n unlimited numbers at the least expense;
while Carnot's organization had made possible the quick handling of
troops in large mass by simplifying the machinery. Bonaparte was about
to show what could be done in the way of using the weapon which had
been put into his hands.

The possession of Mantua was decisive of Italian destiny, for its
holder could command a kind of overlordship in every little Italian
state. If Bonaparte should take and keep it, Austria would be
virtually banished from Italy, and her prestige destroyed. She must,
therefore, relieve it, or lose not only her power in the peninsula,
but her rank in Europe. To this end, and according to the established
rules of strategy, the Austrians advanced from the mountains in three
divisions against the French line, which stretched from Brescia past
Peschiera, at the head of the Mincio, and through Verona to Legnago on
the Adige. Two of these armies were to march respectively down the
east and west banks of Lake Garda, and, flanking the inferior forces
of the French on both sides, surround and capture them. The other
division was on the Adige in front of Verona, ready to relieve
Mantua. Between that river and the lake rises the stately mass of
Monte Baldo, abrupt on its eastern, more gentle on its western slope.
This latter, as affording some space for manoeuvers, was really the
key to the passage. Such was the first onset of the Austrians down
this line that the French outposts at Lonato and Rivoli were driven
in, and for a time it seemed as if there would be a general rout. But
the French stood firm, and checked any further advance. For a day
Bonaparte and Wurmser stood confronting each other. In the mean time,
however, the left Austrian column was pouring down toward Verona,
while the right, under Quasdanowich, had already captured Brescia,
seized the highway to Milan, and cut off the French retreat. This move
in Wurmser's plan was so far entirely successful, and for a moment it
seemed as if the sequel would be equally so. The situation of his
opponents was desperate.

In this crisis occurred the first of those curious scenes which recur
at intervals in Bonaparte's life. Some, and those eye-witnesses, have
attributed them to genuine panic. His first measure was to despatch
flying adjutants, ten in number, to concentrate his scattered forces
at the critical point, south of Lake Garda. His genius decided that
victory on the field was far more fruitful than the