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 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.