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HE republican forces in Italy, at the commencement of 1799, confifted of nearly 80,000 French foldiers, and more than 50,000 Poles, Swifs, Piedmontefe, Genoefe, Romans, or Neapolitans, difperfed from the frontiers of Piedmont. They were formed into two armies: one of which was called the army of Italy, and the other that of Naples. The army of Italy, confifting of 90,000, occupied the Modenefe, the ftate of Genoa, Piedmont, the Milanefe, the Valtelline, and the countries of Brefcia, Bergamo, and Mantua. This difperfion of force, which a general hatred of the French rendered neceffary, reduced the number of men, who could be employed in active operations, to about 50,000. They were in cantonments to the banks of the lake of Garda, of the Minico, and, of the Po, from the frontier of the Tyrol to the mouth of the laft-mentioned river. The army of Naples, confifting of about 40,000, occupied the capital and the conquered part of his Sicilian majefty's dominions, as alfo Rome, and the different provinces of the church. Though it had not to contend with regular troops, yet it was not without enemies, nor free from danger. On one hand, it had to guard againft the fiery population of Naples, while, on the other, it had to combat the inhabitants of Calabria, Bafilica, Tarentese, Puglia, and, in a word, of all the provinces fituated to the fouth; and Abruzza and Benevento, which, conducted by cardinal

Ruffo, at once a priest, a politician, and a warrior, had taken arms in favour of their lawful fovereign. On a third fide, the fame army had to defend itfelf against the infurrections, in a great part of the ftates of the church, often checked, but never totally fuppreffed. The French army of Naples was diftinguifhed by an infatiable thirst of plunder, and a fpirit of infubordination. Officers and foldiers all thought of nothing but plunder, not for the republic, but for themfelves. The commander-in-chief, Championet, wifhing to put a ftop to thofe diforders, at least to make the plunder more fyftematic, and lefs under the wanton arbitrement of civil commiffaries, equally ignorant and regardlefs of military defigns, was deprived of his command, as has been feen, in chapter ninth, recalled into France, and threatened with the lofs of his head. His fucceffor, general Macdonald, knew better how to fubmit to the defpotifm of the directory, to the pride of their pro-confuls, and to the infubordination of his army. About the fame time, and nearly for fimilar reafons, general Joubert had loft the command of the army of Italy, which had been given to Scheerer, commonly called The Peculator, who poffeffed the confidence of the directory in the fame degree that he had loft that of the nation, and who, in order to accept that command, had quitted the place of minister of war. Scheerer arrived in Italy about the end of [T3] February.

February. The Auftrian army, at a fhort distance from the French army of Italy, occupied the parallel line of the Adige, from the Italian Tyrol to beyond Rovigo. About 30,000 men were diftributed along this line, while the army of referve, amounting to nearly the fame number, were cantoned in the Trevifano, Carniola, and Fruili. All thefe troops were under the command of general Kray, until lieutenant-general Melas hould come to take the chief command. From this ftatement it appears that the French had a vaft fuperiority, in point of number, but that the Auftrians had their forces concentered on a fhort line, and that they could not be attacked on that line while the French and their auxiliaries were fcattered over the furface of Italy, from the foot of the Alps to the gulphs of Naples and Manfredonia, had confiantly to keep in fubjection, and often to combat, a population of above ten millions of fouls, and were obliged to guard the coafts of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, on which hoftile troops might, at any time, be landed by the Englih, Ruffian, and Turkish fleets, which held the dominion of the two feas, blocked up the ports of Corfu, Ancona, and Malta, and frequently appeared before thofe of Leghorn, Civita-Vecchia, and Naples.

The talk allotted to the army of Italy, was, to pierce through the line of the Adige, to drive the Auftrians behind the Brenta, and even, if poffible, out of Italy, and at leaft to penetrate into the fouthern parts of the Tyrol, while Maflena hould attack it on the eaft, and Jourdan on the north: in a word, to furround and conquer that province, at once the ramparts of the heredi

