The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1900-05-05
The Greatest Of Campaigns

Boulogne, preparing for the invasion
of England. Secretly Austria and
Russia entered into coalition with
i England against him. and prepared
to assail him in the rear. Five hun
dred thousand allied troops were inn
mediately on the march, for the in
vasion of France. without any dec
| laration of war. OF these. 100000
were Austrians. 1000 Russians, 5O,-
900 English, Swedes and Neapolitans.
There were also 100000 Prussians. for
midably armed and disciplined. eager
to join the coalition upon the first
reverse which should attend the
French arms. To meet these armies
of combined Europe. Napoleon had
but 10000 combatants, $4,000 of
whom were horsemen.
The allies supposed that they were
moving in secrecy, and that they were
to strike their victim by surprise.
But n vigilant eye was watching
them. The moment the Austrian
troops commenced their march. by
the invasion OF Bavaria, Napoleon's
ally, he put the seal of silence upon
all the avenues OF information, and,
by means of 10000 carriages which he
had in readiness, transported his
army, with almost the speed Of the
whirlwind. across France, passed both
the Rhine and the Danube, and plant
ed his batteries in the rear OF the di-
vision of $4,000 Austrians who had en-
tered the Bavarian kingdom. The re-
treat OF the foe was thus cut off, and
he was separated from his supplies
and could hope for no aid. The Aus
trians could not have been more
amazed had an army descended from
the skies.
AS Napoleon was thus rapidly con-
eentrating his troops in the rear OF
the foe, he wrote TO Talleyrand:
1.-THE Austrians are in the defiles Of
the Black Forest. God grant that
they may remain there. My only fear
is that we shall brighten them too
much. If they allow me 10 gain
few more marches / shall have com
pletely turned them. Forbid the
newspapers TO make any more men
ton of the army than il it did not
exist"
Napoleon seemed TO be omnipreS
ent. Night and day, almost without
food or sleep, he was on horseback,
galloping from post TO post. For
eight days and nights of incessant
rain, the emperor had not taken off
his boots. or even thrown himself
upon a couch Of rest One night Ma
poleon overlook brigade of his sol
diers on the march. Gathering them
around him, az father would as
semble his children, he explained TO
them minutely the situation of the
enemy, and the mnneuvers by which
he hoped to gain n triumphant and
bloodless victory He had no fear
that there would be single deserter
TO betray his trust. As he put spurs
darkness, burst of irrepressible en-
thusiasm cheered him on his way.
In less than three weeks 10000 OF
the Austrians were taken captive, and
$4,000 more were trembling behind
the ramparts Of Ulm, all possibility
OF escape being cut off. The bat
teries Of the French were placed upon
the adjacent heights, and now and
then n shell fell into the city, por-
tentous Of the approaching storm.
Gen. Mack, in despair, sent Prince
Maurice 10 the emperor with flag
of truce. The prince, MS was GUS
tomary on such occasions, was con-
Quoted through the lines Of the
French army TO the emperor's head
quarters, blindfoldcd. When the
baudages were removed he found him
self in the presence OF Napoleon. in a
stcrm-torn tent, through which the
rain drippedfreely. The emperor stood
upon loose board, which alone pro-
tected his feet from the water which
deluged the plain. Nothing remained
for the Austrians but unconditional
surrender.
The next day was clear cold and
brilliant, when n scene was witnessed
seldom paralleled in the annals Of
war. Tlirty-six thousand Austrians
marched out from the city and laid
down their arms before the con-
queror Napoleon stood upon the hill
side, before campfire, as the mel
nncholy procession defiled before him.
In generous terms he said TO the
officers Inundated and grief-stricken:
"Dentlemen, war has its chances.
Often victorious, you must expect
sometimes 10 be vanquished Your
master wages against me an unjust
war. | say candidly. / know not for
what am fighting"
The exultation OF the French army
was boundless. Sixty-s:x thousand
prisoners, 200 pieces OF cannon, 90
standards and an immense amount of
military stores had been taken In a
campaign OF 20 days. and with the
loss of but 1900 men. A few thou
sands only OF the great army OF in
vasion had escaped, in fugitive bands,
through the defles of the mountgins.
But astounding as was this success,
the French army was still In immi-