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on your podcast app. That's

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the Explorers Podcast. Welcome

1:21

to the Age of Napoleon. Episode

1:26

119, Setting the World Aflame. Thanks

1:31

for joining me. As

1:33

always, I'd like to start by thanking

1:36

our Patreon supporters. You are

1:38

the ones carrying this show. I couldn't do it

1:40

without you. As

1:42

always, I'd like to invite the rest of you

1:44

to join us on Patreon. I

1:46

finished out our last bonus episode with

1:49

one of my favorite quotations I've ever

1:51

read A long

1:53

passage from The Recollections of Rifleman

1:55

Harris, a British soldier of the

1:57

95th Rifles who I quoted

2:00

from from extensively last episode. There's

2:03

more detail about the hell of

2:05

General Moore's retreat, with particular focus

2:07

on the struggle to maintain discipline,

2:10

which in the British Army was

2:12

often achieved by liberal use of

2:14

the whip. If

2:17

that sounds interesting

2:19

to you, visit

2:21

patreon.com/Age of Napoleon.

2:25

Anyway. We left

2:27

off last time in the waning days of 1808. The

2:31

second French invasion of Iberia was

2:33

well underway. All along

2:35

the front, Spanish Patriot armies had been

2:37

smashed, and Bonaparte's men were on the

2:40

advance. The

2:42

only undefeated coalition field army, a force

2:44

of about 40,000 mostly British troops, under

2:48

General Sir John Moore, were in

2:50

the midst of a difficult retreat

2:52

into the province of Galicia, the

2:54

furthest northwestern corner of Spain. The

2:57

French were in close pursuit. They

3:00

had been led by the Emperor himself, but

3:03

he abruptly left mid-campaign. He

3:05

was needed back in Paris. It was

3:08

becoming increasingly clear that France's old

3:10

enemies, the Habsburgs, were mobilizing for

3:12

war once again. Napoleon

3:14

needed to respond to this crisis.

3:18

With Bonaparte gone, the pursuit of

3:20

Moore was taken over by Marshal

3:22

Jean-Dédia Soult, the former

3:24

drill master whose strict but effective

3:26

methods had helped mould the Grande

3:29

Armée into one of the greatest

3:31

fighting forces the world has ever

3:33

seen. The

3:35

French came very close to catching

3:37

Moore. There were skirmishes between

3:39

the French and British cavalry, and

3:41

on several occasions, the Allies were

3:44

forced to deploy a rearguard to

3:46

fight off the advancing French. In

3:49

one of these engagements, near

3:51

the somewhat strangely named town

3:53

of Cacabelos, an Irish soldier

3:55

of the British 95th Rifles

3:57

named Thomas Plunkett made perhaps

4:00

the most famous single shot

4:02

of the war, felling General

4:04

Auguste Colbert from an almost

4:06

unbelievable range. Sources

4:08

differ, but it was perhaps as far as

4:10

600 meters, or nearly 2,000 feet. To put

4:12

that in perspective,

4:15

the effective range of a musket was

4:17

only about 80 meters, and

4:20

even the British rifle regiments, armed

4:22

with state-of-the-art Baker rifles, generally did

4:24

not engage the enemy from any

4:27

further than about 200 meters.

4:30

But Plunkett was well known as one

4:32

of the best shots in the 95th

4:34

Rifles, which meant he was probably one

4:36

of the best marksmen in the whole

4:38

British Army, perhaps all of Europe. As

4:42

if to prove the shot was no

4:44

fluke, Plunkett then reloaded and picked off

4:46

one of General Colbert's aides, who had

4:49

gone to help his fallen general. In

4:53

the early days of the New Year,

4:55

Moore's Army began to emerge from the

4:57

mountains at Entre Galicia. Their

4:59

trial was not yet over, but they

5:01

had made it through the darkest days,

5:03

and the end was in sight. On

5:07

January 11th, the British reached their

5:09

objective, La Carunha, one of the

5:11

main port cities in this region,

5:13

where the army was set to

5:16

rendezvous with a large Royal Navy

5:18

squadron, for evacuation back to Britain.

5:21

Apparently, many of the Spanish civilians

5:23

who turned out to watch their

5:25

allies enter the city were taken

5:27

aback by the army's poor condition.

5:30

The retreat had taken a terrible toll.

5:33

Around 5,000 men had either been killed

5:35

by the French or died on the

5:37

road. Another 3,500 were

5:39

no longer fit for duty. The

5:43

survivors looked like scarecrows, ragged,

5:45

gaunt, and dirty. The

5:47

people of the city must have wondered how

5:50

these sorry specimens had ever hoped to stand

5:52

up to Napoleon. Moore

5:55

had lost over 20% of his force

5:57

without fighting a major battle. However, morale

5:59

was not as bad as you might

6:01

think. Only a few

6:03

weeks earlier the army had seemed to be

6:05

on the verge of disintegration. Hundreds,

6:08

perhaps thousands of British troops had

6:10

dropped out of the ranks to

6:12

rest, look for food, or go

6:14

marauding. Several Spanish

6:17

towns had been sacked by

6:19

unruly British soldiers. We

6:21

talked about the riot at Astorga

6:23

last episode. Only a few

6:25

days later, similar events occurred at the

6:27

town of Via Franca, which was practically

6:29

burned to the ground. But

6:32

there was a shift in tone as the

6:34

army emerged from the mountains. Successful

6:36

rearguard actions against the French helped

6:39

the troops regain a measure of

6:41

self-confidence. Stragglers, who

6:43

had fallen behind or deserted during

6:46

the march, returned to their units.

6:49

And more was able to link up

6:51

with reinforcements. Perhaps

6:53

most importantly, there were huge stocks

6:56

of supplies waiting for the British.

6:58

For the first time in nearly a month,

7:00

the army was eating well. Things

7:03

were looking up for the British. However,

7:05

when they arrived at La Coruña, they

7:08

discovered the navy was late. Only

7:10

a small fraction of the evacuation squadron

7:12

had arrived. Moore loaded

7:15

the sick and wounded onto the few

7:17

ships in the harbor and began preparing

7:19

for battle. Meanwhile,

7:21

Marshal Soult was advancing cautiously.

7:24

The French had suffered almost as badly

7:26

as the British. They had maintained their

7:29

discipline, and generally speaking, it is better

7:31

to be the pursuing army than the

7:33

retreating army. However, the pursuers

7:36

did have one disadvantage that had proved

7:38

to be important in this campaign. There

7:40

was no food to be foraged. At

7:43

every stage of the march, the French

7:45

had been advancing through land that had

7:47

already been picked clean by the British.

