ent to
secure his iniquitous acquisitions in Poland, travelled with all speed
into that country. The command of his army was given to the Duke of
Brunswick, who was to act in concert with a small Austrian army under
Wnrihser. These two generals drove the French from several strong
posts, and expelled them from their fortified lines at Weissumberg, and
from the fortified camp and triple lines a| Lauter. The Prussians
then laid siege to Landau, while the Austrians invested Strasburg, the
capital of the province of Alsace. The Austrians had been invited by
the noblesse of Strasburg, and the convention in consequence despatched
thither Saint Just and Lebas, who introduced the reign of terror, not
only into the town, but also into the whole of Alsace, except where
the Austrians were located. General Oustine was sent to Paris to be
beheaded, and Saint-Just called young Hoche from Dunkirk and gave him the
command of that army, which was now re-inforced by nearly the whole of
the army of the Moselle. Wurmser was obliged to retreat, and Strasburg
was left to the mercy of the two commissioners of the convention.
General Hoche sought to get between Wurmser and the Duke of Brunswick,
but he was repulsed and put to flight with the loss of three or four
thousand men. The republican general then effected a junction with
the French army of the Rhine, and with some troops collected by the
commissioners in Alsace, and taking Wurmser by surprise, he defeated
the Austrians, making many prisoners. On the 26th of December, aided
by Desaix, Pichegru, and Michaud, General Hoche made an attack upon the
lines of Weissemberg, and was on the point of driving the Austrians from
thence, when he was checked by the Duke of Brunswick, who broke up the
siege of Landau, in order to assist his allies. The Duke of Brunswick
wished Wurmser, who, on the morrow, withdrew his army from the lines
of Weissemberg, to remain on the left bank of the Rhine, until all
his artillery and stores should be well advanced on the road towards
Mayence; but the Austrian general would not consent to remain a single
day, but crossed tlie Rhine, and left the duke to shift for himself. The
duke conducted his army safely to Mayence, but he soon after resigned
his command, with many bitter accusations against the Austrians. By the
end of this year the French had not only recovered their old frontier
lines in this direction, but had the whole of the Palatinate at their
mercy. They so