Battle of Essling

“ The battle commenced about four p.m. on the 21st by an attack on the French position at Aspern, and at nightfall the Austrians had established a lodgment in the village. On the 22nd, both armies having been reinforced during the night, the combat was renewed round Aspern, which was taken and retaken ten times, while Essling was the scene of an equally desperate conflict. Towards evening the bridge by which Napoleon had crossed the Danube was swept away, and Napoleon was compelled to retire. Each side lost about 20,000 men, and both claimed the victory. ”

“ J. L. B., in battle of Aspern, iii. 220.
Espinosa, defeat of Blake at, iii. 185.
Essarts, Ledru des, evacuates Meaux, iv. 99;
seduced by Marmont, 125.
"Essay on Revolutions" (Chateaubriand's) , ii. 259.
Essen, Gen. H. H., in campaign of Eylau, iii. 13.
Essenbach, military operations near, iii. 206.
Essling, battle of, iii. 219-222, 225-228, 232;
N. exposes himself at, 240-241;
effect of rising of the river at, 383.
Essling, Prince of. See Masséna.
Essonne, River, military operations on the, iv. 116.
Essonnes, N. at, iv. 105;
Marmont at, 124;
Marmont's defection at, 128. ”

“ Le general Foy est arrivé, Monsieur le maréchal duc d’Istrie, ainsi que les deux aides-de-camp du maréchal prince d’Essling, le capitaine Porcher, et le chef d’escadron Pelet. Il parait que le prince d’Essling avec son corps d’armée prend position à Guarda, Belmonte, et Alfuyates. Ainsi il protège Ciudad Rodrigo, Almeyda, Madrid et l’Andalousie. Ses communications doivent s’établir facilement avec l’armée du midi par Alcantara et Badajoz. Si ce qu’on ne prévoit pas, le prince d’Essling étoit vivement attaqué par l’armée Anglaise, l’empereur pense que vous pourriez le soutenir avec une 15ne. ”

“ France was to be crushed, and would be crushed--according to von Essling--after six weeks of war. Russia would take time to concentrate her forces; and after Paris had fallen, the German armies could be transferred to the east, where the fall of Warsaw would checkmate the Russian armies till the conclusion of the campaign. When peace had been declared, and the German Empire extended to the North Sea and the great port of Antwerp, a fitting moment was to be seized to throttle England and break up the British Empire, once and for all. ”

“ They at once made preparations for defence, and while they were thus engaged a Hessian officer rode up to the fort with a flag and a drummer, and insolently proclaimed, 'The King of England orders his rebellious subjects to lay down their arms; and [42] they are warned that if they stand the battle, no quarter whatever will be given.'
"Colonel Greene answered him, 'We ask no quarter nor will we give any.'
"The Hessian and his drummer then rode hastily back to his commander and the Hessians at once fell to work building a battery within half cannon shot of the fort. ”

“ Carstairs was right. The French had broken into no panic, and, when, infantry standing firm, pour forth the incessant and deadly stream of death, that modern arms make possible, no cavalry can live before them. Yet the Germans charged again and again into the hurricane of fire and steel. The tumult of the battle face to face became terrific.
John could no longer hear the words of his comrades. He saw dimly through the whitish smoke in front, but he continued to fire. Once he leaped aside to let a wounded and riderless horse gallop past, and thrice he sprang over the bodies of the dead. ”

“ Terrible indeed had been those two days of the battle of Aspern or Esslingen. The infuriated foes hurled death to and fro from the mouths of more than four hundred cannon. The earth shook with the thunder of their artillery, the stamping of their steeds; the air resounded with the shouts of the combatants, who assailed each other with the fury of rage and hate, fearing not death, but defeat; scorning life if it must be owed to the conqueror's mercy, neither giving nor taking quarter, and in dying, praying not for their own souls, but for the defeat and humiliation of the enemy! ”

