Battle of Aspern-Essling

This is Part 2 of a 2-Day series covering the Battle of Aspern-Essling in the 5th Coalition War when Napoleon suffered his first personal defeat in almost a decade.

22 May 1809 marks Day 2 of the Battle of Aspern-Essling in the 5th Coalition War when Field Marshal Archduke Karl von Österreich’s 89,593 Imperial Austrian Army* infantry, 12,918 cavalry, 2,600 gunners & 288 guns defeated Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s 55,607 French, 2,500 Hessian & 881 Italian infantry; 13,247 French, 840 German** & 414 Polish cavalry; 2,905 French & 187 Hessian gunners & 144 French & 6 Hessian guns, totaling 58,988 infantry, 14,501 cavalry, 3,092 gunners & 150 guns.

Napoleon led part of his army over the Danube & into a trap on 21 May. Karl cut the bridges, isolating Napoleon. He then attacked, hoping to crush Napoleon against the river. In 7 hours of hard fighting, Napoleon repelled him. Both sides settled down to an exhausted sleep. The Austrians were elated. They’d mauled the French. They were eager to continue. Despite failing to destroy Napoleon, Karl was confident. He still had an overwhelming force.

In the night, Napoleon’s engineers repaired the bridges. Bessieres’ remaining cavalry & 3 divisions of Lannes’ II Corps crossed. The bridge broke again. But Napoleon’s force had doubled. He planned for Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout’s III Corps to cross elsewhere. Davout would attack Karl’s flank while Napoleon attacked his front. With Karl destroyed, his brother Emperor Franz I von Österreich would surely sue for peace, removing Austria from the 5th Coalition.

The men in the villages roused themselves at 04:00. Fighting soon began. Hiller’s howitzers bombarded Aspern. At 08:00, Lannes led his corps – almost 20,000 men – forward against Karl’s right. Marulaz, Lasalle & Espagne’s division (now under DG Arrighi) provided support. The attack progressed until it came in range of Karl’s batteries. These inflicted horrible casualties. Napoleon’s guns couldn’t respond without hitting their own men. The attack began to waver.

Lannes sent Bessières forward to destroy Karl’s batteries. 11,000 cavalrymen charged. They drove Liechtenstein’s cavalry back. They captured the guns. Karl’s infantry formed squares. Some fled. Karl grabbed the No. 15 Infanterie’s flag. He rallied his men. At the same time, his reserve – 11,299 Combined Grenadiers – marched forward. Bessières took heavy losses from infantry fire. Liechtenstein’s cavalry rallied & drove him away.

Davout tried to bridge the Danube. Karl had prepared a special surprise. An abandoned, floating watermill was covered in pitch, set on fire & released to float downstream. Some of Davout’s engineers tried to tow it away. Many burned alive. The mill crashed into the bridge, killing many. Chief Engineer Henri Bertrand told Napoleon it would take 2 days to fix. At the same time, Lannes’ attack had failed. The battle was lost.

Napoleon ordered a general retreat at 09:00. Lannes fell back. Karl’s grenadiers surged forward. Lannes nearly broke. Brigadier General Fririon led 2 3e Légère battalions from Essling into the grenadiers’ flanks. The grenadiers fell back. Lannes reached the river safely. Karl smelled blood. He launched a ferocious series of attacks. Fighting in Aspern & Essling became desperate. Aspern fell at 13:00. Essling fell at 15:00. 5 Young Guard battalions retook it.

Karl prepared a general attack. Napoleon ordered Bessières’ exhausted horsemen to make a 3rd attack. BGs Etienne Nansouty’s (16 sqns: 1-2e & 12e Cuirassiers) & Raymond Saint-Suplice’s (16 sqns: 1e, 5e & 10-11e Cuirassiers) divisions staggered forward. They fought Liechtenstein’s equally exhausted cavalry. They took heavy losses. Karl called his attack off. Fighting lasted all day. Karl finally halted his men. That evening, the last French soldier crossed over to Lobau. The battle was over.

One of the day’s most tragic events involved Lannes’ death. He was speaking with his friend & mentor of 20 years, BG Pierre Pouzet. Suddenly, a cannonball tore Pouzet’s head off. Lannes, spattered with blood & brains, snapped. Seemingly in a daze, he wandered off. He sat down at the edge of a ditch. As cannonballs landed around him, he crossed his legs & stared up at the sky. Finally, a cannonball smashed directly into his knees.

Orderlies came with a stretcher carrying Pouzet’s body. Lannes’ aide, Marcelin Marbot, ordered them to drop Pouzet & load Lannes onto the stretcher. Lannes, seeing Pouzet, began screaming that he was haunted. He refused the stretcher. He was carried to the rear. A surgeon amputated a leg. Napoleon himself came to the hospital, tears in his eyes. He comforted Lannes, assuring him he’d recover. Lannes died of gangrene 9 days later. He was the first Marshal to die in action. Napoleon declared, “What a loss for France & for me!”

Karl lost 86 officers, 3,924 men & 1,052 horses dead; 649 officers, 14,350 men & 828 horses wounded; 11 officers, 670 men & 13 horses captive & 2 guns. Napoleon lost 1 marshal, 3 generals, 120 officers & 5,507 men dead; 13 generals, 616 officers & 17,940 men wounded; 14 officers & 2,474 men captive & 3 guns. The battle was a rude shock to him after a solid week of incredible victories. It was the first time an army under his personal leadership was defeated in almost a decade. The battle also symbolized the Hauptarmee’s moral ascendancy. Under Karl’s reorganization & leadership, it had become a deadly, disciplined & efficient force.

*The Imperial Austrian Army was famously a multinational organization. Only a small percentage were ethnic Germans. At Aspern-Essling, Karl led 39 Bohemian (Czech/German), 18 Austrian, 18 Hungarian, 13 Galician (Czech/Polish/Ukrainian), 3 Illyrian (Albanian/Serbian), 3 Moravian (Czech/German), 2 Croatian, 2 Transylvanian (Hungarian/Vlach) & 4 other infantry battalions. He also led 2 Bohemian, 2 Hungarian, 1 Austrian, 1 Galician & 10 mixed-nationality Combined Grenadier battalions. He led 36 Bohemian, 26 Hungarian, 24 Moravian, 13 Polish, 12 Austrian, 8 Kaschau (German/Hungarian/Slovak), 8 Pressburg (German/Hungarian/Slovak) & 1 Dutch cavalry squadrons.

**Napoleon led 400 Württemberger, 290 Baden & 150 Hessian cavalry.

Illustrations

"The final attack by Austrian Grenadiers led by the Archduke Karl against the French held fortified granaries at Essling, just prior to the final French withdrawal across the Danube River."

- Felician Myrbach, 1906