Battle of Sankt Michael
Encyclopedia
In the Battle of Sankt Michael (or Sankt Michael-Leoben) on 25 May 1809, Paul Grenier
's French
corps crushed Franz Jellacic
's Austrian
division at Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark
, Austria
. The action occurred after the initial French victories during the War of the Fifth Coalition
, part of the Napoleonic Wars
. Sankt Michael is located approximately 140 kilometers southwest of Vienna
.
Originally part of the Danube
army of Archduke Charles
, Jellacic's division was detached to the south before the Battle of Eckmühl
and later ordered to join the army of Archduke John at Graz
. As it retreated southeast toward Graz, Jellacic's division passed across the front of
Eugène de Beauharnais
' Army of Italy, which was advancing northeast in pursuit of Archduke John. When he learned of Jellacic's presence, Eugène sent Grenier with two divisions to intercept the Austrian column.
Grenier's lead division duly intercepted Jellacic's force and attacked. Though the Austrians were able to hold off the French at first, they were unable to get away. The second French division's arrival secured a clear numerical superiority over Jellacic, who was critically short of cavalry and artillery. Grenier's subsequent French assault broke the Austrian lines and captured thousands of prisoners. When Jellacic joined John it was with only a fraction of his original force.
beat Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller
at the battles of Abensberg
and Landshut
on 20 and 21 April. The following day, Napoleon defeated Generalissimo
Archduke Charles at the Battle of Eckmühl
, forcing him to retreat through Regensberg
(Ratisbon) to the Danube's north bank with the main army. On the south bank, Hiller fell back to the east with his own VI Armeekorps, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Louis'
V Armeekorps, and Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michael von Kienmayer
's II Reserve Armeekorps, pursued by Marshal
André Masséna
.
At the beginning of the 1809 war, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Jellacic's division formed part of VI Armeekorps and consisted of two brigades of line infantry under Generals-Major
Konstantin Ettingshausen and Josef Hoffmeister von Hoffeneck. However, when Bavaria was invaded, Archduke Charles detached Jellacic to advance from Salzburg
and occupy Munich
on the extreme south flank. To better perform this mission, Hoffmeister's brigade was exchanged for General-Major Karl Dollmayer von Provenchères' cavalry-infantry brigade from the corps light division. After the Austrian retreat began, Jellacic was ordered to fall back on Salzburg. Accordingly, elements of his command began assembling in Salzburg beginning on 29 April. Believing cavalry was of little use in the mountains, Jellacic sent Provenchères toward Vienna on 1 May with the O'Reilly Chevauxlegers # 3. Hiller fought the Battle of Ebersberg
on 3 May, then crossed to the north bank of the Danube on 11 May. On 4 and 5 May, Jellacic fought a successful rearguard action at Lueg Pass, 40 km south of Salzburg. In the clash, a few hundred Hungarian regulars and Grenz infantry
repulsed a brigade of pursuing Bavarians
under the overall command of Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre
.
In Italy, General of Cavalry Archduke John defeated Viceroy
Eugène at the Battle of Sacile
on 16 April. Eugène fell back to Verona
where he gathered reinforcements until he was superior in numbers to his Austrian opponent. After hearing news that Archduke Charles was in retreat, John withdrew from his Adige River defenses on 1 May.
On 8 May, Eugène and John fought the Battle of Piave River
and the Austrian retreat continued. John split his army, sending Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz Gyulai
along a southerly route to Ljubljana
(Laybach), while taking his attenuated main body northeast to Villach
. Sending General of Division Jacques MacDonald and 20,000 soldiers after Gyulai, Eugène followed John with 25,000 troops. As John's columns slipped away toward Klagenfurt
and Graz
, Eugene entered Villach on 20 May.
On 15 May, Jellacic held Salzburg with 10,200 troops and 16 artillery pieces of the Northern Division. His force included 2,880 poorly-trained Landwehr
and only 60 cavalrymen. After receiving orders from Archduke John to join him at Graz, Jellacic evacuated Salzburg on 19 May. By this time his isolation had become dangerous. Eugène at Villach was only 130 km from Graz, while Jellacic at Salzburg was 200 km distant from Graz.Airline distances measured from Google Earth.
