War of the Fifth Coalition

• 1. Coalition Origins And Alliances

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  In early 1809, the Austrian Empire stood alone in Central Europe. Emperor Francis I faced a French Empire led by Napoleon Bonaparte that controlled most of the continent. Austria had hoped for support from Russia and Prussia after their defeats in previous wars. The Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807 left France as the dominant power in Western Europe with many client states including the Duchy of Warsaw. Russia made peace with Napoleon at Tilsit and was engaged in wars with erstwhile allies like Britain in the Anglo-Russian War between 1807 and 1812. Sweden fought Finland in the Finnish War while the Ottoman Empire battled Russia in the Russo-Turkish War from 1806 to 1812. Austria lacked allies in central Europe because its main ally Russia had already signed a separate peace. Russian tsar Alexander I agreed to move slowly during any advance into Austria but remained neutral throughout the conflict. Austrian minister Johann Philipp Stadion secured this agreement despite French pressure. Meanwhile, Prussia chose to remain neutral even though they had been defeated by France recently. A letter from Prussian minister Baron von Stein discussing negotiations was intercepted by French agents and published in Le Moniteur Universel on the 8th of September. Napoleon confiscated Stein's holdings in Westphalia and pressured King Frederick William III into dismissing him. The Convention of Paris agreed a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Prussia where French garrisons had been in place since the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition. This withdrawal required payment of heavy reparations totaling 140 million francs over 30 months. The Prussian Army was also limited in size to 42,000 men which was one sixth of its pre-war total. Despite these restrictions, Stadion hoped Prussia would change their mind about joining the war.

• 2. Austrian Military Reforms And Strategy

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  Archduke Charles carried out major reforms to the Imperial Austrian Army after Austria was defeated in 1805. The nation spent three years reforming its army before the conflict began. Austria built the largest army in its nation's history though its fighting quality was hampered by numerous factors. The men were conscripted from across the Austrian Empire and included Austrians Hungarians Czechs Poles Croats and Serbs. Some including the Hungarians did not enthusiastically support their Austrian rulers. Conscription focused on the lower classes of society and private soldiers most non-commissioned officers and many junior officers were illiterate. The army was well drilled in massed column formations which were effective against cavalry but vulnerable to artillery fire. The regular infantry were thought too slow-witted to be trained in skirmishing so this role had traditionally been filled by grenzer light infantry units whose quality declined since potential conflicts with the Ottoman Empire ended. The deficiency was only partly remedied by recently created volunteer jäger units. The Austrian militia known as the Landwehr were intended as a home defence force but were moved to serve with the field army. This force was equipped with second rate weapons and poorly trained while forbidden to accept officers from the landowning classes leading to poor leadership. They were used later in the war as cannon fodder to divert French fire. The Austrian cavalry was of reasonably good quality though in 1809 it was hampered by large numbers of its horses being only partly trained. The artillery was not as dynamic as in some contemporary armies being placed under infantry commanders in the field and lacking proper horse artillery to manoeuvre quickly. The Austrian army was supposed to be supplied by a large wagon train which restricted its manoeuvrability. Its senior officers were appointed based on aristocratic backgrounds and seniority rather than ability. This led to elderly generals with an average age of 63 years old. Field commander Archduke Charles was unable to dismiss any of his commanders because he favoured doctrine over flexibility. He expected his generals to follow a guide he had published in 1806. Charles and the Aulic Council were divided on the best strategy for the coming war. Charles favoured an offensive launched from Bohemia where there was a concentration of Austrian forces and an attack could quickly isolate the French in northern Germany. The Aulic Council disagreed because the Danube river would split the forces of Charles and his brother Archduke Johann of Austria. They suggested that the main attack should be launched south of the Danube to maintain safer communications with Vienna. In the end the Council prevailed but the disagreement delayed the Austrian preparations by one month.

• 3. The Landshut Maneuver And Campaign Opening

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  On the 9th of April Archduke Charles sent a formal note to French Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre stating that Charles had orders from Francis to invade Bavaria. There was no formal declaration of war when leading elements of the Austrian army crossed the Inn River into Bavaria in the early morning of the 10th of April. Bad roads and freezing rain slowed the Austrian advance in the first week though opposing Bavarian forces gradually retreated. Davout's III Corps withdrew westerwards towards Ingolstadt anticipating orders to concentrate with other French forces. The Austrian attack occurred about a week before Napoleon anticipated disrupting French plans completely. Napoleon ordered that an Austrian attack before the 15th of April should be met by a general French concentration around Donauwörth and Augsburg in the west. His orders arrived fragmented and out of sequence and were poorly interpreted by Berthier who was more accustomed to staff duties than field command. On the 14th of April Berthier ordered Davout's corps together with those of Lefebvre and Oudinot to march to Regensburg which Davout had recently vacated. The marching and countermarching left the Armée d'Allemagne with its two wings separated and joined by a thin cordon of Bavarian troops. At midnight on the 16th of April Berthier wrote to Napoleon expressing his desire for the emperor's arrival to avoid conflicting orders. On the same day the Austrian advance guard had beaten the Bavarians near Landshut and secured a good crossing place over the Isar by evening. Charles planned to destroy Davout's and Lefebvre's isolated corps in a double-pincer manoeuvre. Napoleon arrived in Donauwörth on the 17th of April and took command from Berthier. When Napoleon realised that many of the Austrian forces had crossed the Isar and were marching towards the Danube he insisted that the entire French army deploy behind the Ilm River in a bataillon carré within 48 hours. His orders were unrealistic because he underestimated the number of Austrian troops heading for Davout. Napoleon believed Charles only had a single corps over the Isar but the Austrians had five corps moving towards Regensburg totalling 80,000 men. Davout anticipated facing overwhelming forces and withdrew most of his forces leaving 2,000 men from Regensburg. The northbound Austrian columns in the Kelheim, Abbach zone encountered four columns of Davout's men heading west towards Neustadt in the early hours of the 19th of April. The Austrian attacks were slow uncoordinated and easily repulsed by the experienced French III Corps.

