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wonded, and 200 taken prisoners, general had passed that river on the

As soon as the Russian comman. 10th with a Bavarian brigade, and der-in-chief was assured that his a Polish regiment. In the course of maritime expedition had arrived be. three days, he had constructed sevefore Dantzig, his light troops be- ral têtes-du-pont, and had advangan to reconnoitre and alarm the ced to Wiskywo, for the purpose whole French line, from the posi- of burning the rafts on which the tion occupied by inarshal Soult on Russians had been at work for six the Passarge, to that of general weeks. This expedition completely Morand on the Alla. They were succeederl, and the foolish work of six received at the mouth of the musket weeks was destroyed in a moment. + by the voltigeurs, * lost a considera. This general attack on the French ble number of men, and retired with advanced posts, on the same day when precipitation. The Russians also general Kamenskoy was to make presented themselves at Malga before his attempt on Dantzig, was no general Zayoncheek, commander doubt intended to occupy the grand of the Polish corps of observation, French army, in such a manner, and carried off one of his posts. The as to prercat them from reinforcing general of brigade, l'ischer, pursue the besioging army. The project ed, routed them, and killed 60 men, of carrying relief to Dantzig, by оре colonel and two casiains. means of a maritime expedition, They likewise presented themselves appeared very extraordinary to such before ihe 5th corps, and insulted military men as were acquainted general Gazan's advanced posts at with the ground and positions occuWildenberg This general pursued pied by the French army, and at them several leagues. But they the same time informed of the works, made a more serious attack on the that had been constructed for interbrigad: o! Omulew at Drenzewo. cepting the navigation of both the The general of brigade, Girard, Vistula and the canal of Dantzig. marched against them with the 88th An English brigantine, the. Daunt. regiment, and drove them across the less, with that thoughtless, but, on Narew. General Souchet arrived, the whole, not unfortunate audacity pursued the Russians closely, and with which a series of glorious sucdefeated them at Ostrolenka, where cesses had, at this time, inspired all he killed 60 men, and 50 horses. British geame:, saving 120 English

On the same day, May 13th, the for her crew, 50 Russian and PrusRussians attacked general Marrois sian soldiers, carrying 24 carronades, at the mouth of the Big. This and laden with powder and ball,

• Sharp-shooters, or marksmen, mounted on horseback, whose business it is to hover around the enemy, watch their movements as a vuiture watches his prev, and annoy him whenever a favourable opportunity is presenter. This was an invention of Buonaparte's, in his expedition to Egypt, who was to be opposed by numerous bodies of horsemen, on vast plains, in all directions. He recollected the necessity of opposing cavalry to the Mahrattas in India, and the overthrow of Mara cus Crassus, in a great plain, by the Parthians, who wheeling round and round the Roman legions on horseback, poured in upon them vollies of arrows, to which they had nothing to oppose but their shields. They declined close action, and the Roinan javelins could not reach them. Buonaparie, therefore, mounted corps of light infantry, accustomed to sharp-shooting, on horseback, to annoy and harass, and prevent any sudden attack by the Mamalukes. † 74th and 75th Bulletin of the grand French army.

appeared

ence.

appeared on the Vistula, in full sail, important siege of Dantzig was
with an intention to enter the port continued.
of Dantzig. On her near approach, On the 19th of May, when every
however, to the French works, thing was prepared by marshal Le
she was attacked, not only by the Febvre, and the French were proceed-
batteries from both the shores, but ing to the assault, general Kalkreuth
a heavy shower of musketry, and demanded a capitulation on the
forced to surrender. An aid-de. same conditions that he had former.
camp of general Kalkreuth, who ly granted to the garrison of May.
was on his return from the Russian

It appeared to the French head quarters, and several English general that the difficulties remain. officers, were on-board the vessel.* ing to be surmounted in bringing

On the 16th, a Russian division, the siege to a conclusion were such, of 6,000 men, under general Tur- that the besieged might hold out kow, advanced from Brock to the yet fifteen days longer. Jo these Bug, and towards Pultusk, with a circumstances it was deemed expe. view to prevent the execution of dient to grant them what they de.. some new works, for strengthening manded, an honourable capitulation. a tête-du-pont.

These works It was agreed, among other articles, were defended by six battalions of, that the garrison should march out Bavarians under the command of of the city with all the honours of the prince royal of Bavaria in pere war, and be conducted to the advan. son. The Russians advanced four ced posts of his majesty the king times to the attack, and were four of Prussia, at Pillaw, by a march times repulsed, by grape shot of five days. from the different batteries. The The garrison engaged not to Russians for this attack on Pultusk, serve against the French army or had prepared a great number of its allies, for the space of a year, rafts, in the same manner as they counting from the date of the ca. had done in their attack on the pitulation, that is, the 20th of May, works of general Le Marrois. The prisoners of war, confined at Those rafts, prepared at so great an Dantzig, whether French, or allies espence of time and labour, were of the French, to be exchanged. burnt in two hours time. Those As the garrison had not sufficient repeated attacks on works means for carrying off the whole of structed with consummateskill, and its baggage, a vessel was to be afford. defended by strong batteries with. ed for this purpose, to sail directly out a chance of success, were matter for Pillaw, under the command of a of astonishment to the French,and al. French officer. The magazines, and most induced them to suppose that in general all that belonged, not to the only purport of these attacks individuals, but to his Prussian ma. was, to draw their attention, from jesty, to be consigned into the hands other parts of their line, to the right of the French government. wing of their army.

But the posi. The Prussian officers, who were tion of this was calculated for every prisoners on their parole, living imaginable case, whether of at.

at. with their families at Dantzig, be. tack or defence. Meanwhile the fore the blockade of the place, to 76th Bulletin of the grand French army.

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remain there if they pleased, till grain; well stcred cellars; immense farther orders from his serene high. collections of clothing, and spices ness, major-general, the prince of and great resources of every kind Neuf.Chatel (Berthier). Neverthe. for the army. less, in order to be entitled to this The Russian lieutenant-general, privilege, they were to produce a Kamenskoy, who after his defeat of certificate, from the governor, that the 15th retired under the fortifi. they had not taken any part in the cations of Weischelmunde, remained defence of the place. The wives there, without making any farther of the oihcers and others, that is, attempts, and was 3 spectator of persoas in civil employments or ihe surrender of Dantzig. When he situations, to be at liberty to re. perceived that the French were emmove from the city. The sick and ployed in erecting batteries for wounded to be left in the care of burning his ships, he set sail, and the marshal Le Febvre; and on returned with his feet to Pillaw. their recovery, to be sent to the ad. The fort of Weischelmunde howvanced posts of the Prussian arıny. erer still held out.

But when mer. Marshal Le Febvreengaged to the shal Le Febvre suminoned it on the inhabitants of Dantzig, to employ 26th, while the terms were only all the means in his power, for the under consideration, the whole protection of persons and property. garrison advanced from the fort The present capitulation to be care and surrendered at discretion. The ried ioto execution at 12 o'clock commandant, thus abandoned by at noon, the 26th of May. It the garrison, saved himself by sea *. was to be understood, that between After the fall of Dantzig, a dc. the present and that period, the tachment was sent, closely to blockgarrison of Dantzig was not to ade and besiege, in form, the for. make any attack on the besiegers, tress of Graudenz, which though in case of their being engaged in any strong, both by art and nature, action with the Russo.Prussian army could not be supposed to hold out without the city.

long, hemmed in, as it was, on all On the 27th of May, the garri. sides, by the besieging and grand son marched out of the city with French army. general Kalkreuth at its head. The last hope that remained to This strong garrison, which consist. the allies, of a favourable turn to ed at first of 18,000 men, as above the wor, on the left, or western stated, and, at the opening of the side or the Vistula, was Stralsund. trenches, of 16,000, was now re. Marshal Mortier, having first plun. duced to 9,000, of which num. dered, established a regular system ber 400, and among these some of exaction, and completely esta. officers, deserted. The officers said, blished the domination of France in that they had no mind to go to Si. Mecklenberg, Hamburgh, and Lu. beria. Several thousands of artille. beck; and had orders, towards the ry horses were given up to the middle of February, to enter Swedish French, according to the terms of Pomerania, and lay siege to the capitulation, but most of them in capital of that province. It was a very bad condition; 800 pieces invested on the land side, but the of artillery; magazines of every siege was not pushed with vigour. kind; more than 500,000 quintals of Marshal Mortier, being charged * 77th Bulletin of the grand French army.

with the siege of Colberg, drew off 7,000 men to that place, leaving the siege of Stralsund in charge to general Granjeau.

In the mean time, while the operations of the besiegers were but languid, the besieged made several bold sorties, demolishing the batteries of the enemy, and spiking their guns. The garrison of Stralsund received considerable re-inforcements; and troops were also landed at other points from the Swedish flotilla.

In the beginning of April, it was thought proper to re-inforce the army besieging Dantzig. The siege of Stralsund was raised; and the besieging troops, by degrees, began to march to the Lower Vistula.

As soon as the general baron Van Essen, the governor-general of Swedish Pomerania, perceived that the French were filing off from that province, in small detachments, he determined to march against them, and compel them to abandon their entrenchments, and completely to evacuate Pomerania. His troops were divided into two columns; the first under his own orders; the second under those of lieutenantgeneral baron Armfeldt. Each column consisted of eight squadrons of hussars, a detachment of mounted artillery, and four battalions infantry, with their proper divisions of chasseurs.* These two columns, advancing in the same line of direction, came up with the enemy at Lussow, drove them from thence to Ruderhagen, and pursued them from thence to Voigdehagen.

of

In the mean time the French had abandoned their batteries and en

Chasseurs, or hunters, consist partly in horsemen, and partly in foot soldiers. Small groups of these are sent here and there into alleys, broken ground, or other places of shelter, in pursuit of the flying enemy. They were at first attached to battalions, but afterwards into regiments.

+London Gazette, 21st April, 1807,

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trenchments at Stralsund, and entrenched themselves on the heights between Voigdehagen and Teschenhagen, on which they had mounted a battery of four pieces of artillery, and two howitzers. This being silenced by the Swedish artillery, they endeavoured to take possession of a morass, skirted by a wood, but were forced to desist from the attempt, and continue their retreat from one post to another, which they seem to have done with admirable skill and courage, even according to the Swedish account, which is here followed. On the 3d of April, general Van Essen's column entering Demnin, made the garrison, after a slight resistance, prisoners, and sent out his light troops in pursuit of the enemy on the side of Mecklenburg. On the morning of the 4th of April, the column under baron Arinfeldt entered the town of Anclam, where he took 150 men prisoners. The military chest also, containing 3,000 crowns, fell into his hand. The loss of the French in this well conducted retreat, is not stated to have been very considerable. But the prisoners, made during the retreat by the two Swedish columns, were said to have been 10,000 men, and, among these, 20 officers. +

After the retreat of the French from Swedish Pomerania, the Swedish army occupied a line of positions of very great extent, having the heads of its columns at Falkenwald, Stoltzenberg, Stadsfort, Belling, and Darkitz, that is, from the banks of the Oder to the confines of Mecklenberg Strelitz. 'Marshal Mortier

deter.

one

determined to bear, with his whole head quarters of Van Essen, the force, on the centre of this dilated commander of the other division, line, without giving himself any and who had now the supreme com. trouble about the other positions, mand of both at Greifswald. being convinced, that by a rapid Here, April 17th, he was joined march on the river Peene, which by a detachment of hussars, betre Swedes had inconsiderately longing to the royal guard from crossed, he could throw them into Stralsund. Early on the morning the utmost confusion and conster- of that day, he had sent a flag of pation. Having assembled a part of truce to marshal Mortier, of 24 bis forces at Passewack on the hours, for the purpose of removing evening of April 15th, he advanced the sick and wounded to hospitals. It on the loth, before break of day, on was not difficult to persuade the the road to Anclam, overthrew a inarshal, who knew how much his Swedish post at Belling, and ano. master wished to detach Sweden ther at Ferdinandskaff, took 400 from the cause of the allies, to prisoners, and two pieces of cannon, comply with his request. Soon entered Anclam at the same time after noon, the first adjutant of with the enemy, and made himself marshal Mortier arrived with a flag master of the bridge on the Peene. of truce, at Greifswald, with an an. Thus a Swedish column cominanded swer to that which had been sent by general Cardell was cut off. hy the Swedish general. Before It remained at Nekermunde when mid-day of the 18th, another flag of the French were already at Anclam, truce arrived from marshal More General Armfeldt, of the tier, and an early hour was fixed Swedish commanders-in-chief, was for a conference between the two wounded by a grape-shot. All the generals at Sklatkow, within an magazines at Anclam were taken, English mile and half of Anclam, together with all the Swedish sloops where an armistice was agreed on, of war, on the lake adjoining to not to be broken without ten days Anclam, and transports. The co. previous notice. Besides this, which lumn of general Cardell, which was * was the principal article, there were eut off from the other Swedish troops, others, and these altogether in fa. was attacked on the 17th, by the vour of the French. The Swedes general of brigade Veau, near were to restore the isles of Usedom Neckermunde, when it lost three and Wollin, which were to be ocpieces of cannon, and 500 men. cupied by the French garrisons, to Another column took possession of be sent thither for that purpose, on Demain, and made 500 soldiers the day after, that is, the 20th prisoners. The Swedes were driven of April. The line of demarcation back again behind the river Peene. between the two armies, was to be

General Armfeldt, after inform the Peene, and the Trebel. But ing the baron Van Essen, of his the French were farther to occupy having been wounded, and that he a position beyond the Peene, and

, had been obliged to make the infan- behind the barrier of Anclam. Dua try of his division fall back on ring the armistice the Swedes were Ranzien, retired to Stralsund. It not to afford succours of any kind; to was ordered by Van Essen to march the towns of Graudenz and Dantto Grimm, and thereafter to the zig, nor yet to the troops of any

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