Battle of Ostrach
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Ostrach, also called the Battle by Ostrach, occurred on 20–21 March 1799. It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...

. The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces, under the command 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...

, over the French forces, commanded by Jean Baptiste Jourdan.

The battle occurred during Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...

, 1799, amid rain and dense fog. Initially, the French were able to take, and hold, Ostrach
Ostrach
Ostrach is a municipality in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Ostrach lies between the Danube and Lake Constance, about halfway between Sigmaringen and Ravensburg. It lies on the brook of the same name, which passes through a narrow pass between the glacial...

 and the nearby hamlet of Hoßkirch
Hoßkirch
Hoßkrich is a town in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

 plus several strategic points on the Ostrach marsh. As the engagement began, Habsburg numerical superiority overwhelmed French defenses. By evening, the French left wing was flanked and Jourdan's men retreated from Ostrach to the Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf is a small historic city in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Its location is in the district of Sigmaringen, 25 km north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley and therefore on the continental divide between the watersheds of the...

 heights. On the next morning, as Jourdan considered a counter-attack, the weather broke, and he could look down on the Austrian battle array. The numbers and dispositions of the Austrians convinced him that any attack would be useless, and that he could not hope to maintain his position in the heights. As he withdrew, a portion of his right flank was cut off from the main force.

Although casualties appeared even on both sides, the Austrians had a significantly larger fighting force, both on the field at Ostrach, and stretched along a line between Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...

 and Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

. French casualties amounted to eight percent of the force and Austrian, approximately four percent. The French withdrew to Engen
Engen
Engen was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kemmu and before Kōkoku, lasting from February 1336 to April 1340...

 and Stockach
Stockach
Stockach is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Location:It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of Konstanz....

, where a few days later the armies engaged again, this time with greater losses on both sides, and a decisive Austrian victory
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...

.

Background

Initially, the rulers of Europe, such as Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...

, viewed the revolution in France as an event between the French king and his subjects, and not something in which they should interfere. As the rhetoric grew more strident, however, the other monarchies started to view events with alarm. In 1790, Leopold
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...

 succeeded his brother Joseph as emperor and by 1791, he considered the situation surrounding his sister, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....

, and her children, with greater and greater alarm. In August 1791, in consultation with French émigré nobles and Frederick William II
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...

 of Prussia, he issued the Declaration of Pilnitz, in which they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family. They threatened ambiguous, but quite serious, consequences if anything should happen to the royal family.

The French Republican position became increasingly difficult. Compounding problems in international relations, French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter-revolution abroad. Chief among them were the Prince Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of Prince du Sang.-Biography:...

, his son, the Duke de Bourbon
Louis Henry II, Prince of Condé
Louis Henri de Bourbon was the Prince of Condé from 1818 to his death.-Life:He was the only son of Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé and his wife, Charlotte de Rohan....

, and his grandson, the Duke d'Enghien
Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé, duc d'Enghien
Louis Antoine de Bourbon, was a relative of the Bourbon monarchs of France...

. From their base in Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

, immediately over the French border, they sought direct support for military intervention from the royal houses of Europe, and raised an army.

On 20 April 1792, the French National Convention declared war on Austria. In this War of the First Coalition (1792–1798), France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. Although the Coalition forces achieved several victories at Verdun
Battle of Verdun (1792)
The Battle of Verdun was fought on August 20, 1792 between French Revolutionary forces and a Prussian army. The Prussians were victorious. This therefore opened the path to Paris....

, Kaiserslautern
Battle of Kaiserslautern
The Battle of Kaiserslautern was a battle of the War of the First Coalition , fought near the German city of Kaiserslautern...

, Neerwinden
Battle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...

, Mainz
Battle of Mainz
The Battle of Mainz was fought on 29 October 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between France and Austria. The battle was fought near the city of Mainz now in western Germany and ended in an Austrian victory.-People involved:...

, Amberg and Würzburg
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of Habsburg Austria led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's forces, but they were resisted until the arrival of...

