Battle of Schliengen
Encyclopedia
At the Battle of Schliengen (26 October 1796), both the French Republican Army commanded by Jean-Victor Moreau
and the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles
of Austria claimed victories. The village of Schliengen
lies close to the border of present-day Baden-Württemberg
and Switzerland
, in the Kreis
Lörrach
.
In the French Revolutionary Wars
, Schliengen was a strategically important location for both armies. Control of the area gave either combatant access to southwestern German states and important Rhine river crossings. After retreating from Freiburg im Breisgau, Moreau established his army along a ridge of hills, in a seven mile line on heights that commanded the terrain below. Given the severity of the roads at the end of October, Archduke Charles could not flank the right French wing. The French left wing lay too close to the Rhine. Instead, he attacked the French flanks in force, which increased casualties for both sides.
Although the French and the Austrians claimed victory at the time, military historians generally agree that the Austrians achieved a strategic advantage. The French withdrew from the battlefield in good order and several days later crossed the Rhine River at Hüningen. The battle is commemorated on a monument in Vienna and on the Arc de Triomphe
in Paris.
as a dispute between the French king and his subjects, and not something in which they should interfere. As revolutionary rhetoric grew more strident, they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family; this Declaration of Pilnitz threatened ambiguous, but quite serious, consequences if anything should happen to the royal family.The French position became increasingly difficult. Compounding problems in international relations, French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter-revolution. On 20 April 1792, the French National Convention declared war on Austria. In this War of the First Coalition (1792–1798), France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire.
Initially the Coalition forces achieved several victories at Verdun
, Kaiserslautern
, Neerwinden
, Mainz
, Amberg and Würzburg
, but in 1795, a series of defeats at the hands of Jean Baptiste Jourdan pushed the Austrian force further east into Germany. Supporting Jourdan's right flank, Jean Victor Moreau even made a daring raid on the Bavarian capital of Munich
. By late 1796, however, the theater of war had moved to the Rhineland, and Austria and France struggled for control of the river and its crossings.
The Rhine River flows west along the border between the German states and the Swiss Cantons. The 80 miles (128.7 km) stretch between Rheinfall, by Schaffhausen
and Basel, the High Rhine
(Hochrhein) cuts through steep hillsides over a gravel bed; in such paces as the former rapids at Laufenburg
, it moves in torrents. A few miles north and east of Basel, the terrain flattens. The Rhine makes a wide, northerly turn, in what is called the Rhine knee
, and enters the so-called Rhine ditch (Rheingraben), part of a rift valley
bordered by the Black Forest
on the east and Vosges Mountains
on the west. In 1796, the plain on both sides of the river, some 19 miles (31 km) wide, was dotted with villages and farms. At both far edges of the flood plain, especially on the eastern side, the old mountains created dark shadows on the horizon. Tributaries cut through the hilly terrain of the Black Forest, creating deep defiles in the mountains. The tributaries then wind in rivulets through the flood plain to the river.
The landscape was impressive, but rugged. A nineteenth century traveler described it, "The mountains in the vicinity [of Müllheim
] are bold; the dark ravines contrasting with its sunny fronts offer some exquisite scenes. The Rhine...lay revealed before us for many a league, twisting and twining like a serpent of silver ... dotted with innumerable islands, and flowing through a most extensive plain, perfectly flat. Our elevation was considerable and the eye ranged over a great extent of country: Elsace
, in France, and the level country as far as Bingen
, would have been seen to their furthest limits had not the distance melted the extreme verges into 'thin air'. Many were the villages, and hamlets, and woods sprinkled over the landscape...." The traveler described additional walks, in which the forest of dark pine bordered directly on the road, "checquered by glades in which browsed sheep and goats."
The Rhine River itself looked different in the 1790s than it does today; the passage from Basel to Iffezheim
was "corrected" (straightened) between 1817 and 1875. Between 1927 and 1975, a canal was constructed to control the water level. In 1790, though, the river was wild and unpredictable, in some places more than four or more times wider than the twenty-first century, even under regular conditions. Its channels wound through marsh and meadow, and created islands of trees and vegetation that were periodically submerged by floods. It was crossable at Kehl, by Strasbourg, and Hüningen, by Basel, where systems of bridges and raised roads made access reliable.