tary ftates, and the key of Germany and Italy. The Auftrians had taken three principal pofitions on the Adige, which were well fortified, and well chofen. The firft was an entrenched camp at Pastrengo, near Buffolengo; the fecond pofition was oppofite to Verona, aud confifted of entrenchments thrown up on all the avenues to that place. It was intended as a point of fupport, both for the right and left, and therefore it was the moft important: for which reafon a camp had been established behind it, on the road of Vicenza, to be occupied by the troops of referve quartered in Trevifano and Fruili. The third and left hand pofition was, the fortified town of Legnago. Nothing material happened between the two armies till the twenty-fifth of March. Onthetwenty-fixth, general Scheerer, his army formed in fix divi fions, and confifting of about 45,000 men, marched against the three principal pofitions of their opponents. The battle was very obftinate during the whole day. Several pofts were taken and retaken. The Auftrians acknowledged, in the conflict of that day, 2,800 killed and wounded. The French fuffered as feverely, but they loft only 300 men in prifoners.Scheerer had complete fuccefs, and maintained his equality in the centre; but his right divifion, which was ordered to take and burn Legnago, twice repulfed by the Auftrian advanced pofts, were com pletely routed, and obliged to fly towards Mantua, leaving above 2000 men killed and wounded, with 600 prifoners, and eleven pieces of cannon. The Polith legion of Dombrousky, compofed almoft entirely of Auftrian deferters, ha

ving been at this affair, the Auftrian foldiers, to whom their officers called out parce ferro, as much in vain as Hannibal did to his at Thrafymene, would give no quarter, but exterminated with their bayonets, and the but-ends of their mufkets, all the men of that legion who fell into their hands. The engagement feemed fo decifive in favour of the Auftrians, that general Kray was on the point of pufhing on to Mantua, when a courier brought him intelligence of the difafter experienced on his right, from the fuccefsful attack by Scheerer's left. Notwithstanding the fatigue of his troops, he marched them the fame evening to the affiftance of the centre and of the right, leaving, however, a fufficient corps of obfervation between Mantua and Legnago. A part of these re-inforcements arrived at Verona on the twenty-leventh, and the reft on the twenty-eighth. During thefe two days, Scheerer, difconcerted with the fevere check on his right, attempted nothing decifive against Verona. The two armies were ftill fo near to each other, that, on the twenty-ninth, they were obliged to agree on a fufpenfion of arms, to bury their dead, who lay on the field fince the twenty-fixth, and began already to infect the air. On the thirtieth, two hours before the expiration of the truce, according to the Auftrians, the half of the troops, commanded by Moreau, that is, about 10,000 men, having paffed the Adige, by the bridge of Polo, attacked the pofts of the Auftrians, which guarded the left bank, over came then and advanced till within half a league of Verona, while another column endeavoured to gain the heights, which flaned the

right of the Auftrians, and the road of Vicenza, on which general Kray had wifely pofted his referve, or, more properly fpeaking, the main body of the army Three Auftrian columns came up with them on their' march, and attacked them with fuch fpirit, that they could not refift, but were obliged to retire towards their bridge, full three leagues diftant. Their retreat was nothing but a continued engagement. They continued it for a long time in good order; but, when the left Auftrian column faw that they approached the bridge, two battalions of grenadiers, detached from it with the greatest rapidity along the bridge, without firing, and ufing only the bayonet, overcame all refiftance, feized the bridge, and thus all who had not already paffed were cut off. The French column, which had been fent by the mountains, and which, in order to arrive at the bridge, had more ground to traverfe, met with a like fate. A party of it immediately laid down its arms, and the reft, in endeavouring to escape across the mountains, were likewife almost all taken. Two thoufand men fell into the hands of the Auftrians on this day, and the French loft all the advantages they had gained on the twenty-fixth. On the firft of April, general Scheerer, abandoning all his pofts which he occupied between the Adige and the lake of Garda, and placing a ftrong garrifon in Pefchiera, took a pofition, with his left and centre, beyond the Tartaro, at Magnan, between Villa Franca, and Yfoladella-Scala, his right wing being before Legnago. On the following day the Auftrian army encamped on the right bank of the Adige, before lerona, and on the road to Villa (T 4]

Franca.

Scheerer feeing that the Auftrians already acted partially on the offenfive, and perceiving that they would attack him with an irrefiftible fuperiority, when they fhould be joined by the Auftrians, who had left Auftria on the twentieth of March, and were rapidly advancing, judged that but little time re mained to give the campaign a favourable turn., He refolved, therefore, to make a new effort to drive the Auftrians over the Adige, and to establish himself on the other fide of that river. At the fame time general Kray formed on his fide the project of driving the French from their grand camp of Magnan, and driving them beyond the Tartaro, or, if poflible, behind the Mincio. It was on the fame day, the fifth of April, that the two generals refolved to attack each other. The French army, already reduced to 36,000 men, moved from their camp in three columns, exclufive of the advanced guard. Similar reafons influencing general Kray, his plan was fimilar. His army, amounting to 45,000 men, advanced in order to attack the French. The two armies were too near each other, as they were marching forward, to be long in meeting. The engagement was foon begun, and by ten o'clock was general along all the front of the line. For the first two hours it was favourable to the French, who gained ground, on all fides. General Serrurier got poffeffion of Villa-Franca and maintained himself there, The centred

