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peace on Austria, and it is this road which you wish us to renounce." When, therefore, on the 25th of August 18o5, he learnt definitely that See also:

VILLENEUVE, PIERRE CHARLES JEAN BAPTISTE SILVESTRE (1763-r8o6)

Villeneuve (see Naval operations below) had failed in his purpose of securing the command of the Channel, which was the necessary preliminary to the invasion of See also:

England, it was but the affair of a few See also:

HOURS, CANONICAL

hours to dictate the dispositions necessary to See also:

TRANSFER (from Lat. transferre, to bear across, carry over)

transfer his whole See also:

army to the See also:

RHINE (Lat. Rhenus, Ger. Rhein, Fr. Rhin, Dutch Rhyn, or Rijn)

Rhine frontier as the first step in its march to the Danube. On this date the army actually See also:

lay in the following positions: I. See also:

CORPS (pronounced as in French, from which it is taken, being a late spelling of tors, from Lat. corpus, a body; cf. " corpse ")

Corps Bernadotte See also:

Hanover (See also:

GOTTINGEN

Gottingen) II. „ See also:

MARMONT, AUGUSTE FREDERIC LOUIS VIESSE DE, DUKE OF RAGUSA (1774–1852)

Marmont See also:

Holland IV. „ See also:

SOULT, NICOLAS JEAN DE DIEU

Soult See also:

CAMP (from Lat. campus, field)

Camp of See also:

BOULOGNE, or BOULLONGNE

Boulogne and V. „ See also:

LANNES, JEAN

Lannes r other points on the VI. „ See also:

NEY, MICHEL

Ney See also:

ENGLISH

English Channel Guard Bessieres See also:

Paris. The corps were, however, by no means See also:

fit for immediate service. Bernadotte's corps in Hanover was almost in the position of a beleaguered See also:

garrison, and the See also:

MARSHAL (med. Lat. marescalcus, from O.H.Ger. marah, horse, and scalc, servant)

marshal could only obtain his transport by giving out that he was ordered to withdraw to France. Marmont and See also:

DAVOUT, LOUIS NICOLAS

Davout were deficient in horses for See also:

CAVALRY (Fr. cavalerie, Ger. Kavallerie or Reiterei, derived ultimately from late Lat. caballus, horse)

cavalry and See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery, and the troops in Boulogne, having been See also:

DRAWN

drawn together for the invasion of England, had hardly any transport at all, as it was considered this want could be readily supplied on landing.

The See also:

composition of the army, however, was excellent. The generals were in the See also:

PRIME, PRIMER AND PRIMING

prime of See also:

LIFE

life, had not yet learnt to distrust one another, and were accustomed to See also:

WORK

work under the emperor and with one another. The regimental See also:

OFFICERS

officers had all acquired their See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank before the enemy and knew how to See also:

MANAGE

manage their men, and of the men themselves nearly two-thirds had seen active service. The strength of the army lay in its See also:

INFANTRY

infantry, for both cavalry and artillery were short of horses, and the latter had not yet acquired mobility and skill in manceuvring. Napoleon's determination to undertake the invasion of England has often been disputed, but it is hard to imagine what other operation he contemplated, for the outbreak of hostilities with his See also:

CONTINENTAL

continental enemies found him See also:

ill-supplied with intelligence as to the resources of the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country he had then to See also:

TRAVERSE

traverse. To remedy this, See also:

MURAT, JOACHIM (1767—1815)

Murat and other See also:

general officers as well as See also:

minor agents were sent ahead and instructed to travel through South See also:

Germany in See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain clothes with a view to See also:

COLLECTING

collecting See also:

INFORMATION (from Lat. informare, to give shape or form to, to represent, describe)

information and mastering the See also:

topography. The emperor was, moreover, imperfectly acquainted with the degree of preparation of his adversaries' designs, and when he dictated his preliminary orders he was still unaware of the direction that the See also:

ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM (1813-1903)

allies' advance would assume. That he foresaw the march of events which ultimately See also:

drew Mack to Ulm is inconceivable. On the 26th of August, however, he learnt that roo,000 Russians were about to enter Bohemia thence to unite with an Austrian army of 8o,000 near the junction of the See also:

Inn and Danube, and this information compelled him to alter the general direction of his advance so as to traverse the defiles of the See also:

Black See also:

FOREST

Forest See also:

north of the See also:

NECKAR

Neckar, cavalry only observing the passes to the south. 3. Austrian Army.—The Austrians after the defeats of 1800 had endeavoured to reorganize their forces on the French See also:

MODEL (0. Fr. modelle, mod. modele; It. modello, pattern, mould; from Lat. modus, measure, standard)

model, but they were soon to learn that in matters of organization the spirit is everything, the See also:

LETTER (through Fr. lettre from Lat. littera or litera, letter of the alphabet; the origin of the Latin word is obscure; it has probably no connexion with the root of linere, to smear, i.e. with wax, for an inscription with a stilus)

letter very little. They had copied the organization of the French corps, but could find no corps commanders fit to assume the responsibility for these commands.

