1814 - Campaign of France: the triumph of Austrian strategy?
Brun, Jean-François
1814 - Campaign of France: the triumph of Austrian strategy? - 2023.
47
The French campaign in 1814 marks the end of the Empire. From a territorial point of view, the main theatre of operations was essentially limited to the Champagne region, and there was only one major objective, Paris, with the two routes leading to it, the Seine and Marne valleys, taken by the armies of Bohemia and Silesia.Since Napoleon was heavily outnumbered, success could only come by negotiation. However, in order to win a peace on the basis of France’s natural frontiers, he needed to improve his diplomatic position via military successes, hence his delaying manoeuvres, alternating attempts at a decisive encounter on one or other of the enemy’s axes of progression.As for the coalition’s designated generalissimo, Schwarztenberg, he avoided the decisive battle that the Emperor sought, advanced and retreated but always kept his troops grouped, whilst at the same time constantly practising a strategy of attrition. The result was a victory over the French forces by suffocation. He was very careful to guarantee Austrian interests first and foremost, both during and after the war, and he manoeuvred extremely cautiously, avoiding large-scale tactical movements until he had the opportunity to seize Paris.In this article, Jean-François Brun uses maps to analyse the decisive moments of this campaign, taking the Austrian army, whose role has hitherto been underestimated, as a reference point.
1814 - Campaign of France: the triumph of Austrian strategy? - 2023.
47
The French campaign in 1814 marks the end of the Empire. From a territorial point of view, the main theatre of operations was essentially limited to the Champagne region, and there was only one major objective, Paris, with the two routes leading to it, the Seine and Marne valleys, taken by the armies of Bohemia and Silesia.Since Napoleon was heavily outnumbered, success could only come by negotiation. However, in order to win a peace on the basis of France’s natural frontiers, he needed to improve his diplomatic position via military successes, hence his delaying manoeuvres, alternating attempts at a decisive encounter on one or other of the enemy’s axes of progression.As for the coalition’s designated generalissimo, Schwarztenberg, he avoided the decisive battle that the Emperor sought, advanced and retreated but always kept his troops grouped, whilst at the same time constantly practising a strategy of attrition. The result was a victory over the French forces by suffocation. He was very careful to guarantee Austrian interests first and foremost, both during and after the war, and he manoeuvred extremely cautiously, avoiding large-scale tactical movements until he had the opportunity to seize Paris.In this article, Jean-François Brun uses maps to analyse the decisive moments of this campaign, taking the Austrian army, whose role has hitherto been underestimated, as a reference point.
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