The Battle of Raab or Battle of Győr (
Hungarian: ''győri csata'') was fought on 14 June 1809 during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, between Franco-Italian forces and Habsburg forces. The battle was fought near
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...
(Raab),
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
, and ended in a Franco-Italian victory. The victory prevented
Archduke John of Austria from bringing any significant force to the
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
, while Prince
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
's force was able to link up with
Emperor Napoleon at
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in time to fight at Wagram. Napoleon referred to the battle as "a granddaughter of
Marengo and
Friedland", as it fell on the anniversary of those two battles.
Campaign
Early moves
During the 1809 campaign in Italy, Viceroy
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
led the Franco-Italian army while
General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...
Archduke John of Austria commanded the
Austrian army. At the outbreak of war, John moved rapidly to defeat his opponent at the
Battle of Sacile
The Battle of Sacile (also known as the Battle of Fontana Fredda) on 16 April 1809 and its companion Clash at Pordenone on 15 April saw an Austrian army commanded by Archduke John of Austria defeat a Franco-Italian army led by Eugène de Beauh ...
on 16 April. This victory drove Eugène back to the
Adige River. The front remained static for a few weeks despite attacks by Eugène in the
Battle of Caldiero. Meanwhile, an Austrian force bottled up the corps of
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 ...
Auguste Marmont in
Dalmatia. After the Austrian defeat at the
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl, fought on 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition. Napoleon I had been unprepared for the start of hostilities on 10 April 1809, by the Austrians under th ...
, John received orders to retreat in order to cover the strategic left flank of the army in southern Germany.
Austrian retreat
John fought Eugène in a tough rearguard action at the
Battle of Piave River on 8 May. Up to this moment, John and his soldiers had fought well. Now, John probably committed a serious blunder by splitting up his command. With the main army he fell back to the northeast. By the second week of May, John and
Feldmarschallleutnant
Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...
Albert Gyulai stood at
Tarvis (Tarvisio) with 8,340 troops. Feldmarschallleutnant
Johann Maria Philipp Frimont
Johann Maria Philipp Frimont, ''Count of Palota, Prince of Antrodoco'' (3 February 1759 – 26 December 1831) was an Austrian general.
Frimont was born at Fénétrange, in what is now French Lorraine. He entered the Austrian cavalry as a trooper ...
's 13,060-man Mobile Force lay at nearby
Villach
Villach (; sl, Beljak; it, Villaco; fur, Vilac) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the p ...
. Feldmarschallleutnant
Ignác Gyulay
Count Ignác Gyulay de Marosnémeti et Nádaska, Ignácz Gyulay, Ignaz Gyulai (11 September 1763 – 11 November 1831) was a Hungarian military officer, joined the army of Habsburg monarchy, fought against Ottoman Turkey, and became a general of ...
with 14,880 men of the IX Armeekorps defended the
Laibach
Laibach () is a Slovenian avant-garde music group associated with the industrial, martial, and neo-classical genres. Formed in the mining town of Trbovlje (at the time in Yugoslavia) in 1980, Laibach represents the musical wing of the Neue ...
(now Ljubljana, Slovenia) area to the southeast of Villach. Far to the west-northwest, Feldmarschallleutnant
Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles and 17,460 soldiers of the VIII Armeekorps held the region around
Innsbruck. Feldmarschallleutnant
Franjo Jelačić and the 10,200-strong Northern Division was stationed at
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
to the northwest. Finally,
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 ...
Andreas von Stoichewich's 8,100 men continued to pin Marmont in Dalmatia to the south of Laibach. By this time a large proportion of John's forces was made up of hastily raised
Landwehr
''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...
infantry.
On 13 May,
Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre ( , ; 25 October 1755 – 14 September 1820), Duc de Dantzig, was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon.
Ea ...
and a
Bavarian army wrecked part of Chasteler's corps at the
Battle of Wörgl
The Battle of Wörgl or Wörgel was fought on 13 May 1809, when a Bavarian force under French Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre attacked an Austrian Empire detachment commanded by Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles. The Bavarians severel ...
near Innsbruck. On 17 May, John received orders to cut the communications of
Emperor Napoleon's Grand Army by moving north. However, the archduke delayed too long in carrying out this assignment. Though badly isolated, Jelačić remained near Salzburg until 19 May. When he finally got moving it was too late. A French corps under General of Division
Paul Grenier cut the Northern Division to pieces at the
Battle of Sankt Michael on 25 May. John pulled back to
Graz, but when he heard of Jelačić's disaster, he decided to retreat east into Hungary.
During May, small
Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry or Grenzers or Granichary (from german: Grenzer "border guard" or "frontiersman"; Serbo-Croatian: graničari, krajišnici, sr-cyr, граничари, крајишници, Russian Cyrillic: граничары) were light infant ...
forces heroically defended the mountain passes during the
Battle of Tarvis. At
Malborghetto Valbruna
Malborghetto Valbruna ( fur, Malborghet-Valbrune, sl, Naborjet-Ovčja ves; german: Malborgeth-Wolfsbach) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.
Geography
Malborghetto-Valbruna is located about nort ...
, 400 soldiers held a blockhouse against 15,000 Frenchmen between 15 and 17 May and only 50 men survived. The French admitted only 80 casualties. At the
Predil Pass
The Predil Pass or Predel Pass ( it, Passo di Predil; sl, Predel, ) (el. 1156 m) is a high mountain pass on the border between Italy and Slovenia.
Geography
The pass is located in the Julian Alps, between the peaks of Mount Mangart to ...
blockhouse, 250 Austrians and 8 cannon held off 8,500 French soldiers for three days. On 18 May, when the position was finally overrun, the Grenzers were killed to a man. The French admitted suffering 450 casualties. At Tarvis itself, Eugène inflicted a serious defeat on Albert Gyulai's outnumbered division.
In mid-May, Marmont defeated Stoichewich's forces in the
Dalmatian Campaign. He moved north in a fighting advance, arriving at Laibach on 3 June. Marmont then combined with General of Division
Jean-Baptiste Broussier
Jean-Baptiste Broussier (10 March 1766 – 13 December 1814) was a French Divisional General of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Life
Broussier was born in Ville-sur-Saulx.
Meant by his parents for a church career, in 1791 he ...
and fought Ignác Gyulay's Austrians in the
Battle of Graz
The Battle of Graz took place on 24–26 June 1809 between an Austrian corps commanded by Ignaz Gyulai and a French division led by Jean-Baptiste Broussier. The French were soon reinforced by a corps under Auguste Marmont. The battle is consid ...
from 24 to 26 June. His 11,000 XI Corps soldiers, plus Broussier, force-marched to join Napoleon near
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and fought at the
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
.
John joined with the Hungarian Insurrection forces (
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
) at
Győr
Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia region, and – halfway between Budapest and Vienna – situated on one of ...
(Raab). He intended to cross to the north 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 ...
and move northwest through
Pozsony
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...
(Pressburg, now Bratislava, Slovakia) to unite with the main army, which was commanded by his brother
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 ...
,
Generalissimo
''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used.
Usage
The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...
of the Austrian armies. Napoleon ordered Eugène to pursue and destroy John's army. The Franco-Italian troops caught up with the Austrians in mid-June and forced John to give battle.
Battle
Franco-Italian Army
Army of Italy: Prince
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
(39,902, 42 guns)
*
VI Corps 6 Corps, 6th Corps, Sixth Corps, or VI Corps may refer to:
France
* VI Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry formation of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VI Corps (Grande Armée), a formation of the Imperial French army du ...
: General of Division
Paul Grenier (13,940 infantry, 1,178 cavalry, 12 guns, 544 gunners & sappers)
** 1st Division: General of Division
Jean Mathieu Seras (6,797 infantry, 707 cavalry, 354 gunners)
** 2nd Division: General of Division
Pierre François Joseph Durutte (7,143 infantry, 471 cavalry, 190 gunners)
*
XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to:
* 12th Army Corps (France)
* XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army
* XII ...
