Chapter Summaries

Moreau led Ney’s corps east through Bavaria toward Austria, deliberately threatening Vienna instead of attacking Munich. Franz II’s ministers decided to gather forces and cut the French supply line, hoping to trap Moreau’s army before it reached the capital.

• Moreau told Ney that the corps would advance on Vienna to make Franz II believe the French might assault the capital.
• Franz II asked Hoendorf what Austrian troops could be mobilized and ordered the Erzgebirge Corps to reinforce Munich.
• An officer reported that the French had captured Passau and were marching toward Linz, prompting Franz II to summon his senior ministers and military officers.
• Thugut and the other ministers judged that the French force was small and vulnerable, and planned to cut its supplies and attack it in a pincer movement with Bavaria.

Moreau lured the Bavarian Army into attacking by feigning a retreat, then ordered his forces to encircle its divided formations near Ingolstadt. The French counterattack began with Bavarian cavalry charging into French bayonets and volleys as French cavalry appeared behind them.

• Moreau captured Linz, gave a speech urging the soldiers to take Vienna, and then marched his legion through Perg before turning back toward Bavaria.
• General Dernberg prepared to trap Moreau’s army near Ingolstadt, believing French forces were retreating from Vienna and that Austrian reinforcements were on their way.
• When Bavarian scouts reported a large French force to the south, Dernberg ordered his corps to attack before the French could deploy.
• Moreau recognized that Dernberg underestimated his army and ordered his troops to withdraw, prompting the Bavarian wings and cavalry to pursue in disorder.
• Moreau ordered the Third and 4th Skirmisher Regiments to attack the Bavarian right wing, Ney’s Corps to cut off and encircle it, and the Dragoons to advance.
• The French halted their retreat, met the leading Bavarian cavalry with bayonets and volleys, and brought French cavalry onto its rear flank.

Moreau crushed Dernberg’s Bavarian Army, then used a feint toward Vienna to force Austria to reinforce its capital without taking the city. Ney reached Munich under orders not to attack, while Count Segur arrived at the royal palace.

• Moreau outmaneuvered Dernberg, surrounded his remaining forces, and captured him and nearly all of the Bavarian Army.
• Moreau sent Ney toward Munich while leading the main French force east to threaten Vienna.
• Orsperg withdrew to Vienna, where rumors of a French invasion caused panic, shortages, and a sharp rise in bread prices.
• Moreau kept his army near Perg and withdrew without attacking Vienna after Austria concentrated troops in the capital.
• Ney reached the outskirts of Munich and received a secret order from the Crown Prince not to attack, as Count Segur arrived at the palace.

Segur negotiated a Franco-Bavarian alliance that spared Bavaria harsh surrender terms and brought it into France’s orbit. The treaty was signed, giving France a garrison in Passau and a strategic foothold, while Segur proposed investing in Bavaria’s Iphofen coal mine.

• Pomenthal offered to accept France’s terms, but Segur argued that Austria was responsible for drawing Bavaria into the war and proposed closer ties with France.
• Segur offered Bavaria a mutual defense treaty and entry into the Mediterranean Security Organization and the Rhine Trade Alliance, and Theodore readily agreed.
• Segur assured Pomenthal that French troops would protect Bavaria and that captured Bavarian soldiers would be returned.
• One week later, Segur and Bavaria signed a draft mutual defense treaty granting France military transit rights and permission to garrison Passau.
• At a Munich palace banquet, Segur proposed that France’s Industrial Development Fund take a 45 percent stake in the Iphofen coal mine and manage its operations.

Theodore agreed to a French-funded coal mine project in Iphofen that would give France long-term control over Bavarian resources and markets. In northern Italy, Napoleon prepared to encircle Alvinzi’s Austrian army, and Alvinzi learned that French forces had appeared on his flank and rear.

• Theodore learned that France would provide the capital and equipment for the Iphofen coal mine in exchange for its deeds, and he agreed to recruit miners.
• Joseph’s plan used the coal mine to encourage Bavarian industry to adopt French steam engines and pave the way for joint development of other Bavarian resources.
• Napoleon ordered his troops to rest before a dawn assault and trusted Augereau’s Corps to reach its position despite the lack of contact.
• Alvinzi ordered Kostanovich to advance and planned an attack on Trento, but cannon fire interrupted him.
• Kostanovich’s messenger reported that at least ten thousand French troops had appeared on the Austrian army’s flank and rear.

Alvinzi sent reinforcements to both wings as Napoleon’s forces routed Kostanovich’s army near Molverino. Napoleon then learned that Würmser had broken out of Mantua and feared Augereau had met him, while Augereau was actually fighting Archduke Karl at the Avio River.

