Download The War of the Third Coalition

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The War of the Third Coalition
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- Vice-Admiral Cuthbert
Collingwood
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Letter from the Director ---------Committee Mandate --------------Historical Background ------------Country Profiles --------------------Primary Source Documents ----Position Descriptions ------------End Notes ----------------------------
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Dear Delegates,
I’m Liam Lefebvre, your committee director, and welcome to
WUMUNC. Have you ever wanted to fight against a man with a
psychological complex named after him while battling political, economic
and military threats from within and outside? Then you’ve signed up for
the right committee!
But who is this director, you might ask? I’m a sophomore at Wash U
pursuing my passion for general debauchery, mayhem, and Oxford
commas while snagging English and Economics majors on the side. I did
MUN in high school, but I was drawn to the collegiate club after I traveled
with the team and learned that I (possibly like you) have a gift for both
diplomacy and backstabbing.
Each of you will take on the role of a historical figure fighting against
onslaught – soldiers, diplomats, and kings all bound together to combat
the crises facing Europe in 1804. Europe is in a time between wars; all
know another French invasion is imminent. Will you ignore the threat and
continue backstabbing other nations until the French sweep east and
undo all you have wrought? Will you stand at the front lines with an army
behind you, ready to take the fight to the French? Or will you do neither,
sitting idly by while those around you build monuments to their
greatness, only to have those monuments crushed into dust? I’m looking
forward to seeing what you choose.
If you have any questions about your position or the committee more
generally, feel free to contact me at [email protected].
All the best,
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This committee was made to halt not only another inevitable
Napoleonic march, but also more indirect threats to noble primacy:
nationalism, economic insecurity and domestic rebellion. We begin in
March of 1804, just after the execution of Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien,
by the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. Presently, Europe is at
peace, but no power is safe while revolutionary movements spread like
wildfire through the continent and the French Empire remains
uncontained. You must be willing and able to create personal missives,
country mandates, and alliance directives to limit Napoleon’s military
power and political pressure on not only your country but the rest of
Europe as well.
You might think the political pressure on you is nothing compared
to that of the Grand Armeé — the largest, most skillfully-led army with the
highest morale on the European continent — but you would be wrong.
Your kings sent you to this committee because they worry their claims to
the divine right to rule no longer placate the peasantry after Louis XVI’s
death. Your nobility sent you to this committee because their armies
require funds, funds that dwindle under the nobles’ excessive demands
and a dearth of wartime spoils. Your administrators sent you to this
committee because they see the spread of nationalism as an opportunity:
if the peasants cling to national pride while leaving untouched the
aristocratic oligarchs, one of Napoleon’s strongest fronts—national
morale—can be effectively countered. These troubles and opportunities
run rampant in your nation; all strata of your country expect you to
respond to crises capably and creatively so your sovereign’s peasants are
happy, his merchants rich, and his nobles powerful. While your
countrymen expect you to deal with these more subtle threats to noble
supremacy along with Napoleon and the Grand Armeé, they also nurse
an all but insatiable lust for national glory and power.
Now, will there be betrayal in our corridor? Is there even a possible
alternative? Many of the nations represented in this room are allies in
name only: as long as the Grand Armeé’s advance doesn’t affect them,
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your “allies” won’t hesitate to betray you for economic, political, or
territorial gain. Poland has no real unitary leader, and is therefore up for
grabs to the highest strategic bidder; some continental armies are only
fighting due to British subsidies; and two states represented in the
committee aren’t even committed allies to the coalition. In these
turbulent times, the strongest countries will not only weather the coming
Napoleonic storm but will succeed in turning the tables on Napoleon.
These states will expand their borders through bold, intelligent action,
maintain their armies while pleasing both their peasants and nobility, and
deflect or repress any resistance to their illustrious rise. There will be
blood. Whether it is your blood, the blood of your allies, or the blood of
Napoleon depends on your actions on and off the battlefield.
As the Middle Ages drew to a close in Europe, the continent
underwent a political transformation, one that created the system of
states still recognizable more than five hundred years later. While the
Medieval Era spawned fractured states in which the authority of the king
depended largely on the favor of the nobility, the Age of Absolutism that
followed saw the centralization of power into the hands of monarchs.