: General of Division
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers (13 August 1764 – 6 January 1813) was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France, and the father-in ...
(7,777 infantry, 259 cavalry, 6 guns, 279 gunners)
** 2nd Division: General of Division
Philippe Eustache Louis Severoli (7,777 infantry, 259 cavalry)
* Cavalry Reserve: General of Division
Emmanuel Grouchy (5,371 cavalry, 12 guns)
** Light Cavalry Division: General of Division
Louis Pierre, Count Montbrun (1,516 cavalry, 6 guns)
** Light Cavalry Division: General of Brigade
Pierre David de Colbert-Chabanais
Pierre David Édouard de Colbert-Chabanais (Paris, 18 October 1774 – 1853) was a general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, noted for his unbreakable loyalty to Napoleon.
Life
Revolution
Born into a noble family descended ...
(1,771 cavalry, 6 guns)
*** 9th Hussar Regiment, three squadrons
*** 7th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, three squadrons
*** 20th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment, three squadrons
** Dragoon Division: General of Brigade François Guèrin d'Etoquigny (2,084 cavalry, 6 guns)
* Reserve: Eugène
** 1st Division: General of Division
Michel Marie Pacthod (4,937 infantry, 6 guns, 229 gunners)
** Light Cavalry Division: General of Division
Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc (1,280 cavalry)
** Dragoon Division: General of Division Charles Joseph Randon de Malboissière de Pully (1,470 cavalry)
** Italian Guard: General of Division
Teodoro Lechi
Teodoro Lechi (Brescia, 16 January 1778 – Milan, 2 May 1866) was an Italian people, Italian general, a Jacobin (politics), Jacobin and a military advisor to King Charles Albert of Sardinia, Carlo Alberto of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia. He was ...
(1,328 infantry, 671 cavalry, 6 guns, 439 gunners)
* Detached:
** Division: General of Division
Jacques Lauriston
Jacques Alexandre Bernard Law, marquis de Lauriston (1 February 1768 – 12 June 1828) was a French soldier and diplomat of Scottish descent, and a general officer in the French Army during the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Pondicherry in Fren ...
Epstein identifies the units in Lauriston's division as the Baden brigade and Colbert's cavalry brigade. Colbert was detached to Grouchy's wing.
*** Baden Brigade: Colonel Nevenstein (5,494) Bowden lists this brigade in the Eckmuhl order of battle. Its composition and strength may have changed between April and July.
**** Leib Regiment ''Grossherzog'', two battalions
**** Regiment ''Erb Grossherzog'', two battalions
**** Regiment ''Hochberg'', two battalions
**** Jaeger Battalion ''Lingg''
Austro-Hungarian Army
* Army of Inner Austria:
General der Kavallerie General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...
Archduke John of Austria and
Feldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several L ...
Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary
Archduke Joseph Anton Johann of Austria (, , 9 March 1776 – 13 January 1847) was the 103rd and penultimate palatine of Hungary who served for more than 50 years from 1796 to 1847, after he had been appointed governor in 1795.
The latter half ...
(35,525, 30 guns)
** Left Flank:
Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...
Daniel Mécsery (5,947 cavalry, 3 guns)
*** Hussar Brigade:
Oberst
''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
Johann Gosztonyi (602 regular and 1,740 insurrections cavalry)
*** Hussar Brigade:
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 ...
Johann Andrássy (739 regular and 1,442 insurrections cavalry)
*** Hussar Brigade: Feldmarscall-Leutnant Andreas Hadik (1,424 insurrections cav)
** Center: Feldmarscall-Leutnant
Hieronymus Colloredo-Mansfeld
Hieronymus, in English pronounced or , is the Latin form of the Ancient Greek name (Hierṓnymos), meaning "with a sacred name". It corresponds to the English given name Jerome.
Variants
* Albanian: Jeronimi
* Arabic: جيروم (Jerome)
* Basq ...
(7,778 infantry, 6 guns) ''Colloredo-Mansfeld'' indicates that Colloredo was promoted to FML only after Raab.
