the fate of the campaign and of the world might CHAP. have been changed. XX. 1796. the French. When this attack was going forward, Napoleon was at Savona; but no sooner did he receive intelli- Success of gence of it, than he resolved to envelope the Austrian force, which had thus pushed into the centre of his line of march. With this view, having stationed Cervoni to make head against Beaulieu in front of Voltri, he himself set out after sunset from Savona with the divisions of Massena and Serrurier, and having crossed the ridge of Cadibone, occupied the 12th April. heights in rear of Montenotte. The night was dark and tempestuous, which entirely concealed their movements from the Austrians. At daybreak they found themselves surrounded on all sides. La Harpe and Rampon attacked them in front, while Massena and Joubert pressed their rear; they resisted long and bravely, but were at length broken by superior force, and completely routed, with the loss of five pieces of cannon, 2000 prisoners, and above 1000 killed and wounded. This great success paralysed the movements of Beaulieu, who had advanced unopposed beyond Voltri; he hastened back with the bulk of his forces to Millesimo, but such was the Nap. iii. circuit they were obliged to take, that it was two 141. Th. days before he arrived at that place to support the Jom. viii. ruined centre of his line.1 This victory, by opening to the French the plains of Piedmont, and piercing the centre of the Allies, completely separated the Austrian and Sardinian armies; the former concentrated at Dego to cover the road to Milan, and the latter around Millesimo to protect the entrance into Piedmont. Napoleon, in possession of a central position, resolved to attack them both at once, although by drawing together viii. 227. 70, 73. CHAP. 1796. Action at April 14. And at their detachments from all quarters, they had more than repaired the losses of Montenotte. On the 13th, Augereau, on the left, assailed the forces of Millesimo, where the Piedmontese were posted, while the divisions of Massena and La Harpe descended the valley and moved towards Dego. With such fury was the attack on the Piedmontese conducted, that the passes were forced, and General Provera, who commanded, was driven, with 2000 men, into the ruins of the old castle of Cossaria. He was immediately assaulted there by superior forces; but the Piedmontese, skilled in mountain warfare, poured down upon their adversaries such a shower of stones and rocks, that whole companies were swept away at once, and Joubert, who was in front animating the soldiers, was severely wounded. After many ineffectual efforts, the Republicans desisted on the approach of night, and intrenched themselves at the foot of the eminence on which the castle was situated, to prevent the escape of the garrison. The following day was decisive: Colli and the Piedmontese on the left made repeated efforts to disengage Provera, but their exertions were in vain ; and after seeing all their columns repulsed, that brave officer, destitute of provisions and water, was compelled to lay down his arms with 1500 men. Mean while, Napoleon himself, with the divisions of Massena and La Harpe, attacked and carried Dego after an obstinate resistance, while Joubert made himself master of the heights of Biestro. The retreat of the Austrians was obstructed by the artillery, which blocked up the road in the defile of Spegno, and the soldiers had no other resource but to disperse and seek their safety on the mountains. Thirteen pieces of artillery and 3000 prisoners fell into the 1 CHAP. XX. 1796. Nap. iii. 143, 144. Th. viii. 229, 230. Hard. iii. 312, 315. Nap. iii. 143. Wukasso Dego. hands of the victors. No sooner was this success achieved, than the indefatigable conqueror moved forward the division of Augereau, now disengaged by the surrender of Provera, to the important heights of Monte Zemolo, the occupation of which completed the separation of the Austrian and Piedmontese armies. Beaulieu retired to Acqui, on the road to Milan, and Colli towards Ceva, to cover Turin.' Mean while the brave Wukassowich, at the head of six thousand Austrian grenadiers, made a movement Bold adwhich, if supported, might have completely re-esta- vance of blished the affairs of the Allies. Separated from the wich to body of the Imperial forces, he advanced to Dego, with the intention of forming a junction with D'Argenteau, who he imagined still occupied that place. Great was his surprise when he found it in the hands of the enemy, but instantly taking his resolution, like a brave man, he attacked and carried the place, making prisoners 600 French, and regaining all the artillery lost on the preceding day. But this success not being supported by the other divisions of the