rategy as of old the various corps of the French army
were disposed, under Ney, Lauriston, Reynier, Macdonald, and Bertrand,
so as virtually to engirdle the enemy. Napoleon was at Neumarkt with
the guard; a single bold dash southward toward the Eulen Mountains
with his concentering force, and he would have crushed his opponents.
But another victory like Luetzen and Bautzen would reduce his army
still further, and then in his weakness he would be confronted by the
hundred thousand Austrians which, according to the best advices, his
father-in-law had assembled in Bohemia. In that juncture Francis might
risk a battle, and if successful he could dictate not merely an
armistice, but the terms of peace--a contingency more terrible than
any other. Time, moreover, seemed quite as valuable to the Emperor of
the French as to his foe: while they were calling in reserves and
strengthening their ranks, his hundred and eighty thousand conscripts
of 1814 could be marched to the Elbe, and Eugene could complete his
work in Italy. Ignorant of the panic at his enemy's headquarters, the
uneasy conqueror decided therefore that his best course was, by
exhibiting a desire for peace and assenting to an armistice, to avoid
the general reprobation of Europe. Accordingly, he took another
disastrous step, and accepted the proposal of the allies for a
conference.

How earnestly Napoleon desired peace appears from his spontaneous
concessions. He would agree to the evacuation of Breslau for the sake
of harmony, and would consent to such a truce as the majesty of a
ruler and the rights of a successful general might alike exact; but he
would not be treated like a besieged commander. Hamburg should remain
as it was at the conclusion of negotiations, and the duration of the
armistice must be longer than the term proposed--six weeks at the
least. On these two points he took his stand. The fatal armistice of
Poischwitz was signed at that village on June fourth by three
commissioners, Shuvaloff for Russia, Kleist for Prussia, and
Caulaincourt for France. It was a compromise providing for a neutral
zone, stretching from the mouth of the Elbe southeastward to Bohemia,
which was to separate the combatants until July twentieth. Hostilities
might not be renewed until August first. Breslau was to be evacuated;
Hamburg was to remain as the truce found it. These terms were reached
only after much bluster, the allies, weak and disorganized as they
were, demanding a