Meanwhile Napoleon issues this stirring proclamation:—
“Soldiers, you have gained in fifteen days six victories, taken one-and-twenty standards, fifty-five pieces of cannon, many strong places, and have conquered the richest part of Piedmont. You have gained battles without cannon; passed rivers without bridges; made forced marches without shoes; bivouacked without bread. The phalanxes of the republic, the soldiers of liberty, were alone capable of such services.”
The humiliated king of Sardinia sued for peace. It was the evening of the 10th of May, 1796. The Austrians had intrenched themselves on the banks of the River Po. As the French were making the terrible passage of the bridge of Lodi, in the face of the enemies’ fire, Napoleon seized a standard, shouting to his men, “Follow your general!” and plunging through the blinding smoke, he led his bleeding column forward, and the bridge was carried.
“This beardless youth,” said an Austrian general, indignantly, “ought to have been beaten over and over again; for whoever saw such tactics! The blockhead knows nothing of the rules of war. To-day he is in our rear, to-morrow on our flank, and the next day again in our front. Such gross violations of the principles of war are insufferable.”
And more insufferable still would his enemies find the tactics of the invincible Napoleon. Some of the veterans of the army jocosely promoted Napoleon to the rank of corporal, in honor of his bravery at the bridge of Lodi. When their general next appeared before his army, he was greeted with the shouts, “Long live our little corporal!” and even in the dignity of consul and emperor, Napoleon never lost this affectionate nickname amongst his troops, of whom he was the idol.
We have no space for details; the battles of Castiglione, Arcola, and the bloody conflict of Rivoli had been fought. The imperial court had sent out five armies against the French Republicans, and had encountered defeat and destruction at the hands of the beardless general, who they had disdainfully declared knew nothing about war tactics. Mantua had fallen, and the Austrians were driven from Italy. The Pope implored the clemency of the conqueror. But the Italian people everywhere hailed him as their deliverer. Still Austria refused to make peace with republican France, and the march to Vienna was commenced. Again one of those soul-stirring, inspiring proclamations was issued to his troops.
“Soldiers, the campaign just ended has given you imperishable renown. You have been victorious in fourteen pitched battles and seventy actions. You have taken more than a hundred thousand prisoners, five hundred field-pieces, two thousand heavy guns, and four pontoon trains. You have maintained the army during the whole campaign. In addition to this, you have sent six millions of dollars to the public treasury, and have enriched the National Museum with three hundred masterpieces of the art of ancient and modern Italy, which it has required thirty centuries to produce. You have conquered the finest countries of Europe. The French flag waves for the first time upon the Adriatic, opposite to Macedon, the native country of Alexander. Still higher destinies await you. I know that you will not prove unworthy of them. Of all the foes that conspired to stifle the Republic in its birth, the Austrian emperor alone remains before you. To obtain peace we must seek it in the heart of his hereditary state. You will there find a brave people, whose religion and customs you will respect, and whose property you will hold sacred. Remember that it is liberty you carry to the brave Hungarian nation.”
As he had to the Italian people, so also to the Austrian people Napoleon issued one of his glowing proclamations, assuring them that he was fighting not for conquest but for peace; that the people of Austria would find in him a protector, who would respect their religion and defend all their rights.
All was consternation in Vienna. The people clamored for peace, and the Austrian emperor sent ambassadors to Napoleon. A treaty was signed, and Austria was conquered. Not a year had elapsed since this nameless young man of twenty-six, with thirty thousand ragged, starving troops, had dauntlessly undertaken this seemingly impossible enterprise. Now Italy was at his feet. Austria was forced to come to terms. All his foes were stunned into terror-stricken inaction.
Before the treaty of Campo Formio was signed, every possible endeavor was made to bribe Napoleon to make terms which should conduce to the advantage of his foes. The wealth of Europe was laid at his feet. Millions upon millions of gold were offered to him, but his noble spirit could not thus be tarnished.