The Campaign of Marengo, With Comments

by Herbert H. Sargent

Though the crossing of a large river in the face of an active enemy is a difficult operation, yet it is generally successful, because great pains is nearly always taken to deceive the enemy, and because great preparations are nearly always made to insure the success of the operation. "If," says Jomini, "we take into consideration the great care and precautions that are requisite, the immense amount of materials employed in such an operation, the concurrence of circumstances necessary to secure success, and the difficulties which may be occasioned by the slightest derangement on the part of the enemy, it is really surprising that an operation of this kind ever succeeds. Nevertheless, wonderful as it may seem, the most difficult military enterprises are commonly the most successful, from the simple fact that greater care and precautions are employed in their execution."

From the foregoing it is apparent that the manœuvres of Moreau were not wisely planned. In appearance only they seemed to be less hazardous than those of Bonaparte. After magnifying the difficulties of crossing the Rhine with the four French corps at Schaffhausen, Moreau adopted a course which was much more complicated, which required a longer time to execute, which involved several strategical errors, and which, as will be shown later, did not allow Moreau to take all the advantages of the angular base of operations due to his possession of Switzerland. Though these manœuvres were successful, it is not because they were wisely planned, but because there was little or no opposition to their execution. They were successful because Kray, not appreciating the situation, failed to profit by the mistakes of his adversary.

It will now be of interest to examine into the operations of Moreau after he had united the bulk of his forces in the vicinity of Schaffhausen.

On the 1st of May the four French corps were thus stationed: Moreau's and Lecourbe's at Schaffhausen, St. Cyr's at Stuhlingen, and Ste. Suzanne's at Neustadt. From these positions the French advanced to attack Kray. Lecourbe with twenty thousand men marched on Stokach to capture that place, and to drive back the Austrian reserve of twelve thousand there; Moreau moved on Engen with forty thousand men and there encountered Kray with forty-five thousand; St. Cyr directed his corps on Zollhaus; and Ste. Suzanne remained in the vicinity of Neustadt. In front of St. Cyr and Ste. Suzanne there were a few thousand Austrian troops more or less scattered. Kienmayer's corps yet remained along the western edge of the Black Forest, and Starray's corps was still farther away toward the north.

Though Moreau had assembled three of his corps, numbering eighty-five thousand men, in such positions that they could easily have concentrated upon a single battle-field, and have outnumbered Kray almost two to one; yet, at the battle of Engen, he was outnumbered by his adversary. St. Cyr's corps was so far away to the left that it had scarcely any effect in deciding the battle. Evidently this corps should have been so directed that it could have re-enforced the right of Moreau or the left of Lecourbe. Had this been done, the battle of Engen would have been a great victory. Then Moreau could have hurled the Austrians back into the Black Forest, and have severed their communications with Ulm. In short, Moreau should have advanced with his right, instead of his left, strongly re-enforced. In order to reap the full advantages of the flank position which he occupied, every effort should have been made so to defeat the Austrians as to get possession of their communications. Moreau failed to appreciate this fact. His faulty movements enabled Kray, after the battle of Engen, to fall back to Mosskirch; and, by so doing, to retain possession of the road to Ulm.

It is evident, too, that Lecourbe's corps, after its victory at Stokach, should have pushed forward and seized Mosskirch and the roads leading to Ulm; but it failed to do so, because Moreau did not send Lecourbe the necessary orders. After the capture of the most important place occupied by the Austrians, this corps remained inactive for a time, knowing not what to do or where to march.

Why did Moreau fail to send the necessary orders to Lecourbe? Why did he thus scatter his three corps? Why was St. Cyr directed upon Zollhaus, instead of upon Engen or Stokach? These are interesting questions, and their answers will perhaps enable us to form a correct estimate of the military ability of Moreau.

In retaining the direct command of a corps, Moreau committed a fault. He should have appointed a corps commander of the reserve, and have left himself free to give greater attention to the movements of his entire army. As it was he was wrapped up in what his own corps was doing. As long as the soldiers directly under him were victorious, he seemed to be satisfied. Perhaps, from this cause, or from the fact that he failed to appreciate the strategical situation, the significance and importance of Lecourbe's victory at Stokach did not impress itself upon him. Thus no orders were given for Lecourbe's corps to hasten forward and seize Mosskirch. Moreau's military horizon was limited; his glance failed to sweep the whole theatre of operations.

That his corps were scattered was due in great measure to the plan of campaign that he had adopted. In carrying out this plan, Ste. Suzanne had marched through the Höllenthal, and was near Neustadt when the French attacked the Austrians at Engen and Stokach. Moreau realized that Stokach and Engen were the important points of the Austrian line; yet, rather than leave Ste. Suzanne's corps isolated at Neustadt, where possibly it might be crushed by overwhelming numbers, he directed St. Cyr's corps on Zollhaus, so that it might, if necessary, re-enforce Ste. Suzanne. Thus it was that his four corps were spread out from Stokach to Neustadt; and that St. Cyr's corps was directed upon the left instead of upon the right of Moreau. Thus it was that his plan prevented him from taking full advantage of the angular base which the possession of Switzerland gave to the French.

But, notwithstanding the fact that Ste. Suzanne's corps was at Neustadt, St. Cyr's corps should not have been directed upon Zollhaus. Now, it might seem to us, as it undoubtedly seemed to Moreau, that, had St. Cyr's corps marched directly to the support of the French at Engen or Stokach, Ste. Suzanne's corps would have been left in an isolated and dangerous position where it could have been captured or destroyed. But such was not the case; indeed, there were several reasons why Kray would not have attempted to concentrate against Ste. Suzanne.