another assault of Rosenberg, and the French drove him out again. Rosenberg then directed his efforts on the flank of the French center, slowly retiring on the bridges. The retirement was terribly costly, but Lannes stopped the French from being driven into the Danube. Complete exhaustion of both sides ended the fighting. Aftermath The French lost over 20,000 men including one of Napoleon's ablest field commanders and closest friends, Marshal Jean Lannes, who died after being mortally wounded by an Austrian cannonball in an attack on Johann von Klenau's force at Aspern, which was backed up by 60 well-placed guns. French general Louis-Vincent-Joseph Le Blond de Saint-Hilaire also died as a result of injuries from the battle; his leg was torn off by a cannonball. The Austrians had also suffered similar casualties but had secured the first major victory against the French for over a decade. The victory demonstrated both the progress the Austrian army had made since the string of catastrophic defeats in 1800 and 1805, and the fact that Emperor Napoleon could still be defeated in battle, his last having been at Acre, which coincidentally had occurred precisely ten years and one day before. The loss of Marshal Lannes was an especially severe blow to Napoleon, as he lost one of the few marshals who was capable of independent command, something that would haunt him dearly in the future. The French forces were withdrawn to the island. On the night of the 22nd the last bridge was repaired, and the army awaited the arrival of reinforcements in Lobau. The Austrians, surprised by their victory, failed to capitalize on the situation, allowing the French to regroup. One month later, the French made a second attempt to cross the Danube where Napoleon gained a costly and decisive victory over the Austrians at the Battle of Wagram. The Löwe von Aspern (Lion of Aspern), a large stone sculpture in front of St. Martin's Church, is a monument commemorating the battle. Accounts Patrick Rambaud, a French author, wrote a fictionalized account of the conflict entitled "The Battle" using many first-hand sources. Just looking from the French perspective, the novel provides a rather realistic description of combat in the Napoleonic era, as well as detailed depictions of famous commanders such as Napoleon, Massena, and Lannes. The concept and notes for the book originally came from noted French author Honoré de Balzac. Marcellin Marbot,