Battles of Aspern-Essling
and Wagram 1809
Part I

Aspern-Essling 21-22 May

Illustrated with Modern Photographs

Article and Photos © by John Salmon

A Brief Summary of the Opening Moves

The campaign of 1809 contained some of Napoleon's worst and best performances. An initial misreading of the international situation had allowed French forces to become embroiled in Spain. This proved to be a bottomless pit that swallowed men and resources in a never ending drain upon the Empire. The Austrians, under their best commander the Archduke Charles, were able to steal the initiative and launch a surprise invasion of Bavaria, a close ally of France, on the 9 April. The 1809 campagn, although fought over much the same ground as that of 1805, would not be a repeat of that year's renown. There would be no almost bloodless victories as that over Mack at Ulm ( 17 October 1805) instead there would be defeat at Aspern-Essling (21-22 May 1809). The glory that was attached to the Emperor's crowning victory at Austerlitz (2 December 1805) was lacking in the conclusive battle of the campagn, Wagram (5-6 July ), which would be a crude slogging match in comparison. In 1809 cracks were beginning to appear in the grand Napoleonic edifice, most crucially of all the Emperor himself was showing signs of diminishing performance. Never the less, even his lower performance standard was more than sufficient to defeat yet another coalition against him.

Napoleon had though been caught off guard and was surprised by the Austrian attack. The Emperor had to scramble together a force to counter the Austrian thrusts, moves not helped by his absence from the army. In his place Marshal Berthier commanded, a role he was not suited for. Much confusion reigned in French ranks. This would not be resolved until 17 April when Napoleon joined the army, no one was more relieved than Berthier who gladly returned to his role as chief staff officer.

In his customary manner Napoleon regained the initiative in a series of battles Abensberg ( 20 April), Landshut (21 April), Eckmühl (22 April) and with the storming of Ratisbon (23 April). It was at Ratisbon that a spent ball slightly wounded Napoleon in the right ankle, news of this incident was communicated around the army like wild fire. The Emperor had to ride amongst his men to prove he was not critically injured, if he had have been or even killed then the armies moral would probably have suffered a catastrophic crisis of morale. (By the way if you are desperately trying to find Ratisbon on the map it is now called Regensburg, and mightily confused I was until I twigged to that one).

Although Napoleon inflicted a series of defeats upon the Austrians he had not been able to deliver the crushing decisive blow that would end the war. Far from it, Archduke Charles had managed to extract the greater part of his army and was conducting a fighting withdrawal down the Danube valley. He could not save the Austrian capital of Vienna, which fell to Napoleon on 13 May. Significantly the Austrians had destroyed all the bridges allowing access to the north bank of the Danube. If he wanted to get at the main Austrian army, which was Napoleons principle objective, the Emperor would have to accomplish a successful river crossing.

This is one of the most dangerous procedures in the Art of War, never the less Napoleon looked for a away to cross the Danube. He decided to attempt a crossing by bridging the river and leap frogging from island to island. The principal link in the chain was the large island of Lobau, whose curving shape allowed artillery to give covering fire for the troops debauched onto the plain of the Marchfeld. On either flank would be the small villages of Aspern and Essling, names which would mark the first major European defeat in Napoleon's career.1

Round One, the Battle of Aspern - Essling

Massena's IV corps crossed to the north bank of the Danube via Lobau Island on the 20 May and occupied Aspern and Essling. These villages were to form the flank guards for Napoleon's thrust jump across the river. Hulks and a swift current broke the bridge in the late afternoon leaving the corps isolated on the northern bank. Cavalry scouts failed to find the enemy who were intact watching every move the French made from an observation post on the Bissamberg mountain to the north of Vienna. Archduke Charles manoeuvred some 95,000 with 200 guns ready for an attack against the French on the 21.

Working late into the night engineers repaired the bridge only to have it break again next morning, by which time 24,000 men and 60 guns were across the river. In the early afternoon the Austrians dissipated their great strength with uncoordinated attacks on the villages. Lannes, who have crossed over with part of his corps, defended Essling whilst Massena fought at Aspern. Both actions were fierce and bloody affairs with street fighting moving from house to house. The centre was controlled by a large cavalry force under Bessieres.

