eight thousand men, commanded by General Kaim and General Hohenzollern,
were directed towards Placentia and Cremona, thus occupying the whole of
the left bank of the Po, in such a manner that the Austro-Russian army
advanced deploying eighty thousand men along a front of forty-five miles.

In view of the forces which were advancing, and which were three times as
large as his own, Scherer beat a retreat all along the line. He destroyed
the bridges over the Adda, as he did not consider that he was strong
enough to hold them, and, having removed his headquarters to Milan, he
awaited there the reply to a despatch which he had sent to the Directory,
in which, tacitly acknowledging his incapacity, he tendered his
resignation. As the arrival of his successor was delayed, and as
Souvarow continued to advance, Scherer, more and more terrified by the
responsibility which rested upon him, relinquished his command into the
hands of his most able lieutenant. The general chosen by him was Moreau,
who was again about to fight those Russians in whose ranks he was
destined to die at last.

Moreau's unexpected nomination was proclaimed amidst the acclamation of
the soldiers. He had been called the French Fabius, on account of his
magnificent campaign on the Rhine. He passed his whole army in review,
saluted by the successive acclamations of its different divisions, which
cried, "Long live Moreau! Long live the saviour of the army of Italy!"
But however great this enthusiasm, it did not blind Moreau to the
terrible position in which he found himself. At the risk of being
out-flanked, it was necessary for him to present a parallel line to that
of the Russian army, so that, in order to face his enemy, he was obliged
to extend his line from Lake Lecco to Pizzighitone--that is to say, a
distance of fifty miles. It is true that he might have retired towards
Piedmont and concentrated his troops at Alexandria, to await there the