• Alvinzi sent Zweig’s Galicia Corps and the Berlad Cavalry Battalion to reinforce Kostanovich, and ordered Buch Corps to aid Bajachaza on the left wing.
• Kostanovich’s defenses collapsed under French artillery and infantry attacks, and he withdrew southeast with his Guard.
• Napoleon sent Grouchy to scout and learned that Zweig’s Corps had arrived, while Kostanovich’s forces had escaped.
• Desaix’s messenger told Napoleon that Würmser had led nearly twenty thousand Austrian soldiers out of Mantua two days earlier.
• Napoleon suspected Augereau had encountered Würmser, but Augereau was instead fighting Archduke Karl’s army at the Avio River.

Archduke Karl and Bajachaza held the French crossing at the Vesio River with artillery and a trap at Stone Beach, while Augereau’s assault was bloodily repulsed. Night left the French pinned beside the woods, and Bajachaza learned that Napoleon had crushed the Austrian right wing.

• Bajachaza recalled that Archduke Karl had warned him about the exposed Vesio River and discovered the French crossing before the Austrian forces joined battle.
• When the French attacked the left wing again, Karl Ludwig urged Bajachaza to hold back his reserve and ordered artillery to bombard Stone Beach as General Metzger withdrew and prepared to counterattack.
• Augereau sent Andre and three thousand Moulins Legion soldiers across Stone Beach, where Austrian cannon fire and flying stones inflicted heavy casualties.
• Andre ordered a retreat, and Austrian Hussars disrupted the junction between the Moulins Legion and the Marmont Legion until Augereau committed reserves to steady the line.
• By nightfall the French had lost the ground they had seized and were pinned beside the woods, while Bajachaza learned that Napoleon had crushed his right-wing legion.

Napoleon attacked Alvinzi’s defenses at Mount Topaganella, but Austrian reinforcements began closing in around his force. As Strom’s troops appeared on Napoleon’s flank, cannon fire from the direction of Alvinzi’s command post suggested that the Austrians faced a new threat.

• Augereau received a report of more than a thousand French casualties, while Archduke Karl learned that Alvinzi had cut his reinforcements to two thousand men.
• Marmont secretly ferried six cannons across the river, and Bajachaza learned that Würmser was approaching with sixteen thousand soldiers, followed by more than ten thousand Sardinians.
• Napoleon realized that Alvinzi’s focus on his raiding force left Victor’s fifteen thousand men in Trento free to move, and he called a war council.
• Napoleon’s troops assaulted Zweig’s defensive lines, but their attacks were repelled, and Alvinzi ordered Strom and Buch to attack while his Central Route Army continued west.
• Strom’s corps appeared on Napoleon’s right flank, forming a half-encirclement, just as cannon fire sounded from the direction of Alvinzi’s command post.

Alvinzi tried to withdraw his exposed headquarters while Victor attacked, and Austrian forces routed the French near Morvino. Napoleon marched around Mount Topaganella overnight and reached the Austrian command’s vicinity at dawn, preparing to attack.

• Alvinzi learned that Victor’s corps was advancing from the southeast and ordered Weber to march toward Trento while he withdrew toward Mount Topaganella with Davidovich.
• Zweig and Strom routed the French east of Morvino, then sent thirteen thousand Austrians to attack the town before nightfall.
• Napoleon led twelve thousand soldiers around Mount Topaganella while his cavalry and Horse Artillery moved ahead toward Trento.
• At dawn, Napoleon learned Alvinzi’s headquarters was three kilometers away and urged his soldiers to march on and crush the Austrians.

Napoleon’s forces routed Alvinzi’s army and captured the Austrian commander, while Augereau launched a surprise attack on Bajachaza’s camp before Würmser’s hungry troops could organize. The chapter ended with the Austrians’ outer defenses broken and their soldiers scattering or surrendering.

• Alvinzi ordered his army to retreat west after Victor’s forces appeared to the north, but Napoleon’s troops attacked from multiple directions and overwhelmed the Austrians.
• Davidovich abandoned successive defensive lines and led his Guard toward Alvinzi as French cavalry captured the Austrian commander and senior officers.
• Napoleon greeted Alvinzi and learned that General Weber and eight thousand Austrian soldiers occupied Trento.
• Würmser joined Bajachaza west of the Vesio River, while his starving soldiers flooded Bajachaza’s camp to demand or buy food.
• Augereau and Marmont attacked before the Austrians could finish forming up, and Karl Ludwig struggled to restore order in the chaotic camp.
• The French broke through the Austrian outer defenses, sending Würmser’s soldiers fleeing or surrendering and weakening Bajachaza’s men.

