210 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



ary and destructive, and harder 

 fought, even by considerable odds, 

 than that of Prussian Eylau, in 

 1807.* The battle of the 2 1st 

 was terminated only by the dark- 

 ness of the night. The French 

 had by this time been driven from 

 Aspern. They still retained pos- 

 session of Essling : but the general 

 position of their army was nearer 

 the Danube than it was at the 

 commencement of the engage- 

 ment. The morning of the 22nd 

 saw Aspern again in possession of 

 the French ; but by repeated at- 

 tacks, after repeated repulses, 

 the French were driven from 

 both Aspern and Essling. In the 

 night between the 22nd and 23rd 

 they effected their retreat from 

 the left bank of the Danube, and 

 took up a position in the island of 

 Lobau. In these two battles, obsti- 

 nate and bloody, hitherto perhaps 

 beyond exapiple in military annals, 

 the intrepidity and perseverance 

 of the soldiers, as well as the cool 

 courage and presence of mind of 

 the generals and other ofEcers, on 

 both sides, was astonishing. Both 

 the archduke and Buonaparte ex- 

 posed their persons wherever cir- 

 cumstances called for their pre- 

 sence. The archduke being en- 

 treated not to endanger himself 

 by exposing so very much his own 

 person, replied, " I am determined 



to terminate this contest, or to die 

 in the streets of Vienna." The 

 hostile parties combatted each 

 other with bayonets and sabres, 

 as had been done in Saragossa, in 

 every street of Aspern, in every 

 barn and every house, and even 

 amidst the flames of Essling. The 

 loss on both sides was very great ; 

 but few prisoners were taken by 

 either party, both being deter- 

 mined to conquer or die. The 

 prisoners taken by the Austrians 

 did not exceed 2,S00. The loss 

 of the French was immense : it 

 amounted in killed, wounded, and 

 prisoners, according to a compu- 

 tation founded on the most pro- 

 bable data, to not less than 30,000 

 men. Five of their generals were 

 killed, eight wounded, and two 

 taken. The loss of the Austrians 

 was also very great : eighty-sevea 

 officers of rank and above 4,000 

 subalterns and privates killed, 

 from 2 to 3,000 officers and pri- 

 vates wounded, and 830 officers 

 and privates taken by the French. 

 Many hundreds of dead bodies 

 were floated down and thrown up 

 on the shores of the Danube. A 

 long time was necessary to the 

 burying of the slain on the field 

 of battle; "and (in the picturesque 

 style of the Austrian Gazette) a 

 pestilential air was wafted down 

 the theatre of death." 



• See Vol. XLIX (1807). Hist, Euu. p. 11. 



CHAR 



