The Franco-Austrian War of 1809 was Napoleon s last victorious war. He would win many battles in his future campaigns, but never again would one of Europe s great powers lie broken at his feet. In this respect 1809 represents a high point of the First Empire yet at the same time Napoleon s armies were declining in quality and he was beginning to display the corrosive flaws that contributed to his downfall five years later.

In this volume Gill tackles the political background to the war and the opening battles of Abensberg, Eggmuhl and Regensberg. He explores the motivations that...

In the second volume of this epic work, John H. Gill traces Napoleon s progress as he sought to complete his victory over the Habsburgs. The war had erupted on April 10th with Austria s invasion of Germany and Italy. After just two weeks, Napoleon had battered the Habsburg Archduke Charles in a series of bruising defeats.

This volume begins with Napoleon astride the Danube at Regensburg. He faced a critical strategic choice whether to pursue the injured Austrian main army into Bohemia or march directly for Vienna, the seat of Habsburg power.

After electing to target Vienna,...

"With this third volume John Gill brings to a close his magisterial study of the war between Napoleonic France and Habsburg Austria. The account begins with both armies recuperating on the banks of the Danube. As they rest, important action was taking place elsewhere: Eugene won a crucial victory over Johann on the anniversary of Marengo, Prince Poniatowski s Poles outflanked another Austrian archduke along the Vistula, and Marmont drove an Austrian force out of Dalmatia to join Napoleon at Vienna. These campaigns set the stage for the titanic Battle of Wagram.



Second only...