328

CHARLES AGAIN READY.

can only be extremely dissatisfied with the principles contained in your letter of July 25; when one has no artillery in condition to serve, one does not issue it, for it is better not to have artillery than to have what is bad, which compromises the lives of men and the honor of arms."

As some of the engineers had been suggesting strategical operations, the emperor, on August 9, ordered: "When the army marches, the geographical engineers, who shall have reconnoitred the country, shall always be with the staff, so as to give all necessary information. Their notes of reconnoissances are always to be in the simplest style and purely descriptive. They will never depart from their subject to present strange ideas." Napoleon never lost his interest in the peasantry. On September 6 he wrote Berthier: "My Cousin, write to the different commanders of provinces, that at the approach of winter, poor people will need wood. Let them cut in the forests which belong to the emperor the wood which is necessary for the needs of the country." And on September 23: "My Cousin, express my discontent to the colonels of the corps, who in this season leave the soldiers clothed only with linen trousers. Order that under whatever pretext it be, the soldier should not be left without his cloth breeches or trousers. It has exposed them to sickness."

...

On October 1, to Clarke: "Our military man is little instructed. You must occupy yourself with two works, one for the schools of Metz, one for that of St. Cyr." Then follow Napoleon's ideas of what should be done in these schools.

The most interesting feature of the battle of Wagram is that its conduct was in natural sequence to the battles in front of Ratisbon. Neither at Eggmühl nor at Wagram had the enemy been followed up and annihilated. In three days after the latter, Charles was again ready to meet the French, and would have given a good account of himself. There were perhaps valid reasons why pursuit could not be undertaken on the evening of either battle; but prior to Ratisbon such reasons had not affected Napoleon. He had never rested until his work was finished; and even at the risk of losing what he had already accomplished, he had pushed on to the bitter end. In this campaign he had not done so; and the Austrian army was still afield, even after the armistice. Constant tells