, 16 km northwest of Sankt Michael on the Mur River and 60 km northwest of Archduke John at Graz. At the same time, Eugène's main body reached Judenburg
on the Mur, 33 km southwest of Sankt Michael, with elements only 20 km away. For his part, Archduke John warned Jellacic that Eugene was heading for Bruck an der Mur
, 40 km north of Graz. The axes of advance for both Eugene and Jellacic intersected at Sankt Michael. At about this time, Eugene became aware of Jellacic's presence and ordered General of Division Grenier to force-march the two nearest divisions, those of Generals of Division Jean Mathieu Seras and Pierre François Joseph Durutte
, to the northeast and intercept the Austrians. At some point, Jellacic sent away the bulk of the Salzburger Landwehr and most of his artillery, retaining only four cannons.
Jellacic's advance guard arrived at Sankt Michael on the morning of 25 May, and by 9:00 am the bulk of his division had reached a location just to the north. However, Grenier's advance elements soon appeared to the southwest. Jellacic sent his 60 horsemen and General-Major Ignaz Legisfeld's light brigade to hold off the French on a ridge just west of the town. At 10:00 am, Seras attacked Legisfeld's line but his troops were driven back. Seras kept up the pressure and soon the Austrian division commander brought Ettinghausen's brigade of approximately 5,000 soldiers into action. Jellacic anchored his left flank on the Mur and planted his right flank in the hills to the north. Durutte's division arrived in the afternoon, giving Grenier a superiority of about 15,000 to 8,000. Another authority gives the French numerical advantage as 12,000 to 9,000 troops.
Grenier prepared a two-division assault. He placed General of Brigade Louis Gareau's brigade of Seras in the first line. General of Brigade François Valentin of Durutte's division stood in the second line. Seras' second brigade under General of Brigade Roussel was sent through the hills to envelop Jellacic's right flank and cut the road leading back to Mautern. Durutte's remaining brigade, led by General of Brigade Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix
, was held in reserve by Grenier. The French commander also sent two battalions of the 62nd Line Infantry Regiment along the south bank of the Mur to turn the Austrian left flank.
With only one landwehr and one Grenzer battalion to face Roussel's envelopment, Jellacic withdrew one battalion of the Esterhazy Infantry Regiment # 32 from the center to shore up his right flank. Other troops had to be sent to face the threat from the 62nd Line. At 4:00 pm, Grenier's assault smashed the weakened Austrian center. Roussel also broke through on the flank to cut the road to the north. The Austrian fled in rout to the northeast along the Mur valley, closely pursued by the French. Grenier harried his beaten foes through Leoben, 7 km northeast, and Bruck an der Mur, 20 km northeast. At Bruck, Jellacic's survivors turned south, following the Mur valley to Graz. Only 2,000 of Jellacic's troops reached Graz the next day.
blames the disaster on Jellacic remaining in Salzburg too long and his error in sending away most of his cavalry and artillery. Austrian army historian Gunther E. Rothenberg
calls Jellacic, "a remarkably unlucky and inept general." Archduke John retreated first to Körmend
then to Győr
, pursued by Eugène. The main French and Austrian armies fought the Battle of Raab
on 14 June.
Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 campaign in the Electorate of Bavaria he was a wing commander...
's French
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
corps crushed Franz Jellacic
Franz Jellacic
Baron Franjo Jelačić Bužimski , born 14 April 1746 – died 4 February 1810, was a Croatian nobleman, a member of the House of Jelačić...
's Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
division at Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark
Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark
Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark is a municipality in the district of Leoben in Styria, Austria.-References:...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The action occurred after the initial French victories during the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
, part of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Sankt Michael is located approximately 140 kilometers southwest of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Originally part of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
army of Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
, Jellacic's division was detached to the south before the Battle of Eckmühl
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition...
and later ordered to join the army of Archduke John at Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
. As it retreated southeast toward Graz, Jellacic's division passed across the front of
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
' Army of Italy, which was advancing northeast in pursuit of Archduke John. When he learned of Jellacic's presence, Eugène sent Grenier with two divisions to intercept the Austrian column.
Grenier's lead division duly intercepted Jellacic's force and attacked. Though the Austrians were able to hold off the French at first, they were unable to get away. The second French division's arrival secured a clear numerical superiority over Jellacic, who was critically short of cavalry and artillery. Grenier's subsequent French assault broke the Austrian lines and captured thousands of prisoners. When Jellacic joined John it was with only a fraction of his original force.
Background
In the opening encounters of the 1809 war between France and Austria, Emperor NapoleonNapoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
beat Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller
Johann von Hiller
Johann Baron von Hiller, June 10, 1754 – June 5, 1819, was an Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
at the battles of Abensberg
Battle of Abensberg
The Battle of Abensberg took place on 20 April 1809, between a Franco-German force under the command of Emperor Napoleon I of France and a reinforced Austrian corps led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Louis of Austria. As the day wore on, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller arrived with...
and Landshut
Battle of Landshut (1809)
The Battle of Landshut took place on April 21, 1809, between the French, Württembergers and Bavarians under Napoleon which numbered about 77,000 strong, and 36,000 Austrians under the General Johann von Hiller...
on 20 and 21 April. The following day, Napoleon defeated Generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
Archduke Charles at the Battle of Eckmühl
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition...
, forcing him to retreat through Regensberg
Regensberg
Regensberg is a municipality in the district of Dielsdorf in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland. It is located just to the west of Dielsdorf, on a ridge of the Lägern .-History:...
(Ratisbon) to the Danube's north bank with the main army. On the south bank, Hiller fell back to the east with his own VI Armeekorps, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Louis'
Archduke Louis of Austria
right|thumb|Archduke LouisArchduke Louis Joseph Anton Johann, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia and Prince of Tuscany , was the 14th child of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, King of Hungary and Bohemia, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain.Archduke...
V Armeekorps, and Feldmarschall-Leutnant Michael von Kienmayer
Michael von Kienmayer
Michael von Kienmayer was an Austrian general who was active during the Napoleonic Wars.von Kienmayer joined the army of Habsburg Austria and fought against the Kingdom of Prussia and Ottoman Turkey. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he continued to make his reputation in the cavalry and...
's II Reserve Armeekorps, pursued by Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
.
At the beginning of the 1809 war, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Jellacic's division formed part of VI Armeekorps and consisted of two brigades of line infantry under Generals-Major
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Konstantin Ettingshausen and Josef Hoffmeister von Hoffeneck. However, when Bavaria was invaded, Archduke Charles detached Jellacic to advance from Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and occupy Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on the extreme south flank. To better perform this mission, Hoffmeister's brigade was exchanged for General-Major Karl Dollmayer von Provenchères' cavalry-infantry brigade from the corps light division. After the Austrian retreat began, Jellacic was ordered to fall back on Salzburg. Accordingly, elements of his command began assembling in Salzburg beginning on 29 April. Believing cavalry was of little use in the mountains, Jellacic sent Provenchères toward Vienna on 1 May with the O'Reilly Chevauxlegers # 3. Hiller fought the Battle of Ebersberg
Battle of Ebersberg
The Battle of Ebelsberg, known in French accounts as the Battle of Ebersberg, was fought on 3 May 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. The Austrian left wing under the command of Johann von Hiller took up positions at Ebersberg on the Traun river...
on 3 May, then crossed to the north bank of the Danube on 11 May. On 4 and 5 May, Jellacic fought a successful rearguard action at Lueg Pass, 40 km south of Salzburg. In the clash, a few hundred Hungarian regulars and Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry or Grenzers were light infantry troops who came from the Croatian and Transylvanian Military Frontier in Habsburg Monarchy . This borderland formed a buffer zone between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, and the troops were originally raised to defend Austria against the...
repulsed a brigade of pursuing Bavarians
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
under the overall command of Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre, First 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....
.
In Italy, General of Cavalry Archduke John defeated Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
Eugène at the Battle of Sacile
Battle of Sacile
The Battle of Sacile 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 Beauharnais and force it to retreat. Sacile proved to be the most notable victory of John's career...
on 16 April. Eugène fell back to Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
where he gathered reinforcements until he was superior in numbers to his Austrian opponent. After hearing news that Archduke Charles was in retreat, John withdrew from his Adige River defenses on 1 May.
On 8 May, Eugène and John fought the Battle of Piave River
Battle of Piave River (1809)
The Battle of Piave River was fought on 8 May 1809 between the Franco-Italian army under the command of Eugène de Beauharnais and an Austrian army led by Archduke John of Austria. The Austrian commander made a stand behind the Piave River but he suffered a defeat at the hands of his numerically...
and the Austrian retreat continued. John split his army, sending Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai von Máros-Nemeth und Nádaska, Ignácz Gyulay, Ignác Gyulay, or Ignjat Đulaj born 11 September 1763 – died 11 November 1831, joined the army of Habsburg Austria, fought against Ottoman Turkey, and became a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. From 1806 he held the...
along a southerly route to Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
(Laybach), while taking his attenuated main body northeast to Villach
Villach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...
. Sending General of Division Jacques MacDonald and 20,000 soldiers after Gyulai, Eugène followed John with 25,000 troops. As John's columns slipped away toward Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
and Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Eugene entered Villach on 20 May.
On 15 May, Jellacic held Salzburg with 10,200 troops and 16 artillery pieces of the Northern Division. His force included 2,880 poorly-trained Landwehr
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 fortifications...
and only 60 cavalrymen. After receiving orders from Archduke John to join him at Graz, Jellacic evacuated Salzburg on 19 May. By this time his isolation had become dangerous. Eugène at Villach was only 130 km from Graz, while Jellacic at Salzburg was 200 km distant from Graz.Airline distances measured from Google Earth.
French order of battle
- Corps: General of Division Paul GrenierPaul GrenierPaul Grenier joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 campaign in the Electorate of Bavaria he was a wing commander...
- Artillery: One 6-pdr foot battery, one 4-pdr horse battery
- Division: General of Division Pierre François Joseph DuruttePierre François Joseph DuruttePierre François Joseph Durutte joined the French army at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. Rapidly promoted for feats of bravery under fire at Jemappes in 1792 and Hondschoote in 1793, he found himself appointed to serve as a staff officer...
- Brigade: General of Brigade François Valentin
- 22nd Light IR (2 bns), 23rd Light IR (4 bns)
- Brigade: General of Brigade Joseph Marie, Count DessaixJoseph Marie, Count DessaixJoseph Marie, Count Dessaix was a French general.He was born at Thonon in Savoy...
- 62nd Line IR (4 bns), 102nd Line IR (3 bns)
- Attached: 6th Chasseurs à cheval Regiment (4 sqns)
- Brigade: General of Brigade François Valentin
- Division: General of Division Jean Mathieu Seras
- Brigade: General of Brigade Roussel
- 1st Light IR (1 bn), 53rd Line IR (4 bns)
- Brigade: General of Brigade Louis Gareau
- 35th Line IR (1 bn), 42nd Line IR (1 bn), 106th Line IR (4 bns)
- Attached: 9th Chasseurs à cheval Regiment (4 sqns)
- Brigade: General of Brigade Roussel
Austrian order of battle
- Northern Division: Feldmarschall-Leutnant Franz JellacicFranz JellacicBaron Franjo Jelačić Bužimski , born 14 April 1746 – died 4 February 1810, was a Croatian nobleman, a member of the House of Jelačić...
- Brigade: General-MajorBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Konstantin Ettinghausen- Esterhazy IR # 32 (3 bns, 2,700)
- De Vaux IR # 45 (2 bns, 2,160)
- Brigade: General-Major Ignaz Legisfeld
- Warasdiner-Kreutzer Grenz IR # 5 (2 bns, 2,160)
- Reuss-Greiz IR # 55 (1 bn)
- Archduke Charles IR # 3 (½ bn)
- Attached:
- Salzburger Landwehr (1 bn, 720)
- O'Reilly Chevaulegers # 3 (1 sqn, 60 troopers)
- 3-pdr brigade half-battery (4 cannons)
- Brigade: General-Major
Key
- bn, bns = Infantry battalion, battalions
- sqn, sqns = Cavalry squadron, squadrons
- IR = Infantry Regiment
- 3-pdr = Three-pounders were light cannons
- 4-pdr = Four-pounders were light cannons. French batteries included two 6-pouce (inch) howitzers.
- 6-pdr = Six-pounders were medium cannons. French batteries included two 6-inch howitzers.
Action
On the evening of 23 May, Jellacic's column marched into Mautern in SteiermarkMautern in Steiermark
Mautern in Steiermark is a municipality in the district of Leoben in Styria, Austria....
, 16 km northwest of Sankt Michael on the Mur River and 60 km northwest of Archduke John at Graz. At the same time, Eugène's main body reached Judenburg
Judenburg
- People :* Renate Götschl* Egon Haar * Herbert Hufnagl, journalist * Gernot Jurtin* Christian Muthspiel, jazz musician, painter* Kurt Muthspiel, composer * Wolfgang Muthspiel* Christian Pfannberger* Walter Pfrimer* Georg Pichler...
on the Mur, 33 km southwest of Sankt Michael, with elements only 20 km away. For his part, Archduke John warned Jellacic that Eugene was heading for Bruck an der Mur
Bruck an der Mur
Bruck an der Mur is a city of some 13,500 people located in the Austrian state of Styria. It is located at the confluence of the Mur and Mürz Rivers. Its manufactures include metal products and paper; Bruck is an important rail junction in the region located on the Graz to Vienna main...
, 40 km north of Graz. The axes of advance for both Eugene and Jellacic intersected at Sankt Michael. At about this time, Eugene became aware of Jellacic's presence and ordered General of Division Grenier to force-march the two nearest divisions, those of Generals of Division Jean Mathieu Seras and Pierre François Joseph Durutte
Pierre François Joseph Durutte
Pierre François Joseph Durutte joined the French army at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. Rapidly promoted for feats of bravery under fire at Jemappes in 1792 and Hondschoote in 1793, he found himself appointed to serve as a staff officer...
, to the northeast and intercept the Austrians. At some point, Jellacic sent away the bulk of the Salzburger Landwehr and most of his artillery, retaining only four cannons.
Jellacic's advance guard arrived at Sankt Michael on the morning of 25 May, and by 9:00 am the bulk of his division had reached a location just to the north. However, Grenier's advance elements soon appeared to the southwest. Jellacic sent his 60 horsemen and General-Major Ignaz Legisfeld's light brigade to hold off the French on a ridge just west of the town. At 10:00 am, Seras attacked Legisfeld's line but his troops were driven back. Seras kept up the pressure and soon the Austrian division commander brought Ettinghausen's brigade of approximately 5,000 soldiers into action. Jellacic anchored his left flank on the Mur and planted his right flank in the hills to the north. Durutte's division arrived in the afternoon, giving Grenier a superiority of about 15,000 to 8,000. Another authority gives the French numerical advantage as 12,000 to 9,000 troops.
Grenier prepared a two-division assault. He placed General of Brigade Louis Gareau's brigade of Seras in the first line. General of Brigade François Valentin of Durutte's division stood in the second line. Seras' second brigade under General of Brigade Roussel was sent through the hills to envelop Jellacic's right flank and cut the road leading back to Mautern. Durutte's remaining brigade, led by General of Brigade Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix
Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix
Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix was a French general.He was born at Thonon in Savoy...