Wealthy and privileged landowners lost much of their power to royal
families as previously loose confederations of noble lands were replaced
by ordered and established kingdoms. By the mid-16th century, the
concept of divine right, the idea that God bestowed the right to rule upon
the Royal Family, had allowed numerous dynasties throughout Europe to
develop central governance on an unprecedented level.
The next two centuries saw repeated struggles both within and
between the burgeoning states of Europe. Monarchs, noblemen,
clergymen, intellectuals, artisans, and peasants all struggled to achieve
higher standing within the states’ power structures. As a result,
innumerable pacts and agreements came to outline the rights and
privileges of caste members. But as the authority of monarchs grew,
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power was increasingly consolidated in the hands of kings and their
cabinets, with noble-born ministers responsible for overseeing a state’s
military and bureaucracy. This shift in power left lower classes
(particularly the peasantry) with less and less say in their government,
save through organizations such as guilds, colleges, or societies capable
of influencing local ministers. This new feudalism was especially
detrimental to Europe’s peasantry, which became tied by law to the land
owned by lords; peasants became sharecroppers whose only right was to
trade backbreaking labor for a meager living. This system of serfdom was
tantamount to slavery, and although feudalism faded as European
industry developed, peasants throughout Europe lived and died largely
without rights or property. With the exception of the Kingdom of England,
few states promoted democratic or social reform, and the general public
remained disenfranchised and subject to the will of the king and nobility.
Political and military advances also made the wars of the Age of
Absolutism much more devastating than those of the Middle Ages. The
development and proliferation of gunpowder meant that large armies of
peasants could easily overpower the once-elite knights of the Medieval
Era, and the creation of centralized states enabled the formation of
national armies. Instead of relying on nobles to raise soldiers for a brief
campaign, absolute monarchs could use conscription to assemble and
arm entire brigades composed of the underclass, which could then be
kept in the field as long as supplies and pay were on hand. The ability to
wage war on such an unfathomable scale led to consideration of a
general European “balance of power”, the maintenance of which became
monarchs’ premiere raison d’état.
By the mid-18th century, the firm establishment of an order of
European states also gave rise to a new and earthshaking ideology:
nationalism. Especially popular among the lower classes, nationalism
drew on the common cultural and political ties between members of a
state to create a new identity. Nationalist sentiment helped unite the
populace of a state, but it also bred discontent among political and ethnic
groups who felt disenfranchised by this new and powerful force of
socialization.
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In 1789, the European monarchic order was violently upended by
the events of the French Revolution. In response to economic crises,
growing anger towards the king and nobility, and a severe imbalance of
power within the French Estates-General – the French Parliamentary
Body, which heavily favored the interests of the nobility and clergy – the
representatives of the non-aristocratic population declared themselves a
new representative body and demanded constitutional reform. The newly
formed National Assembly earned the support of many clerics and liberal
nobles, and the French King Louis XVI was forced to recognize its
legitimacy.
The success of the National Assembly prompted widespread unrest
among the lower class in France. This disarray was eventually quelled by
the National Assembly’s formal abolition of feudalism and the adoption of
the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document proclaiming the
equality of all men and demanding protection of basic human rights. The
National Assembly encountered severe gridlock while crafting a new
French Constitution, however, and was only able to produce a
compromise document. Though his power had been markedly
diminished, the king remained a powerful figure in France, and the
persistence of the French monarchy angered many radicals within the
Assembly.
Schisms emerged early on among the members of the National
Assembly, and powerful factions clashed repeatedly over the goals and
powers of the new government. The Girondists, anti-monarchists who
feared disorder that removing King Louis would bring, were countered by
the more radical Jacobins. Spurred on by a close alliance with the working
class and backed by the Parisian mob, the Jacobins grew into an
increasingly powerful and violent group of radicals with ties to intellectual
and populist movements throughout Europe.
