You will all take care to execute my orders with the utmost rapidity and punctiliousness.

The Austrians disputed the victory with us at Esslingen; in their arrogance they will perhaps even go so far as to assert that _they_ obtained it; so I will give them a battle in which the victory will be on my side so undoubtedly that the Austrians must bow without resistance beneath its heavy, imperious hand.

The bridge-building is the first and most necessary condition of this conquest.

It must be carried on swiftly, cautiously, secretly--the enemy must not suspect where the bridges will be erected; all the portions of the structures must be made on the island of Lobau, then the bridges must appear out of nothingness, like a miracle before the astonished eyes of the foe.

These bridges, gentlemen, will be the road for us all to gain new laurels, win fresh victories, and surround the immortal fame of our eagles with new glory.