, was held in reserve by Grenier. The French commander also sent two battalions of the 62nd Line Infantry Regiment along the south bank of the Mur to turn the Austrian left flank.
With only one landwehr and one Grenzer battalion to face Roussel's envelopment, Jellacic withdrew one battalion of the Esterhazy Infantry Regiment # 32 from the center to shore up his right flank. Other troops had to be sent to face the threat from the 62nd Line. At 4:00 pm, Grenier's assault smashed the weakened Austrian center. Roussel also broke through on the flank to cut the road to the north. The Austrian fled in rout to the northeast along the Mur valley, closely pursued by the French. Grenier harried his beaten foes through Leoben, 7 km northeast, and Bruck an der Mur, 20 km northeast. At Bruck, Jellacic's survivors turned south, following the Mur valley to Graz. Only 2,000 of Jellacic's troops reached Graz the next day.
Result
Grenier wrecked the Northern Division. Instead of providing a substantial reinforcement to Archduke John, Jellacic brought in less than one-third of his command. The Austrians suffered 423 dead, 1,137 wounded, 4,963 captured, and 50 missing. French losses numbered 200 killed, 400 wounded, and 70 captured. Historian Digby SmithDigby Smith
Digby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
blames the disaster on Jellacic remaining in Salzburg too long and his error in sending away most of his cavalry and artillery. Austrian army historian Gunther E. Rothenberg
Gunther E. Rothenberg
Gunther E. Rothenberg was an internationally known military historian. Although widely known for his books and journal articles on the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, Rothenberg also had a fifteen-year military career, serving in the British Army, the Haganah, and the United...
calls Jellacic, "a remarkably unlucky and inept general." Archduke John retreated first to Körmend
Körmend
-Places of interest:The town is especially well known for its castle which used to belong to the Batthyany family, one of the most important aristocrat families of Hungary. Blessed Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann , a famous ophthalmologist who was beatified by the Catholic Church, lived in the...
then to Győr
Gyor
-Climate:-Main sights:The ancient core of the city is Káptalan Hill at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Rába and Rábca. Püspökvár, the residence of Győr’s bishops can be easily recognised by its incomplete tower. Győr’s oldest buildings are the 13th-century dwelling tower and the...
, pursued by Eugène. The main French and Austrian armies fought the Battle of Raab
Battle of Raab
The Battle of Raab was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Austrian-Hungarian forces. The battle was fought near Győr in Hungary and ended in a Franco-Italian victory...
on 14 June.
Printed materials
- Arnold, James R. Crisis on the Danube. New York: Paragon House, 1990. ISBN 1-55778-137-0
- Bowden, Scotty & Tarbox, Charlie. Armies on the Danube 1809. Arlington, Texas: Empire Games Press, 1980.
- Chandler, David G.David G. ChandlerDavid G. Chandler was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Oxford University awarded him the D. Litt. in 1991...
The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966. - Petre, F. LoraineFrancis Loraine PetreFrancis Loraine Petre OBE was a British civil servant in India and a military historian upon his retirement. He wrote a two-volume regimental history of the Norfolk Regiment, but is best known for his works on the Napoleonic Wars. The grandson of the 11th Baron Petre, he was educated at Oscott...
. Napoleon and the Archduke Charles. New York: Hippocrene Books, (1909) 1976. - Rothenberg, Gunther E.Gunther E. RothenbergGunther E. Rothenberg was an internationally known military historian. Although widely known for his books and journal articles on the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, Rothenberg also had a fifteen-year military career, serving in the British Army, the Haganah, and the United...
Napoleon's Great Adversaries, The Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army, 1792–1814. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1982 ISBN 0-253-33969-3 - Schneid, Frederick C. Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805–1815. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0-275-96875-8
- Smith, DigbyDigby SmithDigby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
External references
- French Wikipedia, Louis Gareau
- French Wikipedia, Liste des généraux de la Révolution et du Premier Empire