reason. They make young men assassins. But what can be done? ... A
sect cannot be destroyed by cannonballs.'
Once again he had escaped from a tight spot. Once the Austrians
capitulated, the steam went out of the Tyrolean rising. On 25 October the
Bavarians occupied Innsbruck for the third time, this time signalling the
collapse of the Tyrolean rebels. It took some time before Andreas Hofer
could be tracked down, so that he was not executed until 20 February
- Napoleon's way with this 'martyr' was as brisk as with Staps. There
is a cold ruthlessness about the order he sent to Eugene Beauharnais, now
back in Italy as viceroy: 'My son, I had commanded you to send Hofer to
Paris, but since you have him in Mantua, give instant orders that a
military commission be set up to try him on the spot. See that this takes
place within twenty-four hours.'
On his journey back to Fontainebleau, where he arrived on 26 October,
Napoleon had time to ponder the lessons of the 1809 campaign. He had
shown himself resilient under pressure, especially when he had to correct
Berthier's mistakes, and he had displayed tactical flair at Wagram. On the
other hand, his blunders were many. He should not have appointed
Berthier in the first place, he offended against his own military principles
during the fighting on H)--25 April and even more afterwards, perhaps
especially by pressing on to the symbolic goal of Vienna instead of
seeking out and destroying the enemy on the north bank of the Danube.
His fa mous opportunism descended into mere folly in May when he
attempted a quixotic and unprepared crossing of the Danube and, all in
all, the Emperor seemed to lack his old elan and brilliance; there were fits
of lethargy and depression and vaguely worded orders. There is even
some evidence that he had begun to lose confidence in his military
abilities, for he wrote after Wagram: 'Battle should only be offered when
there is no other turn of fortune to be hoped for, as from its nature the
fa te of a battle is always dubious.'
Just as worrying was the declining calibre of the Army, especially the
allied contingents; the flight of the Saxons on the first day of Wagram did
not bode well. There was a worryingly high level of officer casualties, and
indiscipline in the ranks was so bad that Napoleon was forced to institute
five courts-martial. The one bright spot, the removal of Bernadotte apart,
was the distinguished showing of the marshals. MacDonald, Marmont
and Oudinot all won their batons for their exploits in the toughest
campaign so far. Oudinot, whose contribution at Wagram was decisive,
received a fu rther annual income of 6o,ooo francs and the dukedom of
Reggio, which itself carried an annual endowment of 36,ooo francs. But if
Austria was pacified, there still remained the Spanish ulcer.