Austrian army, which were in full retreat, only led to the destruction of the brave men who had achieved it. Napoleon instantly returned to the spot, and commenced a vigorous attack with superior forces. Which, at They were received with such gallantry by the Austrians, that the Republican columns were in the first unsupportinstance repulsed in disorder, and the general-in-chief fails. hastened to the spot to restore the combat; but at length General Lanusse, putting his hat on the point of his sword, led them back to the charge, and carried the place, with the loss of 1500 men to the Imperialists, who escaped with difficulty by the road to Acqui, after abandoning all the artillery they had retaken. In this action Napoleon was particularly first success ful, being ed, at length CHAP. 1796. Jom. viii. 85. Nap. iii. 145. heights of Monte struck by the gallantry of a young chief of battalion, whom he made a colonel on the spot, and who continued ever after the companion of his glory. His name was LANNES, afterwards Duke of Montebello, and one of the most heroic marshals of the empire.1 * After the battle of Dego, La Harpe's division was placed to keep the shattered remains of Beaulieu's forces in check, while the weight of the army was moved against the Sardinian troops. Augereau drove Arrival of the Piedmontese from the heights of Monte Zemolo, the Republicans on the and soon after the main body of the army arrived upon the same ridge. From thence the eye could discover the immense and fertile plains of Piedmont. The Po, the Tanaro, the Stura, and a multitude of smaller streams, were descried in the distance, while a glittering girdle of snow and ice, of a prodigious elevation, surrounded from afar the promised land. It was a sublime spectacle when the troops arrived on this elevated point, and the soldiers, exhausted with fatigue, and overwhelmed with the grandeur of the sight, paused and gazed on the plains beneath. These gigantic barriers, apparently the limits of the world, which nature had rendered so formidable, and on which art had lavished its treasures, had fallen as if by enchantment. "Hannibal," said Napoleon, fixing his eyes on the mountains, "has forced the Alps, but we have turned them." Soon after the 2 Las Cas. ii. 374. 326, *"The talent of Lannes," said Napoleon, "was equal to his bravery. He was at once the Roland of the army, and a giant in capacity. He had great experience in war, had been in fifty-four pitched battles, D'Abr. vi. and three hundred combats. He was cool in the midst of fire, and possessed a clear, penetrating eye, ready to take advantage of any opportunity which might present itself. Violent and hasty in his temper, sometimes even in my presence, he was yet ardently attached to me. As a general, he was greatly superior to either Moreau or Soult."-O'MEARA, i. 239. troops descended the ridge, passed the Tanaro, and found themselves in the Italian plains.' 1 CHAP. XX. 1796. Nap. iii. 147. Th. viii. 233. Serrurier was now detached by the bridge of St Michael to turn the right of Colli, who occupied the intrenched camp of Ceva, while Massena passed the Tanaro to turn his left. The Piedmontese, who were about 8000 strong, defended the camp in the first instance with success; but, finding their communications on the point of being lost, they retired in the night, and took a position behind the deep and rapid torrent of the Cursaglia. There they were assailed, 19th April. on the following day, by Serrurier, who forced the Actions of bridge of St Michael, while Joubert, who had waded with Colli. through the torrent farther up, in vain endeavoured to induce his followers to pass, and was obliged, after incurring the greatest risks, to retire. Relieved now from all anxiety about his flank, Colli fell, with all his Th. viii. forces, on Serrurier, and, after a severe action, drove him back again over the bridge, with the loss of 600 Hard. iii. men.2 Serrurier 233. Jom. viii. 88, 91. 319. Napoleon. This check exposed Napoleon to imminent danger. Colli occupied a strong position at Mondovi in his Danger of front, while Beaulieu, with an army still formidable, was in his rear, and might easily resume offensive operations. A council of war was held in the night, at which it was unanimously resolved, notwithstanding the fatigue of the troops, to resume the attack on the following day. All the dispositions, accordingly, were made for a renewed assault on the bridge, with increased forces; but, on arriving at the advanced posts at daybreak, they found them abandoned by the enemy, who had fought only in order to gain time for the evacuation of the magazines in his rear, and had retired in the night to Mondovi. He was over- 21st April. taken, however, in his retreat, near Mondovi, by the |