Napoleon's Correspondence

May 19 through 21, 1809 (15230 - 15242)
Prelude and first day of Aspern-Essling

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15230. - TO VICE-ADMIRAL COUNT DECREES, MINISTER OF THE NAVY, AT PARIS.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809.

Vice-Admiral Decres, the conduct of the said Mr. Victor Hugues in Cayenne, as well as that of the general captain of Martinique, deserves an investigation. Send orders to the one and the other to move thirty miles away from Paris, to a city which you will indicate. Demand reports from the general captain of Martinique on the weak defense opposed by fort Bourbon. How could it go so promptly? Why the garrison wasn't free and noncaptive? Finally why didn't it exclude from capitulation the colonial prefect, who is a civil employee? As for the said Mr. Victor Hugues, he imports to me the indications on his career, to know if is not to save it that he gave up my island of Cayenne without defense. I need to have investigations and detailed reports on these colonies.

Since you could not unload all your provisions in Barcelona, unload them in Rosas.

NAPOLEON.

According to the original comm. by Mrs. Decres duchess.

15231. - TO ALEXANDER, PRINCE OF NEUCHATEL, MAJOR GENERAL OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY, AT EBERSDORF.

Ebersdorf., May 19, 1809.

My Cousin, strongly order the duke of Valmy not to divert anything for the Hanau corps which is intended for the army, neither troops, neither artillery, nor military crews. If he does not rigorously carried out this order, I will be obliged to relieve him of the command of this corps.

NAPOLEON.

According to the original. War depot.

15232. - TO MARSHAL, DAVOUT, DUKE Of AUERSTAEDT, COMMANDING THE 3RD CORPS OF THE ARMY Of GERMANY, AT SAINT - POELTEN.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809.

My Cousin, order general Pajol to go with a regiment of cavalry to the outskirts toward Tulln, otherwise he will be put in communication with another regiment of cavalry which you will send, under the orders of an intelligent officer, to Sieghartskirchen; with this brigade of cavalry he will go to the help of General Vandamme, who today went between Mauthausen and Altenburg; to attack the enemy who threatened to pass. Warn General Vandamme of the name of these two regiments, the direction which they will take and of the hour at which they will arrive, by an officer who will be able to bring back news from what will occur this evening and tonight. Charge General Pajol and the senior officer than you send to Sieghartskirchen with frequently corresponding with you and with leaving to this effect some posts on the road. Hold ready, with divisions Friant, Morand and Gudin, to leave at 2 o'clock at night to go wherever it will be necessary, whilst making as few movements with these divisions as possible this evening. It does not appear that Friant's division alone will need to come out of the city in order to be relieved by Claparede's division. Friant's division can match everything between Schœnbrunn and Vienna in battle. Have its artillery ready to leave. If you meet some other things belonging to your army corps on the Saint-Poelten road, make them march on Vienna. For the remainder, it is necessary to make as few movements as possible until we know what the enemy will do. It is not impossible that I will not move your corps during the day of tomorrow. I order that the two brigades of Claparede's division occupy Vienna, and that a division occupies Nussdorf near Klosterneuburg. Make sure that all of General Morand's posts are relieved during the night.

NAPOLEON.

According to the original comm. by the marshal's wife princess of Eckmuhl.

15233. - TO MARSHAL BESSIERES, DUKE OF ISTRIE, COMMANDING THE CAVALRY RESERVE OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809, three o'clock in the evening.

The intention of the Emperor, my dear Duke, is that Espagne's division returns here tomorrow at five o'clock in the morning, with its artillery and ready to cross the Danube: that Saint-Sulpice's division also returns to a quarter league from Ebersdorf by six o'clock in the morning, and finally Nansouty's division at eight o'clock.

I warn you that the Emperor is giving to General Lasalle a division made up of brigades Pire and Bruyere. The intention of His Majesty is that these two brigades return tomorrow, at five o'clock in the morning in Ebersdorf to cross the bridge.

I also ask you to give the order to General Colbert to send someone with two of his regiments, to be in front of Ebersdorf at the very earliest, to pass the Danube there.

You will order General Colbert to lend 500 horses to General Lauriston; it is necessary that General Colbert warns General Lauriston of his movement. I warn you that I give the order to General Marulaz to pull in his posts and to go to Ebersdorf with his brigade, for crossing the bridge there.

The prince of Neuchatel, Major General

According to the minutes. Empire Archives.

15234. - TO MARSHAL MASSENA, DUKE OF RIVOLI, COMMANDING THE 4TH CORPS OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY, AT VIENNA.

Ebersdorf, May 19 1809. Three-thirty at night.

The Emperor, my dear Duke of Rivoli, orders that general Marulaz pulls in all his posts, and that tomorrow, at five o'clock in the morning, returns with his brigade to Ebersdorf to cross the bridge.

General Montbrun, who is in Bruck, will cover the road to Presbourg; you will tell General Marulaz to warn general Montbrun.

The Emperor also orders that all your army corps is ready to cross the bridge early tomorrow.

The prince of Neuchatel, Major general.

According to the minutes. Empire Archives.

15235. - TO MARSHAL LANNES, DUKE OF MONTEBELLO, COMMANDING THE 2ND CORPS OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY, AT NUSSDORF.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809, four o'clock in the evening.

The intention of the Emperor, my dear Duke, is that your army corps is ready to cross the Danube tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning.

The prince of Neuchatel, Major general .

According to the minutes. Empire Archives.

15236. - TO GENERAL COUNT GUDIN, COMMANDING THE 3RD DIVISION OF THE 3RD CORPS, AT SIEGHARTSKIRCHEN.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809, four o'clock in the evening.

It is ordered for General Gudin to leave Sieghartskirchen tomorrow at three o'clock in the morning, to return at nine o'clock in the morning to Nussdorf between Klosterneuburg and Vienna, on right bank of the Danube; he will guard the entire bank of this river to Vienna. I will inform the duke of Auerstaedt of this order.

The prince of Neuchatel, major general.

According to the minutes. Empire Archives.

15237. - TO MARSHAL BERNADOTTE, PRINCE OF PONTE-CORVO, COMMANDING THE 9TH CORPS OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY, AT LINZ.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809, eight o'clock in the evening.

The intention of the Emperor, Prince, is that you enter Bohemia and that you maneuver either on Budweis, or on Zwettel, according to the circumstances and the movements of the enemy.

The Emperor hopes that the bridge that is to be thrown below Vienna will be ready tomorrow before midday, and that in the course of the day all the army will be on the left bank.

Your first goal, Prince, must always be to cover Linz; the second, to move the enemy away from the Danube, from Krems to Vienna.

General Vandamme has the order to put his headquarters at Enns, to leave 2,000 men at the head of bridge at Linz and to occupy Steyer, also that leaves your corps available.

The prince of Neuchatel, general major.

According to the minutes. Empire Archives.

15238. - TO MARSHAL DAVOUT, DUKE Of AUERSTAEDT, COMMANDING THE 3RD CORPS OF THE ARMY Of GERMANY, AT SAINT-POELTEN.

Ebersdorf, May 19, 1809, eight o'clock in the evening.

The intention of the Emperor, my dear Duke, is that you withdraw all that you have on the side of Maria Zell, and there keep only one strong patrol of observation. If there is nothing new, the intention of the Emperor is that you start from Saint-Poelten, so as to be returned tomorrow at midday in Vienna. Before the day, you will send your pontonniers, your sappers and your tools to Nussdorf, or you will give the order for someone to throw a bridge. You know that Nussdorf is between Klosterneuburg and Vienna. I directly sent the order to General Gudin to leave tomorrow at four o'clock in the morning, from Sieghartskirchen, to go to Nussdorf and to watch all the right bank of the Danube to Vienna.

You will order that all boats are collected at once and also that the left bank is free: that must be tomorrow, since the bridges that the Emperor has done in Ebersdorf, two miles below Vienna, will be done before midday, and then our cavalry will flood the plain.

Your pontonniers will be very-necessary to establish a ferry at the site of the burned bridges at Vienna, to be able to communicate by the most direct road to Brunn: for our bridge, as I said to you, is two long leagues below Vienna.

The intention of the Emperor is that you quickly move your cavalry by Mautern and Tulln, which will scout the right bank of the Danube: except however a regiment which it will be necessary to leave at Krems.

As for Morand's division, you will place it so as to fulfill the double goal to cover, from Moelk to Vienna, the right bank, to guard Saint-Poelten and of being able to assemble in Vienna once the enemy has given up the left bank.

I am ordering the prince of Ponte-Corvo to enter Bohemia and maneuver on Budweis or Zwettel, following the circumstances and the movements of the enemy.

As for General Vandamme, he must place someone at Enns and leave 2,000 men at the head of bridge of Linz. He will occupy Steyer to contain the Alt-Mark and Enns: he will observe the outlets of Mauthausen; He must occupy Wallsee and Ips, and he will return to Vienna the troops which are in these last points, and finally he will be held ready to go, with all the mass of his forces, on Steyer, according to events. In the last case, he would leave 2,000 men at the head of bridge of Linz, so that the prince of Ponte-Corvo is available.

The prince of Neuchatel, major general .

15239. - NINTH BULLETIN OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY.

Vienna, May 19, 1809.

While the army took some rest in Vienna, that its corps rallied, that the Emperor passed reviews to grant rewards to the brave men who had been distinguished and to name for vacant positions, we prepared all that was necessary for the important operation of the passage of the Danube.

Prince Charles, after the battle of Eckmuhl, was thrown on other bank of the Danube, had for refuge only the mountains of Bohemia. While following the remains of the army of Prince Charles in the interior of Bohemia, the Emperor would have taken his artillery and his luggage; but this advantage was not worth the disadvantage of walking his army, during fifteen days, in poor countries, mountainous and devastated.

The Emperor did not adopt any plan which could delay one day his entry into Vienna, suspecting well that, in the state of irritation we had excited, we would think of defending this city, which has an excellent enclosed bastion, and to erect some obstacle. In another way, the army of Italy drew its attention, and the idea that the Austrians occupied the beautiful provinces of Frioul and Piave did not leave him any rest.

The marshal duke of Auerstaedt remained in position in front of Ratisbon during the time which Prince Charles emerged in Bohemia, and immediately after he moved by Passau and Linz by the left bank of the Danube, gaining four steps on this prince, the corps of the prince of Ponte-Corvo was directed in the same system, Initially he made a movement on Egra, which obliged prince Charles to detach the corps of General Bellegarde there; but by a counter-march he moved abruptly on Linz, where he arrived before general Bellegarde, who, having learned of this counter-march, also moved on the Danube.

These skilful maneuvers, made day by day according to circumstances, released Italy, delivered without defense the barriers of Inn, Salza, Traun and all the enemy stores, subjected Vienna, disorganized the militia and the landwehr, finished the defeat of the corps of archduke Louis and general Hiller and achieved the loss of reputation of the enemy General, This one, seeing the Emperor's march, thought of moving on Linz to cross the bridge there and to meet the corps of archduke Louis and General Hiller; but the French army assembled there several days before he could have hoped to make his junction with Krems; lucky plans! He was still delayed four days, and General Hiller, again by crossing the Danube, was obliged to burn the beautiful bridge of Krems. He finally hoped to meet in front of Vienna; he was still delayed several days.

The Emperor threw a bridge on the Danube, opposite the village of Ebersdorf, two miles below Vienna. The river, divided into this place in several arms, is four hundred toises wide. The operation began yesterday the 18th, at four hours after midday. Molitor's division was thrown onto the left bank, and collapsed the weak detachments which wanted to dispute the ground with him and to cover the last arm of the river.

The Generals Bertrand and Pernety worked on the two bridges, one of more than two hundred and forty, the other of more than one hundred thirty toises, connected between them by an island. It is hoped that work will be finished tomorrow.

All the information which we collected cause us to think that the emperor of Austria is east of Znaym.

There is no levee in Hungary yet. Without weapons , without saddles, money, and very little attachment to the House of Austria, this nation appears to have refused any species of help.

General Lauriston, aide-de-camp to His Majesty, at the head of the Baden infantry brigade and General Colbert's brigade of light cavalry, went to Neustadt on Bruck and Semringberg, high mountains which separates the waters which run to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In this difficult passage, he took a few hundred prisoners.

