Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-06-19


env rolsstans.s-.Ths Battle Of Rrilans
Our ssiser pho cOluu SO nts tids gstf sa,eh.,
d = esa relied upOa. the very brevia is ter,
81 900 men. number equal the whole rOpaIa'i =
Of M hsille, cd upon the Geld f battle, as the
result Of one days. work in the dread harEess field
Of the war god.
The best stratsgists of Europe have ell held that
If the aggressive warfare in the Sardinian terrific
ries should be unsuccessful, and the Austrian Enpe
ror should have to retreat upon his own possessions
it would be bad trAtegy to attempt to hold Milan
and the great central plain Of Lombardy, in which
1t is situated,-a position indefensible, by a
pitched battle, as Milan is unfortied, and in fact
incapable of ARCHAEOLOGICAL that true ientifc
principles If warfare dictated the policy # retreat
ing on his Western possessions, protected By The
line Of the Adige, and the almost impreguabls for
tresses CT Msntus Verona and Peschiers, and there
maintaining offensive campaign under every pos
sible advantage Of position. Spite Of this well
grounded opinion, it Was none The less believed thai
FRANcIs JOSEPH would at all risks brave the for
tunes Of battle, rather than surrender the richest
plain and fsirest city Of Northern Italy, without o
struggle.
The event, if, as VIC before said, the telegram
can be relied on, shows that both predictions ara
right the Austrians have now TO retreat upon theiI
Western Italian provinces, leaving the Aower o.
their army dead upon the field. and with their
prestige fatally damigsd by disastrous defeat
But it seems to us that even before this defensive
position has been attained more disasters must fol
low: rapid as the rttrossde maVement' Of the Aus
trian armies hare been it SCENE impossible thai al
their troops can by the date of ihs bS;tle, haY'
recrOssed the TeinO, and that the divisions which
were watching 0ARIRALpI in the northern extrem
ity of the field Of action must be left behind ans
if so, LOUIS NAroLEoN must be now in position
to fall apon them, with the whole force Of his army
aushsd with victory, and cut of the whole of them
GAR1RALBI being OF their rssr to cut off all hop
Of escape.
II this is the case. then Louis NAPOLEON has al
ready put in force the tactics Of his ilustriOn
uncle,-Of dividing the enemies forces and bring
ing his own resources to bear in mass, first upO
one section and then on the other,
With regard to the probability of truth in III
telegram, we must always be prepared for the wild
est false reports, and look for exaggeratiOn in til
details even Of those which ara substantially tru
but II there has been battle at all before Mia
it must have been terrific one for no one can sup
pose that the Austrian would fight such battI
without bringing ell his available forces in play
or that the French would attack the immense arm
which the Austrians had concentrated in Italy with
Outhringng to the aetOR all the resources he cOul
bring to bear upeR the result. Unless the tsle
graphic news, therefore, is altogether ictio
(which is scarcely credible,) we cannot doubt bu
taat as regards the eastern half of LOnbsrdy, tn
wsr is decided, and that we have next to inAugu
rate the second sct Ofthe European drsms,-whsthe
with diplomacy, or with war in Few form, an
sud with new actors On the stage remains to b
seen.