Napoleon, session iv, Apogee

Napoleonsession ivApogee

Napoleonsession ivApogee

The pope must be made to understand that “I am Charlemagne, the sword of the Church, their emperor; that I must be treated as such...if he does not acquiesce, I shall reduce the papacy to the state that it occupied before Charlemagne.”

--Napoleon

major topics for this session

! Eylau, 1807

! Friedland, 1807

! Tilsit

! The Continental System

! The Fifth Coalition

! Wagram, 1809

5 1807 campaign

6 1809 campaign

1807 campaign

1807 campaign

1809 campaign

Eylau, 1807

Eylau, 1807

Napoléon on the field of Eylau by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1807

A general-in-chief should never allow any rest either to the conquerors or the conquered.

--Napoleon

I received your letter in a tumble-down farm house where I have the mud, the wind and some straw for my bed.

--Napoleon

After the stunning victory of Jena, “Napoleon was not finished with Prussia. A fast and furious pursuit in all directions captured thousands of stunned troops.”

In all, a total of 140,000 POWs were taken “ one half to work on roads and fields in France and as many as Prince Godoy wanted to Spain.”

The Prussian officers who had sharpened their swords on the steps of the French Embassy in Berlin “were marched past the French embassy to the secret delight of those Berlin citizens who had not wanted war.”

Robert Asprey, The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, pp. 35, 38

Eylau

BerlinWarsaw

Rus

siaR

ussia

Russia

a romantic interlude from

war

a romantic interlude from

war

“...a raving beauty, blonde with beguiling blue eyes set off by

exceptionally white skin and dark curling eyelashes, soft inviting lips

and an exquisitely slim, full-bosomed body”

Asprey, p. 51

Patriotic Adultery

! born to a wealthy Polish noble family

! one of her tutors was Nicholas Chopin, the composer’s father

! 1805-her mother and brothers forced the 17-year-old into a marriage to Count Athenasius Walewska who was four times her age!

! January 1806-when Napoleon arrived in Warsaw, Talleyrand made sure that she came to his attention. He, as did the Polish patriots, wanted her to convince the Emperor that a Polish state should be resurrected

Maria Countess Walewska (née !"czy#ska; 1786, – 1817)

Patriotic Adultery

! born to a wealthy Polish noble family

! one of her tutors was Nicholas Chopin, the composer’s father

! 1805-her mother and brothers forced the 17-year-old into a marriage to Count Athenasius Walewska who was four times her age!

! January 1806-when Napoleon arrived in Warsaw, Talleyrand made sure that she came to his attention. He, as did the Polish patriots, wanted her to convince the Emperor that a Polish state should be resurrected

! she was at first reluctant. But when even her husband encouraged her, she gave Napoleon “three gorgeous weeks” in Warsaw--Asprey

! she was 20, Bonaparte was 36, Joséphine was 42 and in Mainz

! Marie later followed him on campaign and back to Paris

Maria Countess Walewska (née !"czy#ska; 1786, – 1817)

Napoleon has often been criticized for [this liaison with Marie Walewska], which is not altogether fair. Probably it would not have happened had Joséphine been on hand but...Warsaw was not a suitable place for her. Even before he had met Marie he sympathized with Joséphine’s boredom at Mainz and advised her to return to Paris and enjoy herself.

Joséphine did not take kindly to this advice and in short order became a nagging pest. We don’t have her letters but judging from his replies they were scarcely soothing. “What you say to me of your sadness pains me,” he wrote in mid-January, “...I shall see you soon...show some character and fortitude….” Three days later: “I am told that you are always crying. For shame...I am very well and love you very much; but if you are always crying I shall believe that you have no courage or character; I do not like cowards; an empress should have courage.”

Asprey, p. 78-79

Correspondence with Joséphine

The Grand Duchy of Warsaw1807-1815

The Grand Duchy of Warsaw1807-1815

Polish patriots from the richest nobles to the poorest peasants were rebelling against Prussian and Russian rule and were allegedly raising an army sixty thousand strong.

Asprey, Reign, p. 40

Napoleon’s Polish Troops

! 1791-95--like so many patriotic Poles, Dombrowski fought both Prussians and Russians who came to partition his land

! when this effort failed, he and many others emigrated to revolutionary France and formed a Polish army in exile

! 1796-97-commanded the 1st & 2nd Polish legions of the Army of Italy

! 1798-commanded the auxiliary troops of the Cisalpine Republic

! 1807-raised another Polish legion, this time in his native land! He took part in the siege of Danzig and the battle of Friedland

! thereafter, he and his fellow Poles would rank among Napoleon’s most loyal allied troops until the first abdication in 1814

General Jan-Henryk Dombrowski

1755-1818

Napoleon’s Polish Troops

! 1791-95--like so many patriotic Poles, Dombrowski fought both Prussians and Russians who came to partition his land

! when this effort failed, he and many others emigrated to revolutionary France and formed a Polish army in exile

! 1796-97-commanded the 1st & 2nd Polish legions of the Army of Italy

! 1798-commanded the auxiliary troops of the Cisalpine Republic

! 1807-raised another Polish legion, this time in his native land! He took part in the siege of Danzig and the battle of Friedland

! thereafter, he and his fellow Poles would rank among Napoleon’s most loyal allied troops until the first abdication in 1814

General Jan-Henryk Dombrowski

1755-1818

Winter Quarters

! from time immemorial Europe’s armies began to settle down in the late fall and await the spring thaws to begin fighting again

! Napoleon ordered his forces in Eastern Prussia to make no forward movement until the spring

! 27 January-he received the disturbing news that Russian General Bennigsen had taken the offensive

! Russians, of course, were more accustomed to the harsh climate of this part of the world than were the French, let alone their allied Spanish troops

! but Napoleon was further shocked to learn that his own Marshal Ney’s troops might have triggered the fighting

! ordered to forage for food, some had tired of trying to dig up frozen potatoes and had attacked the Russian outposts to plunder their depots

Course of the Lower Alle River

Course of the Lower Alle River

Eylau

Friedland

“...the shivering and half-starved French soldiers [were] fortunate that they were unable to foresee the sufferings the future held in store for them as their pursuing columns, enveloped in a haze of human breath, hurried forward…. For down the road lay the field of Eylau.”

