In the second volume of this epic work, John H. Gill traces Napoleon's progress as he sought to complete his victory over the Habsburgs. The war had erupted on April 10th with Austria's invasion of Germany and Italy. After just two weeks, Napoleon had battered the Habsburgh Archduke Charles in a series of bruising defeats. This volume begins with a Napoleon astgride the Danube at Regensburgh. He faced a critical strategic choice ? whether to pursue the injured Austrian main army into Bohemia or march directly for Vienna, the seat of Habsburgh power. After electing to target Vienna, his troops defeated the Austrians in the brutal Battle of Ebelsberg, allowing him to enter the city on May 13th. But meanwhile, on the far side of the Danube, he suffered a dramatic loss at the gruelling, two-day Battle of Aspern. While his Danube forces recovered from this setback, the Emperor cleared trouble from his strategic flanks. Gill describes in vivid detail the hopeful Habsburgh invasion of Italy, led by the 27 year old Archduke Johann, and the fierce French counter-offensive under Napoleon's stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, also 27). In a series of encounters across Italy, Eugene rebounded from initial defeat to advance triumphantly into Austrian territory, shattering and scattering Johann's army. In the wake of Aspern, while the Austrians vacillated, Napoleon gathered every man, horse and gun around Vienna, setting the stage for the gigantic spectacle of the Battle of Wagram, the final chapter in the story of the 1809 war. AUTHOR: John H Gill is an Associate Professor on the faculty of the Near East ? South Asia enter, part of Washington's National Defense University. A former US Army South Asia Foreign Area Officer, he retired as a colonel in 2005 after more than 27 years of service. His previous books include With Eagles to Glory and A Soldier for Napoleon. SELLING POINTS: A meticulously-researched, critically-acclaimed account drawing on memoirs, diaries, unit histories and official reports The most comprehensive, exhilarating history of Napoleon's 1809 campaign by a world-renowned author 16 pages of plates
