Chapter 78: The Second Great War: 1809-1810 (II)
Chapter 78: The Second Great War: 1809-1810 (II)
By the fourth year of war Karl VIII of Germany became determined to finish the conflict by all means. He feared, rightly, that the Austrian Empire, conspicuous for its neutrality, in its secret parallel negotiations with both sides (with Germany's enemies, demanding annexations in exchange for ist intervention, and with Berlin, to gain territory if neutral), had reached a deal with London and was preparing to enter the war. In fact, Vienna had reached an agreement with London and Barcelona. By its clauses, Austria was to annex Bavaria and to turn the remaining southern German states into vassals. In exchange for this, the Austrian Empire was to join the war in the Summer of 1810 with an all-out offensive towards Berlin. Karl and Alexander III of Russia were divided on the best strategy for the war, Alexander favoured a concentration of Russian and German forces and an attack could quickly isolate the French in northern France, leaving Paris open for an attack. Karl disagreed because that move would leave the Rhine line almost undefended, so he suggested that the main attack should be launched from the Rhine to maintain. In the end Alexander prevailed, as the Russian force would greatly outnumber the German army, but the disagreement delayed the war preparations by a month. The German plan called for Archduke Karl, with 38,000 troops, and General Levin August von Bennigsen with 20,000 soldiers, to attack Strasbourg. The German center and reserve, comprising 66,000 men of three corps under the overall command of Friedrich Graf von Kleist, would move toward Colmar and guard the army's flank. However, a sizable Russo-German force was kept back in Germany in case Austria attacked. Eventually, the adopted plan had von Kleist protecting the Rhine and launching a feint attack towards Strasbourg while Archduke Karl's army would join hands with Field Marshall Michae Barclay de Tolly, who would mass 140,000 Russian forces. Then, together, they would march towards Paris through Metz.
Buonaparte, however, hit first. In the early morning of 10 April 1810, leading elements of the French and Occitan army crossed the Rhine towards Bavaria. However, bad roads and freezing rain slowed the Allied advance in the first week, but von Kleist gradually retreated towards Baden-Baden. The Allied attack had occurred about a week before Karl and Alexander anticipated, disrupting their plans. Thus, Karl VIII ordered his namesake to attack before 15 April, but the Archduke kept the bulk of his army in place and only launched diversionary raids against the enemy flank. By April 17 Karl VIII realised that the bulk of Buonaparte's army had crossed the Rhine. On April 21 he ordered von Kleist to hold his ground and demanded Archduke Karl to attack with all his forces the invading force. This signalled the beginning of a month of flanking maneuvers as the two armies attempted to overcome its enemy. Karl defeated an enemy corps at Rastadt (April 22) and stopped the enemy advance at Brüchgraben (April 23). Buonaparte then withdrew to avoid being pushed against the Rhine and, once on the other side, waited for the next move of his enemy. After a bloody crossing of the Rhine at Drusenheim (May 3), the German commander realized that the situation had been turned and now Buonaparte was the one blocking the advance of the German army. Thus turn of events had a sobbering effect over the Austrian government, and the mobilization plans were quietly abandoned. There would be no Austrian intervention.
On May 16 and 17 Karl gathered his force along with some Russian reinforcements. Mustering 100,000 men and 120 guns, he launched a frontal assault against Buonaparte's line (May 20-21). He crossed the Rhine but he was attacked and forced back across the river by the Allied army. After losing 25,000 men, Karl returned to its starting line to lick his wounds. Buonaparte, who had lost around 19,000 men, waited for reinforcements while pondering about the next move of his enemy. Karl and Barclay de Tolly took six weeks to plan and prepare contingencies before launching their next offensive. Returning to the original plans of moving towards Paris through Metz, they brought more troops, more guns, and on June 30, with more than 188,000 troops, they marched against Metz. Karl ordered a general advance at noon on 5 July; Buonaparte was forced to race northwards to join hands with Marshal Jean Lannes to block the enemy advance.
What followed was a costly but decisive victory for the German and Russian Emperors. It began on July 11 when the German forces attempted an early breakthrough and launched a series of evening attacks against the Aragonese army. The Aragonese were thinly spread in a wide semicircle, but held a naturally strong position. After the attackers enjoyed some initial success, the withering fire of the defenders decimated the enemy first ranks and the attacks failed. Bolstered by his success, the next day at dawn Buonaparte launched a series of attacks along the entire battle line, seeking to trap the opposing army in a double envelopment. The offensive failed against the German right but nearly broke the Russian left. However, General Pavel Vasilyevich Chichagov countered by launching a Cossack charge, which temporarily halted the French advance. He then redeployed his forces while Barclay de Tolly formed a grand battery, which pounded the Allied right and centre. The tide of battle turned and Karl VIII launched an offensive along the entire line, but Lannes held his ground until his left wing was enveloped, and rendered his position untenable. Towards mid-afternoon on July 12 Lannes was fatally wounded and Buonaparte admitted defeat and led a retreat, frustrating enemy attempts to pursue. When the defeat was known in París, the French government decided to ask for an armistice, effectively ending the war.
With 47,000 casualties, the two-day battle of Metz was particularly bloody, mainly due to the use of 450 artillery pieces on a flat battlefield packed with some 350,000 men. Although Karl and Alexander were the uncontested winners, they were unable to secure an overwhelming victory and the Allied casualties were only slightly greater than theirs. Nonetheless, the defeat was serious enough to shatter the French morale, who could no longer find the will to continue the struggle, and to persuade Taberner to end the war and to cut losses.
The resulting Treaty of Frankfurt (September 6 1810) meant the loss of Alsace and Lorraine while the Champagne and Bourgougne regions were remade as the Duchy of Burgundy. Then Karl made his younger brother Frederick the new Duke of Burgundy. With a single blow, France had lost half of its territory. The new Duchy was then expanded southwards at the expense of Aragon-Occitània: all its lands to the north and west of the Loira and Isèra₁ rivers were annexed to Burgundy.
In the end Tsar Alexander III of Russia had to intervene to stop the dissolution of France, since the next thing that Karl VIII had in mind was the creation of the independent kingdoms of Normandy and Brittany. Fearing that such demands might prompt the French and their allies to restart the war at once, the Tsar had to work hard to persuade the Kaiser to abandon these plans.
France still existed, but for how long?
₁ - OTL Loire and Isère rivers.
By the fourth year of war Karl VIII of Germany became determined to finish the conflict by all means. He feared, rightly, that the Austrian Empire, conspicuous for its neutrality, in its secret parallel negotiations with both sides (with Germany's enemies, demanding annexations in exchange for ist intervention, and with Berlin, to gain territory if neutral), had reached a deal with London and was preparing to enter the war. In fact, Vienna had reached an agreement with London and Barcelona. By its clauses, Austria was to annex Bavaria and to turn the remaining southern German states into vassals. In exchange for this, the Austrian Empire was to join the war in the Summer of 1810 with an all-out offensive towards Berlin. Karl and Alexander III of Russia were divided on the best strategy for the war, Alexander favoured a concentration of Russian and German forces and an attack could quickly isolate the French in northern France, leaving Paris open for an attack. Karl disagreed because that move would leave the Rhine line almost undefended, so he suggested that the main attack should be launched from the Rhine to maintain. In the end Alexander prevailed, as the Russian force would greatly outnumber the German army, but the disagreement delayed the war preparations by a month. The German plan called for Archduke Karl, with 38,000 troops, and General Levin August von Bennigsen with 20,000 soldiers, to attack Strasbourg. The German center and reserve, comprising 66,000 men of three corps under the overall command of Friedrich Graf von Kleist, would move toward Colmar and guard the army's flank. However, a sizable Russo-German force was kept back in Germany in case Austria attacked. Eventually, the adopted plan had von Kleist protecting the Rhine and launching a feint attack towards Strasbourg while Archduke Karl's army would join hands with Field Marshall Michae Barclay de Tolly, who would mass 140,000 Russian forces. Then, together, they would march towards Paris through Metz.
Buonaparte, however, hit first. In the early morning of 10 April 1810, leading elements of the French and Occitan army crossed the Rhine towards Bavaria. However, bad roads and freezing rain slowed the Allied advance in the first week, but von Kleist gradually retreated towards Baden-Baden. The Allied attack had occurred about a week before Karl and Alexander anticipated, disrupting their plans. Thus, Karl VIII ordered his namesake to attack before 15 April, but the Archduke kept the bulk of his army in place and only launched diversionary raids against the enemy flank. By April 17 Karl VIII realised that the bulk of Buonaparte's army had crossed the Rhine. On April 21 he ordered von Kleist to hold his ground and demanded Archduke Karl to attack with all his forces the invading force. This signalled the beginning of a month of flanking maneuvers as the two armies attempted to overcome its enemy. Karl defeated an enemy corps at Rastadt (April 22) and stopped the enemy advance at Brüchgraben (April 23). Buonaparte then withdrew to avoid being pushed against the Rhine and, once on the other side, waited for the next move of his enemy. After a bloody crossing of the Rhine at Drusenheim (May 3), the German commander realized that the situation had been turned and now Buonaparte was the one blocking the advance of the German army. Thus turn of events had a sobbering effect over the Austrian government, and the mobilization plans were quietly abandoned. There would be no Austrian intervention.
On May 16 and 17 Karl gathered his force along with some Russian reinforcements. Mustering 100,000 men and 120 guns, he launched a frontal assault against Buonaparte's line (May 20-21). He crossed the Rhine but he was attacked and forced back across the river by the Allied army. After losing 25,000 men, Karl returned to its starting line to lick his wounds. Buonaparte, who had lost around 19,000 men, waited for reinforcements while pondering about the next move of his enemy. Karl and Barclay de Tolly took six weeks to plan and prepare contingencies before launching their next offensive. Returning to the original plans of moving towards Paris through Metz, they brought more troops, more guns, and on June 30, with more than 188,000 troops, they marched against Metz. Karl ordered a general advance at noon on 5 July; Buonaparte was forced to race northwards to join hands with Marshal Jean Lannes to block the enemy advance.
What followed was a costly but decisive victory for the German and Russian Emperors. It began on July 11 when the German forces attempted an early breakthrough and launched a series of evening attacks against the Aragonese army. The Aragonese were thinly spread in a wide semicircle, but held a naturally strong position. After the attackers enjoyed some initial success, the withering fire of the defenders decimated the enemy first ranks and the attacks failed. Bolstered by his success, the next day at dawn Buonaparte launched a series of attacks along the entire battle line, seeking to trap the opposing army in a double envelopment. The offensive failed against the German right but nearly broke the Russian left. However, General Pavel Vasilyevich Chichagov countered by launching a Cossack charge, which temporarily halted the French advance. He then redeployed his forces while Barclay de Tolly formed a grand battery, which pounded the Allied right and centre. The tide of battle turned and Karl VIII launched an offensive along the entire line, but Lannes held his ground until his left wing was enveloped, and rendered his position untenable. Towards mid-afternoon on July 12 Lannes was fatally wounded and Buonaparte admitted defeat and led a retreat, frustrating enemy attempts to pursue. When the defeat was known in París, the French government decided to ask for an armistice, effectively ending the war.
With 47,000 casualties, the two-day battle of Metz was particularly bloody, mainly due to the use of 450 artillery pieces on a flat battlefield packed with some 350,000 men. Although Karl and Alexander were the uncontested winners, they were unable to secure an overwhelming victory and the Allied casualties were only slightly greater than theirs. Nonetheless, the defeat was serious enough to shatter the French morale, who could no longer find the will to continue the struggle, and to persuade Taberner to end the war and to cut losses.
The resulting Treaty of Frankfurt (September 6 1810) meant the loss of Alsace and Lorraine while the Champagne and Bourgougne regions were remade as the Duchy of Burgundy. Then Karl made his younger brother Frederick the new Duke of Burgundy. With a single blow, France had lost half of its territory. The new Duchy was then expanded southwards at the expense of Aragon-Occitània: all its lands to the north and west of the Loira and Isèra₁ rivers were annexed to Burgundy.
In the end Tsar Alexander III of Russia had to intervene to stop the dissolution of France, since the next thing that Karl VIII had in mind was the creation of the independent kingdoms of Normandy and Brittany. Fearing that such demands might prompt the French and their allies to restart the war at once, the Tsar had to work hard to persuade the Kaiser to abandon these plans.
France still existed, but for how long?
₁ - OTL Loire and Isère rivers.
Last edited: