The region of Europe is known broadly and geographically as the “Balkans,” and until a few years ago it was “Yugoslavia.” Between 1789 and 1814 it brought together nine regions, seven of which formed the Illyrian Provinces in 1809. These are the Mouths of Cattaro, Croatia, Dalmatia, the Ionian Islands, and the Seven Islands, Istria, Ragusa, and Slovenia. Albania and Serbia will never be part of the Illyrian Provinces, these countries having very moving borders and variable affiliations between Austria, Italy, France, Russia, Turkey, and the Republic of Venice.
Albania only became independent in the middle of the 15th century because previously it was occupied by the Bulgarians, Angevins, Serbs, and Byzantines; it fell back under Ottoman rule in 1478 and was still there in 1789. Ottoman officials tried to gain independence from the Porte (Turkey). This is how Ali de Tebelen was confirmed as the pasha of Janina.
Control of part of Albania
As part of the Treaty of Campo-Formio (1797), France was allocated four points of the mainland in Albania: Butrinto, Parga, Prévéza, and Vonizza. In 1798-1799, a Russian-Turkish naval fleet captured the Ionian Islands and part of Albania; the victors decided that the islands would form the Republic of the Seven Islands and that the four points of the mainland would be united with Turkish Albania and, under the Ottoman yoke, will form a region of European Turkey.
In 1800 these four points were united with Turkish Albania. Seven years later, France found them again, theoretically, within the framework of the Ionian Islands but only really took back Parga. The year 1814 saw the end of the French presence in this region; it lost Parga attached to Turkish Albania.
In his Memoirs, Lamarre-Picquot evokes the specialty of the Albanian infantry regiment created on July 1, 1807: "When the regular corps, which included ten thousand men, had finished the parade, the general allowed the Albanian regiment, two thousand strong men, to parade according to their custom. This regiment set off at a run: the officers brandished their sabers and animated the soldiers with their fierce cries; all the soldiers constantly unloaded their weapons and, despite the speed of the race, reloaded them with admirable agility. » This regiment will be reorganized in Mainz in 1813, in the form of two battalions, but will be disarmed in November.
Cattaro since the Treaty of Pressburg
The town of Cattaro was founded in 535, and plundered by the Saracens in 840. Long an independent republic, it was subject to Venice in 1420. It was besieged by the Turks in 1538 and 1657 and ravaged twice by an earthquake in 1563. and 1667. The Mouths of Cattaro (capital Cattaro or Kotor) belonged to the Republic of Venice in 1789, to Austria in 1797 and they were ceded to France by the Treaty of Pressburg in December 1805. General Molitor was responsible for 'occupying Dalmatia in January 1806 but he came up against the Montenegrins and especially the Russians who wanted to keep this position; it was delivered to them by the Austrians on March 14, despite the Peace of Pressburg.
The treaty between France and Russia of April 30, 1806, provides that the Mouths of Cattaro will be a dependency of Dalmatia (therefore French); the Russians agree to leave the country, and in exchange, the Republic of Sept-Iles is recognized by France. After Tilsit, in 1807, Russia returned the Mouths of Cattaro to the Kingdom of Italy. The province was constituted on December 25, 1809, and abolished on April 15, 1811, during the reorganization of the Illyrian Provinces; they are then included in these.
Croatia after the Treaty of Schönbrunn
Having Agram (or Zagreb) as its capital, Croatia, in 1789, was made up of the two kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia (or Esclavonia), possessions of the House of Austria, but which were part of the Hungarian whole and were not therefore not in the Holy Roman Empire. Civil Croatia is administered in three “counties” (Zagreb, Warasdin, and Kreutz), and military Croatia (capital Carlstadt) is made up of three “generalates”. The same goes for Slavonia (three counties and one general). After Wagram, by the Peace of Schönbrunn of October 14, 1809, Austria ceded to Napoleon the southern half of the Kingdom of Croatia and the particular district of Fiume, which entered into the organization of the new Illyrian Provinces.