As always in such conditions, the actual See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control of the smallest movements was still centralized in the hands of the army commanders, and thus the See also:

RATE

rate of marching was incredibly slow. They had decided that in future their troops in the See also:

field should live by requisition, and had handed over to the artillery, which needed them badly, a large number of horses thus set See also:

FREE

free from the transport service, but they had not realized that men accustomed to a See also:

REGULAR

regular See also:

DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution of rations cannot be trans-formed into successful marauders and pillagers by a stroke of the See also:

PEN (Lat. penna, a feather, pen)

pen; and they had sent away the bulk of their army, 120,000 under their best general, the See also:

ARCHDUKE (Lat. archidux, Ger. Erzherzog)

archduke See also:

Charles, into See also:

Italy, leaving Lieut. Field Marshal Mack von Leiberich in Germany, nominally as See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief of the See also:

STAFF (O. Eng. staef, cf. Du. staf, Ger. Stab, &c.; Icel. stafr meant also a written letter, and O. Eng. stafas, the letters of the alphabet; " stave," one of the thin pieces of wood of which a cask is made, is a doublet)

staff to the See also:

young See also:

Prince See also:

Ferdinand, but virtually in command, to meet the onset of Napoleon at the See also:

head of his veterans. Mack was a See also:

man of unusual attainments. He had risen from the ranks in the most See also:

CASTE (through the Fr. from Span. and Port. casta, lineage, Lat. cast us, pure)

caste-ridden army in Europe, and against untold opposition had carried through army reforms which were correct in principle, and needed only See also:

time to develop. It was his See also:

FATE

fate to be made the scapegoat for the disasters which followed, though they need no further explanation than that, at the head of 8o,000 men and exercising only restricted powers of command, he was pitted against the greatest strategist of all ages who was responsible to no overlord and commanded, in the fullest sense of the See also:

TERM

term, an army considerably more than twice as strong. 4. The March on Ulm.—The outbreak of the campaign was hastened by the See also:

DESIRE

desire of the Austrian See also:

government to feed their own army and leave a See also:

BARE

bare country for Napoleon by securing the resources of See also:

BAVARIA (Ger. Bayern)

Bavaria. It was also hoped that the Bavarians with their army of 25,000 men would join the allies. In the latter See also:

hope they were deceived, and the Bavarians under General See also:

WREDE, KARL

Wrede slipped away to See also:

BAMBERG

Bamberg in time. In the former, how-ever, they were successful, and the destitution they See also:

LEFT

left in their See also:

wake almost wrecked Napoleon's subsequent combinations. Mack's march to Ulm was therefore a See also:

NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity of the situation, and his continuance in this exposed position, if foolhardy against such an adversary, was at any rate the outcome of the high resolve that even if beaten he would inflict crippling losses upon the enemy.

Mack knew that the Russians would be See also:

LATE

late at the See also:

RENDEZVOUS

rendezvous on the Inn. By constructing an entrenched camp at Ulm and concentrating all the available See also:

food within it, he expected to compel Napoleon to invest and besiege him, and he anticipated that in the devastated country his adversary would be compelled to See also:

SEPARATE

separate and thus fall an easy See also:

PREY (0. Fr. preie, mod. proie, Lat. praeda, booty, from prae and the root hed—seen in prehendere, prendere, to grasp)

prey to the Russians. E or that See also:

BLOW, JOHN (1648-1708)

blow he had determined to make his ownarmy the See also:

ANVIL (from Anglo-Saxon anfilt or onfilti, either that on which something is " welded " or " folded," cf. German falzen, to fold, or connected with other Teutonic forms of the word, cf. German amboss, in which case the final syllable is from " beat," and

anvil. But these views obviously could not be published in army orders, hence the discontent and opposition he was destined to encounter. 5. Movements of the French.—It was on the 21st that Napoleon learnt of Mack's presence in Ulm. On that date his army had crossed the Rhine and was entering the defiles of the Black Forest. It was already beginning to suffer. Boots were worn out, greatcoats deficient, transport almost unattainable and, according to See also:

MODERN

modern ideas, the army would have been considered incapable of See also:

ACTION

action. es_ Oct. 6. Oct.

9. Oct. 16. See also:

SEPT

Sept. 28. Bernadotte . Wiirzburg Anspach Nurnberg See also:

REGENSBURG (RATISBON)

Regensburg Marmont . See also:

WURZBURG

Wurzburg Anspach Nurnberg Regensburg Davout . . See also:

MANNHEIM

Mannheim See also:

MERGENTHEIM

Mergentheim Anspach Dietfurt Ney . . Selz See also:

CRAILSHEIM, or KRAILSHEIM

Crailsheim See also:

WEISSENBURG

Weissenburg See also:

INGOLSTADT

Ingolstadt Lannes . . Strassburg See also:

GMUND

Gmund See also:

NORDLINGEN

Nordlingen See also:

NEUBURG

Neuburg Soult . . See also:

LANDAU

Landau See also:

AALEN

Aalen Donauw~rth On the 26th of See also:

SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven)

September, its deployment beyond the mountains was See also:

COMPLETE

complete, and as Napoleon did not know of Mack's intention to stay at Ulm and had learned that the Russian advance had been delayed, he directed his columns by the following roads on the Danube, between See also:

DONAUWORTH

Donauworth and Ingolstadt, so as to be in a position to intervene between the Austrians and the Russians and See also:

BEAT (a word common in various forms to the Teutonic languages; it is connected with the similar Romanic words derived from the Late Lat. battere)

beat both in detail.

On the 7th of See also:

OCTOBER

October this See also:

MOVEMENT

movement was completed—the Austrians abandoned the Danube See also:

bridges after a show of resistance, retreating westward—and Napoleon, leaving Murat in command of the V. and VI. corps and cavalry to observe the Austrians, pressed on to See also:

Augsburg with the others so as to be ready to See also:

DEAL

deal with the Russians. Learning, however, that these were still beyond striking See also:

RADIUS

radius, he determined to deal with Mack's army first, having formed the fixed conviction that a See also:

THREAT

threat at the latter's communications would compel him to endeavour to retreat southwards towards See also:

TIROL (or TYROL 1)

Tirol. Bernadotte in his turn became an army of observation, and Napoleon joining Murat with the main See also:

BODY

body marched rapidly westward from the See also:

LECH (Licus)

Lech towards the See also:

ILLER

Iller. 6. Austrian Plans.—Mack's intentions were not what Napoleon supposed. He had meanwhile received (false) information of a See also:

BRITISH

British landing at Boulogne, and he was seriously deceived as to the See also:

numbers of Napoleon's forces. He was also aware that the exactions of the French had produced deep indignation through-out Germany and especially in Prussia (whose See also:

NEUTRALITY

neutrality had been violated, see § 14, below). All this, and the almost mutinous discontent of his generals and his enemies of the See also:

court circle, shook his See also:

RESOLUTION

resolution of acting as anvil for the Russians, of whose delay also he was aware, and about the 8th of October he deter-See also:

MINED

mined to march out north-eastward across the French lines of communication and See also:

SAVE, or SAVA (Ger. Sau; Hungarian Szdva; Lat. Savus)

save his See also:

SOVEREIGN

sovereign's army by taking See also:

REFUGE

refuge if necessary in See also:

Saxony. Believing implicitly in the rumours of a descent on Boulogne and of risings in France which also reached him, and knowing the destitution he had left behind him in his movement to Ulm, when he heard of the westward march of French columns from the Lech he told his army, apparently in all See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good faith, that the Fi ench were in full march for their own country. Actually the French at this moment were suffering the most terrible See also:

DISTRESS

distress—up to the Danube they had still found sufficient food for existence, but south of it, in the track of the Austrians, they found nothing. All march discipline disappeared, the men dissolved into hordes of marauders and even the sternest of the marshals wrote piteous appeals to the emperor for supplies, and for permission to shoot some of their stragglers. But to all these See also:

BERTHIER, LOUIS ALEXANDRE

Berthier in the emperor's name sent the stereotyped reply-" The emperor has ordered you to carry four days' provisions, therefore you can expect nothing further—you know the emperor's method of conducting war." 7.

Action of Albeck or Haslach.—Meanwhile Murat, before the emperor joined him, had given Mack the desired opening. The VI. corps (Ney) should have remained on the left See also:

BANK

bank of the Danube to See also:

close the Austrian exit on that See also:

side, but by See also:

MISTAKE (i.e. take amiss)

mistake only See also:

DUPONT, PIERRE (1821-1870)

Dupont's See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division had been left at Albeck, the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest being brought over the See also:

RIVER

river. Mack on the 8th had determined to commence his withdrawal, but See also:

FORTUNE, ROBERT (1813-188o)

fortune now favoured the French. The See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather during the whole of October had been unusually wet, the swollen Danube overflowed the See also:

low ground and the roads had become quagmires. On the south bank, owing to better natural drainage and a drier subsoil, movement was fairly easy, but the Austrians found it almost impossible. On the r rth of October, when they began their march, the road along the Danube was swept into the river, carrying with it several guns and teams, and hours were consumed in passing the shortest distances. At length in the afternoon they suddenly See also:

fell upon Dupont's isolated division at Albeck, which was completely surprised and severely handled. The road now lay completely open, but the Austrian columns had so opened out owing to the See also:

state of the roads that the leading troops could not pursue their See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage—Dupent rallied and the Austrians had actually to fall back towards Ulm to procure food. 8. See also:

ELCHINGEN

Elchingen.—For three more days Mack struggled with an unwilling staff and despondent men to arrange a further advance. During these very three days, through a See also:

SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of staff blunders, the French failed to close the See also:

gap, and on the See also:

MORNING

morning of the 14th of October both armies, each renewing their advance, came in contact at the See also:

BRIDGE

bridge of Elchingen. This bridge, allbut a few road-bearers, had been destroyed, but now the French gave an example of that individual gallantry which was characteristic of the old revolutionary armies.

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