MARSHAL LOUIS N. DAVOUT AND THE ART OF COMMAND A ...

in early March Prussia refused to contribute any forces to the coalition. This weakened the Austrian position and forced Charles to change his initial plans. The Aulic Council became worried that without Prussian involvement Charles1 plan would leave Vienna open for attack. Meanwhile Davout continued to monitor these Austrian movements into Bohemia and became more convinced of an impending conflict with the Austrians. Charles wanted to begin his attack in March. Had he done so the French would most likely have not been able to stop him. Although Davout was aware of the Austrian intentions he simply did not have the forces to stop their advance. However, the Aulic Council again intervened, forcing Charles to change his plans. This caused him to move most of his forces southward across the Bohemian frontier. This new plan called for Charles to move all but two of his corps south of the Danube. Davout detected the movement of thousands of men across his front and immediately informed Napoleon of the situation. Davout then began to reorient his own forces. Davoutls operational vision of the Austrian plan proved to be accurate. Had he remained deployed as he was toward the north when Charles attacked, even the slow-moving Austrians could have gained a great deal of success. Although the decision to attack south of the Danube cost the Austrians a delay, it was their best