Augereau’s forces routed Bajachaza’s Austrians, while Archduke Karl withdrew his Moravian troops and tried to delay the French advance without risking a direct battle. The next morning, reports of Austrian forces north of Augereau’s position made him fear he had been drawn into an encirclement.

• Augereau ordered his infantry, artillery, and cavalry to press the attack, and the French advance turned the Austrian retreat into a rout.
• Archduke Karl withdrew his corps north, ordered his troops to avoid fighting, and arranged a broad, thin deployment to make the French believe they faced a threat.
• Archduke Karl sent Mozer to contact Bajachaza and carry out his plan while the French prepared their next moves.
• A cavalry captain and a messenger reported Austrian troops near Saint-Leon Village and Sarolno and an attack on the 7th Infantry Battalion, which Augereau’s men repelled.
• Augereau and Marmont suspected a trap, and two Rangers reported finding a force of more than fifteen thousand Austrians four kilometers to the north.

Augereau and Marmont fought off Archduke Karl’s diversion while Karl helped Bajachaza’s and Würmser’s armies escape north after learning that Alvinzi had been captured. Napoleon then learned from Desaix that Beaulieu had surrendered Mantua.

• Augereau ordered his troops to withdraw and strengthen their defenses after mistaking Karl Ludwig’s spread-out Moravian Corps for a much larger force.
• Karl Ludwig learned that Alvinzi had been captured, then ordered his troops to draw Augereau east while Bajachaza and Würmser fled north toward Bolzano.
• Augereau defeated the Austrian attack near the Vesio River and pursued Karl Ludwig’s forces, unaware that most of them had already crossed the river.
• Bajachaza’s and Würmser’s troops escaped north through the opening Karl had created, while his remaining force withdrew toward Austria.
• Napoleon praised Augereau and Marmont, then Desaix reported that Beaulieu had surrendered Mantua.

Madam Scheller and her family learned that Marshal Alvinzi had been defeated and French forces were advancing on Vienna. At the church, Madam Scheller and Lucas searched the casualty lists among the village’s grieving families.

• Lucas complained to Madam Scheller about helping with the spring sowing and urged her to return to Vienna.
• Madam Scheller told Lucas that they would wait for his brother David to return before going back to Vienna.
• Jocelyn reported that Marshal Alvinzi had been defeated, with more than ten thousand dead and tens of thousands captured, and that French forces were advancing toward Vienna.
• Madam Scheller ordered preparations to leave for Pressburg, then went with Lucas to the church after hearing that the Military Committee had delivered a casualty list.
• Madam Scheller, Lucas, and Jocelyn reached the crowded church and saw officers guarding boards covered with the names of the dead.

Madam Scheller learned that David had died at Morvino after Lucas was conscripted, while Franz II faced Britain's refusal to provide aid and Russia's planned marriage alliance with France. The chapter ended with a crowd outside Schönbrunn Palace demanding an armistice and the repeal of wartime measures.

• Madam Scheller found David absent from the casualty list and embraced Lucas in relief before deciding to leave for Pressburg.
• Military Committee officers conscripted Lucas into the 11th Infantry Regiment of the Royal German Legion despite Madam Scheller's pleas.
• Baron Scheller returned and told Madam Scheller that David had been killed by cannon fire at Morvino more than twenty days earlier.
• Baron Scheller learned Lucas had been conscripted and rushed to bring him back to Vienna.
• Canning refused Franz II's requests for British troops and military funds, then revealed that the Tsar planned a marriage alliance with France.
• Franz II summoned his ministers as a crowd outside Schönbrunn Palace demanded an armistice, Thugut's resignation, and an end to conscription and the special war tax.

As protests against conscription spread through Vienna, Baron Scheller joined the march after failing to secure a safe assignment for his son Lucas. In Trentham Village, serfs feared worsening taxes and compulsory labor as Austria prepared to announce new demands.

• Count Kobzl ordered Police to disperse the protesters near Graben Street, and officers beat the crowd back while Court Guard soldiers watched.
• Baron Scheller begged Count Glauber to keep Lucas from the front, but Glauber demanded 2,500 to 3,000 Florins to arrange a safe logistics post.
• Scheller offered to give Glauber the 3,000-Florin Pension owed to his deceased son David, but Glauber refused and left.
• When protesters called for an end to conscription and peace with France, Scheller joined them and shouted for the conscription order to be canceled.
• In Trentham Village, serfs discussed rumors that the Emperor would increase Corvée hours and taxes, leaving them worried about their own farms and mounting debts.