*** Brigade: General-major Franz Marziani (747 regular, 967 landwehr and 1,400 insurrections infantry)
*** Brigade: General-major Peter Lutz (3,186 regular and 1,478 landwehr infantry)
** Right Flank: Feldmarscall-Leutnant
Franjo Jelačić (7,517 infantry, 6 guns)
*** Brigade: General-major Ignaz Legisfeld (1,527 landwehr infantry)
*** Brigade: Oberst Ludwig Eckhardt (1,152 regular and 1,700 insurrections infantry)
*** Brigade: General-major Ignaz Sebottendorf (2,015 regular and 1,123 landwehr infantry)
** Right Flank Cavalry: (1,546 cavalry)
*** Cavalry Brigade: Oberst Emerich Bésán (885 regular and 661 insurrections cavalry)
** Reserve: Feldmarscall-Leutnant Johann Frimont (7,863 infantry, 12 guns)
*** Brigade: General-major Anton Gajoli (2,579 regular and 517 landwehr infantry)
*** Brigade: General-major Johann Kleinmeyer (2,505 regular and 1,671 grenadier infantry)
*** Brigade: General-major Konstantin Ettingshausen (591 regular infantry)
** North of the Raab River:
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 ...
Paul Davidovich (3,980, 3 guns)
*** Brigade: General-major
Joseph, Baron von Mesko de Felsö-Kubiny
Joseph de Mesko, Freiherr von Felsö-Kubiny ( hu, Felsőkubinyi báró Meskó József) was a General of the cavalry (Austria), cavalry general and lieutenant-general ( hu, altábornagy) in Habsburg service during the French Revolutionary Wars, Fre ...
(3,500 insurrections infantry, 480 insurrections cavalry)
Plans
Though John's 35,000-man army was only a little less numerous than Eugène's 40,000 soldiers, the quality of his soldiers was markedly inferior. Many thousands of the Habsburg troops were poorly trained Austrian landwehr (19,000 men) and Hungarian insurrection militia (16,000 men). The archduke knew this and planned to fight a defensive battle in a strong position.
Feldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several L ...
Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary
Archduke Joseph Anton Johann of Austria (, , 9 March 1776 – 13 January 1847) was the 103rd and penultimate palatine of Hungary who served for more than 50 years from 1796 to 1847, after he had been appointed governor in 1795.
The latter half ...
outranked John and was present on the field, but John exercised effective command of the army.
John drew up his army behind the Pándzsa stream, facing generally west. The Pándzsa ran roughly from south to north across his front, emptying into the
Raab River to the north. In the vicinity of the battlefield, the Raab ran from west to east, protecting John's north flank. The fortress of Győr was on the south side of the river a short distance to the northeast. John hoped the marshy banks of the Páncza to the south would discourage a French envelopment from that direction. The enclosed and stoutly-built Kis-Megyer farm stood on the east bank of the Páncza. Just east of Kis-Megyer farm rose Szabadhegy hill. On the hill's north side lay Szabadhegy hamlet.
John deployed FML Mécsery's 5,947 cavalry to defend his left flank behind the Pándzsa. He turned Kis-Megyer into a major strongpoint by packing FML Colloredo's 7,778 infantry into the farm and its environs. Jelačić's 7,517 soldiers defended the right flank in front of Szabadhegy hamlet. FML Frimont's 7,863-man reserve stood on Szabadhegy hill. Oberst Bésán's 1,546 horsemen held the ground between Jelačić's right and the Raab River. FZM Davidovich held some field works on the north side of the river with about 4,000 Hungarian militia.
Eugène took MG Grouchy from his corps command and reassigned him to command the 5,371 troopers in the cavalry divisions of MG Montbrun, BG Guèrin, and BG Colbert. These were posted on the right (south) flank with the intention of turning John's left flank. Eugène ordered Grenier to assault the Austrian center with the 15,662 men of his two divisions. MG d'Hilliers was instructed to attack the Austrian right with his single division of 8,315 soldiers. Eugène held the troops from Grouchy's corps in reserve, MG Pacthod's 5,166-foot soldiers and MG Sahuc's 1,280 cavalry. He also kept back MG Pully's 1,470 dragoons and MG Lechi's 2,438 Italian Guards.