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These same radicals were eager to spread the ideas of the
Revolution throughout Europe and suspected France’s powerful German
neighbors, Austria and Prussia, of supporting counterrevolutionary
movements. French radicals responded with an aggressive foreign policy,
ultimately declaring war on Austria and Prussia in 1792. After some initial
defeats, the French revolutionaries overcame King Louis XVI and
proclaimed the end of the Ancien Régime, imprisoning the king and
dismantling a centuries-old monarchy. The creation of the French
Republic invigorated the French people with nationalistic pride, spurring
thousands of volunteers to join the French army. On September 20,
1792, the founding date of the Republic, French forces stopped the
Prussian advance at Valmy and turned the tide of the war.
Despite a lack of proper training and suitable weaponry, the vast
size of the French populist armies, the high morale of the troops, and the
sense of righteousness derived from the ideals of the revolution inspired
the French soldiers to drive back the counterrevolutionary forces arrayed
against them. Meanwhile, the radical Jacobins, who sought to give lower
classes greater control in France, spread their influence through the new
French government and ultimately tried King Louis XVI for treason. On
January 21, 1793, the king was executed by guillotine.
Louis’ execution outraged and terrified the monarchs of Europe.
Fearing the spread of this violent anti-monarchic trend and the popular
nullification of their divine right to rule, the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia,
and Great Britain joined with numerous smaller European states to form
the First Coalition and launched a campaign to oppose the French
Revolution. Under the direction of the Committee of Public Safety, more
than a million men were conscripted into the French army and the
powers of Europe were gradually forced to accept peace, often on
humiliating terms. The French victory upended the carefully crafted
European balance of power, devastating the armies of Prussia and
Austria and expanding French control into Germany, Holland, Belgium,
and Italy – the last at the hands of French forces commanded by a young
Corsican artilleur, Napoleon Bonaparte.
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In the peace following the collapse of the First Coalition, the French
Directory – an executive body created by the National Convention, itself a
reconstitution of the National Assembly – attempted to spread the
Revolution through ideological and military measures. French forces
occupied the Helvetic Republic (modern-day Switzerland), Naples, and the
Papal States, and even expanded into Egypt and Syria. In the face of
aggressive French expansion, Great Britain organized the Ottoman
Empire, Austria, and Russia into the Second Coalition and fought the
French Republic into a brief negotiated peace.
On November 7, 1799, in the midst of the war against the Second
Coalition, the French Directory was overthrown by the wildly popular
Napoleon Bonaparte. Bonaparte had garnered notoriety for having
quashed a Royalist coup in 1795, his subsequent trouncing of Austrian
and Sardinian armies in Italy in 1796, and as commander of the abortive
1798 French expedition to Egypt. Appointed First Consul by the
outmatched Directors, Napoleon oversaw repeated French victories
against the Second Coalition. This culminated in the Treaty of Luneville,
which ended war on the continent and permitted French domination of
Italy. One year later, Napoleon concluded the Peace of Amiens, a shortlived agreement with Great Britain asserting peace and granting
Napoleon the public support needed to appoint himself “First Consul for
Life”, approved by a near unanimous national referendum.
Over the next two years, Napoleon rapidly consolidated the
republic’s power, accumulating personal control over the state while
simultaneously championing the ideals of the revolution of only a decade
before. Under the guiding hand of a single indomitable leader, he argued,
the ideas of the Revolution could be safeguarded and finally brought to
their full glory.
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Though Great Britain resumed its naval conflict with France in 1803,
the powers of continental Europe strove to maintain peace with
Napoleon, desperate for time to rebuild. The armies sent against France
had suffered devastating defeats at the hands of the French national
armies; throughout Europe, generals and ministers debated whether or
not to redefine their forces based on the French model. The ideals of the
French Revolution and the exportation of nationalism spread like wildfire
through the intellectuals and disenfranchised of Europe, finding favor
among the anti-absolutists who had long been repressed. European
monarchs strove to balance their own power with the demands of their
tumultuous subjects, always fearing the outbreak of full-scale revolution
at home.
Napoleon remained focused on securing his position in France,
building a loyal clique of officers and politicians who would direct the
Revolutionary government towards empire. French expansion worried
the ministers of Central and Eastern Europe, as French domination of
historically neutral Switzerland and their occupation of Hanover in Lower
Saxony placed French armies in positions that threatened both Prussia
and the Holy Roman Empire. At the same time, Napoleon demonstrated
his willingness and ability to demolish the European Old Order by
installing puppet republics – and later kingdoms – in Italy and the
Netherlands, and by spreading his influence and ideology in Germany.
