little village of Hohenlinden, or Linden, as it was
often called, stands in a pine forest of Upper Bavaria,
on the banks of the swift-flowing river Iser, about
twenty miles distant from Munich. In December, 1800,
two great armies, the one Austrian, the other French
and Bavarian, commanded by Napoleon's General Moreau,
drew close to each other along the river. Snow had been
falling for several days. The weather was bitterly
cold. The armies opened fire, however, and a great
battle was fought in the forest, although the
snow-storm was so blinding that the soldiers could only
distinguish their enemies by the flash of their guns.
The battle raged through the woods, across the hills,
and along the river. The French and Bavarians finally
won, and the Emperor of Austria had to accept
Napoleon's terms of peace in order to save his capital
of Vienna from capture. In the poem "Frank" means the
French, "Hun" stands for the Austrians, and "Munich"
refers to the Bavarians and their capital.
During his travels in Germany the English poet Campbell
saw a battle from a convent near Ratisbon, and he also
visited the field of Ingolstadt after a battle. From
these experiences he wrote his poem on Hohenlinden.
by Thomas Campbell