The Swiss Bégos gives his opinion on the Croatian infantry: “We had on our left two battalions of Croats, excellent soldiers, partly commanded by French officers. They were the first marauders in the army, but at the same time very good devils, with whom we never had any difficulties. » In 1809, Marmont reorganized under the name “Illyrian Hunter Regiments” the six border regiments of Austrian infantry from the borders of Croatia; they were disarmed and transformed into Croatian pioneers in November 1813. On the previous February 23, a Croatian hussar regiment was formed which was disbanded on November 25 of the same year.
Dalmatian possessions
Dalmatia's capital is Zara, purchased by the Republic of Venice from the King of Naples in 1409. It became an Austrian province by the Treaty of Campo-Formio of 1797. On December 26, 1805, the Peace of Pressburg gave Dalmatia to Napoleon, but at the end of February 1806, Austria delivered the Mouths of Cattaro to Russia. Governor general and general in chief of the army of Dalmatia on July 7, 1806, Marmont summoned the Russian admiral Siniavin to abandon the siege of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) but, having received no satisfactory response, he marched, with some battalions only, against the enemy and defeated him at Castelnuovo on September 30, thus forcing him to re-embark. By the Treaty of Tilsit, Russia must return the Mouths of Cattaro.
In 1807, Dalmatia became part of the Kingdom of Italy. In January 1809, Napoleon sent General Marmont, who commanded the army of Dalmatia, the order to concentrate his army on Zara, leaving only the essential garrisons at the mouths of Cattaro and in a few interesting posts; to build an entrenched camp at Zara which would be supplied for a year; to prepare for it in this way or to hold out for several months against considerable forces, or to march forward to join the army of Italy. This will be the second solution that will apply.
From July 25 to 29, 1809, the French troops of General Maureillan clashed with the Austrians in the garrison, under the orders of General Von Knezevic. On both sides, losses were light and the armistice of Znaïm interrupted the fighting.
Dalmatia joined the Illyrian Provinces in 1809. The French occupation ended with the capture of Ragusa by the Austrians in December 1813. After a three-week siege beginning on November 22, the place, then commanded by General Roize, capitulated on December 5 in front of the Austrians of Baron Von Tomassich, who was supported by the English ships of Captain Cadogan. The garrison is sent back to France on the condition of not serving until the exchange of prisoners.
During his stay in Dalmatia, Marmont opened eighty leagues of roads and founded high schools in Ragusa, Zara (Zadar), and Sebenico. As the doges of Venice took the title of Duke of Dalmatia, Napoleon gave this same title to Soult. For a time, the Emperor wanted to complete a Dalmatian regiment, which had served the Kingdom of Italy, but he ultimately did not follow through, given the too-high cost of the operation.
The fight for the Ionian Islands
Left to the Republic of Venice, the Ionian Islands were part of the preliminaries of the Treaty of Leoben in April 1797. The capture of Venice the following May encouraged the French to settle in Corfu, then Venetian property. By the Treaty of Campo-Formio of the following October, France was granted the Ionian Islands after the dismantling of the Serenissima. They are then divided into three departments: Corfu (capital Corfu), Ithaca (capital Argostoli), and Aegean Sea (capital Zante). In March 1799, the Russo-Turkish alliance brought down the place of Corfu and, a year later, an agreement between the two countries established the Republic of the Sept-Iles also called the Septinsular Republic. With the Peace of Amiens, France recognized the existence of this republic. In 1806 the Russians were authorized to leave 4,000 men there, to protect the independence of the Porte. The Treaty of Tilsit provides, in its secret articles, the cession of the Ionian Islands to France. Also, in August-September 1807, the French reoccupied the Seven Islands (Kefalonia, Corfu, Kythera, Ithaca, Lefkada, Paxos, Zakynthos ). In November, they become a “reserved country”. From October 1809 to April 1810, the English occupied most of it except Corfu and Paxos. Then, in June 1814, Corfu, the last place to resist, fell into the hands of the English.