, the efforts of Napoleon Bonaparte in northern Italy pushed Austrian forces back and resulted in the negotiation of the Peace of Leoben (17 April 1797) and the subsequent Treaty of Campo Formio
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...

 (October 1797).

The treaty called for meetings between the involved parties to work out the exact territorial and remunerative details, to be convened at Rastatt
Second Congress of Rastatt
The Second Congress of Rastatt, which was opened in December 1797, was intended to rearrange the map of Germany by providing compensation for those princes whose lands on the left bank of the Rhine had been seized by France....

. The French demand for more territory than originally agreed upon stalled negotiations. Despite their agreement at Campo Formio and the ongoing meetings at Rastatt, the two primary combatants of the First Coalition, France and Austria, were highly suspicious of the other's motives. Several diplomatic incidents undermined the agreement. The Austrians were reluctant to cede the designated territories and the Rastatt delegates could not, or would not, orchestrate the transfer of agreed upon territories to compensate the German princes for their losses. Ferdinand of Naples
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...

 refused to pay tribute to France, followed by the Neapolitan rebellion, invasion by France, and the subsequent establishment of the Parthenopaean Republic
Parthenopaean Republic
The Parthenopean Republic was a French-supported republic in the territory of the Kingdom of Naples, formed during the French Revolutionary Wars after King Ferdinand IV fled before advancing French troops...

. Republican uprising in the Swiss cantons, encouraged by the French Republic with military support, led to the establishment of the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...

.

Other factors contributed to the rising tensions as well. On his way to Egypt in 1798, Napoleon had stopped on the Island of Malta and forcibly removed the Hospitallers
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 from their possessions. This angered Paul, Tsar of Russia
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...

, who was the honorary head of the Order. The French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...

, furthermore, was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war. Indeed, the weaker the French Republic seemed, the more seriously the Austrians, the Neopolitans, the Russians and the English actually discussed this possibility.

Prelude

Archduke Charles of Austria
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...

 had taken command of the army in late January. Although he was unhappy with the strategy set forward by his brother, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...

, he had acquiesced to the less ambitious plan to which Francis and the Aulic council
Aulic Council
The Aulic Council was originally an executive-judicial council for the Holy Roman Empire....

 had agreed: Austria would fight a defensive war and would maintain a continuous defensive line from the Danube to northern Italy. The archduke had stationed himself at Friedberg
Friedberg, Bavaria
Friedberg is a city in the district Aichach-Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany, with some 30,000 inhabitants. It is located next to Augsburg at the Lech river...

 for the winter, 4.7 miles (8 km) east-south-east of Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

. The army was already settled into cantonments in the environs of Augsburg, extending south along the Lech river.

As winter broke in 1799, on 1 March, General Jean Baptiste Jourdan and his army of 25,000, the so-called Army of the Danube
Army of the Danube
The Army of the Danube was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been observing Austrian movements on the border between First...

, crossed the Rhine at Kehl
Kehl
Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...

. Instructed to block the Austrians from access to the Swiss alpine passes, the Army of the Danube would ostensibly isolate the armies of the Coalition in Germany from allies in northern Italy, and prevent them from assisting one another; furthermore, if the French held the interior passes in Switzerland, they could use the routes to move their own forces between the two theaters. The Army of the Danube, meeting little resistance, advanced through the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....

 in three columns, through the Höllental (Hölle valley), via Oberkirch
Oberkirch (Baden)
Oberkirch is a town in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany about 12 km North-East of Offenburg and belongs to the Ortenaukreis district....

, and Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east ....

, and a fourth column advanced along the north shore of the Rhine. Although Jourdan might have been better advised to establish a position on the eastern slope of the mountains, he did not. Instead, he pushed across the Danube plain and took up position between Rottweil
Rottweil
Rottweil is a town in the south west of Germany and is the oldest town in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alb hills, Rottweil has about 25,000 inhabitants...

 and Tuttlingen
Tuttlingen
Tuttlingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Tuttlingen. Nendingen, Möhringen and Eßlingen are three former municipalities that belong to Tuttlingen...