“ The fourth day dawned—the appointed day for final victory—and still the struggle continued, fiercer than ever. Slowly, slowly, the German infantry pressed forward, leaving behind them a sea of helpless bodies—a grey carpet as perceived from a distance. The artillery fire swelled and mounted in paroxysms of incredible violence, the German guns hammering in savage persistence, the French batteries lurking for their target, overwhelming it in a deluge. On and on pressed the grey infantry, thrust dangerously as night fell straight at the heart, towards Fort Douaumont. ”

“ Harry was conscious of a flame almost in his face and of whirling clouds of smoke and dust. Then the entire Southern army burst upon the confused Northern force and shattered it so completely that it fell to pieces.
The bravest battle ever fought by men, who, with few exceptions, had not smelled the powder of war before, was lost and won.
As the Southern cannon and rifles beat upon them, the Northern army, save for the regulars and the cavalry, dissolved. The generals could not stem the flood. They rushed forward in confused masses, seeking only to save themselves. ”

“ John heard him say in the under note which was audible beneath the thunder of the battle.
In a quarter of an hour the great batteries limbered up again, and once more the French army went forward, the troops to lie down and wait again, while the artillery worked with ferocious energy. It was yet a battle of big guns, at least in the center. The armies were not near enough to each other for rifles; in truth not near enough yet to be seen. ”

“ Whether it was originally intended by them to defend the position they took up as strenuously as they have done, or whether the delay, gained for them during the 12th and 13th by their artillery, has enabled them to develop their resistance and force their line to an extent not originally contemplated cannot yet be said.
So far as we are concerned the action still being contested is the battle of the Aisne. The foe we are fighting is just across the river along the whole of our front to the east and west. ”

“ The cannon sank deep in the mire, and then the ardent Nelson left them behind. Now he knew there was great need for haste. The flashing and thundering in front of them showed to the youngest soldier in his command that a great battle was in progress, and that it was going against the North. His division at last reached Pittsburg Landing and was carried across the river in the steamers. One brigade led by Ammen outstripped the rest, and rushed in behind the great battery and to its support, just as the Southern bugles once more sounded the charge. ”

“ But a light wind was now bringing smoke from one flank where the battle was far heavier than in the center, and the concussion of the artillery at that point became so frightful that the air seemed to come in waves of the utmost violence and to beat upon the drum of the ear with the force of a hammer. Owing to the wind John could not hear the battle on the other flank so well, but he believed that it was being fought there with equal fury and determination. ”

“ The others stared at him.
"Henry," exclaimed Paul, "you just said that we were five against a thousand, and rifles against cannon, now how could we possibly hold the ford against such an army? Besides, the Indian warriors, by scores, could swim the river elsewhere, and flank us on either side."
"I don't mean that we shall hold it a long time. We'll make 'em give battle, stop 'em for a while, and then, when the flankers swim the stream we'll be gone. We will not let ourselves be seen, and they may think it a large force, retiring merely because their own army is larger." ”

“ Sunday, October 25th.—Couldn't write last night: the only thing was to try and forget it all. It has been an absolute hell of a journey—there is no other word for it. First, you must understand that this big battle from Ostend to Lille is perhaps the most desperate of all, though that is said of each in turn—Mons, the Aisne, and this; but the men and officers who have been through all say this is the worst. The Germans are desperate, and stick at nothing, and the Allies are the same; and in determination to drive them back, each man personally seems to be the same. ”

“ The unwillingness to serve on a foreign expedition was common in England then: men began to weary of the hardships of fighting: they knew too intimately the horrors of a sea-battle. Essex, too, found the men at Plymouth ready to mutiny and desert. He immediately took stringent measures: soldiers were tried by martial law, and two were executed forthwith "on a very fair pleasant green called the Ho."
On June 1 the fleet at length put out to sea, and came to anchor on June 20 in the bay of St. Sebastians, which is half a league distant from Cadiz. ”

“ One hundred and twenty-eight were killed, and six hundred and ninety wounded, in the British ships, and thirteen killed and fifty- [Pg 215] two wounded in the Dutch squadron. Yet, except the Impregnable, which had fifty men killed, no ship suffered so much as is usual in a severe engagement. Generally, in fleet actions, the brunt of the battle, and the chief amount of losses, fall upon a few; but here every ship had her allotted duty, and was closely engaged throughout. After the Impregnable, the frigates suffered the most, particularly the Granicus, which took a line-of-battle ship's station ”

