Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-10-04

80 8~
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bodies Of troops to Gle over ! bridge BE-
comes an important element in the cal
eulation. and. consequently. at the pres
ent moment the following details Of the
actual passage Of large army across
the Danube will not be without inter-
est. In May, 1909. Napoleoa determ-
ined to cross the Danube and attack the
Austrian Army, which, having been de-
feated on the right bank. had ret,reo to
the north Of the river. Various consid-
erations, political as well as military, in
duced him to select Vienna Is the town
in the neighhofhood Of which the at
tempt should be made, and the actual
spot chosen BY him was where the riv-
er is divided into two branches by the
island of Lobau. OF the two arms the
more southern Is the wider, the north
ern one having an average width of l2O
yards. The force at the disposal of
Napoleon amounted in round numbers
to SO, 900 men, while the opposing army
under the command Of the Archduke
Charles was about 10O,O 900 strong
Keeping his design secret, Napoleon
was able to occupy the Island of Lobau
without opposition. Bridging materials
had been prepared, and in three hours,
on the 10th of May, communication was
established by means of fifteen pom
toons between the island and the left
bank. Before dark division Of ligh:
cavalry Under General Lasalle, a divis-
ion Of infantry under Molitor, and d.
vision Of voltigeurs under Boudet, IN all
$500 men, had filed across, and, as
the enemy had not become aware OF
Napoleon's enterprise, were able to
take up strong position without being
molested. But now the bridge gave
way. The whole night was spent in
the work Of repair, and it was not until
morning that the passage Of the river
could be resumed. During the early
part of the forenoon of the 21st, Manu.
laz's cavalry, Espagne's cuirassiers, Le-
grand's division ofintantry, and some
artillery, IN all about 9, 600 meEy crossed
over; when again the bridge broke
The Danube, which had risen three feet
on the Goth, had risen four feet more
during the forenoon Of the 2Ist. In a
few hours, however, communication
was again established, and in the even
ing St. Cyr's division and St. German $
cavalry were brought across, so that BY
night-fall Napoleon had altogether 30
600 men on the enemy's bank Of the
river. BY this time the Austrian COM
mander had received information of Ma
poleon : movements, had assembled &C.
900 Of his troops, and already, at one
o'clock on the Afternoon ofthe 21st, had
begun an attack upon the French ad-
vanced guard. This latter was disposed
in a strong position in the villages Ess-
ling and Aspern, and until these were cap
tured it was impossible for the Austrians
TO penetrate between them and reach
the head Of the bridge. For five hours
the French defended themselves with
the utmost obstinacy. Half Of Molitor's
division, which held Aspern, had fall
len. The survivors were beginning to
waver, when, luckily for them, the
Archdake Charles, seeing that no more
French troops anne up from the. bridge,
which had not yet been repaired. and
thinking that he had done enough in
staying the debouchc Of the enemy, and
that he could more easily and more GER
tainly crush them on the morrow, when
his own force should have received re-
Inducements, gave orders to camp-fir-
Ing: and during the night the prospects
OF Napoleon were in truth gloomy. For
the third time the bridge leading from
the right bank Of the river to the island
OF Lobau broke, the Danube having
risen yet another seven feet. or four
teen feet in all. The damage was,
however. once more repaired, and be-
fore daybreak Oudinot's txo disisions,
the guard, St. Hiiaire,s and Demot,s
troops, in all $4,000 men, had begun 10
cross. By noon on the 32d Napoleon
had 60,0O0 men on the eaemy's bank.
But by this time the Austrians also
had been reinforced. and, adv ancing to
the attack, pressed the French hard
Atthis critical moment the ne ws reached
Napoleon that once again, and for the
fourth time, the bridge from the right
bank to the island had been swept
away, being this time so much dam
aged that there was but little prospect
Of being able to restore it. Thus the
Emperor found himself deprived OF any
chance Of receiving further reinforce
ments; the force ct artillery across was
bat small, ammunition was running
short, the men were suffering severely
from the Austrian onslauehts and heavy
fire, and St. Hilaire and q host Of his
officers were killed. .All that remained
10 be done was to endeavcr 10 save. his
army from complete snnihilaiion, by
withdrawing II across the small arm OF
the river to the island Of Lobau. Lannes
was ordered 10 cover the retreat, and lost
his life in fulfilling hss task. The Aus.
trans made no vigorous pursuit. and by
the morning OF the 2sd the French had
once more placed the northern arm OF
the Danube between themselves and
the enemy, hsving lost 1900 men in
the two days hghtins.-Ps2 XeR G--
ss:fs.