• 4. Aspern-Essling The First Major Defeat

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  On 16 and the 17th of May the main Austrian army under Charles arrived in the Marchfeld plain northeast of Vienna just across the Danube. This area served as a training ground for Austrian military forces. Charles kept most of his forces several miles away from the riverbank hoping to concentrate them at the point where Napoleon decided to cross. On the 20th Charles learned from his observers on the Bissam hill that the French were building a bridge at Kaiserebersdorf just southwest of the Lobau island that led to the Marchfeld. On the 21st of May Charles concluded that the French were crossing at Kaiserebersdorf and ordered a general advance for 98,000 troops and the accompanying 292 guns organized into five columns. The Battle of Aspern-Essling started at 2:30 pm on the 21st of May. The initial attacks were made by the first three columns on Aspern and the Gemeinde Au woods but were poorly coordinated and failed. Later assaults succeeded in taking and holding the western portion of the village. The Austrians did not attack Essling until 6:00 pm because the fourth and fifth columns had longer marching routes. The French successfully repulsed the attacks against Essling throughout the day. Fighting commenced by 3 am on the 22nd of May and four hours later the French had captured Aspern again. Napoleon had 71,000 men and 152 guns on the other side of the river but the French were still outnumbered. Napoleon launched a massive assault against the Austrian center designed to give enough time for the III Corps to cross and secure a victory. Lannes advanced with three infantry divisions and travelled for a mile before the Austrians opened heavy fire causing the latter to fall back. At 9:00 am the French bridge broke again. Charles launched another massive assault an hour later and captured Aspern for the final time but struggled to capture Essling. A few hours later the Austrians returned and took all of Essling except the staunchly defended granary. Napoleon ordered the Imperial Guard under Jean Rapp to support a withdrawal from the granary. Rapp disobeyed his orders and led a bayonet charge that drove the Austrians from Essling for which he was later commended by Napoleon. Napoleon realised his bridgehead was untenable and ordered a withdrawal giving command to Lannes. Lannes was struck by a cannonball and mortally wounded. The French withdrew to Lobau by nightfall burning their pontoons bridge in behind them. Charles had inflicted the first major defeat in Napoleon's military career and caused the first fatality among his marshals though his exhausted army could not pursue the French.

• 5. Wagram And The Decisive Victory

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  After the defeat at Aspern-Essling Napoleon took more than six weeks to plan and prepare contingencies before making another attempt at crossing the Danube. From the 30th of June to the early days of July the French recrossed the Danube with more than 188,000 troops marching across the Marchfeld towards the Austrians. Immediate resistance to the French advance was restricted to the outpost divisions of Nordmann and Johann von Klenau while the main Habsburg army was stationed five miles away centered on the village of Wagram. The Austrian army had around 145,000 men. Napoleon ordered a general advance at noon on the 5th of July. An early attack by Masséna on the left flank captured Leopold and Süssenbrunn but the French were held off elsewhere by a strong Austrian defence. For the 6th of July Charles planned a double-envelopment that required a quick march from the forces of his brother John who was a few kilometers east of the battlefield. Napoleon's plan envisaged an envelopment of the Austrian left with Davout's III Corps while the rest of the army pinned the Austrian forces. Klenau's VI Corps supported by Kollowrat's III Corps started the battle on the second day at 4:00 am with a crushing assault against the French left forcing the latter to abandon both Aspern and Essling. Meanwhile Bernadotte had unilaterally ordered his troops out of the central village of Aderklaa citing heavy artillery shelling which compromised the French position. Napoleon was livid and sent two divisions of Masséna's corps supported by cavalry to regain the critical village. After difficult fighting in the first phase Masséna sent in Molitor's reserve division which slowly captured Aderklaa back for the French only to lose it again following fierce Austrian bombardments and counterattacks. To delay the Austrian army for Davout's materializing assault Napoleon sent 4,000 cuirassiers under Nansouty against the Austrian lines. To dissuade the Austrians from attacking Napoleon formed a 112-gun grand battery in the center of his lines. As Davout's men were progressing against the Austrian left Napoleon formed three small divisions of MacDonald into a hollow oblong shape that marched against the Austrian center. The lumbering phalanx was devastated by Austrian artillery but managed to break through the Austrian forces. With the Austrians at Wagram weakened by the need to reinforce their left against Davout Oudinot was able to capture the village and split the Austrian army. Upon learning that his brother's forces would not arrive until the evening Charles ordered a withdrawal at 2:30 pm. The Austrians withdrew in good order with the main army moving westwards and the left-wing to the north. The French suffered heavy losses around 32,000 men with their commanders particularly affected as around 40 French generals were killed and wounded. Austrian losses stood at around 35,000. Fighting was renewed at Znaim on 10, the 11th of July. On the 12th of July Charles signed the Armistice of Znaim which led to lengthy peace negotiations between Napoleon and Metternich.

