ARMIES ON THE RHINE.
During this campaign Moreau commanded the army of the north, encamped in Holland; Jourdan that of the Sambre and Meuse, stationed near Cologne; and Pichegru that of the Rhine, cantoned from Mayence to Strasburg. The contending armies were separated by the Rhine, from the Alps to the sea, at the commencement of the year; and nothing was done on either side till the end of June. At that time the old Austrian general, Bender, who, on the retreat and dissolution of the grand army of the coalition, threw himself into Luxembourg, was reduced by the republicans to capitulate; himself and numerous garrison being allowed to retire to Germany, upon condition or not serving against the French till exchanged. With the exception of Mayence, the republicans were now masters of the whole left bank of the Rhine, and of the estuaries through which the Rhine flows into the North Sea, from Holland to Strasburg. After the conquest of Holland, as before related, Pichegru undertook the reduction of Mayence, which was occupied by imperial and Austrian troops; and, as preparatory steps, he crossed the Rhine, captured Dusseldorf, and occupied Manheim. At this time Wurmser, one of the most active and skilful Austrian generals, was advancing with a good army to effect a junction with Clairfait, succour Mayence, and drive the French from the left bank of the Rhine. Pichegru endeavoured to prevent this junction by detaching a division against him; but Wurmser drove this division back with great loss to Manheim. Soon after this Pichegru was joined by Jourdan; crossing the Rhine he established himself on the right bank, opposite the town, to cover the siege and assist in it. But at this period the balance of fortune suddenly turned in favour of the Austrians. Being reinforced by 15,000 Hungarians, General Clairfait made a rapid and skilful advance, took Jourdan by surprise, obliged him to decamp hastily, and leave part of his artillery behind him, and harrassed him during the whole of his route to Dusseldorf, and there compelled him to re-cross the Rhine. Clairfait now threw a considerable part of his army across the Rhine into Mayence, in spite of the French lines drawn around it; and on the 29th of October he took those lines, which had cost the French a year’s labour to construct, by storm; the republicans were driven from them with a terrible loss, and their battering train, with most of their field-pieces, were captured. About the same time Wurmser gained the bridge of the Necker, and drove Pichegru within the walls of Manheim. Pichegru, having strengthened the garrison, soon after quitted Manheim, re-crossed the Rhine, and effected a junction with jourdan. During the month of November, Manheim, with a garrison of 9000 men, capitulated to Wurmser, who then formed a junction with Clairfait, and the two quickly recovered the whole of the Palatinate, and of the country between the Rhine and the Moselle. The Austrian generals formed a project of penetrating once more into Luxembourg; but their movements were slow, and Jourdan and Pichegru advanced along the Rhine by forced marches, and kept them in check. Several obstinate encounters took place; but the winter was fast approaching, and as both imperialists and republicans were exhausted by the campaign, it was deemed expedient to agree to an armistice, which was not to be broken on either side without ten days’ notice, and during which, each were to remain in the same position they then occupied.