War of the Fifth Coalition: Difference between revisions

| place = {{ublist|class=nowrap |{{hlist|[[Central Europe,]]|[[Northern Italy]]|[[NetherlandsLow Countries]]}}}}

| result = [[Treaty of Schönbrunn|French victory]]

|{{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland|DukeWilliam of PortlandCavendish-Bentinck]]

| commander2 = {{flagicon|First French Empire}} [[Napoleon|Napoleon I]]<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Bavaria}} [[Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria|Maximilian I]]<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Saxony|1806Westphalia}} [[FrederickJérôme Augustus I of SaxonyBonaparte|FrederickJérôme AugustusNapoleon I]]<br>{{flagicon|Westphalia}}Kingdom [[Jérômeof BonaparteSaxony|Jérôme1806}} Napoleon I]]<br>{{flagicon|Duchy of Warsaw}} [[Frederick Augustus I of Saxony|Frederick Augustus I]]<br>{{flagicon|Duchy of Warsaw}} [[Józef Poniatowski]]<br>{{flagicon|Napoleonic Italy}} [[Eugène de Beauharnais]]<br/>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Naples|1808}} [[Joachim Murat|Joachim I]]<br>{{flagdeco|Holland}} [[Louis Bonaparte|Louis I]]<br>{{flagicon|Russian Empire}} [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]]

| coord = {{coord|4850|14}}

| height = 160200

| mark-sizeD =12 16

| label-pos2 = topright

| label-pos4 = topright

On 10 April 1809, Austrian forces under [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]] crossed the border of [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavaria]], a French client state. The French response, under [[Louis-Alexandre Berthier]], was disorganised but order was imposed with the arrival of Napoleon on 17 April. Napoleon led an advance to [[Landshut]], hoping to cut off the Austrian line of retreat and sweep into their rear. Charles crossed the Danube at [[Regensburg]], which allowed him to retreat eastwards, although he failed to reach the Austrian capital, [[Vienna]], before the French. A French assault across the Danube was repulsed on 21–22 May at the [[Battle of Aspern-Essling]] but a repeat attack was successful in July. Napoleon won a major victory at the 5–6 July [[Battle of Wagram]], which forced the Austrians to sign the [[Armistice of Znaim]] on 12 July. Austrian invasions of the Duchy of Warsaw and [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxony]] (where they fought alongside the [[Black Brunswickers]]) were repulsed and they were driven out of their territories in Italy. British forces [[Walcheren Campaign|landed in Walcheren]], in the French client state of [[Kingdom of Holland|Holland]], but were unable to seize their objective of capturing [[Antwerp]] and were later withdrawn.

In 1807, France tried to force Portugal to join the [[Continental System]], a commercial embargo against Britain.<ref>{{harvnb|Mikaberidze|2020|pp=246–247}}</ref><ref name="frenchtroops">{{harvnb|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=197}}</ref> When the Portuguese [[John VI of Portugal|Princeprince Regentregent, John]], refused to join, Napoleon sent General [[Jean-Andoche Junot|Junot]] to [[Invasion of Portugal (1807)|invade Portugal in 1807]], resulting in the six year [[Peninsular War]]. The war weakened the French Empireempire's military, particularly after Spanish forces and civilians rebelled against France<ref name="family">{{harvnb|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|pp=198–199}}</ref> after Napoleon overthrew the Spanish king.<ref name="overthrow">{{harvnb|Esdaile|2003|pp=34–35}}</ref> After the French defeat at the [[Battle of Bailén]], Napoleon took command of the French forces, defeating the Spanish armies before returning to France.<ref name="entered">{{harvnb|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=205}}</ref><ref name="Buttery26" /> [[Jean-de-Dieu Soult]] drove the British out of Spain in the [[Battle of Corunna]] in January 1809.<ref name="Buttery26">{{harvnb|Buttery|2016|p=26}}</ref>

In the beginning of 1809, the French [[Kingdom of Spain under Joseph Bonaparte|client kingdom of Spain]], ruled by Napoleon's brother [[Joseph Bonaparte]], controlled much of Spain and northern Portugal.{{sfn|Pagnet|2005|p=26}} British and Portuguese forces under [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]] launched new offensives from Spring 1809. Spanish regular armies including those led by generals [[Miguel Ricardo de Álava]] andGeneral [[Joaquín Blake]] continued to fight and [[Guerrilla warfare in the Peninsular War|guerrilla activity]] in the countryside made French operations hazardous.{{sfn|Bruce|2008|p=60}}{{sfn|Pagnet|2005|pp=26–30}} A significant French presence, numbering 250,000 in June 1809, remained in the peninsula throughout the War of the Fifth Coalition.{{sfn|Muir|2013|p=290}}