Overwhelmed by pervasive revolutionary ideologies, European
conservatives were reduced to establishmentarian paranoia.
In response to expanding French influence and revolutionary
ideology, multilateral alliances began to take form, shaped in large party
by Tsar Alexander I of Russia. By 1804, the Russian Empire had concluded
independent defensive alliances with Naples, Sweden, and Denmark, and
committed Russian forces to uphold these monarchies. Austria also
began to search for allies on the continent as more and more provinces
of the Holy Roman Empire fell under Napoleon’s sway and were
transformed by republican ideas.
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Europe’s fragile peace was shattered in March, 1804 by the
execution of Louis Antoine, the Duke of Enghien, at the hands of
Napoleon Bonaparte. A relative of the now-deposed Bourbon monarchs,
the Duke had fled France in the early days of the French Revolution, and
led soldiers against his homeland as part of the First Coalition. By 1804,
however, the Duke had purportedly been living privately and free of
political intrigue for several years at his home in the Electorate of Baden,
a state in the Holy Roman Empire bordering the French Republic.
Suspected of conspiring against Napoleon, the Duke was arrested by a
company of French dragoons that crossed the Rhine and returned him to
France, where he was quickly tried and executed.
In the eyes of Tsar Alexander, this blatant violation of Baden’s
sovereignty and neutrality, along with the execution of a prominent
Bourbon aristocrat, demonstrated that Napoleon could not be trusted to
keep his word or respect the positions of his Germanic neighbors.
Fearing a return of French expansion and troubled by Napoleon’s
declaration of the First French Empire in 1804, the Tsar quickly allied
himself with Great Britain and set about gathering additional allies.
In the five months since the Duke of Enghien’s execution, Great
Britain, Russia, Austria, Saxony, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Naples and
Sicily have joined the Third Coalition, with Denmark and Prussia officially
neutral but in negotiations to join. Representatives of these states have
now gathered in Vienna to decide Europe’s response to French
aggression and how best to handle the emerging European order.
For centuries, Austria was the most powerful state in Central
Europe, controlling Germany through its domination of the Holy Roman
Empire and strategic alliances with the myriad German territories. As a
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result, the current leader, Francis II, holds the titles of Holy Roman
Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia, and now – after
the recent proclamation of the Austrian Empire – Emperor of Austria.
However, Austrian power has been in decline since 1740, as Prussia has
strengthened its hold over greater swaths of the German states.
Although past conflicts with Prussia have been subordinated to respond
to the French threat, Francis remembers the losses Austria has suffered
at Prussian hands while engaged with the French revolutionary forces:
first, its exclusion from the Second Partition of Poland, and then Prussia’s
withdrawal from the Second Coalition in 1795. The Austrian Empire is
fractured along ethnic, political, and social lines, and is in dire need of
reform; however, such actions historically lead to unrest the Empire can ill
afford while the threat of Napoleon lurks on its doorstep.
A model of enlightened despotism in Europe, Denmark is ruled by a
monarchy but governed largely by reformist bureaucrats, nobles, and
landowners. Throughout the 18th century, Danish rulers have promoted
economic reforms, culminating in the abolition of adscription – effectively
serfdom – in 1788; these reforms have made Denmark prosperous and
minimized unrest, while still keeping power centralized in the hands of
the monarch and his advisors. Denmark has also remained at peace
since the end of the Great Northern War in 1721, and King Christian VII
hopes to maintain peace through neutrality. To ensure peace, he has
signed a defensive alliance with Russia; however, this is as much a
response to French expansion in Europe as it is to the British attack on
Copenhagen in 1801 and a historic conflict with Sweden over Danish
Norway and Swedish Pomerania. Despite the king’s best efforts, neutrality
may be impossible, as the Danish fleet could prove decisive in the all but
inevitable naval conflict between the United Kingdom and France.