• 6. Peripheral Fronts And Naval Operations

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  In Italy Archduke John battled Napoleon's stepson Eugène de Beauharnais. The Austrians defended against several bungled French assaults at the Battle of Sacile in April causing Eugène to fall back on Verona and the Adige river. Eugène was able to concentrate his forces while John detached troops to support Charles. John won victory at the 30th of April Battle of Caldiero but was forced to retreat due to Eugène's increasing superiority and movements on the Austria-Bavaria front. John was defeated in the 8th of May Battle of Piave River and forced out of Italy. Eugène pursued John into Hungary where he heavily defeated him at the Battle of Raab. In the Dalmatian Campaign Marmont under nominal command of Eugène fought against an Austrian invasion led by General Stoichewich. Marmont launched a counteroffensive in the mountains on the 30th of April but this was repulsed by Grenzer troops. Further attacks in May led to a series of victories against a dispersed Austrian force. By the end of the month Marmont was able to march with the bulk of his troops to join the emperor at Vienna. In July 1809 British forces launched the Walcheren Campaign in the Netherlands to relieve pressure on the Austrians and weaken French naval power. John Pitt Earl of Chatham's force of over 39,000 landed at Walcheren on the 30th of July. This expedition was not capable of landing sufficient troops on the southern side of the Western Scheldt to capture the reinforced garrison at Cadzand due to lack of boats. It took until the 13th of August for siege batteries to be set up and Flushing did not surrender until the 16th of August. The British forces had meanwhile been suffering from Walcheren Fever thought to be a combination of Malaria and Typhus losing 4,000 men to disease during the campaign. By comparison only 106 men were killed in action. By the 24th of August Chatham decided that the fever had reduced his force too much and defences of Antwerp were too strong to assault. The campaign ended without British achieving any main objectives. First British troops were withdrawn on the 7th of September though a disease-ravaged garrison was maintained until the 9th of December. The failure led to resignation of British prime minister Duke of Portland replaced by Spencer Perceval. At sea Vice-admiral Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez anchored his fleet in Basque Roads after a storm scattered Gambier's fleet. Captain Thomas Cochrane led an attack on Allemand's fleet on the 11th of April with fire ships spreading havoc among French vessels. Cochrane's smaller force destroyed three French ships of line and a frigate while a fourth ship of line was scuttled. The battle confined most of French navy to its anchorages enabling Spanish reconquest of Santo Domingo in mid-1809 and British invasion of Guadeloupe in early 1810.

• 7. Treaty Of Schönbrunn And Geopolitical Shifts

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  After the main Austrian force was defeated at Wagram Emperor Francis was forced to sue for peace. The Treaty of Schönbrunn signed on the 14th of October 1809 imposed heavy political toll on Austrians. Metternich and Charles succeeded in negotiating lighter terms in return for Austrian co-operation and most hereditary Habsburg territories were preserved. Lands given to French included Carinthia Carniola and Adriatic ports removing Austria's access to Mediterranean. West Galicia was given to Duchy of Warsaw while lands of short-lived Duchy of Salzburg acquired by Austria as territorial compensation for losses on Adriatic Coast and loss of Tyrol in Peace of Pressburg transferred to Bavaria. Russia ceded district of Tarnopol. Austria lost over three million subjects about 20% of empire total population. Emperor Francis agreed to pay indemnity equivalent to almost 85 million francs giving recognition to Napoleon's brother Joseph as King of Spain and reaffirming exclusion of British trade from remaining dominions. After Austrian defeat Napoleon married daughter of Emperor Francis Marie Louise hoping to cement Franco-Austrian alliance and provide legitimacy to his regime. Alliance gave Austria respite from war with France which it had pursued on and off for ten years restoring status as great European power though marital ties did not prevent Francis from declaring war on France in 1813. Impact of conflict was not all positive from French perspective. Revolts in Tyrol and Kingdom of Westphalia during conflict indicated discontent over French rule among German population. Just days before conclusion of Treaty of Schönbrunn an 18-year-old German named Friedrich Staps approached Napoleon during army review attempting to stab emperor but intercepted by General Rapp. Emerging forces of German nationalism were strongly rooted by this time and War of Fifth Coalition nurtured their development. In 1813 during War of Sixth Coalition there were anti-French risings and spontaneous guerrilla activity though whether fuelled by pan-German nationalism or patriotism for old order debated by historians. A united Germany did not come about until 1871.