Editing Napoleonic Wars (section)

==War of the Fifth Coalition, 1809==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}
{{Main|War of the Fifth Coalition}}
[[File:Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen, with his Staff at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, 21–22 May 1809 (by Johann Peter Krafft, 1838).jpg|thumb|The [[Archduke Charles]] with his staff at the Battle of Aspern-Essling]]
[[File:Wagram-Napoleon and Bessières.jpg|thumb|Napoleon giving orders at the Battle of Wagram]]
The Fifth Coalition (1809) of Britain and Austria against France formed as Britain engaged in the [[Peninsular War]] in Spain and Portugal. The sea became a major [[Theater (warfare)|theatre of war]] against Napoleon's allies. Austria, previously an ally of France, took the opportunity to attempt to restore its imperial territories in Germany as held prior to Austerlitz. During the time of the Fifth Coalition, the Royal Navy won a succession of victories in the French colonies. On land the major battles included [[Battle of Raszyn|Battles of Raszyn]], [[Battle of Eckmuhl|Eckmuhl]], [[Battle of Raab|Raab]], [[Battle of Aspern-Essling|Aspern-Essling]], and [[Battle of Wagram|Wagram]].

On land, the Fifth Coalition attempted few extensive military endeavours. One, the [[Walcheren Expedition]] of 1809, involved a dual effort by the British Army and the Royal Navy to relieve Austrian forces under intense French pressure. It ended in disaster after the Army commander, [[John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham]], failed to capture the objective, the naval base of French-controlled [[Antwerp]]. For the most part of the years of the Fifth Coalition, British military operations on land (apart from the Iberian Peninsula) remained restricted to hit-and-run operations executed by the Royal Navy, which dominated the sea after having beaten down almost all substantial naval opposition from France and its allies and blockading what remained of France's naval forces in heavily fortified French-controlled ports. These rapid-attack operations were aimed mostly at destroying blockaded French naval and mercantile shipping and the disruption of French supplies, communications, and military units stationed near the coasts. Often, when British allies attempted military actions within several dozen miles or so of the sea, the Royal Navy would arrive, land troops and supplies, and aid the coalition's land forces in a concerted operation. Royal Navy ships even provided artillery support against French units when fighting strayed near enough to the coastline. The ability and quality of the land forces governed these operations. For example, when operating with inexperienced guerrilla forces in Spain, the Royal Navy sometimes failed to achieve its objectives because of the lack of manpower that the Navy's guerrilla allies had promised to supply.
[[File:Strategic Situation of Europe 1809.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The strategic situation in Europe in February 1809]]

[[File:Europe 1812 map en.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The French Empire in 1812 at its greatest extent]]
Austria achieved some initial victories against the thinly spread army of Marshal [[Louis Alexandre Berthier|Berthier]]. Napoleon left Berthier with only 170,000 men to defend France's entire eastern frontier (in the 1790s, 800,000 men had carried out the same task, but holding a much shorter front).

In the east, the Austrians drove into the [[Duchy of Warsaw]] but suffered defeat at the [[Battle of Raszyn]] on 19 April 1809. The [[Army of the Duchy of Warsaw]] captured [[West Galicia]] following its earlier success. Napoleon assumed personal command and bolstered the army for a counter-attack on Austria. After a few small battles, the well-run campaign forced the Austrians to withdraw from Bavaria, and Napoleon advanced into Austria. His hurried attempt to cross the [[Danube]] resulted in the major [[Battle of Aspern-Essling]] (22 May 1809) – Napoleon's first significant tactical defeat. But the Austrian commander, [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]], failed to follow up on his indecisive victory, allowing Napoleon to prepare and seize Vienna in early July. He defeated the Austrians at [[Battle of Wagram|Wagram]], on 5–6 July. (It was during the middle of that battle that Marshal [[Charles XIV John of Sweden|Bernadotte]] was stripped of his command after retreating contrary to Napoleon's orders. Shortly thereafter, Bernadotte took up the offer from Sweden to fill the vacant position of Crown Prince there. Later he actively participated in wars against his former Emperor.)
[[File:Tirol Panorama 18.jpg|thumb|[[Tyrolean Rebellion]] against French and Bavarian troops]]
The War of the Fifth Coalition ended with the [[Treaty of Schönbrunn]] (14 October 1809). In the east, only the [[Tyrolean Rebellion|Tyrolese rebels]] led by [[Andreas Hofer]] continued to fight the French-Bavarian army until finally defeated in November 1809. In the west, the Peninsular War continued. Economic warfare between Britain and France continued: The British continued a naval blockade of French-controlled territory. Due to military shortages and lack of organisation in French territory, many breaches of the Continental System occurred and the French Continental System was largely ineffective and did little economic damage to Great Britain. Both sides entered further conflicts in attempts to enforce their blockade. As Napoleon realised that extensive trade was going through Spain and Russia, he invaded those two countries;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=J. M. |title=Napoleon Bonaparte: His rise and fall |year=1951 |pages=235–240}}</ref> the British fought the United States in the [[War of 1812]] (1812–1815).

In 1810, the French Empire reached its greatest extent. Napoleon married [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie-Louise]], an Austrian Archduchess, with the aim of ensuring a more stable alliance with Austria and of providing the Emperor with an heir (something his first wife, [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Joséphine]], had failed to do). As well as the French Empire, Napoleon controlled the Swiss Confederation, the [[Confederation of the Rhine]], the Duchy of Warsaw and the [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]]. Territories allied with the French included:
* the kingdoms of [[Denmark–Norway]] 
* the [[Kingdom of Spain (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Spain]] (under [[Joseph Bonaparte]], Napoleon's elder brother)
* the [[Kingdom of Westphalia]] ([[Jérôme Bonaparte]], Napoleon's younger brother)
* the [[Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples|Kingdom of Naples]] (under [[Joachim Murat]], husband of Napoleon's sister [[Caroline Bonaparte|Caroline]])
* the [[Principality of Lucca and Piombino]] (under [[Elisa Bonaparte]] (Napoleon's sister) and her husband [[Felice Pasquale Baciocchi|Felice Baciocchi]]);
and Napoleon's former enemies, Sweden, Prussia and Austria.