“ The ships were now cleared for action, with an alacrity and expedition almost incredible: and, on the 30th, the wind having become favourable, the British fleet weighed, and formed the order of battle, Lord Nelson leading the van-division; and all safely passed the Sound, the celebrated Key of the Baltic, in about four hours, without having received the smallest damage from any of the Danish artillery. The only casualty, indeed, of this day, happened on board the Isis; where six or seven men were killed or wounded, by the bursting of a lower-deck gun. ”

“ In Ostend every place was full of wounded men, who all came walking from the battle-field in groups. Even in those days the fierce fights continued in consequence of the mad attempts to conquer Dunkirk and Calais. Great losses were suffered also by the enormous effect of the British naval guns, against which the German marines had mounted big guns in Ostend and farther along the coast, in order to keep the fleet at a distance. ”

“ Nor did the fierce woman, Queen Esther, shirk the battle. Waving her great tomahawk, she was continually among the warriors, singing her song of war and death.
They were driven steadily back toward the fort, and the little band crumbled away beneath the deadly fire. Soon none would be left unless they ran for their lives. The five drew away toward the forest. They saw that the fort itself could not hold out against such a numerous and victorious foe, and they had no mind to be trapped. But their retreat was slow, and as they went they sent bullet after bullet into the Indian flank. ”

“ Through that long Sunday morning, on October 23, 1642 (November 2, new style) , the forces of Lord Essex lay and watched the enemy on the heights above them, and distant from them scarcely more than a couple of miles; showing no disposition to risk an attack upon a position which was undoubtedly so advantageous as to be worth several thousand men. At about one o’clock it was decided by the King and his officers to descend the steep face of the cliff, and make a frontal attack upon the Parliamentarians disposed in a long line passing through Battle and Thistle Farms. ”

“ The Prince of Essling has four times as many cavalry as he needs for defeating the enemy's army. I am too far off, and the position of the enemy changes too often, for me to be able to counsel you as to the manner of leading the attack, but it is certain that the enemy is not in a state to resist. ”

“ On April 3, the Danes opened hostilities by a bombardment of the Island of Allston. Then came the battle of Eckenfoerde, when German shore batteries blew up the Dueppel trenches stormed Danish ship of the line, "Christian VIII.," and two smaller vessels, the crews of which surrendered. On April 13, the Bavarians and Saxons stormed the intrenchments of Dueppel. One week later, the German troops, in conjunction with the volunteers of Schleswig-Holstein, under Von Bonin, occupied Jutland, and defeated the Danes at Kolding. ”

“ Bear in mind the calculation that the main French army would never in any event be strong enough successfully to resist an invasion so planned. Bear in mind, too, that an echelon formation is not only supple and difficult to attack along its length on either side, but that it can be stretched out or closed up like a concertina. To maintain a formation of that kind with smaller bodies of troops is fairly easy. To maintain it with the enormous masses forming the German armies would be difficult. ”

“ In the clear air they sometimes saw the flashes of the giant cannon, miles away, and flying machines and captive balloons sprinkled the air. An army could no longer hide itself. Forests and hollows were of no avail. The scouts of the blue, looking down saw every move, and they brought word that the menace was growing heavier every hour.
"We'll fight on the morrow," said John as he stood with Carstairs and Wharton before a camp fire. "I feel that the Germans will surely attack in the morning." ”

“ To men of less daring this would have seemed a mad plan. A careful general would, without hesitation, have seized and strongly garrisoned Aspern, Essling, and Enzersdorf, in order that his own line of retreat might be secure, and sufficient room be assured in which to deploy. Pelet, in his memoirs, declares that the Emperor's orders were "to cross the river and march against the enemy." Be this as it may, there were as yet only three infantry divisions on the left bank of the Danube, and Aspern was but weakly garrisoned. ”