Battle of Znaim

Overview

Following defeat at the Battle of Wagram, Archduke Charles retreated north into Bohemia hoping to regroup his battered forces. The French army had also suffered in the battle and did not give immediate pursuit. But two days after the battle, Napoleon ordered his troops north intending to defeat the Austrians once and for all. The French eventually caught up the Austrians at Znaim on 10 July 1809. Realising they were in no position to give battle, the Austrians proposed a ceasefire as Archduke Charles went to begin peace negotiations with Napoleon.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

Znaim brought the active campaigning of the War of the Fifth Coalition to a close. Following their defeat at Wagram, the Austrians under Archduke Charles withdrew northward into Bohemia to regroup, while French forces recovered before resuming pursuit two days later on Napoleon's orders. When the two armies converged at Znaim on 10 July 1809, the Austrians, outnumbering the French at 64,000 to 36,660 but in no condition to renew major combat, proposed a ceasefire rather than risk further engagement. Archduke Charles then entered peace negotiations with Napoleon directly. The confrontation at Znaim thus served less as a decisive engagement than as the terminal pressure that compelled Austria to seek terms, translating the strategic verdict of Wagram into a formal armistice and setting the stage for the peace settlement that ended the Fifth Coalition.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (4)