War of the Second Coalition

• 1. Origins And Diplomatic Breakdown

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  On the 11th of June 1798, General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers directed a landing of several thousand French troops at strategic locations around the island of Malta. This action forced Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim to surrender his fortress and angered Emperor Paul I of Russia. The French Directory believed that Austria was conniving to start another war while Napoleon's army remained trapped in Egypt. Tensions rose as Republicans in the Swiss Cantons overthrew the central government in Bern with support from the French Revolutionary Army. They established the Helvetic Republic without consulting their neighbors. The Congress at Rastatt proved inept at orchestrating the transfer of territories to compensate German princes for their losses. France demanded additional territory not mentioned in the Treaty of Campo Formio signed in October 1797. Habsburg rulers were reluctant to hand over designated lands let alone any new ones. These diplomatic incidents undermined the fragile peace between Paris and Vienna.

• 2. Formation Of The Second Alliance

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  Naples allied itself with Austria on the 19th of May 1798 and then with Russia on the 29th of November. British Prime Minister Pitt and Austrian State Chancellor Thugut failed to persuade Prussia to join the coalition after it had left the First Coalition in April 1795. Britain and Austria could not formalize an alliance due to a lack of agreement on loan conventions covering Austria's outstanding debt. They resorted to ad hoc cooperation without a formal treaty. Russia allied itself with the Ottoman Empire on the 23rd of December and Great Britain on the 26th of December while attacking the French Ionian Islands. By the 1st of December, the Kingdom of Naples had signed alliances with both Russia and Great Britain. General Karl Mack occupied Rome on the 29th of November wishing to restore Papal authority with the Neapolitan army. King Ferdinand was pushed by his wife Queen Maria Carolina and Horatio Nelson through Emma Lady Hamilton. The poorly equipped Neapolitan army was defeated outside Rome and pushed back. France occupied Naples itself on the 23rd of January 1799 forcing the king and British officials to escape to Sicily.

• 3. The Italian And Swiss Campaigns

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  Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan arrived in Hüningen in early November 1798 to take command of the Army of Observation. He found the forces woefully inadequate for their assignment regarding manpower supplies ammunition and training. Most resources were already directed to the Army in Northern Italy and the Egyptian expedition. André Masséna commanded the Army of Helvetia in Switzerland acquiring strategic positions like the St. Gotthard Pass. These positions prevented Allies from moving troops between northern Italy and Germany while allowing French access to these passes. Russian general Alexander Suvorov inflicted a series of defeats on the French in Italy driving them back to the Alps. An Austro-Russian army was completely routed at the Second Battle of Zurich after initial victories. The allies were less successful in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland where they retreated after a defeat at Castricum. Jourdan documented these shortages in lengthy correspondence to the Directory but received little effect.

• 4. Naval Conflicts And Global Theater

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  Britain continued the war at sea with the Second League of Armed Neutrality including Prussia Russia Denmark-Norway and Sweden joining to prevent neutral shipping from being stopped by the Royal Navy. This resulted in Nelson's successful surprise attack on the Danish fleet in harbour at the Battle of Copenhagen. France dispatched the Saint-Domingue expedition in December 1801 to recapture the former colony now known as Haiti. Over 30,000 troops with many experienced and elite veterans participated in this campaign. By the end of 1802 an estimated 15,000 to 22,000 had died of disease and yellow fever among them Napoleon's brother-in-law General Charles Leclerc. In Egypt the Ottomans and British invaded and compelled the French to surrender after the fall of Cairo and Alexandria. Piers Mackesy noted that Britain achieved victory in Egypt in 1801 ending Napoleon's conquest there. France and Spain invaded Portugal in the War of the Oranges forcing Portugal to sign the Treaty of Badajoz in 1801.

• 5. The Turning Point At Marengo

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  Napoleon led his troops across the Alps through the Great St. Bernard Pass into Italy in May 1800. He conducted the Siege of Fort Bard against Sardinian and Austrian armies for two weeks before crossing the mountains. The French narrowly defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo despite having a much larger force. Napoleon organized a hurried retreat from the village before returning with reinforcements. The French successfully charged the Austrian flank with cavalry allowing him to negotiate Austria's evacuation of Piedmont Liguria and Lombardy. Meanwhile Moreau invaded Bavaria and won a great battle against Austria at Hohenlinden. He continued toward Vienna and the Austrians sued for peace resulting in the Armistice of Steyr on the 25th of December. These reverses as well as British insistence on searching shipping in the Baltic Sea led to Russia's withdrawal from the Coalition.

• 6. Diplomacy And The Treaty Of Amiens

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  On the 25th of March 1802 Britain and France signed the Treaty of Amiens ending British involvement in the war. A preliminary treaty had been signed at Paris on the 9th of October 1801. The Treaty of Paris of the 25th of June 1802 ended the war between France and the Ottoman Empire the last remaining member of the Second Coalition. The peace treaties ceded the left bank of the Rhine to France and recognized the independence of the Cisalpine Batavian and Helvetic republics. This began the longest period of peace during the period 1792 to 1815. Most other allies also signed separate peace treaties with the French Republic in 1801. Russia formally made peace with France through the Treaty of Paris on the 8th of October signing a secret alliance two days later. Austria signed the Armistice of Treviso on the 16th of January ending the war in northern Italy. On the 9th of February they signed the Treaty of Lunéville for the entire Holy Roman Empire accepting terms similar to Campo Formio.

• 7. Historiographical Analysis Of Coalition Failure

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  American historian Paul W. Schroeder claimed that most historians had simplistically blamed the Second Coalition's failure on the requirement of Britain and Russia to trust Austria when it was obvious Austria could not be trusted. Piers Mackesy exemplified this view by assuming Austria failed to act in accordance with the Coalition's common goal because Vienna was too selfish and greedy for territorial expansion. Schroeder argued it was not that simple while Austria's primary war aim was not to overthrow the French Republic. It was reasonable for Vienna to set its own conditions for entering a war with France. The enormous financial debt from the War of the First Coalition jeopardized the Habsburg Monarchy's ability to field an army capable of defeating the French. This caused hyperinflation and internal instability risking a revolution inside Austria itself. Emperor Francis II and Thugut resolved not to enter a war to defeat France at all costs but to make Austria come out stronger than it went in. All other great powers negotiating to form the Second Coalition were duplicitous each afraid of and scheming against the others.