Military Career of Napoleon the Great / An Account of the Remarkable Campaigns of the "Man of Destiny"; Authentic Anecdotes of the Battlefield as Told by the Famous Marshals and Generals of the First Empire

by Montgomery B. Gibbs

Next day Napoleon executed a variety of manoeuvres, considered as amongst the most admirable of his science, by means of which he brought his whole force, by different routes, at one and the same moment upon the position of the Archduke Charles, who was strongly posted at Eckmuhl with 100,000 men. On both sides all was ready for a decisive action. Until 8 o'clock a thick fog enveloped that rural scene which was soon to be drenched with the blood of thousands of men. As soon as it cleared away both sides prepared for action. Not a musket or a cannon shot was fired before noon, however.

There was no need of a signal for battle as the terrible contest began on both sides simultaneously about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Napoleon commanding and leading the charge, and accompanied by Lannes and Massena. One of the most beautiful sights war could produce now presented itself; one hundred and ten thousand men were attacked on all points, turned to their left, and successively driven from all their positions, although not a half of the French troops were engaged. The battle was stern and lasted until twilight, ending with the utter defeat of the Archduke's army, and leaving Napoleon with 20,000 prisoners, fifteen imperial standards and a vast number of cannon in his hands, while the defeated and routed enemy fled back in confusion on the city of Ratisbon. The Austrian cavalry, strong and numerous, attempted to cover the retreat of the infantry, but was attacked by the French both on the right and left. The Archduke Charles was only indebted for his safety to the fleetness of his horse, when darkness at length compelled the victors to halt.

While the French were galloping along the road in pursuit of the Austrians, finding the plain to which they had retreated swampy, they endeavored to regain the road, and thus became mingled with the mass of victorious cavalry. A multitude of single combats then took place by the uncertain light of the moon, and nothing was heard but the clashing of sabres on their cuirasses, the shouts of the commandants, and the heavy tramp of horses. The French cuirassiers, wearing double cuirasses, which covered them all round, could more easily defend themselves than the Austrians, who, having only breastplates, fell in great numbers, mortally wounded by the thrusts dealt them from behind. Night put an end to a contest where there were scenes of carnage that had not been equalled in years.

At the battle of Abensberg the Emperor beat separately the two corps of the Archduke Louis and General Keller; at the battle of Landshut he took the centre of their communications and the general depot of their magazines and artillery; and, finally, at the battle of Eckmuhl, the corps of Hohenzollern, Rosenberg, and Lichtenstein, were defeated.

The Austrians, astonished by rapid movements beyond their calculation, were soon deprived of their sanguine hopes, and precipitated from a delirium of presumption to a despondency bordering on despair. Two days later the Archduke made an attempt to rally his troops, and not only to hold Ratisbon, but to meet Napoleon. He was obliged to give up the place at the storming of the walls by the French, who drove the Austrians through the streets. All who resisted were slain. The enemy's commander fled precipitately into Bohemia, abandoning once more the capital of the Austrian Empire to the mercy of the Conqueror.

Napoleon was wounded in the foot during the storming of Ratisbon. He had approached the town amidst a fire of sharpshooters kept up by the Austrians from the walls, and by the French from the edge of a ditch. Whilst he was looking through a telescope he received a ball in the instep, and said, with the coolness of an old soldier: "I am hit!" When the Emperor received his wound he was talking with Duroc. "This," said he to his marshal, "can only come from a Tyrolian; no other marksman could take an aim at such a distance; those fellows are very clever."

The wound might have been dangerous for had it been higher up the foot would have been shattered and amputation inevitable. The first surgeon of the Guard, Dr. Larrey, being near took off his boot and prepared to dress the wound, which was not serious.

At the news that the Emperor was wounded the troops crowded around him in great alarm. Officers and soldiers ran up from all sides; in a moment he was surrounded by thousands of men, in spite of the fire which the enemy's guns concentrated on the vast group. The Emperor, wishing to withdraw his troops from this useless danger, and to calm the anxiety of the more distant corps who were getting unsteady in their desire to come and see what was the matter, mounted his horse the instant his wound was dressed and rode down the front of the whole line amid loud cheers. Those around remonstrated with him for continually exposing his person, to which he replied: "What can I do? I must see how things are going on."

"It was at this extempore review," says General Marbot, "held in presence of the enemy, that Napoleon first granted gratuities to private soldiers, appointing them Knights of the Empire and members, at the same time, of the Legion of Honor. The regimental commanders recommended, but the Emperor also allowed soldiers who thought they had claims, to come and represent them before him; he then decided upon them himself."