368 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period IV. 



I j 



desperate charge soon pierced the weakened line, anri the 

 Austrian army was cut asunder. One part retr oA 

 across the Mincio, while the other, attempting to jin 

 Quasdanovitch, was closely pursued by the dragoons 

 under Junot. It was checked at Salo by a French 

 detachment which had occupied the place, and being 

 pressed in rear by the pursuing cavalry, the force dis- 

 banded with a loss of 3,000 prisoners and 20 cannon. 



From this time Napoleon always, whenever possible, 

 used his horsemen "^qjorously in following up a beaten 

 and flying foe. 



We have already ^ ..rred to the operations in Egypt 

 in 1798, 1799, and 1800, and the next battle in which 

 the cavalry played an important part was that of 

 Marengo, where a single charge of French horsemen 

 turned a defeat into a glorious victory in less than ten 

 minutes, and thereby settled the fate of a whole 

 campaign. 



Napoleon, by his celebrated passage of the Alps, had 

 thrown himself upon the communications of the Austrian 

 general, who was thus obliged to fight an action upon 

 the result of which the safety of his army depended. 

 Melas, who commanded the Austrian forces, had for 

 some days after the battle of Montebello remained with 

 his army in Alessandria, a very strongly fortified town. 

 This somewhat deceived Napoleon, who feared his 

 escaping by some detour around one of the flanks of 

 his army. The French divisions were consequently dis- 

 persed at considerable intervals, when Melas, debouching 

 from Alessandria early in the morning of the 14th June, 

 1800, fell upon the advanced portion of Napoleon's army, 

 under Victor and Gardanne. 



The immensely superior forcd of the Austrians enabled 

 them, after a desperate struggle, to force back the French 

 right across the wide open plain which lay between 

 Marengo and St. Juliano. In this retrograde movement 

 a splendid opening was given for the use of the superior 

 cavalry of the Austrian army. The French, wearied 

 with the tremendous eflbrts they had made for four 

 hours to maintain their position, at length fell back 



