MARSHAL LOUIS N. DAVOUT AND THE ART OF COMMAND A ...

convinced he was being attacked by a superior force. Davout then massed his combat power and pursued the offensive against the Austrian forces. He continued to achieve success until Charles arrived with additional reinforcements to reinforce their defense. Again his judgement had been correct and his orders properly executed. Davout was a superb tactician who could view the battle and instantaneously decide what actions would bring about success. Davout had a perfect record in battle thus far and he was not going to let some Austrian Archduke cause his first defeat. By the end of the day the French had still not defeated the majority of the Austrian forces. The arrival of Kollowratls Corps gave added firepower to the Austrians and greatly improved Charles' morale. The situation facing the French was far from secure. Napoleon, with the majority of the French Army lay over twenty miles to the south. Luckily he had sent only Bessieres' cavalry in pursuit of the Austrians across the Isar River at Landshut. He still had all of his infantry and most of the heavy cavalry within striking distance. Davout and Lefebvre continued to hold their temporary defense throughout the night. The only hope for Davout was to convince Napoleon that he was facing the main Austrian army. After that he would have to persuade Napoleon to move north with the main army. Davout also