The Battle of Amberg, fought on 24 August 1796, resulted in an
Habsburg victory by
Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
over a
French army led by
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Count Jourdan (29 April 1762 – 23 November 1833), was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon I in ...
. This engagement marked a turning point in the
Rhine campaign, which had previously seen French successes.
Background
Plans
The French planned an invasion of southern Germany in 1796.
General of Division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army co ...
(MG) Jourdan with the
Army of Sambre-et-Meuse
The Army of Sambre and Meuse (french: Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse) was one of the armies of the French Revolution. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of the Moselle and the right win ...
would advance from the middle
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
while MG
Jean Moreau
Adrien Édouard Jean Moreau (31 July 1888 – 5 June 1972) was a French politician.
Moreau was born in Paris. He belonged first to the Republican Party of Liberty (1945–1946), then to the Independent Republicans (1946–1955) and then to ...
would cross the river farther south with the
Army of Rhin-et-Moselle. Jourdan held a bridgehead over the Rhine at
Neuwied
Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...
while MG
Jean-Baptiste Kléber
Jean-Baptiste Kléber () (9 March 1753 – 14 June 1800) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. After serving for one year in the French Royal Army, he entered Habsburg service seven years later. However, his plebeian ancest ...
commanded his left wing based on an entrenched camp at
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
. Moreau's army comprised 71,581 infantry and 6,515 cavalry. He organized these into a Right Wing under MG
Pierre Ferino, a Center led by MG
Louis Desaix
Louis Charles Antoine Desaix () (17 August 176814 June 1800) was a French general and military leader during the French Revolutionary Wars. According to the usage of the time, he took the name ''Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux''. He was co ...
, and a Left Wing commanded by MG
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr
Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, 1st Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr (; 13 April 1764 – 17 March 1830) was a French military commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire. He is regarde ...
.
Field Marshal Archduke Charles commanded the Army of the Lower Rhine. Charles and his deputy,
Feldzeugmeister
''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...
(FZM)
Wilhelm von Wartensleben
Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig Count Wartensleben (11 October 1734 – 21 April 1798) was a Swedish nobleman active in the Dutch military.
He was born in Hesse-Kassel. He was the younger son of the Swedish royal house and the princely Hesse house of Scha ...
faced Jourdan along the
Lahn River
The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km).
It has its source in ...
. This stream flows in a southwesterly direction into the Rhine near
Koblenz. To the south, FZM
Maximilien, Count Baillet de Latour positioned his Army of the Upper Rhine to defend against Moreau.
June operations
On 4 June 1796, 11,000 soldiers of the Army of the Sambre-et-Meuse, under
François Lefebvre pushed back a 6,500-man Austrian force at
Altenkirchen
Altenkirchen () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("co ...
, north of the Lahn. On 6 June, the French placed
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.
Occupying the position of an ...
under siege. At
Wetzlar
Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...
on the Lahn, Lefebvre ran into Charles' concentration of 36,000 Austrians on 15 June. Casualties were light on both sides, but Jourdan pulled back to Niewied while Kléber recoiled toward Düsseldorf.
Feldmarschal-Leutnant (FML)
Pál Kray's 30,000 soldiers bested Kléber's 24,000 at Uckerath east of
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...
on 19 June, prompting the Frenchman to continue his withdrawal to the north.
Meanwhile, operations of the Army of the Rhin-et-Moselle progressed more successfully for the French. On the 15th, Desaix and 30,000 French troops defeated FML Franz Petrasch's 11,000 Austrians at Maudach near
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
. The French suffered 600 casualties while Austrian losses were three times as heavy. Part of Moreau's army under MG Jean-Charles Abbatucci mounted an assault crossing over the Rhine at
Kehl
Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some municipal servicesfor exa ...
opposite
Strasbourg on 24 June. The defenders were French
émigré
An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate".
French Huguenots
Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...
s and the forces of minor German states belonging to the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. They fought gamely, but were beaten with the loss of 700 men while the French lost 150. On 28 June, Desaix defeated FML Anton Sztaray's Imperial troops again at
Renchen
Renchen ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Renche) is a small town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, part of the district of Ortenau.
Geography
Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the ed ...
, inflicting 1,400 casualties for only 200 French killed and wounded. In the following weeks the Austrians determined some of their Imperial German allies to be unreliable and disarmed them.
