Battle of Wagram

Battle of Wagram
Part of the War of the Fifth Coalition
A bivouac of Polish Uhlans at Wagram painted by January Suchodolski
Date July 5-6, 1809 Location North-east of Vienna, Austria Result French victory
Combatants
First French Empire, Kingdom of Saxony, Kingdom of Bavaria	Austrian Empire
Commanders
Napoleon I	Archduke Charles
Strength
180,000	155,000
Casualties
34,000	40,000

The Battle of Wagram, around the isle of Lobau on the Danube and on the plain of the Marchfeld around the town of Deutsch-Wagram, 15 km north-east of Vienna, Austria, took place on July 5 and 6, 1809 and resulted in a victory of French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte over the Austrians under Archduke Charles.

Artillery was a major factor with 300,000 men clashing in the largest battle yet of the Napoleonic Wars. Casualties soared above 80,000, with the Austrians losing slightly more than the French. The engagement effectively brought the War of the Fifth Coalition to an end.

Prelude

After the strategic disaster at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon reinforced his main army with a Bavarian division under General Wrede and stocked up on supplies at Lobau Island just north of Vienna. Marmont, Prince Eugene and Józef Antoni Poniatowski were causing problems on all fronts for the Austrian army. However, a major revolt in Tyrol led by Andreas Hofer saw to the fact that Napoleon could not call in any more Bavarian troops. At the same time Britain was preparing to invade northern Europe, meaning extra troops from France would not be forthcoming. However, Napoleon recalled his Army of Italy under Eugene and MacDonald and those troops had joined him by the time of the battle. Napoleon prepared himself and by July, 1809 he was ready to take another shot at Archduke Charles' army.

The battle

By the day of the battle, Lobau Island was a massive warehouse and Napoleon was ready to move out. Using a fortified bridgehead, Napoleon started a full scale crossing of the island with his 190,000 men. On the other side of the Marchfeld, Archduke Charles was busy maneuvering 140,000 men on the Heights of Russbach. Marshal Berthier, Napoleon's chief of staff, when giving orders to the various corps, accidentally assigned the same bridge to 2 corps. Although a very long delay ensued, Davout, Massena and Oudinot and their corps were across. Bernadotte and his Saxons joined them, and on the 5th of July, Napoleon began his deployment near Aspern and Essling. Artillery smashed up the area around the two towns whilst the French army deployed. A few outpost divisions under generals Nordmann and Klenau were sent reeling back, battered to a pulp, and by noon all of the area around Aspern and Essling was in the hands of the French. By late afternoon, the French army formed a semicircle with Masséna on the extreme left, then centre with Bernadotte, Eugène and Oudinot, Davout formed the right flank. By nightfall, in an attempt to decide the battle in a single day and to prevent the Austrian reserves under Archduke John coming up, Napoleon ordered a final attack. The attack by MacDonald's troops was poorly coordinated and although it carried the high ground beyond Wagram, the attack failed under the heavy Austrian fire.

At dawn of the following day, the Austrians first counterattacked the French right flank. This move was designed as a feint in order to draw French reserves away. The real attack was aimed at the French left around the village of Aderklaa where the Austrians succeeded in throwing back Bernadotte's Saxons. To stem the Austrian attack, Napoleon created a Grand Battery of 112 cannon which poured shot into the advancing Austrian formations. Masséna's Corps was then called upon the stabilize the Saxon front and in cooperation with the cavalry was able to hold the river line. Meanwhile on the French right flank things were going better, with Oudinot and Davout advancing.

The decisive attack of the battle was launched against the Austrian advancing centre by General Macdonald, for which he was granted the Marshal's baton on the field of battle. MacDonald made his troops form a wedge about 8,000 strong and utilizing this formation, after ferocious fighting at bayonet point, he broke through the Austrian center, splitting the army and winning the day for the Emperor.

Charles had sent for help from his brother, Archduke Johann, but Johann only got his troops (13,000) on the road by the next morning, far too late to help Charles. Five days after the battle, Charles had to bow to the inevitable and sued for peace.

After the battle MacDonald, Oudinot and Marmont were given the Marshal's baton and the army had soon a new chant about the three men:La France a nommé MacDonald, L'armée a nommé Oudinot, L'amitié a nommé Marmont (France chose MacDonald, the army chose Oudinot, friendship chose Marmont).

Present day

Avenue de Wagram, one of the avenues leading up to the Arc de Triomphe on the Place de l'Etoile in Paris, France, is named after this battle.

External links

• Napoleon, His Army and Enemies
• A wargame on the battle of Wagram
• Austrian Artillery during the Napoleonic Wars

References

• David Chandler, Napoleon's Marshals, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1998, p 247-251.

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