Fall of Kehl

Fall of Kehl

Part of: French Revolutionary Wars

Kehl Fortress 1788

date	January 9, 1797
place	Throat
output	Austria's victory

Parties to the conflict
France	Austria
Commander
Louis Desaix Jean Abbatucci	Karl zu Fürstenberg
Troop strength
	34,900

The fall of Kehl occurred on January 9, 1797. The siege of the Kehl fortress in Kehl , today Baden-Württemberg, lasted from October 1796 to January 1797. It was an extremely difficult military maneuver. Although a failure of the garrison almost led to the besiegers being surrounded, the defenders capitulated and on January 9, 1797 retreated across the Rhine to Strasbourg .

procedure

In order to secure the ventures of 1797, Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg dealt with the conquest of Fort Kehl, which was still occupied by the French, and the Brückenschanze near Hüningen . But the siege of Kehl took a slow pace because the cold weather hindered the besiegers, while the besieged did not have to surrender to the cold. The besieged could also use the Strasbourg arsenals in the defense of Kehl and bring reinforcements at any time. Therefore, the Rhine bridges between Kehl and Strasbourg had to be destroyed, which was an extremely difficult undertaking for the artillery of the time . Only after more than two months of resistance did Kehl capitulate.

“On the 7th evening two ships were damaged by lost shots, but when the fire in the new Austrian batteries started on the morning of January 8th, the bridge was destroyed. At 9 o'clock in the morning the Austrian artillery had already sunk five ships of the same, all the others riddled with holes, and the French considered it impossible to build the bridge. The proposal to build a flying bridge further down was rejected because it could not be withdrawn from the fire of the Austrians. On the night of 8/9, the Austrians opened a new parallel on the glacis of the Vorwerk near Kehl, which connected to the previous one on the left and supported on the Kinzig on the right . The French were now concentrated in the little fortress of Kehl and in the little town's hornworks . They didn't have enough magazines or casemates in them . If their communication with Strasbourg was cut off by the total destruction of their bridges, they ran the risk of losing both their crew and the large number of their artillery and ammunition which were in Kehl. So the fight for Kehl came to an end. General Desaix proposed surrender on the evening of January 9th . This was concluded between him and Feldzeugmeister Latour that same night . The French troops should have time to vacate the fortress at 4 a.m. the following day. On January 10th, 1797 at 4 o'clock after noon the complete surrender of Kehl took place after the French had cleared it of everything that could be used in war or for the defense of a fortress. "

- Franz Joseph Adolph Schneidawind

On February 1st, 1797 the bridge jump at Hüningen capitulated. From Basel until the Sieg there were no more French troops on the right bank of the Rhine.

Historical images of Hüningen

• 

  Hüningen and Kleinhüningen 1749

• 

  The fortress of Hüningen and Kleinhüningen in 1797

Web links

Commons : Huningue Fortress  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

• Franz Schneidawind : Carl, Archduke of Austria and the Austrian army under him. Bamberg 1840.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Franz Joseph Adolph Schneidawind: Carl, Archduke of Austria and the Austrian army under him. Bamberg 1840, p. 213.