The Austrian army had been defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800 and then by Jean Victor Moreau at the Battle of Hohenlinden on 3 December. Forced to sue for peace, the Austrians signed the treaty of Lunéville, which largely confirmed the treaty of Campo Formio (17 October 1797), which itself had confirmed the treaty of Leoben (April 1797). The United Kingdom was the sole nation still at war with France for another year.
