As the illustrations show, these Droz obverses have a beaded border which distinguishes them at a glance from the similar obverse by Andrieu. Differences between the two 1806 Droz dies include the arrangement of the ribbons as well as several minor details. The die used in England has a wrong-font Z error in the Droz signature: DROZ FECIT.
In the summer of 1804 England and Russia formed a coalition against France. In July of 1805 Austria joined the coalition, and plans were made to remove the French threat to England. The allies' strategy was simple. An army of about seventy thousand Austrians under Archduke Ferdinand would invade Bavaria, France's traditional ally, and form a defensive front to prevent a French attack on that side. A second army of about twenty five thousand would be protected by the neutrality of the Prussian state of Ansbach. An army of ninty five thousand under Archduke Charles would invade Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy and reconquer north Italy for Austria. Russian troops would support Ferdinand's army in Bavaria; the British, Swedes, and Russians would invade Hannover and Naples to provide diversions on two other fronts.
Napoleon was kept well informed of the Austrian mobilization; indeed, in a letter of 13 August 1805 (Corres. 9069) he stated, "I want them to disarm. If they do not, I shall take two hundred thousand men and go pay them a visit they will remember for a long time." On the same day he issued instructions to Talleyrand on what to say to the Austrian ambassador (Corres. 9070): "I wish the troops of Austria would return to Bohemia or Hungary and that they would leave me in peace to make war against England... If your master wants war... tell him he will not celebrate Christmas in Vienna." He sent his best marshal, Massena, to defend the Kingdom of Italy against the Austrian troops gathering in Venice; St. Cyr's corps was sent to southern Italy to ward off an attack by the British from Malta and the Russians from Corfu. (On 21 September the Kingdom of Naples agreed to remain neutral and to exclude belligerents from its territories; St. Cyr's troops thereupon went to reinforce Massena in north Italy.)
Napoleon's plan to invade England collapsed in August, 1805, when his fleet failed to gain control of the English Channel, Admiral Villeneuve withdrawing the combined French and Spanish fleet to Cadiz. On 24 August Napoleon ordered his army at Boulogne to break camp and march into Germany. An army under General Brune remained around Boulogne to guard against a British invasion there.
Standard obverse by Andrieu.
Reverse: THE EMPEROR COMMANDS THE GRAND ARMY. An eagle standing
before a camp stool which is draped with a mantle and supports a
hand of justice; above, a thunderbolt. Signed on the exergual bar,
BRENET F. and DENON D. Exergue,
BREAKING UP THE CAMP AT BOULOGNE
24 AUGUST 1805; CROSSING THE RHINE 25 SEPTEMBER 1805.
In accordance with what I have said, the obverse should be by Droz, but the copy in the sale of Napoleon's own gold medals had the Andrieu obverse. It seems likely, therefore, that this medal is later than the others in this group. Julius had a silver copy with the Droz obverse, perhaps an English strike. The reverse is apparently the best Denon could come up with to celebrate the opening of the campaign; Babelon refers to this sort of design as trappings from the theatrical prop room. The thought behind the design seems to be that the emperor has left his throne to lead his army.
The Austrians underestimated the number of troops Napoleon could put into Germany; they underestimated the speed with which he could move those troops; they underestimated the time it would take for the supporting Russian troops to arrive. By October the French army of two hundred thousand which Napoleon made to pirouette into Germany (his words, Corres. 9130) had violated the neutral territory of Ansbach and turned the Austrian position on the Iller River, in Ulm and Memmingen. The Emperor spoke to his children:
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: On a bridge, the Emperor on
horseback faces his saluting troops. Above, a victory with a laurel
wreath and a palm frond; below to the left, the personified river
pours water from an urn labeled LECH. Exergue:
ADDRESS TO THE ARMY, THE ARMY VOWS TO WIN. 12 OCTOBER
1805. DENON DIREC.
The engraver did not sign the reverse (I guess it was engraved by Jaley).
The design appears to have been inspired by ancient Roman coins.