, and eventually pushing toward the imperial city
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...

 of Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf
Pfullendorf is a small historic city in the district of Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-Geography:Its location is in the district of Sigmaringen, 25 km north of Lake Constance and south of the Danube valley and therefore on the continental divide between the watersheds of the...

 in Upper Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

.
News of the French advance across the Rhine took three days to reach Charles at Augsburg. The Austrian Vorhut (advance guard), 17,000 men under the command of Field marshal Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Friedrich Joseph of Nauendorf, a general and field marshal in Habsburg service during the French Revolutionary Wars, was noted for his intrepid and daring raids....

, crossed the Lech in three columns, the first at Babenhausen
Babenhausen
Babenhausen is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Gersprenz, 25 km southeast of Frankfurt, and 14 km west of Aschaffenburg. South of its general borders, the mountain range of the Odenwald is situated about 15 km away...

, marching in the direction of Biberach
Biberach, Baden
Biberach is a municipality in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

, the second, and strongest, at Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...

, marching in the direction of Waldsee, and the third at Leutkirch, heading in the direction of Ravensburg
Ravensburg
Ravensburg is a town in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg.Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an important trading centre...

. The main force of 53,000 men, under the command of the Archduke, crossed the Lech by Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

, Landsberg
Landsberg am Lech
Landsberg am Lech is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech....

 and Schongau
Schongau, Bavaria
Schongau is a small town in Bavaria, near the Alps. It is located along the Lech, between Landsberg am Lech and Füssen. It has about 12,000 inhabitants...

, and six battalions of 6,600 men crossed the Danube at Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...

. An additional force of 13,000 troops under the command of Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray marched toward Neumarkt in the direction of Rednitz
Rednitz
The Rednitz is a river in Franconia, Germany, tributary of the Regnitz . The Rednitz is formed by the confluence of the rivers Fränkische Rezat and Schwäbische Rezat, in Georgensgmünd . The Rednitz flows north through Roth bei Nürnberg, Schwabach and the southwestern quarters of Nuremberg...

. Eventually, 10,000 men under the command of General Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Hotze, also known as Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze , a Swiss-born field marshal in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars, campaigned in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition and in Switzerland in the War of the Second Coalition, notably at Battle of...

 marched north from Feldkirch in Switzerland, but they did not arrive in time to participate at either the battle at Ostrach, or for the subsequent battle at Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...

.

Locale

Ostrach was a small village, with a population of 300. The village belonged to the Cistercian Imperial Abbey of Salem, an influential and wealthy ecclesiastical territory on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...

. The village was largely dedicated to farming, although the a stretch of the imperial post road connected it and Pfullendorf. A wide, flat plain, marshy in places, stretched between the base of the Pfullendorf heights and the village; low lying hills ringed the valley, which was creased by a small stream from which the village takes its name. Ostrach itself lies almost at the northern end of this plain, but slightly south of the Danube itself. The two armies faced each other across this small and, at that time of that year, very soggy valley.

Dispositions

By 7 March, the first Austrian soldiers arrived in Ostrach. The French advance guard arrived by the 9th, under command of General 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 the forward line, the 25th Demi-brigade and Light Infantry positioned themselves between Ostrach and Hoßkirch; Lefebvre also had three battalions each of the 53rd and 67th Demi-Brigades of light infantry, twenty squadrons of hussars, chasseurs, and dragoons, and field artillery pieces. By 12 March, the village and the surrounding farms were filled with Lancers (Ulanen) and Hussars (Hussaren) and by the 17th, the Austrian advance guard had established forward posts at Buchau, Altshausen
Altshausen
Altshausen is a small Swabian municipality near Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany.- Geography :Altshausen is situated in Upper Swabia, about 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance...

 and Waldsee
Bad Waldsee
Bad Waldsee is a town in Upper Swabia in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the district of Ravensburg, in Oberschwaben. It is situated 20 km south of Biberach an der Riß, and 20 km northeast of Ravensburg. The town is known for its historic old city with many landmarks and large...

. The remainder of Charles' army, at this point nearly 110,000 strong, had established itself along a line from Ulm to Lake Constance.