After Austria was defeated in 1805, the nation spent three years reforming its army.{{Sfn|Englund|2004|p=345}}{{Sfn|Esdaile|2002|pp=52–53}} Encouraged by the events in Spain, Austria sought another confrontation with France to avenge their defeats and regain lost territory and power.{{Sfn|Englund|2004|p=344}}{{sfn|Markham|2010|p=179}} Austria lacked allies in central Europe; Russia, herits main ally in 1805, made peace with Napoleon at Tilsit and was engaged in wars with erstwhile allies like Britain in the [[Anglo-Russian War (1807–12)]], Sweden in the [[Finnish War]] and the Ottoman Empire in the [[Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812)]].{{sfn|Markham|2010|p=179}} France tried to reinforce their relationship with Russia through the September–October 1808 [[Congress of Erfurt]].{{sfn|Arnold|1990|pp=16–19}} Under the treaty Russia agreed to support France if it was attacked by Austria.{{sfn|Mikaberidze|2020|p=264}} In early 1809, Austrian minister [[Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen|Johann Philipp Stadion]] secured Russian Tsartsar Alexander I's agreement that the Russians would move slowly and "avoid every collision and every act of hostility" during any advance into Austria.{{sfn|Gill|2008a|p=32}} At the same time, the French minister [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord]] secretly advised Alexander to resist France.{{Sfn|Englund|2004|p=344}} During the War of the Fifth Coalition, Russia remained neutral even though they were allied to France.{{sfn|Mitchell|2018|p=217}}

France withdrew 108,000 troops from Germany, more than half their strength there, to reinforce the French armies in Spain in October 1808. This lent support to Stadion's pro-war faction at the Austrian court. Stadion recalled [[Klemens von Metternich]], his ambassador to Paris, to convince others to support his plan and by December 1808 Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]] was persuaded to support the war.{{sfn|Gill|2020|pp=29–30}} Francis' support was tentative and the decision to proceed was made at an 8 February 1809 meeting that included the emperor, [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]] and Stadion. The empire's poor financial situation (it could only afford to maintain its army on home soil until late Springspring) lent urgency to the decision. Charles disputed the prospects for success but accepted Francis' decision to prepare for war and the army was mobilised.{{sfn|Gill|2008a|pp=35–36}}{{sfn|Gill|2020|p=31}}

The first indication of an Austrian attack was a formal note sent by Archduke Charles to French MarsalMarshal [[François Joseph Lefebvre]] on 9 April. It stated that Charles had orders from Francis to invade Bavaria, a French client state under [[Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria|Maximilian I]].{{sfn|Neillands|2003|p=79}} In the early morning of 10 April, leading elements of the Austrian army crossed the [[Inn River]] into Bavaria; there was no formal declaration of war. Bad roads and freezing rain slowed the Austrian advance in the first week, but the opposing Bavarian forces of Lefebvre's corps gradually retreated. [[Louis- Nicholas Davout|Davout]]'s III Corps withdrew westerwards towards [[Ingolstadt]], anticipating orders to concentrate with other French forces. The Austrian attack had occurred about a week before Napoleon anticipated, disrupting French plans. Napoleon ordered that an Austrian attack before 15 April should be met by a general French concentration around [[Donauwörth]] and [[Augsburg]] in the west, but his orders arrived fragmented and out of sequence and were poorly interpreted by Berthier who was more accustomed to staff duties than field command. Berthier focussed on an ambiguous sentence that called for Davout to station his III Corps around Regensburg "whatever happens"; it is likely that Napoleon intended this to apply only if the Austrians attacked after 15 April. On 14 April Berthier ordered Davout's corps, together with those of Lefebvre and [[Nicolas Oudinot|Oudinot]], to march to Regensburg which Davout had recently vacated.<ref name="hq">{{harvnb|Chandler|1995|pp=677–679}}</ref>

Napoleon sent Masséna to occupy Straubing as he thought the Austrians might retreat along that route. Charles moved his men across the Danube at Regensburg, leaving 6,000 in the fortress to block a pursuit. Lacking time for a siege, Napoleon ordered Marshal [[Jean Lannes]] to storm the walls, succeeding at his second attempt and capturing the town by 5:00&nbsp;pm in the [[Battle of Ratisbon]]. With the Austrian army safely in Bohemia, Napoleon marched towards Vienna.{{Sfn|Connelly|2006b|p=157}} Hiller fought a series of delaying actions, attempting to buy time for the defence of Vienna. After a short fight at [[Wels]] on 2 May, Hiller gathered 40,000 troops at the bridge in [[Ebersberg]]. Masséna launched a costly frontal at the [[Battle of Ebersberg]] and captured the position on 3 May, with Hiller withdrawing along the Danube. Charles attempted to move his army to defend Vienna but was outpaced by Napoleon who captured the city on 13 May. The garrison withdrew north of the Danube and destroyed the bridges behind them.{{Sfn|Chandler|1995|p=695}}

On 16 May and 17 May, the main Austrian army under Charles arrived in the [[Marchfeld]], a plain northeast of Vienna just across the Danube that 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,<ref name="bissam">{{harvnb|Uffindell|2003|p=174}}.</ref> just southwest of the [[Lobau|Lobau island]], that led to the Marchfeld. On 21 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.<ref>{{harvnb|Uffindell|2003|p=175}}</ref> The French bridgehead rested on two villages: [[Aspern]] to the west and [[Essling]] to the east. Napoleon did not expect to encounter opposition, and the bridges linking the French troops at Aspern-Essling to Lobau were not protected with [[palisade]]s, making them vulnerable to Austrian barges that had been set ablaze.<ref name="guns">{{harvnb|Uffindell|2003|p=177}}</ref>