Chandler, p. 535

after Chandler, p. 539

45,000

67,000

! 7 February-the previous afternoon, an outpost skirmish had escalated into a battle as both sides wanted to spend the freezing night in the town. Napoleon was almost captured!

! continuous snowstorms on both days added to the troops’ misery

! 8 February-when Ney’s and Davout’s corps would arrive in the afternoon the French strength would reach 75,000

! Lestocq’s Prussians would bring Bennigsen’s forces to 76,000. Already, the Russian artillery was far stronger, 400 guns to the French 300

! so Napoleon’s plan was to hold out until his two corps would make for a fairly even fight

! 10 a.m.-Soult and Augereau were ordered to make a pinning attack

FRENCH in DARK GRAYRUSSIANS in LIGHT GRAY

after Chandler, p. 539

45,000

67,000

! 7 February-the previous afternoon, an outpost skirmish had escalated into a battle as both sides wanted to spend the freezing night in the town. Napoleon was almost captured!

! continuous snowstorms on both days added to the troops’ misery

! 8 February-when Ney’s and Davout’s corps would arrive in the afternoon the French strength would reach 75,000

! Lestocq’s Prussians would bring Bennigsen’s forces to 76,000. Already, the Russian artillery was far stronger, 400 guns to the French 300

! so Napoleon’s plan was to hold out until his two corps would make for a fairly even fight

! 10 a.m.-Soult and Augereau were ordered to make a pinning attack

! 1130-Murat’s cavalry rode through the Russian lines and back again

FRENCH in DARK GRAYRUSSIANS in LIGHT GRAY

after Chandler, p. 539

45,000

67,000

! 7 February-the previous afternoon, an outpost skirmish had escalated into a battle as both sides wanted to spend the freezing night in the town. Napoleon was almost captured!

! continuous snowstorms on both days added to the troops’ misery

! 8 February-when Ney’s and Davout’s corps would arrive in the afternoon the French strength would reach 75,000

! Lestocq’s Prussians would bring Bennigsen’s forces to 76,000. Already, the Russian artillery was far stronger, 400 guns to the French 300

! so Napoleon’s plan was to hold out until his two corps would make for a fairly even fight

! 10 a.m.-Soult and Augereau were ordered to make a pinning attack

! 1130-Murat’s cavalry rode through the Russian lines and back again

FRENCH in DARK GRAYRUSSIANS in LIGHT GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

RUSSIANS in RED & REDFRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

RUSSIANS in RED & REDFRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

! 4:30 p.m.-Lestocq’s Prussian corps arrives. He stops Davout from completely enveloping the Russians

RUSSIANS in RED & REDFRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

! 4:30 p.m.-Lestocq’s Prussian corps arrives. He stops Davout from completely enveloping the Russians

! Although this denies Bonaparte his decisive destruction of the Allies, it is not enough to reverse the battle’s momentum

RUSSIANS in RED & REDFRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

! 4:30 p.m.-Lestocq’s Prussian corps arrives. He stops Davout from completely enveloping the Russians

! Although this denies Bonaparte his decisive destruction of the Allies, it is not enough to reverse the battle’s momentum

! 7 p.m.-Ney’s VI Corps drives into the Russian right

RUSSIANS in RED & REDFRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

! 4:30 p.m.-Lestocq’s Prussian corps arrives. He stops Davout from completely enveloping the Russians

! Although this denies Bonaparte his decisive destruction of the Allies, it is not enough to reverse the battle’s momentum

! 7 p.m.-Ney’s VI Corps drives into the Russian right

! this forced Bennigsen to withdraw to the position shown by faint red symbols behind the road to Königsberg.

RUSSIANS in RED & REDFRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

! 4:30 p.m.-Lestocq’s Prussian corps arrives. He stops Davout from completely enveloping the Russians

! Although this denies Bonaparte his decisive destruction of the Allies, it is not enough to reverse the battle’s momentum

! 7 p.m.-Ney’s VI Corps drives into the Russian right

! this forced Bennigsen to withdraw to the position shown by faint red symbols behind the road to Königsberg.

! both sides are exhaustedRUSSIANS in RED & RED

FRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

Chandler, p. 549

45,000

! 1 p.m.-3 p.m.--Davout’s III Corps hits the Russian left flank. Friant’s division takes Kutschitten, Gudin’s, Anklappen

! the solid marks show the effect of these attacks by 4 p.m.

! 4:30 p.m.-Lestocq’s Prussian corps arrives. He stops Davout from completely enveloping the Russians

! Although this denies Bonaparte his decisive destruction of the Allies, it is not enough to reverse the battle’s momentum

! 7 p.m.-Ney’s VI Corps drives into the Russian right

! this forced Bennigsen to withdraw to the position shown by faint red symbols behind the road to Königsberg.

! both sides are exhaustedRUSSIANS in RED & RED

FRENCH in BLACK & GRAY

A Russian MapFrench in “enemy” red

Russians in greenPrussians in blue

showing the situationat about 6 p.m.