By 18 March, Jourdan had formed his headquarters at Pfullendorf, on the heights above Ostrach. In front of him stood the largest part of his cavalry and half of his infantry. The center, including the 4th Regiment of Hussars, the 1st of Chasseurs à Cheval, and two squadrons of the 17th Dragoons, lay behind Ostrach, under command of General Klein. Jourdan distributed them in three columns, the strongest on the post road by Saulgau
Bad Saulgau
Bad Saulgau is a town in the district of Sigmaringen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 23 km east of Sigmaringen, and 27 km north of Ravensburg between the Danube and Lake Constance....

, another on the road in the direction of Altshausen, and a third at the hamlet of Friedberg.

The flank of Lefebvre's division, with 7,000 men, commanded by Laurent Saint-Cyr extended to the Danube; by the time skirmishing began, Vandamme was still in the environs of Stuttgart, with 3,000 men, looking in vain for Austrian forces that might be stationed there, and he played no part in the battle. The far right, under command of Ferino, angled south from Pfullendorf to Lake Constance, or the Bodensee. The cavalry reserve of 3,000 under General Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul was a French cavalry general of the Napoleonic wars. He came from an old noble family of France whose military tradition extended for several centuries....

 included a battalion of the 53rd Demi-Brigade, and waited in close column in the environs of Pfullendorf.

Battle

Jourdan considered his position superior to the Austrian's, protected as he was by the marshy plain between his positions and the Austrian front, and he thought he had another three days to consolidate his positions. His forces occupied Hoßkirch, and a couple of other points he considered strategic: the causeway (post road) that passed Saulgau
Bad Saulgau
Bad Saulgau is a town in the district of Sigmaringen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 23 km east of Sigmaringen, and 27 km north of Ravensburg between the Danube and Lake Constance....

, the village of Altshausen
Altshausen
Altshausen is a small Swabian municipality near Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany.- Geography :Altshausen is situated in Upper Swabia, about 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance...

 11 kilometres (7 mi) east, and the hamlet of Friedberg
Friedberg
- Places :* Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Hesse, Germany** University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg* Aichach-Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Bad Saulgau, a district of Bad Saulgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Friedberg, Styria, Austria...

, 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the north-north-east of Ostrach. These positions created a perimeter around Ostrach. He was unaware that the Archduke had arrived by forced marches from Augsburg to the vicinity of Ostrach; Jourdan thought the main force of Charles' army was still at least three days' march away. By the middle of Holy Week in 1799, a more than a third of Charles' army, 48,000 mixed troops, was positioned in a formation parallel to Jourdan's, and his 72,000 remaining troops were arrayed with the left wing at Kempten
Kempten
Kempten can refer to:* Kempten im Allgäu, a town in Bavaria, Germany* Kempten ZH, a district of the town of Wetzikon in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland* Kempton Park, Gauteng, a city in South Africa which was named after Kempten in Bavaria...

, the center near Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...

, and the right flank extended to Ulm.

Skirmishing

As the armies assembled in their positions, the flanks and forward outposts encountered one another in several skirmishes; indeed, they had been skirmishing for seven days, until 19 March, when the outposts of both armies nearly overlapped. On the right wing, General Ferino's men encountered an Austrian column of volunteer infantry and some light cavalry from one of the border Hussar regiments, and took 70 and 80 prisoners, respectively, including several officers. All of this happened without the Austrians knowing that there was an official declaration of war. On the 20 March, a French emissary arrived at camp of Prince Schwarzenberg
Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg
Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp Fürst zu Schwarzenberg (or Charles Philip, Prince of Schwarzenberg (April 18, 1771 – October 15, 1820) was an Austrian field marshal.- Life :...

, a major general commanding a brigade of the advanced guard. The emissary asked if he possessed a declaration of war from Vienna, and upon being informed that Schwarzenberg had received no such declaration, informed him that the armistice
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...

 established at Campo Formio was ended, and there existed between France and Austria a state of war. General Jourdan reportedly began a general attack when the emissary left, although other sources do not bear out the scale of the attack.
Initially, the strength of the French advance guard pushed the most forward of the Austrian right to Saulgau and Ratzenreute, 6.2 kilometres (4 mi) east of Ostrach, backing the Austrian main army against the Schussen
Schussen
The Schussen is a long tributary of the Bodensee and, via the lake, enters the Rhine River in the southern portion Upper Swabia in Baden-Württemberg .- Course :...

 river. Jean Victor Tharreau
Jean Victor Tharreau
Jean Victor Tharreau , 15 January 1767, Le May-sur-Èvre – 26 September 1812, was a General of Division in the Army of the French Empire....

's mixed brigade of infantry, light infantry and cavalry encountered the Austrians at Barendorf, and forced them to give up the ground; immediately, Charles sent reinforcements, and the Austrians regained what they had lost.

At the center of the French line, at Hoßkirch, 3 kilometres (2 mi) east-south-east of Ostrach, General Lefebvre's column attacked the Austrians in an action that lasted most of the day. The Austrian line included several seasoned Grenzer (border) regiments, the Vecsy Hussars, and some lancers; although Lefebvre's initial assault caused confusion in the Austrian ranks, the Lancers counter-attacked with ferocity and, joined by the Grenzers and the Hussars, pursued the French along the Ostrach river valley, and cut up four squadrons of the 8th Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval. Lefebvre's column was forced out of the hamlet by the Austrians, who had four battalions, 1200 horse, and six cannons. After bringing up additional reinforcements—several light artillery, Chasseurs à Cheval, Hussars, and the 17th Regiment of Dragoons, Lefebvre was able to take the village again. By 0500 of 21 March, however, he sent word to Jourdan that he was being attacked on all posts by the Austrians, and they must soon expect a general engagement.

General engagement

Charles had divided his force into columns, and at close to 1000, the Austrians attacked in force, with simultaneous assaults upon multiple positions. With Nauendorf's advance force moved with 11 battalions and 20 squadrons on Saint Cyr's position . Following behind with the main force of the right column, Fürstenberg had little difficulty pushing the French out of Davidsweiler, and then advanced on Ruppersweiler and Einhard
Einhard
Einhard was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni, "one of the most precious literary bequests of the early Middle Ages."-Public life:Einhard was from the eastern...

 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the northwest. His force pressured elements of Saint Cyr's thinly-manned line, and the entire line fell back slowly, to maintain contact with its flanks. Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
Maximilian, Count of Merveldt
Maximilian, Count von Merveldt , among the most famous of an illustrious old Westphalian family, entered Austrian military service, rose to the rank of General of Cavalry, served as Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor's ambassador to Russia, and became special envoy extraordinaire to the Court of St....

's force, attacking on Saint Cyr's far left flank, continued to pressure the line, which started to crumble. Further south, Olivier, Count of Wallis
Olivier, Count of Wallis
Oliver Remigius, Count von Wallis Baron von Carrighmain, the scion of a distinguished Irish family in Austrian military service, served in Austria's wars with the Ottoman Empire , and in the French Revolutionary Wars...

 took a column of 18 battalions and 42 squadrons and attacked the French line between Ostrach and Ferino's column by Salem. In the maneuvering, the cross-fire trapped Adjutant General François-Xavier Octavie Fontaine
François-Xavier Octavie Fontaine
François-Xavier Octavie Fontaine served in the French military in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars....

's French forces; unable to take cover, they were cut down from both sides.

Charles himself took a main column along the high road, a causeway that passed by Saulgau, to attack Lefebvre on points between Hoßkirch and Ostrach. In this deployment of his force, Charles sought to dislodge the center of the French line from its position in Ostrach, separating the wings from the main body of force and overcoming both separately.

The convergence of the two columns on the French at Ostrach demonstrated the advantage of the superiority of Austrian numbers. From every angle, the Austrians threatened to overwhelm the French. Jourdan wrote that his men disappeared under a cloud of red coats. Battalion after battalion of Austrians threw themselves against the French defenses. By late morning, Charles' troops pushed the French out of Hoßkirch, and into Ostrach, which the French nearly lost until Jourdan sent reinforcements. The fighting remained fierce until about 1600, when the French pulled back toward Pfullendorf, encouraged by Austrian cavalry. Once out of Ostrach, and established on the road at and around Pfullendorf, the French formed a new perimeter, reinforced by reserves of Soulham, and enjoyed the benefit of altitude from which they could fire down upon the attacking Austrians. Despite the punishing musket fire, Charles' strategy worked. The far right wing (Ferino's force), which had not been attacked yet, fell back to Salmansweiler
Salem Abbey
Salem Abbey , also known as Salmansweiler and in Latin as Salomonis Villa, was a very prominent Cistercian monastery in Salem in the district of Bodensee about ten miles from Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Abbey:The abbey was founded in 1136 by Gunthram of Adelsreute Salem Abbey (Kloster or...

, to maintain communication with the French center.

At the Pfullendorf heights, the fight began anew. Charles sent two strong columns of eight battalions each across the Ostrach stream. The French poured fire on the Austrians, who took heavy losses, but did not give up the ground. In the night, Fürstenberg broke through the French line to Einhard, flanking Jourdan's main force and cutting off Saint Cyr. Further south, Wallis threatened to do the same to Fontaine and Ferino. As darkness fell, so ended the first day of fighting.

Withdrawal

As Jourdan was deciding whether or not to attempt another foray, the fog lifted and revealed the scene below him. He wrote later,
"... [W]e discovered an immense line of cavalry and infantry. It may be said, without exaggeration, that the troops which engaged our advanced guard amounted to twenty-five thousand men. I now perceived the absolute impossibility of making any further resistance against such a superior force, as well as the danger that threatened the division, from the advantage which the enemy had gained on the left. I therefore ordered General Soult to fall back with the division to the post before Pfulendorf [sic]."

He was wrong; the Austrians engaged with the French advance guard numbered closer to 50,000, and constituted the main body of Charles' army, not its advance guard. In the night, Charles also had moved additional troops to renew the attack on the Pfullendorf heights at daybreak.

On 22 March, at 2200, Jourdan ordered the wounded to be transported to Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....

 in Switzerland, via Stockach. The main army then began its own retreat in the early morning of 22 March. The reserve division of d'Hautpoul left first, and pulled back via Stockach to Emmengen ob Eck. According to Jourdan, the retreat occurred in perfect order, and was supported in particular by a company of sappers, who blew up the bridges in the face of enemy fire, and then fought like grenadiers. The Austrians outflanked Saint Cyr's forces on the right flank and General Ferino, at the southern-most point, retreated to Salmansweiler, to maintain the line with the remainder of the French force. When the first division pulled back to Bodman, on the northern tip of the Überlingen-finger of Lake Constance, a portion of the force was encircled and cut off by the 2nd Lancers of Karl Philipp, Prince Schwarzenberg's brigade, and more than 500 were taken prisoner.

Other sources are less sanguine in their assessment of Jourdan's retreat: Jourdan's forces, especially his left flank, were severely pressed; the French line collapsed upon itself at both ends as the soldiers fell back. A dispatch to Paris, later reported in the Times, claimed that the French intent had been betrayed to the Austrians by a deserter, but there is some evidence that this was Jourdan's mendacious attempt to explain the apparent surprise with which the Austrians attacked. A British report claimed that the French commander had two horses shot from under him, but Jourdan himself reported that only one horse was shot, and he was thrown, stunned, to the ground, Lefebvre received a musket ball in the wrist; and had to be carried from the field; command of his division was given to rising star Jean-de-Dieu Soult. Furthermore, a sizable portion—sources are not clear on how many—of the French right wing (Ferino's force) had been cut off from its main force, and made prisoner. Finally, General Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Hotze, also known as Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze , a Swiss-born field marshal in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars, campaigned in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition and in Switzerland in the War of the Second Coalition, notably at Battle of...

 was quickly making his way north with 10,000 men from Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...

 and prepared to attack Jourdan's army from the south.

