CHAP. duke Charles, even after the departure of Wurmser with 30,000 men for Italy, was nearly as strong. The French passed the Rhine with two armies, Jourdan at Cologne, Moreau at Kehl, with the intention of meeting in the centre of Germany. The Archduke Charles at first retreated before them, but gave Moreau battle on the 11th of August at Neresheim. The combatants lost each about 7,000 men, the French kept possession of the field, but the junction of Moreau with Jourdan was prevented. On the 3rd of September, Jourdan gave battle to the Archduke for the purpose of effecting what Moreau had failed in accomplishing. The engagement took place at Wurzburg, but the French were defeated by the archduke and Jourdan's army driven back upon the Rhine. Moreau advanced as far as Munich, and was thus in Bavaria in the first days of September, whilst Bonaparte was engaged with Wurmser. The latter believed that the two French generals would unite, and in this belief he made his unfortunate point upon Verona. But Moreau could go no farther. The Archduke Charles, after the defeat of Jourdan, watched every opportunity for overwhelming his brother general, and all Moreau could do was to bring back his army to Strasbourg. His retreat across the Black Forest is compared by French writers to that of the Ten Thousand. It is not easy to discern the similitude. These successes of the Archduke Charles compensated at Vienna the victory of Bonaparte, and even after the last defeat it was determined to send a fresh army down the Tyrol upon Verona, under the command of Alvinzi, to the relief of Wurmser, who was by no means provided for supporting a long siege in Mantua. The force collected for this purpose amounted to some 50,000 men, of which one portion under Davidowitsch was to take the accustomed road down the Adige to Verona; the rest Alvinzi proposed to bring to Vicenza, and thus approach Verona and Mantua from Venetia. In both XLII. directions the Austrians were successful. Early in CHAP. November, Davidowitsch drove General Vaubois from the valley of the Adige back upon Verona, whilst Massena and Augereau were obliged to retire from Vicenza to the same town. The Austrian generals took post on the heights of Caldiero, eastward of Verona. Bonaparte marched from this city on the 12th to attack them, but was repulsed, and for the first time found himself worsted. He vented his anger and despair, the latter more than half affected, in a despatch to the Directory, complaining of their leaving him so inferior in number to the enemy. To rest under defeat was, however, to draw down destruction. He had tried in vain to dislodge the Austrians from Caldiero by attacking them from Verona. To reach them from the other side was difficult, for the only way led through marshes, and to attempt this would expose Verona. Yet the French general risked it. He marched from Verona south-east by the Adige, passed over it to the marshes, and directed his column. on the 11th of November along the raised roads by which he hoped to reach Villanuova and the enemy's rear by the first light of morning." He was stopped, however, by the Alpon river and the bridge of Arcola which crosses it, where a regiment of Croats kept guard. Not to force a passage seemed to be to lose the whole aim of the expedition, and accordingly every effort was made by the French to do so. Attack after attack failing, the last was led by Napoleon in person, who planted a flag upon the bridge and led on a truly forlorn hope. The generals and aides-de-camp covered him with their persons, but all were shot or wounded, and he himself, dragged back from the inexpugnable bridge by his soldiers, was well nigh drowned in the morass which engulfed him to the middle. There was no taking or passing the bridge till the next day, the Alpon having * His Correspondence. CHAP. then been passed higher up. The aim was thus not attained of turning or reaching Caldiero from the east, but an equal result was obtained by Alvinzi quitting that position to fight the French column on the chaussées or roads through the marshes, on which the heads of columns alone could take part in the combat. The contest continued on the two following days in the open plain, where Alvinzi's troops, no longer sheltered by their position, were completely beaten. Napoleon says they were chiefly raw recruits. Alvinzi in this engagement lost half his force, and finally withdrew into the Tyrol. The victory of Arcola and the retreat of Alvinzi were followed by negotiations which occupied December. They having failed in producing an agreement, Alvinzi reappeared in January, 1797, with an army as strong as ever. Its numbers were completed and spirit invigorated by volunteers from the chief towns of Austria. Those of Vienna had received their colours from the hands of the Empress. The French