At the end of this letter you will see
that I quote a short phrase with which an Austrian major, now prisoner of
war, portrayed the results of the fierce struggle fought beyond the
Mincio. This officer is one of the few survivors of a regiment of
Austrian volunteers, uhlans, two squadrons of which he himself commanded.
The declaration made by this officer was thoroughly explicit, and conveys
the exact idea of the valour displayed by the Italians in that terrible
fight. Those who incline to overrate the advantages obtained by the
Austrians on Sunday last must not forget that if Lamarmora had thought
proper to persist in holding the positions of Valeggio, Volta, and Goito,
the Austrians could not have prevented him. It seems the Austrian
general-in-chief shared this opinion, for, after his army had carried
with terrible sacrifices the positions of Monte Vento and Custozza, it
did not appear, nor indeed did the Austrians then give any signs, that
they intended to adopt a more active system of warfare. It is the
business of a commander to see that after a victory the fruit of it
should not be lost, and for this reason the enemy is pursued and
molested, and time is not left him for reorganization.
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