The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-07-22 00:00:00

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FRENCH _BU I. fiETINir.
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7'WENTY-I.'IPM BULLETIItr.

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64 The works raised by Gesteral Count Ber.
trend, and the corps be commands, had, since the
beginning of thflllsonth, entirely no tided the
Danube. His Alljesiy instantly resolved to col.
leer his forces in the Island of Lebow, open upon
the Austrian army, lad -bring on a goaeral en.
gagemeut. It was not because the position of the
French army was not a very floe one at Vienna.
Master of the whole right bank of the Danube,
having in his power Austria, and a considerable
portiOn of Hungary, he enjoyed the greatest
plenty. If some ditlicnlties had been experienced
in providing sustenance for the people of Vienna,
this arose from an ill-organized administration,
from embarrassments which were every day di.
minishiug, and from difficulties which were natu.
rally produced by the situation in which the coon.
try was placed, in a land in which the trade in
corn is an exclusive privilege of the government.
But how could the troops continue to be separated
from the hostile army, by a canal of three or four
hundred toises in breadth, when the means of
passing over had been prepared and secured ? This
would have given credibility to the impostures
which the enemy had scattered with so great pro.
fusion throughout his own and neighbouring coun.
tries : this would have cut a doubt over the oc.
currences at Euliug, and would, finally, have
authorised the supposition of there being, in fact,
a substantial equality between armies so different,
of which one was animated, and, in some measure,
reinforced, by multiplied successes and victories,
while the other was dispirited by the most striking
reverses.

" All the intelligence collected concerning the
Austrian army :hewed that it was considerable;
that it had been recruited by numerous bodies of
reserve, by the levies from Moravia and Hungary,
:end by all the landasehrs (funcibles) of the pro
knees ; that its cavalry bad been remounted by

req thitions in all the Circles, and its draughts of

artillery tripled by immense levies of hones and
carriages in Moravia, Hungary, and Bohemia.
To add new chances in their favour, the Austrian
Generals had raised military works; of which the
right was protected by Gros-Aspern, and the left
by Enzersdorf. The villages of Aspen, Esslitig,
and Enzerstiorf, and the intervals between them
were• covered by redoubts, surrounded by pall.
wades and frizes, and defended by more than 150
f pieces of battering cannon, taken from the fur_
),tresses of Bohemia and Moravia.

•• " was inconceivable how the Emperor, with
Its experience in war, could think of attacking
•
Works so powerfully defended, backed by an
army estimated at 200,000 men, as well troops of
the line as militia and new raised levies, and who
were supported by 800 or 800 pieces of fieltartil-
lery. It appeared more simple to throw somefresh
bridges over the Danube, a few leagues lower
down, anti thus render useless the field of battle
• prepared, by the twiny. But in this latter case
it was not thought practicable to avert the itteon.
venieueies which had already nearly proved fatal
to the army, and succeed in the course of twu or
three days in protecting these new bridges from
the machines of the enemy.
"On the other side the Emperor was tranquil.
Works were raised upon works hi the Island of
Lobati and several bridges ua piles, and several
rows r 4 stoceadoes, were fixed at the same place.
" This situation of the French army, placed
between these two
.great difficulties, had not
-escaped the enemy. He was aware that his army,
too numerous and unwieldly, would be exposed

to certain destruction if he acted on the offensive;
but, at the same time, he believed that it was im.
possible to dialodge him from the central position
in which he covered Bohemia, Moravia, and a
part of Hungary. It is true that this position dIII
not cover Vienna, and that the French were
possession of this Capital. But this possession
was, in a certain degree, disputed, since the Ara.
trians remained masters of one bank of the Da.
!tube, and prevented the arrival of the articles
most indisprnsihlr to the subsistence of so great a
cif). These were the reasons of hope and fear,
sad the subject of conversation in the two armies.
" On the lit of July, at four o'clock of the
morning, the Emperor removed his head-quarters
to the Wand Lobel', which had been already
named by the engineers, the Island Napoleon. A
small island to which had been given the name of
the Duke of Niontebello, and which bore upon
Enzersdorf, had been furnished with tee mortars
and twepty 18-pounders. Another island, called
Island Estragne, had been supplied with eis pieces
of battering cannon (14-pounders), and four mor-
tars. Between these two islands, a battery bad
been raised equal in force to that of the `island
Montebello, a.id in like planner bearing upon En-
z •rsdorf. These IV! pieces of battering artillery
bad the same object, were in two hours to destroy
the little town of Eitsersdurf, drive away the ene.
my, and demolish the works. On the right, the
island Alexander, with four mortars, two too
•