General Duppelin marched on Maria Zell, where he disarmed a thousand landwehr and took a few hundreds of prisoners.

The marshal duke of Danzig went on Inspruck; he met, on the 14th, in Woergl, general Chasteler with his Tyroleans; he collapsed and took 700 men and eleven pieces of artillery from him.

Kufstein was freed on the 12th. The chamberlain of His Majesty, Germain, who had contained himself in this place, indeed showed himself.

In this tale is the position of the army today. The corps of the marshals dukes of Rivoli and Montebello and the corps of grenadiers of General Oudinot are in Vienna, as well as the Imperial Guard. The corps of the marshal duke of Auerstaedt is distributed between Saint-Poelten and Vienna. The marshal prince of Ponte-Corvo is in Linz with the Saxons and Wurtenbergers; he has a reserve with Passau. The marshal duke of Danzig is with the Bavarians in Salzburg and Inspruck.

The colonel count de Czernitchef, aide-de-camp of the emperor of Russia, which had been dispatched for Paris, arrived at the moment the army entered Vienna. Since this moment, he has been at the service of His Majesty. He brought news of the Russian army, which will have been able to leave its cantonments only towards May the 10th or 12th.

Extract of the Monitor of May 27, 1809.

15240. - TO GENERAL CLARKE, COUNT OF HUNEBOURG, MINISTER OF THE WAR, AT PARIS.

Ebersdorf, May 20, 1809.

My dear general Clark, I reply to your letter of the 12th. It is necessary to send the 941 men intended for 15th and 10th light and the 57th regiment to Portugal, as I ordered.

Once again, Prussia will not move; if it moves, I am there to punish it. Exceptional occurrences cannot take place any more. Besides, I am able to provide for all, the only thing that you can do without my order, it is to make provisions, in the event of unforeseen events, for Wesel, Mainz or Strasbourg; for the remainder of Germany, do not think of it.

I approve the measures which you took to carry completion the seven Polish regiments, the regiments of Tour d'Auvergne and Isembourg, and Irish regiments.

I wish that the Austrian prisoners do not cost me anything and that they are distributed between the peasants.

Work on the miners, sappers and pontonniers, and take from the depots all that you will be able to supplement them.

NAPOLEON.

According to the copy. War depot.

15241. - TO GENERAL CLARKE, COUNT OF HUNEBOURG, MINISTER OF THE WAR, AT PARIS.

Ebersdorf, May 20, 1809.

My dear general Clark, I received your letters of the 13th, I see that the 3rd provisional demi-brigade is only to 1,200 men and the 4th with 600 men. However all the corps which must provide to these demi-brigades have many people; thus accelerate the formation of these demi-brigades.

You were wrong to direct the detachments of dragoons to the depots of Versailles on Hanau, since there are provisional regiments of dragoons at Hanau. Continue to direct them on Strasbourg, where these regiments are formed.

I suppose that in the event of events on the side of the Scheldt you took measures to direct general Rampon there with his 6,000 national guards; that General Sainte-Suzanne , with what he has available at the camp of Boulogne, can meet in Ghent with the demi-brigades of Ghent, Maestricht and Saint-Omer; finally that you take measures in Paris for the two demi-brigades which are formed there. All that needs to be activated.

The two demi-brigades which are formed in Paris must be 5,000 men strong ; it is necessary that they are ready and in hand, to post them to any points of the coast which are threatened.

According to the minutes. Empire Archives.

15242. - TO MARSHAL DAVOUT, DUKE OF AUERSTAEDT, COMMANDING THE 3RD CORPS OF THE ARMY OF GERMANY, AT VIENNA.

At the bivouac over the Danube, May 21, 1809, nine o'clock in the evening.

The bridges, being broken, time was wasted. The enemy has attacked with all his forces, and we had only 20,000 men across. It was a hot affair. We remain on the field of battle.

It is necessary to send all your park here, [and] the most ammunition possible. Send the most troops that you are able, by keeping those which are necessary to hold Vienna. Also send us food.

Come by steps from Saint-Poelten, which will be necessary to hold Vienna.

The prince of Neuchatel, major general.