Less than a week later Ulm and Memmingen capitulated. Ferdinand's chief of staff, General Mack, surrendered thirty thousand troops, which were sent to France as prisoners of war. The Archduke Ferdinand escaped with a few hundred troops to Bohemia; some thousands of other troops escaped south to the Tyrol.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: a charioteer racing a biga (two-horse chariot) right. Above,
a victory flying left, bearing a laurel wreath and a palm frond. Below
the bellies of the horses two miniature kneeling women wearing civic
crowns, their arms upraised in supplication. Exergue: 16
OCTOBER 1805. CAPITULATION OF ULM AND MEMMINGEN. 600 THOUSAND PRISONERS.
JALEY F. DENON D.
This reverse is another one inspired by ancient coins, perhaps by
the dekadrachms of Syracuse. The drawing from which Jaley engraved
it is by the artist (unidentified) who did Bramsen 432. The
introduction of the little women (representing the two cities
involved) is reminiscent of Egyptian art, where the pharaoh is
usually shown dwarfing his pigmy opponents. It seems to me there's
no glory in defeating someone so much smaller. Is it sporting to run
them down like stray cats?
In October 1805 the French fleet left Cadiz to carry help to the French troops in Italy. Lord Nelson's fleet intercepted it on the twenty first, the day after the surrender of Ulm. Villeneuve lost sixteen of his thirty three ships of the line to an enemy with only twenty seven. Only the British issued medals to celebrate this Battle of Trafalgar. Napoleon was now incapable of launching an invasion of England.
The next event of the first Austrian campaign which Napoleon wanted commemorated was the recovery of some French standards. These battle flags had been captured from the French in the second Italian campaign and were kept in the arsenal in Innsbruck, capital of the Tyrol. Napoleon, learning that Ney's troops had found them there when they occupied Innsbruck, decided to make a big deal of it, although he had not mentioned their loss. The recovery was described in his twenty fifth bulletin and the following medal was struck, following the type of a denarius of Augustus struck on a similar occasion.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: A standing man in ancient
battle dress, a standard in his left hand and a victory in his
right. In the left field, THE AUSTRIANS DEFEATED,
in the right, THE FRENCH COLORS REGAINED.
Below, BRENET F. DENON D. Exergue,
INNSBRUCK, 7 NOVEMBER 1805.
Two days later the French had occupied Vienna and Pressburg (now Bratislava) a chief city in Czechoslovakia). As Napoleon had foreseen (Corres. 9233) the army under Archduke Charles was recalled from Italy to defend Vienna, ending the threat to Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy.
Napoleon's army advanced rapidly toward Vienna, the most remarkable event before their arrival there being a disaster not commemorated by a medal and glossed over in Napoleon's bulletins. The outnumbered Russian force under Kutusov, which had failed to reach Ulm in time to save Mack, was retreating on the north bank of the Danube to join another Russian division. Napoleon's army was south of the river, headed toward Vienna. Napoleon created a new corps, the Eighth, under Mortier, with three divisions, and sent it across the Danube to pursue the Russians. The leading division was cut off, trapped, and practically annihilated by the Russians in the gorge of D�rrenstein Castle (Where Richard the Lionhearted had been held for ransom when he was returning from the crusades).
Napoleon unfairly blamed Murat, the marshal in charge of the cavalry, for not supporting Mortier. Murat redeemed himself by trickily stealing a bridge across the Danube from the enemy detachment which was supposed to blow it up. Small Austrian forces attempting to block the approach to Vienna were dealt with summarily; Austrian and Russian forces abandoned the unfortified capital without a fight.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: The Emperor, standing erect,
leans on the club of Hercules. A lion skin is draped over his
left shoulder. Two kneeling city goddesses offer him the keys
to their cities. Exergue: CAPTURE OF VIENNA AND PRESSBURG, 1805.
DENON D. GALLE F.
Although the standing man resembles the Farnese or Lansdowne
(now Getty)
Hercules, the balanced design, dictated by the subject matter,
breaks with classical artistic tradition; Greek and Roman
artists eschewed such formal balance. The absence of anything
in the background concentrates the viewer's attention on the
three figures, and the surrender motif is immediately perceived,
the figure of the Emperor dominating. But he is not accepting
the proferred keys; he is looking for new conquests. The
approaching Russian allies of the Austrians have yet to be
defeated.
