Aspern & Wagram 1809: Mighty Clash Of Empires

Osprey Campaign #33

by Ian Castle

The 1809 campaign on the Danube was to break the spell of Napoleon's invincibility. Indeed Wagram - the largest battle in history at the time - was Napoleon's revenge for his earlier defeat on the battlefield - at Aspern-Essling. In gaining this revenge the French commander was not wholly successful. Although the French won the battle as the Austrians eventually quit the field, the victory was an extremely hollow one, as Napoleon was unable to inflict a decisive defeat. Both these epic battles are expertly described by Ian Castle, chronicling the many changes of fortune as each side captured, lost, and then recaptured key positions.

Genres: Military History, History, Nonfiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published May 26, 1994

About the author

Ian Castle began writing military history some thirty years ago but for the last ten years has focused on Germany’s First World War air raids against Britain. Initially exploring the London raids, his later research extended to include attacks across the whole country. In addition to writing books, Ian regularly contributes articles to magazines and journals and has been involved in a number of television documentaries detailing this early air campaign. Besides giving regular talks on the subject, Ian is also building an extensive website highlighting these early air raids.

Reviews

[Tom Axworthy]

A contribution to the Osprey military campaign series. the battles describe Napoleon still at the peak of his powers.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final paragraph in this book contains the following statement (page 90): "Never again would [Napoleon] experience the crowning glory of a triumphant campaign across the battlefields of Europe and don the victor's laurels." This slender Osprey volume, in the Campaign" series, explores the twinned battles of Aspern and Wagram.

The campaign pitted the capable Archduke Charles (Austria) against the redoubtable Napoleon Bonaparte. The Archduke was a very capable commander and gave Napoleon as much as he could handle. As with others in this series, we get a glimpse of the commanders on both sides, the armies (including a very useful order of battle), and strategy/tactics of each side.

The focus is on the preliminary battle at Aspern and Essling, after which Napoleon retreated, and the follow up major battle at Wagram (around 300,000 soldiers involved--the largest battle up to this point in time, according to the text). The battles were bloody and both armies fought fiercely. Napoleon began the campaign with a dismissive attitude toward the Austrians. He felt quite differently at the conclusion of the conflict!

There are some useful (and other not so useful) maps, orders of battle for both battles, and so on. All in all, a nice addition to the "Campaign" series.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Standard Osprey Campaign offering - basic overview of historical events and a decent primer with very good selection of graphics material, maps and orders of battle. Ian Castle's narrative is compact and to the point, which allows him to squeeze significant amount of information into limited space available to him.

At the same time I must question wisdom of Osprey's decision to compress two so significant battles as Aspern-Essling and Wagram into a single booklet. In my opinion, these battles deserve their own volumes.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dryer than most in the series, but still a good examination. One has to wonder if Civil War generals, wanted to emulate Austerlitz, instead reenacted Wagram upon the fields of America.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aspern & Wagram 1809, combined with its sister Osprey title Eggmuhl 1809: Storm Over Bavaria gives you a nice overview of the entire campaign.