268

THE DECISIVE MOMENT.

erwise." The Austrian artillery opened as soon as the column advanced, and though Lannes went forward with a will, and his vigorous onset broke through Hohenzollern's first line, the Austrian grape and musketry tore such holes in his deep formation that Napoleon sent an aide to suggest that he should deploy as he could gain front. "The shock is terrible between two armies which honor and love of glory exalt to its greatest passion. But the French are combating under the eyes of Napoleon, and they have the confidence that they must be invincible." The fight was maintained at frightful loss on either side, and with equal courage. But the French foot soon came to a pause. Bessières rode through the French intervals and forced his way into the gaps of the Austrian foot; and with rapid swing the eager French horsemen forged forward on Breitenlee, which place, indeed, the most impetuous squadrons reached. Amazed at this sudden rush of the French, whom he believed he had reduced to a defensive rôle, Charles drew from his right to sustain his centre, gathered his reserves, and, himself seizing a flag, rallied the breaking Austrian battalions and led them once more against the foe. The fresh Austrians, animated by his splendid example, rushed into the fray with ardor, and falling on the French columns, brought them to a standstill. The French cuirassiers made several more charges, but were always driven back.

It was the decisive moment. Could Napoleon have thrown in Davout's four divisions, he might yet have snatched the victory, for the Austrian centre had been weakened, though it is probable that Lannes alone would have failed against the Austrian numbers: but at the critical instant, somewhat after 8 A. M., notice came that the main bridge had again broken, this time by freight vessels lashed together, fire-ships and other heavy floating masses sent down to keep back

THE SITUATION DESPERATE,

269

French accessions. Thus cut off from reinforcements, and worse still, ammunition, the matter was in effect settled. The emperor had undertaken tactically to assemble too near the enemy, and had struck before he was assembled. He "judged it prudent to suspend the movement of Lannes, and ordered this marshal to fall back and take a position on Massena's right, stretching between Asparn and Essling," says the 10th Bulletin.

The situation was desperate. If it had been hard for a part of the army to debouch from Lobau, and hold itself while awaiting reinforcements, now that these could no longer come up, it would be a task indeed to retire to the island. The hope delayed of fresh accessions had been taxed to its limit the day before; and the morale of the troops was now at stake. It needed all the nerve of Napoleon, and of Massena and Lannes, to hold the French line to its work, for the Austrians were not lax in following up their gain. The blow first fell on St. Hilaire, who was struck to death; Lannes personally headed his first echelon, and steadied it back on Essling; Oudinot fell back on his left. The Austrians, for the first time scenting victory against Napoleon since the early hours of Marengo, pushed on, and the fight for Asparn and Essling was renewed. For grand-tactics there was no chance. Into each village the deadly concentric artillery fire was poured, and the butchery grew worse. But these places must be held. To retire in plain day before an enemy of twice their number and with thrice their guns, fully supplied, meant destruction at the bridge; and the generals knew it, if their men did not. The Austrians again strove to turn Asparn by way of the Gemeinde-Au, but were met by Molitor with his division reduced to three thousand men, and by the aid of Massena's example, checked; while Legrand defended the village with brilliant tenacity, and after losing and taking it a number of times, finally

270

HOHENZOLLERN CHECKED.

kept it for the French. Rosenberg fell with fury on Essling, and Charles sustained him by a brigade of grenadiers. Four times he took the village, and four times he was again. thrust headlong out. The village was a slaughter-pen. Boudet's division was thrice decimated, but he finally held himself in the massive granary, which he had converted into a redoubt. The fighting of the French was quite beyond words to praise. Abashed at the repulse of a dozen assaults by

Lannes.

his best troops, Charles essayed a blow against the French centre, and Hohenzollern, supported by twelve battalions of grenadiers, moved forward about 2 P. M. between the two villages. Should the Austrians break through here, the French would be annihilated at the bridge-head, and the divisions in the villages abandoned; and to this threat Napoleon

opposed Lannes, Bessières and such batteries as he could gather. Lannes met the Austrians with such a determination that Hohenzollern was checked; and although the grenadiers again took the lead, headed by the archduke himself, and the Austrian cavalry strove to force its way between Essling and the river, the work of this superb French handful arrested the Austrian onset.

That Napoleon, though firm, was fully aware of the danger, is shown by the letter to Davout at 12.30: "The interruption of the bridge has prevented our supplying ourselves. At ten

MOUTON'S COUNTER-BLOW.

271

o'clock we had no more ammunition. The enemy noticed it and marched against us again. Two hundred guns, to which since ten o'clock we could no longer reply, have done us much harm. In this situation of things, to mend the bridges, to send us ammunition and food, to keep an eye on Vienna, is extremely important. Write to Bernadotte, so that he shall not get too far into Bohemia; and to Lauriston to be ready to get near to us. See Daru so that he shall send us medical materials and food of all kinds. As soon as the bridge shall be ready, or during the night, come and talk with the emperor."

Charles now saw no means of battering down the French defense, which for thirty hours had resisted his men's best courage. Only artillery fire was heard: both sides were for a time too much exhausted to come again to close quarters. But early in the afternoon the archduke made a last effort to drive the French out of Essling, and did gain a foothold about 3 P. M. This village could not be given up by the French; recaptured and held it must be. To the Austrian onset Napoleon opposed intrepid Mouton at the head of the fusiliers and tirailleurs of the Guard, while "from the morning, the Old Guard formed in second line a last reserve,' says Roguet. Nothing could resist the tremendous fury of Mouton's counter-blow. He stopped the Austrians, but they were at once reinforced, and Rapp tells us that " I was charged to take two other battalions of the Young Guard and fly to the support of ours. . . . Our five battalions start, overturn and disperse everything with the bayonet; we are masters of the village." All Essling was recovered after this hour's desperate struggle; and Charles, who had really put in his last man, could see that he must rest content with the laurels already won. The artillery fire continued, and a stray ball, towards the last, struck both the knees of gallant Mar

272

THE MATTER SUMMED UP.

shal Lannes, who died of this, his thirteenth wound, on May 31, a grievous loss to his master and his country.

The French guns had mostly been dismounted or the horses killed; munition could be got over only by ferrying. It was a question of holding the defeated army at the bridge until night enabled it to seek refuge in Lobau for reorganization. Savary tells us that "the enemy was not enterprising in our retreat, they left us the whole afternoon between Asparn and Essling, and it was only towards four in the evening that we withdrew to the wood which covers the extreme edge of the river." Napoleon began by slowly withdrawing his centre, still holding the villages, and on riding back to Lobau, and ascertaining that it would take time to durably repair the main bridge, he returned to the Asparn crossing and called in Lannes and Massena for consultation. The former lay bleeding on the field; the latter arrived at dusk; Davout was on hand; and Napoleon, adding Berthier and his staff, asked the opinion of each. All were for giving up Lobau and retiring to the right bank. After listening silently to what they said, Napoleon, as Savary tells us, summed up the

matter:

"But, Messieurs, that is as if you gave me the advice to go to Strasburg; if I recross the Danube, I must vacate Vienna, because the enemy will cross behind me, and then perhaps they will push me back to Strasburg. In the position I am in, the only defense I now have against them is the possibility of going over to the left bank if they should come over to the right bank, and thus manœuvre about Vienna, which is my capital and the middle point of my material. If I should go back across the Danube, and the archduke, for example, should break up to cross it at Linz, I should have to march to Linz; whereas in the position I am in, if he undertakes it, I shall cross and follow him until he turns and faces me. It is impossible to leave the vicinity of Vienna without a loss of twenty thousand men left behind there, of whom ten thousand in a month will return to the front."