reinforcements the Directory had promised to send him. But if he had
done this, he would have compromised the safety of the army at Naples,
and have abandoned it, isolated as it was, to the mercy of the enemy. He
therefore resolved to defend the passage of the Adda as long as possible,
in order to give the division under Dessolles, which was to be despatched
to him by Massena, time to join forces with him and to defend his left,
whilst Gauthier, who had received orders to evacuate Tuscany and to
hasten with forced marches to his aid, should have time to arrive and
protect his right. Moreau himself took the centre, and personally
defended the fortified bridge of Cassano; this bridge was protected by
the Ritorto Canal, and he also defended it with a great deal of artillery
and an entrenched vanguard. Besides, Moreau, always as prudent as brave,
took every precaution to secure a retreat, in case of disaster, towards
the Apennines and the coast of Genoa. Hardly were his dispositions
completed before the indefatigable Souvarow entered Triveglio. At the
same time as the Russian commander-in-chief arrived at this last town,
Moreau heard of the surrender of Bergamo and its castle, and on 23rd
April he saw the heads of the columns of the allied army.

The same day the Russian general divided his troops into three strong
columns, corresponding to the three principal points in the French line,
each column numerically more than double the strength of those to whom
they were opposed. The right column, led by General Wukassowich,
advanced towards Lake Lecco, where General Serrurier awaited it. The
left column, under the command of Melas, took up its position in front of
the Cassano entrenchments; and the Austrian division, under Generals Zopf
and Ott, which formed the centre, concentrated at Canonia, ready at a
given moment to seize Vaprio. The Russian and Austrian troops bivouacked
within cannon-shot of the French outposts.