Battle of Wagram - Napoleonic Wars Battle of Wagram

Battle of Wagram - Napoleonic Wars Battle of Wagram Conflict: The Battle of Wagram was the deciding battle of the War of the Fifth Coalition (1809) during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). Date: Fought east of Vienna, near the village of Wagram, the battle occurred on July 5-6, 1809. Commanders Armies: French Napoleon I180,000 men Austrians Archduke Charles155,000 men Battle Summary: Following his defeat at Aspern-Essling (May 21-22) after trying to force a crossing of the Danube, Napoleon reinforced his army and built up a large supply base on the isle of Lobau. By early July, he felt ready to make another attempt. Moving out with approximately 190,000 men, the French crossed the river and moved onto a plain known as the Marchfeld. On the opposite side of the field, Archduke Charles and his 140,000 men took positions along the Heights of Russbach. Deploying near Aspern and Essling, the French drove back the Austrian outposts and captured the villages. By late afternoon the French were fully formed up after encountering some delays crossing the bridges. Hoping to end the battle in one day, Napoleon ordered an attack which failed to achieve any significant results. At dawn, the Austrians launched a diversionary attack against the French right flank, while a major assault was brought against the left. Pushing the French back, the Austrians were succeeding until Napoleon formed a grand battery of 112 guns, which along with reinforcements, stopped the attack. On the right, the French had turned the tide and were advancing. This coupled with a massive attack on the Austrian center that split Charles army in two won the day for the French. Five days after the battle, Archduke Charles sued for peace. In the fighting, the French suffered a staggering 34,000 casualties, while the Austrians endured 40,000.

Bookstores

Bookstores You all know that most of my editorials come from the little seeds planted When you email me, my heart breaks, or my anger seethes, and my brain kicks into gear. This time an author wrote me about the sucky booksigning she had at an indie bookstore. Finally I had an excuse to write this op-ed. Bookstores are not sacrosanct, people. While some of them shine, some of them can stink. This author had an atrocious signing, with the store owner obviously not a fan of her story, her title, her hair color, who the heck knows? They stuck her in the back of the store near this tiny rack of her genre (which screamed that the owner didnt love the genre, BTW), and left her to rot for hours on a Saturday when shopping shouldve been hot. The author was mad; she was hurt. And this author has an award-winning book Because someone throws up a bookstore does not make them a god, a celebrity, or an all- knowing bibliophile. A bookstore is a business first and foremost, and some of these owners dont appreciate authors. Well, unless those authors are Stephen King, Pat Conroy, Karen White, fill-in-the-blank. Those are okay. Those are worth groveling over. The rest, well, they are hatchlings, and most of them wont live long. My point is that you need to be selective of your bookstore signing just as you are about anything else in your writing career. You dont jump at the first agent that speaks your name. You dont self-publish with the first vanity press that shoots you spam. You dont hire the first editor who quotes you a cheap rate. You dont listen to all criticism from your writing group. In other words, be true to yourself. If the fit doesnt feel right, trust your instincts and walk away. You have to be able to look at yourself in the morning. Some bookstores are fabulous. I have some in my circle Id die for. Theyve been so kind to me, and so supportive. A couple of them, however, I wont name. They shunned me because I wasnt big enough. They have their business . . . but so do I. Do not feel you have to sign . . . theres the Internet. Do not feel any bookstore is king . . . there are good and bad ones. Do not let them stick you in the back of the store . . . speak up. Too many writers think they are at the mercy of whoever will carry, sell, mention their book. No. You deserve some pride. And you have a right to be selective so you can feel proud.