Louis-Alexandre Berthier in the context of "Montenotte campaign"

The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in Central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis I and Napoleon's French Empire. The French were supported by their client states—the Kingdom of Italy, the Confederation of the Rhine and the Duchy of Warsaw. Austria was supported by the Fifth Coalition which included the United Kingdom, Portugal, Spain, and the Kingdoms of Sardinia and Sicily, although the latter two took no part in the fighting. By the start of 1809 much of the French army was committed to the Peninsular War against Britain, Spain and Portugal. After France withdrew 108,000 soldiers from Germany, Austria attacked France to seek the recovery of territories lost in the 1803–1806 War of the Third Coalition. The Austrians hoped Prussia would support them, having recently been defeated by France, but Prussia chose to remain neutral.

On 10 April 1809, Austrian forces under Archduke Charles crossed the border of Bavaria, a French client state. The French response, under Louis-Alexandre Berthier, was disorganised but order was imposed with the arrival of Napoleon on 17 April. Napoleon led an advance to Landshut, hoping to cut off the Austrian line of retreat and sweep into their rear. Charles crossed the Danube at Regensburg, which allowed him to retreat eastwards, although he failed to reach the Austrian capital, Vienna, before the French. A French assault across the Danube was repulsed on 21–22 May at the Battle of Aspern-Essling but a repeat attack was successful in July. Napoleon won a major victory at the 5–6 July Battle of Wagram, which forced the Austrians to sign the Armistice of Znaim on 12 July. Austrian invasions of the Duchy of Warsaw and Saxony (where they fought alongside the Black Brunswickers) were repulsed and they were driven out of their territories in Italy. British forces landed in Walcheren, in the French client state of Holland, but were unable to seize their objective of capturing Antwerp and later withdrew.

Pope Pius VII (Italian: Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again from 1814 to his death. Chiaramonti was also a monk of the Order of Saint Benedict in addition to being a well-known theologian and bishop.

Chiaramonti was made Bishop of Tivoli in 1782, and resigned that position upon his appointment as Bishop of Imola in 1785. That same year, he was made a cardinal. In 1789, the French Revolution took place, and as a result a series of anti-clerical governments came into power in the country. In 1798, during the French Revolutionary Wars, French troops under Louis-Alexandre Berthier invaded Rome and captured Pope Pius VI, taking him as a prisoner to France, where he died in 1799. The following year, after a sede vacante period lasting approximately six months, Chiaramonti was elected to the papacy, taking the name Pius VII.

The Meeting of Napoleon I and Tsar Alexander I at Tilsit (French: Entrevue de Napoléon Ier et d'Alexandre Ier sur le Niemen. 25 juin 1807) is an 1808 history painting by the French artist Adolphe Roehn. It depicts the scene on 25 June 1807 when Napoleon met with Alexander I of Russia on a raft in the middle of the River Neman. They began the negotiations that led to the Peace of Tilsit, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition. Conspicuously absent were the Prussians, Alexander's allies, who Napoleon relegated to a minor role in the proceedings despite the fact that Tilsit was in East Prussia. Although in reality the meeting was choreographed so that the two rulers arrived on the raft at the same time, the painting shows Napoleon waiting for the Russian in a position of ascendency.

Besides the two emperors, other figures depicted include Marshal Murat, Marshal Berthier, Marshal Ney and Grand Duke Konstantin. The painting was displayed at the Salon of 1808 in Paris. It is today in the collection of the Palace of Versailles.

The Army of Germany or Armée d'Allemagne was a military formation of the First French Empire during the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809.

The Army of Germany was distinct from the Grande Armée (Great Army) of the preceding Coalition Wars, which the Emperor Napoleon I had disbanded in October 1808. In a letter to General Louis-Alexandre Berthier dated 8 April 1809, Napoleon describes the new army's creation: "from 1 April, all the troops that I have in Germany will be known under the title Armée d'Allemagne, of which I reserve to myself the command in chief." He goes on to name its officers and describe its composition.