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The Napoleonic Wars, which originated in the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars, saw Napoleon clash with several coalitions of European powers, including Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The War of the Third Coalition, which included Austria and Russia, culminated in the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, a decisive victory for Napoleon that forced the Austrian Empire out of the war. Prussia then led the formation of the Fourth Coalition, which resumed war in 1806 but suffered a swift defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. Napoleon also defeated the Russians at Friedland, establishing powerful client states in Eastern Europe. In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia, leading to the near-destruction of his Grande Armée and encouraging the formation of the Sixth Coalition, which included Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain. This coalition decisively defeated Napoleon and forced his abdication and exile to Elba in 1814. After his escape and return to power in 1815, the great powers of the United Kingdom, Austria, Prussia, and Russia signed the Quadruple Alliance against France.
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What You'll Learn
The Battle of Austerlitz
In the lead-up to the battle, Napoleon gave the impression that his army was weak and that he desired a negotiated peace. He intentionally expressed anxiety and hesitation to his opponents, luring them into a false sense of security. Napoleon's army of around 68,000 troops was significantly outnumbered by the Russian and Austrian forces, which totalled almost 90,000. However, the French Emperor's clever tactics and strategic positioning of his troops more than made up for the disparity in numbers.
The battle began with Napoleon's troops occupying the Pratzen Heights, a gently sloping hill that was a key piece of terrain on the battlefield. The Allied troops attacked the French right flank, while Kutuzov, recognizing the importance of the Pratzen Heights, decided to protect this position. However, the young Tsar disagreed and ordered the IV Corps to withdraw from the Heights, a decision that ultimately sealed the fate of the Allied army. Napoleon seized the opportunity and ordered his troops to advance, famously declaring, "One sharp blow and the war is over."
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The Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation was created to act as a buffer state from any future aggressions from Austria, Russia, or Prussia against France. It was a virtual satellite of the French Empire, with Napoleon as its "Protector". The individual states varied in their levels of French influence and internal autonomy, with some being ruled by relatives of Napoleon, such as the Kingdom of Westphalia under Jerome Bonaparte. The Confederation was at its largest in 1808, including four kingdoms, five grand duchies, 13 duchies, 17 principalities, and the Free Hansa towns of Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen.
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The Treaty of Pressburg
The treaty was a direct result of the French victory over the Russians and Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, 1805. This battle, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was a pivotal moment in the Napoleonic Wars, involving around 158,000 troops and resulting in around 24,000 casualties. Napoleon's tactical genius was on full display, and his victory brought the War of the Third Coalition to an end.
The treaty also imposed a financial burden on Austria, requiring the payment of an indemnity of 40 million francs to France. This indemnity, along with the territorial concessions, was intended to compensate France and its allies for their victories and to solidify their control over the region. The Treaty of Pressburg played a crucial role in Napoleon's broader strategy of creating a ring of French client states beyond the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees.
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The Peninsular War
The war started when a joint Franco-Spanish force invaded Portugal, with Napoleon forcing the abdication of Ferdinand VII and his father Charles IV, installing his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. Most Spaniards rejected French rule and fought a bloody war to oust them. The British, led by Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, joined the war in August 1808, landing 15,000 troops in Portugal. Wellesley drove back the French at Roliça and Vimeiro but was then replaced by Generals Sir Harry Burrard and Sir Hew Dalrymple, who controversially granted the French an unmolested evacuation from Portugal by the Royal Navy in the Convention of Cintra. This caused a scandal in Britain, and Wellesley was recalled. He was replaced by Sir John Moore, who took command of a 30,000-man British force in Portugal.
For the next two years, the battles in Spain and Portugal were inconclusive, but they wore down the resources of the French. In 1811–12, Napoleon directed his attention towards Russia, and the peninsular armies were not only left unsupported but also lost men to the Grand Army marching east. This allowed Wellington to begin his advance into Spain from his base in Portugal in 1812. He scored a decisive victory at the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813, forcing Joseph Bonaparte to withdraw from Spain. Wellington then fought his way across the Pyrenees into France in August 1813. Napoleon recognised the impossibility of retaining Spain and released Ferdinand VII.
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The War of the Third Coalition
The war was sparked by Napoleon's growing influence in Germany and Italy, which threatened several European powers. In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French Empire, and in 1805, he annexed Piedmont and Elba before crowning himself King of Italy, in direct violation of previous treaties with Austria. He also violated the sovereignty of neutral Baden to kidnap and execute the Duke of Enghien, a Bourbon prince, further angering European powers.
In response to Napoleon's actions, British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger embarked on a diplomatic campaign to build a third anti-French coalition. By August 1805, Pitt's coalition had been joined by Austria, Naples, Sicily, Russia, and Sweden, who all declared war with the intention of reducing France to its 1792 pre-war borders. Prussia decided to remain neutral after France offered to give it Hanover in return for its neutrality.
The major land operations that sealed the swift French victory involved the Ulm Campaign, a large manoeuvre by the Grande Armée that captured an entire Austrian army, and the decisive French victory over a combined Austro-Russian force under Alexander I of Russia at the Battle of Austerlitz in December 1805. Austerlitz effectively brought the Third Coalition to an end, and on 26 December 1805, Austria and France signed the Treaty of Pressburg, which took Austria out of the war and the Coalition.
Despite the end of the Third Coalition, Britain remained at war with France, and the War of the Fourth Coalition began in 1806, with Prussia and Russia joining the fight against Napoleon's French Empire.
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Frequently asked questions
Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812 with an army of nearly half a million soldiers.
Napoleon invaded Vienna, Austria in May 1809.
Napoleon fought against Prussia in 1806, defeating them in just 19 days at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt.