7:51

Soult had lost almost as many troops as

7:53

Moore, and his units were strung

7:55

out across a huge area. His

7:58

cavalry and advance guard were right

8:00

on Mor's heels, but most

8:02

of his force was at least a few days'

8:04

march from the front lines. In

8:07

fact, by this stage, both commanders

8:09

believed they were outnumbered, and so

8:12

both proceeded with caution. Mor

8:14

prepared to fight a defensive battle

8:16

close to La Coruña, and

8:19

Soult advanced very slowly. He

8:22

was determined to attack. Until the British

8:24

evacuation was complete, they would be vulnerable,

8:26

with their backs to the sea. Unfortunately

8:30

for the French, this would be no

8:32

easy task. The city of

8:34

La Coruña was nearly an island, connected

8:36

to the mainland only by a narrow

8:38

strip of land. The

8:40

immediate outskirts of the city were

8:43

dominated by hills and rough highland

8:45

terrain. And so,

8:47

Mor was able to arrange his army

8:49

in a strong defensive line on good

8:51

high ground, with his flank anchored on

8:54

the Atlantic Ocean. In

8:56

a strategic sense, the British army was

8:58

vulnerable, with its back to the ocean

9:00

and nowhere to retreat, but

9:03

it probably did not feel that way within the

9:05

British lines. In fact,

9:07

the mood among the Redcoats seems to

9:09

have changed completely. According to

9:11

several first-hand accounts, it was as if

9:14

the horrors and chaos of the past

9:16

few weeks had been completely forgotten. As

9:19

bad as the retreat was, a few days

9:22

of rest and good food had worked wonders.

9:25

On the French side, morale had never

9:27

gotten quite as low during the march

9:29

through the mountains, but on

9:31

the other hand, they had no depots

9:33

in Galicia, and they hadn't

9:36

had much time to rest and regroup.

9:38

The dynamic had now flipped. It

9:41

was now the British who enjoyed

9:43

the edge in morale and energy,

9:45

and the French who were tired

9:47

and disgruntled. Neither

9:49

general would be able to bring his full

9:52

force to bear. Many of

9:54

Mor's troops were in no condition to

9:56

fight, and some had already boarded ships

9:58

bound for England. Many

10:00

of Soult's troops were in the same

10:03

condition, and some of his units were

10:05

still struggling through the mountains. In

10:07

total, the British defenders numbered about 16,000, and

10:11

their French enemies about 15,000. The

10:14

British had a slight advantage in numbers, and

10:17

a greater proportion of their force was

10:19

made up of infantry, which was an

10:21

advantage in this rough terrain, in which

10:24

cavalry would be of only limited use.

10:27

Moore decided to keep his front lines

10:29

relatively weak, only about 9,000 troops

10:33

were manning that ring of hills,

10:35

directly facing the French. About

10:37

40% of his force would be

10:39

held back in a strong reserve. Once

10:42

Soult committed to an assault, Moore

10:45

would use his reserve to counterattack.

10:49

Soult planned to focus most of his efforts

10:51

on the British right, the part

10:53

of the defenses closest to the city of La

10:55

Carunha. Then, once the

10:57

infantry made an opening, he would

10:59

swoop in with his cavalry to

11:02

seize the ground between the rest

11:04

of the British force and the

11:06

city, thus trapping the defenders. As

11:09

you can probably tell, these were not ideal

11:11

conditions for the French, attacking

11:14

a motivated and well-supplied enemy

11:16

in a strong defensive position

11:18

with inferior numbers. However,

11:21

by January 15th, the rest of

11:24

the British evacuation squadron had arrived.

11:27

Soult was out of time. He

11:29

couldn't wait for reinforcements. If

11:32

the French didn't attack now, the British would

11:34

slip away without a fight. With

11:37

all that said, under the circumstances,

11:39

Soult's plan was not bad. If

11:42

the French could create a big enough

11:45

opening in the British defenses to bring

11:47

their cavalry into play, the situation would

11:49

become very dangerous for Moore and his

11:51

army. Despite the

11:53

strength of their position, some of

11:55

Moore's officers actually favored negotiating with

11:58

Soult. track

12:00

in the line might be enough to destroy

12:02

the army. Why take the risk? And

12:05

besides, what would be the first thing

12:07

the French asked for in a ceasefire,

12:10

obviously for the British to leave Galicia,

12:12

which they were trying to do? It's

12:15

not often wartime enemies find

12:17

their interests aligned, so

12:19

why not take advantage? But

12:22

Moore shot them down. Like

12:25

his troops, he was feeling increasingly

12:27

confident. And besides, he

12:29

had always seen himself as a man of

12:31

honour, not the type to run away from

12:33

a fight. I

12:35

have to wonder if he wasn't also

12:37

thinking of his reputation. As

12:39

I mentioned last episode, the fact

12:41

that Moore was one of the

12:43

most famous generals in the British

12:45

army and yet had never won

12:47

a major battle in independent command

12:49

was something of a blemish on

12:51

an otherwise sterling biography. Not

12:55

only was Moore determined to fight, he was

12:57

determined to lead his men from the front.

13:00

He aimed to finally live up to

13:02

his reputation. There

13:04

was skirmishing between the two armies

13:07

on January 15th. Many

13:09

British officers believed the day had finally

13:11

come and the decisive battle was about

13:14

to unfold, but Soult was

13:16

merely testing their position and the

13:18

fighting quickly died down. General

13:21

Moore expected the big attack to come

13:23

the next morning. He woke

13:25

up before dawn, mounted his horse, and

13:27

toured the British positions on the heights

13:30

one last time, just to make sure

13:32

everything was in place and the men

13:34

were ready. But

13:36

the hours ticked by and nothing

13:39

happened. Finally,

13:41

by around noon, Moore began to

13:43

doubt Soult would attack. He

13:46

sent orders back to La Coruña

13:48

to resume the evacuation, which had

13:50

been temporarily paused so the British

13:52

could focus all their strength on

13:54

the coming battle. At

13:57

this point, they were still mostly

13:59

moving the sick and wounded men.

14:01

wounded, along with horses and equipment

14:03

from the baggage train. But if

14:05

the French did not attack by

14:07

4 in the afternoon, Moore planned

14:09

to begin evacuating combat-ready troops from

14:11

his reserve, leaving the men

14:13

on the heights to hold the line

14:15

until the last possible moment, then pulling

14:17

them away under cover of darkness that

14:19

evening. Assuming Soult was

14:21

not going to attack, Moore expected to

14:24

have the whole army at sea by

14:26

daybreak on the 17th. I have to

14:29

wonder if part of him wasn't disappointed

14:31

as he issued these orders. If

14:34

they were carried out, that great

14:36

victory to finally solidify his reputation

14:39

would remain elusive. By

14:42

about 130 units of

14:44

the reserve had begun to move towards

14:46

La Coruña in preparation for their evacuation.

