. Battles of the nineteenth century . ng thisattack. In the absence of all precise information,Napoleon still believed that the bulk of theAustrian army was disposed in a long lineparallel to his own, and several miles to thesouth. To avoid a possible general attack allalong the line, iie had arranged the march ofhis troops io that division trod on the heels ofdivision from far be3ond Novara. He hoped, byforcing b^ck the right wing of the Austrianarmy, which alone he supposed to be defending divisions of Novara could have marched up totheir aid. Around Magenta the troops of Clam-Gallas faced M
. Battles of the nineteenth century . ng thisattack. In the absence of all precise information,Napoleon still believed that the bulk of theAustrian army was disposed in a long lineparallel to his own, and several miles to thesouth. To avoid a possible general attack allalong the line, iie had arranged the march ofhis troops io that division trod on the heels ofdivision from far be3ond Novara. He hoped, byforcing b^ck the right wing of the Austrianarmy, which alone he supposed to be defending divisions of Novara could have marched up totheir aid. Around Magenta the troops of Clam-Gallas faced MacMahon to the north, and thehigh road from San Martino to the west. Therewas a strong body of cavalry at Corbetta close athand. The divisions of Liechtenstein were atPonte Vecchio (the Old Bridge) and Robecco,along the canal below where the road crossesit. These, which formed the right and centre ofthe line of the Austrian army as it was actuallyengaged in battle, numbered 36,000 men. Theleft was in the immediate neighbourhood, with. lAV A BODY COVERED WITH A BLUE CLOAK (/. I70). the approaches to Magenta, to be able to passby the main body of the enemy and marchon Milan. At least, this is the only way ofexplaining the Emperors orders for this 4th dayof June. As a line of battle his forward move-ment was preposterous, straddling a river andcanal, which were not easy of passage, andwithout any defensive positions to support himin case a concentrated attack should be made inthe meantime. General Gyulai did not know the advantagesof his position. The line of battle which heopposed to the French advance admitted of aquick concentration of his troops which might,by the mere force of numbers, have crushed thecorps of MacMahon and the Guard before the Zobel not two miles to the south and therest just beyond at Abbiategrosso, 28,000 inall. At Vigevano across the Ticino therewere 24,000 more, quite as near as the centraldivisions of the French. The remaining 25,000men of the Austrian a
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