who fell upon him when he least expected them; he succeeded in rallying
Grenier’s troops and in re-establishing the battle. But whilst his back
was turned Melas repaired the bridge and crossed the river; thus Moreau
found himself attacked frontally, in the rear, and on his two flanks, by
forces three times larger than his own. It was then that all the
officers who surrounded him begged him to retreat, for on the
preservation of his person depended the preservation of Italy for
France. Moreau refused for some time, for he knew the awful consequences
of the battle he had just lost, and he did not wish to survive it,
although it had been impossible for him to win it. At last a chosen band
surrounded him, and, forming a square, drew back, whilst the rest of the
army sacrificed themselves to cover his retreat; for Moreau’s genius was
looked upon as the sole hope that remained to them.
The battle lasted nearly three hours longer, during which the rearguard
of the army performed prodigies of valour. At length Melas, seeing that
the enemy had escaped him, and believing that his troops, tired by the
stubborn fight, needed rest, gave orders that the fighting should cease.
He halted on the left bank of the Adda, encamping his army in the
villages of Imago, Gorgonzola, and Cassano, and remained master of the
battlefield, upon which we had left two thousand five hundred dead, one
hundred pieces of cannon, and twenty howitzers.
That night Souvarow invited General Becker to supper with him, and asked
him by whom he had been taken prisoner. Becker replied that it was a
young officer belonging to the regiment which had first entered Pozzo.
Souvarow immediately inquired what regiment this was, and discovered
that it was the Semenofskoi; he then ordered that inquiries should be
made to ascertain the young officer’s name. Shortly afterwards
Sub-Lieutenant Foedor Romayloff was announced. He presented General
Becker’s sword to Souvarow, who invited him to remain and to have supper
with his prisoner.
Next day Foedor wrote to his protector: “I have kept my word. I am a
lieutenant, and Field-Marshal Souvarow has requested his Majesty Paul I
to bestow upon me the order of Saint Vladimir.”
On 28th of April, Souvarow entered Milan, which Moreau had just
abandoned in order to retreat beyond Tesino. The following proclamation
was by his order posted on all the walls of the capital; it admirably
paints the spirit of the Muscovite:
“The victorious army of the Apostolical and Roman Emperor is here; it
has fought solely for the restoration of the Holy Faith,—the clergy,
nobility, and ancient government of Italy. People, join us for God and
the Faith, for we have arrived with an army at Milan and Placentia to
assist you!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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