14:49

Upon the heights outside the city, French

14:52

and British units were still glaring at

14:54

each other, but neither side had begun

14:56

firing artillery. The mood

14:58

was strangely calm. The

15:01

British were surprised to see a

15:03

lone figure approaching their lines. Even

15:06

more surprising, as the figure got closer,

15:08

it turned out to be two people,

15:10

a woman carrying a small baby. It

15:13

was the wife and child of one of

15:15

the soldiers in the 50th Regiment of Foot.

15:18

She had fallen sick during the retreat,

15:20

become separated from the regiment, and followed

15:22

into the hands of the French. Marshal

15:25

Soult had taken a personal interest in

15:28

her case, ordering his doctors to treat

15:30

her, and even giving her money. Now

15:33

healthy again, the French had determined it

15:35

was safe enough to send her back

15:37

to her husband and friends, along

15:39

with a note from Soult explaining the

15:42

situation. Even in

15:44

this ugly, brutal war, there were

15:46

moments of humanity. The

15:49

eerie calm around La Coruña was

15:51

finally shattered at around two in

15:53

the afternoon. The French artillery opened

15:55

up all along the line. The

15:58

British responded in kind. but

16:00

many of their cannon had already been evacuated,

16:02

so they got the worst of it. Apparently

16:06

the British Gunners had been in the middle

16:08

of boiling potatoes for their lunch. They

16:11

stuffed the half-coated spuds into their

16:13

pockets before running to their cannons.

16:16

British units that had been marching

16:18

towards the port for evacuation abruptly

16:21

turned around and rushed back

16:23

to their old positions at the double. French

16:26

skirmishers were already advancing into the valley

16:28

between the two positions. The

16:31

Battle of La Coruña had begun. Among

16:34

the first British casualties was one

16:36

of the army's highest-ranking officers, Moors

16:39

II in command, General Sir David

16:41

Baird, who took a cannonball to

16:43

the arm. He would survive

16:46

but was definitely out of the

16:48

fight. Almost

16:50

all the French efforts were focused on

16:52

the British right flank. They

16:55

advanced in a large assault column, then

16:57

split in two as they approached the

16:59

hills, roughly half driving straight into the

17:02

British defenses and half aiming

17:04

for the extreme right, hoping to

17:06

turn the flank. They

17:09

would be received by the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment

17:12

of Foot, commonly known as

17:14

the Black Watch, one

17:16

of the oldest and most famous units in

17:19

the whole British army. The Highlanders

17:21

were lying down just behind the

17:23

crest of a hill to hide

17:25

their numbers and position. When

17:27

the French came within musket range, they

17:29

stood up, delivered a volley, and charged

17:32

with the bayonet. The

17:35

most intense combat took place in

17:37

and around a small settlement called

17:39

Elvina. The main French attack

17:42

would pass right through the village. It

17:45

was the key to this whole section of the

17:47

British line. The main

17:49

building material in this part of

17:51

Spain was stone. The buildings, and

17:53

even the fences in the town,

17:55

were sturdy and bulletproof. It was

17:58

practically a fortress. The

18:00

French took Albania, but the British

18:03

50th Regiment of Foot counterattacked and

18:05

retook most of the village with

18:07

the bayonet. However,

18:10

they soon found themselves pinned down

18:12

by withering enemy fire and running

18:15

low on ammunition. One

18:18

officer of the 50th described pulling buttons

18:20

off of his uniform jacket, loading them

18:22

into a captured French carbine, and firing

18:24

them at the enemy. More

18:28

ordered other units to reinforce Albania,

18:30

but their officers took one look

18:32

at the intense fighting and chose

18:35

not to obey. Once

18:37

again, the village fell to the French. Further

18:41

down the line, the men of the Black

18:43

Watch had also run out of ammunition, and

18:45

the regiment began to waver. It

18:47

was not a rout, at least

18:49

not yet, but the unsteady highlanders

18:52

began to drift backwards. General

18:55

More was nearby, and seeing his

18:57

fellow Scots faltering, he galloped right

18:59

into the thick of them, crying

19:01

out, quote, My brave 42nd, you

19:04

still have your bayonets. Think

19:06

on Scotland. Maybe

19:09

the men really did start considering

19:11

their national honor, or maybe seeing

19:13

their general among them raised their

19:15

spirits. In any case,

19:17

the Black Watch began moving back towards

19:19

the enemy. General

19:21

More took off his hat to offer

19:24

a salute to the advancing highlanders. One

19:26

of his aides described what happened

19:29

next, quote, I

19:31

was pointing out to the general the

19:33

situation of the battalion, and our horses

19:35

were touching at the very moment that

19:37

a cannonball from the enemy's battery carried

19:40

away his left shoulder and part of

19:42

the collarbone, leaving the arm hanging by

19:44

the flesh. The

19:46

violence of the stroke threw him off his

19:48

horse onto his back, not a

19:50

muscle of his space altered, nor did

19:53

a sigh betray the least sensation of

19:55

pain. The blood flowed

19:57

fast, but the attempt to stop it with

19:59

my sash was useless from the size of

20:01

the wound. Sir John

20:03

assented to being removed in a blanket

20:06

to the rear." End

20:08

quote. Despite his

20:10

almost shockingly calm demeanor, Moore

20:13

was in very bad shape.

20:16

His wound was so big and on such

20:18

an awkward part of the body that there

20:20

was no way to stop the bleeding. With

20:23

the limits of early 19th century

20:25

battlefield medicine, he would need a

20:27

miracle to see another day. Sir

20:30

John knew this. When the doctors

20:32

arrived to attempt a treatment, he

20:34

sent them away, saying, quote, go

20:36

to the soldiers to whom you may be

20:39

useful. End quote. He

20:42

was still being carried towards the rear in

20:44

a blanket by a group of soldiers from

20:46

the Black Watch. Someone brought

20:48

up a horse and cart to bring

20:50

him back to La Coruña a bit

20:52

faster, but the Highlanders refused to give

20:54

him up, saying they could carry him

20:56

much more comfortably. Moore agreed,

20:58

and so the Highlanders carried him all

21:01

the way back to headquarters. Apparently, some

21:03

of them were crying. Fortunately

21:06

for Moore, one of his best

21:08

friends, Colonel Paul Anderson, was present

21:10

at Army headquarters. The

21:12

dying general was laid down on a mattress

21:15

on the floor, and Anderson held his hand

21:17

and spoke with him as he faded away.

21:20

General Moore told his old friend,

21:22

quote, Anderson, you know I

21:24

have always wished to die in this way.

21:27

End quote. Despite

21:30

the imminent loss of their commander, the day

21:32

was going well for the British. Elvina

21:35

had been retaken. Soult committed

21:38

the last of his reserves to another attack

21:40

on the village, but the British held them

21:42

off. Further down the

21:44

line, the French flanking maneuver was having

21:47

trouble making any progress. They

21:49

tried to deploy their cavalry, but the

21:51

horsemen could not be effective on this

21:54

rough ground, and were forced to fight

21:56

dismounted. The British held

21:58

them off, then brought forward the had

24:00

it been uttered under other circumstances.