Aftermath

Eventually, Jourdan withdrew first to Messkirch (sometimes spelled Mößkirch or Meßkirch), and when that city was no longer defensible, fell back to Stockach
Stockach
Stockach is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Location:It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of Konstanz....

, and then again Engen
Engen
Engen was a Japanese era of the Southern Court during the Era of Northern and Southern Courts after Kemmu and before Kōkoku, lasting from February 1336 to April 1340...

, but he wrote that the armies had been well-matched; French valor, he wrote, overcame servitude. His men had taken many Austrian prisoners, and he knew also that many Austrians lay dead or wounded on the field of battle. His army itself had losses, but their valor in death matched the ambitious tyranny of the Austrians: Charles had driven his army hard, he wrote, and the Austrians would not pursue the gallant, liberty-loving French; Charles' failure to pursue the French affirmed Jourdan's perception that his had not been a defeat followed by retreat, but rather a strategic withdrawal. Jourdan probably did not know that Charles had been ordered to maintain a continuous and orderly defensive line with troops to the south.

Jourdan's own assessment did not match that of his superiors in Paris, who recognized that the loss of twelve percent of the fighting force, versus less than four percent for the adversary, did not amount to a draw. Furthermore, this first attempt to cut the Austrians off from access to the upper Rhine and Lake Constance had not succeeded. There were other considerations, primarily that Jourdan simply did not have enough men to fight not only this battle but the subsequent ones as well.
For his own part, the Archduke did not push his troops to pursue and capture the enemy, or even harass their retreat. Charles' slow pursuit might have been due to his own disgruntlement with Vienna's overarching defensive strategy and the undoubted difficulty of the battle itself, conducted with troops wearied by a forced march of 30 miles (48 km), fighting in rain, fog, and on normally boggy terrain made more soggy by the heavy spring rains and snow melt. Regardless, he more than made up for these shortcomings within the week. Five days after Jourdan's departure from Ostrach and Pfullendorf, the French and Austrian armies continued the fight at Stockach
Battle of Stockach (1799)
On 25 March 1799, French and Austrian armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau region in present day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen...

. This time, the decision could not be argued: The Army of the Danube could not hold the territory and withdrew into the Black Forest.

The battle at Ostrach had been difficult, as Jourdan pointed out, due largely to the dense fog and terrible weather that hampered his observation of his enemy's movements, yet the same fog that blinded him to the Austrian movements did not seem to hamper Charles. The fog and rainy weather did play a role, however. On a local level, in the damp night of the 20th, which was Gründonnerstag, (German: Green Thursday, or Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great & Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles as described in the Canonical gospels...

), the Danube overflowed, backing up into the Ostrach, and causing it to burst its own banks. The flood trapped 300 civilians between the two armies intent on destruction; suspecting what was to come, Ostrachers huddled in their cellars, and hoped for the best and gasping for breath as the battle thundered overhead. Amazingly, none were killed, although they spent Easter Sunday caring for the wounded, and helping to bury the 4,000 or so soldiers who died in the battle.

Battle monument

Prior to 1903, a simple wooden cross commemorated the battle site, located on the so-called Buchbuhl, a hill overlooking the village, and the plains to the southeast, where much of the fighting occurred. In 1903, a monument was erected to honor the battle. In 1945, when French troops arrived in the region, they closed the monument; the local pastor encouraged them to reopen it, calling it a chapel.

Newspapers

  • "Engagements Between The Grand Armies Of The Archduke and General Jourdan." The Times, Friday, 5 April 1799; pg. 2; col A.
  • Excerpted from the Hamburgh Mail. "Private Correspondence", Hamburgh, 2 March 1799, reported in The Times, 8 April 1799, pg. 3; col A. Broda, Ruth. "Schlacht von Ostrach:“ jährt sich zum 210. Mal – Feier am Wochenende. Wie ein Dorf zum Kriegsschauplatz wurde. In: Südkurier vom 13. Mai 2009.
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