, to defend the southwestern corner of the German states against the approaching Archduke Charles
. Ferino's force was smaller than Moreau had hoped, bringing the total of the combined French force to about 32,000. His army was isolated from the flanking army of Jourdan, which had retreated toward Mainz, further to the north, so Moreau chose to organize a careful retreat toward Basel, planning to cross the river at Hüningen. A rear guard protected the retreat out of Freiburg im Breisgau, and the French retreated through the Rhine valley, with the river on one side, and the Black Forest on the other. The Archduke entered the Breisgau
on 21 September, where he was joined by both the Army of Condé
of Louis Joseph, Prince of Conde and the corps of General Michael von Fröhlich. His combined forces of 24,000 followed Moreau's rear guard from the Freiburg, southwest, to a line of hills stretching between Kandern
and the river.
. His center occupied the village of Schliengen (altitude 820 feet (250 m)), and his entire force guarded a front protected by a small stream, the 14 miles (23 km)-long Kander
that flowed out of the mountains west of Kandern and plunged 755 feet (230 m) into the Rhine when it passed Steinstadt. For extra protection, Moreau also posted a body of infantry in front of his center, giving it added depth.
The Austrian army, augmented by the Army of Condé under the prince's command, approached from Freiburg. One strategy would be to turn the French right flank, at Kandern. In the summer, with dry roads and long days, this might have been feasible, but in late October, after the autumn rains, the roads would have been muddy and rutted, and nightfall came early. Rather than see his enemy slip from his grasp, Charles divided his army into four columns: the Condé's Emigré Corps formed the far right column, and the Condé's grandson, Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien, commanded its vanguard
; the second column, commanded by the young but reliable Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg
, included nine battalions and 26 squadrons; the third column, commanded by the experienced Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour
, included 11 battalions and two regiments of cavalry. The fourth, commanded by the dependable Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
, included the entire vanguard of Charles' corps.
Charles ordered the first two columns, under the Prince Condé and Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg, to keep the left wing of the French army in check, preventing it from swinging around his army's rear in a flanking maneuver. The two larger columns, under Latour and Nauendorf, were to attack the French right wing in force, and to turn it so that the French army's back was to the Rhine.
Despite specific orders to the contrary, the Conde's Corps formed down the river at Neuburg and made a spirited attack on Steinstadt; they took the village with a bayonet charge and remained there under severe artillery and musket fire for the rest of the daylight hours. The second column, under command of Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg, formed at Müllheim
, and took the hill opposite Schliengen, which also was heavily defended by General of Division Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Saint-Cyr tried several times to retake the position, but Fürstenberg's column clung to its prize throughout the day. Latour's column, divided into two smaller columns, took two well-defended vineyards between Schliengen and Feldberg, about 6 miles (10 km) to the northeast 47° 46′0.12"N 7°39′0.00"E, dislodging the French after obstinate resistance; the second portion of Latour's column approached Eckenheim from the reverse angle, and forced a French contingent from the village.
On the far Austrian left, Nauendorf had the most difficult march. He divided his column into several smaller groups, and approached Kandern from several sides, up the steep slopes by coordinating contact between his column and Latour's, using Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
's regiment. Grueling combat followed the steep, uphill advance. He finished pushing the French from Kandern, and two hamlets beside it, and he sent a note to this effect to Latour. As the battle finished, a ferocious storm unleashed hail and wind. So ended the first day of the Battle of Schliengen, during which Charles' army had successfully taken both French flanks. Charles drew up his plans to attack the French center on the following morning.
and Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière
, night he abandoned his position in the night and retreated part of the 15 miles (24 km) toward Hüningen. By 3 November he had reached Raltingen, and evacuated his troops the next day.
at besieged Mantua. The Aulic Council
in Vienna refused the armistice, so Charles ordered simultaneous sieges at Kehl and Hüningen, moving north with the bulk of his force to conduct the Siege of Kehl
, and leaving Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg to conduct the siege in the south by Basel. While the Austrians were besieging these Rhine crossings, Moreau sent 14 Demi-brigade
s into Italy to assist in at Mantua. Charles captured Kehl on 9 January 1797, after a two-month siege, and Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg took Hüningen on 1 February. In Mantua, Wurmser surrendered on 2 February 1797, after 16,300 men were killed or died of sickness.
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
and the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
of Austria claimed victories. The village of Schliengen
Schliengen
Schliengen is a town in southwestern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in the Kreis of Lörrach. Schliengen's claim to international fame is the Battle of Schliengen, fought between forces of the French Revolutionary army under Jean-Victor Moreau and the Austrian army under Karl von...
lies close to the border of present-day Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, in the Kreis
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
Lörrach
Lörrach (district)
Lörrach is a Kreis in the south-west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald and Waldshut...
.
In the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, Schliengen was a strategically important location for both armies. Control of the area gave either combatant access to southwestern German states and important Rhine river crossings. After retreating from Freiburg im Breisgau, Moreau established his army along a ridge of hills, in a seven mile line on heights that commanded the terrain below. Given the severity of the roads at the end of October, Archduke Charles could not flank the right French wing. The French left wing lay too close to the Rhine. Instead, he attacked the French flanks in force, which increased casualties for both sides.
Although the French and the Austrians claimed victory at the time, military historians generally agree that the Austrians achieved a strategic advantage. The French withdrew from the battlefield in good order and several days later crossed the Rhine River at Hüningen. The battle is commemorated on a monument in Vienna and on the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
in Paris.
Background
Initially, the rulers of Europe viewed the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
as a dispute between the French king and his subjects, and not something in which they should interfere. As revolutionary rhetoric grew more strident, they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family; this Declaration of Pilnitz threatened ambiguous, but quite serious, consequences if anything should happen to the royal family.The French position became increasingly difficult. Compounding problems in international relations, French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter-revolution. On 20 April 1792, the French National Convention declared war on Austria. In this War of the First Coalition (1792–1798), France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire.
Initially the Coalition forces achieved several victories at Verdun
Battle of Verdun (1792)
The Battle of Verdun was fought on August 20, 1792 between French Revolutionary forces and a Prussian army. The Prussians were victorious. This therefore opened the path to Paris....
, Kaiserslautern
Battle of Kaiserslautern
The Battle of Kaiserslautern was a battle of the War of the First Coalition , fought near the German city of Kaiserslautern...
, Neerwinden
Battle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...
, Mainz
Battle of Mainz
The Battle of Mainz was fought on 29 October 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between France and Austria. The battle was fought near the city of Mainz now in western Germany and ended in an Austrian victory.-People involved:...
, Amberg and Würzburg
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of Habsburg Austria led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's forces, but they were resisted until the arrival of...
, but in 1795, a series of defeats at the hands of Jean Baptiste Jourdan pushed the Austrian force further east into Germany. Supporting Jourdan's right flank, Jean Victor Moreau even made a daring raid on the Bavarian capital of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. By late 1796, however, the theater of war had moved to the Rhineland, and Austria and France struggled for control of the river and its crossings.
Terrain
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
and Basel, the High Rhine
High Rhine
The High Rhine is the name used in Germany for the part of the Rhine River that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel.The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine in Basel...
(Hochrhein) cuts through steep hillsides over a gravel bed; in such paces as the former rapids at Laufenburg
Laufenburg, Switzerland
Laufenburg is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau. It is the seat of the district of the same name. On 1 January 2010 the municipality Sulz merged into Laufenburg....
, it moves in torrents. A few miles north and east of Basel, the terrain flattens. The Rhine makes a wide, northerly turn, in what is called the Rhine knee
Rhine knee
The Rhine knee is the name of a few bends in the Rhine river.-Rhine knee at Basel:In Basel the Rhine changes its westerly direction of flow to a northerly direction, along the borders of France and Germany, to flow to the North Sea. From a political viewpoint the Rhine knee is near the tripoint of...