24:04

Moore played his cards close to the vest

24:06

when it came to women and romance. He

24:09

had always said he didn't believe

24:11

serving officers should marry. Perhaps

24:14

he had decided to make an exception for

24:16

Lady Hester, or perhaps he

24:18

planned to pursue her after he left

24:21

active service. We'll never know.

24:24

Whatever the nature of their relationship, it must

24:26

have been profound. After

24:29

the battle, Lady Hester was given one

24:31

of the gloves Moore had been wearing

24:33

that day, bloodstains and all. The

24:36

glove was found among her personal

24:38

belongings when she died thirty years

24:40

later. It

24:43

had cost him his life, but Moore

24:45

had finally realized his ambition of winning

24:47

a battlefield victory. Sources

24:50

differ as to the cost. Estimates

24:52

of French casualties range from a

24:54

thousand to fourteen hundred, and estimates

24:57

of British casualties range from six

24:59

hundred and fifty to a thousand.

25:02

Comparatively few losses compared to many

25:04

of the significant battles we've covered

25:06

on this show. But

25:08

if Soult's men had managed to make

25:10

even a small, limited breakthrough, those numbers

25:12

would have been much higher. General

25:16

Moore was buried with no great

25:18

fanfare. There was no time to

25:20

organize a proper funeral service, or

25:22

even to find a coffin. He

25:24

was simply wrapped in his cloak

25:26

and buried near the city walls,

25:28

under a simple temporary marker. That

25:32

evening, the remaining British leadership deliberated

25:34

over what to do next. Some

25:38

favored staying at La Coruña. Maybe

25:40

Soult would attack again in the morning, and

25:43

could be defeated again. A

25:45

few of the bolder officers wanted to

25:47

turn the tables and attack the French.

25:51

But the army's new commander, General

25:53

John Hope, decided to continue with

25:55

Moore's original plan and resumed the

25:58

evacuation. The

26:00

army worked through the night. When

26:02

dawn broke on January 17th, they

26:04

were still not finished. Once

26:07

the French realized what was happening, they

26:09

brought their artillery closer to the city,

26:11

and were actually able to sink one

26:13

of the transports. But

26:15

they did not attempt another assault. The

26:18

army was safe. In

26:21

the wake of the evacuation, Marshal

26:24

Soult's men romped through northwestern Spain

26:26

with little resistance. The

26:28

remaining coalition forces in the

26:31

area, mostly poorly trained Spanish

26:33

militia, surrendered very quickly. This

26:36

represented a huge windfall for the

26:38

French. There were a lot

26:40

of supplies and equipment stored in Galicia.

26:43

Enough food, clothing, weapons, ammunition, and

26:45

gunpowder to completely resupply and re-equip

26:48

Soult's corps, with more left over

26:50

to send back to the depots.

26:54

They were even able to capture

26:56

over a dozen Spanish warships, anchored

26:58

at the nearby naval base of

27:00

Férol, including eight ships of the

27:02

line. And so,

27:04

La Coruña was a bit of a strange

27:06

victory. The British had

27:09

won, but the aftermath of the

27:11

battle saw them limping home with

27:13

only about three-quarters of their original

27:15

force, ejected from the country

27:17

they had been sent to liberate only

27:19

a few months earlier. The

27:22

French had lost, but in doing

27:24

so had sent their enemies packing,

27:26

seized control over a huge swath

27:28

of territory, and gained a windfall

27:31

and captured supplies and equipment. Back

27:35

in Britain, news of the battle got a

27:37

mixed reception. Many celebrated.

27:39

There was a sense that this

27:41

victory had redeemed the army's honour,

27:43

which had been tarnished when they

27:45

retreated from central Spain without a

27:47

fight. Others considered

27:50

the whole campaign a fiasco, and

27:52

pointed out that the victory at

27:54

La Coruña had achieved little more

27:56

than staving off an even bigger

27:58

catastrophe. A correspondent for

28:01

the Times of London wrote, quote, The

28:04

fact must not be disguised that

28:06

we have suffered a shameful disaster.

28:08

End quote. In

28:10

public, the government claimed the campaign

28:13

as a success. The

28:15

army had won a victory and slipped

28:17

from Napoleon's grasp. But

28:19

we know from their correspondence that many

28:21

felt differently in private. British

28:25

ambitions in Iberia had not been

28:27

totally frustrated. There

28:29

was no longer a British army active

28:31

on the peninsula, but there were still

28:33

British units present in Portugal and southern

28:36

Spain. And there were plenty of

28:38

good ports in these regions, where the British

28:40

might land more forces in the future. As

28:44

for Sir John Moore, he was lionized

28:46

by many as a hero, a

28:49

great man who had sacrificed his life

28:51

to save his army. Others

28:54

criticized his leadership. After

28:56

all, he had lost nearly ten thousand men

28:58

and didn't really have much to show for

29:00

it. Even in death,

29:03

he couldn't help but be controversial. We've

29:08

been focusing on Moore's retreat due

29:10

to Napoleon's personal involvement. But

29:12

throughout this period, there were important

29:15

events occurring all over Spain. Among

29:18

other things, the Patriots had launched

29:20

a campaign to retake Madrid, and

29:22

the city of Saragosa was under

29:25

siege again. We will be

29:27

telling those stories in the future. But

29:29

for now, like Napoleon, we will be

29:31

shifting our attention east. Including

29:53

History That Doesn't Suck, The Explorers

29:55

podcast, The History of the Great

29:57

War, The American Revolution podcast, The

29:59

history of World War II, the

30:01

history of Egypt, the history of

30:04

China, Queen's Podcast, and more. To

30:06

get your free seven-day trial, go to

30:08

the Apple page for the age of

30:10

Napoleon and hit subscribe or search Airwave

30:12

History Plus on Apple Podcasts. Airwave

30:15

History Plus, the essential audio

30:17

destination for history lovers. From

30:22

Fort Sumter to the Battle of Gettysburg.

30:24

From the Emancipation Proclamation

30:27

to Appomattox Courthouse. From

30:29

the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to

30:32

the Compromise of 1877. From

30:35

Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S.

30:37

Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.

30:40

To Jefferson Davis and Robert E.

30:42

Lee and Stonewall Jackson. The

30:45

Civil War and Reconstruction was a

30:47

pivotal era in American history. I'm

30:50

Rich. And I'm Tracy. And

30:53

we're the hosts of a podcast that

30:55

takes a deep dive into that era

30:57

when a war was fought to save the

30:59

Union and to free the slaves. And

31:02

when the work to rebuild the nation after

31:04

that war was over, turned into

31:06

a struggle to guarantee liberty

31:08

and justice for all Americans.

31:11

Look for the Civil War and

31:13

Reconstruction wherever you find your podcasts.