In reaction to the defeats in the south, Archduke Charles left Wartensleben in command of 35,000 men along the Lahn, put 30,000 troops into the fortress of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
and rushed south with 20,000 soldiers to reinforce Latour.
July operations
After a minor clash at
Rastatt
Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was a ...
on 5 July, Archduke Charles and Latour took up a position at
Malsch
Malsch is a municipality in the district of Karlsruhe, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 15 km south of Karlsruhe, and 10 km east of Rastatt, at the eastern border of the Upper Rhine Plain.
Beside the main town, it consi ...
with 32,000 troops. On 9 July, Moreau defeated the Army of the Upper Rhine at the
Battle of Ettlingen. The archduke retreated to
Stuttgart, where he skirmished with the French on 21 July before continuing to withdraw east. When Jourdan heard of French successes against the Army of the Upper Rhine, he went over to the offensive. After a series of minor victories at Neuwied,
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...
, and
Friedberg in der Wetterau in early July, the French pressed Wartensleben back to
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
.
August operations
Charles ordered Wartensleben to unite with him in order to crush Moreau. However, his colleague proved unwilling to cooperate. On 11 August, Moreau overpowered the outnumbered archduke at the
Battle of Neresheim. The Austrian southern wing retreated to the south bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
at
Donauwörth
Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
. To the north, Jourdan pushed Wartensleben back through
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg ...
and
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
. Kléber clashed with Kray on 17 August at
Sulzbach-Rosenberg
Sulzbach-Rosenberg ( bar, label=Northern Bavarian, Suizboch-Rosnberg) is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km northwest of Amberg, and 50 km east of Nuremberg. The town c ...
, west of
Amberg. Charles' strategy of falling back before the two superior French armies while seeking an opportunity to combine against one of them had so far failed.
Battle
Reconnaissance
A change in Austrian fortunes came when an alert cavalry brigadier,
General-Major
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Friedrich Joseph of Nauendorf, a general in Habsburg service during the French Revolutionary Wars, was noted for his intrepid and daring cavalry raids. Like most Austrian officers of the French Revolutionary Wars, he joined the military as a you ...
detected an opportunity during a wide
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
. He sent a note to Archduke Charles, "If your Royal Highness will or can advance 12,000 men against Jourdan's rear, he is lost." Charles left 30,000 men under Latour to watch Moreau, and hurried north with 27,000 to find Jourdan still pressing Wartensleben near Amberg. On 22 August at
Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Charles brushed aside one of Jourdan's divisions under MG
Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte
sv, Karl Johan Baptist Julius
, spouse =
, issue = Oscar I of Sweden
, house = Bernadotte
, father = Henri Bernadotte
, mother = Jeanne de Saint-Jean
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Pau, ...
. This placed the archduke squarely on the French right rear.
Combat
The total forces available were 48,000 Austrians and 45,000 French. On 24 August, Charles struck the French right flank while Wartensleben attacked frontally. The French Army of Sambre-et-Meuse was overcome by weight of numbers and Jourdan retired northwest. The Austrians lost only 400 casualties of the 40,000 men they brought onto the field. French losses were 1,200 killed and wounded, plus 800 captured out of 34,000 engaged. Instead of supporting his colleague, Moreau pushed further east.
Results
On the same day as the Battle of Amberg, Moreau inflicted a sharp defeat on Latour at the
Battle of Friedberg in Bavaria. On 1 September, Moreau clashed with Latour and Nauendorf at
Geisenfeld, southeast of
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...
.
[Smith, p 121] At the same time, Charles' victorious Austrians pursued Jourdan's beaten army. The widening gap between the two French armies finally caused Moreau to abandon his gains and pull back toward
Ulm
Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
. The
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of the Habsburg monarchy 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 ...
, fought on 3 September, would determine the winner of the campaign.
References
Bibliography
* Eggenberger, David. (1985). ''An Encyclopedia of Battles.'' New York: Dover Publications. .
* Liddell-Hart, B. H. (1967). ''Strategy''. NY: Praeger Publishers.
* Pope, Stephen. (1999). ''The Cassell Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars'', Cassell.
* Smith, Digby. (1998). ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill. .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amberg
Conflicts in 1796
1796 in Austria
1796 in France
Battles of the War of the First Coalition
Battles involving Austria
1796 in the Holy Roman Empire
Battles in Bavaria
Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe