Editing Battle of Wagram (section)

==The first day==
{{See also|Wagram order of battle}}

=== Preliminaries ===
{{cquote|The battle here at Marchfeld will decide the fate of our dynasty [...] I request that you march out here at once and join my left wing.|20|20|[[Archduke Charles, duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]], writing to his younger brother, [[Archduke John of Austria|Archduke John]], commander of a secondary Austrian army.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=152}}}}
[[File:Napoleon crossing the bridge to Lobau island.jpg|thumb|Napoleon Crossing the Bridge to Lobau Island.]]

The [[Austrian high command]] was well aware of the French preparations on Lobau island and thus understood that the French attack would come from there. Archduke Charles was however unsure about where the French would cross and, together with his staff reckoned that the crossing would most likely be made from the north of the island, making landfall roughly at the same location as at the Battle of Aspern-Essling. Working on this hypothesis, Charles had a chain of 16 defensive redoubts built, essentially between [[Aspern]] and [[Groß-Enzersdorf]]. Strangely, he did not extend the earthworks southeast, along the riverline, which meant that the line could be outflanked. Moreover, the redoubts did not provide all-round protection and an Austrian observer noted that only [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]] would throw up such poor earthworks. Charles's belief that Napoleon would cross north of Lobau seemed to be confirmed on 2 July, when he received news that French forces began to cross the river there.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=146–150}} The Austrian commander thought that the battle scenario he had prepared for – a repetition of the battle fought at the end of May – was about to materialise, so he promptly moved his entire force to face the enemy. However, it soon became obvious that the French force was only a small detachment, sent forward to secure a bridgehead.<ref name=Nau35>Naulet 35.</ref>

On 3 July, Archduke Charles finally decided not to fight the enemy near the Danube and retreated to the higher ground overlooking the [[Marchfeld]]. This was a major decision, as it meant that the earlier plan to man the 16 redoubts next to the Danube and fight the enemy there was abandoned. Instead, Archduke Charles occupied both the Bisamberg heights and the Wagram plateau behind the Russbach river, covering the retreat routes to [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]] respectively, thus occupying a sound strategic position. Although the army was not strong enough to occupy both positions and no earthworks were provided for the new position, it was thought that, given that the two heights were placed at an angle to one another, any enemy force attacking would find itself placed between two pincers.<ref>Lorraine Petre 341.</ref> There was perhaps further justification for this choice on a tactical level: the broken and wooded terrain in the immediate proximity of the Danube was adapted to fighting in open order formations, which were insufficiently mastered by his men, and at which the French were adept. This was, without a doubt, one of the bitter lessons that the Austrians learned at Aspern and Essling. But above all, the cautious Archduke Charles was unwilling to take the risk of committing his forces in such an advanced position, knowing that he would have a hard time extricating them, should retreat have become necessary. He also planned not to face the enemy on the flat plains of the Marchfeld, an ideal cavalry terrain, where the numerically superior French horse would quickly gain the upper hand.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=151}} The two influential staff officers, Wimpffen and [[Philipp von Grünne|Grünne]], had been actively advocating for this position for weeks and this time Charles finally acquiesced to their point of view.{{sfn|Chandler|1998|p=709}}

===Opposing plans===
[[File:Maximilian von Wimpffen.png|200px|thumb|left|[[Maximilian von Wimpffen]], the Army's Chief of Staff, was influential in defining the Austrian battle plan.]]
Intelligence received on 4 July informed the Archduke that the French had weakened their position at [[Pressburg]], a clear sign that the enemy would launch its operations very soon. At 07:00 on 4 July, Charles wrote to his brother, [[Archduke John of Austria]], whose secondary army was stationed near Pressburg. Charles informed John that the battle was imminent and that it "will decide the fate of our dynasty", ordering him to draw closer to the main army by marching to [[Marchegg]], adding that John should leave behind "all baggage and impedimenta". As chance would have it, heavy thunderstorms delayed delivery of the message, which only got to Archduke John 23 hours later.{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=58}}