troops, however, had been reinforced too, and were thus more equal to the new contest than they had been for that decided at Arcola. This time with merely a feint attack upon Verona from the east, the chief force of Alvinzi came down the valley of the Adige, it and the French staking at once the issue of the campaign upon the possession of the high plain of Rivoli. The French had collected their principal force there, and held it with a formidable artillery. It thus became the task of Alvinzi to assault this position on several sides with his infantry, it being impossible to use at first either cavalry or artillery. Fighting under this great disadvantage, the Austrian columns gallantly ascended the heights of Rivoli, and one portion especially drove in Joubert, and had well nigh established themselves on the plateau. They were driven from it, however, when Massena arrived with the last reinforcements. It was a day-long struggle, which ended in the complete failure of the Austrians to take the plateau. As they attacked from all sides in different divisions, these once defeated, could not unite or rally, so that the consequence of failure was the loss of half his army to Alvinzi. Such was the battle of the 14th of January, 1797, known as that of Rivoli. Meantime 7,000 or 8,000 of the Austrians under Provera had left the main armies combating, and hurried to Mantua, to surprise the French corps of besiegers. They resisted for the night, and by the morning some of the troops that had so lately fought at Rivoli arrived to prevent the revictualling of the fortress. In vain did Wurmser make a desperate sortie and Provera do all that a gallant general could, to penetrate into the place. Wurmser was repulsed, and Provera obliged to surrender. The campaign was over. The Austrians had not resources for marching a sixth army to save Italy. Mantua surrendered on the 2nd of February. And the war, if continued, had at least not to be fought on Italian ground. Previous to the last expedition of Alvinzi, England and France, more from regard to popular opinion than to the convictions of the government, had made an attempt at negotiation. Lord Malmesbury came to Paris, and had several interviews with Delacroix the minister of Foreign Affairs. But neither had any idea of making the concessions requisite for peace. The English could not stomach the French hold of Belgium, and the hopes and efforts of the Directory were centered on the expedition of twenty odd thousand men who, with Hoche at their head, were about to land in Ireland. They sailed for that purpose, and returned as they came, having battled only with the elements. But it showed the animus of the French-to strike a deep blow at England, not conclude peace with it. The Directory proposed a separate peace with Austria, and sent Clarke, subsequently the Duke of Feltre, for CHAP. XLII. CHAP. the purpose. XLII. But he was as little successful with the Austrians, as Lord Malmesbury had been with the French. Bonaparte was averse to the mission and the instructions of Clarke, which went to leave the fortress of Mantua to the enemy. The astounding success of the French army of Italy, and the glory of its commander, not merely cowed and prostrated Europe, but threatened to do the same by the parties which struggled against the Directory at home. It would be difficult to find a government less calculated to command obedience or respect. It had obtained and prolonged its reign against the popular choice, and by doing it absolute violence, whilst every man of respectability and moderation scorned its members as incapable and corrupt. The directors indeed soon perceived that they could not survive in an atmosphere of freedom. To gag the press, falsify the elections and keep up the laws excluding from office all who were not Terrorists, formed their only means of retaining power. The majority of Frenchmen were unmistakably returning to their old convictions and their old habits, to religion, to monarchy, or to the rule of those who had some claim and right to govern. Had the Bourbon family possessed a prince of eminent qualities, all eyes would have turned to him, but the legitimate princes merely looked to restore the reign of long years previous. The Duke of Orleans, notwithstanding his campaigns, had not redeemed the crimes of his father. Hence moderate men were more anti-revolutionary than royalist, and would not have objected to a Directory of honourable men, governing constitutionally, in harmony with the people and the assemblies. The majority of the directors, however, consisting of Barras, Rewbell and Reveillere would not consent to this. The lately elected Third of the representatives was decidedly hostile to them; the second Third, which with the First, would come in to constitute a majority in the spring of 1797, promised to |