One of the oldest and most powerful European states, France often
served as a balancing force between Austria and Prussia, most notably in
the War of Austrian Succession (1740) and the Seven Years War (1756____________________________________________________________________
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1763). However, these conflicts cost the French dearly, resulting in the
loss of significant overseas colonies and the bankrupting of the
monarchy. Since the outbreak of the French Revolution, a series of violent
revolutionary governments have held power and attempted to restore
the state and its power in Europe. Now under the command of Napoleon
Bonaparte, the Corsican hero of the Italian and Egyptian campaigns
against the Second Coalition and recently-crowned Emperor of France,
the new French Empire has again claimed a dominant position on the
continent. In addition to an advanced and powerful military, a brilliant
general staff, and expanded territory, the French Empire also has at its
disposal numerous vassal states, among them the Swiss Confederation,
the Italian Republic, and the Batavian Republic (once the Republic of the
Netherlands). French influence is also strong in Spain and Germany, with
the smaller German states of Bavaria, Württemberg, and Baden holding
especially strong ties to Napoleon.
Great Britain is unique among the European powers in its ability to
project its military power overseas. Protected by the English Channel,
Britain has forgone the massive land-based militarization that
characterized Europe in the post-Medieval Era in favor of developing the
Royal Navy, the largest and most powerful fleet in the world. With its navy,
the United Kingdom has established an enormous global empire, holding
territories in the Americas, Africa, Australia, India, and the German
province of Hanover. Even after the loss of colonies in the American
Revolution, Britain is still virtually unchallenged outside of Europe.
Because its army’s small size, British influence in continental wars is
historically predicated on subsidies to its allies, a tactic employed in the
first two Coalitions. France and England have been at odds almost
constantly since the Norman conquest of 1066, and King George III and
Prime Minister William Pitt have sworn never to make peace with
Napoleon. Britain is wealthy, technologically advanced, and supremely
liberal; it is not without troubles, however, especially since the union of
Great Britain and Ireland in 1801
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Although they are technically distinct kingdoms, Naples and Sicily
are commonly referred to as the “Two Sicilies”, as they have been held in
a personal Habsburg-Bourbon union since 1735. Currently ruled by King
Ferdinand, son of the deceased King Charles III of Spain, Naples and Sicily
are extremely hostile to Napoleon’s reorganization of Italy and opposed
his temporary conquest of Naples in 1799. Ferdinand’s wife, Queen Maria
Carolina, is also a Bourbon monarch and a relative of the executed Louis
XVI of France, and is thus violently opposed to the French Revolution. The
monarchy has resisted reform and pursued close alliances with Great
Britain, but must act cautiously; the peasants of Naples are especially
upset by Ferdinand’s flight before the French armies in 1799, and close
contact with occupying French forces in Neapolitan ports has served as
kindling for movements against the monarchs currently residing in Sicily.
Ferdinand and Maria Carolina have agreed to defensive alliances with
Russia and Great Britain, but they must set their kingdoms in order if they
expect to survive
Once a minor German state, the Kingdom of Prussia emerged in
the 18th century as a military superpower. In the War of Austrian
Succession, the Seven Years War, and the War of Bavarian Succession,
the vaunted Prussian army crushed the forces of its European rivals and
asserted itself as a locus of military might in Northern Germany. In the
years since these triumphs, though, the weak Prussian economy has
depleted the strength of the state and its military. King Frederick William
III hopes to remain neutral in the conflict with Napoleon while he rebuilds
and expands Prussian strength in Central and Eastern Europe, daunted
by the task of reforming the state without surrendering control to
radicals. Meanwhile, the anti-French court faction – led by the fiery and
beloved Queen Louise – continues to grow in strength as Napoleon
expands into Germany and stations troops in Hanover.
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Long perceived as a second-rate power outside the European
Order, Russia only made its debut among the great European powers in
1789 at the end of the War of Bavarian Succession, when it mediated the
treaty between Austria and Prussia and became a guarantor – a party
pledged to the survival – of the Holy Roman Empire. Under Catherine the
Great, Russia expanded its borders west at the expense of Sweden,
Poland, and the Ottoman Empire; the defeat of the Ottomans in 1792 – in
collaboration with Austria – allowed the Second and Third Partitions of
Poland that expanded Russian power into Central Europe. Despite its
rise, the Russian Empire remains plagued with problems: the Russian
economy is severely underdeveloped compared to the rest of Europe;
the noble bureaucracy is inefficient and corrupt; peasant unrest is
common; the powerful Russian navy is trapped in the Black Sea by
Ottoman control of the Dardanelles; and the Russian military is ill-trained
and ill-equipped. Tsar Alexander is a student of the Enlightenment and
hopes to reform the Russian Empire, but must be careful to avoid inciting
unrest among the peasantry or the nobility.
