New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-06-24

that the Austrian commander ~as equal ia cap,oiy
| TO Suwarru~ Melas, Schwartzenberg, Charles, ana
other lenders 10 the struggle Of Austfs with France
under the fret Empire.
Bot. however this poiatmay be decided, Magenta,
10 its sanguinary resulte falls far below the chief
battles If the Nspolesoic era The carnage ~
"M.srota," says contemporary, "w's Ss g'e"'a'
at Msrruro" Yes. but the plumber at troops
enssc.d was three and half Ii mes greater sh," NJ
Nsrepgo As general rule, the sarest tes' 81 tie
cursee and stubb ,rnness with which & h-d Is
fought. is the proportion which the killed ana
wounded bear Ia the numbers engaged. Tried
BY this test. the principal battles ct the elder
Nspoeon are without a parallel since the IN
vention of gunpowder Two or three OF ta'se
of the Great Frederick approach them IN bloody re-
suits. while some American engagements thongs
on much smaller scale) were, N comparison WIN
the troops brought into action. nearly IS sanguln
sry The aim Of Napoleon. fully understood ana
.hared IN by bis Marshsis and his men. was, NOS
victory merly over the foe. but bis destruction;
not defeat but arnhilation THIS spirit permeat
inc and firing his battalians hurled them hesdong
upon his antagonists, who, reused by the inpetu
o.tv of the attack were provoked to the most de-
termined resistance. The consequences were
havoc and carnage such as the world has rarely
seen.
But our present business is with results, rather
than their causes. Cropping for facts among the
mass Of contradictory kilograms, It would seem
that about 80 coo troops. Of all arms. participated
more or less in the strugal. at Magenta; and that
the killed and ouudrd number some 20 OOO-belng
hot far from eight per cent Of the two arml"s Ap
palling a. il such slaughter Magenta wears much
smoo'ber front than the grim visagcd fields OF the
Nspoleoric period.
We have coIlated the details OF ten Of the chief
battles of that er--usmely. Msrengo Ansserlits
Jena. Eylau, Friedland, Aspern. Wagram, Boro
dino. Leip.ic. and Waterloo. Taking IS tho basis
of our calculations the average statements OF tho
leading authorities on all sides, aud describing
mere fractions, and dealing only IN rounS aumoers
We find that, in these ten battles France and her
sllies had $50 900 men, Of all arms; her an.aso-
ni.ts 1872 900; and that there we're Killed aud
wounded Of the former 249 800, and of ths latter
26I. 5OO-mskng an aggregate Of l2l 900 troops
engaged, of whom 200 were killed and
wounded. The average io-s, therefore. IN these
ten battles, is fraction over twenty four per cent
or little lees than one-quarter Of all tho troops
engaged! The carnage at Magenta, then, would
seem TO be only about ODethird as great as the
&c slaughter in the chief contests OF the hst
Napoleon. Though dry statistics of this sort are
rrpulsive to many minds, they may DE- valu'ble 10
the readers Of The TRIBUNE for present or future
references hence we will 90 little into detail IN
comparing these battles.
At Mareppo fought near the spot of the recent
engagement, the loss in killed and wounded on
both sides WAS 81 per cent, or more than one'hith
of the " hole number brought into action. At Ass
terltz known rs "ihe battle Of the three EnPe-
=. rors- ard whose unclouded sun Napoleon ever
remembered even in biz dreams, 1900 French
snd 20. eco Austri,ps and Russians were put h'rS
du rombat out of 10000 on the field. AT jena
with which Auerstadt is usually coupled), foaght
on the anniversary Of Marengo, aud where the
French encountered the army which contained in
lie ranks few gray veterans who had followed tue
black eagle on the field argent under the Great
Frederick, the loss was heavier than at Aastertz,
reaching the appalling proportion OF 70 per cent
The battle Of Ey lau, where Napoleon received his
first severe check, was terribly sangnnary. Out
of $50, 900 French aud Russaos engaged, $1,000
.tained The ice and snow of that wintry field with
their blood This was the most mnrderou- conflict
abich Europe had seen since Frederick at Pfu'.ia,
fifty years before left $4,000 dead and wounded
under the walls of Prague At FriedlaDd
fought in the dead Of Winter and Where the yico-
" was more clearly with the French than at Eylau,
about 81 per cent of those engaged we're iet 90
the field The loss at Aspern tincuding E.sing)
reached the awful extent of upward of 30 cent
During two days I45,000 men struggled
in mortal combat in and around these
blazing vlllsges, 1900 Of whom were baptized 10
their own gore. Following close upon this whole
sale slaughter came the more celebrated al de-
cisive but less muIdercus battle of Wagrsm
| where, though the numbers stricken down
amounted 10 about $4,000, they were but Is per
| cert Of the troops in action This was cOmPsra.
lively one Of the least bloody Of NapOeons general
battles; that Of Lut1en being a little more, aud
that at Baurzen q little less, sapguinay than
Wsgrsm. We now reach, n chronological order
Borodipo, the most severely fought action 10 hich
the Powers Of Europe ever took part, and which
has DO parallel since the wars of the Roman En-.
| pre. Kutusoff here made his last stand for Nos
| COW. The French, mastering about 135, 600 en-
countered the Russians, numbering about 10000.
| The sun Of this dreadful day shed his declining
| rays on nesry 100000 men weteriog 10 their
blood. At Leipsic where for three days Nap leon.
with 5000 troops, wi,hstoOd combined Europe
with 800 600, the h.voc smaller 10 com 2srison