PR. EYLAU

Fortunately for Napoleon, his adversary’s nerve broke first. At eleven that night Bennigsen held a council of war...to decide on the best course of action. Several generals pleaded with him to hold his ground and reopen the struggle the next morning, but Bennigsen had already spent many hours in the saddle and his endurance was at an end…. from midnight onward the Russian columns began to draw away covered by a rear guard of cossacks ….there was no question of mounting an immediate pursuit. The French army was in no condition to move another yard.

Chandler, p. 548

So ended the grisly and inconclusive battle of Eylau. The losses and suffering had been horrific. Napoleon claimed that the Grande Armée had lost 1,900 killed and 5,700 wounded, but this is a case of blatant propaganda, justifying the cynical phrase, “to lie like a bulletin.” Even the most optimistic French commentators put the French losses at 10,000 men, but this would still appear to be far too conservative…. The havoc wrought by the cannonballs, sabers and bayonets of the Russian soldiers will never be known, but it may have been … 25,000 casualties, or one man in three. The Russians had suffered rather less...probably 15,000 troops…. Nevertheless, it had been the most gory struggle for many a year, and Napoleon was hard put to represent the outcome as a French victory in spite of the propaganda machinery at his disposal.

Chandler, Ibid.

Friedland, 1807

Friedland, 1807

Charge of the French Cuirassiers at Friedland on 14 June 1807- by Meissonier

[After Eylau] both sides returned to winter quarters to recover from the carnage, with the renewal of hostilities planned for the spring.

Bennigsen and Napoleon each planned to assume the offensive, but when the former advanced first, the Emperor stopped him at Heilsberg on 10 June. Four days later the decisive encounter of the campaign took place at Friedland...

Fremont-Barnes, Napoleon, pp. 27-28

EylauFriedland

BerlinWarsaw

Situation on the 14th about 6 pm

In June 1807, field artillery came into its own as a combat arm, becoming the equal of infantry and cavalry. No longer would artillery be a mere supporting service: it would now be a supported arm in that it could be the main force with the support of infantry. It could not only lead attacks but, in certain circumstances, could be the main attack. This development was the work of French General Sénarmont who…, acting as the I Corps artillery chief under General Claude Victor…, organized and led, on his own initiative, an artillery attack against the Russian centre, annihilating it through close-range rapid artillery fire and opening the way for a decisive victory.

Michael F. Pavlovic in, Fighting Techniques, p. 190

The Battle of Friedland14 June 1807

In June 1807, field artillery came into its own as a combat arm, becoming the equal of infantry and cavalry. No longer would artillery be a mere supporting service: it would now be a supported arm in that it could be the main force with the support of infantry. It could not only lead attacks but, in certain circumstances, could be the main attack. This development was the work of French General Sénarmont who…, acting as the I Corps artillery chief under General Claude Victor…, organized and led, on his own initiative, an artillery attack against the Russian centre, annihilating it through close-range rapid artillery fire and opening the way for a decisive victory.

Michael F. Pavlovic in, Fighting Techniques, p. 190

The Battle of Friedland14 June 1807

Sénarmont’s horse artillery--”Get close, fire fast!”

! born the same year as Bonaparte, commissioned in the same branch, artillery, and in the same year, 1786

! 1800-he won recognition both for how he brought the artillery of the Reserve Army over the Alps and his handling of the guns at Marengo

! 1806-as brigadier general of Victor’s corps, he also fought at Jena and in 1807 at Eylau

! 1807-for his part at Friedland he was created at baron and in 1808 promoted on the battlefield to general of division in Spain

! 1810-he was killed in the siege of Cadiz

Alexandre-Antoine Hureau de Sénarmont

1769 – 1810

Friedland is on a loop in the Alle River…. The commander of the main Russian army, Bennigsen (1745-1826), discovered that Marshal Lannes’ corps was on the western bank of the river overlooking the town. Lannes apparently being unsupported, Bennigsen decided to cross the river and destroy his force. By deciding on this course of action, Bennigsen committed himself to fight with a river at his back. Further, he had his pontonniers construct three bridges leading into Friedland and nowhere else, though he also had a civilian bridge at his disposal. This limited his ability towithdraw quickly if necessary. Lannes immediately sent couriers galloping off to find Napoleon and the main French army and proceeded to fight an expert delaying action against the Russians. [Remember the Corps d’Armée system?] He never had more than 26,000 men at his disposal to face 60,000 Russians. Not only did Bennigsen fail to destroy Lannes’ corps, he deployed almost his entire force against it. When Napoleon arrived at about 5 p.m. on the afternoon of 14 June, he could not believe the opportunity with which the Russian commander had presented him.

Pavlovic, Ibid.

Lannes ranks with Louis Nicolas Davout and André Masséna as the ablest of all of Napoleon's marshals. He was continually employed in tasks requiring the utmost resolution and daring, and more especially when the emperor's combinations depended upon the vigour and self-sacrifice of a detachment or fraction of the army. It was thus with Lannes at Friedland and at Aspern as it was with Davout at Austerlitz and Auerstädt, and Napoleon's estimate of his subordinates' capacities can almost exactly be judged by the frequency with which he used them to prepare the way for his own shattering blow. Routine generals with the usual military virtue, or careful and exact troop leaders like Soult and Macdonald, Napoleon kept under his own hand for the final assault which he himself launched, but the long hours of preparatory fighting against odds of two to one, which alone made the final blow possible, he entrusted only to men of extraordinary courage and high capacity for command. In his own words, he found Lannes a pygmy, and left him a giant. Lannes's place in his affections was never filled.

Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, 1st

Sovereign Prince de Sievers

1769 – 31 May 1809

Lannes ranks with Louis Nicolas Davout and André Masséna as the ablest of all of Napoleon's marshals. He was continually employed in tasks requiring the utmost resolution and daring, and more especially when the emperor's combinations depended upon the vigour and self-sacrifice of a detachment or fraction of the army. It was thus with Lannes at Friedland and at Aspern as it was with Davout at Austerlitz and Auerstädt, and Napoleon's estimate of his subordinates' capacities can almost exactly be judged by the frequency with which he used them to prepare the way for his own shattering blow. Routine generals with the usual military virtue, or careful and exact troop leaders like Soult and Macdonald, Napoleon kept under his own hand for the final assault which he himself launched, but the long hours of preparatory fighting against odds of two to one, which alone made the final blow possible, he entrusted only to men of extraordinary courage and high capacity for command. In his own words, he found Lannes a pygmy, and left him a giant. Lannes's place in his affections was never filled.

Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, 1st

Sovereign Prince de Sievers

1769 – 31 May 1809

.

Napoleon overlooks the battlefield at Friedland, by James Walker

“[He] reached the scene somewhere around noon reminding one and all that this was the anniversary of Marengo.” --Asprey, p. 71

French 4th Hussars at the Battle of Friedland. "Vive l'Empereur!" by Édouard Detaille, 1891

Charge of the Russian Leib Guard into the field by Viktor Mazurovsky, 1912

Sénarmont took the responsibility of ordering his 36 guns forward against the Russian centre. They advanced by bounds, opening fire on the Russians at approximately 450 yards….The Russian infantry stood firm. After firing five or six salvoes, Sénarmont ordered his companies forward, stopping at 250 yards to open fire again.

Ordering his guns to cease firing, he again ordered them forward, this time to 150 yards (some sources say to 60 yards!). Just over 20 minutes later, more than 4,000 Russians littered the field and the Russian centre was destroyed. This was the decisive action of the battle…. Sénarmont was counterattacked by the cavalry of the Russian Guard, and his artillery companies changed front and gave the horsemen two volleys of canister, shattering their charge.

Ibid., pp. 191-192

Sénarmont took the responsibility of ordering his 36 guns forward against the Russian centre. They advanced by bounds, opening fire on the Russians at approximately 450 yards….The Russian infantry stood firm. After firing five or six salvoes, Sénarmont ordered his companies forward, stopping at 250 yards to open fire again.

Ordering his guns to cease firing, he again ordered them forward, this time to 150 yards (some sources say to 60 yards!). Just over 20 minutes later, more than 4,000 Russians littered the field and the Russian centre was destroyed. This was the decisive action of the battle…. Sénarmont was counterattacked by the cavalry of the Russian Guard, and his artillery companies changed front and gave the horsemen two volleys of canister, shattering their charge.

Ibid., pp. 191-192

It had been a famous victory and a bloody fight.The forces actually engaged had been remarkably equal [app. 65,000 French against app. 60,000 Russian]--at least 15,000 French (most of the Guard and two divisions of the I Corps) never having been engaged. The best figures on the French show 1,372 killed, 9,108 wounded, 55 prisoners. Russian casualties are obscured by poor records, much straggling after the battle, and a considerable number of deaths by drowning. Some 11,000 dead were left on the field; 7,000 wounded are recorded. The French captured 80 cannon, but had few unwounded prisoners, most of the Russians preferring drowning to surrendering. The effect of the battle on the Russians, however, went far beyond the number of actual casualties…. Bennigsen had casually led Russia’s best field army into a trap; it had fought with extreme bravery and stubbornness, but had barely escaped. It was now thoroughly disorganized and shaken; much of its equipment and weapons were gone; and it had lost confidence in itself and its commanders.

Esposito, Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars, commentary on MAP 82

It had been a famous victory and a bloody fight.The forces actually engaged had been remarkably equal [app. 65,000 French against app. 60,000 Russian]--at least 15,000 French (most of the Guard and two divisions of the I Corps) never having been engaged. The best figures on the French show 1,372 killed, 9,108 wounded, 55 prisoners. Russian casualties are obscured by poor records, much straggling after the battle, and a considerable number of deaths by drowning. Some 11,000 dead were left on the field; 7,000 wounded are recorded. The French captured 80 cannon, but had few unwounded prisoners, most of the Russians preferring drowning to surrendering. The effect of the battle on the Russians, however, went far beyond the number of actual casualties…. Bennigsen had casually led Russia’s best field army into a trap; it had fought with extreme bravery and stubbornness, but had barely escaped. It was now thoroughly disorganized and shaken; much of its equipment and weapons were gone; and it had lost confidence in itself and its commanders.

Esposito, Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars, commentary on MAP 82

Napoleon at the battle of Friedland 14 June 1807. Gen Oudinot, bareheaded, is on the emperor’s left, and Russian prisoners are on the emperor’s right. Captured Russian standards are in the background. The battle is noteworthy in that French artillery general Sénarmont employed innovative artillery tactics.

Five days after the battle Murat’s cavalry entered Tilsit. Czar Alexander now asked for an armistice to be followed by a meeting of the two emperors and the opening of peace negotiations. Sensing that he was about to win a new and immensely valuable ally, Napoleon agreed.

Asprey, p. 73

Tilsit

Tilsit

25 June 1807

The two sovereigns appeared on the banks of the river and embarked at the same moment. But the Emperor Napoleon, having a good boat, manned by the Marines of the Guard, arrived first on the raft, entered the room and went to the opposite door, which he opened, and then stationed himself on the edge of the raft to receive the Emperor Alexander, who had not yet arrived, not having as good oarsmen as the Emperor Napoleon.

The two emperors met in the most amicable way...General Savary, quoted in Chandler, p. 586

Eylau Friedland

Tilsit

BerlinWarsaw

Prussia after the Peace of Tilsit, 18 July 1807

It has been recorded that the first words of the tsar on this auspicious occasion were:”I hate the English as much as you do yourself.” To which Napoleon replied, “If that is the case, then peace is already made.”

The first meeting of these two potentates, perhaps the first prototype in comparatively modern times of a “summit conference,”...lasted for approximately an hour and a half. It is notable that the King of Prussia was not permitted to share in this first meeting….

...it is evident throughout the proceedings that [Napoleon] was straining every nerve to impress and captivate the impressionable tsar.

Chandler, pp. 586-587

It has been recorded that the first words of the tsar on this auspicious occasion were:”I hate the English as much as you do yourself.” To which Napoleon replied, “If that is the case, then peace is already made.”

The first meeting of these two potentates, perhaps the first prototype in comparatively modern times of a “summit conference,”...lasted for approximately an hour and a half. It is notable that the King of Prussia was not permitted to share in this first meeting….

...it is evident throughout the proceedings that [Napoleon] was straining every nerve to impress and captivate the impressionable tsar.

Chandler, pp. 586-587

Terms of the Franco-Russian Treaty

! the war was ended and an alliance was made

! both secretly agreed to aid one another:

! France would aid Russia against Ottoman Turkey

! Russia agreed to join the Continental System

! Napoleon also convinced Alexander to make war against Britain and to wage the Finnish War against Sweden to force Sweden to join the Continental System

! the tsar agreed to evacuate Walachia and Moldavia. France would receive the Ionian Islands and Cattaro which the Russian navy had captured

! In return Napoleon guaranteed the sovereignty of the Duchy of Oldenburg and several other small states ruled by the tsar’s German relatives

As Napoleon already knew, Frederick William was easy to bully, but he soon found out that his queen was made of sterner stuff. She tried every female wile from tears to coquetry to wring concessions from the apparently stony heart of the French Emperor. By the 8th, Louise’s charm was having an...effect on the increasingly susceptible Napoleon. [He wrote to Joséphine] “The Queen of Prussia is really charming; she is full of coquettrie toward me. But do not be jealous, I am an oilcloth off which all that sort of thing runs. It would cost me too dear to play the galant.”

Chandler, pp. 587-588

Napoleon greets King Frederick William and Queen Louise of Prussia

As Napoleon already knew, Frederick William was easy to bully, but he soon found out that his queen was made of sterner stuff. She tried every female wile from tears to coquetry to wring concessions from the apparently stony heart of the French Emperor. By the 8th, Louise’s charm was having an...effect on the increasingly susceptible Napoleon. [He wrote to Joséphine] “The Queen of Prussia is really charming; she is full of coquettrie toward me. But do not be jealous, I am an oilcloth off which all that sort of thing runs. It would cost me too dear to play the galant.”

Chandler, pp. 587-588

The Beautiful Königin Luise

The Beautiful Königin Luise

The Beautiful Königin Luise

The Beautiful Königin Luise

Terms of the Franco-Prussian Treaty

! the treaty stripped Prussia of about half its territory. The state revenue was diminished even more as the ceded provinces were the richest and most fertile

! Cottbus passed to Saxony

! the left bank of the Elbe was awarded to the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia

! Bialystok was given to Russia

! the rest of the Prussian Polish lands gained in the Second and Third Partitions became the Duchy of Warsaw

! Prussia had to reduce her army to 40,000 and pay 100 million francs

! Talleyrand had advised Napoleon to pursue milder terms; the treaty marked an important stage in his estrangement from the emperor

...If the basic realities of Napoleon’s international position already contained many of the grave flaws that eventually led to his downfall, the outer facade of his achievement was undoubtedly magnificent. His influence now extended practically unbroken from the Pyrenees to the Niemen, and for the immediate future his grandiose rule would be undisputed by the cowed or cajoled powers of the Continent. His soldiers had recovered from the setback of Eylau and re-established their martial prowess.

Chandler, p. 590

The Continental System

Europe in 1811.Colors indicate (from dark blue to light blue) :- Dark blue - French Empire,- Light Blue - French Satellite States,- Blue grey - Countries applying the Continental System.

With Russia and Prussia knocked out of the war, only Britain remained to face France, now at the height of its power. To combat his remaining adversary, Napoleon had already issued the Berlin and Milan Decrees, inaugurating the Continental System, by which he sought to impose an embargo on the importation of British goods to mainland ports and the exportation of Continental goods to Britain in an effort to strangle its economy.

Fremont-Barnes, Napoleon, p. 28

! 21 November 1806--the Berlin Decree forbids the importation of British goods into European countries allied or dependent on France and begins the Continental System

! 11 November 1807--Britain responds with Orders in Council. These forbid French trade with the UK, its allies or neutrals and instruct the Royal Navy to enforce this with an extended blockade and inspection of ships on the high seas

! America begins its impotent response to try to assert “Freedom of the Seas,” and ultimately goes to war in 1812

! 17 December 1807--the Milan Decree extends the prohibition to any European country. It authorizes French warships and privateers to capture neutral ships sailing from any British port or from any country that was occupied by British forces. It also declares that any ships that submitted to search by the Royal Navy on the high seas were to be considered lawful prizes if taken by the French.

! 22 December 1807--now Jefferson imposes the “damnbargo” and there is talk of war with France

[The] army had become the sine qua non of [Napoleon’s] foreign policy which was designed ultimately to bring England to its knees once the war on land had won the war at sea. The peace of Tilsit had made him the master of almost all of western and southern Europe. He felt himself invincible, it was a matter now of closing the few remaining holes in the coastal curtain….

This was a Catch-22 situation brought about by the villain of the piece, the continental system, which was hurting France and its allies nearly as much as it was hurting England. The Peace of Tilsit which so entranced its creator was an insidious trap. Napoleon failed to realize that he had guaranteed himself perpetual conflict by the insistence on expanding the blockade to neutral countries. It was moreover a dubious strategy at best in view of the diverse nature of European countries, long coastlines, thousands of small ports and hidden coves, the universal appeal, indeed necessity, of trade, the basic element of human greed and the tenacious character of the English nation supported by two mighty weapons, warships and money.