One of the more powerful states in the Holy Roman Empire, the
Electorate of Saxony exists in a precarious position between Austria and
Prussia. Shortly after the outset of the Seven Years’ War in 1755, Prussian
forces conquered Saxony; the Electorate was not restored to
independence until 1763. Since the end of that conflict, the Elector
Frederick Augustus III has worked to rebuild and reform both the Saxon
army and the Saxon economy, both of which were devastated during the
war. The modest reforms and tireless efforts of the Elector and his
cabinet have raised Saxony to its former glory, but defeat in the War of
the First Coalition demonstrated Saxony’s continuing need for powerful
allies. The Elector hopes to establish an independent and powerful Saxon
state with himself as monarch, but must balance his friendship with
Prussia, treaty obligations with the Holy Roman Empire, fear of French
dominance, and concern for domestic reforms and peasant discontent.
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Although the Swedish defeat in the Great Northern War in 1721
ended Sweden’s reign as the premiere northern European power, the
Kingdom remains a considerable and belligerent force. Bolstered by a
vibrant economy and Enlightenment principles, Sweden became a liberal
and reform-oriented state under the guidance of King Gustav III.
However, Gustav angered the nobility by consistently acting against their
interests and was assassinated in 1792 after launching a war against
Russia. Under the new, possibly mad, King Gustavus Adolphus IV, Sweden
has turned against the ideas of the French Revolution and the liberal
principles of Gustav III, reverting to an absolute monarchy hostile to both
noble influence and peasant advancement. Sweden has concluded a
defensive alliance with Russia aimed against Napoleon, but remains wary
of its Russian and Danish neighbors.
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The Foreign Secretary of Britain and a personal friend of William Pitt, the
Earl of Harrowby is responsible for negotiating with foreign governments
and has served as the government’s liaison during the formation of the
coalition. The Earl is an effective administrator and former Paymaster of
the Forces, giving him great personal experience relating to the cost of
fielding armies in war. Because of this, he is opposed to committing the
British army to the fight, instead seeking allies to carry the war into
French territory. Personally, Ryder shares Pitt’s reformist ideals; he is
also an uncompromising and generally unpleasant man.
As Britain’s War and Colonial Secretary, John Pratt controls the British
army and is responsible for administering the state’s American colonies.
He prefers the use of force and demonstrations of strength to suppress
political dissent, which he considers detrimental to the effectiveness of a
government and contrary to military discipline. Pratt is an ambitious man
who desires to expand Britain’s colonial holdings, his own power, and
British military and economic strength. For this reason, and his own
awareness of the small size of the British army, he opposes the
commitment of British forces to the war on the European continent.
A close advisor to William Pitt and First Lord of the Admiralty, Henry
Dundas controls the Royal Navy, the strength behind the British Empire.
Dundas’ primary concern lies with protecting British trade and naval
supremacy, and although he supports the war against France, he is wary
of any attempts by Britain’s Coalition allies to expand their own naval
strength. A proud Scotsman and former Governor General of Scotland,
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Henry Dundas is a politician at heart and opposes Radicalism in all its
forms.
The son of former Emperor Leopold II, Charles has risen to the Head of
the Austrian Council of War due to his battlefield experience and the
high esteem of the Austrian officer corps. Having previously fought the
forces of Revolutionary France, Charles was impressed by their power
and efficiency and hopes to implement similar reforms within the
Austrian army. He fears renewed conflict with Napoleon before these
reforms can be carried out and the Austrian state restored to order.
The son of Archduke Ferdinand, Karl Joseph is the current commanderin-chief of the Austrian army. His direct control over the army brings him
in conflict with Archduke Charles, as does his desire to test himself
against Napoleon in battle as soon as possible. An ideologue and
staunch defender of Austrian power, Karl Joseph sees reformers as little
better than traitors and has historically suppressed revolutionary
elements with brutal force.
