Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Encyclopedia
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.
Like most Austrian generals of the French Revolutionary Wars
, he joined the military as a young man, and served in the War of Bavarian Succession
, in which he took part in its first action by successfully repelling a Prussian border raid, which earned him the admiration of the Empress Maria Theresa's son, Joseph
. His continued success in the Habsburg Border wars with the Ottoman Empire added to his reputation as a commander.
In the Wars of the First and Second
Coalitions, his forces were vital to the successful relief of Mainz
, and his commands captured the French siege train and most of the supplies during the French evacuation. In the campaigns in Swabia
(1799), he commanded the advanced guard, and later the center of the main column at the Battle of Stockach
on 25 March 1799. At the First Battle of Zürich
in 1799, he commanded the right wing in the Austrian victory of Andre Massena
's force. After the Swabian and Swiss campaigns, he retired in poor health, and died in 1801.
, 3 August 1749, Nauendorf came from a family of minor Saxon aristocracy and Prussian state administrators. His grandfather was a states’ attorney in Jena
. His father, Freiherr
(Baron) Carl Georg Christian Nauendorf, was a cavalry officer in Habsburg military service in the Seven Years War, and was present at the Battle of Kolín
. He was also part of Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon's army on 30 September – 1 October 1761, when Loudon led the force in the storming of Schweidnitz.
Nauendorf joined the 8th Hussar
Regiment in 1763. In 1766, his father became Colonel and Proprietor (Inhaber)
of the regiment; upon his father's death in 1775, Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
became Colonel and Inhaber, and the Regiment became known as 8th Hussar Wurmser, or Wurmser's Hussars.
(captain of cavalry) of the Wurmser Hussar Regiment, and stationed near the border of Bohemia
and Prussia
, by Pressburg, the regiment's peace-time garrison. At the end of the year, the Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, died unexpectedly of small pox. As the last of the Bavarian Wittelsbach
dynasty, descended from 13th century Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Bavarian
, Maximilian was related to most of the German houses, and Bavaria was strategically located to entice the Habsburgs, chiefly Archduke and co-Regent Joseph
, to covet the duchy. Tensions rose between and among the princes of the German states, principally Elector of Saxony
, King of Prussia
, and Joseph; their diplomats shuttled between courts to resolve problems raised by the Bavarian Succession crisis, while Frederick II of Prussia
,
Frederick August of Saxony
and Joseph of Austria moved their extensive armies into position in Bohemia.
In early July 1778, the Prussian General Johann Jakob von Wunsch
(1717–1788) crossed into Bohemia near the fortified town of Náchod
, in the opening action of the War of Bavarian Succession
. Nauendorf had only 50 Hussars, but they sallied from their garrison to engage the larger Prussian force. Encountering Wunch, Nauendorf greeted the old Prussian general and his men as friends; by the time the Prussians realized the allegiance of the Hussars, Nauendorf and his small force had acquired the strategic advantage. Following a brief skirmish, Wunsch withdrew. The next day Nauendorf was promoted to major. In a letter to her son, Joseph
, the Empress Maria Theresa wrote: "They say you are so pleased with the rookie Nauendorf, the Carlstätter or Hungarian who killed seven men, that you gave him 12 ducats." Enamored with the possibility of acquiring Bavaria, Joseph encouraged successful raids against the Prussian troops. On 7 August 1778, with two squadrons of his regiment, Nauendorf led a raid against a Prussian convoy at Berbersdorf
in the Kingdom of Saxony
. The surprised convoy surrendered, and Nauendorf captured its officers, 110 men, 476 horses, 240 wagons of flour, and 13 transport wagons.
In another raid, on 17–18 January 1779, Nauendorf's commander, Dagoburt von Wurmser advanced into the County of Glatz in five columns, surrounded Habelschwerdt, stormed the village. In a subsequent assault on the so-called Swedish blockhouse in Oberschwedeldorf, it and the village of Habelschwerdt were set on fire by howitzers. In total, the raid resulted in the capture of Prince Philip of Hessenthal and over 1,000 men, three cannon and seven colors. Wurmser's forward patrols reached the outskirts of Glatz, and patrolled much of Silesia's border with Prussia, near Schweidnitz. Halberschwerdt and Oberschedeldorf were both destroyed.
