The Battle of Mehrnbach (also known as the Battle of Ried) on 30 October 1805 saw the French vanguard commanded by

Marc Antoine de Beaumont Marc-Antoine de Beaumont (; 23 September 1763 – 4 February 1830) a French nobleman, became a page to the king and joined the army of the Old Regime. He stayed in the army during the French Revolution and narrowly escaped being executed. ...

engaging an

Austro Austro may refer to: * Austro-, a prefix denoting Austria * Austro (automobile), an Austrian cyclecar manufactured 1913–1914 * Austro Engine, an aircraft engine manufacturer * Ēostre () is a West Germanic spring goddess. The name is ref ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

rearguard detachment during the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

Background

The battle of Mehrnbach took place shortly after the

surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

of the Austrian troops in Ulm, from where the road to Vienna lay open to the Grande Armée. The French and Bavarian troops followed the retreating Austrian units commanded by

Michael von Kienmayer Michael von Kienmayer (17 January 1756 – 28 October 1828) was an Austrian general. Kienmayer joined the army of the Habsburg monarchy and fought against the Kingdom of Prussia and Ottoman Turkey. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he continue ...

, which had united with Russian troops at Braunau. In Braunau Maximilian von Merveldt took command of the Austrian troops and led them towards Vienna. There were several rearguard battles in the Danube region.

Battle

The French troops setting off from Braunau marched on the road to Ried. At the head of the column was the 1st Regiment of ''Chasseurs à Cheval'' as well as the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

and 12th Dragoon Regiments. Alongside the cavalry marched an infantry detachment from Davout's Corps (two battalions of the 17th Line Infantry Regiment and two battalions of the 30th Line Infantry Regiment). They were met in the environs of Mehrnbach by an Austrian cavalry unit positioned on the heights.

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

and his cavalry attacked the Austrian cavalry and threw them back. At the same time, an Austrian infantry company positioned in front of Mehrnbach surrendered to the French.''Sur les pas de la Grande Armée - 1805'', p. 150
The French official state newspaper '' Moniteur'' described the insignificant fighting as the victorious "battle of Ried".

Aftermath

The Austro-Russian troops have been unable to stop the rapidly advancing troops of the Grande Armée. On the same day the French occupied the city of Ried and marched further west, where they clashed with the coalition allies again at Gaspoltshofen.

Notes

References

* ''Ried im Innkreis: Die Stadt im Zentrum des Innviertels.'' Stadtgemeinde Ried im Innkreis, 1979 * ''Kriegschronik Österreich-Ungarns: Militärischer Führer auf den Kriegsschauplätzen der Monarchie.'' Band 1, Verlag des K.K. Generalstabes, 1885

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehrnbach, Battle of Conflicts in 1805 Battles of the War of the Third Coalition Battles involving Austria Battles involving France Battles involving the Russian Empire 1805 in the Austrian Empire 1805 in the Russian Empire 1805 in France October 1805 events