As Chancellor of Austria, Ludwig von Cobenzl serves as the right-hand
man of Emperor Francis II and directly administers the territory of
Austria within the Holy Roman Empire. Cobenzl is a student of Wenzel
Anton, the reform-minded Habsburg State Chancellor; as such, he
shares Anton’s support for moderate reform, and is especially impressed
by the ability of the French Revolution to mobilize and motivate a
populace for war. However, Cobenzl remains a staunch opponent of
Revolutionary France and holds a personal dislike for Napoleon.
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Serving as Foreign Minister of Prussia since 1792, Haugwitz has only very
recently resigned his position in protest of King Frederick William’s policy
of neutrality towards France. Since the French occupation of Hanover in
July 1803 and the consequent deployment of French troops on the
Prussian border, Haugwitz has pressed for reforms of the Prussian
military and closer ties with the Third Coalition. An intelligent diplomat,
anti-reformer, and leader of the Francophobic absolutist faction within
the Prussian government, Haugwitz is still eagerly sought out by
Frederick William as an advisor, and has joined the Prussian delegation
by the request of the King as a balance against Hardenberg.
The newly appointed Foreign Minister of Prussia is a historic friend and
rival of Haugwitz. A pragmatist primarily concerned with securing
Prussian interests, Hardenberg encourages liberal Enlightenment ideas
of economic, military, and political reform. Hardenberg believes Prussian
power should be focused in Central and Eastern Europe, and supports
rapprochement with whatever power will support this: the Coalition or
France.
The Cabinet Secretary of Prussia, Lombard stands out as the leading
voice for Prussian neutrality in his conferences with the King. An adept
administrator with strong connections throughout the Prussian nobility,
officer corps, and bureaucracy, Lombard believes Prussian ails can be
solved by increased efficiency, rather than official reforms. His disgust
with the violence of the French Revolution has also made him less willing
to negotiate with revolutionary or reformist elements within Prussia
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Foreign Minister and a current favorite of Tsar Alexander, Czartoryskii is
aggressively Francophobic and believes renewed conflict with Napoleon
is inevitable. A friend and intellectual colleague of Alexander, Czartoryskii
has consistently pushed for reforms that will improve the Russian
economy and bureaucracy, espousing the ideas of the Enlightenment
even as he opposes their violent manifestation in France. The Polishborn Czartoryskii is also a supporter of independence movements in
general and Polish nationalism in particular; he has been an outspoken
advocate of Polish independence or semi-autonomy under Russian
influence for many years.
The Defense Minister of Russia controls the Ministry of Land Forces,
making Sergey Vyazmitinov the commander-in-chief of the Russian
military with accountability only to the tsar. Through his long career in
the Russian military, Sergey has come to appreciate the importance of
discipline and order, and therefore opposes reformist elements that he
views as challenging the authority of the tsar. However, Russia’s military
remains one of the least modernized forces in Europe, and Vyazmitinov
hopes to expand and reform his army before he commits it against
Napoleon.
Head of the Ministry of Sea Forces, Tchichagov is responsible for the
Russian Navy, the third largest in the world after Britain and France,
though Russia’s is scattered and in many ways ineffective compared to
its Western European counterparts. A member of the Committee on
Navy Reorganization, Tchichagov appreciates the need for reforms to
rectify the crises facing Russia’s navy; he also has close ties to England,
including an English wife, and these connections have impressed upon
him a desire for political reform within the empire.
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As Minister of State for the Danish monarchy, Bernstorff is the effective
head of the Danish government. Though still responsible to the king,
Bernstorff directs Denmark’s foreign policy and handles the country’s
administration with a deft hand. Distrustful of the British since their
attack on the Danish fleet at Copenhagen in 1801, Bernstorff favors
neutrality, and has fittingly signed a limited defensive alliance with
Russia. Denmark’s powerful fleet, capable of swaying the balance of
power in the English Channel, is jealously guarded by Bernstorff as a key
factor in negotiations between France and the Coalition. Domestically,
von Bernstorff is an Enlightenment liberal.
