Revolutionary Europe, 1789-1815

by H. Morse Stephens

In the midst of the fêtes which accompanied his acceptance of the Empire, Napoleon did not forget that he was engaged in war with England. He declared that as he had crossed the Alps, so, too, he could cross the Channel. For this purpose he collected a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats at Boulogne, and encamped picked soldiers from the Armies of the Rhine and of Italy upon the coast. But he felt that it would be impossible for his flotilla to cross the Channel while the English fleets were masters of the sea. He therefore determined to unite the two French fleets, which were concentrated at Toulon and Brest, and summoned his allies, the Dutch and the Spaniards, to prepare fleets also. He kept 120,000 veterans continually at work practising embarkation and disembarkation, and it was commonly believed, not only in Europe, but in England itself, that the invasion would be carried into effect. The army was equipped in a very thorough fashion, and carefully organised as the Grand Army under the most experienced generals in France, and it became one of the most efficient fighting machines ever known in the history of the world, its discipline being perfect and its enthusiasm unbounded.

Villeneuve’s Failure.

While making these preparations for the invasion of England, Napoleon struck at other more accessible branches of the British power. In 1803 he occupied Hanover, the hereditary dominion of George III., in spite of its being covered by the Prussian line of demarcation. In 1804 he sent a division into the kingdom of Naples, in order to close the Neapolitan ports to English trade; and once more he threatened Portugal. He also endeavoured to stir up a maritime foe to the English, and sold to the United States the province of Louisiana, which he had annexed from Spain, in the hope of obtaining their alliance. It was only necessary for Napoleon to be master of the Channel for a few hours, and to have a fine day, for his project of invading England to succeed. According to his instructions, Admiral Villeneuve left Toulon in March 1805, eluded Nelson, joined the Spanish fleet, and made his way to the West Indies, where he expected to meet the fleet from Brest. But the Brest fleet could not break through the blockade; Villeneuve had to return, and, after an action with an English squadron under Sir Robert Calder on 22nd July, he put into Ferrol. At Napoleon’s command, the admiral set out for Brest on 11th August, but meeting with bad weather, he lost heart and sailed away to Cadiz. Thus foiled in his great scheme for bringing up an overpowering French fleet to cover his invading army, Napoleon dared not leave the harbour of Boulogne.

Pitt’s New Coalition. 1805.

While threatened by the Boulogne flotilla, the English Government did all in its power to raise enemies on the Continent against Napoleon. Prussia, as usual, insisted on her neutrality; but Russia and Austria were not unwilling to try their strength once more with France. The Emperor Alexander of Russia was personally inclined to admire Napoleon, but he was induced by his Court, his family, and his ministry, who pointed out to him the importance of remaining on good terms with England, to sign an alliance with Pitt; he was further profoundly irritated by the violent scene which Napoleon, as First Consul, had had with his ambassador, Count Morkov, and was horrified at the execution of the Duc d’Enghien. The Emperor Francis of Austria was even more willing to fight Napoleon. He had spent the period of peace since the Treaty of Lunéville in reorganising his army, and believed that he would be more successful now that he was freed from the incubus of his position as Holy Roman Emperor. The State Chancellor, Cobenzl, was also keenly in favour of war, for he was a sincere believer in the might of Russia, and had imbibed a desire to please the Court of St. Petersburg, at which he had long held the post of Austrian ambassador. To induce these powerful allies to attack in force, Pitt, who was once more Prime Minister, did not grudge the wealth of England. Large subsidies were offered both to Russia and Austria, which supplied the means for commencing the campaign; and strenuous efforts were made to win the assistance of Prussia.

Outbreak of War.

In the second line, Pitt counted on the assistance of Sweden and Naples. Napoleon’s promptitude in invading the latter country destroyed any chance of its effecting a diversion in Italy, and Gustavus IV. of Sweden, though, like his father, a violent enemy of France, was unable to bring any active assistance, while Prussia remained neutral. A pretext for war was found in the annexation of Lucca and Genoa to the French Empire, and the Austrians and Russians resolved to strike at once. General Mack, with a powerful Austrian force, invaded Bavaria before the declaration of war, and, by the occupation of Ulm, he believed he had secured the valley of the Danube. Meanwhile the principal Austrian army of 120,000 men, under the Archduke Charles, invaded Italy, and a powerful force of Russians kept close to the Prussian frontier, in the hope of inducing Prussia to declare war against France.

Campaign of 1805.

Surrender of Ulm. 20th Oct. 1805.

Battle of Austerlitz. 2d Dec. 1805.