ABSTRACT
S ECRET NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN Napoleon and the allies for an armistice, or even a settlement, had been in progress since before the Battle of Bautzen, both with and without the mediation of Austria. The Austrian 'good offices' had been offered by Lieutenant General Count Bubna on behalf of the Emperor of Austria as early as 20 December 1812.1 Napoleon had accepted the principle, although he no wish for an armed mediation. In the immediate aftermath of Bautzen, both Metternich and his own ministers Maret and Caulaincourt urged him to make a favourable settlement, but to no avail. By late May it seems with the benefit of hindsight that Napoleon had the possibility of peace on his own terms within his grasp: he had inflicted two sharp reverses on his enemies and was now poised to inflict at least another Bautzen — and maybe another Jena. Jomini later spoke of Napoleon's hesitation as the greatest mistake of his career,2 so why did he not finish the war at Schweidnitz?