The only son of King Christian VII is a known reformer, beloved for his
instrumental role in abolishing serfdom in Denmark. After being
declared of legal majority in 1784, Frederick launched a coup against his
half-uncle, the Hereditary Prince Frederick, and removed his supporters.
Now, Frederick VI controls the most powerful faction at the Danish court.
He is steadfastly independent from his advisors and foreign states, but
recognizes that Denmark needs allies to maintain its strength and its
possessions in Norway. Beyond Danish borders, Crown Prince Frederick
is a pragmatist who will ally with whichever power suits Denmark’s best
interests.
After the assassination of his brother, King Gustav III, Charles served as
regent of Sweden until his nephew Gustavus Adolphus IV came of age
and ascended to the throne. Though not particularly close with his
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nephew, Charles remains the only person who can influence the King,
and is a voice of reason within Sweden. A moderate reformer and hero
of the Russo-Swedish War, Charles has the support of much of the
nobility and military, and favors neutrality and defense against Sweden’s
traditional foes, Denmark and Russia.
The current Governor-General of Pomerania, Sweden’s treasured
territory on the European mainland, Essen has been a court outsider
since a scandalous duel marked him as an opponent of the King.
Because he is an outsider to the court and a life-long soldier, Essen has
little taste for political machinations and scheming, cares solely for that
which helps him defend and administer Pomerania. Essen fears conflict
with Napoleon, recognizing the power of the French forces, but also
hopes to prove his skill in battle.
As the commander of the Neapolitan army, Damas has effectively
governed the Kingdom of Naples since King Ferdinand fled to his other
realm in Sicily. With French forces unremittingly threatening Naples,
Damas is seen by many of Europe’s élite as the only force holding back
Napoleon, a qualification that has earned him the love and support of
the Neapolitan army. Damas is a liberal who is disillusioned with King
Frederick, and will enact any measures he feels will help strengthen
Naples and mobilize the populace against France.
The Prime Minister of Naples, Sir Acton is a favorite of the rabidly antiFrench Queen Maria Carolina despite – or perhaps because of – the fact
that he is English; consequently, his presence irritates Napoleon. Acton
is largely responsible for the expansion of Naples’ army and navy, organs
which he has deployed freely to suppress radical elements within the
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kingdom. He currently resides at Palermo in Sicily with the royal family,
where he serves as advisor to both King Ferdinand and Queen Maria.
The younger brother of Elector Frederick Augustus III, Anthony is the
Crown Prince and Heir to the Electorate. Although he has largely avoided
politics to date, Anthony’s connections to German nobility, especially his
relation by marriage to the daughter of former Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II, give him enormous influence in Germany. Anthony is
adamant about preserving the strength and independence of the Saxon
state and the royal House of Wettin to which he belongs. Anthony also
has the authority to command the Royal Saxon Army, though he is
subordinate to Frederick Augustus.
An elderly and experienced Saxon statesman, Hopffgarten currently
serves as Minister of the Interior for the Electorate of Saxony, as well as
Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has been instrumental in pursuing
economic reforms within Saxony, and is a close and valued advisor to
the Elector Frederick Augustus. Hopffgarten has attempted to balance
Austrian and Prussian influence in Saxony, fearful of his more powerful
German neighbors, and sees France as a possible stabilizing force in
Germany.
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Dwyer, Philip G. Napoleon: The Path to Power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.
Esdaile, Charles J. Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815. New York: Viking,
2008.
"French Revolution | 1787-1799." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica,
n.d. Web. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/219315/FrenchRevolution>.
"French Revolution." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web.
<http://www.history.com/topics/french-revolution>.
Kagan, Frederick W. The End of the Old Order: Napoleon and Europe, 1801-1805. Cambridge,
MA: Da Capo Press, 2006.
Kingdom of France. National Assembly. Declaration of the Rights of Man. Yale Law School Avalon Project, n.d. Web. 07 June 2015.
<http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp>.
Lieven, D. C. B. Russia against Napoleon: The True Story of the Campaigns of War and Peace.
New York: Viking, 2010.
Tocqueville, Alexis De, and Stuart Gilbert.The Old Regime and the French Revolution.
Doubleday, 1983.
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