206 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



In the mean time the positions 

 of the French and their allies, or 

 vassals, were these. There was 

 a corps of French under Davoust, 

 at Ratisbon ; another under Mas- 

 sena, at Uim ; and a third under 

 generalOudinot,at Augsburgh; the 

 head quarters were at Strasburg. 

 Three divisions of Bavarians were 

 posted, the first under marshal 

 Le Febre, at Munich ; the second 

 under general De Roy, at Lands- 

 hut ; and the third under general 

 Wrede at Straubing. There was 

 a division of Wirtemburghers at 

 Hydenheim. The Saxon troops 

 were encamped under the walls of 

 Dresden. And the corps of the 

 duchy of Warsaw were en- 

 camped under the walls of that 

 city, and commanded by prince 

 Poniatowsk)'. 



The main Austrian army passed 

 the Inn on the ninth of April ; and, 

 on the tenth the Iser at Munich, 

 driving the French and Bavarians 

 before them to and from Lands- 

 hut. Corps arriving by the way 

 of Pilsen from Bohemia drove the 

 French garrison left by Davoust 

 from Ratisbon, and secured to the 

 Austrians that important passage 

 of the Danube, which it was neces- 

 sary to preserve until the arrival 

 of the array under Bellegarde, 

 which covered the frontier of Bo- 

 hemia towards Saxony and Fran- 

 conia. For this purpose it was 

 necessary to cover the post at Ra- 

 tisbon from the armies of France 

 that had begun to advance rapidly 

 along the course of the Danube, 

 and at the same time not to ad- 

 vance a step farther than was ab- 

 solutely necessary for securing 

 that object. It was with a view 

 to this that the archduke extend- 

 ed his front from Landshut on 



the Iser as far as the town of 

 Abensberg, near which his right 

 wing rested on the Danube. This 

 right wing was advanced, about 

 fifteen English miles beyond, that 

 is, farther up the Danube than 

 Ratisbon, on which it had a safe 

 retreat, being flanked all along by 

 the Danube. The extent of the 

 whole Austrian line, from the Iser 

 at Landshut to the Danube at 

 Newstadt, was about twenty-eight 

 English miles. A little in the 

 rear of Abensberg there was a 

 body of reserve at Eckmull. 



Buonaparte having learned by 

 the telegraph, late in the evening 

 of the 12th of April, that the Aus- 

 trians had passed the Inn, set 

 out early in the morning of the 

 13th from Paris. At Dillingen 

 on the 16th he had an interview 

 with the old elector of Bavaria, 

 when he promised in the space of 

 fifteen days to restore him to his 

 capital, to revenge the affront 

 that had been given to his family, 

 and to make him a greater sove- 

 reign prince than any of his an- 

 cestors had been. On the 17th 

 he arrived at Donauwerth, where 

 he established his head quarters. 

 Here, on the same day, he issued 

 to his army the following procla- 

 mation : " Soldiers, the territory 

 of the Confederation of the Rhine 

 has been violated. The Austrian 

 general wishes uS; on the sight of 

 his arms, to fly and abandon our 

 allies. I come to you with the 

 speed of lightning. Soldiers, I 

 was in the midst of you when the 

 sovereign of Austria came to my 

 bivouac (wake) in Moravia. You 

 heard him imploring my cle- 

 mency, and promising me etemnl 

 friendship. Austria, vanquished in 

 three wars, owes every thing to 



our 