Obverse: NAPOLEON I. EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH, KING OF ITALY,
CONQUEROR OF THE AUSTRIANS AND RUSSIANS. Head of the Emperor
left, wearing a Corinthian helmet decorated with a laurel
wreath, an eagle, and a snake. On the truncation, the initials
L.M.
Reverse: VIENNA TAKEN IN THE YEAR 1805. A draped. mourning
woman is seated on the left. In front of her are a trophy
composed of a cuirass and helmet, and a shield bearing the
Austrian double-headed eagle. Exergue: MILAN. Signed L.M.
Luigi Manfredini cut the dies for this medal, which came from
Napoleon's mint in Milan. Again we can see a prototype in
Roman coins, the Judea Capta type of the Flavian emperors.
The fact that the Russians are named on the obverse suggests
that this medal was designed several months after the capture
of Vienna, probably after the war was over,
The Russian forces were now united, about sixty miles north of Vienna; their emperor, Alexander was there to lead all eighty six thousand of them. Ferdinand had recovered about nine thousand troops, but he was up in Prague. Far to the south were Archdukes Charles and John with eighty thousand Austrians; Massena was at their heels, and Ney at Insbruck and Marmont at Leoben blocked their approach to Vienna. Napoleon had about seventy six thousand troops immediately available around Vienna; by pretending to withdraw from the Russians, talking about an armistice, and yielding the high ground to them he suckered them into attacking, then smashed their extended lines and slaughtered them.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ. A
hybrid between a winged thunderbolt and a scepter topped by
a statue of Charlemagne, surrounded by stylized lightning.
Counterclockwise around the lower edge, 2 DEC 1805 JALEY F.
II FRIM. AN XIV.
Chaudet drew the reverse for Jaley to engrave. The thunderbolt
expresses very well this battle, Napoleon's greatest military
victory. The key to his success was that, unknown to Alexander,
he could rapidly bring up reinforcements, thereby obtaining
numerical superiority. The political consequences, however, are
another matter, to be taken up in the next chapter.
Obverse: BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ. Laureate bust of Napoleon
facing right, signed on the truncation, ANDRIEU F. In the field
below, 2 DECEMBER 1805.
Reverse: ALEXANDER I; FRANCIS II. Two
laureate busts, face to face. Below, ANDRIEU F.
and DENON D.
It is claimed that Andrieu followed Napoleon's instructions in
designing this medal but that the Emperor rejected it when he
saw the proofs. Be that as it may, (among other objections to the
story are the facts that Chaudet, not Andrieu, drew the reverse
and that Napoleon owned a copy of it in gold) the Paris mint was
selling copies of it at least by 1815, whether Napoleon approved
it or not.
This is an artist's preliminary sketch for the medal, recovered from his waste basket. Notice the standard has an obliterated RF, replaced on the final medal by an N.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: Napoleon, on the right, in a
classical warrior's uniform, extends his hand to an approaching
suppliant. Behind is an eagle-topped military standard; on the
ground a pair of Austrian battle flags. Exergue: INTERVIEW OF
THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON AND THE EMPEROR FRANCIS II. AT URSCHITZ ON
4 DECEMBER 1805. Signed ANDRIEU F. DENON D.
Another reverse drawn by Chaudet. I don't recall a classical
precedent, although Priam begging the body of Hector from Achilles
would fit. The composition would be improved by deleting the
standard and flags. The suppliant is the Emperor Francis. In fact
Francis was responsible for the ending of the war, agreeing to
send the Russians home. He apparently thought that the armies of
Charles and John were no match for the French. Although Francis
was the nominal successor of the Roman emperors, both Alexander
and Napoleon aspired to that position.
Obverse: FROM THE GERMANS. A winged, trumpet-blowing woman runs left, carrying a tablet inscribed FROM THE EMPEROR TO HIS CITY; behind her a pile of spoils of war. Signed in the left field, BRENET F. Exergue: THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE WAR, CANNON AND FLAGS DESPOILED FROM THE ENEMY AT WERTINGEN, GIVEN TO THE CITY OF PARIS ON 10 OCTOBER 1805.
