557 
ACHIEVEMENTS OF FIELD ARTILLERY. 
BY 
MAJOR E. S. MAY, R.A. 
PART II.— Chapter II. 
The Era of Napoleon. 
In the two days' battle of Dresden, August 26th and 27th, 1813, 
the artillery, especially that of the French, played a prominent part, 
and during the second day a large share of the fighting fell to it. 
From the Memoirs of General Marbot an incident which we imagine to 
be unique in the annals of war may perhaps be noted in these pages, 
although it is rather curious than valuable to us. 
Heavy rain fell during the second day of the great battle, and the 
muskets of the infantry were in many cases rendered useless by the 
wet. A division of French Cuirassiers found itself opposed to a strong 
Austrian division of infantry formed up in square to receive them. 
The General at its head called on the division to surrender, and drew 
the attention of its leader to the fact that not a musket of his command 
could fire a shot. The Austrian retorted that he was more than a 
match for the horsemen with his bayonets alone. “Then I will mow 
you down with my artillery" replied the Frenchman. “You have 
none, for they are all stuck fast in the mud ! " “ But, if I show you 
the guns in rear of my leading regiment, will you surrender ?" 
“ Certainly, for we should have no means of defending ourselves." 
After this extraordinary altercation the French General brought up a 
battery of six guns to within thirty paces of the square, the gmnners 
laid the guns upon it, and stood with lighted portfires ready to open 
fire; and then, the requirements of honour being, we presume, satisfied, 
the Austrian General and his division laid down their arms ! 
The rain had so much, interfered with the movements of the cavalry, 
and had, as we have seen, so greatly paralysed the fighting powers of 
the infantry that, according to Marbot, to the artillery fell the princi¬ 
pal role in that day's battle, although their mobility was much circum¬ 
scribed owing to the condition of tfie ground. Napoleon, ever fertile 
in resources, however overcame this difficulty, and enabled his guns 
to do particularly good service by doubling their teams from the Com¬ 
missariat wagons which were in the town; and, as Marbot says, 
“ Aussi nos pieces de campagne firent-elles un grand ravage , et ce fut 
un de leurs boulets qui frappa Moreau 
11 . YOL. XIX. 