31:18

Bonaparte had new enemies to deal with. Not

31:21

only the Habsburgs, back in

31:23

Paris, there were men within his own

31:25

government who he had once looked upon

31:27

as allies, who he

31:29

now felt the need to confront. In

31:33

the Emperor's absence, the politicians

31:35

had returned to some of

31:37

their favorite pastimes from the

31:39

Revolutionary Era. Scheming, intriguing, and

31:41

forming cliques. The

31:44

main offenders were two seasoned

31:46

veterans of revolutionary politics. The

31:48

powerful, malevolent Minister of Police,

31:50

Joseph Foucher, and our old

31:53

friend Talley Rand, the former

31:55

foreign minister. As

31:57

you might recall from episode 114, had

32:00

recently embarked on a very dangerous

32:02

course. He had begun

32:04

secretly helping France's enemies. In

32:08

light of this development, you would

32:10

think he would be keeping his

32:12

head down, trying to avoid Napoleon's

32:14

scrutiny. In fact, he

32:16

did the opposite, criticizing the

32:18

emperor's policies at every opportunity to

32:20

anyone who would listen. Perhaps

32:24

this was just Talleyrand being

32:26

his usual crafty self, zigging

32:28

when you would expect him to zag.

32:31

But I think his public criticism

32:33

and private treachery were all part

32:35

of the same agenda. He was

32:38

trying to rally anyone he could

32:40

around the idea of imposing limits

32:42

on Bonaparte. As

32:45

for Foucher, he had actually been

32:47

in the emperor's bad books for

32:49

quite some time, in large part

32:52

due to his loud and increasingly

32:54

public insistence that Napoleon divorce Josephine

32:56

to marry a younger woman who

32:58

could produce an heir. In

33:01

fact, as we've discussed in episode

33:03

114, Napoleon had already come around

33:05

to this idea in private. But

33:08

he did not appreciate the fact

33:10

that Foucher had been so pushy

33:13

about this sensitive and personal matter.

33:16

He especially did not like the

33:18

fact that Foucher had broached the

33:20

subject with Josephine, and had actually

33:22

been quite confrontational and rude in

33:24

doing so. Despite

33:27

their somewhat similar backgrounds and

33:29

approaches to politics, Talleyrand and

33:31

Foucher had never liked each

33:33

other. In fact, they

33:35

were generally seen as rivals. However,

33:38

they now found themselves in similar

33:41

positions, both on the

33:43

outs with the emperor. They

33:45

also had similar views on the

33:47

direction of the country. Both felt

33:49

the preceding year had been a

33:51

disaster. Both had opposed

33:53

the intervention in Spain, and

33:56

both felt subsequent events had

33:58

vindicated their position. Talleyrand

34:01

and Foucher had essentially come around

34:03

to the same view. Napoleon

34:06

was overreaching. His

34:08

aggressive foreign policy since the Treaty

34:10

of Tilsit had put France in

34:12

danger. This jeopardized all

34:14

the gains of the revolution, and

34:17

it also represented personal danger

34:19

for former revolutionaries like Talleyrand

34:21

and Foucher, who would almost

34:24

certainly suffer reprisals if the

34:26

Bourbon dynasty was ever restored.

34:30

With their views and interests

34:32

finally aligned, the two devious

34:34

politicians launched a very public

34:37

friendship. The whole

34:39

Paris social scene was shocked when

34:41

the two former rivals suddenly started

34:44

appearing as guests of honor at

34:46

each other's parties, and warmly chatting

34:48

at salons. Again,

34:51

you have to ask yourself why they were

34:53

doing this in public. If

34:55

they were interested in plotting against the

34:57

Emperor, surely the best course of action

35:00

would be to pretend they were still

35:02

enemies while working together in secret. I

35:05

think this illustrates that, at least

35:07

at this stage, they were more

35:10

interested in putting pressure on Napoleon

35:12

and forcing him to change course,

35:14

rather than actually overthrowing him or

35:16

seeing France defeated by the Coalition.

35:20

With that said, there was some scheming

35:22

going on as well. As

35:24

often happened when Napoleon left the

35:26

capital to go on campaign, people

35:29

began to whisper about the question

35:31

of succession. As we've

35:33

discussed many times in past episodes,

35:35

Bonaparte was the key man in

35:37

the French government. Practically

35:40

every facet of the administration

35:42

revolved around the Emperor. What

35:44

would happen to France if he

35:46

was killed in action, or perhaps

35:48

even worse, captured by the Coalition?

35:51

These were not unfounded concerns,

35:54

but this type of talk is

35:56

inherently dangerous in a dictatorship, a

35:59

conversation. about who might replace the

36:02

leader should the worst happen can

36:04

easily become a conversation about who

36:06

should replace the leader. While

36:10

the emperor was away in Spain, there

36:12

were conversations on this topic at the

36:14

very highest levels of the French government,

36:17

including both Talleyrand and Foucher.

36:20

It's very difficult to characterize these

36:23

discussions. Perhaps some of

36:25

the participants really were innocent and

36:27

simply had legitimate concerns about

36:29

what might happen if Napoleon was

36:32

killed. Others might have

36:34

been hoping to force a more

36:36

drastic change in government, either to

36:38

put pressure on Napoleon to change

36:40

his policies, or even to actually

36:42

launch a coup. Unfortunately

36:45

for the plotters, there were

36:47

no real obvious candidates to

36:49

replace Napoleon. They needed

36:51

someone with at least some sort of

36:53

legitimate claim to the throne, which would

36:55

mean a member of the Bonaparte family.

36:57

Given the prejudices of the time, it

37:00

would also have to be a man.

37:03

The other Bonaparte brothers were all

37:05

seen as unreliable. Joseph

37:07

had proved incompetent during his

37:09

brief time as regent. Lucian

37:12

was still on the outs, not involved

37:14

with the government, and not even living

37:16

in France. And besides, his

37:19

liberal politics and firebrand personality would

37:21

have been a poor fit. Louis

37:24

and Jerome Bonaparte were both young

37:27

and inexperienced and seen as loose

37:29

cannons. The

37:31

most attractive candidate was Napoleon's

37:33

stepson, Eugène de Beauarnais. By

37:36

now, he was 28 years old and

37:38

had grown into an intelligent, impressive young

37:40

man. He had served as

37:42

Napoleon's official representative to the Kingdom of

37:44

Italy for several years, so he did

37:46

have some of the relevant experience despite

37:49

his youth. However,

37:51

Napoleon had raised Eugène since

37:53

childhood. Whatever Bonaparte's other flaws,

37:55

he was a pretty good stepfather and had

37:57

taken a particular interest in his life. in

38:00

mentoring his only stepson, who he

38:02

believed was destined for great things.

