Hence its interest to all who by preference dwell on the intellectual problems of warfare rather than on the details of fighting.

Bonaparte had previously shown that he could deal blows with telling effect.

The ease and grace of his moves at the second battle of Castiglione now redeemed the reputation which his uncertain behaviour on the four preceding days had somewhat compromised.
A complete and authentic account of this week of confused fighting has never been written.

The archives of Vienna have not as yet yielded up all their secrets; and the reputations of so many French officers were over-clouded by this prolonged _melee_ as to render even the victors' accounts vague and inconsistent.

The aim of historians everywhere to give a clear and vivid account, and the desire of Napoleonic enthusiasts to represent their hero as always thinking clearly and acting decisively, have fused trusty ores and worthless slag into an alloy which has passed for true metal.