918 
been difunited, jealous of one another, 
and have alternately proved oppreffors or 
oppreffed. ‘ 
The good fortune of Bonaparte, and 
the faults of his antagonifts, delivered 
Piedmont to him, and opened the road to 
Lombardy. Aftonifhment and terror went 
before him. The happy boldnels with 
which he had paffed the Po at Placenza, 
and the Adda at Lodi, paved the way to 
his fucceffes,and covered the faults he had 
committed in going to Milan, rather than 
to Mantua. The multitude are dazzied 
by great events, and afcribe tothe authors 
of them, what in reality is but the work 
of fortune. As to any thing elle, it is 
-folely with regard to the mealure of Bo- 
naparte’s talents, that we can reafonably 
have a doubt: to refufe him a certain 
fhare of abilities, would be as abfurd as to 
give him the whole merit of what fortune 
has done for him. 
In Germany, Moreau drew nearer to 
the ancient method of warfare. ‘Trained 
and inftructed by Pichegru, one of the 
greateft captains in France, Moreau imi- 
tated his mafter, in giving more order 
and regularity to his plans. The military 
character of Moreau is different from that 
of the other French generals; there is 
Tefs boidnefs and fire, but more talent, 
method, and fcience in it. His moral 
rule of condué& and his political charaéter 
have given a luftre to his military achieve- 
ments. 
‘The French generals, like rich and bold 
gamefters, are inceflantly tempting fortune. 
They look upon their lofles as nothing, 
provided they fucceed inthe end. The 
little value which they fet upon their men, 
the certainty of being able to replace them, 
the perfonal ambition of their chiefs, and 
the cuftomary fuperiority of their numbers, 
afford them an advantage, which cannot 
be counteracted but by great fkill, con- 
duct, and activity. 
THE AUSTRIAN ARMY. 
The appearance altogether of an Aultrian 
army prefents a magnificent {pectacle to 
military eyes. Marihal Lafcy is the au- 
thor of its uniform and military (yftem, 
which placed the Houfe of Auftria in a 
fituation to fuftainwith vigour and perieve- 
rance, a long, tedious, and bloody conteft. 
The Avuitrians poffefs that tyftem of 
tactics which had hitherto been fo much © 
dreaded by the French, and which refts 
wholly upon difcipline, fcience, and or- 
der. It has been feen in the preceding 
article, that the properties of the French 
armies are different. The French foldiers 
are impetuous; their courage requires 
Notice on the Auftrian Army, 
[ April 1, 
fomething to excite, and movement to 
keep up its warmth. Their attack is more 
violent: but they are not,like theAuftrians, 
able to fuftain a regular and open fire 
from the line ; they have not that moral 
and phyfical immobility, which, without 
being affected, can fee whole ranks fall be- 
neath the bullet, and whole files fwept 
off by the cannon. The courage of the 
French is lefs conftitutional than artificial 5 
‘emulation and vanity are its moft power- 
fal incentives ; honour, example, and ha- 
bit, keep it up to its proper pitch. 
The light troops of the Houfe of Auf- 
tria became famous in the wars of 1740” 
and 1757; but Marfhal Lafcy converted 
them into almoft regular battalions. 
They ceafed being excellent light troops, 
without becoming regularones. All this 
proceeded from his wifh to have an uniform 
army, which he rendered too heavy by 
depriving it of the light-infamtry. . 
The abfolute inferiority of the Auftrian 
light-infantry is particularly manifeft in’ 
mountain contefts. The defeats of 
1795 and 6, in the mountains of Genoa ; 
their ill fuccefs in the hereditary provinces 
in 1797; the confiderable loffes they ex- 
perienced in the Grifon country in 1799 3 
the overthrow of the fame army at Zu- 
rich, and their incredible difafters in the 
mountains of Nice, in 1800, evince the 
inferiority of the Auftrians inthis kind 
of fervice. The Archduke Charles him- 
felf, that hero whom Providence feems to 
have placed in the rank he fills, and to 
have endowed with the higheft talents and 
qualities, for the purpofe of preferving 
civil order, the Archduke himfelf made 
but inconfiderable and flow advances, 
and every ftep he took was at the ex- 
pence of extraordinary bloodfhed, when- 
ever he fought amongft mountains. 
All ‘this might have turned out other- 
wife, if they had had a good light-infantry. 
The Auftrians in their mode of fight- 
ing preferve their rank and file, while 
the French rifle-men annoy them, and en- 
deavour to produce difcouragement and 
confufion, until they are at length over- 
whelmed with fatigue, thrown into difor- 
der, and either difperfe, or lay down their 
arms. The inftant the ranks are broken, the 
Auftrians become like a flock of theep, dif- 
perfed, and incapable of being re-united. 
They carry their fear of being out-flanked, | 
to a degree which is ridiculous and extra- 
vagant ; it might indeed be called a natio- — 
nal diforder or weaknefs. aie 
‘The Auftrian artillery isexeellent: but 
inftead of being an acceflary, it is fome- 
times made a principal ; inftead of so 
the 
