The Battle of Biberach was fought on 2 October 1796 between a
French Republican army led by
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.
Biography
Rise to fame
Moreau was born at Morla ...
and a
Habsburg Austrian army led by
Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour
Count Maximilian Anton Karl Baillet de Latour (french: Maximilien-Antoine-Charles-Joseph Comte de Baillet de Latour) (14 December 173722 July 1806) was an Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars.
Biography
Born at Latour Castle n ...
. The French army paused in its retreat toward the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
River to savage the pursuing Austrians. The action occurred during the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...
, part of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
.
Biberach an der Riss Biberach may refer to:
*Biberach an der Riß, a town in Upper Swabia, Germany
*Biberach (district), which has Biberach an der Riß as its capital
*Biberach, Baden, a municipality in the ''Ortenaukreis'', Germany
*Biberach is a part of Roggenburg, B ...
is located southwest of
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, ...
.
During the summer of 1796, the two armies of
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 ...
in the north and Moreau in the south advanced into southern Germany. They were opposed by
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
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 ...
who oversaw two Austrian armies under Latour and
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 ...
. At the
Battle of Amberg
The Battle of Amberg, fought on 24 August 1796, resulted in an Habsburg victory by Archduke Charles over a French army led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. This engagement marked a turning point in the Rhine campaign, which had previously seen Fre ...
on 24 August 1796, Charles and Wartensleben combined to throw superior strength against Jourdan while Moreau was separated from his colleague. After Jourdan was beaten again at 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 ...
on 3 September, Moreau was forced to abandon southern Bavaria to avoid being cut off from France. As the outnumbered Latour doggedly followed the French retreat, Moreau lashed out at him at Biberach. For a loss of 500 soldiers killed and wounded, Moreau's troops inflicted 300 killed and wounded on their enemies and captured 4,000 prisoners, 18 artillery pieces, and two colors. After the engagement, Latour followed the French at a more respectful distance. The next action was the
Battle of Emmendingen
At the Battle of Emmendingen, on 19 October 1796, the French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle under Jean Victor Marie Moreau fought the First Coalition Army of the Upper Rhine commanded by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Emmendingen is located on ...
on 19 October.
Battle
The French troops under General
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 ...
attacked at noon on October 2, advanced via Seekirch, threw back an enemy detachment from Ahlen and pursued the Austrians via Gutharzhofen to Burren. The now open right flank of the imperial division under
Siegfried Kospoth forced this general to retreat his troops via
Biberach to the Galgenberg, where the French left wing between
Birkenhard and
Stafflangen developed to attack.
On the other wing, three French columns had meanwhile advanced on the streets of
Reichenbach and
Schussenried and had begun the attack against the Austrian division Mercandin and Prince de Conde. When the corps under
Claude Saint-Cyr
''For the French general and diplomat, see Claude Carra Saint-Cyr''
Claude Saint-Cyr – sometimes Claude St-Cyr or Claude St. Cyr – (née Simone Naudet, 1911–2002) was a French milliner who worked in both Paris and London between the 1930s an ...
with a half-brigade from Sattenbeuren swung across the mossy ground, which was considered impenetrable, against Latour's right flank and the other columns also renewed their attack. Latour had to withdraw his center back to the new position at Groth under the protection of the cavalry. The divisions under Prince Conde and Mercandin were pushed back to Ingoldingen and Winterstätten. After Saint-Cyr's troops marched slowly between Muttensweiler and Wattenweiler, Latour forced him back. Latour, at the necessary time to save his artillery park stood there.
General Desaix had meanwhile decided on the left wing to bypass the opposing lines on the Galgenberg via Oberndorf through the valley there towards Biberach. Latour ordered a general retreat, Field Marshal Lieutenant Mercandin had to retreat to Eberhardzell, Prince Conde to
Schweinhausen and
Ummendorf, and Kospoth's division through Biberach to the other heights of the Riss. The French advanced from Lindeberg, the garrison of the city and the last four battalions of Kospoth were taken prisoner.
Appendorf was set on fire during the retreat. Here, as at Rissegg, the fire was kept up into the night.
The troops of Baillet-Latour were defeated after a short battle and left 300 dead and wounded on the battlefield. In addition, they lost 18 cannons and two regimental flags
Aftermath
Desaix followed on the left wing with two divisions along 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 , pa ...
; the troops under General Saint-Cyr took the route to
Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf is a small town of about 13,000 inhabitants located north of Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire for nearly 600 years.
The town is in the district of Sigmaringen south of ...
and
Stockach
Stockach is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Location
It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of Konstan ...
. A rearguard remained to watch Latour's defeated troops. The troops under Desaix crossed the Danube near Riedlingen and pursued Sigmaringen. From now on the Austrians contented themselves with following the French from a distance without attempting to stop them again. The fighting flared up again in the
Battle of Emmendingen
At the Battle of Emmendingen, on 19 October 1796, the French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle under Jean Victor Marie Moreau fought the First Coalition Army of the Upper Rhine commanded by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Emmendingen is located on ...
on October 19, when
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
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 ...
caught the French again, after the
Battle of Schliengen
At the Battle of Schliengen (24 October 1796), the French Army of the Rhine and Moselle under the command of Jean-Victor Moreau and the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles of Austria both claimed victories. The village of Schlie ...
(October 24), Moreau's troops had to retreat across the Rhine.
References
*
Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biberach 1796, Battle of
Battles involving France
Battles involving Austria
Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars
Battles of the War of the First Coalition
Conflicts in 1796
1796 in the Holy Roman Empire
Battles in Baden-Württemberg
Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe