heir caissons should traverse the bridge together, and even these
at a walk, seven or eight were seen passing at the same instant, and all
at a gallop, making the old framework so to rock and tremble, that it
seemed ready to come to pieces. As often happens, the hardihood proved
our safety. The Austrians counting upon our slow transit, only opened a
heavy fire after several of our pieces had crossed, and were already in
a position to reply to them. Their defence, if somewhat late, was a most
gallant one, and the gunners continued to fire on our advancing columns
till we captured the block-house and sabred the men at their guns.
Meanwhile the Imperial Cuirassiers, twelve hundred strong, made a
succession of furious charges upon us, driving our light cavalry away
before them, and for a brief space making the fortune of the day almost
doubtful. It soon appeared, however, that these brave fellows were
merely covering the retreat of the main body, who in all haste were
falling back on the villages of Furth and Arth. Some squadrons of
Kellermann's heavy cavalry gave time for our light artillery to open
their fire, and the Austrian ranks were rent open with terrific loss.

Day was now dawning, and showed us the Austrian army in retreat by
the two great roads towards Landshut. Every rising spot of ground was
occupied by artillery, and in some places defended by stockades, showing
plainly enough that all hope of saving the guns was abandoned, and that
they only thought of protecting their flying columns from our attack.
These dispositions cost us heavily, for as we were obliged to carry each
of these places before we could advance, the loss in this hand-to-hand
encounter was very considerable. At length, however, the roads became
so blocked up by artillery, that the infantry were driven to defile into
the swampy fields at the roadside, and here our cavalry cut them down
unmercifully, while grape tore through the dense masses at half-musket
range.

Had discipline or command been possible, our condition might have been
made perilous enough, since, in the impetuosity of attack, large masses
of our cavalry got separated from their support, and were frequently
seen struggling to cut their way out of the closing columns of the
enemy. Twice or thrice it actually happened that officers surrendered
the whole squadron as prisoners, and were rescued by their own
comrades afterwards. The whole was a scene of pell-mell confusion
and disorde