On 3 March 1779, Nauendorf raided the Berbersdorf again, this time with a larger force of infantry and hussars, and took the entire Prussian garrison as prisoner. Following this action, Joseph
, now Emperor, awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
(19 May 1779). This kind of action characterized the entire war; there were no major battles. The armies of the opposing sides conducted series of raids and counter-raids from which they lived off the country-side and tried to deny each other access to supplies and fodder.
(present day Serbia
), Nauendorf routed 1,200 of the elite Sipahis with two squadrons of hussars. On 23 October 1788, with only six squadrons of hussars, he attacked the Turkish rearguard in the village of Pančevo
, in the Banat
, during which the Turkish commander was mortally wounded. On 16 September 1789, he led the successful raid on the island of Borecs in the Danube, which garnered greatly needed supplies from the Turkish forces. On 9 November of that year, he led four squadrons of his regiment to capture Gladova, 10 miles (16 km) from the so-called Iron Gate of the Danube. Nauendorf was awarded command of 30th Hussar Regiment Wurmser, as the so-called second colonel, who functioned as an executive officer. On 12 March 1779, Joseph elevated Nauendorf to the rank of Count
, or Graf.
In 1792, Nauendorf's regiment served on the lower (northern) Rhine river and at Trier
on the Moselle river
in the French Revolutionary Wars
. In December of that year, his regiment successfully defended Pellingen, Merzkirchen and Oberleuken from the attacks of General of Division La Baroliére's Army of the Moselle
.
In 1795, Nauendorf served in Field Marshal Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt’s
Army of the Lower Rhine, which relieved Mainz
. On 13 October, he commanded part of Count Clerfayt's Corps of Observation, totaling close to 8,000 men. On 10 October, a portion of the Corps of Observation had surprised the French at Hochst; Jourdan was withdrawing his force from the blockade of Mainz. Nauendorf's cavalry swam across the Main River
and the infantry followed in boats; they surprised and overwhelmed Jourdan's rear guard at Niederhausen, capturing five guns, 30+ wagons and 80 ammunition caissons. On 29 October, Nauendorf captured most of the French siege train and supply wagons evacuated from Mainz. Finally, in that year on 6 November, his victory at Rochenhausen prevented the unification of the French armies of the Rhin-et-Moselle
and the Sambre-et-Meuse
.
During the maneuvers leading to the Battle of Amberg on 24 August 1796, Nauendorf's cavalry reconnaissance
discovered crucial intelligence, after which he sent Archduke Charles the message: "If your Royal Highness will or can advance 12,000 men against Jourdan's rear, he is lost." After the Austrian victory at Amberg, Nauendorf prevented General Jean-Victor Moreau's attempted Danube crossing at Neuburg
and thwarted Moreau's next attempt to flank the Austrians by passing through Ulm
.
began in early 1799, Nauendorf fought in the Austrian victories at Ostrach
(21 March) and then at Stockach
(25 March). In early March he led the Advanced Guard of 17,000 across the Lech River
by Augsburg, to deploy at Ostrach, a village about 9 kilometres (6 mi) of the Danube River, and less than 2 kilometres (1 mi) from the Free Imperial City
of Pfullendorf
. Jourdan's Army of the Danube
had crossed the Rhine on 1 March, and moved east to cut communication between the main Austrian force, quartered near Augsburg, and the Austrian troops in northern Italy. At Ostrach, his Advanced Guard sustained the immediate shock of contact, but the main force of the army was less than a day behind him, and Archduke Charles
, the commander of the Austrian force, divided his army into three assault columns to make a simultaneous attack at three points on the French line; after a day of nasty fighting, the Austrians flanked the French at the north and south, and threatened to break through the line in the middle. The French withdrew to Mösskirch
, and then to Engen
and Stockach, where, on 25 March, the fighting renewed. At Stockach, Nauendorf again commanded the Austrian advanced guard, which was composed of troops seasoned, as he had been, in the Habsburg border wars. The advanced guard, or Vorhut, was redeployed before the battle as the center of the main Austrian line, and took the brunt of the initial fighting.
After the French retreat from the Hegau
into the Black Forest
, Nauendorf took his force across the Rhine between Constance
and Stein am Rhein on 22 May, and positioned himself at Steinegg. After Friedrich, Freiherr von Hotze
's column successfully pushed the French out of Winterthur
on 26 May, Archduke Charles instructed Nauendorf to secure the village of Neftenbach
, which effectively closed a semicircle around the French force at Zürich. Once the Austrian main army united with its left wing, under Nauendorf, and its far left, under Hotze, Charles ordered the assault on Zürich. On 4 June, Nauendorf helped to rout the French force at Battle of Zürich
, commanding the Coalition's right wing; with sustained pressure on Andre Massena's force, Massena pulled his army across the Limmat
river, and dug into positions on the low ring of hills there, biding his time until the propitious moment to retake the city, which he did in September, 1799, at the Second Battle of Zürich
; Nauendorf was not present for this action, being with Archduke Charles on a march north, toward Mainz
. In 1800, Nauendorf fought in the Austrian losses at Stockach and Engen on 3 May, Mösskirch
on 5 May, and Biberach on 9 May.
Nauendorf retired in poor health at the end of the 1800 campaign. He died in Troppau, Austrian Silesia
(today Opava, in the Czech Republic
), 30 December 1801.
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...
, was noted for his intrepid and daring raids.
Like most Austrian generals of 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...
, he joined the military as a young man, and served in the War of Bavarian Succession
War of Bavarian Succession
The War of the Bavarian Succession was fought between the Habsburg Monarchy and a Saxon–Prussian alliance to prevent the Habsburg acquisition of the Duchy of Bavaria. The war had no battles beyond a few minor skirmishes, but still resulted in significant casualties, as several thousand soldiers...
, in which he took part in its first action by successfully repelling a Prussian border raid, which earned him the admiration of the Empress Maria Theresa's son, Joseph
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
. His continued success in the Habsburg Border wars with the Ottoman Empire added to his reputation as a commander.
In the Wars of the First and Second
War of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
Coalitions, his forces were vital to the successful relief of Mainz
Siege of Mainz
In the Siege of Mainz , from 14 April to 23 July 1793, a coalition of Prussia, Austria, and other German states besieged and captured Mainz from revolutionary French forces...
, and his commands captured the French siege train and most of the supplies during the French evacuation. In the campaigns in Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
(1799), he commanded the advanced guard, and later the center of the main column at the Battle of Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...
on 25 March 1799. At the First Battle of Zürich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
in 1799, he commanded the right wing in the Austrian victory of Andre Massena
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
's force. After the Swabian and Swiss campaigns, he retired in poor health, and died in 1801.
Early career
Born in the village of Heilsdorf, in the Saxon VogtlandVogtland
The term Vogtland refers to a region reaching across the German free states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and into the Czech Republic . The name of the region contains a reference to the former leadership by the Vögte of Weida, Gera and Plauen, which translates approximately to advocates or lord...
, 3 August 1749, Nauendorf came from a family of minor Saxon aristocracy and Prussian state administrators. His grandfather was a states’ attorney in Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
. His father, Freiherr
Freiherr
The German titles Freiherr and Freifrau and Freiin are titles of nobility, used preceding a person's given name or, after 1919, before the surname...
(Baron) Carl Georg Christian Nauendorf, was a cavalry officer in Habsburg military service in the Seven Years War, and was present at the Battle of Kolín
Battle of Kolin
-Results:The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war. This disaster forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice...
. He was also part of Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon's army on 30 September – 1 October 1761, when Loudon led the force in the storming of Schweidnitz.
Nauendorf joined the 8th Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
Regiment in 1763. In 1766, his father became Colonel and Proprietor (Inhaber)
Proprietor (Inhaber)
A Proprietor, or Inhaber, was a term used in the Habsburg military to denote special honors extended to a noble or aristocrat. The Habsburg army was organized on principles developed for the feudal armies in which regiments were raised by a wealthy noble, called the Inhaber who also acted as...
of the regiment; upon his father's death in 1775, Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert 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...
became Colonel and Inhaber, and the Regiment became known as 8th Hussar Wurmser, or Wurmser's Hussars.
War in Bohemia and Silesia
In 1778, Nauendorf was a RittmeisterRittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...