the right pushed on to Verona. At this critical moment, nine battalions of the Auftrian referve, led by general Latterman, march rapidly against the enemy, to the found of Turkish mufic. The French, hither to victorious, attacked both in flank and rear, were at once stopped, broken, and put to flight. To prevent the Auftrians from following up this fuccefs, Scheerer and Moreau, with their central column, reinforced by fome troops that had remained in referve, rushed fo vigoroufly on the centre of the Auftrians, that they compelled it to give way; and general Kaim, notwithstanding this brave resistance, was repulfed till within half a league of Verona.→ General Lufignan having then comẹ up to his affiftance, with three battalions of grenadiers, still kept in referve, the battle was renewed with redoubled fury, and long maintained with equal fuccefs. The obstinacy of the Auftians at last prevailed, and the French on this point likewife were broken, routed, and purfued with the bayonet at their backs. Defeated on the right and in the centre, the French could not think of drawing any advantage from the fuccefs they had had on their left. Serrurier followed the retrograde movement of the rest of the army, which it executed with great confufion, leaving behind them cannon, ammunition, waggons, and wounded. The trophies of this victory were feventeen pieces of cannon, and near 3000 prifoners. It coft the victors in killed and wounded 2500 men. The lofs of the French, in killed and wounded, was at leaft 3500 men.

On the day after the battle of Magnan, general Scheerer abandoned Villa-Franca and Ifola-della

Scalá,

Scola, and concentrated his army between Mantua and Goito. Continuing his retreat, on the seventh, he passed the Mincio, near Goito, at the fame time throwing a reinforcement of men and provifions into Pefchiera. The Auftrian van guard occupied the extent of country abandoned by the French, and pushed on to Valeggio, where it feized the bridge over the Mincio. In the mean time, a flying corps, under general Klenau, either funk or took the armed and provifion boats of the French on the Po, and gained poffeffion of the countries of Oftiglia and Governovolo on the feventh, thus cutting off the communication between the Lower Po, and Mantua. The long fuppreffed deteftation of the Italians for the French now broke forth. The inhabitants of the two banks of the Po took up arms for themselves, cut down the trees of liberty, abjured all revolutionary infignia, and compelled the French troops to difperfe about the country, and to shut themselves up in Ferrara and Bologna. Affairs were equally profperous at the other extremity of the line formed by the imperial army, General Wuckaffowich, with different fmall columns, after driving the enemy from the valley of the Chiefa, and the two fhores of the lake of Idro, had taken poffeffion, on the eighth, of the important defile of Rocca d'Anfo, which opened the entrance of the Bref cian, and placed him in the rear of the French army. This threatening circumftance determined Scheerer to quit the Mincio entirely, and to retire behind the Chiefa, leaving Pefchiera and Mantua to their fate.

General Melas, who had arrived on the eighth, to take the command 7.

of the Auftrian army, fent his van guard, on the tenth, beyond the Mincio, to occupy the approaches to Pefchiera; whilft, on the left, general Klenau pushed on to the vicinity of Mantua. On the thir teenth, the first columns of the. Ruffian auxiliary army, which were immediately followed by the others, arrived at Verona, and the day after, general Melas, having no longer any thing to fear for his rear, paffed the Mincio with all his army, which on that day he encamped near to Campagnola, his headquarters being at Valleggio. In this position he was joined by the Ruffian army, estimated at 23,000, but not much exceeding 20,000 fighting men, and by marhal Suwarrow, who took the chief command of the troops of the two emperors. The marthal immediately took meafures for pufling forwards, and made the neceflary arrangements for the double blockade of Mantua and Pefchiera. Between 18 and 20,000 men were allotted to that fervice, and the command given to general Kray, who hastened to inveft the two fortreffes. On the fourteenth, fifteenth, fixteenth, and feventeenth, Scheerer, with his army, reduced to lels than 20,000, pursued his retrograde movements. On the last of these days, his right passed the Adda: his rear-guard remained on the left bank of the Rhine; his left in front of the Oglio, be hind Brescia: his head-quarters were at the famous Lodi on the Adda. Two days afterward his head-quarters were transferred to Calao on the Oglio; and the right of the army, by an oblique movement, approached the left of that river and of Brefcia. The allied army, followed clofe on the footsteps of

Scheerer,