Asprey, Reign, pp. 87-88

...in 1805 Napoleon converted [the Italian Republic] to the Kingdom of Italy, with himself as king and his adopted stepson, Eugène Beauharnais, as his viceroy. Eugène was a long, lean young cavalryman, a hard worker, thoroughly honorable and completely loyal. Napoleon called him “my son,” coached him carefully, and unhappily compared his excellent service with Joseph’s, Louis’s, and Jérôme’s bobblings. As a private man, Eugène was kind and fond of family pleasures…. As a commander…, Eugène lacked something of the killer instinct of a born independent commander; concern for his suffering men and animals could slow his movements. But he was a good soldier and a good comrade, courageous, cool and resilient.

Esposito, Swords Around A Throne, p. 391

Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice,

Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of

Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg,1781 – 1824

Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte (1768 – 1844) King of Naples and

Sicily (1806–1808), and later Joseph I of Spain (1808–1813)

At the south end of the Italian peninsula sweltered the Kingdom of Naples. Evicting its shoddy Bourbon rulers in 1806, Napoleon replaced them with his older brother Joseph, a man of liberal intellectual pretensions, charm, a soft heart and head, and no demonstrable common sense. Alone among the Bonapartes, he was a coward; any danger sent him scuttling. He considered wealth and high office merely his just due, without effort or question. If not sufficiently humored, he would play footsie with the Emperor’s enemies. He went to Naples as a philosopher-king, resolved to lead his subjects gently into the fuller life. His reforms were genuine and mostly necessary, but he was not interested in military matters.

Esposito, p. 396

Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, King of

Holland, Comte de Saint-Leu (Lodewijk Napoleon in Dutch)

1778 – 1846

In 1806, wanting to bring Holland into an even tighter alliance, Napoleon made it a kingdom with his younger brother Louis as its monarch. Louis was intelligent (if sometimes lacking in common sense), utterly conscientious and exactly honest in his dealings, generous, and a protector of the unfortunate. As one of Napoleon’s aides-de-camp in Italy, 1796-97 he had been devoted and daring, but after that--from causes that baffled European physicians--his health deteriorated….As King of Holland Louis promptly turned into a thoroughgoing Dutchman….Louis saw his primary duty as the immediate welfare of his subjects: the long range welfare of the Empire and his duty to his brother were distinctly lesser concerns. He was reluctant to enforce the Continental System….In 1810 Napoleon therefore annexed Holland to France, leaving Louis unemployed.

Esposito, p. 389

Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of

Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort 1784 – 1860

The most valuable of Napoleon’s allies in a military sense were the German states of the Confederation of the Rhine….On July 12, 1806, sixteen states in south and central Germany seceded from the old Holy Roman Empire to form the Confederation of the Rhine with Napoleon as its “Protector”….The most important state to join the Confederation in 1807 was the Kingdom of Westphalia….a Napoleonic creation….Napoleon made his youngest brother, Jérôme, its king…. Jérôme was wildly extravagant, always had a string of mistresses, and rivaled Murat in fanciful costumes and the flash and flutter of his court. He could be very brave, but he had no judgment--

Esposito, pp. 398, 402-403

Napoleon’s relations with [his brothers] varied. His letters to the satellite kings, Joseph of Naples and Louis of Holland, generally concerned administrative matters. One such is of particular interest...he asks them to have their coins minted in the same value as those of France, as was already being done in Italy and in the confederation states. “In this way all Europe will have a uniform currency which will prove of tremendous advantage to commerce” in that it would eliminate false escalation of currency values.

Asprey, p. 81

Napoleon tried, through imposing his brothers upon the countries he had turned into satellites, to master all of Europe. In 1807 he began his fatal involvement in the Iberian peninsula in order to close its ports to British trade.

In 1806, while in Berlin, Napoleon declared the Continental Blockade, forbidding British imports into continental Europe. Of the two remaining neutral countries, Sweden and Portugal, the latter tried in vain to avoid Napoleon's ultimatum (since 1373, it had had a treaty of alliance with the English which became an alliance with the United Kingdom). After the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, now free from obligations in the east, Napoleon decided to capture the Iberian ports.

Wikipedia, Peninsular War

The Fifth Coalition

Emperor Francis Iof

Austria

Austria wants to get slapped; she shall have it. If the Emperor Francis attempts any hostile move, he will soon have ceased to reign.--

to stepson Eugene, Viceroy in Italy,

late February 1809

--Napoleon

Austria Seeks Revenge

! encouraged by developments in Spain which drew off French forces, the war party in Austria believed the time was right

! Archduke Charles, the emperor’s brother and Austria’s best general, was opposed

! he pointed to Russia’s involvement against Sweden in Finland and against Turkey in the Balkans. No help was to be expected there

! on the positive side, Austria had made major military reforms after her defeat in the war of the Third Coalition (1804-1805). These included adopting many of Bonaparte’s tactical innovations. Ironically, to solve the manpower crisis, Austria was adopting the levée en masse just as France had shifted to a more professional experienced force

! Prussia initially encouraged Austria but then declined to fight again as war approached. Only Britain would join Austria with diversionary attacks in Portugal and the Netherlands

! 8 February 1809-The Austrian Aulic (military) Council secretly decided on war

In one sense, Napoleon had little to fear from the Austrians in view of his own troop strength in France and Germany and his knowledge that neither Charles nor anyone else could ever produce an inspired national army from the heterogeneous makeup of the multi-lingual Austrian army of unwilling serfs. Neither could Charles nor old and inept Austrian marshals and generals, not to mention lesser fry, adapt to the Napoleonic system of warfare within a few years, if ever. The Austrian character did not lend itself to military daring and efficiency. A feudal command arrogance and a gross schlamperei or sloppiness could not be eliminated. As Charles would shortly learn, numbers were one consideration, performance another.

