Editing Battle of Wagram (section)

== Aftermath ==
=== Pursuit and armistice ===
By nightfall on 6 July, the Austrians, still capable of action, had broken contact with their pursuers and Charles had managed to reestablish a cohesive, albeit irregular front. The remarkable combat-worthiness shown during the evening fighting left Napoleon wondering whether the Austrians would actually renew battle the next day. The Emperor rose early on 7 July and reconnoitred the battlefield in person, noting the huge losses in men on both sides and seeing that the Austrians had withdrawn. He then returned to more practical matters and, after receiving MacDonald's report, he suddenly embraced the general and elevated him to the dignity of ''[[Marshal of the Empire|Maréchal d'Empire]]'', the only Marshal to receive the title on a field of battle. The Emperor also criticised Marmont for his slowness in arriving on the battlefield and told Oudinot that he ought to have him shot for attacking without orders. The French resumed their pursuit towards 14:00, as the extreme exhaustion of the army prevented an early start. Their artillery had fired somewhere between 90,000 and 100,000 rounds during the battle, which left the caissons empty and it took some time before they could be refilled.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=204–206}} Among the rank and file, there were even instances of severe breakdown in troop discipline, as the army moved through county packed with vines and wine cellars. When an incensed Oudinot, sabre in hand, tried to restore discipline among a group of drunken cavalrymen from his army corps, he was almost attacked by his own men.<ref>Arnold 170.</ref> Pursuit was further complicated by the absence of reliable information about the exact direction of the Austrian retreat. Contradictory intelligence collected by the various Corps confusingly stated that the Austrians were retreating either towards to [[Brno|Brünn]] or to [[Znojmo|Znaim]] and other reports were actually indicating a retreat towards [[Moravia]]. The French tried to close the gap through sustained march. Spearheading the pursuit were the army corps of Masséna to the west, Marmont in the centre and Davout to the east, while the "Army of Italy" was detailed to keep an eye on Archduke John's army.<ref name=Nau77>Naulet 77.</ref>{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=206–207}}

The Austrians were actually retreating towards Znaim in [[Bohemia]]. The Austrian army had suffered greatly during the Battle of Wagram and had to leave behind their wounded, but did make off with thousands of French prisoners, a couple of dozen guns and a few eagles. Making good use of night marches, Archduke Charles had the bulk of his forces assembled at [[Korneuburg]] on 7 July.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=207}} Charles and his senior commanders had considered various plans to continue the campaign, but in the end, Charles was not positioning his army for a continuation of the campaign. The Austrian commander's view well before the Battle of Wagram had been that Austria's best option was to make peace and, in order to achieve that, the Empire needed to have a large, battle-worthy army, which they could use as leverage during the peace talks. Between 9 and 12 July, the French from Eugène's "Army of Italy" clashed with Archduke John's forces in a series of skirmishes and pushed them back into Hungary, while Masséna caught up with and fought the Austrian rearguard in several actions, most notable of which was the one at [[Battle of Hollabrunn (1809)|Hollabrunn]]. By now, Napoleon had largely understood Charles's intentions and manoeuvred against them. Marmont and his small XI Corps was the first to engage the Austrian army at the [[Battle of Znaim]] and was momentarily largely outnumbered. His 10,000 men faced some 60,000 massed enemy troops, but, in the typical style of Napoleonic warfare, Marmont decided to attack in order to pin down the enemy. He could reasonably expect to be reinforced soon and at 22:00, Napoleon arrived with reinforcements. The battle raged on the next day, with some bloody fighting going on around Znaim. The Austrians took heavy casualties, some 6,200 men, during the battle and, as time passed, the French force was set to be augmented to some 84,000 men, following the imminent arrival of Davout and Oudinot. Recognising the futility of another battle, Charles decided to ask for an armistice. He did so on his own responsibility, as he did not have permission to do so from Emperor Francis I. Ignoring the advice of his senior commanders – ''Maréchal'' Berthier was vocal in advising the continuation of hostilities and destruction of the Austrian Empire – Napoleon accepted. The Armistice of Znaim marked the end of the active phase of the 1809 war between France and Austria.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=207–210}}{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=90}}<ref>Naulet 76–77.</ref>

=== Casualties ===
With more than 300,000 combatants, Wagram was the largest battle in European history up to its time. With at least 72,000 casualties on both sides, it was also the bloodiest military engagement of the [[French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars]] thus far. The unusually high casualty rate was due mainly to an unprecedented concentration of artillery, on a flat battlefield, where the deadly [[roundshot]] – each army fired at least 90,000 during the two days of battle – was most effective.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=218–220}}

Napoleon used his usual propaganda to minimise his losses, stating in the Bulletin of the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}} that Wagram cost the army only "1,500 dead and 3,000 to 4,000 wounded". In reality, losses had been horrendous.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=218–220}} French medical services were completely overwhelmed, although [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|imperial guardsmen]] were given priority and were quite well cared for. Of the total 1,200 guardsmen of all arms wounded at Wagram, half were able to return to the ranks within a few days and only 145 died from their wounds. The troops of the line were not so lucky. Most of the wounded on both sides had been hit by cannon fire, which caused horrendous injuries, often requiring amputation. The shock of the surgery, massive loss of blood, poor after-care and the risk of infection meant the chances of survival following amputation were not good.<ref>Arnold 169–170.</ref>

Globally, since neither army provided a complete tabulation of their losses, the exact number of casualties is hard to establish. One author suggests that French casualties of all sorts approached 40,000 men, greatly surpassing those of the Austrians.<ref name="Arno171" /> More conservative estimates place overall French losses at between 25,000 or 28,000 men<ref>Naulet 73.</ref> and either 31,500{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=218}}or 33,000 men. Five generals ([[Jean Étienne Benoît Duprat|Duprat]], [[Nicolas-Hyacinthe Gautier|Gautier]], [[Nicolas Bernard Guiot de Lacour|Guiot de Lacour]], [[Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle|Lasalle]] and von Hartitzsch)<ref>Pigeard, Dictionnaire des battailles de Napoléon, 924.</ref> and another 238 officers, as well as 7,000 men were killed. Additionally, 37 generals, 883 officers and over 25,000 men were wounded and 4,000 men were taken prisoner, many of them wounded.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=218}}{{ref label|Aspern-Essling|Note 10|10}}

On the Austrian side, losses had also been heavy. An official tabulation established that there were 51,626 officers and men missing on 11 July 1809, compared to the overall complements on 5 July 1809. This figure thus accounts not only for the Battle of Wagram, but also for losses during the many minor engagements and skirmishes that took place after the battle, as well as the losses suffered during the [[Battle of Znaim]].{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=218}} Many of these men were simply missing in action and were subsequently able to return to the colours. Nevertheless, conservative estimates of the Austrian losses at Wagram numbered some 30,000 men, of whom 24,000 were killed or wounded, and the rest taken prisoner.<ref name="Arno171"/> According to historian, Ian Castle, Austrian casualties were as follows: 41,250 total, of which 23,750 killed or wounded, 10,000 missing, 7,500 captured, while French and Allied casualties amounted to 37,500, with 27,500 killed or wounded and 10,000 missing or captured.<ref name="cas">Castle, I. ''Aspern/Wagram (1809)'', Osprey (1990)</ref> Four Austrian generals were killed or mortally wounded during the fighting: [[Armand von Nordmann|Nordmann]], [[Josef Philipp Vukassovich|Vukassovich]], [[Peter von Vécsey|Vécsey]], and [[Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré|d'Aspré]].<ref>Petre, F. Loraine. ''Napoleon and the Archduke Charles''. New York: Hippocrene Books, (1909) 1976. 379</ref>