The bridge was repaired late in the evening and more reinforcements moved over the river to bolster the defenders. French numbers were now up to 31,500 men but they still faced odds of three to one. Every moment the fragile bridges bringing more men and just as vital ammunition across the Danube were threatened by hulks floated down stream by the Austrians. A rising river with an increasingly powerful current also threatened this tenuous link, Napoleon had been caught with his army divided by large river. If the roles had been reversed it is almost certain that the Emperor would have destroyed the isolated force. However, good though he was, Archduke Charles was no Napoleon, he did not have that all consuming will for victory that could press an attack despite mounting casualties.

Early on the 22nd even more men, including the Imperial Guard, moved over to the north bank. Attacks by the French regained ground lost in Aspern and successfully defeated yet another Austrian attack on Essling. Napoleon, true his aggressive style of command, decided to attack the Austrian centre. At 7:00 A.M. Lannes led three divisions of II Corps with cavalry support against the Austrian line. Casualties inflicted by the Austrian artillery were grievous, partly due to the inexperience of the French troops. Dense column formations had had to be used to manoeuvre them across the battlefield and into their attacks. The time needed for the lengthy training and drill necessary to enable troops to manoeuvre from columns into lines in the face of the enemy had not been available. What would Napoleon have given to have some of his more experienced troops with him in Austria instead of dissipating them in the barren killing fields of Spain?

Never the less these inexperienced troops came within an ace of breaking the Austrian line and winning victory for their Emperor. French cavalry under Bessiers thrust forward in an attempt to rupture the Austrian line. It was only by the personal intervention of Archduke Charles, who rushed up reinforcements. Carrying the flag of the Zach Grenadier regiment he rallied the wavering troops. The line was held and the French attack halted. Behind them the bridge over the Danube was broken yet again by floating hulks. Davout's corps was prevented from crossing and equally as important vital supplies of ammunition were stopped. Lannes was instructed by Napoleon to pull back to the Aspern - Essling line.

The Austrians meanwhile moved to the counter attack and succeeded in capturing most of Essling with the exception of the famous Granary. This stout building was defended by the remnants of Boudet's division. General Rapp was ordered by Napoleon to take two battalions of the Young Guard and help Boudet's men withdrawal. Against orders Rapp persuaded Mouton to assist him with three more battalions. The rescue attempt was successful and Napoleon later commended Rapp for his work.

The Austrians maintained the pressure on Napoleon's forces and the bridge was finally smashed when a large floating granary was set alight and floated downstream. Despite valiant efforts by the troops on the spot it demolished a great chunk of the bridge and effectively cut off the French forces from any support coming from the south bank. By 2:00 P.M. even Napoleon had to admit that the situation of his troops on the north bank was untenable. He ordered a withdrawal to Lobau Island and the bridge linking it to the north bank dismantled. It was during this withdrawal that Lannes, the Marshall who was the nearest Napoleon had to a true friend, was mortally wounded.

The Battle Appraised

The Archduke Charles had prevented Napoleon from transferring the bulk of his army to the north bank of the Danube and had inflicted some 21,000 casualties on the 73,000 troops engaged. He could justifiably claim a victory, but the cost was over 23,000 casualties in his own army. Even with a victory the Austrians had not regained the initiative. Napoleon would reorganise his army, call up reinforcements, and build bridges that would be able to withstand both the Danube and the best efforts of the Austrians. Next time he was determined to get all of his army across and to maintain his communications across the Danube. He may have lost a battle but the campaign was far from over.

In the next issue I will describe the second round of this conflict, the battle of Wagram.

Bibliography

Dear Dr. Chandler, where would we be without you?

David Chandler, Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, Greenhill Books, 1993.
David Chandler, Austerlitz 1805, Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1990.
David Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon, MacMillan Publishing, 1966.
John H. Gill, With Eagles to Glory, Greenhill Books, 1992
All photographs are by myself and I hold the copyright.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Alan Rooney of Midas Battlefield Tours for a most interesting and enjoyable trip to Austria in 1997. It was good to have an expert along to navigate us through the flat terrain and describe the battles, as well as finding excellent Pizza parlours.

As always, many thanks to my wife Elizabeth who translated the German text on many memorials. She has also had to suffer proof reading this and many other efforts, her patience is never ending.

Footnote:

1 Napoleon failed at the siege of Acre, 18 March - 20 May 1799, the battle of Eylau 7-8 February 1807, was a bloody draw although this did not stop Napoleon claiming it as a victory. Aspern-Essling was a defeat, or at the very least a severe setback.

More Aspern-Essling

Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #47
Back to First Empire List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1999 by First Empire.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com