The Battle of Friedberg was fought on 24 August 1796 between a

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

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 Austria The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as: * The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria * The ''Erbland ...

n 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, which was advancing eastward on the south side 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 , pa ...

, managed to catch an isolated Austrian infantry regiment. In the ensuing combat, the Austrians were cut to pieces. Friedberg is a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n town located on the

Lech River The Lech (, ''Licca'') is a river in Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube in length with a drainage basin of . Its average discharge at the mouth is . Its source is located in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, where the r ...

near

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. The action was fought 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 ...

. Two French armies crossed the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and thrust east into Germany in the Rhine Campaign of 1796.

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 ...

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 wing ...

advanced on a more northerly route while Moreau's

Army of Rhin-et-Moselle The Army of the Rhine and Moselle (french: Armée de Rhin-et-Moselle) was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle. The ...

took a more southerly path. Opposing them were

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 ...

's Army of the Lower Rhine and Latour's Army of the Upper Rhine, both under the overall direction of

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 ...

. Moreau defeated Charles at the battles of

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...

on 9 July and

Neresheim Neresheim is a town in the Ostalbkreis district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated northeast of Heidenheim, and southeast of Aalen. It's the home of the Neresheim Abbey, which still hosts monks, was '' Reichsfrei'' until the Germa ...

on 11 August. As the outnumbered Austrians retreated, Charles looked for a chance to throw a superior force against one of the French armies. That opportunity came in late August when a cavalry brigadier

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 ...

reported an opening. Leaving Latour's army severely weakened, the archduke rapidly marched north with 27,000 troops to join with Wartensleben in defeating Jourdan 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. Unaware of Charles' maneuver, Moreau forged ahead and smashed the isolated ''Schröder'' Infantry Regiment Nr. 7 at Friedberg. Unfortunately for Moreau, Jourdan's drubbing at Amberg and a second defeat at

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 is ...

ruined the French offensive. By the beginning of September, the increasingly isolated Moreau was compelled to retrace his steps toward France.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedberg, 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 Bavaria Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe