Damon Mcknight
Napoleon's campaign against Austria was a measure of self-defence forced upon him by the formation of the anti-French alliance. In 1805, Napoleon's troops occupied Vienna, and he set up his quarters in Schönbrunn Palace. Napoleon's major victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, which took place near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire, forced Austria to make peace with France. The Treaty of Pressburg, which followed the battle, took Austria out of the war and the Coalition while reinforcing the earlier treaties of Campo Formio and of Lunéville between the two powers. After the battle, Napoleon stayed at Schönbrunn Palace for a few days, and a treaty of friendship was concluded between him and Austria.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of the Battle of Austerlitz | 1805 |
| Date of the Battle of Austerlitz | 2nd of December, 1805 |
| Number of troops involved in the Battle of Austerlitz | 158,000 |
| Number of casualties in the Battle of Austerlitz | 24,000 |
| Number of Russian and Austrian troops captured in the Battle of Austerlitz | 11,000 |
| Number of casualties in the Battle of Wagram | 74,000 |
| Year of the Treaty of Vienna | 1809 |
| Date of the Treaty of Vienna | 14th of October, 1809 |
| Year of the Treaty of Pressburg | 1805 |
| Date of the Treaty of Pressburg | 26th of December, 1805 |
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What You'll Learn
Napoleon's invasion force, the Armée d'Angleterre, assembled in 1803
In May 1803, Britain declared war on France. In December 1804, an Anglo-Swedish agreement led to the creation of the Third Coalition. By April 1805, Britain and Russia had signed an alliance. Having been defeated twice in recent memory by France and keen on revenge, Austria joined the Coalition a few months later.
Before the formation of the Third Coalition, Napoleon had assembled an invasion force called the Armée d'Angleterre (Army of England) around six camps at Boulogne in Northern France. He intended to use this force, amounting to 150,000 men, to strike at England and was so confident of success that he had commemorative medals struck to celebrate the conquest of the English. The preparations for the invasion were financed by the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, whereby France ceded her huge North American territories to the United States in return for a payment of 50 million French francs ($11,250,000). The entire amount was spent on the projected invasion.
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of South East England. In 1796 the French had already tried to invade Ireland in order to destabilise the United Kingdom or as a stepping stone to Great Britain. The first French Army of England had gathered on the Channel coast in 1798, but an invasion of England was sidelined by Napoleon's concentration on the campaigns in Egypt and against Austria, and shelved in 1802 by the Peace of Amiens. Building on planning for mooted invasions under France's ancien régime in 1744, 1759, and 1779, preparations began again in earnest soon after the outbreak of war in 1803, and were finally called off in 1805, before the Battle of Trafalgar. From 1803 to 1805 a new army of 200,000 men, known as the Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) or the Armée d'Angleterre (Army of England), was formed.
In 1803, Napoleon turned his attention to invading England once more, saying: "All my thoughts are directed towards England. I want only for a favourable wind to plant the Imperial Eagle on the Tower of London". Napoleon now planned an invasion on a bigger scale than in 1798 and 1801, and built a new armada for the effort. He assembled the Grande Armée of over 100,000 troops at Boulogne. Addington's government had kept the Regular army at 132,000 men during the Amiens interlude, with 18,000 in Ireland and 50,000 in Great Britain (the rest serving abroad). In 1803, 50 of the Army's 93 regiments created a second battalion. These battalions became known as the Army of Reserve. In order to bring these units to full strength, 50,000 recruits were raised by ballot within one year of the creation of the form. However, each recruit was only liable to serve in Great Britain.
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The Austrian army's surrender at the city of Ulm in 1805
The Austrian army's surrender at Ulm was the culmination of a series of strategic maneuvers by Napoleon to surround and isolate the Austrian forces. The French emperor had assembled a massive invasion force, known as the Armée d'Angleterre or Army of England, along the French Atlantic coast, intending to invade England. However, upon learning of the formation of the Third Coalition—an alliance between Austria, Russia, and Britain—Napoleon changed his plans and marched his army into Germany, taking the Austrians by surprise.
The Austrians, inadequately equipped and led, had expected Napoleon to invade Italy and concentrated their forces there under the command of Archduke Charles. Meanwhile, Baron Mack led a smaller force into Bavaria, positioning himself between Ulm and Günzburg on the upper Danube, anticipating Napoleon's arrival through the Black Forest. Napoleon, however, outmaneuvered the Austrians, crossing the Rhine and the Danube and cutting off Mack's lines of retreat eastward.
By mid-October, Napoleon's forces had encircled Ulm, and multiple battles resulted in the dispersal or capture of large numbers of Austrian troops. On October 15, Napoleon forced the main Austrian body to retreat into the city of Ulm, and the following day, French artillery fired upon the town. Recognizing the dire situation, Mack negotiated a surrender on October 20, even though the Russians, who were supposed to reinforce the Austrians, were still too far away.
The surrender of the Austrian army at Ulm was a significant victory for Napoleon, resulting in the capture of 50,000 to 60,000 Austrian prisoners. It demonstrated his military genius and set the stage for his subsequent advance towards Vienna and the famous Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805, where he defeated the remnants of the Austrian army and the oncoming Russians.
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Napoleon's occupation of Vienna, the Austrian capital, in 1805
The Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century saw Napoleon occupy Vienna, the Austrian capital, on two occasions. The first of these occupations occurred in November 1805, following the French Emperor's brilliant strategic move to march his army into Germany, where they surrounded and defeated the Austrian army at Ulm. Advancing to Vienna, Napoleon seized the city and then moved into Moravia, where he defeated the Austrians and the Russians at the famous Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805.
The Austrian army was inadequately equipped, insufficiently trained, and under-strength when they took the field against the French in 1805. The war itself was the result of miscalculations by Austrian foreign ministers, who believed that an alliance with Russia would deter Napoleon from attacking. However, Napoleon's swift march into Germany took the Austrians by surprise, as they had anticipated that he would invade Italy. In one of his most brilliant strategic moves, Napoleon quickly advanced into Germany and surrounded and defeated the Austrian army at Ulm, forcing its surrender.
Napoleon's occupation of Vienna in 1805 was part of the War of the Third Coalition, which included an alliance between Austria, Britain, and Russia formed in 1804-1805. The Peace of Pressburg, signed later in December 1805, ended the War of the Third Coalition, but it did not establish a lasting peace on the continent. Austria gave up lands in Italy and Bavaria to France, and in Germany to Napoleon's German allies. Despite the treaty, Russia continued the war.
Napoleon's occupation of Vienna in 1805 was a significant event during the Napoleonic Wars, leading to the famous Battle of Austerlitz and the subsequent Peace of Pressburg. The occupation demonstrated Napoleon's military prowess and strategic thinking, as he swiftly advanced into Germany, surrounded and defeated the Austrian army, and occupied their capital. The occupation also had important geopolitical consequences, resulting in territorial losses for Austria and a shift in the balance of power in Europe.
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The Battle of Austerlitz, December 1805
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. It took place on the 2nd of December 1805 near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire (now Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic). The battle involved around 158,000 troops, of which around 24,000 were killed or wounded. It is often cited by military historians as one of Napoleon's tactical masterpieces.
In the lead-up to the battle, Napoleon had gathered his major force along the French Atlantic coast for a possible invasion of Great Britain. However, in a brilliant strategic move, he marched his army quickly into Germany instead of Italy, as the Austrians had anticipated. Napoleon's army eliminated an Austrian force during the Ulm campaign and seized Vienna in November 1805. The Austrians avoided further conflict until the Russians arrived to bolster their numbers. Napoleon then sent his army north in pursuit of the Allies but later ordered a retreat to feign weakness and lure the Allies into thinking they were facing a weak army. He abandoned the dominant Pratzen Heights near Austerlitz and weakened his right flank, enticing the Allies to launch an assault.
Marshal Davout and his III Corps marched from Vienna to reinforce Napoleon's precarious right flank, which was protected by a complicated system of streams and lakes and had only minimal troops. The French had also settled upon a secondary line of retreat through Brunn. By 1 December 1805, the French troops had been shifted in accordance with the Allied movement southward, as Napoleon expected. Napoleon's position soon became critical, as a second Russian army joined the Austrians at Olmütz (Olomouc), bringing their force to 90,000 strong. The French right flank was also menaced by the approach of the Austrian archduke Charles with 80,000 men.
The battle resulted in a significant victory for Napoleon's 68,000 troops over the Russians and Austrians, who numbered almost 90,000 and were nominally under General Mikhail Kutuzov. This forced Austria to make peace with France and sign the Treaty of Pressburg on 26 December 1805, agreeing to give up lands in Italy and Bavaria to France and in Germany to Napoleon's German allies. The victory at Austerlitz brought the War of the Third Coalition to an end, although it did not establish a lasting peace on the continent.
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The Treaty of Pressburg, December 1805
The Treaty of Pressburg, now Bratislava in Slovakia, was signed on December 26, 1805, between French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. The treaty was a consequence of the French victory over the Russians and Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805. A truce was agreed upon on December 4, and negotiations for the treaty began. 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 mandated significant territorial concessions by the Austrian Empire. Austria agreed to give up all that it had received of Venetian territory at the Treaty of Campo Formio to Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy. They ceded the Tirol, Vorarlberg, and several smaller territories to Bavaria. They also gave up other western lands of the Habsburg monarchy to Württemberg and Baden. Austria agreed to admit the electors of Bavaria and Württemberg to the rank of kings. This foreshadowed the end of the Holy Roman Empire, which was eventually renounced by Francis II within months of the treaty signing.
The French gains from 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 Treaty of Pressburg was an integral part of Napoleon's policy of creating a ring of French client states beyond the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees.
As per the treaty, Austria also agreed to pay an indemnity of 40,000,000 gold francs to France. As small compensation, Napoleon allowed Austria to annex Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, and the estates of the Teutonic Order.
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Frequently asked questions
Napoleon first invaded Austria in 1805, taking Vienna in November of that year.
The first battle of the invasion was the Battle of Ulm, where Napoleon surrounded and compelled an Austrian army to surrender.
The most significant battle of the invasion was the Battle of Austerlitz, which took place on 2 December 1805.
The Battle of Austerlitz was a decisive victory for Napoleon, forcing the Austrians to make peace with the Treaty of Pressburg.
Yes, Napoleon occupied Vienna for a second time in 1809, setting up his quarters in Schönbrunn Palace.
