ed only to gather means for creating
fresh troubles, and they determined,--the counsels of England
prevailing with them,--to wage war _a l'outrance_.

On the 11th of August, the armistice came to an end. Its rightful term
was the 17th; but the current of events swept over it. Napoleon was
then in Dresden, which he held as the key and pivot of his position,
and to cover it, he had constructed a large and formidable entrenched
camp along the bases of Lilienstein and Koenigstein. Of the situation of
these two enormous rocks I have spoken elsewhere. They stand about
twelve English miles from Dresden, like giant sentinels, that guard the
debouches of Bohemia and Silesia, while between them flows the Elbe,
now passable only by a ferry, but by Napoleon's care, then bridged
over. Here a position was marked out for not less than sixty thousand
men, whence, as from a centre, it was competent for the French to pass
either into Bohemia, where the Grand Army of the Allies seemed
preparing to assemble, or to Silesia and Lusatia. But it was not on
this side of the Saxon capital exclusively, that Napoleon fixed a
vigilant eye. His real line was the line of the Elbe, from Hamburg to
Dresden; his communications with France were kept open by Erfurth, and
through the Thuringian forest; and he took care that all the approaches
to Dresden should be so guarded, as that, while the city itself
continued secure from insult, the force in possession might have free
avenues through which to operate on any threatened point in this
enormous circle. "Dresde," said he, "est le pivot, sur lequel je veux
manoeuvrer pour faire face a toutes les attaques. Depuis Berlin
jusqu'a Prague, l'ennemi se develope sur en circonference dont j'occupe
le centre; les moindre communications s'allangent pour lui sur les
contours qu'elles devrient suivre; et pour moi quelques marches
suffisent pour me porter partout ou ma presence et mes reserves son
necessaires. Mais il faut que sur les points ou je ne serai pas, mes
lieutenants sechent m'attendre sans rien commettre au hazard." It was
mainly because they neglected to keep this latter injunction in view,
that the reverses which deranged all his magnificent plans occurred.

Napoleon had formed, during the cessation of hostilities, a new
_corps-d'armee_, which he put under the command of General Vandamme,
and brought up from the mouth of the Elbe. It numbered, in all, about
five-and-twenty thousand men, and had instructio