WAGRAM WAHABEES. 



857 



The archduke Charles, on the left bank of the Da- 

 nube, was in a less fortunate situation. His loss, 

 also, had been severe ; and his army consisted, in a 

 great measure, of raw troops hastily levied. Napo- 

 leon remained in Vienna, and prepared every thing 

 for a decisive struggle, whilst his antagonist ap- 

 peared to stand merely on the defensive ; at least 

 nothing was done by him to disturb the French in 

 their preparations on the islands of the Danube. 

 .Heavy ordnance was carried from the arsenals of 

 Vienna to the well-constructed works on these 

 islands. Materials for bridges were provided, and 

 every precaution taken to prevent a second failure 

 in the attempt to pass the river. The position of 

 the antagonists permitted the most accurate know- 

 ledge of all the movements of both armies. July 

 1, Napoleon concentrated his forces, and fixed his 

 head-quarters at Lobau. Presburg had been oc- 

 cupied by Davoust a few days previously. Van- 

 damme guarded the Danube as far as Lintz. The 

 whole number of the French forces has been esti- 

 mated at 180,000; and if this number is overrated, 

 it is certain that the Austrian force was not half as 

 great. From July 2, the French attempted, at 

 several points on the islands, to establish a secure 

 communication with the opposite bank, without 

 being prevented by the fire of the Austrians ; and 

 on July 4, Napoleon concentrated the greatest part 

 of his troops on the island of Lobau. At ten 

 o'clock in the evening, the first troops, in small 

 numbers, passed in boats over the Danube, and 

 established themselves on the left bank, during a 

 tremendous storm, and supported by a warm fire 

 from all the batteries, directed against Enzersdorf 

 and the Austrian redoubts erected on those spots 

 where a landing was expected. Enzersdorf was in 

 flumes, arid shed a brilliant light on the Danube. 

 With great skill and promptness, excellent bridges 

 were thrown over the river, and as early as two 

 o'clock, the whole army had reached the left bank. 

 It seems to have been in consequence of a settled 

 plan, that Charles did not endeavour to prevent the 

 passage of Napoleon, and that the Austrians im- 

 mediately made a retrograde movement. On the 

 morning of the 5th, the French army extended it- 

 self in the Marchfield (a plain many leagues in 

 length, on the left bank of the Danube, and con- 

 taining the town of Wagram). A numerous artil- 

 lery along the whole French line played incessantly. 

 The Austrians were slowly forced back during the 

 day. In point of fact, the archduke Charles had at 

 this time but three divisions to oppose to the 

 French forces. It was not till towards night that 

 his other forces could be brought into action. It 

 is impossible for us to give the details of the battle, 

 or to describe the repeated assaults on Wagram by 

 the Saxons. The French army bivouacked on some 

 places very near the enemy. Some have believed 

 that the retreat of Charles, on July 5, was in order 

 to place the French troops between his forces and 

 those which were approaching, under the archduke 

 John, from Hungary. But the army of the arch- 

 duke John was much too weak to produce a deci- 

 sive effect, and, moreover, would have been op- 

 posed by the disposable French divisions, and the 

 10,000 Bavarians under Wrede. Early in the 

 morning of July 6, the extreme left wing of the 

 French, under Bernadotte and Massena, was ex- 

 tended to Hirschstatten ; the centre, comprising 

 the guards and the Italian army, was at Raschdorf ; 

 to the right were Marmont and Oudinot ; and Da- 

 voust was on the extreme right. The archduke 



Charles now projected an attack, en echelon, from 

 his right, against the French left. Thus it was 

 hoped that the Austrian army might relieve itself 

 from the extreme pressure upon its left wing. AT, 

 first, this attack was successful : the French were 

 forced back as far as Enzersdorf. The Austrian* 

 centre was not so fortunate : it could not advance 

 equally with the right wing, and thus a dangerous 

 extension of the Austrian forces took place. Na- 

 poleon knew how to keep them in this situation, 

 and thus to obstruct their further attacks ; and 

 soon after, having turned the Austrian left wing, 

 he began to act on the offensive, and endeavoured 

 to decide the battle by destroying the enemy's 

 centre. Massena attacked Aderklaa most violent- 

 ly; and, had he succeeded, all would have been 

 lost ; but the Austrians fought with great bravery 

 against the cavalry, artillery and guards, and re- 

 peated attacks were repulsed. Had the archduke 

 John arrived at this time on the left wing, as he 

 was ordered to do, a favourable result might have 

 been obtained ; but he did not come up, and the 

 French troops spread far to the right. Upon the 

 third attack, they occupied the height of Markgra- 

 fen-Neusiedel, and the Austrian right wing was 

 deprived of the advantages which it had gained. 

 The Austrians retreated. The archduke John, it 

 is said, was detained near Presburg in collecting 

 his corps. It was not until late in the evening, 

 that he heard from the field of battle that every 

 thing was decided. To save his own troops, he 

 again retreated from the Marchfield. Both armies 

 had displayed great valour. The loss of the Aus- 

 trians may have amounted to 27,000 men killed 

 and wounded (they had taken, however, 7000 

 prisoners, twelve eagles and colours, and eleven 

 cannons). The loss of the French cannot be 

 reckoned at less. On the 7th, 9th and 10th, the 

 archduke retreated, constantly fighting, to the 

 heights of Znaym, where Marmont and Massena 

 reached him. On the llth, a battle was fought, 

 which, however, was interrupted by the armistice 

 offered by Austria, and concluded, July 12, at 

 Znaym, after which the negotiations for peace com- 

 menced. For information respecting the whole 

 campaign, see general Pelet's (aid-de-camp of Mas- 

 sena) Memoire sur la Guerre de 1809, en Allemagne, 

 avec les Operations particulieres des Corps d' Italic, 

 de Pologne, de Saxe, de Naples, et de Walcheren 

 (Paris, 1825, seq., 4 vols., with an atlas). 



WAGTAIL (motacilla) ; small birds which seem 

 to be peculiar to Europe. They differ from the 

 warblers only in their longer legs, more slender 

 form, and longer tail. They never perch on trees 

 or shrubs, but frequent the margins of ponds and 

 water-courses, and are continually elevating and 

 depressing the tail ; hence the name. The common 

 European wagtail (M. alba) is a familiar bird, 

 which seems to seek the society of man and domes- 

 tic animals, and is even seen frequently to rest upon 

 the backs of cattle while they are grazing. The 

 vicinity of mills is observed to be its favourite re- 

 sort. The plumage is a mixture of black, white 

 and gray. 



WAHABEES, WAHABITES, ou WECHA- 

 BITES, is the name of several Arab tribes, who 

 profess the religious faith which Sheik Mohammed, 

 son of Abdel Wahab, taught in the middle of the 

 eighteenth century, and, like the founder of the re- 

 ligion of the Koran, sought to propagate by art and 

 courage. Sheik Mohammed, belonging to the great 

 tribe of the Tamini (born in 1729, in the town of 