A battalion will be formed on September 13, 1807, with the remains of a former Venetian regiment; he is responsible for the occupation and defense of Sept-Îles. In 1812, he was incorporated into the Ionian Sappers and then was dismissed. A squadron of mounted hunters was created on November 29, 1802, in Corfu but was in turn disbanded in Lyon on September 12, 1814, before being incorporated into the 6th Lancers.
Istria and Ragusa
Assigned to Austria after Campo-Formio (1797) following the dismantling of the Republic of Venice as well as Dalmatia, the Dalmatian islands and the Mouths of Cattaro, Venetian Istria was ceded by the Treaty of Pressburg (1805) to France through Austria. It was then included in the new kingdom of Italy, then attached to the Illyrian Provinces upon their creation. In 1814, the Congress of Vienna attributed it to the Austrian Empire. Today it is part of Croatia.
The Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik in Croatian), independent since 1358, was occupied by French troops in 1806. On May 26, upon his arrival in this stronghold, General Lauriston was attacked by the Russian squadron of Admiral Siniavin, despite the cession of Dalmatia provided for by the Treaty of Pressburg. Meanwhile, the Montenegrins attacked from land. General Molitor's French troops intervened and overthrew the enemy. On January 30, 1808, General Marmont, Governor General of Dalmatia, decreed that the Republic of Ragusa had ceased to exist; by decree of March 30, 1808, Ragusa was thus attached to the Kingdom of Italy then in 1809 to the Illyrian Provinces.
Paulinus gives his testimony about Marmont: “Marshal Duke of Ragusa had a government palace in this city. Everything in this palace looked grand and exuded sumptuousness. Everywhere couches were inviting you to rest, as at the Sultan's court. But all this luxury of curtains, hangings, sofas, and rich and tasteful furnishings, could not oppose the inevitable inconveniences of the warmest; insects of all kinds were raging. » The territories annexed on the eastern shore of the Adriatic then became part of the Kingdom of Italy until 1809. Three prefects succeeded each other: the proveditor general (administrator of the Republic of Venice) Vinzenzo Dandolo, the Dalmatian from Trogir − General Inspector of Water and Forests − Gianluca Garagnin, and another Dalmatian, the jurist Angelo Calafatti, former president of the General Council of Istria.
After the Treaty of Schönbrunn in October 1809, Austria ceded Upper Carinthia, Carniola, the county of Gorizia, Trieste, and part of Croatia to France. One of the difficulties lies in the multiplicity of the six languages used in these regions. From 1809, Marmont showed a particular interest in the Slavic language, its literature, and its popular traditions. Teaching at the Ragusa High School is in the Illyrian language and Dandolo launches the first newspaper in Croatian. The poet and grammarian Valentin Vodnik, author of school books, speaks of an Illyria resurrected and called back to new life by Napoleon. But in 1815, Dalmatia became Austrian again.
Slovenia after Austerlitz
Successively annexed by Bavaria, the Republic of Venice, and the Habsburgs, Slovenia (capital Laybach / Ljubljana) remained Austrian after the Treaty of Pressburg of December 26, 1805, as did the territory of Trieste. After Wagram, Slovenia is affected by border changes. Austria cedes Carniola and part of the county of Goritz to France.
The campaign of 1805 resulted in the Slovenes in an occupation by the French army. After the Treaty of Pressburg, Napoleon settled in the former Venetian possessions including Istria, Dalmatia, and the Bay of Kotor. The latter was first occupied by the Russians and Montenegrins until the Peace of Tilsit when they returned to France. The decree of April 15, 1811, reduced the number of Illyrian intendancies to six: Carinthia (Villach), Carniola (Laybach), Istria (Trieste), Civil Croatia (Carlstadt), Dalmatia (Zara), Ragusa and Cattaro (Ragusa) and Military Croatia. Slovenia followed the fate of Croatia from August 1813. Occupied by Austrian troops from 1813, it returned to the Habsburg Empire in 1815.
