The military campaign in Italy was progressing successfully - by the end of August, the Russian-Austrian allied forces liberated almost all of Italy and stood on the border with France. And the squadrons of Ushakov and the British Admiral Nelson freed Naples, the possessions of the allies of Austria, from the French.
But things were not going so well in northern Europe. The French captured the Netherlands, also owned by the Habsburgs. For their release, troops were urgently transferred from the south.
Suvorov received the order of Paul 1 - to go to Switzerland to join the Rimsky-Korsakov corps. At the end of September 1799, the Russian army advanced through the St. Gotthard Pass to Switzerland.
Historians are still arguing about whether the actions of the Austrian allies of Russia were simply rotoriousness and negligence or planned betrayal. But the fact remains that Suvorov “laid down” a quarter of his army in the Swiss mountains (5,000 out of 20,000 soldiers), was late, the Rimsky-Korsakov corps near Zurich was defeated by the French before the remnants of the Suvorov “heroes” managed to come up. Poor supply organization, inaccurate terrain information, delays in joining the battle are the main complaints of the Russians against their Austrian allies.
At the end of October, Suvorov and Rimsky-Korsakov bring the remnants of their troops to Bavaria, and a month later, disappointed in the alliance with Austria, Pavel 1 sends Suvorov a letter of secession from the Anglo-Austro-Russian coalition and an order to return to Russia.
And at this time in St. Petersburg a magnificent celebration is celebrated - on October 19, Alexandra Pavlovna and Archduke Joseph are married. Another month young live in Russia, and then go to Austria. But the attitude of Russians towards this marriage is changing markedly. Emperor Paul escorts the sad daughter, believing that he is giving her to almost enemies. The young wife is so saddened by the departure that when landing in a carriage she loses consciousness, and she is brought into the crew in her arms. Joseph is trying to console a young wife.
Arrive in Vienna. Seeing the 16-year-old daughter-in-law, Emperor Franz 2 is simply amazed at the similarity of Alexandra with his deceased first wife, Elizabeth. No wonder - Elizabeth and Sophia-Dorothea (Alexandra's mother) Württemberg were sisters. Franz 2 is moved, touched, and attentively attentive to Alexandra.
Quite the opposite feelings for the current wife of Franz 2, nee Princess of Naples. On the one hand, she seems to be grateful to the Russians for the release of her native Naples, where her father still rules. And on the other - Russia now "abandoned" Austria.
Paul finally broke the alliance with Austria, the landing of the Anglo-Russian landing in the Netherlands also did not bring success. And in 1800, the Russian emperor broke off diplomatic relations with England and began preparations for the signing of a military-strategic alliance with Bonaparte.
Well, and besides this, various female troubles, such as the fact that Alexandra is young, is fresh, has richer decorations and outfits, cannot but grieve the Empress Maria Theresa. By the way, her name is not accidental, but in honor of her and Franz, the grandmother, the same one who was the cousin of Peter 3.
After spending a short time in Vienna, the young are ordered to leave for Hungary, where Joseph is acting governor. There, away from the imperial court, Alexandra can finally live in peace. The new subjects welcomed her warmly, and the Hungarians generally loved Joseph. And by the way, among the Hungarian nobility there were many non-Catholics - Lutherans, Calvinists and Orthodox (mainly among the Serbs). Joseph was still attached to his young wife, trying to entertain her, but he didn’t have much opportunity. For the most part, he was supposed to participate in hostilities.
And the affairs of the Austrians were unimportant. The army suffered defeat after defeat, the entire territory conquered by Suvorov in Italy was lost, and finally in January 1801 Austria entered into a forced truce with France.
The family affairs of the Hungarian governor were more successful, Alexandra was expecting a baby. True, pregnancy was difficult, even royal people suffer from toxicosis. The tiring journeys from Budapest to Vienna and back, undertaken at the direction of the emperor, did not benefit the health of the expectant mother.
At the end of February 1801, Alexandra Pavlovna gave birth to a daughter, childbirth was complicated, the girl lived only a few hours. The exhausted mother first got better, a week later the doctor allowed her to get out of bed, but a day later the fever started (there were no antibiotics then). And on March 4, 1801, the Archduke of Austria, Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna died. She was only 17 years old.
Her inconsolable husband wrote a letter to Paul, in which he expressed his immense grief over his wife and devotion to his father-in-law. (Indeed, for 14 years, Joseph will remain faithful to his late wife, marry again, and again lose his wife in childbirth, only a third marriage will bring him heirs.)
But Pavel probably didn’t receive the letter - he was killed by conspirators, dissatisfied with his anti-English policy, a week later - on March 12.
In a couple of years, the new emperor Alexander 1, the son of Paul, will enter the third anti-French coalition. But Napoleon will smash her too. And Franz of Austria will be forced to give his daughter to the enemy, the Emperor Napoleon, as a guarantee of union.
After the defeat of the French army in Russia, Austria will again enter the anti-Napoleonic coalition. Three emperors: Russian, Prussian and Austrian will enter into a new alliance. And other Russian princesses will go again married to Europe, but now to the German principalities.
For Austria, the war with France will be fatal, it will never be a truly great power, and the emperors are "crushing". Franz will be replaced by Ferdinand, so mentally limited that he will be ruled by a regent council for 13 years, and then he will abdicate in favor of his nephew Franz Joseph. Having gained power at the age of 18, Franz Joseph will rule 68 years, but all these years, other countries will bite off a piece of the Habsburg empire.
In 1914, three of the same powers (Russia, Austria and Prussia) will converge in a deadly battle, but there will be no winners among the Habsburgs, Romanovs and Prussians of the Hohenzollerns - they will all lose power, and the Romanovs will also lose the lives of the first persons of the dynasty.