Editing Battle of Wagram (section)

=== 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>