Asprey, p. 149

226,000

Napoleon desired above all to wreak vengeance on Austria...for what he regarded as a base betrayal of the 1805 treaty of Pressburg. He also believed that he had just dealt the Austrians a blow so severe that the would not risk falling easy prey to his own splendid army and might even surrender before another battle. Less than half his soldiers had fired a shot in the recent battles-- “My army has never been so beautiful and numerous,” he wrote Murat. A “decisive victory’ over the Austrian army would without question ensure his power position in Germany, would possibly bring Czar Alexander to his senses, and would allow him to swiftly finish off the war in Spain before bringing England to its knees by sealing off all Europe from its ships and goods.

Asprey, pp. 155-156

The March on Vienna

! having occupied Vienna with a minimum resistance, it now remained to destroy Archduke Charles’ army

! French engineers built a series of 3 pontoon bridges to cross the Danube at Lobau Island

! Napoleon initially captured the two villages of Aspern & Essling

! then “General Flood” intervened destroying the 3rd bridge between Lobau Island & the Left Bank

! Marshal Lannes was outnumbered and getting low on ammunition

! he tried to break out with his cavalry

! he was mortally wounded in the fight

88,000

55,000NORTH OF

THE DANUBE

! having occupied Vienna with a minimum resistance, it now remained to destroy Archduke Charles’ army

! French engineers built a series of 3 pontoon bridges to cross the Danube at Lobau Island

! Napoleon initially captured the two villages of Aspern & Essling

! then “General Flood” intervened destroying the 3rd bridge between Lobau Island & the Left Bank

! Marshal Lannes was outnumbered and getting low on ammunition

! he tried to break out with his cavalry

! he was mortally wounded in the fight

88,000

55,000NORTH OF

THE DANUBE

! having occupied Vienna with a minimum resistance, it now remained to destroy Archduke Charles’ army

! French engineers built a series of 3 pontoon bridges to cross the Danube at Lobau Island

! Napoleon initially captured the two villages of Aspern & Essling

! then “General Flood” intervened destroying the 3rd bridge between Lobau Island & the Left Bank

! Marshal Lannes was outnumbered and getting low on ammunition

! he tried to break out with his cavalry

! he was mortally wounded in the fight

88,000

55,000NORTH OF

THE DANUBE

! at first the amputation seemed successful

! the soldiers on the Right Bank were evacuated at night by boats, losing only a few but most of their guns and equipment

! Napoleon saw that Lannes received the best care possible. He was one of the very few permitted to address the emperor as “tu”

! they had been comrades since 1796

! 1 June-ten days later, sepsis set in and Lannes began to die

! Napoleon came to his side

! a grieving emperor paid a tribute to this man which had to stand for the hundreds of thousands other Frenchmen who had died and would die in these wars

Napoleon Loses a Close Friend

! at first the amputation seemed successful

! the soldiers on the Right Bank were evacuated at night by boats, losing only a few but most of their guns and equipment

! Napoleon saw that Lannes received the best care possible. He was one of the very few permitted to address the emperor as “tu”

! they had been comrades since 1796

! 1 June-ten days later, sepsis set in and Lannes began to die

! Napoleon came to his side

! a grieving emperor paid a tribute to this man which had to stand for the hundreds of thousands other Frenchmen who had died and would die in these wars

Napoleon Loses a Close Friend

Wagram, 1809

Wagram, 1809

Napoleon at Wagram, painted by Horace Vernet (Galerie des Batailles, Versailles)

NOTE--map invertsnormal north-south

orientationFRENCH RED

AUSTRIANS PURPLE

The Battle of Wagram, 5-6 July 1809: the first day--the morning crossing and the evening battle

Chandler, pp. 714-715

The Battle of Wagram, 5-6 July 1809: the first day--the morning crossing and the evening battle

Chandler, pp. 714-715

Realizing the fatuity of a conventional attack Napoleon instead chose to strike the enemy left which, once turned, would force Charles to leave prepared positions to fight in open country.--Asprey, p. 163

The Battle of Wagram, 5-6 July 1809: the second day

Chandler, pp. 720-721

c.11 am

Position

Battery

ARCHDUKE JOHN12,500

still approaching

Macdonald’s ‘Monstrous Column’! the son of a Scots Jacobite emigrant, he had served in

the royal armies before the Revolution then under Dumouriez at Jemappes

! at the battle’s climax a dangerous gap appeared in the French line, between the villages of Süssenbrun and Aderklaa

! Bonaparte ordered Macdonald to fill it with his corps consisting of two divisions, 21 battalions

Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald

1st duc de Taranto

1765 – 1840

Macdonald’s ‘Monstrous Column’! the son of a Scots Jacobite emigrant, he had served in

the royal armies before the Revolution then under Dumouriez at Jemappes

! at the battle’s climax a dangerous gap appeared in the French line, between the villages of Süssenbrun and Aderklaa

! Bonaparte ordered Macdonald to fill it with his corps consisting of two divisions, 21 battalions

! as he was first menaced by cavalry (4), he formed a giant square (1), with its rear side filled with cavalry(3)

! Macdonald’s right flank is protected by a grand battery of 100 guns, just visible at (5)

! the top part of the illustration shows the remains (14%) of his men, weakened by deserting looters (inset 1) approaching the Austrian strongpoint of Süssenbrun

! Inset 2-at Aspern-Essling it became apparent that the quality of the army had declined. To bolster morale Bonaparte introduced ‘battalion guns’--2 4 pounders to each regiment. They were largely crewed by infantry. They may have encouraged the infantry to stand their ground.