Four governors
The idea of Illyria, that is to say, the annexation of the Austrian maritime provinces to France, dates from before the war of 1809. The definitive form in which the project will be carried out only appears after the armistice of Znaim. Marmont recounts in his Memoirs that, during the negotiations, the Emperor often sent for him to talk to him about the provinces that Austria was going to cede to him. It was for military reasons that Napoleon united the conquered countries into an independent political body, taking the example of Illyria of Antiquity. By decree of October 14, 1809, following the Treaty of Schönbrunn, Napoleon therefore detached from the Kingdom of Italy, Italian Istria, Dalmatia, Ragusa, and the Mouths of Cattaro to unite them with the provinces of Carinthia, Carniola, Trieste, Istria and Croatia to form the Illyrian Provinces of the French Empire, whose capital is Laybach.
The decree organizing these provinces was signed at Trianon on December 25, 1809; he gave the governor general command of the land and sea forces. The Illyrian Provinces have an area of 55,000 km2 and a population of 1.5 million inhabitants; they are composed of six civil provinces plus the Croatian “Military Confins”. The Illyrians are not French but Illyrians; the provincial intendants have the same powers as the prefects and transmit information to Laybach. The governor general commands the armed forces and supervises justice. The administration is in the hands of the natives and French and local languages are used. For Croatia, the bureaucratic organization of the administration is something new.
The French established communes (which replaced large landed properties), civil justice (which replaced medieval justice), justices of the peace, equality of citizens before the law, civil marriage, land tax, service military, and the acquisition of land by the local peasantry. They introduced chambers of commerce and religious tolerance towards Protestants and Jews. Education is reorganized, especially in Istria and Dalmatia with elementary schools in each municipality, middle schools, high schools, and two central schools in Zadar and Laybach (law, medicine, etc. are taught there). Teaching is done in the language of the country (Marmont decree of July 4, 1810). Only the nobility and the clergy were not in favor of reforms.
The decree of February 12, 1810, divided the Illyrian Provinces into two military divisions (Laybach and Zara). The decree of April 15, 1811, relating to the Illyrian Provinces, reduced the number of civil stewardships to six; the authority of the governor was barely greater than that of a prefect. The Illyrian infantry regiment, organized at Laybach on January 22, 1811, was almost entirely wiped out in Russia; it was suppressed on November 17, 1813, and the remains were transferred to the 2nd colonial battalion. In French Illyria, two facts were of great importance for the emergence of national feeling: the attitude of the French towards the national language and the resurrection of the name "Illyrian".
Marmont's lavish lifestyle
Duke of Ragusa on April 15, 1809, confirmed by letters patent of June 28, 1808, Marmont lives on a royal footing and does not know how to win the sympathies of the inhabitants. Napoleon painted it with a word calling it “Marmont 1st”. Commanding the 11th Corps of the German Army in 1809, he was victorious at Gospich on May 20, captured Fiume on May 28, and participated in the capture of Graz. During the battle of Wagram, on July 6, he was placed in reserve and was victorious three days later at Znaïm (Znojmo).
Becoming Marshal of the Empire on July 12, 1809, then governor of the Illyrian provinces in October, he subdued the Croats and then led a life of splendor and pleasure and would later say: “I have always had a way of magnificence. "We find a very revealing testimony in the Memoirs of Lemonnier-Delafosse (p. 174): "Monsieur the Marshal, carried in an elegant litter lined with green taffeta curtains, surrounded by his entire House and the luxury that she brought with her She […]. Monsieur the Marshal dismounted […], it was midday; his House followed him. There, twenty servants, no more and no less appeared in silk stockings, short breeches, and livery with ribbon needles. Thirty horses or pack mules were unloaded […] a set of damask linen came out […] was covered with silver-gilt dishes containing cold pieces, game, poultry, pâtés, etc. […] flanked by French wines, Bordeaux, Burgundy. There lunched Mr. Marshal and his entire staff! Side by side of a regiment with barely bread to eat. » General Thiébault confirms and says that “His House was equivalent to a cavalry regiment” (t.4/571 notes). Finally, we find another testimony that goes in the same direction, coming from Viennet (Carnet de la Sabretache, 1929, p. 352): “The marshal waged war as a satrap. His hundred mules laden with baggage, his fifty servants in red livery constantly crossed our path […]. Four beautiful tents, called marquises, formed a beautiful country palace. »
As for his physique, we can refer to Rieu (Mémoires, p. 167): “I have rarely seen a face darker than his; a beard and black hair contributed to this effect; his lips, finally, ignored the smile. Moreover, one could not dispute his bravery; he had […] an imperturbable composure amid the most terrible fire. » Appointed commander of the 6th corps of the army of Portugal, under Masséna in place of Ney on April 9, 1811, Marmont always had with him a giant brought back from Dalmatia, covered in gold chains and who only served His Excellency ( Thiébault, volume 4).
Bertrand's organization
Count Henri-Gatien Bertrand was appointed governor of the Illyrian Provinces in place of Marmont – who had joined the army of Portugal – on March 25, 1811, and arrived in Trieste on April 9, 1811. He remained in post until December 2, 1812. Jules Antoine Paulin, the future general, accompanied Bertrand to Illyria in his capacity as deputy director of the fortifications of Trieste and aide-de-camp.
Bertrand goes to the Illyrian Provinces with his wife and his first two children, as well as the mother and sister of Countess Bertrand. The Laybach Palace served as a summer residence for the governor of Illyria and Marmont had furnished it with taste and sumptuousness. The French find themselves in a sort of colony: the head of justice, the paymaster general, the director of finances, the administrator of the salt works, and several general officers (Delzons, Bachelu, Pacthod). The table is always well served. The governor's equipage consisted of six dapple gray horses and the liveries were magnificent.
In winter everyone went to Trieste where there was a rich, elegant, and numerous society. Paulin writes in his Memoirs: “Countess Bertrand followed her husband on all his tiring and perilous journeys, and her advanced state of pregnancy did not stop her in any way. » Paulin shows how much Bertrand had made himself loved: “Having read at the end of 1813, in the newspapers, that General Bertrand was a prisoner, the inhabitants of Trieste wanted to pay his ransom, and we had great difficulty in persuading them that it was not their former governor, but rather General Baron Bertrand de Civray. » At the beginning of 1813, Bertrand moved to the Grande Armée where he commanded the 4th Corps in Saxony.
Junot and his outbursts
Jean-Andoche Junot, Duke of Abrantès, succeeds him. Colonel de Reiset, who is his most valiant lieutenant, drew a portrait of Junot in his Memoirs, dated July 11, 1809, which constitutes one of the best accounts of this great and particularly discussed military figure. He recognizes his “hotheaded character, aggravated by head wounds, a saber blow in Italy which split his temple, and a gunshot in Germany which almost exposed his brain, his total lack of restraint and politeness in his outbursts of violent anger. But usually, he is an upright and open man, who, when he wants to be, is charming. He writes well and has a fine and sharp mind. He’s a real Don Juan. Tall with beautiful blonde hair. He is still only thirty-eight years old. His singular name of Andoche is quite simply that of the saint in the calendar who was celebrated on the day of his birth. No memory of the battle is attached to his title of Duke of Abrantès, which evokes a famous march in Portugal where he saved his army that day. »
On his return from Russia, Junot was recalled to France on January 28 but lost the government in Paris. He was sent to Venice as governor on February 12 and was appointed, shortly after and provisionally, governor of the Illyrian Provinces in Ljubljana on February 20. He leaves with a torn heart, he who does not like being far from Napoleon. His discontents are embittered by official disapproval of his services and these blows come from the man he cherishes most, and who in better times has magnificently rewarded his successes. He too finds that Napoleon has changed. Independently of the pensions he enjoyed, Junot received enormous sums from the Emperor and he dissipated them indiscriminately, without taste. Of the great fortunes created by Napoleon, he was without doubt one of the most disordered and will only ever have debts. Junot received numerous and deep injuries to his head which resulted in a habitual state of irritation and an almost permanent tendency to cerebral congestion. It is reasonable to believe that the moral concerns to which he is prey develop this unfortunate predisposition in him more quickly.
Paulin welcomes Junot to his new role. “I was chosen to go and receive him as he entered the territory and take him to Trieste. Its staff was few; his secretary, Mr. Fisson, and his young wife, a very pretty person, were in his car; I placed myself in fourth place. The Duke of Abrantès, that day, so close to the terrible event that he was perhaps already contemplating, showed nothing of the aberration of mind with which he was struck. » Appointed governor of Venice, he was seized one day, in this city, by a furious delirium, which manifested itself first by bloodthirsty orders, and soon after by revolting singularities. “The Duchess of Abrantès does not recount in her Memoirs how the Duke's madness declared itself […]. He was appointed governor of the Illyrian Provinces. He resolved to give a grand ball […]. Finally, after an hour of waiting […], what do we see? The Duke of Abrantès, wearing the latest shiny shoes, a belt supporting his sword, his hooks hanging from his neck by cords, all the large cords on his shoulder, his hair curled with the greatest care, his hat with white plumes under the arm, white gloves on the hand, and, except for that, naked as a worm” (Thiébault, Mémoires, t. 5/248).
He was, by order of the viceroy, returned to his native country with orders from the Emperor not to return to Paris and went to his father in Montbard (Côte-d'Or). He was brought back to his father's house in Montbard on July 22, 1813, and two hours after his arrival, in a violent attack of fever, he threw himself out of a window and broke his thigh. The amputation was carried out, but he tore off the device and died on the 29th at 4 p.m. in Montbard, 19 rue de la Liberté.
Fouché's surveillance
In 1813, Napoleon decided to remove Joseph Fouché, Duke of Otranto and, sent him to Saxony in Dresden and then to the Illyrian Provinces as governor to replace Junot.
Arriving on July 29, 1813, in Laybach, he was accompanied by his children and their governor, by Mr. de Chassenon, auditor attached to his person, and by General Frésia. There he found Charles Nodier, then librarian and director of the newspaper Télégraphe illyrien, the general intendant of finances Chabrol de Croussol who had never seen such activity, and Las Cases, who was state councilor and chamberlain. In August 1813, Austria entered the war against France and invaded Illyria.
On August 12, Fouché met Eugène in Udine to study possible means of repelling the enemy. Three days later, a big celebration commemorates Saint Napoleon and nothing is missing. Soldiers, prelates, and deputies are gathered in a large banquet and Fouché has 5,000 pounds given to the Croatian bishop to calm the population. The Austrians are preparing to invade the country and the Croatian troops serving under French flags are of questionable loyalty. The government remained unshakeable and Fouché even went to preside over the distribution of prizes at the Laybach High School.
On September 2, the intendant of Carniola, on orders from Fouché, secretly prepared the final retreat of the French. Fouché arrived in Trieste on August 26. Chabrol joined him on the 28th and, despite the raising of the national guard, the Austrians continued to advance. On September 3, in Udine, Fouché announced to the Emperor the evacuation of the Illyrian Provinces; on the 14th he was in Venice. On this date, the forces allied against Napoleon occupied the Illyrian Provinces, which were provisionally taken over by Austria, under the name "Kingdom of Illyria". In 1815 the Congress of Vienna confirmed to Austria the recovery of its ancient provinces which would become the Kingdom of Illyria.
The Fate of Serbia
Having risen in 1804, Serbia was then governed by Prince Karageorge who signed an agreement with Russia in 1807 by which his principality became a Russian protectorate. In May 1812, Serbia made peace with Turkey but fell back under Turkish rule. Its domination became complete in October 1813. Generally speaking, the Serbian majority was hostile to France until the Treaty of Tilsit; moreover, Napoleon became Turkey's ally. Later, the attitude of the Serbs would change, but return to what it was before with the 1812 campaign against Russia.
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