Lyla Lindsey
Austria was on the opposing side to Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. The Austrian army faced Napoleon's forces in several battles, including Austerlitz and Wagram, which were among the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, took place on December 2, 1805, and resulted in a decisive victory for Napoleon, leading to an Austrian surrender and the Treaty of Pressburg. Despite periods of peace, Austria continued to pose a threat to Napoleon, with Austrian forces engaging in conflicts such as the War of the First Coalition (1792-1797) and the Battle of Wagram in 1809, where they suffered significant casualties.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Austria's side in the Napoleonic Wars | Anti-Napoleon |
| Austria's allies | Russia, Prussia, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Dutch Republic |
| Austria's enemies | Napoleon's France, Napoleon's Italian Kingdom, Bavaria |
| Significant Battles | Austerlitz, Wagram, Ulm Campaign |
| Outcome of the Battle of Austerlitz | Defeat for Austria, leading to the Treaty of Pressburg |
| Outcome of the Battle of Wagram | Defeat for Austria, leading to the Treaty of Schönbrunn |
| Result of the Napoleonic Wars | Loss of territories for Austria |
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What You'll Learn
Austria's defeat at Austerlitz
Austria was initially opposed to Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars, forming the First Coalition with other European powers in response to France's aggressive expansion. However, after suffering a series of defeats, Austria was forced to make peace with France in 1797. This peace was short-lived, as tensions rose again, leading to the formation of the Third Coalition against Napoleon in 1805. The decisive battle of this coalition took place at Austerlitz and resulted in a significant defeat for the Austrians.
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, took place on December 2, 1805, and is considered one of Napoleon's greatest victories. In the months leading up to the battle, Napoleon had been engaged in a campaign against Austrian and Russian forces in Italy and Germany. Despite being outnumbered, Napoleon employed a strategy of deception and rapid maneuver to confuse and divide his enemies. By the time the battle commenced, he had managed to concentrate his forces and catch the Austro-Russian army off guard.
The Austrian army, led by Emperor Francis I and supported by a large Russian contingent under Tsar Alexander I, occupied a strong defensive position on the Pratzen Heights near the town of Austerlitz (modern-day Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic). Napoleon's army, though outnumbered, was composed of seasoned veterans who had already proven their mettle in previous campaigns. Napoleon's plan was to lure the Allies into attacking his apparently weakened right flank, commanded by Marshal Soult, while secretly reinforcing it with troops concealed in the nearby Santon Woods.
As the battle commenced, the Allies launched a massive assault on Soult's flank, believing it to be weakly defended. However, they were met with fierce resistance as Napoleon's hidden troops emerged from the woods, counterattacking with force. Meanwhile, Napoleon ordered Marshal Davout to lead a decisive assault on the Pratzen Heights, the key to the Allied position. Davout's troops stormed the heights, forcing the Austrian center to fall back in disarray. With their position compromised, the Austro-Russian forces began to retreat, and Napoleon's troops pursued them relentlessly. The Allied retreat turned into a rout, with many soldiers surrendering or fleeing in panic.
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Austria's alliance with Russia
Austria and Russia had a recurring alliance in the 18th century, directed against the Ottomans and France. They were allies during the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), and from 1787 to 1791, both monarchies waged separate wars against the Ottomans.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Austria and Russia fought together against Napoleon's France. In 1804, Austria believed that an alliance with Russia would deter Napoleon from attacking either of the eastern empires. However, this was a miscalculation, as Napoleon's army marched quickly into Germany, catching the Austrians off guard. The famous Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805, resulted in a decisive victory for Napoleon, leading to the Treaty of Pressburg, which took Austria out of the war and the Coalition. Despite this setback, Austria continued to resist Napoleon, and in 1809, the Battle of Wagram resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, although Napoleon emerged victorious once again.
In the ensuing years, Austria played a leading role in the War of Liberation against France, providing the largest number of troops to the allied forces. Metternich, an Austrian statesman, sought to establish a balance of power between Russia and Napoleonic France while restoring an independent Habsburg monarchy. However, he could not convince Napoleon to accept his views, and Austria ultimately participated in Napoleon's defeat and exile in 1814.
After the Napoleonic Wars, Austria and Russia were part of the "Holy Alliance," along with Prussia and Great Britain, pledging to maintain peace and uphold monarchical rule in Europe. However, tensions arose during the Crimean War, when Austria maintained a hostile neutrality towards Russia, straining their relationship. Despite not going to war, Austria's stance during the Crimean War angered Russia and contributed to its isolation and eventual defeat in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War.