38:06

Anyone who knew Ujjan knew he would

38:08

rather dive and turn against the only

38:10

father he had ever known. There

38:14

was only one person who had

38:16

relevant experience, could plausibly claim to

38:18

be a member of the Bonaparte

38:20

family, and might entertain the idea

38:22

of stabbing Napoleon in the back.

38:25

The Emperor's brother-in-law and

38:27

self-described best friend, Joachim

38:30

Murat. Remember, Murat

38:32

had been deeply hurt when Napoleon

38:34

rejected his request to become King

38:36

of Spain, so much so that

38:38

he had fallen into some kind

38:40

of mental health crisis, and begun

38:42

to neglect his military duties. I'm

38:45

sure these scheming politicians liked

38:47

the idea of having a

38:49

man like Murat leading the

38:51

country. He was widely considered

38:53

vain, unintelligent, and unsophisticated when

38:55

it came to politics, the

38:58

type of person who might

39:00

easily be controlled and manipulated,

39:02

unlike the independent, headstrong Bonaparte

39:05

brothers. It's

39:07

impossible to say how advanced these discussions

39:09

became, or how serious they were. People

39:12

involved in these types of conversations

39:14

are generally careful to keep their

39:17

intentions hidden. Perhaps we

39:19

can refer to this as a nascent

39:21

conspiracy, or perhaps it was just loose

39:23

talk that emerged under the stress of

39:26

wartime. But there was no

39:28

question that two camps had emerged within

39:30

the French ruling class, one

39:32

that was still fully behind Bonaparte, and

39:35

another that was growing disillusioned. The

39:39

Austrian ambassador to France, Klemens

39:41

von Metternich, observed these developments

39:43

very closely. Here's how

39:46

he described this dynamic. Quote, two

39:49

parties exist in France, as much opposed

39:51

to one another as the interests of

39:54

Europe are to the individual ideas of

39:56

the Emperor. At the

39:58

head of one of these parties is the Emperor.

40:00

with all the military men. He

40:02

only desires to extend his influence by

40:04

force. Napoleon sees nothing

40:07

in France but himself, nothing

40:09

in Europe or in the whole world but

40:11

his family. The

40:13

other party is composed of the

40:15

great mass of the nation, an

40:17

inert and unplyable mass. At

40:20

the head of this mass are

40:22

the eminent persons of state, Monsieur

40:24

de Talleyrand, the Minister of Police,

40:26

and all those who have fortunes

40:28

to preserve." End quote. Of

40:32

course, Metternich had a very negative view

40:34

of Napoleon, which colours his whole analysis.

40:37

But I don't think he was totally

40:39

wrong here. At the beginning of his

40:41

regime, the French ruling class had backed

40:44

Napoleon because he seemed like the safe,

40:46

stable choice. How

40:48

long could that remain true

40:50

if he kept jeopardising France's

40:52

national interests with risky foreign

40:54

policy initiatives like the intervention

40:56

in Spain? Napoleon

40:59

was aware of these developments. Indeed,

41:02

judging by their behaviour, Talleyrand and

41:05

Foucher wanted him to find out.

41:08

Upon his return to the capital, the

41:10

Emperor decided to nip all this disloyal

41:12

chatter in the bud by making an

41:15

example of Talleyrand. On

41:17

January 23rd, Bonaparte called a

41:19

meeting at the Tuileries with all his

41:21

ministers and other senior officials. All

41:24

of the leading civilian politicians of

41:26

the Empire would be there, including

41:29

Talleyrand and Foucher. Napoleon

41:31

started with a few general remarks.

41:34

He accused the assembled dignitaries of

41:36

being too independent and too public

41:38

with their criticisms. Independence

41:41

and free discussion were not

41:43

exactly hallmarks of the Napoleonic

41:46

regime, but Bonaparte wanted his

41:48

government run like an army. He demanded

41:50

obedience first and foremost, even from those

41:52

at the very top. When

41:55

these general remarks concluded, the Emperor

41:58

turned his attention to Talleyrand. Napoleon

42:01

criticized his character, his opinions,

42:03

his conduct, and just about

42:05

everything else. Talleyrand

42:08

refused to react. He

42:10

remained quiet and still, leaning on a

42:12

table by the fire, with his eyes

42:15

half closed, as if he was simply

42:17

warming himself, taking no notice of the

42:19

invective being hurled in his direction. This

42:23

was theater. I've seen it speculated that

42:25

Napoleon wrote this tirade in advance, so

42:27

he wouldn't lose his train of thought

42:29

or run out of things to say.

42:32

But Talleyrand's lack of reaction seems

42:34

to have gotten under the Emperor's

42:36

skin. As the diatribe

42:38

continued, Napoleon started to get

42:40

genuinely angry and began to

42:42

go off script. There

42:45

were complicated feelings between the two men.

42:48

Talleyrand had once been something of a mentor

42:51

to Napoleon. Now the Emperor

42:53

felt betrayed and abandoned. The

42:55

tension between them had been building since

42:58

Tilsit over 18 months ago. The

43:00

fact that Talleyrand didn't even seem to

43:03

care how angry Napoleon was was adding

43:05

insult to injury. And so,

43:07

Bonaparte kept gaining steam, and the

43:10

rant continued. Ten minutes,

43:12

twenty minutes. Those feelings

43:14

of resentment were boiling over. Obviously,

43:18

no one was taking notes on

43:20

this outburst. But one of those

43:22

present later tried to remember some

43:24

of what Napoleon had said. Quote,

43:27

You are a thief, a coward, a man

43:29

without honor. You do not believe in God.

43:32

You have all your life been a traitor to your

43:34

duties. You have deceived

43:36

and betrayed everyone. Nothing is

43:38

sacred to you. You would sell your own father.

43:41

I have loaded you

43:43

down with gifts. But there is nothing

43:45

that you would not undertake against me.

43:48

What are you aiming at? What do

43:51

you wish for? Do you dare say?

43:53

You deserve to be smashed like a

43:55

wine glass. I could do it,

43:57

but I despise you too much to go to the

43:59

trouble. There

44:03

is some pretty strong stuff in that

44:06

quotation, but it actually glosses

44:08

over some of the nastiest things

44:10

Napoleon said. Apparently, he also made

44:12

fun of the fact that Taliran's

44:15

wife was unfaithful, and he even

44:17

mocked his disability. Taliran had

44:19

been born with a club foot and walked

44:21

with a limp. Bonaparte

44:24

raged at Taliran for a full

44:27

half-hour before finally running out of

44:29

steam. When he was finally

44:31

finished, he stormed out of the room. Meeting

44:34

adjourned. Napoleon

44:36

had orchestrated this scene to humiliate

44:39

Taliran in front of his peers,

44:42

but it had backfired. The

44:44

assembled dignitaries were aghast at

44:46

his behavior. Gentlemen

44:48

did not address other gentlemen

44:50

in such terms, especially

44:53

not in public, and certainly not

44:55

in a formal government meeting. A

44:58

man in Napoleon's position was not supposed

45:00

to lose control of his emotions in

45:02

front of his subordinates. One

45:05

of the witnesses would later say that no

45:07

one who saw this outburst would ever be

45:09

able to think of it again without shuddering.