(captain of cavalry) of the Wurmser Hussar Regiment, and stationed near the border of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, by Pressburg, the regiment's peace-time garrison. At the end of the year, the Duke of Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, died unexpectedly of small pox. As the last of the Bavarian Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
dynasty, descended from 13th century Holy Roman Emperor Louis the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
, Maximilian was related to most of the German houses, and Bavaria was strategically located to entice the Habsburgs, chiefly Archduke and co-Regent Joseph
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, to covet the duchy. Tensions rose between and among the princes of the German states, principally Elector of Saxony
Duchy of Saxony
The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
, King of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, and Joseph; their diplomats shuttled between courts to resolve problems raised by the Bavarian Succession crisis, while Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
,
Frederick August of Saxony
Frederick Augustus I of Saxony
Frederick Augustus I was King of Saxony from the House of Wettin. He was also Elector Frederick Augustus III of Saxony and Duke Frederick Augustus I of Warsaw...
and Joseph of Austria moved their extensive armies into position in Bohemia.
In early July 1778, the Prussian General Johann Jakob von Wunsch
Johann Jakob von Wunsch
Johann Jakob von Wunsch was soldier of fortune and Prussian general of infantry, and a particularly adept commander of light infantry. The son of a Württemberg furrier, he served in several armies in the course of his lengthy career....
(1717–1788) crossed into Bohemia near the fortified town of Náchod
Náchod
Náchod -History:Náchod was founded in 14th century by knight Hron of Načeradice, who founded a castle on a strategical place, where local trade road reaches the defile called Branka. The first written note dates back to 1254.-Castle:...
, in the opening action of the War of Bavarian Succession
War of Bavarian Succession
The War of the Bavarian Succession was fought between the Habsburg Monarchy and a Saxon–Prussian alliance to prevent the Habsburg acquisition of the Duchy of Bavaria. The war had no battles beyond a few minor skirmishes, but still resulted in significant casualties, as several thousand soldiers...
. Nauendorf had only 50 Hussars, but they sallied from their garrison to engage the larger Prussian force. Encountering Wunch, Nauendorf greeted the old Prussian general and his men as friends; by the time the Prussians realized the allegiance of the Hussars, Nauendorf and his small force had acquired the strategic advantage. Following a brief skirmish, Wunsch withdrew. The next day Nauendorf was promoted to major. In a letter to her son, Joseph
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, the Empress Maria Theresa wrote: "They say you are so pleased with the rookie Nauendorf, the Carlstätter or Hungarian who killed seven men, that you gave him 12 ducats." Enamored with the possibility of acquiring Bavaria, Joseph encouraged successful raids against the Prussian troops. On 7 August 1778, with two squadrons of his regiment, Nauendorf led a raid against a Prussian convoy at Berbersdorf
Striegistal
Striegistal is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. In 1994, the unification of the communities of Berbersdorf, Schmalbach, Goßberg, Mobendorf and Pappendorf with Kaltofen im Rahmen in the community regional reform, created the Community of Striegistal...
in the Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
. The surprised convoy surrendered, and Nauendorf captured its officers, 110 men, 476 horses, 240 wagons of flour, and 13 transport wagons.
In another raid, on 17–18 January 1779, Nauendorf's commander, Dagoburt von Wurmser advanced into the County of Glatz in five columns, surrounded Habelschwerdt, stormed the village. In a subsequent assault on the so-called Swedish blockhouse in Oberschwedeldorf, it and the village of Habelschwerdt were set on fire by howitzers. In total, the raid resulted in the capture of Prince Philip of Hessenthal and over 1,000 men, three cannon and seven colors. Wurmser's forward patrols reached the outskirts of Glatz, and patrolled much of Silesia's border with Prussia, near Schweidnitz. Halberschwerdt and Oberschedeldorf were both destroyed.
On 3 March 1779, Nauendorf raided the Berbersdorf again, this time with a larger force of infantry and hussars, and took the entire Prussian garrison as prisoner. Following this action, Joseph
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, now Emperor, awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
Military Order of Maria Theresa
The Military Order of Maria Theresa was an Order of the Austro-Hungarian Empire founded on June 18, 1757, the day of the Battle of Kolin, by the Empress...
(19 May 1779). This kind of action characterized the entire war; there were no major battles. The armies of the opposing sides conducted series of raids and counter-raids from which they lived off the country-side and tried to deny each other access to supplies and fodder.
Action in the border war
Nauendorf served with the Habsburg forces during the Ottoman wars from 1787 to 1791. On 19–20 October 1788, near TomaševacTomaševac
Tomaševac is a village in Serbia. It is located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,765 people .-See also:...
