Napoleon's Austrian Campaign: Overcoming Adversity And Challenges

In 1805, Napoleon faced a formidable alliance between Austria, Russia and Britain. The Austrian army was led by General Karl Mack and was supported by tens of thousands of Russian soldiers. Napoleon's forces were outnumbered almost two to one. However, he took advantage of the allies' dispersed forces and quickly marched into Germany, surprising the Austrians and forcing them to surrender without a fight. He then occupied Vienna, but soon faced a united Austrian-Russian army of 90,000 soldiers. Despite the odds, Napoleon defeated them at the Battle of Austerlitz, forcing Austria to make peace.

The Austrian army's inferior equipment, training, size and leadership

When the Austrian army faced Napoleon in 1805, they were still inadequately equipped, insufficiently trained, lacking in numbers, and poorly led.

The Austrian army was under the leadership of General Karl Mack, who made the fateful decision to hold his position and fight, rather than retreat. This allowed Napoleon to surround and isolate Mack's army, forcing their surrender in a matter of days.

The Austrian army was also significantly outnumbered by Napoleon's forces. At the Battle of Austerlitz, for example, the Austro-Russian army had superior numbers, but Napoleon's strategic brilliance allowed him to achieve a crushing victory.

In addition to inferior equipment, training, and leadership, the Austrian army also faced challenges in terms of size and manpower. They were unable to match the numbers of Napoleon's forces, which were well-supplied and highly disciplined.

The Austrian army's shortcomings in these areas contributed to their defeat at the hands of Napoleon, who was known for his military genius and ability to adapt his tactics to exploit the weaknesses of his enemies.

Napoleon's strategic march into Germany

In 1805, Napoleon was planning to cross the English Channel and invade Great Britain with 2000 ships and 200,000 soldiers. However, to the surprise of everyone, he ordered his soldiers to march into Europe, where Austrian and Russian forces awaited. The Austrians and Russians planned to defeat the French by sheer force of numbers, but Napoleon saw the flaw in their strategy. Their forces were widely dispersed across the continent, and he could strike at the Austrians before the Russians arrived.

Napoleon's army marched deeper and deeper into Europe, and in less than six weeks, they reached the Danube, catching the Austrian army of General Karl Mack by surprise. While the Austrians wavered, Napoleon struck, and at the battlefield near Ulm, 27,000 men surrendered. Napoleon had crippled the Austrian army and driven the Emperor from Vienna. He triumphantly paraded through the winding streets of Vienna, the capital of the ancient Austrian Empire.

However, his triumph was shadowed by a disaster at sea. On October 21, 1805, the British Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed a French and Spanish fleet at Trafalgar, costing the life of Britain's greatest sailor. Napoleon no longer had a fleet he could count on, and his army was now in danger. He was deep in the centre of the continent, surrounded by hostile populations, and the Russians were coming to help the Austrians. His troops were dwindling in number and supplies, and he was almost a thousand miles from Paris.

Despite these challenges, Napoleon refused to retreat. He believed that one more battle could secure victory, and so he pressed on, determined to defeat the Russians and Austrians. This decision led to the famous Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, where Napoleon defeated the combined Russo-Austrian army.

The Battle of Austerlitz

In the lead-up to the battle, Napoleon displayed his strategic genius by quickly marching his army into Germany, surprising the Austrians and Russians, who had expected him to invade Italy. By moving swiftly, he was able to engage and defeat the Austrians before the Russians could reinforce them. Napoleon's forces surrounded the Austrian army led by General Karl Mack and forced its surrender at Ulm. This victory allowed Napoleon to advance to Vienna, which he captured in November 1805, before moving into Moravia.

At Austerlitz, Napoleon faced a combined Austro-Russian army of around 90,000 troops. Despite being outnumbered, Napoleon's forces were well-led and highly disciplined. He employed a strategy of manoeuvre and deception, using flanking attacks and feints to disrupt the enemy's formations. The French army was also better organised and supplied, which contributed to their success. Napoleon's famous artillery, known for its mobility and firepower, played a crucial role in the battle, breaking up enemy formations and inflicting heavy casualties.

The battle began with a French assault on the Pratzen Heights, a key position held by the Russo-Austrian forces. Initial French attacks were repulsed, but Napoleon quickly reinforced his troops and launched a second assault, successfully capturing the heights. This put the Austro-Russian army in a precarious position, as their lines of communication were now threatened. Napoleon then launched a series of ferocious attacks along the entire front, overwhelming the enemy and forcing them to retreat. The Russo-Austrian army suffered around 25,000 casualties, while the French lost fewer than 7,000 men.

The victory at Austerlitz had far-reaching consequences. It led to the Treaty of Pressburg, in which Austria ceded territory to Napoleon, including Venetia and Tyrol. The defeat also forced Austria out of the war, leaving Russia to continue the fight alone. Napoleon's triumph at Austerlitz further enhanced his reputation as a military commander and demonstrated his ability to defeat larger armies through bold strategy and tactical brilliance.

The Treaty of Pressburg

The treaty was signed by Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Hungarian Count Ignác Gyulay for the Austrian Empire, and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for France. The treaty established "peace and amity" and the Austrian withdrawal from the Third Coalition. Additionally, the Austrian Empire made significant territorial concessions, ceding lands in Italy and southern Germany to France and Bavaria, respectively. These concessions included the cession of Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia to the Kingdom of Italy, which Napoleon had become king of earlier that year.

The Treaty of Schönbrunn

During the Peninsular War and the Spanish resistance against Napoleon, Austria had tried to reverse the 1805 Peace of Pressburg by sparking national uprisings in the French-occupied territories of Central Europe. These attempts ultimately failed after French forces occupied Vienna in May 1809. The Austrians, under Archduke Charles, were able to repulse them at the Battle of Aspern on 21-22 May; however, Napoleon withdrew his forces and crushed Charles' army at Wagram a few weeks later. The archduke had to sign the Armistice of Znaim on 12 July.

The treaty imposed harsh peace terms on Austria. Austria had to cede the Duchy of Salzburg to Bavaria and lost its access to the Adriatic Sea by waiving the Littoral territories of Gorizia and Gradisca and the Imperial Free City of Trieste, together with Carniola, the March of Istria, western ("Upper") Carinthia with East Tyrol, and the Croatian lands southwest of the river Sava to the French Empire. West Galicia was ceded to the Duchy of Warsaw, and the Tarnopol district to the Russian Empire. Austria also had to apply Napoleon's Continental System, as Britain remained at war with France.

Austria recognized Napoleon's previous conquests from other nations as well as the rule of his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Austria also paid a large indemnity to France, and the Austrian army was reduced to 150,000 men—a promise not fulfilled. The Graz Schlossberg fortress, whose garrison had firmly resisted the French occupation forces, was largely demolished.

Emperor Francis I approached the French by marrying his daughter Marie Louise off to Napoleon in 1810. As a result of Metternich's change of policies, the Austrian forces joined the French invasion of Russia in 1812.

Frequently asked questions