45:12

Taliran never responded, at least

45:15

not directly. As

45:17

the dignitaries shuffled out of the room,

45:19

he turned to one of the other

45:21

attendees and said loudly, quote, what

45:23

a pity that such a great man

45:26

should be so ill-bred, end quote. This

45:29

was not a totally isolated incident. We've

45:32

seen how Napoleon had lost patience with

45:34

his generals over the setbacks in Spain.

45:37

He had been snapping at his subordinates

45:39

in the civilian government as well, although

45:41

never quite as spectacularly as he had

45:43

with Taliran. Napoleon

45:46

had also begun suffering from recurring

45:48

bouts of stomach pain from some

45:50

unknown cause. Sometimes

45:52

these episodes were bad enough that he

45:54

was unable to sleep. Napoleon

45:57

had always prided himself on his ability

45:59

to sleep anywhere, anytime, so

46:01

that is really saying something. Clearly,

46:05

the stress was getting to him. Whether

46:07

or not he was prepared to admit

46:10

it in public, the intervention in Spain

46:12

had been an unmitigated disaster. Now,

46:15

with the Habsburgs mobilizing their armies,

46:17

France was facing the possibility of

46:20

a multi-front war. How

46:22

different things had looked only a year and

46:24

a half earlier, after the Treaty of Tilsit.

46:27

No wonder the Emperor was feeling the pressure.

46:31

Around this time, Napoleon wrote to

46:33

his brother Joseph, quote, I

46:35

have no hope as yet that Europe will be

46:37

pacified this year. I have so

46:39

little hope of it that I signed a decree

46:42

yesterday to raise a hundred thousand men. Happiness?

46:45

Ah, of course. There's little enough

46:48

question of happiness these days. End

46:50

quote. Yes,

46:53

the French army would be expanding yet again.

46:55

A hundred thousand more

46:57

young Frenchmen called away from their jobs

46:59

and families to put on the blue

47:02

jacket. That nucleus of

47:04

well-trained veterans, who had delivered Napoleon

47:06

so many victories, would be even

47:08

further diluted. Meanwhile,

47:11

the Austrian army that was

47:13

currently mobilizing for war was,

47:15

in many ways, completely transformed.

47:19

We've talked in past episodes about the

47:21

tension within the Austrian military leadership. On

47:24

one hand, there was the Young

47:26

Guard, who wanted drastic reforms that

47:28

would bring the Habsburg forces more

47:30

in line with cutting-edge modern military

47:32

theory, and on the

47:34

other, the Old Guard, who believed

47:36

such radical experiments would only weaken

47:38

the army further. The

47:41

humiliating Austrian defeats of 1805

47:44

had more or less settled

47:46

this argument. Perhaps

47:48

Brug forces had performed so

47:50

poorly that even the most

47:52

cautious, tradition-bound officers were forced

47:54

to admit things had to

47:56

change. And besides, the

47:58

army had suffered so many lives.

48:00

losses, it would have to undertake

48:02

a painful rebuilding process anyway. Why

48:04

not take the opportunity to introduce

48:06

some changes? For

48:09

years, the leading force for

48:11

military reform within the Habsburg

48:13

armies had been Emperor Francis'

48:15

younger brother, Archduke Charles von

48:18

Teschen. Thanks to his position

48:20

at court and his reputation as a

48:22

successful battlefield commander, the young Archduke had

48:24

always been a powerful force within the

48:26

army, but after the disasters of 1805,

48:29

his influence had

48:31

risen to new heights. In

48:34

1806, Charles was granted the

48:36

title of Generalissimo, commander-in-chief

48:38

of all Habsburg forces. He

48:41

was also named President of the Council

48:43

of War, roughly equivalent to Chairman of

48:45

the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the

48:47

modern USA, or Chief of the Defense

48:49

Staff in the United Kingdom. These

48:52

moves made Charles the Supreme

48:54

Authority over both the operations

48:56

of the Habsburg military and

48:58

its administration and organization. There

49:02

were limits on his powers, he

49:04

still had to answer to the

49:06

Emperor, and those reactionary old guard

49:08

officers still had to be appeased.

49:11

But there were no longer any

49:13

official limits on his reform agenda,

49:15

and so he pursued it energetically.

