The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-02 00:00:00

was the key of the whole position. This order of
battle protected all the approaches to the Mincio,
but it was just the necessity which was felt to pro-
tect all the roads leading to the Mincio which
caused this long extent, and became thus an element
of weakness in the whole position; and this length
of line and corresponding weakness increased the
more the Mincio is approached, for the road to
Goito, which is the principal passage, goes off from
Castiglione at a considerable angle towards the
south-east.

" This weakness was recognised, and the disposi-
tions taken accordingly. Instead of taking the
position in front, where it is of formidable strength,
the whole weight of the attack was thrown on the
wings, with the view of breaking through the line
if possible, and gaining one of the Mincio passages,
or at any rate forcing the enemy out of the strong
position in the hills.

"Accordingly the 4th corps, commanded by
General (now Marshal) Niel, reinforced by part of
the reserve and artillery, received the mission to
act in the plain, towards Goito. The Ist corps, of
Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers, was to proceed by
the road which runs from Castiglione along the
base of the hills, near the little village of Grole, up
to Solferino. One division of the 2d corps, of the
Due de Magenta, was to take this same village
from the hill road in front, while the other was to
take quite in rear by S. Cassiano. The 3d corps, of
Marshal Canrobert, did not enter in line, but was
bent back en potence in the direction of Castel
Onzage, while the Sardinian army was to execute
on the left wing a flank movement corresponding
to that on the right, trying to break through the
line between Peschiera and Possolengo, and get to
one of the Mincio passages which exist in that di-
rection. The Guards remained as a reserve, under
the personal direction of the Emperor, who took
the command of the movement.

"Although the hilly nature of the country is
favourable enough for observation, the line was
too extended to overlook the whole, while the
simultaneous character of the movements made it
impossible to follow details in every point. I must
confine myself, therefore, only to the main features,
as far as I saw them myself, or have had time as yet
to ascertain them. The attacks began almost simul-
taneously on the right and in the centre, for while
the fire of msketry and the advance of columns on
Solferino indicated that the battle had begun in the
centre, the Piedmontese guns were heard to the left
and the artillery of Gen. Niel to the right, in the
direction of S. Vigilio and Medole.

" The hill around which the village of Solferino
is built is the most prominent object all along this
country. It is of a conical shape, and has at its
summit a high, square tower, called the Spia (spy)
d'ltalia, for from the top of it you can overlook the
plain of Upper Italy from the Alps to the Po. This
hill is detached from the rest of the range, and
throws out three plateaux—one in the direction of
the lake, another towards the plain, and a, third
towards Cavriana. It forms thus as it were a high
castle with three bastions, and all the roads leading
towards it run in the openings between the pla-
teaux. All the sides, with the exception of that to-
wards the plain, are very precipitous, and the roads
run down at so steep an incline that they are called
the Scale di Solferino. Towards the plain the ap-
proaches rise by a gradual incline until they reach
the first houses; from thence they assume the same
precipitous character which the others have. It
was this side which was chosen as the point of
attack. The Austrians had prepared for this, and
were readyto receive their adversaries. Both sides of
the,l'road up to the village itself are covered with
vineyards; into these they had thrown masses of in-
fantry, taking advantage of the nature of the ground
to give them shelter and free scope for their rifles.
As for artillery, they not only had some on the road,
but on the different elevated points to the right and
left, which abound in the higher parts of the road
towards the village. The fight began almost in the
plain, just where the road coming from Castiglione
bends to ascend the village, and crosses the road
from the latter to the main road of Goito. Two
divisions of the Ist corps (Forey and Bazaine) had
the mission to drive the enemy from this position,
while one division of the 2d corps was to take
the village in the rear by S. Cassiano. The enemy's
skirmishers being driven back, the two divisions
of the Ist corps advanced, and, after a sharp
fusilade, succeeded in driving him back towards
the village. But it was only 'at the village
that the real fight began. Th entrance to it
had been barricaded, and the high garden walls
which extend to the right and left loopholed for
musketry, while on the space which lies to the right
of the road as you ascend a battery was sending
down a shower of grape. This entrance became the
scene of a most desperate fight, but was at last
forced, and then began one of those street fights
which seem to become a characteristic of this cam-
paign ; every house had been loopholed, and was
occupied by the enemy. As there are no gates in
the rear of the court-yards of these houses, the
defenders in each were obliged to fight to the last
or else surrender. Twice the first division of the
Ist corps had succeeded in penetrating to the church,
whose enclosure wall is just at the foot of the great
tower and the top of the hill, and twice it had to
retire again before the reserve which the enemy
brought up. The fight had lasted for more than
two hours, and the strength of the soldiers began
to fail. At this moment, which was about 8 o'clock,
the Voltiguers and the Chasseurs of the Guard re-
ceived orders to relieve them. At the same time
the Division of the Second Corps, with the Turcos
or Chasseurs Indigenes, pushed home its attack
from San Cassano, while the other division of the
First Corps had attained the heights to the left of
the road. In less than half an hour the enemy was
driven out of his stronghold, and bad to retire,
leaving 12 guns behind. He retired in the direction
of Cavriana, but only step by step. Looking down
from Solferino towards Cavriana there is a range of
hills before you, which I can compare to nothing
but to the ruins of a number colossal Roman camps
formed by nature, and half obliterated by age. It
is one succession of ascents and descents, the best
descriptof which I heard from a soldier, who, de-
scribing the battle on the height; said, c'etat une
chasse a l'ecureuil.'
"After the taking of Solferino the engagement
assumed really the shape of a battle, where tactics
came into play. The taking of village was more
due tobravery than science. Battles have often been
compared to the game of chess—well, I never was
so struch by the truth of this comparison as yester-
day during the advance from Solferino to Cavriana.
How one body after another was moved forward,
and the enemy then forced back by degrees. It was
in this fight that the immense superiority of the new
French rifled cannon showed itself. The lightness of
the pieces is such that they could be brought up
hill 4 so steep that even infantry had no small diffi-
culty in scaling them. Still the range of them and
their precision is almost incredible. You could see
their shells bursting among the guns and infantry of
the enemy, while the shells fired from his guns at
the highest elevation were falling short or bursting
in the air. The attack on thirsuccession of positions
was made from the plain at the same time as from
the heights, the object of both being to gain the
heights of Cavriana, the centre of the Austrian posi-
tion. While one column advanced by the road which
leads along the base of the hill to Cavriana, the main
body followed the chasse a l'ecureuil over hill and
dale in a regular steeple-chase towards the tower of
Cavriana. While the attack, in what was now the
centre, took this shape, the attack of the 4th corps
in the plain to the right had likewise developed it-
self. For a short distance from Castiglione the
country to the right and left of the road is full of
vineyards and mulberry trees, not very closely
planted, but sufficient to be an obstacle to the
movements of artillery and cavalry. After two
miles or so, however, the trees recede on both sides,
and an almost 'naked plain, partly grass, partly
planted with corn, stretches out almost from the
foot of the hills across the main road to the neigh-
bourhood of Medole. This plain, which extends as
far as Cavriana, Guidizzolo, and Ceresole, became
the scene of a most animated artillery and cavalry
engagement, which was very effective seen with a
good glass from the heights. The infantry took
only part in it, to the extreme right, towards Me-
dole and Ceresole, occuping the vineyards which