Étienne Jacques Joseph Alexandre MacDonald

1st duc de Taranto

1765 – 1840

The emperor later wrote that by 10 a.m. “even the less clairvoyant observers saw that we had won the battle”…. By evening there was no sign of the enemy...who retreated into Bohemia.It was an enormous but very expensive victory. At least 40,000 Austrians including a large number of officers had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The French admitted to 1,500 killed and 3-4,000 wounded, but the more likely figure was at least five times greater. General Lasalle was killed and a number of generals...wounded. Macdonald, Marmont and Oudinot who had fought brilliantly for two days were promoted to marshal….A few days later...the Austrians asked for an armistice.

Asprey, p.166

The battlefield of Wagram had to be cleaned, the thousands of dead bloating in the summer sun hurriedly buried in mass graves, the thousands of wounded evacuated to Vienna and to makeshift hospitals in neighboring towns and monasteries--a ghastly job greatly impeded by lack of physicians and surgeons, orderlies, medicines, bandages and transports. Battle-worn regiments had to be sorted out and refitted, gaps filed with new bodies, units deployed in ready defensive positions in case the armistice broke down.

Asprey, p. 168

The Treaty of SchönbrunnJuly-October 1809

Come to Vienna … I want to see you … You cannot imaginewhat a tremendous importance I attach to everything that

concerns you … Many tender kisses on your lovely hands andjust one on your beautiful mouth. Napole.

Napoleon to the Countess Marie Walewska,Schönbrunn, May 1809

Other Fronts

! neither the Prussians nor the Russians cared to face Napoleon at this time

! Britain, however, tried to open a second front by landing a force on Walcheren Island in the Netherlands

! early August-at the same time as Napoleon learned of the British landing, he found out that his general in Rome had arrested the pope and was moving him to Grenoble

! and at Vienna’s request, Austrians in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg raised a rebellion against their Bavarian and French occupiers

! Metternich stalled, hoping that Napoleon would be forced to lower his demands

In all the British government had wasted almost £8 million on the expedition, 4,067 men had died (only 106 in combat). Almost 12,000 were still ill in February 1810 and many others remained permanently weakened. It was well known, that Walcheren was an unhealthy place to be. The French Admiral Missiessy had refused to station himself at Flushing for fear that his men would contract the Walcheren fever, whilst the British should really have remembered that their previous expedition to the region in 1747 had also been decimated by illness which had been comprehensively documented by the military surgeon John Pringle.

www.95th-rifles.co.uk/harris.htm

As meeting after meeting produced no results, as events in the Tyrol and Holland began tilting in his favor, Napoleon grew more strident, even threatening to return to fighting. Several factors however dampened his bellicosity and demands. He was eager to return to France whose internal affairs including finances were becoming increasingly shaky, and also to deal with the Spanish war which was not going well. In mid September he suddenly cut his terms by nearly half: Austria to cede territory on the frontiers of the Inn River and Italy that held about 1.6 million subjects; Saxony and Russia to gain lands in Galicia and Bohemia that contained some 2 million persons. When this compromise produced no action, Napoleon presented the Austrian court with an ultimatum: either accept or face renewed battle. This time the court caved in and by mid October the peace was signed.

Asprey, p. 176

[In 1810] Napoleon now confronted the three basic obstacles to the consolidation of his rule: Spain, where popular insurrection and Wellington’s army supported one another; Russia, technically still an ally, but plainly a treacherous one; and the state of his dynasty, which remained embodied in his own person, since he had no heir…....there was the matter of [his need for a] second marriage. (Josephine, whom he had married in 1796 [and who was now 46], had given him no children.) To ensure the continuity of his dynasty, Napoleon needed a wife who could give him an heir. He suggested that one of [tsar] Alexander’s sisters might satisfy all requirements. Alexander temporized, and Napoleon decided to marry Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor Francis [of Austria]. Alexander chose to consider this a species of insult; moreover, the implications of a Franco-Austrian alliance shook him.

Esposito & Elting, “INTRODUCTION TO THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN’, AFTER MAP 106

[In 1810] Napoleon now confronted the three basic obstacles to the consolidation of his rule: Spain, where popular insurrection and Wellington’s army supported one another; Russia, technically still an ally, but plainly a treacherous one; and the state of his dynasty, which remained embodied in his own person, since he had no heir…....there was the matter of [his need for a] second marriage. (Josephine, whom he had married in 1796 [and who was now 46], had given him no children.) To ensure the continuity of his dynasty, Napoleon needed a wife who could give him an heir. He suggested that one of [tsar] Alexander’s sisters might satisfy all requirements. Alexander temporized, and Napoleon decided to marry Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor Francis [of Austria]. Alexander chose to consider this a species of insult; moreover, the implications of a Franco-Austrian alliance shook him.

Esposito & Elting, “INTRODUCTION TO THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN’, AFTER MAP 106

...your Bonaparte represents his Sorrows of Napoleon Opera, in an all-too stupendous style; with music of cannon-volleys, and murder-shrieks of a world; his stage-lights are the fires of Conflagration; his rhyme and recitative are the tramp of embattled Hosts and the sound of falling Cities.

Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, bk. ii, chap. 6, 1831

...your Bonaparte represents his Sorrows of Napoleon Opera, in an all-too stupendous style; with music of cannon-volleys, and murder-shrieks of a world; his stage-lights are the fires of Conflagration; his rhyme and recitative are the tramp of embattled Hosts and the sound of falling Cities.

Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus, bk. ii, chap. 6, 1831

One problem was solved, but the first two remained.

Many more campaigns were to follow, but, increasingly, things would not go his way.