Archduke Charles did not seriously consider the possibility that the French could cross elsewhere than north of Lobau island until late on 4 July. When he finally accounted for this scenario, Charles remained faithful to his earlier plan not to move his forces towards the river. Instead, he planned to allow the enemy to move into the Marchfeld, leaving there only the Advance Guard and VI Korps, with orders to delay their deployment, cause disorder and casualties, while gradually moving back. Meanwhile, he was planning to maintain his main body on the naturally strong position on the Wagram plateau, with the rest of his forces further west on the Bisamberg heights, the two positions that Wimpffen and Grünne had favoured all along. Should the French have attempted to attack the forces on the Wagram plateau, the forces present there were expected to resist long enough to allow Charles to fall on the enemy's flank with the forces placed the Bisamberg heights. Conversely, should the enemy have attacked the forces on the Bisamberg heights, the main force on the Wagram plateau would have attacked the enemy's flank. The plan was good enough, but had two major flaws. Firstly, it failed to account for the slowness of the Austrian staff work, which impaired coordination between these forces. Secondly, it left the Advance Guard and VI Corps with an ambiguous objective: if Charles wanted protracted resistance, then these forces were too weak to accomplish such a task; however, if the objective was only brief resistance, then they were too numerous and thus needlessly exposed.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=151}}

Meanwhile, the French were getting ready to cross, according to detailed crossing plans drawn in advance by the Chief of Staff of the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}}, ''Maréchal'' Berthier. Napoleon was aware that the Austrians had thrown earthworks between Aspern and Groß-Enzersdorf and planned to cross southeast of these positions and then outflank the enemy fortified line. This meant, however, that his forces had a much longer march before making contact with the enemy. On 4 July, by nightfall, under the cover of a violent thunderstorm that impeded any Austrian observation, Napoleon gave the order for the commencement of the crossing operations.<ref name=Nau35/>

=== Across the Danube ===
{{cquote|The army escaped all disorder, except that arising from a few detachments following corps to which they did not belong.|20|20|General [[Antoine-Henri Jomini]] commenting on the French crossing operations.}}{{sfn|Chandler|1998|p=713}}
[[File:Voltigeurs of a French Line regiment crossing the Danube before the battle of Wagram.png|thumb|left|The French made extensive use of landing craft during the first phase of the crossing.]]
One French thrust was directed at occupying the strategic Hansel-Grund salient, east of Lobau island, which a brigade under [[Nicolas François Conroux|Conroux]]{{ref label|Conroux|Note 5|5}} secured towards 22:00. This allowed the French to deploy three pivoting bridges, which had been prepared in advance and on which other elements of Oudinot's II Corps began to cross. Meanwhile, further north, Colonel [[Charles d'Escorches de Sainte-Croix|Sainte-Croix]], ''[[aide-de-camp]]'' to ''Maréchal'' Masséna had 1,500 men of IV Corps embarked on landing craft and crossed the river, without meeting any opposition. Sainte-Croix's ''pontonniers'' then started work and, making good use of the current, managed to bridge the arm of the Danube in no more than five minutes, using another pivoting bridge. This allowed Masséna's divisions to begin crossing, while the division commanded by [[Claude Legrand|Legrand]], already on the northern bank since 2 July, made a feint towards Aspern and Essling, in a bid to divert Austrian attention from the actual crossing. Several other bridges were finalised towards 02:00, allowing the bulk of II and III Corps, with their respective artillery, cavalry and equipment trains to cross to the northern bank. Napoleon ordered the ''pontonniers'' to build three additional bridges and work continued well after dawn on 5 July, after the bulk of the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}} had already crossed the river. The battle had begun.<ref>Naulet 35–36.</ref>