(present day Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
), Nauendorf routed 1,200 of the elite Sipahis with two squadrons of hussars. On 23 October 1788, with only six squadrons of hussars, he attacked the Turkish rearguard in the village of Pančevo
Pancevo
Pančevo is a city and municipality located in the southern part of Serbian province of Vojvodina, 15 km northeast from Belgrade. In 2002, the city had a total population of 77,087, while municipality of Pančevo had 127,162 inhabitants. It is the administrative center of the South Banat...
, in the Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
, during which the Turkish commander was mortally wounded. On 16 September 1789, he led the successful raid on the island of Borecs in the Danube, which garnered greatly needed supplies from the Turkish forces. On 9 November of that year, he led four squadrons of his regiment to capture Gladova, 10 miles (16 km) from the so-called Iron Gate of the Danube. Nauendorf was awarded command of 30th Hussar Regiment Wurmser, as the so-called second colonel, who functioned as an executive officer. On 12 March 1779, Joseph elevated Nauendorf to the rank of Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
, or Graf.
Austrian action on the Rhine
Promotions
|
In 1792, Nauendorf's regiment served on the lower (northern) Rhine river and at Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
on the Moselle river
Moselle River
The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....
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...
. In December of that year, his regiment successfully defended Pellingen, Merzkirchen and Oberleuken from the attacks of General of Division La Baroliére's Army of the Moselle
Army of the Moselle
The Army of the Moselle was a French Revolutionary Army. Originally known as the Armée du Centre, it was renamed by decree of the National Convention on 1 October 1792 and kept under that name in the decrees of 1 March and 30 April 1793...
.
In 1795, Nauendorf served in Field Marshal Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt’s
François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt
François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt , a Walloon, joined the army of the Habsburg Monarchy and soon fought in the Seven Years War. Later in his military career, he led Austrian troops in the war against Ottoman Turkey...
Army of the Lower Rhine, which relieved 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:...
. On 13 October, he commanded part of Count Clerfayt's Corps of Observation, totaling close to 8,000 men. On 10 October, a portion of the Corps of Observation had surprised the French at Hochst; Jourdan was withdrawing his force from the blockade of Mainz. Nauendorf's cavalry swam across the Main River
Main river
Main rivers are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also include some smaller watercourses. A main river is defined as a watercourse marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure or appliance for controlling or regulating...
and the infantry followed in boats; they surprised and overwhelmed Jourdan's rear guard at Niederhausen, capturing five guns, 30+ wagons and 80 ammunition caissons. On 29 October, Nauendorf captured most of the French siege train and supply wagons evacuated from Mainz. Finally, in that year on 6 November, his victory at Rochenhausen prevented the unification of the French armies of the Rhin-et-Moselle
Army of Rhin-et-Moselle
The Army of Rhin-et-Moselle was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by merging the armée du Rhin and the armée de la Moselle. On 29 September 1797 it was merged with the armée de Sambre-et-Meuse to form the Armée d'Allemagne....
and the Sambre-et-Meuse
Army of Sambre-et-Meuse
The Army of Sambre-et-Meuse is the best known of the armies of the French Revolution. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining three forces: the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of Moselle, and the right wing of the Army of the North. It had a brief but celebrated existence...
.
During the maneuvers leading to the Battle of Amberg on 24 August 1796, Nauendorf's cavalry reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
discovered crucial intelligence, after which he sent Archduke Charles the message: "If your Royal Highness will or can advance 12,000 men against Jourdan's rear, he is lost." After the Austrian victory at Amberg, Nauendorf prevented General Jean-Victor Moreau's attempted Danube crossing at Neuburg
Neuburg an der Donau
Neuburg an der Donau, literally Neuburg on the Danube River, is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany.-Divisions:The municipality has 16 divisions:-History:...
and thwarted Moreau's next attempt to flank the Austrians by passing through Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
.
Action in Switzerland and Swabia
When the War of the Second CoalitionWar of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
began in early 1799, Nauendorf fought in the Austrian victories at Ostrach
Battle of Ostrach
The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command of Archduke Charles, over the French forces, commanded by Jean...
(21 March) and then at Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...
(25 March). In early March he led the Advanced Guard of 17,000 across the Lech River
Lech River
The Lech is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of .Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the river rises from lake Formarinsee in the Alps at an altitude of...
by Augsburg, to deploy at Ostrach, a village about 9 kilometres (6 mi) of the Danube River, and less than 2 kilometres (1 mi) from the Free Imperial City
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
of Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf is a small historic city in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Its location is in the district of Sigmaringen, 25 km north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley and therefore on the continental divide between the watersheds of the...
