Tyrolean Rebellion
Part of theWar of the Fifth Coalition
Homecoming of Tyrolean Militia byFranz Defregger
Date April–November 1809 Location Tyrol Result French victory
Belligerents
France Kingdom of Bavaria  Italy  Saxony  Württemberg	Tyrolean civilian militia (Schützen) Supported by: Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
François-Joseph Lefebvre Jean-Baptiste Drouet Eugène de Beauharnais Karl Philipp von Wrede Frederick I	Andreas Hofer
Strength
40,000[1]	80,000
Casualties and losses
5,000	12,250

War of the Fifth Coalition:
Tyrolean Civil Revolt

200km
124miles

1

Bergisel

   

TheTyrolean Rebellion (German:Tiroler Volksaufstand) is a name given to the resistance of militiamen,peasants, craftsmen and other civilians of theCounty of Tyrol led byAndreas Hofer supported by his wife Anna and a strategic council consisting ofJosef Speckbacher, Peter Mayr,Capuchin FatherJoachim Haspinger,Major Martin Teimer and Kajetan Sveth, against new legislation and a compulsoryvaccination programme concerningsmallpox ordered by KingMaximilian I ofBavaria, followed by the military occupation of their homeland by troops organised and financed byNapoleon I of theFirst French Empire and Maximilian I.^[2][3] The broader military context is called theWar of the Fifth Coalition.

In September 1805 theElectorate of Bavaria under Prince-electorMaximilian IV Joseph, that had been allied with theHabsburg monarchy under the common federally structuredHoly Roman Empire, went over toNapoleonic France: the Bavarian Minister CountMaximilian von Montgelas, realizing the French superiority while fearing the ambitions of the newly establishedAustrian Empire, signed asecret defence alliance atBogenhausen. At the end of theWar of the Third Coalition shortly afterwards, Bavaria found itself on the victorious side. In 1805 the warring parties agreed thePeace of Pressburg, where Bavaria was elevated to akingdom and gained French-occupied Tyrol, which since 1363 had been held by the dynasty of theHabsburgs, who, defeated by Napoleon at theBattle of Austerlitz, were forced to renounce it. Napoleon officially handed over the Tyrolean county including the secularizedPrince-Bishopric of Trent (Trentino) to the Bavarian king on 11 February 1806.

In its policies and legislation, the Bavarian government under minister Count Montgelas angered the Tyrolean population in several ways. By writing new rules, by reorganising the schooling system, by abolishing the ages old Tyrolean people's right to selfdefence (Wehrverfassung) and by raising taxes, but at the same time barring exports, e.g. of cattle, from Tyrol into Bavaria.^[4][5] Furthermore, the state mingled into the affairs of the church in Tyrol, banning traditional rural holidays, the ringing of church bells, processions etc. which were a vital part of Tyrolean culture. Additionally, on 1 May 1808, the County of Tyrol was disestablished and administratively split up into the three districts ofInn,Eisack andEtsch. The new Bavarian constitution also replaced long existingfeudal rights that had given privileges to the Tyrolean population, such as not having to fight in a foreign army and outside the Tyrolean borders. Conscription was thus introduced in Tyrol and Tyrolese called into Bavarian military service, which led to open revolt. Also because Bavaria had to deliver soldiers for Napoleon's devastating wars in Russia andSpain, which were more or less one way tickets.^[5] On top of this the Bavarians ordered a compulsoryvaccination programme againstsmallpox in 1807, with massive fines for refusal.^[6] For the Tyroleans this was pure blasphemy.

The trigger for the outbreak of the uprising of the Tyrolean civilians was the flight toInnsbruck of young men that were due to be called into theBavarian Army by the authorities atAxams on 12 and 13 March 1809. The persons in hiding stayed in contact with the Austrian court inVienna by their conduit BaronJoseph Hormayr, an Innsbruck-bornHofrat and close friend ofArchduke John of Austria. The Austrian Empire, citing a breach of the conditions agreed in the Peace of Pressburg guaranteeing Tyrolean autonomy,declared war on the Bavarian-French allies on 9 April 1809. Archduke John explicitly stated that Bavaria had forfeit all rights to Tyrol, which rightfully belonged with the Austrian lands, and therefore any resistance against Bavarian occupation would be legitimate.

An Austrian corps under GeneralJohann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles operating fromCarinthia occupiedLienz and marched against Innsbruck, but was defeated by Bavarian troops led by FrenchMarshalFrançois Joseph Lefebvre nearWörgl on 13 May.

Meanwhile, an army of Tyrolean citizen militia (Schützen), joined by peasants, craftsmen and other civilians, under the command of innkeeper, wine merchant and cattle dealerAndreas Hofer upon the war message had gathered aroundSterzing and marched north towards theBrenner Pass. There they did build barricades on strategic points.^[7] In the First and SecondBattle of Bergisel near Innsbruck on 12 April and 25 May, the Tyrolean troops fought against the Bavarians, who were forced to retreat.

The Tyroleans celebrated the news that Napoleon had suffered defeat at theBattle of Aspern-Essling on 22 May. Nevertheless, after the French again gained the upper hand at theBattle of Wagram on 5-6 July,Archduke Charles of Austria signed theArmistice of Znaim whereafter the Austrian forces withdraw from Tyrol. Thus, the rebels, who had their strongholds in Southern Tyrol, were left fighting alone. They however were able to inflict several defeats to the French and Bavarians forces under Marshal Lefebvre in July, culminating in a complete French retreat after theThird Battle of Bergisel on 12-13 August. Hofer now took over the administration of the unoccupied territories at Innsbruck; large parts of Tyrol enjoyed a brief period of independence.

However, in theTreaty of Schönbrunn of 14 October, a set of agreements ending the War of the Fifth Coalition, EmperorFrancis I of Austria officially gave up any claims to Tyrol. Napoleon ordered the re-conquest of the province the same day. A combination of French military force under the new command of GeneralJean-Baptiste Drouet and diplomatic de-escalation measures by the rather pro-Tyrolean and anti-Napoleonic Bavarian commander, PrinceLudwig, was successful in decreasing the numbers of Tyrolean troops that were ready to fight to the death. Those last loyal troops were defeated at theFourth Battle of Bergisel on 1 November, that effectively suppressed the revolt despite minor Tyrolean victories later in November.

Many of the Tyrolean fighters were killed by the French and Bavarian forces in the following weeks. The leader Andreas Hofer fled into the mountains and hid at several places in South Tyrol.^[8] He was betrayed to the French nearSt Martin in Passeier on 28 January 1810. Hofer was arrested and brought toMantua, whereEugène de Beauharnais, the French viceroy ofItaly, first wanted to pardon him, but was overruled by his stepfather Napoleon. The death penalty was issued on 19 February and executed the next day. Hofer's mortal remains were buried at theCourt Church, Innsbruck in 1823.

In consequence of the civilian insurrection, Bavaria pressured by the French on 28 February 1810 had to cede large parts of Southern Tyrol with the Trentino to Italy and the easternHochpustertal with Lienz to theIllyrian Provinces. Upon Napoleon's fall in 1814 and the agreements negotiated at theCongress of Vienna, all parts of Tyrol were re-united under Austrian rule.

In the 19th century, the civilian resistance against suppression of Bavarian rulers and Napoleon, the leadership of Andreas Hofer and his execution on Napoleon's order became part of the national narrative, partly transformed into legends and myths, especially for the German speaking Tyrolese. The songZu Mantua in Banden deals with the execution of Hofer and the fight against the foreign occupants. It became the anthem of the AustrianState of Tyrol in 1948. Hofer's story has been brought to the screen in 1929 in the movieAndreas Hofer - Der Freiheitskampf des Tiroler Volkes (Andres Hofer - The Fight for Freedom of the Tyrolean people).^[9] Hofer's life and death was the model for the 1932 filmDer Rebell byLuis Trenker. In the 2015 documentaryAndreas Hofer – Held wider Willen(Andres Hofer - Hero against his will), historians show results of research shifting facts from myths.

• Mikaberidze, Alexander (2020).The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-995106-2.

• Eyck, F. Gunther (1986).Loyal Rebels: Andreas Hofer and the Tyrolean Uprising of 1809. University Press of America.

• Media related toTyrolean Rebellion at Wikimedia Commons

• History of Tyrol (region)
• Conflicts in 1809
• 1809 in the Confederation of the Rhine
• 1809 in Italy
• 19th-century rebellions
• War of the Fifth Coalition
• Wars involving Bavaria
• Wars involving France
• Wars involving Saxony
• Wars involving the Austrian Empire
• Andreas Hofer
• Wars involving Württemberg
• County of Tyrol

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing OSM location maps
• Articles containing German-language text
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