, and enters the so-called Rhine ditch (Rheingraben), part of a rift valley
Rift valley
A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault. This action is manifest as crustal extension, a spreading apart of the surface which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion...
bordered by the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
on the east and Vosges Mountains
Vosges mountains
For the department of France of the same name, see Vosges.The Vosges are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. They extend along the west side of the Rhine valley in a northnortheast direction, mainly from Belfort to Saverne...
on the west. In 1796, the plain on both sides of the river, some 19 miles (31 km) wide, was dotted with villages and farms. At both far edges of the flood plain, especially on the eastern side, the old mountains created dark shadows on the horizon. Tributaries cut through the hilly terrain of the Black Forest, creating deep defiles in the mountains. The tributaries then wind in rivulets through the flood plain to the river.
The landscape was impressive, but rugged. A nineteenth century traveler described it, "The mountains in the vicinity [of Müllheim
Müllheim
Müllheim is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It belongs to the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. Müllheim is generally considered to be the center of the region known as Markgräflerland.-History:...
] are bold; the dark ravines contrasting with its sunny fronts offer some exquisite scenes. The Rhine...lay revealed before us for many a league, twisting and twining like a serpent of silver ... dotted with innumerable islands, and flowing through a most extensive plain, perfectly flat. Our elevation was considerable and the eye ranged over a great extent of country: Elsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, in France, and the level country as far as Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
, would have been seen to their furthest limits had not the distance melted the extreme verges into 'thin air'. Many were the villages, and hamlets, and woods sprinkled over the landscape...." The traveler described additional walks, in which the forest of dark pine bordered directly on the road, "checquered by glades in which browsed sheep and goats."
The Rhine River itself looked different in the 1790s than it does today; the passage from Basel to Iffezheim
Iffezheim
Iffezheim is a town in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It lies close to the Rhine river, where the Lock Iffezheim is also situated.-Mayors:*Jakob Huber *Konrad Mußler *Johannes N...
was "corrected" (straightened) between 1817 and 1875. Between 1927 and 1975, a canal was constructed to control the water level. In 1790, though, the river was wild and unpredictable, in some places more than four or more times wider than the twenty-first century, even under regular conditions. Its channels wound through marsh and meadow, and created islands of trees and vegetation that were periodically submerged by floods. It was crossable at Kehl, by Strasbourg, and Hüningen, by Basel, where systems of bridges and raised roads made access reliable.
Battle
Preliminaries
On 20 October 1796, Jean-Victor Moreau's army of 20,000 united south of Freiburg im Breisgau with the troops of Pierre Marie Barthélemy FerinoPierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino
Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino, , was a general and politician of France. Born in the Savoy, he was the son of a low-ranking officer in the Habsburg military. In 1789, during the French Revolution, he went to France, where he received a commission in the French Army...
, to defend the southwestern corner of the German states against the approaching Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
. Ferino's force was smaller than Moreau had hoped, bringing the total of the combined French force to about 32,000. His army was isolated from the flanking army of Jourdan, which had retreated toward Mainz, further to the north, so Moreau chose to organize a careful retreat toward Basel, planning to cross the river at Hüningen. A rear guard protected the retreat out of Freiburg im Breisgau, and the French retreated through the Rhine valley, with the river on one side, and the Black Forest on the other. The Archduke entered the Breisgau
Breisgau
Breisgau is the name of an area in southwest Germany, placed between the river Rhine and the foothills of the Black Forest around Freiburg im Breisgau in the state of Baden-Württemberg. The district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, which partly consists of the Breisgau, is named after that area...
on 21 September, where he was joined by both the Army of Condé
Army of Condé
The Army of Condé was a French field army during the French Revolutionary Wars. One of several émigré field armies, it was the only one to survive the War of the First Coalition; others had been formed by the Comte d'Artois and Mirabeau-Tonneau...
of Louis Joseph, Prince of Conde and the corps of General Michael von Fröhlich. His combined forces of 24,000 followed Moreau's rear guard from the Freiburg, southwest, to a line of hills stretching between Kandern
Kandern
Kandern is a town in southwestern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in the Kreis of Lörrach. During the Battle of Schliengen, in which the French Revolutionary army fought the forces of Austria, the battle lines of both armies terminated in Kandern...
and the river.