. Jourdan's Army of the Danube
Army of the Danube
The Army of the Danube was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been observing Austrian movements on the border between First...
had crossed the Rhine on 1 March, and moved east to cut communication between the main Austrian force, quartered near Augsburg, and the Austrian troops in northern Italy. At Ostrach, his Advanced Guard sustained the immediate shock of contact, but the main force of the army was less than a day behind him, and 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...
, the commander of the Austrian force, divided his army into three assault columns to make a simultaneous attack at three points on the French line; after a day of nasty fighting, the Austrians flanked the French at the north and south, and threatened to break through the line in the middle. The French withdrew to Mösskirch
Meßkirch
Meßkirch is a town in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.Meßkirch was the residence of the counts of Zimmern, widely known through Count Froben Christoph's Zimmern Chronicle ....
, and then to Engen
Engen
Engen was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kemmu and before Kōkoku, lasting from February 1336 to April 1340...
and Stockach, where, on 25 March, the fighting renewed. At Stockach, Nauendorf again commanded the Austrian advanced guard, which was composed of troops seasoned, as he had been, in the Habsburg border wars. The advanced guard, or Vorhut, was redeployed before the battle as the center of the main Austrian line, and took the brunt of the initial fighting.
After the French retreat from the Hegau
Hegau
The Hegau is a formerly volcanic landscape in southern Germany extending around the industrial city of Singen , between Lake Constance in the east, the Rhine River in the south, the Danube River in the north and the Randen—as the southwestern mountains of the Swabian Alb are called—in the west.The...
into 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 ....
, Nauendorf took his force across the Rhine between Constance
Constance
Constance is a female given name that derives from Latin and means "constant." Variations of the name include Connie, Constancia, Constanze, Constanza, Stanzy, and Konstanze.Constance may refer to:-People:*Constance Bennett , American actress...
and Stein am Rhein on 22 May, and positioned himself at Steinegg. After Friedrich, Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Hotze, also known as Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze , a Swiss-born field marshal in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars, campaigned in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition and in Switzerland in the War of the Second Coalition, notably at Battle of...
's column successfully pushed the French out of Winterthur
Battle of Winterthur (1799)
The Battle of Winterthur was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The small town of Winterthur lies northeast of...
on 26 May, Archduke Charles instructed Nauendorf to secure the village of Neftenbach
Neftenbach
Neftenbach is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-History:Neftenbach is first mentioned in 1209 as Neftinbach....
, which effectively closed a semicircle around the French force at Zürich. Once the Austrian main army united with its left wing, under Nauendorf, and its far left, under Hotze, Charles ordered the assault on Zürich. On 4 June, Nauendorf helped to rout the French force at Battle of Zürich
First Battle of Zürich
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. In the First Battle of Zurich on 4 – 7 June 1799, French general André Masséna was forced to yield the city to the Austrians under Archduke Charles and retreated beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his...
, commanding the Coalition's right wing; with sustained pressure on Andre Massena's force, Massena pulled his army across the Limmat
Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. It is the continuation of the Linth river, known as Limmat from the point of effluence from Lake Zurich, in the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare...
river, and dug into positions on the low ring of hills there, biding his time until the propitious moment to retake the city, which he did in September, 1799, at the Second Battle of Zürich
Second Battle of Zürich
The Second Battle of Zurich was a French victory over an Austrian and Russian force near Zurich. It broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition.After he had been forced out of the city in...
; Nauendorf was not present for this action, being with Archduke Charles on a march north, toward Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. In 1800, Nauendorf fought in the Austrian losses at Stockach and Engen on 3 May, Mösskirch
Battle of Messkirch
The Battle of Meßkirch was fought on 4 and 5 May 1800 and resulted the victory of French army against the Austrians.-Overview:On 25 April 1800 the French Armée d'Allemagne, under Jean Victor Marie Moreau, crossed the Rhine River at Kehl and Schaffhausen. The 1st Demi-Brigade, of the Corps led by...
on 5 May, and Biberach on 9 May.
Nauendorf retired in poor health at the end of the 1800 campaign. He died in Troppau, Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia
Austrian Silesia , officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia was an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Austrian Empire, from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
(today Opava, in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
), 30 December 1801.