The Battle of Wagram took place on a wide battlefield approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Vienna, on the agricultural plain of Marchfeld.[1][2]
Marchfeld literally means 'Parade Ground', because its flat fields were habitually used by the Vienna garrison for military exercises, after the crops were harvested in the autumn.[3] The Marchfeld was a wide, almost entirely flat plain. The rare elevations rose no more than 2–3 metres but, at the beginning of July 1809, this field was largely covered with high corn crops that did obstruct observation of certain parts of the battlefield. Several small villages, situated at a small distance from one another, lay on this plain. At the northern limit of the Marchfeld, there was a small river called the Russbach, flowing from northwest to southeast; while unimpressive in width and depth, the banks of the river were covered by underbrush and trees, and beyond the river there was an area of around 100 metres of boggy ground. Thus, the Russbach did represent a formidable obstacle for cavalry and it needed to be bridged in order for artillery to cross. North of the Russbach lay the major feature of the battlefield: an escarpment called Wagram (between 10 and 20 metres high), situated in the sector of the villages of Deutsch-Wagram and Markgrafneusiedl. Along the Russbach, the villages of Deutsch-Wagram, Baumersdorf and Markgrafneusiedl would represent key positions for the Austrian defensive system. Behind the Russbach lay the Wagram escarpment, which constituted an excellent observation point. The 9-km long, 6-km wide battlefield would be delimited by the village of Kagran and the 350-m high Bisamberg plateau at the west, Glinzerdorf at the east, Aspen and Essling at the south and Deutsch-Wagram at the north. Situated on the left bank of the Danube, the city of Pressburg, where Archduke John of Austria's secondary army was situated, was only 40 kilometres (25 mi) away from the Marchfeld plain, which meant that John's army could be called upon in due time for the upcoming battle.[1][2]