Serf uprisings and protests spread across Austria as war taxes, conscription, and hardship fueled opposition to Emperor Franz II. After Baron Scheller embraced a pamphlet advocating freedom and popular sovereignty, unrest overwhelmed Vienna, leaving the government considering military suppression.

• Serfs looted Viscount Hammer's estate in Seoden, then hundreds gathered and ransacked Baron Scheller's manor and other landlords' homes.
• After being injured during a protest in Vienna, Baron Scheller received a pamphlet about freedom and human rights and secretly read its arguments for popular sovereignty.
• Scheller spoke publicly about equality outside a Cafe, but Secret Police officers moved to arrest him and the owner helped him escape.
• Protests and looting spread across Vienna as serfs and other groups challenged the government and the Police lost control.
• At Schönbrunn Palace, Franz II asked Kobzl how to resolve the unrest, and the Minister of the Interior recommended deploying the army.

As Napoleon advanced toward Austria, Franz II struggled to find troops and money to suppress Vienna’s riots, while the French Intelligence Bureau secretly inflamed the unrest. The rioters destroyed the Tax Farm Office and marched toward City Hall as French agents prepared to publish the Emperor’s troop movements.

• Franz II refused to pull soldiers from the front and ordered Kobzl to seek help from Hungary’s Debrecen Legion, while Tugut warned that its troops would take ten days to arrive.
• Kobzl proposed calming the protesters by paying overdue military pensions, but Franz II lacked the funds and approved Tugut’s plan to borrow five million Florins from Salomon Rothschild.
• Vienna protesters stormed the Tax Farm Office, killed Rosenthal, burned its records, and began marching toward City Hall.
• French Intelligence Bureau agents prepared to flee Vienna and ordered the Emperor’s troop deployment printed in the next morning’s Pamphlets.

Franz II authorized Hungarian troops to suppress Vienna’s protests under martial law, while low-ranking officers debated how to prevent the army from harming civilians. As soldiers confronted rioters east of Vienna, the crowd threw stones and sticks, and the officer prepared to give the order to fire.

• Franz II signed a warrant allowing General Grasalkovich’s troops to search homes, requisition supplies, interrogate rioters, and execute them without trial.
• Captain Schwarz argued with fellow officers that the army should not be turned against citizens, and Captain Ehlers offered to share a plan with him.
• Scheller and his companions urged Sans-culottes gathered outside shops to avoid looting and petition for political reforms.
• Hungarian soldiers ordered the crowd to disperse under martial law, but the protesters demanded pensions, bread, and an end to the war tax.
• A Sans-culotte threw a stone at the soldiers, the crowd joined in, and the Hungarian officer drew his sword and shouted, “Aim—”

Scheller witnessed Austrian soldiers ambush Hungarian troops who were suppressing protesters, then discovered his youngest son Lucas among the soldiers. Lucas refused to leave, saying hundreds of recruits had joined the uprising and weapons were being distributed to the citizens.

• A Hungarian officer ordered his soldiers to fire on protesters, and Scheller fled with the crowd.
• Hungarian troops surrounded a large gathering and threatened to shoot those who did not disperse.
• Austrian Army soldiers ambushed the Hungarians, and the protesters surged forward to attack them.
• Scheller recognized his son Lucas in the fighting, and Lucas told him he had come to stop the massacre.
• Lucas said seven or eight hundred recruits had joined the citizens and that they had taken thousands of guns from a training camp.
• Scheller begged Lucas to leave the rebellion, but Lucas insisted he had to save the people and the country.

Baron Scheller discovered his wife had traded intimacy with Count Glauber to reduce the cost of securing Lucas’s transfer, then failed in a suicide attempt and shut himself away. As rebellion spread through Vienna, Franz II decided to flee to Moravia.

• Lucas told Baron Scheller he would join the rebellion, insisting that David had not died in vain, and left with the recruits.
• Baron Scheller learned that Madam Scheller had met Count Glauber and that Glauber had promised to reduce his fee in exchange for her staying with him.
• Madam Scheller explained that she had acted to save Lucas, and Baron Scheller learned that the Hungarians had made Lucas’s transfer unnecessary.
• Baron Scheller tried to kill himself with a pistol, but it misfired, and he later locked himself in his study for two days.
• Franz II learned that thousands of rebels had weapons and had attacked the Debrecen Legion, then decided to leave Vienna for Moravia.