In the late 19th century, Austria-Hungary and Russia clashed over their competing interests in the Balkans, with Russia seeking to establish a large Slavic state in the region. This rivalry, along with the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, set the stage for World War I, during which both the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires collapsed.
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Austria's early resistance to Napoleon
Austria was on the side against Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars. When the Austrians first took the field against the French in 1805, their army was inadequately equipped, insufficiently trained, under strength, and indifferently led. The war had come about due to miscalculations by Austrian foreign ministers, who believed that an alliance with Russia in 1804 would deter Napoleon from attacking either of the eastern empires.
In 1805, Napoleon turned his attention from the English Channel to the Rhine to deal with the new Austrian and Russian threats. He marched his army into Germany, where he had anticipated they would unite, and not into Italy, where the Austrians had expected him to go. This was one of his most brilliant strategic moves. Napoleon then surrounded an Austrian army at the city of Ulm and compelled it to surrender. He then advanced to Vienna, which he took in November 1805.
In May 1809, the French army occupied Vienna. However, on May 21–22, Archduke Charles and the regular Austrian army inflicted the first defeat Napoleon was to suffer on the field of battle at Aspern, across the Danube from Vienna. Napoleon regrouped and defeated Archduke Charles in July in the Battle of Wagram, just a few miles from Aspern. Despite the defeat, the Austrians salvaged an army, with which they retreated north of the Danube, allowing them to continue the war.
During the next period of peace, 1806–09, Austrian preparations for war were again directed by Johann Philipp, Graf (Count) von Stadion. Stadion believed that Austria could not make any long-term accommodation with Napoleon because he represented a mortal danger to monarchical Europe. He proposed that the Austrians raise large armies, but he knew that the monarchy could not finance increases in the kind of armies that it had used in the past. Therefore, he proposed to supplement the regular troops with trained reserves and militia.
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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.
By the terms of the treaty, Austria ceded Salzburg to Bavaria, West Galicia to the Duchy of Warsaw, the Tarnopol district to the Russian Empire, and Trieste and Croatia south of the Sava River to France. Austria also recognised Napoleon's previous conquests from other nations as well as recognising Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain. Austria paid a large indemnity to France and the Austrian army was reduced to 150,000 men—a promise not fulfilled. The treaty 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.
During the negotiations at Schönbrunn, Napoleon narrowly escaped an attempt on his life by 17-year-old Friedrich Staps, son of a Lutheran pastor from Naumburg. Staps had arrived in Vienna and demanded an audience to present a petition. He was refused by the emperor's aide, General Jean Rapp, who shortly thereafter observed Staps in the courtyard pushing through the crowd towards Napoleon from a different direction, and had him arrested. Taken to the palace, Staps was found to be carrying a large kitchen knife inside his coat, concealed in the petition papers. Interrogated, Staps frankly revealed his plans to kill the emperor, calling him "the misfortune of his country". Brought before Napoleon, he was asked whether he would thank him if he was pardoned, to which Staps replied, "I would kill you nonetheless." Napoleon left Vienna on 16 October and the next day, Staps was shot outside the palace.
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The War of the First Coalition
In April 1792, France declared war on Austria, and Prussia, having allied with Austria, declared war on France in June. An army composed mostly of Prussians joined the Austrian side and invaded France in July 1792. The First Coalition, however, lacked a common pact and a united command structure. The absence of an integrated strategy and the dispersal of forces to Poland and to naval and colonial warfare hampered their attack on France. Despite initial expectations of a rapid victory, both sides faced disappointment as the French repulsed the coalition's offensive and soon invaded French territory.
By 1795, Prussia withdrew from the conflict, concluding the Peace of Basel with France, which recognised France's occupation of territories along the Rhine. The coalition began to crumble, and France secured peace treaties with Spain and the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Britain attempted to reinforce rebels in the Vendée but failed, and attempts to overthrow the government in Paris were thwarted by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established the Directory.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria was against Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.
No, Austria was defeated by Napoleon in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, and in the Battle of Wagram in 1809.
Yes, Austria gave up Venice to Napoleon's Italian kingdom, Tirol to Bavaria, and a number of other lands to Napoleon's clients.
No, Napoleon was the winner in all the battles against Austria, although in the Battle of Wagram, the casualties on the Austrian side were only slightly greater than those on the French side.