As the French were crossing east of Lobau island, the only significant Austrian force in the immediate vicinity was [[Armand von Nordmann]]'s Advance Guard, which had been left in the sector with orders to delay the enemy advance. Nordmann's men were faced with a massive [[artillery barrage]] from French batteries on Lobau island and, with increasing numbers of enemy battalions coming up, Nordmann had no option but to turn north, leaving behind detachments at Sachsengang castle and Gross-Enzersdorf. With most of his troops available by now, Oudinot and his II Corps approached Sachsengang castle and came up against its defenders: two Austrian battalions and a few small-calibre cannon. The French opted against storming the position and instead brought forward their [[howitzer]]s, in a bid to shell the defenders into submission. Austrian resistance was brief, with the garrison surrendering towards 08:00. Further north, Masséna directed his divisions straight to the strategic village of Gross-Enzersdorf, where the rest of Nordmann's rearguard (two battalions from the ''Bellegarde'' regiment) lay. The village itself constituted a sturdy defensive position and Napoleon himself came forward to inspect it, noticing that it was strong enough to potentially delay the deployment of IV Corps onto the Marchfeld plain beyond. The Emperor thus ordered his heavy batteries on Lobau island, including 22 heavy [[Canon de 16 Gribeauval|16-pounders]], 14 [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]]s and 10 howitzers, to bombard the village. In total, some one thousand shells were fired on Gross-Enzersdorf, with the village quickly becoming engulfed in flames. The commander of Austrian VI Korps, ''Feldmarshalleutnant'' Klenau, whose force was in the vicinity, also with orders to delay the French advance, tried to relieve the defenders, but they were successfully checked by [[Jacob François Marulaz]]'s French cavalry from IV Corps. With the defenders of the village now cut off and defending what was becoming a burning inferno, Colonel Sainte-Croix assumed command of the 46th Line regiment and stormed the position, taking some 400 prisoners. Further west, the division commanded by [[Jean Boudet|Boudet]] moved against the village of Essling, which fell to the French without much resistance. By 10:00, Napoleon was pleased to notice that the bridgehead had been completely secured and that all enemy attempts to destroy the bridges had failed. Indeed, all Austrian attempts to frustrate the French crossing by using the tactics that worked so well during the Battle of Aspern-Essling – sending barges or trees downstream to ram the bridges – failed utterly on 5 July, because the French flotilla was in full control of the river. This allowed the bulk of Napoleon's army to cross to the northern bank of the Danube at great speed and in perfect safety.<ref>Naulet 39–40.</ref>

[[File:Napoleon at Lobau.jpg|thumb|250px|Napoleon supervised the landing operations closely.]]
Archduke Charles was by now well aware of Napoleon's intentions but remained committed to his plan not to fight the battle on the flat Marchfeld plain, where the superior French cavalry would have given Napoleon a clear edge. Thus, Charles did nothing to support his two forward units and watched as Nordmann gradually withdrew north, towards the Russbach line and Klenau withdrew northwest, towards [[Breintlee]]. Meanwhile, Napoleon was free to advance north, into the Marchfeld plain, where he would have enough room to deploy his forces. The French advanced in battalion columns, with their front line formed by the Corps of Masséna on the left, Oudinot in the centre and Davout on the right, and the respective Corps cavalry screening the flanks. By noon, the French had advanced into the Marchfeld, a move which so far suited both commanders.<ref>Naulet 45–46.</ref>

=== Clashes on the Marchfeld ===
As the French were successfully moving forward, the Austrian Advance Guard, under ''Feldmareschalleutnant'' Nordmann, supported by ''Feldmareschalleutnant'' Klenau's VI Korps, in all 25,000 infantrymen, were gradually withdrawing northwards. The Austrian infantry were formed in masses, a formation that had proved very efficient in fending off cavalry, but whose compact ranks made it extremely vulnerable to artillery fire. Casualties began to mount at an alarming rate and Nordmann's infantry, initially 12,000 men strong, was particularly exposed to artillery fire during its retreat towards [[Grosshofen]]. Additionally, towards 13:00, Nordmann became extremely concerned that the numerous French cavalry, might cut him off from the rest of the army. Seeing the dangerous situation of his Advance Guard, Archduke Charles ordered [[Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein|Liechtenstein]] to the rescue of these infantrymen with five cavalry regiments. Liechtenstein moved swiftly towards the east with his [[Squadron (army)|squadrons]], arriving in the vicinity of [[Glinzendorf]], but then remained passive, while the French, who now had a numerous combined-arms presence there, were able to continue their advance unmolested. The first serious Austrian attempt to slow down the French onslaught came towards 15:00, when Liechtenstein and Nordmann tried to organise a joint operation, but they gave up quite early on, realising that they were opposed by a very powerful force of several infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions from ''Maréchal'' Davout's III French Corps. The Austrians pulled back, leaving Davout free to position his men between Glinzendorf and Raasdorf, thus drawing closer to the II Corps.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=163}}

