=F 
1809.] 
The attention of the enemy was tobe drawn 
to this point, in order to conceal from him 
the operations really intended. 
On the 4th, at tenin the evening, Gene- 
ral Oudinot caused 1500 voltigeurs to be em- 
barked on the great arm of the Danube, com- 
manded by General Conroux. Colonel 
Baste, with ten gun-boats, convoyed them, 
and disembarked them beyond the little arm 
of the Island: Lobau, in the Danube., The 
batteries of the enemy were soon silenced, 
and he was driven fromthe woods to the vil- 
lage of Muhleuten. 
At eleven in the evening, the batteries 
raised against Enzersdorf, received orders to 
begin their firing. The howitzers soon set 
this unfortunate town on fire, and in less 
than half an hour, the enemies batteries had 
ceased to work, - 
The bridge of a Boke’ piece, the first of 
the kind that has been made, was fixed ia 
less than five minutes, and the infantry pass-. 
ed over it with great rapidity. 
Captain Bazelle fixed a bridge of boats in 
an hour and a half. 
Captain Payerimoffe formed a bridge of 
rafts in two hours. 
# Thus by two o'clock of the morning g, the 
army had four bridges, from the East ‘of Lo- 
bau’ to the main land, and it had debouched 
on the left 5100 yards below Enzersdorf, pro- 
tected by the batteries, and its right upon 
Vittau. .The corps of the Duke de Rivoli 
formed the left; that of Count Oudinot, the 
seutre; and that of the Duke of Auerstadt, 
the right; the corps of the Prince de Ponte- 
Corvo, the Viceroy, and the Duke of Ra- 
gusa, the guard; and the cuirassiers formed 
the second line, and the bodies of reserve. 
Utter darkness,.a violent storm, and rain 
‘which fell in torrents, rendered this night as, 
frightful, as it was propitious to the French 
army, and was about to be glorious to it. 
On th 5th, at day-break, every one con- 
ceived the project of the Emperor, who was 
then, with his whole army, arranged in or- 
der of battle at the extremity of the enemy’s 
Jeft, having thus turned their entrenched 
camps, rendered their works useless, and 
obliged them to abandon their positions, and 
come and offer battle on the spot that -was 
convenient to himself. Without receiving 
any protection from the works he had raised, 
he had forced the enemy to fight him three 
guarters of a league from their redoubts. 
The greatest and happiest results were pre- 
Saged. 
At eight in the morning, the batteries 
which had played upon Badtssdort had pro- 
duced such an effect, that the enemy with- 
drew all but four battalions. The Duke of 
Rivoli then dispatched his Aide-de-Campy 
against it, who not meeting with great re- 
sistance, took prisoners all who remained in 
it. 
Count Oudinot at the same time, surrounded 
the Castle of Sachsengang, which the enemy 
had fortified, and forced 900 men who de- 
‘Montuiy Mag. Na, 188. 
State of Public Affairs in July. 
OF 
fended it, to capitulate, taking twelve pieces 
of cannon. 
The Emperor then caused the whole army 
to spread itself over the immense plain of En- 
zersdorf, 
In the mean time, the enemy  eeadpally, Te- 
covered from his astonishment, and endea- 
voured to gain some advantages in this new 
field of battle. For this purpose hie detached 
several columns of infantry, a considerable 
number, of artillery, and all his cavalry, as 
well of the line as the new levies, to attempt 
to out-flank the right of the French army. 
He eccupied in consequence, the village of 
Rutzendorf. ‘Ihe Emperor‘ ordered General 
Oudinot to carry this village, to the right of 
which he sent the Duke of Auerstadt. 
From noon till nine in the evening, the 
French armies mancuvred on this immense . 
plain. All the villages were occupied, and 
when they had reached the heights of the 
entrenched camps of the enemy, these fell as 
if by enchantment. Jt was thus we seized 
the ‘works of Essling ie Gros-Aspern, and 
the labour of forty days proved of no use to 
the enemy. He made some resistance in the 
village of Raschdorf, which the Prince de 
Pusreeiyo Caused to be attacked and carried 
by theSaxons, ‘The enemy was every where 
overwhelmed by the superiority of our fire, 
and the immense field of battle was covered 
with his remains. 
Alarmed by the progress of the Eytaetia 
army, and the great successes which it had 
obtained with scarcely any effort, the enemy 
put all his troops in motion, and at six inthe 
evening he occupied the following position :—« 
his right extended from Stadelau to Gerasdorf, 
his centre from Gerasdorf to Wagram, and 
his left from Wagram to Neusiedel. ‘The 
French army had its left at Gros-Aspern, its 
centre at Ruschderf, andits right at Glenzin- 
dorf. 
In this position, whe day was nearly at a 
ciose, and we had to expect a great battle on. 
the morrow; but this was to be avoided if pos- 
sible, and his position so intersected, so as to 
prevent his forming any plan, by our taking 
possession, in the night, of the village of 
Wagram. In this case, his line, already of 
an immense length, by being suddenly as- 
sailed, and exposed to the chances of combat, 
the different’ bodies of his army would be dise 
persed without order or ditection, and we. 
should be likely to succeed at an easy ratey 
and without any serious engagement. The 
attack on Wagram took place, and our troops 
got possession of the village, but a column of 
Saxons anda column of French mistaking each © 
other in the dark for enemies, the operation 
failed. 
We then prepared for the battle of Wagram, 
The dispositions of the French general and 
the Austrian general were inverted The 
Emperor passed the night in accumulating 
his forces towards his centre, where he was 
in person, within cannon-shot of Wagram, 
With this view, the Duke de Rivoli moved 
N upon 
