Battle of Höchstädt

{{Campaignbox War of the Spanish Succession}} The '''first Battle of Höchstädt''' was fought on 20 September 1703, near [[Höchstädt an der Donau|Höchstädt]] in [[Bavaria]], and resulted in a [[France|French]]-[[Bavaria]]n victory under Marshal [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Villars]] against the [[Austria]]ns under General [[Hermann Otto II of Limburg Stirum|Limburg Styrum]]. ==Prelude== On 5 September, the main force of the Imperial Army under [[Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden]] had taken the free city of [[Augsburg]], threatening Bavaria from the west. Louis of Baden had left a force of 16,000 men under Styrum north of the Danube river, which moved east and reached Höchstädt on 19 September. Villars and [[Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria]] moved their army of 17,000 to intercept this force, ordering another French force of 7,000 men under d'Usson near [[Dillingen an der Donau|Dillingen]] to attack from the rear. ==The battle== This plan almost failed as d'Usson attacked too soon and his army, inferior in numbers, was pushed back by Styrum. But Villars and Maximilian Emanuel arrived just in time, falling upon the Imperial army, before it could adjust its positions. It was only thanks to the tremendous resistance of the rearguard under [[Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau]] that Styrum could save his army and reach [[Nordlingen]]. The Austrians lost 5,000 men, mostly prisoners, 37 cannons and the entire army train. The French and Bavarians lost 1,000 men. A year later, the [[Second Battle of Höchstädt]] was fought, known in English mainly as [[Battle of Blenheim]]. ==External links== * [http://www.datenmatrix.de/projekte/hdbg/karten/index_extern.shtml Maps of the battle] {{de icon}} {{coord missing|Germany}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2011}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hochstadt 1703, Battle Of}}