[[File:French Hussars 1809.jpeg|thumb|200px|left|French [[hussar]]s on a scouting mission. After the successful crossing of the Danube early on 5 July, the French [[light cavalry]] launched reconnaissance missions as they preceded the advance of the infantry columns.]]
Further west, ''Maréchal'' Bernadotte's IX Corps had been steadily advancing, with the French II Corps on their right, but began to meet steady resistance, when troops from Nordmann's Corps decided to make a stand. These men were from Riese's brigade, soon reinforced by the 13th [[Vlachs|Wallachian]]-[[Illyrians|Illyrian]] ''Grenzer'' and Infantry Regiment 46 ''Chasteler''. Bernadotte sent forward the two battalions of the 5th Light regiment, which successfully pushed back the opposition, allowing the rest of his Corps to continue its advance towards the village of [[Aderklaa]], near which they had to stop, towards 15:30, as they met enemy cavalry. Towards 17:00, in an attempt to secure the vital position at Aderklaa, the Austrians launched a cavalry attack with the brigade of French ''émigré'' [[Nicolas François Roussel d'Hurbal|Roussel d'Hurbal]].{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=163–164}} This [[heavy cavalry]] brigade, around 1,000 sabres strong, deployed on two lines, with the 3rd ''Herzog Albert'' [[Cuirassier]]s on the left and the 2nd ''Erzherzog Franz'' Cuirassiers on the right. D'Hurbal was suddenly charged by the 400 cavalrymen from the [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxon]] ''Prinz Klemens Chevaulegers'' regiment from Bernadotte's Corps, who had recklessly moved forward unsupported. D'Hurbal's cuirassiers stood to receive the charge and repulsed them by firing a pistol volley from 30 meters. This practice that was highly unusual for the cavalry tactics of the time but in this case it worked perfectly, with the Saxon chevaulegers sent fleeing. The Saxons then brought up the bulk of their cavalry, in [[echelon formation]], with the right leading. D'Hurbal again chose to meet them with a pistol volley but this time the Saxons managed to maintain the impetus of their charge and crashed into the Austrian cuirassiers. Amongst the Saxon cavalry was a single squadron of the ''Herzog Albrecht Chevaulegers'' regiment, which shared the same [[Inhaber|Regimental Proprietor]] with the Austrian ''Herzog Albert'' cuirassiers and these units fought in a generalized melee that involved the entire cavalry present. After a few minutes, d'Hurbal's Austrians were beaten back and pursued, until they were rescued by [[Ignaz Freiherr von Lederer|Lederer]]'s cuirassier brigade.{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=61}} After this cavalry action, Prince Liechtenstein decided that he had lost too many men to no avail and consequently pulled the bulk of his forces back to safety, behind the [[Deutsch-Wagram|Wagram]]-[[Gerasdorf bei Wien|Gerasdorf]] line, leaving five cavalry regiments with the IV Korps at [[Markgrafneusiedl]].{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=163–164}}

Meanwhile, Nordmann's slow retreat allowed Klenau's VI Austrian Korps, which had also been placed in an advanced position, to make a skillful fighting retreat westwards, taking few losses. In sharp contrast, Nordmann's Advance Guard suffered horrendous losses, with its initial 12,000 infantry reduced to little more than 6,000 soldiers capable of further action. This unusually high casualty rate resulted from Nordmann having been positioned in a perilous location and having been maintained there for too long, to little purpose. Additionally, Nordmann had benefitted from little protection from the cavalry present in that sector. After a well-led and determined staged retreat, Nordmann managed to extricate his battered troops, reaching the relative safety of the town of Markgrafneusiedl. The Advance Guard continued to constitute a viable fighting force and they were thus integrated in the IV Korps, guarding the Austrian left wing. The Austrian army was now deployed on a very wide ark-shaped frontage, {{convert|19|km|mi}} long, including Klenau's VI Korps on the far right, then Kollowrat's III Korps on the right-centre, Hohenzollern's II Korps and Bellegarde's I Korps behind the Russbach line in central position, while Rosenberg's IV Korps covered the left. Liechtenstein's [[Grenadier]] Reserve divisions were placed in second line, with the Cavalry Reserve in a central position next to the village of Wagram.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=165}}