Fighting
In the first rush, MG Durutte's troops stormed across the Pándzsa and seized Kis-Megyer farm, but the Austrians quickly took it back. In bitter fighting, the farm changed hands five times. Finally, John committed GM Kleinmeyer's powerful brigade. Four grenadier battalions and the soldiers of the ''
Alvinczi'' Infantry Regiment # 19 pushed back MG Seras' troops, then fell upon Durutte's division near the farm. Meanwhile, MG Severoli's division pushed back Jelačić and took part of Szabadhegy hamlet. John sent GM Gajoli's brigade from the reserve to deal with this threat. The Austrian counterattack succeeded in panicking the soldiers of Grenier and d'Hilliers. They abandoned their gains and ran back to the west side of the Pándzsa and safety.
Deducing that the three Austrian cannon defended the best crossing point over the Pándzsa, Grouchy ordered up his 12 guns. French cannon fire soon silenced the opposing artillery pieces, allowing Grouchy's horsemen to begin fording the stream. When the French cavalry charged, covered by a cannonade, the Insurrections Hussars soon took flight. Only the ''
Ott'' Hussar Regiment # 7 and the ''
Archduke Joseph'' Hussar Regiment # 2 put up serious resistance and both units suffered heavy losses. Grouchy wheeled his troopers to the left to roll up John's left flank.
Faced with a crisis, John redeployed his units in an L-shaped line. His right flank still ran along the Pándzsa, but at Kis-Megyer farm, the line bent to face south along the Szabadhegy hill. John sent Bésán's horsemen from the right flank to cover the new left flank on the east side of Szabadhegy hill. For his second assault, Eugène sent in Pacthod's division and Lechi's Italian Guards from his reserve. The second infantry attack slowly made headway. Finally, the Italian Guard cleared Kis-Megyer farm. John, fearing envelopment from Grouchy's cavalry, ordered a retreat northeast into Győr fortress.
Results
The Franco-Italians suffered 3,000–4,000 killed and wounded. The Austrian regulars and ''Landwehr'' lost 747 killed, 1,758 wounded, and 2,408 captured for a total of 4,913 casualties. There were also 1,322 soldiers reported missing, giving a total of 6,235 men subtracted from John's army. The insurrection troops lost in excess of 4,100, of which 80% were missing. Total Austrian losses came to 10,300. John's army retreated northeast to
Komárno
Komárno, ( hu, Komárom, german: Komorn, sr, Коморан, translit=Komoran), colloquially also called ''Révkomárom, Öregkomárom, Észak-Komárom'' in Hungarian; is a town in Slovakia at the confluence of the Danube and the Váh rivers. ...
, leaving a garrison in Győr. The fortress surrendered on 22 June with 2,500 soldiers after a weak resistance.
One historian writes,
Archduke John now reaped the dubious fruits of his incredibly ill-advised policy of breaking up his army after the Battle of Piave River. This defeat foiled any hopes that Archduke John would be able to bring any significant forces to help in the epic struggle against Napoleon at Wagram on 5 and 6 July.
Eugène soon joined Napoleon with 23,000 soldiers. While these men fought at the
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
, John was only able to bring 12,000 men to that field and he intervened too late to have any effect.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
Battle of Sacile
The Battle of Sacile (also known as the Battle of Fontana Fredda) on 16 April 1809 and its companion Clash at Pordenone on 15 April saw an Austrian army commanded by Archduke John of Austria defeat a Franco-Italian army led by Eugène de Beauh ...
16 April 1809
*
Battle of Piave River 8 May 1809
*
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...
5–6 July 1809
*
French Wikipedia List of French Generals 1792-1815
External links
La bataille*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raab, Battle Of
Battles of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles involving Austria
Battles involving France
Battles involving Hungary
1809 in the Austrian Empire
1809 in France
Battles involving the Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
June 1809 events
Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe