The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-07-05
TODAY IN HISTORY
How Napoleon Won an Archduchess.
TUESDAY. JULY 8. 1910,

On July o and 8, 1905. occurred the
| battle or Wsgram, one OF the most
| bloody OF the campaign waged by Ma
poleon against Austria and the Austrian
Archdukes. Charles and John. Napoleon
| had 100000 soldiers while the Austrian
army numbered barely 10000 less.
Austria had no sooner concluded the
peace of Pressburg than she began TO
regret her haste and TO reflect that Aus
! terlitz was, after ALL not necessarily a
nnal battle and had merely resulted In
! frightening the cmperors of Russia and
Austria, and causing them to forget that
an army of the Archduke Charles and
John was approaching from Hungary.
Accordingly. the years of 1S6G-I were
spent In the rebuilding OF the military
and In the spring of 1908 a fresh army OF
| 100000 men raised by conscription.
| Against this Napoleon at once protested
and war was the outcome. Tho Austrian
| troops crossed the frontiers at once in
Bohemia, on the Inn, in the Tyrol and In
| Italy. France gathered her forces from
where she had In all about 100000. An
| action a. Thanh was undecisive, then
there was victory for the French at
Ahensberg. and one of their enemy at
Ratlsbon. and finally n hotly- contested
engagement at Eckmul, in which Napo-
leon at length came off victorious The
| Vienna, where, after but slight resis-
tances they arrived on the 18Th OF May,
the Austrian Archduke's relief coming
| too late upon the scene.
The lighting now centered about the
| Danube, which the French attempted to
cross on the 18th OF May near the VII
lage of Aspern, and after two days Of
severe conflict the Anstrians came OF
victorious, the loss for both sides reach
| ing a total of $4,000 men. Driven back
| to Lobau Napoleon fortified his posi-
ton and summoned troops from far and
near.
On the evening Of the 4th of July he
| had loo, 600 Infantry and 10000 horses. to-
sether with $50 pieces OF cannon on the
| tCl nd VfI h. i,yiN r.syNp
| bridges were thrown over the river and
by on the morning following the whole
force was across The battle began In
| the afternoon by a violent attack on the
Austrian forces which. for a moment.
promised to decide the day in favor OF
| Napoleon but the tide turned at last
and the French were repulsed with heavy
| loss.
There was breathing spell for one
! night and then the Austrians took the of
| fepsive. They had 5000 infantry and
25, 900 cavalry, with the expectation OF
$4,000 endorsements under the Arch
duke John, Both sides fought desperate
| ly. The Austrian right overcame the
French left and at the other extreme the
| battle was long In doubt, But at last
| two divisions turned the Austrian flank
and drove IL back. Then Napoleon brought
all his force to bear upon the enemy 8
center and after charging again and
again succeeded in forcing the Austrians
! into an ordered retreat,
Although this meant, in the end, the
/ Hnal triumph or france. inc Dattie was
so nobly contested that most historians
consider it one of the most creditable
in Austrian annals. The total loss is
estimated at 25.000, killed and wounded.
In his History of Europe" Alliston
says that this campaign is "one OF the
most memorable examples of patriotic re-
sistance recorded In the history OF the
world Other empires have almost invar-
| ably succumbed upon the capture OF the
| capital Austria Is the only state record
| ed In history which (without the aid OF q
rigorous climate like Moscow fought two
desperate battles in defense of Its inde-
pendence after It's capital had fallen Yet
TO small purposel By the peace OF Vienna,
! Austria had to give up to Bavsria, Salz-
| berg. Berchtesgaden, the InnXiertel and
j the Hausrckvlertel, parts OF Galacia 70
| Russia and Warsaw; Carnoila, Triest
most Of Croatia. Istra, etc, to Italy; In
all 4Z, 900 square miles and 3,500,00 peo-
| pie, The emperor was also forced TO re-
duce the army and, indirectly, to give,
shortly after the hand of his daughter
Maria Louisa, in marriage to Napoleon.
On July 8, ITS. Benjamin Franklin
wrote his famous letter to Strahan. the
English publisher; 1t is the date OF the
which sovereigns were first issued by the
| English government in 1917. II is the
birthday OF Mrs, Sarah Siddons, the act
ress Q755). Admiral David G. Farragut
| the first admiral of the United States
navy (lS01): Phineas T. Barnum. the cell
| ehrated circus man OS10); William c.
| Whitney. secretary OF the navy under
! Cleveland QSiD: and Joseph 3. Foraker
| the Ohio soldier and statesman QS46)s