the better part of the Milanese against any enemy advancing from
Piedmont. Behind this river Beaulieu now concentrated his army,
establishing strong guards at every ford and bridge, and especially at
Lodi, where as he guessed (for once rightly) the French general designed
to force his passage.

The wooden bridge of Lodi formed the scene of one of the most celebrated
actions of the war; and will ever be peculiarly mixed up with the name
of Buonaparte himself. It was a great neglect in Beaulieu to leave it
standing when he removed his headquarters to the east bank of the Adda:
his outposts were driven rapidly through the old struggling town of Lodi
on the 10th; and the French sheltering themselves behind the walls and
houses, lay ready to attempt the passage of the bridge. Beaulieu had
placed a battery of thirty cannon so as to sweep it completely; and the
enterprise of storming it in the face of this artillery, and the whole
army drawn up behind, is one of the most daring on record.

Buonaparte's first care was to place as many guns as he could get in
order in direct opposition to this Austrian battery. A furious cannonade
on his side of the river also now commenced. The General himself
appeared in the midst of the fire, pointing with his own hand two guns
in such a manner as to cut off the Austrians from the only path by which
they could have advanced to undermine the bridge; and it was on this
occasion that the soldiery, delighted with his dauntless exposure of his
person, conferred on him his honorary nickname of _The Little Corporal_.
In the meantime he had sent General Beaumont and the cavalry to attempt
the passage of the river by a distant ford (which they had much
difficulty in effecting), and awaited with anxiety the moment when they
should appear on the enemy's flank. When that took place, Beaulieu's
line, of course, showed some confusion, and Napoleon instantly gave the