Reverse: AUSTRIA SUBDUED. On the right Napoleon and Murat in classical dress, at their feet a nymph with an urn labelled SCHOENBRUNN; approaching from the left are two men, one offering a scroll. On the exergual bar, GALLE F. Exergue: THE MAYORS OF PARIS PRESENT THEIR THANKS TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, RETURNED VICTORIOUS TO THE PALACE OF THE CAESARS.
To the lenghty inscription I can add only that this medal was ordered by the Prefecture of the Seine ("Le Moniteur", 10 January 1806) and was drawn by Lemot. An inferior version, Bramsen 454, destroys the composition of the reverse by inserting a small kneeling figure representing Austria in the center. Although many art critics object to the fine detail of these Napoleonic medals, it is their chief attraction for many people.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: A temple labelled on the architrave TEMPLE OF JANUS. The doors are closed. Exergue: THE PEACE OF PRESSBURG, 26 DECEMBER 1805. ANDRIEU FT. DENON DT.
Janus was originally the Roman god of war. In times of peace he was shut up in his temple, hence the closed doors. This temple, drawn by Lepere, is quite unlike the temple of Janus shown on the coins of Nero, but perhaps this one is more impressive.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: THE GIVING OF THANKS FOR THE PEACE. The Cathedral of St. Stefan in Vienna. On the exergual bar, DENON D. ANDRIEU F. Exergue: ORDERED IN VIENNA BY THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON ON 28 DECEMBER 1805.
Andrieu worked from a drawing by Lepere. Although the Te Deum was nominally to thank God for the peace, it seems rather crass of Napoleon to hold his celebration in the Austrian cathedral. The Austrian emperor did not spend Christmas in Vienna.
The treaty with which Napoleon concluded the campaign (Peace of Pressburg, 26 December 1805) was too harsh to insure a lasting peace. Although Austria was forced to recognize him as king of Italy and his brother Louis as king of Holland, the lands and people he took from Austria and his conversion of that power to a land-locked country promised eventual retaliation.
Four medals commemorated French acquisitions.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: The Rialto Bridge in Venice; in the field above a snake, a gandola, and a dolphin. Exergue: BRENET F. DENON D. VENICE RETURNED TO ITALY, 26 DECEMBER 1805.
The lion of Venice would perhaps have been a more appropriate type for this medal. The water snake and dolphin symbolize the Adriatic Sea and the canals of Venice, although the gondola would have been more than enough. Poor artists overload their medals with symbols, in an attempt either to explain an incomprehensible design or not to waste space. It's like graffiti to fill a blank wall.
An outcry arose in many places, including Paris, when, during his first Italian Campaign Napoleon seized the Republic of Venice and then traded it to Austria for the Austrian Netherlands. Now he took it back, adding it to his Kingdom of Italy.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: TEMPLE OF AUGUSTUS AT POLA. A reconstruction of the Roman temple there. BRENET F. DENON D. Exergue: ISTRIA CONQUERED IN THE YEAR 1806.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: TEMPLE OF JUPITER AT SPOLETO. Another reconstruction (on paper). BRENET F. DENON D. Exergue: DALMATIA CONQUERED IN 1806 BY THE PEACE OF PRESSBURG.
When Denon was chided for using this sort of design on these medals he explained that when countries are acquired by treaty there aren't any battles to illustrate the medals; he told his critic he would welcome any suggestions for more appropriate subjects. Medals depicting these countries on the east coast of the Adriatic show that Napoleon was reassembling the Roman Empire.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse:A man-headed bull, standing right but head facing. A victory flying above crowns him with a wreath. The small head beneath the belly of the beast is that of Vulcan, god of volcanos
and thus of Vesuvius. Signed BRENET and DENON. Exergue: CONQUEST OF NAPLES, 1806.
Denon chose for this medal the type of the ancient Greek coins of Naples, but his artists were not the equals of the ancient Greeks. The conquest of Naples came about because in spite of that country's promised neutrality in Napoleon's recent war with Austria it had welcomed the arrival of an Anglo-Russian force of 20,000 men. Peace made with Austria, Napoleon sent his brother Joseph with a powerful army to drive the Bourbons out of south Italy; Joseph was made king of Naples.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: STEPHANIE NAPOLEON C.F. LOUIS OF BADEN. A young couple facing each other and holding hands. Signed ANDRIEU and DENON.
Napoleon adopted a niece of Josephine's and married her to the heir of the Duchy of Baden, the marriage being also an alliance between France and Baden. Similarly he married his brother Jerome to Princess Catherine of W�rtemberg and Josephine's son Eugene to Princess Augusta of Bavaria. The following medal commemorates his king making:
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: A table in front of the imperial throne, covered with crowns and sceptres. On the floor lie a cap and two crowns; above flies an eagle carrying a fasces. Exergue: SOVEREIGNTIES BESTOWED, 1806. Signed ANDRIEU and Zix. The cap on the floor represents the doge of Venice; the crowns there are from the kings of Naples and Sardinia. The crowns on the table represent Napoleon's creation of the kings of Bavaria and W�rttemberg, his step-son Eugene as viceroy of Italy, his brother Joseph as king of Naples, his brother Louis as king of Holland, his sister Pauline as duchess of Guastalla, his brother-in-law Murat as duke of Cleves and of Berg, Marshal Berthier as prince of Neufchatel, Talleyrand as prince of Beneventum, and Marshal Bernadotte as prince of Ponte Corvo. It was rather clever of Denon to come up with the idea for this medal, the expression of so many events so simply.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: COLUMN OF THE GRAND ARMY. A commemorative column covered with bas-reliefs, surmounted by a statue and with buildings on either side. Exergue: CAMPAIGN OF 1805. BRENET F. DENON D.
Lepere did the sketch for the reverse of this medal. The erection of a bronze column in Paris was planned in 1803 ("Le Moniteur", 4 October 1803). The column was to be set up in the Place Vendome, 20.78 meters high and decorated with a spiral of one hundred eight figures representing the departments of the republic, topped by a statue of Charlemagne. At the triumphant conclusion of the Austrian Campaign the Tribunate decided ("Le Moniteur", 14 January 1806) instead to erect a column dedicated to Napoleon and bearing a statue of him. Napoleon supplied bronze cannon captured from the Russians. The column is about forty meters high, including the base. Built of masonry, it is clad with bronze plaques designed by Bergeret, illustrating the First Austrian Campaign from the departure of the troops from Boulogne to their triumphant return to Paris.
The statue of Emperor Napoleon, by Chaudet, was replaced by a gigantic fleur-de-lys in 1814 and went to England. Successive statues of Charlemagne, Bonaparte, and Napoleon have stood on the column, which was overturned during the communist riots in the 1870s. It was rebuilt and stands today as a proud rival to the thirty meter marble column of Trajan, erected in Rome in the second century A.D. to celebrate that emperor's Dacian wars.
Standard obverse by Droz.
Reverse: An arch of triumph, surmounted by a quadriga. Exergue: TO THE ARMIES, 1806. Signed BRENET F. FONTAINE ARC. DENON D.
This is the smaller of the two Napoleonic triumphal arches in Paris. Decreed on 26 February 1806 (Corres. 9891), the arch itself was almost completed by October 1807, although the bas-reliefs and quadriga had still to be added. The horses drawing the emperor in the chariot came from St. Mark's in Venice. They are by an ancient Greek artist, looted from Constantinople by the Venetians. The Byzantines had apparently looted them from somewhere in Greece. After Waterloo they were returned to Venice, where they may still be seen above the main portal of the cathedral.
The bas-reliefs illustrate six of the events of the recent war, five of which were also the subject of medals described in this chapter:
The Capitulation of Ulm, sculptor Cartellier.
The Victory of Austerlitz, sculptor Espercieux.
The Entry into Vienna, sculptor Deseine.
The Entry into Munich, sculptor Claudion.
The Interview of the Two Emperors, sculptor Ramey.
The Peace of Pressburg, sculptor Lesueur.
These bas-reliefs were later removed and replaced by others celebrating the French campaign in Spain in 1823. After the French Revolution of 1830 the originals were restored to the arch.