinity, which 

 were diligently strengthened, and 

 put in the best possible state of 

 defence. Negociations proceeded 

 but slowly, and a convention was 

 signed at Neumarkt for the pro- 

 longation of the armistice to the 

 10th of August. The members of 

 the proposed congress assembled at 

 Prague, who were, on the part of 

 the French emperor, the count 

 de Narbonne and Caulincourt ; 

 of the emperor of Russia, the 

 privy- councillor D'Anstett; of the 

 king of Prussia, baron Humbolt; 

 of the emperor of Austria, the 

 count Metternich. Meantime all 



Germany resounded with prepara- 

 tions for the renewal of war. The 

 king of Prussia published a de- 

 cree for a levy en-masse in his do- 

 minions, for its internal defence, 

 whilst its regular army should be 

 employed in concert with that of 

 the other allies. But it was to 

 Austria that the public attention 

 was chiefly directed, where the 

 great augmentation of the forces, 

 and the warlike measures of diffe- 

 rent kinds, announced designs of 

 higher purpose than merely main- 

 taining a posture of neutrality. 

 Towards the end of July the troops 

 of the line quitted Vienna, and the 

 burgher guard performed duty in 

 the city and suburbs. Levies were 

 carried on through all the heredi- 

 tary dominions ; the arsenals were 

 filled with artillery and ammuni- 

 tion, and an extensive enrolment 

 or insurrection was organized in 



