83d' FRA 
who made the camageshalt, and advancing to the firft 
of them, containing Jean Debry, demanded his name. He 
told them, and added that he was a French minifter re¬ 
turning to France. On receiving this anfwer, they im¬ 
mediately tore him from his carriage, wounded him in 
.feveral places with their fabres, and call him into a ditch, 
on the itippofition that he was killed. They treated in 
the fame manner the two other ambalTadors, Bonnier and 
Roberjot,. whom they murdered upon the fpot. They 
offered no violence, however, to the reft of the company, 
who were allowed to return to Raftadt; but they robbed 
the carriages of whatever effeCts they contained ; and the 
papers of the ambaffadoxs were conveyed to the Auftrian 
commander. After the departure of the foldiers, and the 
return of the carriage's to Raftadt, Jean Debry wandered 
about the woods all night, bleeding at every wound, and 
got back to Raftadt on the following day. Fie claimed 
the papers belonging to the legation from the Auftrian 
commander, but they were refufed. 
During the whole of the long period that the congrefs 
had fat, Raftadt and its vicinity had been occupied by 
French troops,, and it was only a few days fince that the 
Auftrians had obtained pofTefiion of it. This event there¬ 
fore caft a mod fevere reproach upon the difeipline of tha 
Auftrian army. The archduke Charles made hade to dif- 
claim all knowledge of the tranfaCtion, in a letter to Maf- 
fena; but the French directory found it a valuable expe. 
client to roufe the refentment of the nation ; and addrefled 
to the two councils, on the 5th of May, a melfage, in 
which they aferibe it to a deliberate purpofe on the part 
of the Auftrian government to infult France by the affaf- 
fination of her ambaffadors. 
In the mean while the French general Scherer conti¬ 
nued his retreat, palling the Adda on the 19th of April 
2799, while his right approached Brefcia by an oblique 
movement. The allies purfued him ftep by ftep, and in 
an aCtion near Cremona, on the 29th, where the Ruffians 
firft gave battle to tire French, the rear-guard of the lat¬ 
ter was defeated with the lofs of four hundred prifoners. 
This affair was followed by the capture of Brefcia, which 
yielded to the united army in fix hours, with forty-four 
pieces of cannon, and a large quantity of warlike ftores 
and provifions. Encouraged by thefe partial victories, 
the people of Italy gave way to fentiments of revenge 
againft all the adherents of the republicans, and com¬ 
pelled them to take refuge in garrifon towns. Scherer 
found himfelf (fill obliged to retreat, that he might fe- 
cure the fortified places of Piedmont, and meet the rein¬ 
forcements expeCted from Swiffierland and France. But 
from his ill fuccefs he was now deprived of his command, 
being fuperceded by Moreau ; and the army of Naples 
was directed to evacuate that country, and join the troops 
on the banks of the Adda. 
The allies, having palfed the Oglio, reached the banks 
of the Adda, and encamped oppolite Caffano, with a co¬ 
lumn between Brivio and Lecco. Two days were fpent 
in repofe, previous to a grand exploit which Suwarrow 
had in contemplation. The French were placed in front 
of the allies; the head-quarters of Moreau being at In- 
zago ; the tete de pont at Caffano ftrongly intrenched and 
protected by artillery, riflemen, and batteries; the right 
wing guarding the courfe of the Adda, with its main body 
at Lodi ’and Pizzighitone. Suwarrow found it neceffiary 
to force this line, in order to enter the Milanefe ; by his 
directions, therefore, general Wuckaffiowich feized a fly¬ 
ing bridge front the French, and eroding the river with 
four battalions, took a pofition at Brivio. On the centre, 
the ntarqitis de Chafteller, with equal intrepidity and 
judgment, threw a bridge over the river oppofite Trezzo ; 
and the light troops, having crofted before the republi¬ 
cans were aware of the movement, fell on Serrurier’s di- 
vifion, and drov.e it to Pozzo. The noife of this attack 
drew general Grenier to the fpot, and an obftinate battle 
enfued, in which the allies were nearly overpowered, till 
a 
N C E. 
reinforcements paffing the river turned the fortune of the 
day; and the French, after rallying feveral times, were 
driven with great lofs to Gorgonzello. This was called 
the battle of CaJJano, fought on the 27th of April. Melas, 
having crofted the Ritorto, and poffeffed himfelf of the 
tete de pont at Caffano, paffed the Adda, and joined Su¬ 
warrow at Gorgonzello ; from which place the republi¬ 
cans had retreated towards Milan, fecure from purfuit 
only through the darknefs of the night. 
