THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
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had retired; Prince Prederick Charles marched towards Brunn, and General 
Herwarth, again on the right, moved southerly by Iglau and Znaym. As 
the Austrians withdrew their forces from Olmutz, and concentrated them 
at Vienna and Presburg, the Prussians also brought their corps nearer 
together, leaving a division to watch the garrison of Olmutz, and by the 
19th July their outposts were within 15 miles of the Danube. (See Plan 1). 
Their progress had been unopposed, but twice they had come in contact 
with the retiring Austrians. At Tischnowitz, before reaching Brunn, there 
was a cavalry skirmish, described with great spirit in the columns of the 
“Times ” and interesting in its details as shewing how the Prussian cavalry, 
as well as the infantry, astonished their adversaries by the use of their 
breech-loading fire-arms. At Tobitschau about twelve miles south of Olmutz, 
part of the 1st Prussian Corps, principally composed of cavalry, fell un¬ 
expectedly upon the head of an Austrian column marching from Olmutz 
towards Presburg, forced it out of its intended line of route, and succeeded 
in capturing 16 guns. 
Benedek himself was present on this occasion. Since the battle of 
Koniggratz he had been at Olmutz, which is a fortified place of considerable 
importance, with an intrenched camp capable of sheltering a large army; 
but was then without any store of provisions sufficient for so great a number 
of men as had unexpectedly been collected there. Part of the troops were 
sent to Vienna by railway, but the Prussians soon reached the line and 
intercepted any further transport by that means. The rest had to march 
by road. After the affair at Tobitschau the nearest route was barred to 
them, Benedek had to lead the 1st and 8th Corps across the Carpathian 
mountains, into the valley of the Waag, and thence to Presburg. 
The Archduke Albert had now arrived from Italy to supersede Benedek 
in the command, and had brought with him the principal part of the army 
which had won the victory of Custozza. Negotiations were going on, but 
the results were still doubtful, and it became an interesting speculation how 
the Prussians would grapple with the next difficulty before them, viz. the 
passage of the Danube. Napoleon had met with it twice in his career. 
The first time, in 1805, he gained possession of the bridge by an act of 
trickery/* the second time, 1809, he had to construct military bridges, and 
failed in one attempt to effect a passage. The villages of Aspern and 
Wagram, within a few miles of Vienna, recall the bloody struggles which the 
passage of the Danube then cost the Prench army. 
An armistice was arranged soon enough to prevent this military spectacle; 
the suspension of hostilities was to commence on the 22nd July at noon, 
and it happened, as another parallel to the campaign of 1809, that when the 
appointed hour came a hot contest was actually going on. Although this 
contest came too late to be of any value on one side or the other, and the 
blood that was spilt was, unfortunately, uselessly sacrificed, it was very near 
being attended with a striking success; and being generally well illustrative 
* Murat and Lannes, according to the story, got a footing on the bridge, which was prepared for 
demolition, hy asserting that an armistice was arranged ; and then rapidly secured it so as to 
prevent the mines from being sprung. The circumstances, so far as I have found them described, 
betray such an inexcusable disregard of ordinary precautions that the Austrians fully deserved the 
consequences. 
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