Opposite to the Austrians lay the French Army, which managed to fully deploy towards 18:00. From left to right, the French army included: Masséna's IV Corps, covering a wide area between the Danube and Süssenbrunn, the lead elements of Bernadotte's XI Corps ([[Pierre Louis Dupas|Dupas]]'s division) near Aderklaa, Viceroy Eugène's "Army of Italy" in the centre, while Oudinot's II Corps was deployed opposite to Baumersdorf and Davout's III Corps continued the French line eastwards, beyond Glinzendorf. The rest of the French and Allied troops, including the [[Imperial Guard (Napoleon I)|Imperial Guard]] and ''Maréchal'' Bessières's Cavalry Reserve, were in second line. Napoleon had a sound strategic position, as he was holding the [[central position]] and had a much shorter line than his opponent.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=164–165}}{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=59}}

=== The evening attacks ===
{{cquote|Ground I may recover, time never.|20|20|Napoleon}}
After the successful crossing of the Danube and deployment of his army on the Marchfeld plain, Napoleon achieved his primary goal for the day. Nevertheless, towards 18:00, either because he was dissatisfied with the result of the first engagements or because he was fearing that the enemy might retreat under the cover of darkness, the Emperor began issuing orders for an immediate attack.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=166–167}} Never a man to lose time, Napoleon probably noted that the sun was still high on the sky, that the Austrian right wing was placed noticeably far away from the main body, and that there was still no sign of the arrival of Archduke John's army from the east.<ref name=Nau46>Naulet 46.</ref> This attack was also meant to probe the strength and resolution of the enemy, as the Emperor did not know exactly what forces lay before him. The attack was to take place against the Russbach line on a wide front, between Wagram and Markgrafneusiedl, with Bernadotte, Eugène, Oudinot and Davout all ordered forward. Nevertheless, the French troops were all very tired and the most difficult tasks were assigned to some of the weakest troops available, namely elements of the Corps of Bernadotte and Oudinot.{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=61}}{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=166–167}} Additionally, with the Emperor ordering an immediate attack, the General Staff failed to transmit the orders to the respective commanders in due time, which resulted in a failure to launch synchronized actions.<ref name=Nau46/>

An artillery bombardment, between 19:00 and 19:30 opened up the French attack, with Oudinot launching a part of his II Corps against the Austrian II Korps under Prince Hohenzollern. The Austrian defenders were prepared for the attack: Hohenzollern had deployed his men in two lines, with a heavy [[skirmisher]] screen and was occupying a naturally strong position, which had been reinforced with earthworks. The Austrian Korps had also deployed its powerful artillery of 68 pieces. Nevertheless, the French crossed the Russbach stream, spearheaded by [[Bernard Georges François Frère|Frère]]'s division, which managed to reach the outskirts of the small village of Baumersdorf. This village, consisting of no more than 30 wooden houses and a bridge, soon caught fire from the French artillery bombardment, but the Austrian defenders from [[Ignaz Hardegg|Hardegg]]'s brigade{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=166–167}} (8th ''Jäger'' regiment and a battalion of Volunteers from the ''Erzherzog Karl Legion'') stood their ground, despite the flames. Unable to storm the position with Frère's division, Oudinot launched a flanking attack to the right of the village, with some of his best troops: the 57th Line regiment (styled "the Terrible") and the 10th Light regiment, both from [[Charles Louis Dieudonné Grandjean|Grandjean]]'s division. The 57th Line valiantly assaulted the village from the east and occupied its first houses, where they had to stop. Meanwhile, the 10th Light crossed the Russbach downstream and, after passing through the boggy terrain below the escarpment, began to make its way up the slope. As the 10th Light was coming up towards the village, they were at first greeted with intense artillery fire and then Buresch's brigade released some heavy musketry upon them. This disordered the ranks of the French regiment, which began to waver and the last straw came when they saw Prince Hohenzollern personally leading the 500 cavalrymen from the ''Vincent Chevaulegers'' regiment against them: the 10th Light panicked and fled, taking the 57th Line with them. After a disorderly retreat, the two regiments stopped and reformed when they met the steady ranks of the Imperial Guard, towards [[Raasdorf]].{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=166–167}}{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=62}}<ref name=Nau47>Naulet 47.</ref> By now, it was past 20:00, night was falling and Oudinot had been repulsed with significant losses.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=166–167}}