On the 28th, general Melas, whole troops werelefsex- 
haufted than the Ruffians, marched without oppofition to 
Milan, which opened its gates to the viCtors. Suwarrow 
arrived the fame night with all his ffaff. General Wuc- 
kaffowich, by furprifing the paflage of the Adda at Brivio, 
had cut off the line of communication between the centre 
and left of the republican army. On the enfuing day he 
proceeded to encounter Serrurier, who, with three thou- 
fand men, was ftrongly entrenched at Verderio. The firft 
attack was unfuccefsful ; but the Auftrians having made 
preparations to furround the French, Serrurier capitu¬ 
lated, and the whole divifion yielded thpnfelves prifoners 
of war. The brave old general, however, obtained for 
himfelf and his officers permillioia to retire to France, on 
condition of not ferving again till exchanged. 
The archduke Charles, after fecuring Suabia by a chain 
of pofts along the valley of the Rhine to near the Necker, 
directed his efforts towards the invafion of Swiffierland. 
When arrived on the frontiers of Schaffhaufen, he ad- 
dreffied a proclamation to the people, difavowing all in¬ 
tentions of difmembering or plundering the country, and 
promifing on behalf of the emperor, the maintenance of 
the ancient friendly connection with the cantons, and the 
prefervation to Swiffierland of her independence, her pri¬ 
vileges, and her poffieffions. He furrounded the city of 
Schaffhaufen on the 13th of April, and the governor re- 
fufing to capitulate, he forced the gates, and compelled 
the French to repafs the Rhine, with the lofs of feveral 
hundred men, and feventeen pieces of cannon. In their 
retreat the republicans unneceffarily deftroyed the famous 
bridge of Schaffhaufen, that Avonderful monument of un¬ 
taught genius ; for a defeription of which fee the article 
Bridge, vol. iii. p. 393. 
As it was now the province of the allies to act on the 
offenfive, theyjound it neceffiary to combine plans or-ef¬ 
fectual co-operation. Hotze and Bellegarde formed a pro¬ 
ject for a general attack on all the pofnions occupied by 
the French in the valleys of the Rhine, the Langwart, 
and the Inn. Bellegarde, fupported by feveral companies 
of Tyrolian chaffieurs, began to move on the 30th of April, 
in two columns; one,led by himfelf, to attack the valley 
of the Inn in front; the other, under general Haddick, 
was to pafs over the mountains of the Scharl, and defeend 
into the fame valley on the rear of the French intrench- 
ments; while a conliderable detachment was to penetrate 
through the valley of Chieffers, and endeavour to reach 
Zernets. General Bellegarde, after performing a difficult 
march, attacked the intrenched camp of the republicans, 
and carried three rows of works which defended it to the 
right and left; but the defences were fo complete, that 
he found it impracticable to crofs the ditch, and the ap¬ 
proach of night prevented further operations. General 
Haddick, after a march of ten hours over mountains co¬ 
vered with fnow, arrived very feafonably in tlie valley of 
the Inn. The Auftrians being thus pofted in his front, 
on his right, and in his .rear, Lecourbe was obliged to 
abandon his pofition without further conteft, taking up 
another in the rear of Garda. The column directed againft 
Zernets had been fuccefsfully oppofed by fuperior num¬ 
bers, or Lecourbe could not have efcaped without loling 
a great part of his troops. The fatigue of this effort did 
not prevent the Auftrians from purfuing their fuccefs. 
Bellegarde and Haddick having effected a junction n'ear 
Schulz, reftored the bridge of Garda which the French 
had broken down ; and finally expelled their opponents 
from 
