La Bataille de Prusse 1809

French Failure At Schöngrabern

The second concurrent event was a double headed monster for the French. First, more and more Russians were coming into the theatre. The French failure at Schoengrabern to catch the Russians, allowed the two Russian armies under Prince Mikhail Kutuzov and the Estonian German Frederick Count Buxhowden to unite with more than 70,000 Russian prior to the Austerlitz battle. There were even more Russian and Austrian forces in the area just a day or two from the main Coalition forces. Then there was the miracle of Austrian mobilization. Dr. Reeve reports in his journal about the Austrians, “The mode of recruiting the (Austrian) armies is violent and severe but very effectual. In the towns, every man is obliged to put down his name, a certain number are selected by the magistrates ad libitum (at his pleasure). In the country and villages, an order is sent to the seigneur or proprietor of the estate for him to furnish so many recruits; he then assembles whom he pleases. This arbitrary measure excites great disturbance; and the mothers and wives come and lament the loss of one who took care of the corn and tilled the ground with them; but when they are assured of having a hand given to them to supply the place of him who is sent away, they are quite content. The loss of a son or a husband because he is such, is never thought of; the breaking asunder all the ties is scarcely felt, for very little affection or sympathy exists among them.” This Austrian form of conscription allowed the Hapsburgs to once again assemble a new army.

Writing shortly after news of Mack’s surrender at Ulm, Dr. Reeve commented….”it is astonishing how great the resources of Austria are in men; her armies have several times been wholly cut off, and in six months another army has been ready to take the field. The Aulic Council (the Austrian High War Council) told a prince four years ago (1801) that the Austrians had lost 1,150,000 men since the Turkish war, that is, within the space of 15 years or thereabout.” Reeves wrote several times about his witness of the aggressive recruitment of new formations just in the short time between Ulm and

Austerlitz by the Austrians. So as the French march further away from France in both distance and time, the Coalition armies grow stronger in relationship to what initially had been perceived to be the French juggernaut. The question remains how much of this perception was fed by Napoleon’s desire to convince the Coalition that they indeed had the upper hand and thus seduce the Coalition into a battle not on their terms, but on terms of the Emperor of the French; and how much was based upon the reality of an overextended and hungry French army

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