[[File:Battle of Wagram 5 July 1809 evening.png|thumb|right|400px|The evening attack on 5 July included offensive actions from the French "Army of Italy" (short: Ar. It.), II, III and IX Corps, against the Austrian 1st, II and IV Corps. The intervention of the Austrian Grenadier Reserve and Cavalry Reserve was not necessary.]]
While Oudinot was engaged with Hohenzollern at Baumersdorf, to the west, ''Général de Division'' [[Jacques MacDonald]], commander of the V Corps of the "Army of Italy" launched his men in an assault on the Wagram plateau. With the village of Baumersdorf in flames and a gentle breeze blowing from the east, the advance of the French troops was masked by heavy smoke. [[Pierre Louis Dupas|Dupas]]'s division, temporarily attached to the "Army of Italy", spearheaded this attack and, as chance would have it, happened to get between the Austrian 1st and II Korps and was thus free to advance unmolested on Deutsch-Wagram from the east. Attacking Dedovich's division at Deutsch-Wagram, Dupas's small Franco-Saxon division was soon supported by [[Jean Maximilien Lamarque|Lamarque]]'s division, personally led by MacDonald, with the divisions of [[Jean-Mathieu Seras|Seras]], [[Pierre François Joseph Durutte|Durutte]] and [[Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc|Sahuc]], all from [[Paul Grenier]]'s VI Corps, also coming up in support. Seeing the French advance, the Austrian artillerymen panicked and abandoned their guns, with the infantry regiments 35 and 47 (''Vogelsang'') also retreating in some disorder. ''General der Kavallerie'' Bellegarde intervened in person, maneuvering to refuse his flank to the enemy, with the French advance also faltering, due to heavy smoke. With visibility reduced, the French mistook the white uniforms of their Saxon allies from the Schützen and Grenadier battalions, believing them to be Austrians and promptly [[Friendly fire|firing]] at them, which triggered a precipitated retreat of these men. With Archduke Charles now personally present to reestablish order, the morale of the Austrians soared and a vigorous joint attack by infantry regiment 42 (''Erbach''), joined by Hohenzollern's ''Vincent Chevaulegers'' and ''Hessen-Homburg'' [[Hussar]]s repulsed the French attackers, pushing them beyond the Russbach and to their initial positions. Bellegarde's good maneuver and Archduke Charles's inspired intervention ensured a totally successful counterattack, and avoided what could have developed into a dangerous situation for the Austrian army. Opposite to them, both the Saxons, who had suffered high casualties, and the French troops were retreating in complete disorder and halted only near Raasdorf.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=167–169}}{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=62–64}}<ref>Naulet 47–50.</ref>

To the west, ''Maréchal'' Bernadotte, in command of the Saxon IX Corps, was preparing his own assault, planning to attack the Austrians at Deutsch-Wagram from the west. This attack was delayed, as Bernadotte had to wait for the arrival of Zezschwitz's division, but at around 21:00 the Saxons moved towards the village. As Lecoq's Saxon brigade approached the position, they were instantly met with sustained musketry fire from the Austrian defenders, two battalions of infantry regiment 17 (''Reuss-Plauen'') and the 2nd ''Jäger'' regiment, but the Saxons pushed on and entered the village. Once they reached the vicinity of the village church, the Saxons were steadily met by the third battalion of infantry regiment 17 and the attack at once broke down, with the attackers forced to take shelter in the buildings nearby. Moments later, Zeschau's Saxon brigade, with Prince Maximilian's regiment attached to it, came in support, but these troops had been much disordered when crossing the Russbach, and upon entering the smoke filled streets of the village, they too lost impetus. With visibility much reduced by smoke, the situation at Deutsch-Wagram soon turned into chaos as all the troops inside spoke German and all, except the Austrian ''Jägers'', wore white uniforms. There were thus several instances in which Saxon troops fired at each other and their situation took a turn for the worse towards 22:30, when ''Generalmajor'' Hartizsch brought fresh Saxon troops against the position. Hartizsch was not informed that friendly troops were already in the village and, as he was coming up for the attack, he saw a large number of white-coats moving out of the position. The commander at once ordered his men to fire and minutes of friendly fire and hand-to-hand combat ensued before it became obvious that these men were actually Saxons too. This fortuitous event had a significant impact on the attack, as the Saxons in the village now thought themselves surrounded and at once broke and retreated in disorder.{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=65}} The Saxon troops of the IX Corps were now completely demoralised and any attempts to rally and reform them at Aderklaa towards 23:00 failed.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=169}}<ref>Naulet 51.</ref>

