Allies' Austrian Assets: Napoleon's Coveted Conquests

The Allies held Vienna, which Napoleon wanted. After the Battle of Wagram, Napoleon occupied Vienna and forced the Allies to retreat. The Allies were forced to sign the Treaty of Schönbrunn, which ended the war and led to the loss of one-sixth of the Austrian Empire's subjects and territories.

The Battle of Austerlitz

Napoleon's tactics were masterful. He left his right flank unstrengthened to tempt the Russian forces to strike, while his main force was concealed in a dead ground opposite the Pratzen Heights. The French troops were to attack and recapture the Heights, then launch a decisive assault on the centre of the Allied army.

Napoleon's plan worked. The Allied deployment against the French right weakened their centre, which was then attacked by the IV Corps of Marshal Soult. With the Allied centre demolished, the French swept through both flanks and routed the Allies, capturing thousands of prisoners. The Allied disaster significantly shook the will of Emperor Francis to further resist Napoleon.

Victory at Austerlitz also permitted the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, a collection of German states intended as a buffer zone between France and the eastern powers, Austria, Prussia and Russia. The Confederation rendered the Holy Roman Empire virtually useless, so Francis dissolved it in 1806, but remained as emperor of Austria.

The Ulm Campaign

Napoleon's rapid marching allowed him to conduct a large wheeling manoeuvre, which captured an Austrian army of 60,000 under Feldmarschall-Leutnant (FML) Karl Freiherr Mack von Leiberich on 20 October at Ulm. The campaign is regarded by some military historians as a strategic masterpiece and was influential in the development of the Schlieffen Plan in the late 19th century.

The victory at Ulm did not end the war since a large Russian army under Mikhail Kutuzov was near Vienna to defend the city against the French. The Russians withdrew to the northeast to await reinforcements and to link up with Austrian army units. The French moved aggressively forward and captured Vienna on 12 November. On 2 December, the massive Battle of Austerlitz, causing 24,000 to 36,000 casualties, removed Austria from the war. The resulting Treaty of Pressburg in late December brought the Third Coalition to an end and established Napoleonic France as the major power in Central Europe, which led to the War of the Fourth Coalition against the Kingdom of Prussia and Russia the following year.

The Battle of Wagram

In 1809, the French military presence in the Confederation of the Rhine was diminished as Napoleon transferred a number of soldiers to fight in the Peninsular War. As a result, the Austrian Empire saw its chance to recover some of its former sphere of influence and invaded the Kingdom of Bavaria, a French ally. Napoleon beat the Austrian forces and occupied Vienna at the beginning of May 1809. Despite the string of sharp defeats and the loss of the empire's capital, Archduke Charles salvaged an army, with which he retreated north of the Danube. This allowed the Austrians to continue the war. Towards the end of May, Napoleon resumed the offensive, suffering a surprise defeat at the Battle of Aspern-Essling.

It took Napoleon six weeks to prepare his next offensive, for which he amassed a 172,000-man French, German and Italian army in the vicinity of Vienna. The Battle of Wagram began after Napoleon crossed the Danube with the bulk of these forces during the night of 4 July and attacked the 136,000-man strong Austrian army. Having successfully crossed the river, Napoleon attempted an early breakthrough and launched a series of evening attacks against the Austrian army. The Austrians were thinly spread in a wide semicircle, but held a naturally strong position. After the attackers enjoyed some initial success, the defenders regained the upper hand and the attacks failed. Bolstered by his success, the next day at dawn Archduke Charles launched a series of attacks along the entire battle line, seeking to take the opposing army in a double envelopment. The offensive failed against the French right but nearly broke Napoleon's left. However, the Emperor countered by launching a cavalry charge, which temporarily halted the Austrian advance. He then redeployed IV Corps to stabilise his left, while setting up a grand battery, which pounded the Austrian right and centre. The tide of battle turned and the Emperor launched an offensive along the entire line, while Maréchal Louis-Nicolas Davout drove an offensive, which turned the Austrian left, and rendered Charles's position untenable. Towards mid-afternoon on 6 July, Charles admitted defeat and led a retreat, frustrating enemy attempts to pursue. After the battle, Charles remained in command of a cohesive force and decided to retreat to Bohemia. However, the Grande Armée eventually caught up with him and scored a victory at the Battle of Znaim. With the battle still raging, Charles decided to ask for an armistice, effectively ending the war.

With 74,000 casualties, the two-day battle of Wagram was particularly bloody, mainly due to the use of 800 artillery pieces and the expenditure of 200,000 rounds of artillery ammunition on a flat battlefield packed with some 300,000 men. Although Napoleon was the uncontested winner, he failed to secure an overwhelming victory and the Austrian casualties were only slightly greater than those of the French and allies. Nonetheless, the defeat was serious enough to shatter the morale of the Austrians, who could no longer find the will to continue the struggle. The resulting Treaty of Schönbrunn meant the loss of one-sixth of the Austrian Empire's subjects, along with some territories, rendering it landlocked until the German Campaign of 1813.

The Treaty of Pressburg

The treaty mandated substantial territorial concessions by the Austrian Empire. The French gains of the previous treaties of Campo Formio and Lunéville were reiterated, while recent Austrian acquisitions in Italy and southern Germany were ceded to France and Bavaria, respectively. The scattered Austrian holdings in Swabia were passed to French allies, while Bavaria received Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy, of which Napoleon had become king earlier that year. The Principality of Lucca and Piombino was recognised as independent from the Holy Empire. Augsburg, previously an independent Free Imperial City, was ceded to Bavaria. As a minor compensation, the Austrian Empire annexed the Electorate of Salzburg, which had been under Habsburg rule since 1803. The Elector, the Austrian Emperor's brother, was compensated with the Duchy of Würzburg, created from territories of the former prince-bishopric.

The treaty also foreshadowed the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Within months of the signing of the treaty, Francis II renounced his title as Holy Roman Emperor after Napoleon created the Confederation of the Rhine. An indemnity of 40 million francs to France was also provided for in the treaty.

The Treaty of Schönbrunn

The treaty imposed harsh peace terms on Austria, forcing it to cede the Duchy of Salzburg to Bavaria and lose 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 recognised Napoleon's previous conquests from other nations and the rule of his brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Austria was forced to pay a large indemnity and reduce its army to 150,000 men.

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