Dispositions
After a retreat of approximately 38 miles (61 km), Moreau halted at Schliengen and distributed his army in a 7.5 miles (12 km) semicircle along a ridge that commanded the approaches from Freiburg. He placed his right wing, commanded by Ferino, at the neighboring heights of Kandern (altitude 1155 feet (352 m)) and Sitzenkirch, and his left wing at SteinstadtNeuenburg am Rhein
Neuenburg am Rhein is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, 18 km northeast of Mulhouse, and 28 km north of Basel.- References :...
. His center occupied the village of Schliengen (altitude 820 feet (250 m)), and his entire force guarded a front protected by a small stream, the 14 miles (23 km)-long Kander
Kander (Germany)
The Kander is a small river flowing from the southern Black Forest westward into the Rhine River- Geography :The Kander rises at the head of the Kandertal on the Hochblauen in the Black Forest. Within the first 10 km of its course to Kandern, the Kander loses 650m of elevation...
that flowed out of the mountains west of Kandern and plunged 755 feet (230 m) into the Rhine when it passed Steinstadt. For extra protection, Moreau also posted a body of infantry in front of his center, giving it added depth.
The Austrian army, augmented by the Army of Condé under the prince's command, approached from Freiburg. One strategy would be to turn the French right flank, at Kandern. In the summer, with dry roads and long days, this might have been feasible, but in late October, after the autumn rains, the roads would have been muddy and rutted, and nightfall came early. Rather than see his enemy slip from his grasp, Charles divided his army into four columns: the Condé's Emigré Corps formed the far right column, and the Condé's grandson, Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien, commanded its vanguard
Tactical formation
A tactical formation is the arrangement or deployment of moving military forces such as infantry, cavalry, AFVs, military aircraft, or naval vessels...
; the second column, commanded by the young but reliable Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg
Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg
Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg was an Austrian military commander. He achieved the rank of Field Marshal and died at the Battle of Stockach....
, included nine battalions and 26 squadrons; the third column, commanded by the experienced Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour
Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour
Count Maximilian Anton Karl Baillet de Latour was a general in Austrian service during the French Revolutionary Wars.- Biography :...
, included 11 battalions and two regiments of cavalry. The fourth, commanded by the dependable Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Friedrich Joseph of Nauendorf, a general and field marshal in Habsburg service during the French Revolutionary Wars, was noted for his intrepid and daring raids....
, included the entire vanguard of Charles' corps.
Charles ordered the first two columns, under the Prince Condé and Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg, to keep the left wing of the French army in check, preventing it from swinging around his army's rear in a flanking maneuver. The two larger columns, under Latour and Nauendorf, were to attack the French right wing in force, and to turn it so that the French army's back was to the Rhine.
Despite specific orders to the contrary, the Conde's Corps formed down the river at Neuburg and made a spirited attack on Steinstadt; they took the village with a bayonet charge and remained there under severe artillery and musket fire for the rest of the daylight hours. The second column, under command of Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg, formed at Müllheim
Müllheim
Müllheim is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It belongs to the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. Müllheim is generally considered to be the center of the region known as Markgräflerland.-History:...
, and took the hill opposite Schliengen, which also was heavily defended by General of Division Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Saint-Cyr tried several times to retake the position, but Fürstenberg's column clung to its prize throughout the day. Latour's column, divided into two smaller columns, took two well-defended vineyards between Schliengen and Feldberg, about 6 miles (10 km) to the northeast 47° 46′0.12"N 7°39′0.00"E, dislodging the French after obstinate resistance; the second portion of Latour's column approached Eckenheim from the reverse angle, and forced a French contingent from the village.
