Western History 144: What happened during the Wars of the Second and Third Coalitions?

The Second Coalition was formed in 1798 in opposition to France and consisted  of Austria, Holy Roman Empire, Russia the  Ottoman Empire .  Spain, Denmark-Norway and several smaller states sided with  the French. The events of  the Egyptian/Syrian campaign described in the previous question were part of the war.

On the continent the situation in the early stages of the war looked bleak for France. The Russian general Alexander Suvorov defeated the  French in Italy,  while Napoleon is was away in Egypt forcing the French troops to fall backward into the the Alps.  The French did reply at Castricum winning the Second Battle of Zurich  and thereby forcing  Russia to withdraw from the Coalition.

However a more noteworthy victory was cemented by Napoleon against the Austrians, on his return  from Egypt, at the  Battle of Marengo. A second defeat would be inflicted on the Austrians at Hohenlinden pushing the Austrians to sue for peace. 

Battle of Marengo source: poetsandprinces.com                                                             

In 1801  the Treaty of Lunéville was signed with  Austria who  promptly dropped out of the fightBritain now faced France alone. However France was still in a state of political turmoil and at thevery same time had to dispatch an army  to Saint-Domingue (a follow up from the Haitian Revolution of 1791)  to deal with Revolution in the Caribbean. 

A British naval blockade of the sea worked against the French her but it was ultimately disease that was most responsible for substantial French troop losses in this theatre of the war.

Following up, on  what was looking to be a dogged war the French and British signed the Treaty of Amiens  in 1802 bringing about a  temporary peace

It didn’t last long. In 1803 there was a resumption of hostilities between Britain and France. A Third Coalition was formed consisting of Britain, Russia,  the Holy Roman Empire, Sweden, Naples and Sicily . they were  were aided by French Royalists. Spain and Napoleon's puppet republics sided in Italy and the Low countries sided with the French. The Third Collation was finalized in December 1804 just before Napoleon’s intended planned invasion of England (that would never see the light of day as a consequence of France's inability to achieve naval superiority). 

The early battles of the renewed war were fought at sea with Admiral Horatio Nelson's British fleet pursuing the  French fleet led by Pierre-Charles Villeneuve across the Atlantic to the West Indies. Villeneuve evaded conflict but was defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (arguably the greatest naval battle in British maritime history alongside the Spanish Armada). The victory ensured British domination of the Oceans for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars  however it came at the expense of Nelson’s death.

  Horatio Nelson source:www.onthisday.com

 Battle of Trafalgar source: britannica.com

On land the  French were more successful defeating the  Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wertingen  and following this on with a defeat  of the Austrians at Haslach-Junginen and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Elchingen. All of these battles formed part of the part of the successful French Ulm Campaign A later French victory was secured at the Battle of Schöngrabern which was followed by the the Austrelitz Campaign.

It was here at Austrelitz on the 2nd December 1805 that Napoleon reached the apex of his victories. In what was dubbed the battle of the Three Emperors he defeated the combined forces of Russia and the Holy Roman Emperor to guarantee a French victory in the War of the Third Coalition.

Napoleon at Austrelitz source: thoughco.com

The Treaty of Pressburg ended the War  creating the creating the Confederation of the Rhine in Germany and finalizing the breakdown of  the Holy Roman Empire (which had existed since the Days of Charlemagne) . 

Confederation of the Rhine source: www.historicalnations.fandom.com

Soon afterward though French forces defeated Neapolitan troops at the Battle of Campo Tenese.  Joseph Bonaparte the elder brother of Napoleon was made King of Naples despite local opposition. The decision to reward his family members with monarchical titles in conquered territory would be typical feature of Napoleon’s Empire.

  Joseph Bonaparte - King of Naples source: www.palaces-of-Europe-com