Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/146

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130
AUSTRIA
[history.

broke out into open revolt in 1789. This, together with an unsuccessful war in which he had engaged with Russia against Turkey, is understood to have preyed upon his over-sensitive mind, and caused his death on 20th February 1790. He was, says Mr Carlyle, "a man of very high qualities, and much too conscious of them ; a man of am bition without bounds ; one of those fatal men fatal to themselves first of all who mistake half genius for whole ; and rush on the second step without having made the first."

He was succeeded by his brother Leopold, grand duke of Tuscany, who by his moderation and firmness was suc cessful in restoring peace to the country, and in quelling the insurrection in the Netherlands. He also made peace with the Porte. The misfortunes of his sister Maria Antoinette and her husband, Louis XVI. of France, led him to enter into an alliance with Prussia against the 1792. Revolutionists, but he died before the war broke out (1st March 1792). He was succeeded by his son, Francis II., who had hardly ascended the throne when he found War with himself involved in a war with France. Hostilities corn- France, menced on 28th April with an attempted invasion of Flanders by the French, but their undisciplined troops were .speedily routed and put to flight. A combined army of 50,000 Prussians, under the command of the duke of Brunswick, and 15,000 Austrians under General Clairfait, besides about 20,000 French, soon after crossed the French frontier, took Longwy and Verdun, and marched on Paris. In the meantime Dumouriez was actively engaged in col lecting an army, and soon found himself in a condition to meet them. A series of engagements took place without any decided result, beyond checking the advance of the nllied troops, who were now also suffering very severely from sickness and famine. It was therefore deemed pru dent to retire, and Verdun and Longwy were soon after retaken. Dumouriez next invaded the Netherlands with an army of 100,000 men, to oppose which the Austrian army only amounted to 40,000. A battle took place at Jemappes on the 6th of November, in which the Austrians fought with heroic bravery, and the contest was long doubtful, but the superior numbers of the French carried the day. The loss on both sides was very great ; and soon after the whole of the Austrian Netherlands, with the ex ception of Luxemburg, was in the hands of the French. The commencement of the campaign of 1793 was dis tinguished by a series of brilliant victories gained by the allies in the Netherlands. Dumouriez was defeated at Aldenhoven, and again in a great battle at Neerwinden (18th March). Soon after, afraid of falling into the hands of the Jacobins in Paris, he passed over to the allies. His successor, General Dampierre, was defeated and slain on the plains of Famars, and the allies became masters of Valenciennes and Conde. Towards the end of the cam paign, however, the republican troops were successful in a number of engagements. At the commencement of the year 1794, the Austrians, Dutch, English, and Hanoverians united their forces in the Netherlands under the command of the prince of Coburg, and the Emperor Francis himself joined the camp, in order by his presence to encourage the troops. In April the allies were successful at Gateau and at Landrecies, and took that town; but their good fortune then forsook them. Clairfait was attacked singly at Kor- tryk by Pichegru, and forced to yield to superior numbers; and the allies under the prince of Coburg were attacked by him at Tournay (22d May), when an extremely long and bloody, but undecisive, battle was fought. The Austrian troops were now greatly dispirited; and, on the 26th June they were defeated by General Jourdan at Fleurus. This was followed by other disasters, so that all Flanders was soon in the hands of the French. Pichegru, pursuing his vic torious career, next invaded Holland, which, before the end of the year, was transformed into a republic. In the begin- 1795. ning of 1795 Prussia abandoned the cause of the allies, and concluded a treaty of peace with the French republic at Basle (5th April), and was joined therein by Hanover and Hesse Cassel, so that Austria and England were left alone to pro secute the war. For some months a cessation of hostilities took place between the contending parties; but on the 6th of September the French army under Jourdan suddenly crossed the Rhine near Diisseldorf, invested that town, and drove the Austrians before it over the Maine. Clairfait, however, reassembled his troops behind the latter river, and attacked the French at Hochst, near Frankfort, and completely defeated them (llth October), so that they were obliged to recross the Rhine. In the meantime Pichegru had crossed the river with another army, near Mannheim, and took pos session of that town. Wurmser, who was sent for its relief, arrived too late for that purpose, but attacked the French army near it, put them to flight, and compelled them to recross the Rhine, leaving a garrison of 8000 men to defend the town, which, after a vigorous siege, surrendered to the Austrians. The French, undismayed by these failures, were only stimulated to greater efforts; and the following 1796. year they sent out three armies against Austria, one under Jourdan towards the Lower Rhine, another under Moreau towards the Upper Rhine, and a third into Italy. In the end of May the French army under Jourdan crossed the Lower Rhine, and gained some successes, but was after wards attacked by the Archduke Charles (16th June), and forced to recross the river. Moreau soon after effected his passage over the Upper Rhine at Strasburg, defeated the Austrians in several partial engagements, and reduced the circle of Swabia to subjection. Jourdan again pushed for ward his troops, and took Frankfort by bombardment, but was defeated with great loss by the archduke at Am- berg (24th August), and again at Wurzburg (3d September). Moreau had in the meantime continued his advance into Bavaria, but was ultimately obliged to effect a retreat, which he carried out with great skill, suffering compara tively little loss, and recrossing the Rhine on 20th October. But a different fate was attending the army in Italy, under the command of a young officer, who afterwards became world-famous for his generalship, namely, Bonaparte. By the promptitude of his movements, and the suddenness of his attacks, he completely overcame and separated the army of the Sardinians from that of the Austrians, and forced the Sardinian king to sign a treaty of peace. He then turned his arms against the Austrians, defeated them in several engagements, and made himself master of the whole of Lombardy, except Mantua. Wurmser was now summoned from Germany with an army of 30,000 men, which raised the Austrian force to about 60,000; while opposed to them were about 55,000 French. In stead, however, of advancing in one body, the Austrians were divided into two columns, which advanced by different routes, a mistake of which Bonaparte did not fail to take advantage. One division of 20,000 men was attacked and compelled to retreat towards the mountains, while Wurmser with the other division entered Mantua. Leaving that city he sustained a double defeat at Lonata and Castiglione (3d August); and, being again severely beaten at Medola (5th August), he was forced to seek shelter in the moun tains of Tyrol. Having received reinforcements, however, he again advanced in divided columns, one of which was defeated at Rovereclo, the other, under himself, near Bassano. He took the road to Mantua with the remains of his army, and reached that town after a brilliant victory over a body of French troops that had been sent to i:i tercept him. Meanwhile the Austrians collected another army of 40,000 men under Alvinzi, who, after a series of successes, gained a decided victory over Bonaparte at