The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-05-20

french, so 0ld SnlIOh 10 the north.
Shiloh was saved by the opportune ar
rival Of a division of supports when all
seemed lost; so, too, Marengo. The var.
| quished at Marengo were the assailants,
and their plan carried to the point of rout-
ing their opponents; just so at Shiloh.
The defenders at Shiloh fought stubbornly
and gave ground inch by inch as the de-
tenders did at Marengo AT Shiloh the
commander of the assailants fell at the
moment when victory seemed within his
grasp, and AT Marengo the commander Of
the assailants left the field owing to fatigue
and feebleness when victory was all but
certain. Finally, Shiloh gave the cause OF
the victors a wonderful impetus; so also
did Marengo, and as Shiloh made the fame
Of budding general whose previous sue
cesses had been transitory, so Marengo
doomed Napoleon as imperator and gen.
eral when his lucky star was his chief
capital. From personal point Of view
Grant had to win Shiloh in order to get
into the race for glory with such seniors as
Mcclellan, Buell. and Halleck, and Ma
poleon had to win Marengo to compete
with his well intrenched rivals, Moreau
and Massena. Had Shiloh ended as at one
time seemed inevitable, Grant would prob
ably have dropped into obscurity, and the
same with Napoleon had Marengo gone
against him.
Marengo-fought June IA, lSO0-was a
forlorn hope for Napoleon, although not for
France. His success in Italy in the cam
paign of 1896, and his campaign in Egypt
made him first consul, but that appoint
ment removed him from the army. In
plain English, he had been shelved so far
as active military leadership was concerned
In opening the campaign against Austria,
In 1900, he had either TO give the place Of
honor to Moresu or Massena, by sending
their armies to the field, or to create new
army if he would lead himself, even nomi
nally. AS first consul he was commander
in chief-much as the president of the
United States is-and might accompany
an army in the field, but not actually
command it. To accompany the armies
under Moreau or Massena would be 20 yield
the glory of an achievement to other Gands.
At least this is the view of his critics.
But as usually happens in crisis, tire
public had no time to note the purely per
sonal events. Austria took the initiative.
France was in danger. Who was TO lead
the rescue? Moreau's army, 10000 strong,
was guarding the frontier on the Rhine.
Massena was at Genoa guarding the pass
from Italy into southeastern France below
the Apennines. He had 10000 troops in
Genoa and Is, 900 under Gen. Suchet on the
strip of frontier north of Nice toward the
Alps. The AustrianS attacked Massena
with 10000 men, besieging Genoa with
10000, confronting Suchet's frontier guard
with 10000, and leaving the remaining 40
COO IN garrison guarding communications
OF course it touched a sore spot in NJ
poleon to have northern Italy, which he |
had wrested from Austria in 1876. again |
brought under her domination and made |
the base of operations against France. Be |
sides, 1t was among the probabilities that |
the Austrians in Italy would break through |
Massena's ranks, turn the southeastern !
provinces from their allegiances to repub- |
licanism, and then let loose upon the /
Rhenish frontier an army of 150, 900 men to |
overcome Moreau.
The campaign was opened vigorously by |
the Austrians in Italy in April, 1900, and |
Napoleon needed to act promptly. For !
some time there had existed, on paper. a
body OF troops known as the Grand Army |
Of Reserve Of France. 1t was a byword |
throughout Europe. and was freely lam /
poOned at home and abroad as consisting
Of a corporals guard of decrepit old men
and Of weak striplings. Napoleon secretly
this view of it, and also secretly
assembled at Dion, in eastern France.
IS, 600 of the despised reserves under gen
erals personally devoted to the First Consul
On tue 18th of May he set this army in mo
ton to cross the Alps for destination IN
known except TO himself. Engineers re-
ported that the Alps were barely passa.
ole' for artillery. 1T is passable; let Us
start, then" exclaimed Napoleon. Rations