The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-11 00:00:00

RAILWAYS,

Cash. Account.
Orleans
Northern
ditto
New .. 767 50 767 50
Lyons and Mediterranean ...... . 815 .. 816 25
Geneva
ern
South
Western
Eastern
25 4
565 _
550,1
Sardiniau
Austrian
2 .. 360
371 5 . 50
Exchange on London, at sight, paper, 25f. 121 c. ;372 money,
25f 9e. ; three months, paper, 24f. 971 c.; money, 24E 92ic.

THE PASSAGE OF THE TICINO AND
BATTLE OF MAGENTA.

The M'oniteur of yesterday contained the follow-
ing bulletin of the army of Italy :
Headquarters of San Martino, June 5.
The French army, assembled rounei Alessandria,
had before it great obstacles to overcome. If it
marched on Piacenza, it would have had to lay
siege to that place and to ojen for itself, by main
forte; the passage of the Po, which at this spot is
not less than 900 metres wide, and this most diffi-
cult operation was to be executed in presence of an
enemy's army of more than 200,000 men.
If the Emperor crossed the river at Valentia,
he would find the enemy concentrated on the left
bank at Mortara, and he could not attack him in
this position unless by separate columns, manceuv-
ringin the midst of a country intersected by canals
and rice grounds. There was, therefore, on both
sides an almost insurmountable obstacle; the Em-
peror resolved to turn and he deceived the
Austrians by concentrating his. army on the right,
and causing it to occupy Casteggio, and even Bobbio
on the Trebia.
On the 31st of May, the army received the order
to march to the left and crossed the Po at Casale, the
bridge of which had remained in our possession. It
immediately took the Vercelli road where the passage
of the Sesia was effected to protect and cover our
rapid march on Novara. The efforts of the artp.,v.
were directed to the right on itobbio ; and two
combats, gloriolls for the Sardinian troops, jught
on this side, had also the effect of indue'ing the
enemy tc 'believe that we were marching,.
tarn. But during this time the Frew. I, ' on Mor-
army had
proceeded towards Novara, and had .taken up there
a position on the same ground, where the King
Charles Albert had fought ten. Spars before. There
it could make head against t!ite enemy should he
make his appearance.
Thus this bold march_ had been protected by
100;000 men encamped 'on our right flank at Olengo,
in front of Novara. Under these circumstances, it
.was thereffire to o.e reserve that the Emperor was
to confide the execution of the movement that took
place in the rr,ar of the line of battle.
On the 2d of June a division of the Imperial
Guard was directed to Turbigo on the Ticino, and
meeting with no resistance there it threw across
three bridges.
The Emperor, having collected notices that
agreed in showing him that the enemy was retiring
on the left bank of the river, caused the Ticino to
be pasP,ed at this spot by the army corps of General
M`nahon, followed next day by a division of the
gardinian army.
Hardly had our troops taken possession on the.
Lombard bank when they were attacked by an
Austrian corps sent from Milan by the railway.
They repulsed it victoriously under the eyes of the
Emperor.
On the same day, June 2, the division of Espinasse
having acl7, anted by the Novara road towards Milan
as far as, 'frecate, whence it threatened the 'bridge
head of Buffalora, the enemy evacuated precipf-
to-Jsly th entrenchments he had thrown np on this
' point, and fell back on the left bank, after blowing
up the stone bridge crossing the river at this spot.
Nevertheless, the effect of his mining-chambers was
not complete, and the two arches he had intended
to destroy having merely subsided without falling
to pieces, the thoroughfare wait not interrupted.
The day of the 4th had been fixed upon by the
Emperor for taking definitive possession of the left
bank of Ticino. The army corps of Gen. M‘Mahon,
reinforced by the voltigeur division of the Imperial
Guard, and followed by the whole army of the
King of Sardinia, was to proceed from Turbigo to
Buffalora and Magenta, whilst the grenadier divi-
sion of the Imperial Guard would seize the bridge-
head of Buffalora on the left bank, and the army
corps of Marshal Canrobert would advance on the
right bank, to pass the Ticino at the same point.
The execution of this plan of operations was dis-
turbed by some of those incidents that in warfare
must be taken into account. The King's army was
retarded in its passage of the river, and only one
of its divisions could follow at a distance the corps
of General M‘Mahon.
The march of the Espinasse division met also
with delays ; and, on the other hand, when the
corps of Marshal Canrobert left Novara to rejoin
the Emperor, who had personally gone to the
bridge-head of Buffalora, this corps found the road
so encumbered that it could only reach the Ticino
quite late.
Such was the situation of things, and the Em-
peror was waiting, not without anxiety, for the
signal of the arrival of General MacMahon's corps
at Buffalora, when, about two o'clock, he heard on
this side very heavy firing of small arms and artil-

iery.
It was the xnoment to sustain it by marching on
Magenta. The Emperor immediately despatched
Wimpffen's brigade against the formidable positions
held by the Austrians in front of the bridge; the
brigade of Cler followed the movement. The heights
bordering the Naviglio (a large canal) and the
village of Buffalora were promptly carried by the
spirit of our troops ; but they then found themselves
confronting considerable masses whom they could
not drive back, and who arrested their progress.
In the meantime Marshal Canrobert's army-corps
did not appear, and on the other hand the cannon-
ade and musketry fire that had signalled the arrival
of General MacMahon had completely ceased. Had
the general's column been repulsed, and had the
grenadier division of the guard to sustain itself
alone the entire effort of the enemy ?
It is here the proper time for explaining the
manoeuvre effected by the Austrians. When they
learned on the night of June 2, that the French
army had surprised the passage of the Ticino at
Turbigo, they had rapidly sent across that river, at
Vigevano, three of their army corps, which burnt
the bridges behind them. On the morning of the
4th they went before the Emperor to the number
of 125,000 men, and it Was against these dispropor-
tionate forces that the grenadier division of the
Guard, with whom was the Emperor, had singly to
contend.
In these critical circumstances, General Regnaud
de Saint Jean d'Angely gave proof of the utmost
energy, as also did the generals commanding under
his orders. The general of division, Mellinet, had
two horses killed under him. General Cler fell
mortally wounded; General Wimpffen was wounded
in the head ; the Commanders Desme and Maudhay,
of the Grenadiers, were killed; the Zouaves lost
200 men, and the Grenadiers sustained a loss no
less considera.ble.
At length, after a struggle of four hours, during
hich Mellinet's division suffered without flinching
, the attacks of the enemy, Picard's brigade, with
Canrobert at its head, arrived on the field of battle.
Shortly after appeared Vinoy's division, from
General Niel's corps, which the Emperor had sent
for, and finally Renault's and Trocha's divisions of
Marshal Canrobert's corps.
At the same time General MacMahon's cannon
were again heard in the distance. The general's
corps, retarded in its march and less numerous
than it should have been, had advanced in two
columns on Magenta and Buffalora.
The enemy having attempted to advance between
these two columns for the purpose of cutting them
off, General M'Mahon had rallied the right,- with
the left towards Magenta, and this explains why
the firing had ceased at the beginning of the action
on the side of Buffalora. In fact, the Austrians,
seeing themselves pressed on their front
and left, had evacuated the village of Buffalora
and advanced with the greater part of their
forces against General MacMahon, in front of
Magenta. The 45th Regiment of the Line rushed
intrepidly to attack the farm of Cascina Nuova,
which is before the village, and which was defended
by two Hungarian regiments. Fifteen hundred
men of the enemy there laid down their arms, and
the flag was taken from the dead body of the
colonel. ln the meantime Motterouge's division
was pressed hard by considerable forces that

threatened to separate it from Epinasse'§ division.
General M‘Maluin had drawn up in the second line
the thirteen battalions of the voltigeurs of the
guard, under the command of the brave General
Camou, who, advancing to the first line, sustained
at the centre the efforts of the enemy, and enabled
the divisions of La Motterouge arid Espinasse to
resume vigorously the offensive.
At this moment of a general attack, General
Auger, commanding the artillery of the second
corps, placed in battery on the line of the railway
forty field-pieces, which, taking the Austrians, as
they were defiling in great disorder, is flank and
athwart, made a frightful carnage amongst them.
The combat at Magenta was terrible. The enemy
defended this village with obstinacy. On both sides
it was felt this was the key of the position. Our
troops took. it house by house, and put more than
10,000 Austrians hors de combat. General
M'Mahon made about 5,000 prisoners, among
whom were an entire. regiment, the 2nd Cha.sseurs
a Pied, commandeer by Colonel Hauser. But the
general's corps itself suffered much; 1,500 of his
men were kined or wounded. In the attack on the
village, Pfieneral Espinasse and Lieitenant Froide-
fond f'::11 mortally wounded. Like them, Colonel
Dre;uhot, of the 65th of the Line, and Col. Chab-
r',ere, of the 2d Foreign Regiment, fell at the head
of their troops.
On the other side, the divisions Vinoy and Re-
nault performed prodigies of valour, under the
orders of Marshal Canrobert and General Niel.
Vinoy's division, which left Novara in the morning,
had only just arrived at Trecate, where it was to
bivouac,. when it was sent for by the F.i-
peror. It advanced rapidly (a pas de couri,:e)as
far as route di Magenta, driving the rlielx.y from ,
his positions, and. taking more than 1,000
prisoners ; but becoming engaged with superior
'
tbrees it sustained severe loss;
leven of its
officers were killed and 50 woo ceded; 650 sub-
officers and soldiers were put hers de combat. The
85th of the Line especially suffo-.ed
command-
ing officer was killed fighting bravely at the head
of his regiment, and the O.:tier its
superior officers were
wounded. General
3-:artimpre
ball as he was leadiz brigade.
The bri ade
•
111
The troops of ,-.
11 y was struck by a
trsahal Ca.nrobert also sustained
regrettable loss. Colonel de Senneville, the chief
of his staff, WV S killed at his side. Colonel Char-
her, of the P./oth, fell mortally wounded, struck by
five balls, '
and several officers of Renault's division
Pont Pliaced hors de. combat, while the village of
e di Magenta was taken seven times in sue-
w
eosF don.

Finally, about half-past eight in the evening, the
French army remained master of the field of battle,
and the enemy withdrew, leaving in our hands four
guns, of which two were taken by the Grenadiers
of the Guard, two flags, and 7,000 prisoners. The
number of Austrians placed hors de combat may be
estimated at about 20,000. On the field of battle,
12,000 muskets and 30,000 knapsacks have been
picked up.
The Austrian. corps engaged against us were
those of Clam-Gallas, Zobel, Schwartzenberg, and
Lichtenstein. Field-Marshal Gyulai commanded
in chief.

Thus in five days after leaving Alessandria the
allied army has delivered three combats, won a
battle, cleared Piedmont of the Austrians, and
opened the gates of Milan. Since th• battle of
Montebello the Austrians have last 25,000 men
killed or wounded, 10,000 prisoners, and 17 gnns.