The Art of War

by baron de Antoine Henri Jomini

Enough has been said with reference to the strategical considerations influencing the selection of the point of crossing a river. We will now proceed to speak of the passage itself. History is the best school in which to study the measures likely to insure the success of such operations. The ancients deemed the passage of the Granicus—which is a small stream—a wonderful exploit. So far as this point is concerned, the people of modern days can cite much greater.

The passage of the Rhine at Tholhuys by Louis XIV. has been greatly lauded; and it was really remarkable. In our own time, General Dedon has made famous the two passages of the Rhine at Kehl and of the Danube at Hochstadt in 1800. His work is a model as far as concerns the details; and in these operations minute attention to details is every thing. More recently, three other passages of the Danube, and the ever-famous passage of the Beresina, have exceeded every thing of the kind previously seen. The two first were executed by Napoleon at Essling and at Wagram, in presence of an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men provided with four hundred pieces of cannon, and at a point where the bed of the stream is broadest. General Pelet's interesting account of them should be carefully read. The third was executed by the Russian army at Satounovo in 1828, which, although not to be compared with the two just mentioned, was very remarkable on account of the great local difficulties and the vigorous exertions made to surmount them. The passage of the Beresina was truly wonderful. My object not being to give historical details on this subject, I direct my readers to the special narratives of these events. I will give several general rules to be observed.

1. It is essential to deceive the enemy as to the point of passage, that he may not accumulate an opposing force there. In addition to the strategic demonstrations, false attacks must be made near the real one, to divide the attention and means of the enemy. For this purpose half of the artillery should be employed to make a great deal of noise at the points where the passage is not to be made, whilst perfect silence should be preserved where the real attempt is to be made.

2. The construction of the bridge should be covered as much as possible by troops sent over in boats for the purpose of dislodging the enemy who might interfere with the progress of the work; and these troops should take possession at once of any villages, woods, or other obstacles in the vicinity.

3. It is of importance also to arrange large batteries of heavy caliber, not only to sweep the opposite bank, but to silence any artillery the enemy might bring up to batter the bridge while building. For this purpose it is convenient to have the bank from which the passage is made somewhat higher than the other.

4. The proximity of a large island near the enemy's bank gives great facilities for passing over troops in boats and for constructing the bridge. In like manner, a smaller stream emptying into the larger near the point of passage is a favorable place for collecting and concealing boats and materials for the bridge.

5. It is well to choose a position where the river makes a re-entering bend, as the batteries on the assailant's side can cross their fire in front of the point where the troops are to land from the boats and where the end of the bridge is to rest, thus taking the enemy in front and flank when he attempts to oppose the passage.

6. The locality selected should be near good roads on both banks, that the army may have good communications to the front and rear on both banks of the river. For this reason, those points where the banks are high and steep should be usually avoided.

The rules for preventing a passage follow as a matter of course from those for effecting it, as the duty of the defenders is to counteract the efforts of the assailants. The important thing is to have the course of the river watched by bodies of light troops, without attempting to make a defense at every point. Concentrate rapidly at the threatened point, in order to overwhelm the enemy while a part only of his army shall have passed. Imitate the Duke of Vendôme at Cassano, and the Archduke Charles at Essling in 1809,—the last example being particularly worthy of praise, although the operation was not so decidedly successful as might have been expected.

In [Article XXI.] attention was called to the influence that the passage of a river, in the opening of a campaign, may have in giving direction to the lines of operations. We will now see what connection it may have with subsequent strategic movements.