A final French attack was launched by Davout's III Corps, on the French right. Just like Bernadotte's, this action began later than expected, towards 21:00, with Davout's men tired after a day of marching and fighting. The French objective in this sector was to attack the naturally strong position at Markgrafneusiedl, which had been reinforced with earthworks and was defended by the rested troops of ''Feldmarschalleutnant'' Rosenberg of the Austrian IV Army Korps. After a short artillery bombardment, Davout sent the divisions of [[Louis Friant|Friant]] and [[Charles Antoine Morand|Morand]] across the Russbach stream, in a flanking attack from the east, while his other two divisions, under [[Charles-Étienne Gudin de La Sablonnière|Gudin]] and [[Jacques Pierre Louis Puthod|Puthod]] were ordered to attack frontally, through the village of Grosshofen. Davout also sent a part of his cavalry to open the way for the infantry attack but the Austrian cavalry under [[Johann Nepomuk, Count Nostitz-Rieneck|Nostitz]] promptly repulsed the French horse. Realising the futility of his action, Davout called off his infantry attack towards 22:00, leaving only his artillery to exchange fire with the Austrian gunners.<ref name=Nau47/>{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=65}} Davout's initiative to call off his attack early on triggered subsequent, perhaps unwarranted, criticism from Napoleon.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=170–171}}

=== The night of 5 to 6 July ===
{{cquote|I had decided to seize the only means which could give any prospect of success against the superior enemy, namely to fall on them by surprise on all sides as day broke.|20|20|[[Archduke Charles, duke of Teschen|Archduke Charles]].{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=66}}}}
With the fighting fading out completely towards 23:00, the two commanders were at their respective headquarters, knowing that the following day would be decisive for the outcome of the battle. Meanwhile, with an extremely cold night settling in, soldiers from both armies lit fires to warm up, while they were resting and consuming their modest rations.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=172}}

Late that night, the French Corps commanders reunited at the Emperor's headquarters at [[Raasdorf]]; only Bernadotte was absent, as he was still struggling to rally his routed infantry at Aderklaa. Napoleon knew that he had sustained high losses during the evening attacks{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=172–173}} and that he had failed in his attempt at a quick breakthrough.{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=66–68}} As many as 11,000 French and Allies were out of action,<ref name=Arno171>Arnold 171.</ref> including [[Paul Grenier]], commander of VI Corps, who had suffered a shattered hand and was out of action for the next day.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|p=170}} Despite these setbacks, the Emperor had managed to fix the enemy forces and was now certain that Archduke Charles was ready to give battle on his current positions. For the second day of battle, Napoleon planned a main attack against the enemy left, which was to be conducted by the powerful III Corps under ''Maréchal'' Davout, who was ordered to attack the enemy on the plateau behind the Russbach stream, storm the strategic village of Markgrafneusiedl and then roll up the enemy flank. Such an action, if successful, would have compromised the position of the other Austrian Korps on the Wagram plateau and would have forced them back northwestwards, away from any reinforcements they might have expected to receive from Pressburg. Napoleon also planned for his II and IX Corps, as well as the "Army of Italy" to launch secondary attacks, in order to prevent the Austrians from sending reinforcements to their left. In order to shorten and reinforce his battle line, the Emperor also ordered that most of the IV Corps move closer to Aderklaa, with this Corps set to take its new positions towards 02:00 that night. This meant that only Boudet's division was left at [[Aspern]], with orders to defend the lines of communication lines with the military base on [[Lobau]] island. The Imperial Guard, Cavalry Reserve and the reinforcements that Napoleon was expecting were to form the battle reserve of the army.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=172–173}}{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=66–68}}

