In our series, timed for the bicentenary of the Russian victory in the 1812 war with Napoleon, we continue to acquaint you with the people and events of those days. Our story today is about the Fifth Coalition of the United Kingdom, Austria and Spain against France, which was formed in 1809.
The beginning of the 19th century saw Napoleon’s growing push for subjugating Central and Western European countries, which was vehemently opposed by Britain. The balance of power in Europe at the time was mainly brought about by English-French political and economic rivalry.
As a result, the early 1800s witnessed the creation of anti-Napoleon coalitions, which, as a rule, collapsed the same year they were formed. Suffice it to mention the Fifth anti-Napoleon Coalition of the United Kingdom, Austria and Spain, which was created in the spring of 1809 and disintegrated already in the fall of that year.
Russia refrained from joining the coalition, with Tsar Alexander I just giving a nod to the dispatch of a 20,000-strong Russian contingent to the Volyn region located near the Russian-Austrian border. In fact, it was Austria which fought France within the Fifth Coalition, even though Russia moved to declare that it is formally at war with Napoleon at the time. As to Austria, it desperately tried to turn the tables on France over its defeat in the Austrian-Russian-French war in 1805, when Vienna had to sign the Treaty of Pressburg, which damaged Austria’s national interests.
Vienna started to prepare for a war with Napoleon in 1806 in a move that was endorsed by Foreign Minister Johann Philipp von Stadion, who actually called the shots in Austria back then. He had repeatedly called for Napoleon’s ouster, which, Stadion said, could contribute considerably to durable peace in Europe. To win the future war, Stadion concentrated on forming a reserve force of the Austrian military, which, he believed, should exceed Napoleon’s Grand Army in terms of manpower.
Boosting the troops’ morale was another key priority Stadion dealt with at the time. He also argued that the would-be war is almost certain to cause a wide public outcry in Germany and beyond, which, Stadion felt, would be another major factor to prevail over France.
The spring of 1809 saw the beginning of hostilities between Austria’s 270,000-strong army and Napoleon’s 200,000 troops. Austria’s manpower was supported by 790 cannons, while France had only 428 guns.
On April 10, 1809, Austrian troops, headed by Archduke Karl Habsburg, entered the territory of Bavaria in a bid to defeat French force near the city of Regensburg, but to no avail.
Napoleon was quick to send more troops to the area, defeating the enemy in battles at Teugen, Abensberg, Landshut, Eckmühl and Regensburg between April 19 and April 23.
At least 45,000 Austrian soldiers were killed. Archduke Karl was then compelled to withdraw from Bavaria, and Napoleon quickly entered Vienna on May 13. His hurried attempt to cross the Danube River resulted in the massive Battle of Aspern on May 22, which saw Napoleon’s first significant tactical defeat.
But Archduke Karl failed to follow up on his victory, allowing Napoleon to prepare and finally defeat the Austrians at Wagram on July 6.
The war of the Fifth Coalition ended with the signing of the Peace Treaty of Schoenbrunn on October 14. In the east, only the Tyrolese rebels led by Andreas Hofer continued to fight the French-Bavarian army only to be ultimately defeated in late 1809. Previous revolts in Prussia and Hessen were also suppressed by the French troops.
A spate of harsh peace terms were slapped on Austria, which ceded the bulk of its territory to France, something that de facto turned Austria into a servile state.
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