Battlefields. Michael Rayner
is taken by Sergeant Ewart of the Scots Greys.
By Michael Rayner
The Napoleonic Wars is the name given to the period of warfare primarily between France, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austria from 1804 – when Napoleon Bonaparte became emperor of France – to 1815 when the war finished at the end of the Campaign of the Hundred Days. Some writers would start the period with Napoleon becoming First Consul of France in 1799. In addition, the Napoleonic Wars were an extension of the French Revolutionary Wars, begun in 1792 and continuing throughout the remainder of the 1790s. In many ways this period of virtually unrelenting warfare can be seen as a world war, 100 years before the start of the more widely recognized World War I. Fighting against France and her sister republics, satellite states and allies was widespread, not only across the entire continent of Europe, but into the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. The war of 1812 between Britain and the USA is also directly related to the conflict with Napoleon, while naval warfare took place around the globe.
The wars follow a pattern of rise and fall, with Napoleon scoring a string of brilliant victories against the armies of the opposing coalition powers, before experiencing a general decline and defeats for his armies until his final downfall at Waterloo. Throughout the period Napoleon was unable to make headway against British naval power, especially after the battle of Trafalgar (1805). On land his early successes were due in large part to the superiority of his armies, fighting in a more flexible way to that of his enemies and with greater vigour, thanks to changes in warfare during the 1790s. Napoleon’s generalship also played a part in this success, although writers disagree as to the extent of this as a key factor, some preferring to single out the weaknesses of the allied generals and their armies -- or even Napoleon’s good luck. Whatever the causes, his armies won a series of stunning victories: at Austerlitz against the Austrians and Russians in 1805; at Jena and Auerstädt against Prussia in 1806; versus Russia at Friedland in 1807; against Austria at Wagram in 1809.
The armies of the coalition had started to reorganize their forces and tactics on the French model by 1809, leading to harder won victories for Napoleon. He overreached himself after deciding to invade Portugal in 1807 and then imposing French rule on Spain in 1808, events which led to the Peninsular War. Part of the reason for this was to impose his Continental System of trade embargoes against Britain, which later led to his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812. In the Peninsular War, Britain was able to gain a foothold for her army in Europe, fighting alongside Portuguese and Spanish forces, leading to a string of victories in the field for General Arthur Wellesley (the Duke of Wellington), including those at Talavera, Salamanca and Vittoria.
Despite these setbacks for his forces, Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, leading to the hard-fought battle of Borodino and the capture of Moscow, before a catastrophic retreat. Following this disaster, the coalition opposing him strengthened, acting in a more coordinated way than before, leading to the Battle of Leipzig, or the Battle of the Nations, in 1813. A defensive campaign in France could not prevent defeat and abdication for Napoleon. Exiled to Elba in the Mediterranean in May 1814, he escaped in February 1815 to become emperor once more. This led to the Campaign of the Hundred Days and his ultimate defeat at Waterloo, bringing to an end not only his rule, but an era.
Mack, the most effective of the Austrian generals, offers his sword to Napoleon in surrender. Returning the sword, Napoleon sought to console him with the words ‘All empires come to an end.’
AUSTERLITZ 1805
By Michael Hannon
The Peace of Amiens was no more than a temporary truce, and resumption of the war was inevitable. Following the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French on 2 December 1804, the British Prime Minister, William Pitt, successfully organized the third allied coalition (see panel opposite for background).
Austria and Russia began another attempt to restore the situation to that of 1789 and Napoleon realized that the invasion plan would have to be shelved for the time being. Striking camp at Boulogne on 23 August, the Grande Armée was on the Rhine a month later. Never before had such a force been assembled and moved with such speed and precision. French organization and staff work was impeccable, and the standard of training of the rank and file was far superior to that of any enemy. It was organized in seven army corps, totalling nearly 220,000 men, including 30,000 cavalry and nearly 400 guns.
As so often among allies, the enemy suffered from confusion, not least because Russia was still using the Julian calendar, so a difference of ten days between dates went unnoticed until vital deadlines were missed. The Russian army of General Kutuzov arrived on the River Inn ten days after it was expected by the Austrians. Furthermore, they were not entirely agreed on priorities; the Austrians wanted the main effort in Northern Italy; the British urged for it to be in central Germany, with a view to involving Prussia; Russia was mistrusted by both for its designs on Poland and preoccupation with the Turks, and was anyway very slow to mobilize.
Austria and Russia were each to provide three armies, none of them in a very high state of training. The nominal Austrian commanders were three of the brothers of the Emperor Francis II, who himself was commander in chief. The Archduke Charles had the army in Italy, John was in the Tyrol and Ferdinand (with General Karl Mack at his elbow) in Bavaria. The Russian commanders were Kutuzov, Buxhöwden and Bennigsen. Kutuzov was advancing slowly through Moravia. Duke Feodor Feodorovich (Friedrich Wilhelm) Buxhöwden and Bennigsen, both waited for permission from Prussia to move across Silesia.
The Grande Armée crossed the Rhine on 25 September, and, by mid-October, most of Archduke Ferdinand’s army was surrounded at Ulm. Ferdinand himself deserted General Mack, who was thus obliged to surrender on 20 October. The French took between 50,000 and 60,000 prisoners, who marched out of the town the following day. As they did so, Lord Nelson was destroying the combined fleets of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar. The Shark was now supreme on the oceans; the Tiger was about to demonstrate invincibility on land.
THE TIGER AND THE SHARK
During the first few years of the French Revolution, 1789–92, the other four powers were more or less content with events in France. Great Britain foresaw an opportunity to enlarge her empire at the expense of her long-standing enemy, and the others (Austria, Russia and Prussia) were more concerned with acquiring as large a share as possible of Poland. But it soon became apparent that the French were determined to export their revolutionary principles to all of Europe, if not the world; so war was inevitable.
Between 1792 and 1799 France established control of most of the European mainland, but surrendered control of the seas to Britain’s Royal Navy. The destruction of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 was the thin end of the wedge that would eventually crush Napoleon’s Empire. By the time the Peace of Amiens was signed in March 1802, the situation was that of ’the Tiger and the Shark’: Britain had a navy but no available army due to operations in India; France had a vastly superior army. Neither was capable of inflicting much damage on the other. Britain therefore needed to hire some help to maintain the balance of power and had resorted to subsidizing the armies of Austria and Russia.
Napoleon, established as First Consul of France in February 1800, appreciated that to achieve his objective of European hegemony he must, sooner or later, eliminate England from the equation. He planned an invasion, and the Grande Armée of some 220,000 men was concentrated at Boulogne. Training was rigorous, discipline strict, and morale high. Furthermore, the army was now organized into corps of two or more divisions, each having its own dedicated staff officers, and its own infantry regiments, cavalry, artillery and wagon trains.