[[File:Napoleon bivouac Wagram.jpg|thumb|300px|Napoleon in conference with his senior Generals late on 5 July, after the first day of battle.]]
After the conference, Napoleon asked Davout to stay on and the two spent a long time planning Davout's difficult and complex attack on the fortified position at Markgrafneusiedl, an action which the Emperor saw as decisive for the battle to come.<ref>Hourtoulle 46–47.</ref> Napoleon was expecting reinforcements: the French XI Corps under Marmont, the divisions of [[Jean-Baptiste Broussier|Broussier]] and [[Michel Marie Pacthod|Pacthod]] from the "Army of Italy", as well as the Bavarian division under [[Carl Philipp von Wrede|Wrede]], which were approaching the battlefield that night. These reinforcements placed the French and Allied forces at 140,500 infantry, 28,000 cavalry and 488 guns, with an additional 8,500 men and 129 guns left behind as garrison on Lobau island.{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=65–66}}

Archduke Charles of Austria was also planning the next day of battle, at his headquarters in Deutsch-Wagram. Charles was exhausted and had been lightly wounded when he took personal command of a regiment during the critical moments of the battle, but overall he was probably satisfied with the result of the first day of battle. Despite heavy losses (some 6,000 infantrymen) in von Nordmann's Advance Guard, the other formations of the Austrian army were virtually intact. Charles probably noted that, while the enemy managed to deploy on the Marchfeld plain with a surprising speed, all was going according to plan, as it had always been his intention to face them here. Additionally, with the exception of Nordmann's Advance Guard, losses had been relatively moderate and overall the army had fought extremely well.{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=173–174}} He reckoned that his best option was to take the initiative and, as he later wrote: "seize the only means which could give any prospect of success against the superior enemy, namely to fall on them by surprise on all sides as day broke". Orders for an all-out attack at 04:00 were issued at around midnight{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=66–68}} and Charles's intention was to take advantage of his much longer battle line (around 18 kilometers long, to the French 10 kilometers long line) and take the enemy in a [[double envelopment]]. To that effect, VI Korps was ordered to advance on Aspern, with the fresh troops of III Korps on their left, moving through [[Leopoldau, Vienna|Leopoldau]] towards [[Breitenlee]], and the Grenadier Reserve was to move through [[Süssenbrunn]]. These three Corps were also ordered to keep in line with each other, with the Cavalry Reserve ordered to take position between Süssenbrunn and Aderklaa. The Austrian 1st Korps was to move out of Wagram and advance along the Russbach, with II Korps ordered to remain in place, in order to avoid congestion, and simply provide artillery support. On the Austrian left, IV Korps, with the Advance Guard now attached to it, was to move against the French III Corps, and it was expected that Archduke John's "Army of Inner Austria" would arrive from Pressburg in time to support this attack. There would be no proper battle reserve, with the only remaining formation, [[Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss-Plauen|Prince Reuss]]'s small V Korps left out of the action, as a strategic reserve, with the objective of observing the [[Danube]] and protecting the vital routes to [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia]], should retreat become necessary.{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=66–68}}{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=173–174}}

Coordination between the Korps' movements was vital for the success of this plan, yet this was something that the Austrian army command and control system had repeatedly failed to achieve during past conflicts. As a result, the two Corps that were farthest from headquarters, VI and III Korps, only received their orders towards 03:00, two hours late. Given the distance that these troops had to march in order to make contact with the enemy, it was clear to the two Korps commanders that they would be unable to attack at 4:00 as ordered. Archduke Charles was also expecting the arrival of reinforcements, 13,000 men of the "Army of Inner Austria" led by his brother, Archduke John, whose role was crucial in supporting the attack against the French right. While Charles thought that his brother should arrive on the field of battle at any moment, the latter actually only began his march of {{convert|40|km|mi}} march from Pressburg at around 01:00 that night.{{sfn|Castle|1990|pp=66–68}}{{sfn|Rothenberg|1995|pp=173–174}} Without Archduke John's men, the Austrians could muster only 113,500 infantry, 14,600 cavalry and 414 guns for the second day of battle.{{sfn|Castle|1990|p=66}}