On the far Austrian left, Nauendorf had the most difficult march. He divided his column into several smaller groups, and approached Kandern from several sides, up the steep slopes by coordinating contact between his column and Latour's, using Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
Maximilian, Count von Merveldt , among the most famous of an illustrious old Westphalian family, entered Austrian military service, rose to the rank of General of Cavalry, served as Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to Russia, and became special envoy extraordinaire to the Court of St....
's regiment. Grueling combat followed the steep, uphill advance. He finished pushing the French from Kandern, and two hamlets beside it, and he sent a note to this effect to Latour. As the battle finished, a ferocious storm unleashed hail and wind. So ended the first day of the Battle of Schliengen, during which Charles' army had successfully taken both French flanks. Charles drew up his plans to attack the French center on the following morning.
Withdrawal
Moreau appreciated his untenable position. If he remained on the ridge, Charles could turn his back to the Rhine and trap him. With luck, his troops might hold the Austrians off another day. There were hazards in trying to hold Charles off, though: in the meantime, the Austrians could swing behind him and cut him off from the bridge at Hüningen. With a strong rear guard provided by Generals Jean Charles AbbatucciJean Charles Abbatucci
Jean Charles Abbatucci or Abatucci was a French general during the War of the First Coalition...
and Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière
Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière, also Count de Lariboisière, was a general of artillery of the First French Empire. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars and died of fatigue at Königsberg in East Prussia on 21 December 1812, during the Grand Army's retreat from...
, night he abandoned his position in the night and retreated part of the 15 miles (24 km) toward Hüningen. By 3 November he had reached Raltingen, and evacuated his troops the next day.
Aftermath
After Moreau withdrew into France, Charles laid out plans to besiege Kehl and Hüningen, the two major bridgeheads across the river. Moreau offered an armistice to Charles, which Charles was inclined to accept. An armistice would free him to send a portion of his army into Italy, to relieve Dagobert Sigmund von WurmserDagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
at besieged Mantua. The Aulic Council
Aulic Council
The Aulic Council was originally an executive-judicial council for the Holy Roman Empire....
in Vienna refused the armistice, so Charles ordered simultaneous sieges at Kehl and Hüningen, moving north with the bulk of his force to conduct the Siege of Kehl
Siege of Kehl (1796)
The 1796-1797 Siege of Kehl lasted from October 1796 to 9 January 1797, during the War of the First Coalition...
, and leaving Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg to conduct the siege in the south by Basel. While the Austrians were besieging these Rhine crossings, Moreau sent 14 Demi-brigade
Demi-brigade
Not to be confused with 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign LegionThe Demi-brigade was a military formation first used by the French Army during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Demi-brigade amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit...
s into Italy to assist in at Mantua. Charles captured Kehl on 9 January 1797, after a two-month siege, and Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg took Hüningen on 1 February. In Mantua, Wurmser surrendered on 2 February 1797, after 16,300 men were killed or died of sickness.
Sources
- Blanning, Timothy. The French Revolutionary Wars, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998,. Charles, Archduke of AustriaArchduke Charles, Duke of TeschenArchduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
. Ausgewählte Schriften weiland seiner kaiserlichen Hoheit des Erzherzogs Carl von Österreich. Wien, W. Braumüller, 1893–94. - Dyke, Thomas, Jr. "Traveling memoirs during a tour through Belgium, Rhenish Prussia, Germany." Volume 1. London: Longman, 1834.
- Graham, Thomas, Baron Lynedoch. The History of the campaign of 1796 in Germany and Italy. London, 1797.
- Hansard, Thomas C.(ed.) Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 1803, Official Report. Vol. 1. London: HMSO, 1803.
- Keppner, Thomas P. The Rhine. Handbook for Environmental Chemistry Series, Part L. New York: Springer, 2006, ISBN 9783540293934.
- Philippart, John. Memoirs, &c. &c. of General Moreau. London, 1814.
- Smith, DigbyDigby SmithDigby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
. Napoleonic Wars Data Book. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 1999. Volk, Helmut. "Landschaftsgeschichte und Natürlichkeit der Baumarten in der Rheinaue." Waldschutzgebiete Baden-Württemberg, Band 10, S. 159–167.