HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



153 



parte, "•you arc no longer a power." 

 Spyer^l of the other Austrian gene- 

 rfils are represented to have ex[)rcss. 

 ed their dislike to the ^var, a id to 

 see a Russian arir.y admitted into 

 the heart of their country. The 

 French emperor treated these oi'.i- 

 cers with civility, and, by way of 

 consolation, observed to them, " that 

 the clianccs of ^rar were various, and 

 that the conquerors might be con- 

 quered in their turn." 



There is no instance to be found 

 in history- of such important suc- 

 cesses having been obtained in so 

 short a space of time, and that over 

 a numerous army composed of some 

 of the best troops in the v>orld. 

 But the errors committed, in the 

 lirst place, by the cabinet of V'ienna, 

 and, in the second, by the Austrian 

 general to whom this army was coii- 

 lided, merit severe nnimadversion. 

 It may be asked, what could have 

 induced the Austrians to take so 

 advanced a position, while the Rus- 

 sian army, by wliich they expected 

 to be supported, were still at so 

 great a distance ? But having done 

 so, perhaps, under the idea that the 

 French were not prepared to act 

 •with such astonishing promptitude, 

 why should they continue in that po- 

 sition after they were informed of 

 the French army b;iing in full march, 

 and of the route which it h:;d taken, 

 instead of falling; b-ick ii [jon their 

 reinforcements ? — or, if there were 

 objections to that nieasure, why not 

 attack, with a collected force, the 

 several divisions of the PVench 

 army, with which they came into 

 contact before they could concen- 

 trate themselves ? — or, having neg- 

 lected that opportunity, why not 

 endeavour, with the whole strength 

 of their army, to force their way 

 back to the Inn ? But, instead of 



making any such effort, Mack se- 

 parated his army into several divi- 

 sions, which he suffered to be suc- 

 cessively overpowered an^ defeated, 

 with little Joss to his adversaries. 

 Thus, by gross misconduct, tlie 

 main Austrian army in Germany 

 was, as it were, annihilated. 



On the other liaud, Bonaparte, 

 as a rt'uard to his troops for tlieir 

 very great exertions, and with a 

 view to animate them to further en- 

 tcrprizes, judiciously decreed, on 

 the day after the surrender of Ulm, 

 that the month Vendemiaire, year 

 14, should be reckoned as a cam_ 

 paign to all the individuals comjios. 

 ing the French grand iwmy in Ger- 

 many, and be so charged to the 

 state in the computation of pay and 

 military services ; and likewise that 

 the war contributions, as well as 

 such as should be levied in Suabia, 

 and likewise all magazines taken 

 from the enemy, should belong to 

 the army, with the exception of the 

 artillery and provisions. At the 

 same time Bonaparte issued an ad- 

 dress to his soldiers, exulting in their 

 having performed a campaign in fif- 

 teen days, and chased the Austrians 

 from the territory of his ally, the 

 elector of Bavaria. He observes, 

 that of an hundred thousand, oT 

 which the Austrian army consisted, 

 sixty thousand Were prisoners, wlio 

 would rejjlace the French conscripts 

 in the labour of the field. But, 

 says he, '• we shall not stop here ; 

 you are impatient to commence a 

 second campaign, and we shall make 

 (he Russians undergo the same fate. 

 Then shall be decided the question, 

 Avhich indeed has been already prov- 

 ed ill Switzerland and Holland, whe- 

 ther the French infantry were the 

 first or second in Kuro])e, But as 

 there were uo generals amongst 



them 