The [[Battle of Aspern-Essling]] started at 2:30&nbsp;pm on 21 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&nbsp;pm because the fourth and fifth columns had longer marching routes.<ref name="guns" /> The French successfully repulsed the attacks against Essling throughout the day. Fighting commenced by 3&nbsp;am on 22 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.<ref name="dangerous">{{harvnb|Uffindell|2003|p=178}}</ref> 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, inspired by the personal presence of Charles who rallied the Zach Infantry Regiment, opened a heavy fire on the French that caused the latter to fall back.<ref>{{harvnb|Uffindell|2003|pp=178–179}}</ref> At 9:00&nbsp;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 (Napoleon I)|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.<ref>{{harvnb|Uffindell|2003|p=179}}</ref>{{Sfn|Arnold|1995|p=75}} 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.{{sfn|Neillands|2003|p=129}} Charles had inflicted the first major defeat in Napoleon's military career and caused the first fatality among his marshals, but his exhausted army could not pursue the French.{{sfn|Neillands|2003|p=129}}{{Sfn|Johnson|2003|p=73}}

For 6 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. [[Johann von Klenau|Klenau]]'s VI Corps, supported by Kollowrat's III Corps, started the battle on the second day at 4:00&nbsp;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, and compromised the French position.<ref name="wagram">{{harvnb|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=139}}</ref> 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 [[Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor|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 [[cuirassier]]s under [[Etienne de Nansouty|Nansouty]] against the Austrian lines.<ref>{{harvnb|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=141}}</ref> To dissuade the Austrians from attacking, Napoleon formed a 112-gun [[grand battery]] in the center of his lines.<ref>{{harvnb|Fisher|Fremont-Barnes|2004|p=142}}</ref>{{Sfn|Connelly|2006|p=152}} As Davout's men were progressing against the Austrian left, Napoleon formed the three small divisions of [[Étienne Macdonald|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&nbsp;pm. The Austrians withdrew in good order, the main army westwards and the left-wing to the north.{{sfn|Neillands|2003|pp=131–132}}

In July 1809, the British launched the [[Walcheren Campaign]] in the Netherlands to relieve the pressure on the Austrians and to weaken French naval power.{{Sfn|Esdaile|2002|p=54}}{{Sfn|Kelly|2015|p=32}} The plan was to land a force at [[Walcheren]] and advance along the [[Western Scheldt]] to the harbour of Antwerp, a French naval base.{{Sfn|Fortescue|2014|pp=68–69}} The [[Royal Navy]]'s patrols into the Western Scheldt and a dockyard strike at Antwerp alerted the French to the area's vulnerability and efforts were made to improve the defences and reinforce its garrisons.{{Sfn|Fortescue|2014|p=72}} [[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham]]'s force of over 39,000, a larger army than that serving in the Iberian Peninsula and the largest British Expeditionary Force of the Napoleonic Wars, landed at Walcheren on 30 July.{{Sfn|Bamford|2013|loc=Active Service, 1808–1815}}{{Sfn|Esdaile|2002|p=54}} The 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 a lack of boats. An advance on Antwerp depended on the capture of [[Flushing, Netherlands|Flushing]] on the northern shore to allow the passage of Royal Navy vessels up the Western Scheldt.{{Sfn|Fortescue|2014|p=80}} It took until 13 August for siege batteries to be set up and Flushing did not surrender until 16 August.{{Sfn|Fortescue|2014|p=81}} The British forces had meanwhile been suffering from "[[Walcheren Fever]]", thought to be a combination of Malaria and Typhus, and lost 4,000 men to the disease during the campaign.<ref>{{harvnb|Mikaberidze|2020|p=324}}</ref>{{Sfn|Esdaile|2002|p=54}} By comparison only 106 men were killed in action.{{Sfn|Graves|2010|p=143}} By 24 August Chatham had decided that the fever had reduced his force too much and the defences of Antwerp were too strong to assault. The campaign ended without the British achieving any of their main objectives.{{Sfn|Graves|2010|p=143}}{{Sfn|Fortescue|2014|p=83}} The first British troops were withdrawn on 7 September, though a disease-ravaged garrison was maintained until 9 December.{{Sfn|Fortescue|2014|pp=89–91}} The failure of the campaign led to the resignation of the British prime minister, the [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland|Duke of Portland]], and his replacement by [[Spencer Perceval]].{{Sfn|Graves|2010|p=143}}

*{{cite book |last1=Muir|first1=Rory |title=Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769–1814 |date=2013 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New HaveHaven, Connecticut |isbn=978-0-300-18665-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IdY_AQAAQBAJ}}

[[Category:19th-centuryWar of the Fifth Coalition| conflicts]]