49:19

For starters, the Austrians would be putting

49:21

a lot more of their men into

49:23

the field. The last

49:25

time they had gone to war back in 1805,

49:27

they had managed to put just shy of 200,000

49:29

men into their

49:31

field armies. Four years later, there

49:34

were over 300,000 troops mobilizing to invade the

49:38

French Empire. This was

49:40

made possible by reforms to the

49:42

army and political administration, and

49:45

by the huge resources the Habsburg

49:47

government had put into recruiting and

49:49

training new regiments. Estimates

49:52

vary, but with so many French

49:54

troops deployed in Spain, this probably

49:57

gave the Austrians a slight numerical

49:59

advantage in the Central Europe. Of

50:02

course, they would be badly outnumbered

50:04

if France's Russian allies joined the

50:06

war, but as you may remember

50:08

from episode 114, Emperor Alexander of

50:11

Russia had already provided the Austrians

50:13

with secret assurances that he would

50:15

not do so. Not

50:18

only would the army be larger, it

50:20

would be operating very differently. Since

50:23

Austerlitz, Archduke Charles had written an

50:25

entire book on military theory and

50:27

organization, which had been adopted as

50:30

the army's official doctrine. In

50:33

past episodes, I've referred to the

50:35

Austrian military as an old regime

50:37

army, but as it mobilized

50:39

for war in 1809, that

50:41

was no longer really true. Probably

50:44

most importantly, the Austrians had

50:46

finally adopted a French-style system

50:49

of organization. Gone were

50:51

the days when regiments would be shifted

50:53

back and forth between different brigades and

50:55

divisions at a whim. The

50:58

Habsburg Field Armies were now organized on

51:00

roughly the same lines as the Grande

51:02

Armée, each regiment permanently

51:04

assigned to a specific brigade,

51:06

each brigade to a specific

51:08

division, divisions organized into corps

51:11

and corps into armies. Just

51:14

like in the French military, each

51:16

level of organization would have its

51:18

own dedicated professional headquarters staff. This

51:22

might not sound like much of

51:24

an innovation, but this superior model

51:26

of organization was a big reason

51:28

the Habsburgs had been so consistently

51:30

outclassed by the French. There

51:34

was also an entirely new branch

51:36

of the military, the Londwehr, a

51:39

militia of part-time soldiers, similar to

51:41

the state militias in the USA

51:43

or the British Yeomanry. Like

51:46

most militia troops of this period,

51:48

their quality was very bad, but

51:50

they could be used in emergencies,

51:53

or called up for second-line duties,

51:55

to free up regular troops for

51:57

more important tasks. Austria's

52:01

light infantry regiments had been equipped with

52:03

new weapons, rifles, just

52:05

like the British light infantry. This

52:08

was part of a general, renewed

52:10

focus on marksmanship. All

52:13

branches of service were issued ammunition

52:15

for regular target practice, which had

52:17

never been part of Habsburg military

52:19

training in the past. In

52:23

general, Austrian military training had become

52:25

much more rigorous. A

52:28

staff officer named Josef Ridesky von

52:30

Raditz, who would later go down

52:32

in history as one of the

52:34

Empire's greatest soldiers, actually believed Archduke

52:37

Charles had put too much emphasis

52:39

on drill and training, which he

52:41

believed made the Austrian troops less

52:43

dynamic on the battlefield. Although

52:46

even he probably would have admitted that

52:48

too much training was an improvement over

52:50

the old army, in which the lack

52:52

of training had often led to poor

52:55

performance. On

52:58

paper, these all should have been encouraging

53:00

developments for the Austrians. The

53:03

Archduke's reforms had brought the Habsburg

53:05

armies much closer to the ideal

53:07

imagined in modern military theory. It

53:10

seemed the Austrians were finally adapting to

53:13

the military revolution that had taken place

53:15

in the 1790s. Of

53:18

course, there were still remnants of the

53:20

old Habsburg army. Archduke

53:22

Charles had been given wide latitude to

53:25

carry out his reforms, but there were

53:27

limits to his powers. Most

53:29

importantly, there had been no purge of

53:32

the officer corps. Just

53:34

like in the last war, the average Habsburg general

53:36

would be in his 60s. Most

53:39

had come of age in an earlier era

53:41

of warfare. Many had poor

53:43

records in previous encounters with

53:45

revolutionary French armies. Many

53:48

of these aging generals had opposed

53:50

the reform process, until the need

53:52

for change had become too acute

53:54

to deny. How committed were

53:57

they to the new way of doing things? Under

54:00

the stresses of combat, without Archduke

54:02

Charles looking over their shoulders, would

54:04

they revert to old habits? More

54:09

broadly, the Austrian army was preparing to

54:11

go to war with a whole host

54:13

of new doctrines and new systems, all

54:16

of which were untested. The

54:19

new Habsburg army looked great on

54:21

paper, but war is the ultimate

54:23

stress test. Lots of

54:26

things that look great on paper fall

54:28

apart when it comes time to put

54:30

them into practice. On

54:33

the political side, events in Spain

54:35

had inspired some very grand dreams

54:38

in Vienna. As

54:40

Austrian policymakers finalized their plans

54:42

for war, they imagined the

54:44

people of Germany rising up to expel

54:46

the French, just as the people of

54:48

Spain had done. As

54:51

I've mentioned in past episodes, any

54:53

plan that relies on some distant

54:55

mass of people spontaneously rising up

54:58

to join it should be greeted

55:00

with skepticism. That

55:02

said, there was hostility to French

55:04

rule in Germany, and those

55:06

people were certainly aware of the example

55:08

of Spain. Perhaps the Austrians were onto

55:11

something. Of

55:13

course, for the moment, this was all still secret.

55:17

The Habsburg armies were by now

55:19

almost fully mobilized and massing along

55:21

the Empire's borders, but

55:24

the Austrian government still publicly maintained

55:26

its official position that it had

55:29

no plans for aggression against France.

55:33

The longer the preparations for war

55:35

went on, the more absurd this

55:37

position became. I

55:39

always wonder if diplomats feel embarrassed

55:41

to repeat such obvious lies, knowing

55:44

they are not believed. Napoleon

55:47

teased Ambassador Metternich, quote,

55:51

Well, this is something new at Vienna.

55:53

What does it mean? Has a spider

55:55

stung you? Who is threatening you? Whom

55:58

are you aiming at? Do you

56:00

want to set the world aflame again?" Indeed

56:05

the Austrians would set the world

56:07

aflame again. Come spring,

56:09

when the weather warmed up and the

56:12

invasion finally began, the front lines would

56:14

cut a huge swath right through the

56:16

heart of Europe. The

56:18

frontier between the French and Austrian empires

56:21

ran in a huge arc, all the

56:23

way from modern Ukraine through Germany and

56:25

the Czech Republic, all the way down

56:27

to northern Italy. The

56:29

fighting would take place on multiple

56:32

fronts, across thousands of miles, and

56:34

involve people from dozens of nations.

56:37

We've talked in past episodes about the

56:39

scale of warfare increasing over the course

56:42

of the Napoleonic Wars. We

56:44

are about to see the next stage in that

56:46

escalation. Once again,

56:48

France was facing war on multiple

56:50

fronts, a situation that had nearly

56:52

led to complete disaster in the

56:54

wars of the First and Second

56:56

Coelitions. Despite

56:59

the recent French successes in Iberia,

57:01

that theater of the war was

57:03

nowhere near closed. With

57:05

its recent reforms, the Austrian military

57:07

was no longer a known quantity.

57:10

The French would not be able to

57:12

count on a clear advantage in quality

57:14

over the Habsburgs, as they had in

57:16

previous wars. The

57:18

British were already preparing a new army

57:20

to land in Iberia, and

57:23

with their mastery over the seas, there

57:25

was always the danger they could land

57:27

elsewhere on the continent, and open up

57:29

yet another front. In

57:32

Germany, many of France's recent

57:34

conquests were restive, and many

57:36

of her allies had questionable

57:38

loyalties. Would

57:41

Napoleon be able to hold on to these areas

57:43

once the fighting broke out? Could

57:45

he count on his dubious German allies,

57:47

if the going got tough? For

57:51

the past 18 months, Napoleon had believed

57:53

his alliance with Russia would keep the

57:55

peace in Central Europe by deterring the

57:58

Austrians. But as we

58:00

saw, at the Congress of Erfurt, that

58:02

relationship had become very shaky, and

58:04

it was becoming increasingly clear Bonaparte

58:07

could not rely on Emperor Alexander.

58:10

In fact, Napoleon didn't know it, but

58:12

the Russians had already sold him out.

58:16

After Tilsit, Napoleon's path to the

58:19

final victory had looked relatively clear

58:21

and simple. How much

58:23

things can change in 18 months. No

58:27

wonder the Emperor was literally sick

58:29

with worry. That's

58:32

all for now. If you're signed

58:34

up on Patreon, I'll be back to you in a

58:36

few weeks with another bonus episode. Make

58:39

sure to get in your questions in the

58:41

comments of The Last Dispatch. As

58:43

for the rest of you, I'll be back to

58:45

you next month with the outbreak of the War

58:47

of the Fifth Coalition. As

58:50

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