March on St. Pölten

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The march on St. Pölten was a tactical move by Napoleon in the Third Coalition War of the Napoleonic Wars , during which the retreating troops of the Austro-Russian coalition were to be challenged by the French troops in the greater St. Pölten area on November 8 and 9, 1805 .

prehistory

The march towards Vienna took place immediately after the capitulation of the Austrian troops in Ulm , where the Grande Armée inflicted a heavy defeat on the Austrians under Mack von Leiberich . This opened the way to Vienna for Napoleon . The French and Bavarian troops followed the retreating Austrian units under Kienmayer , who had united with Russian troops at Braunau, into the Austrian Danube region and fought several rearguard battles.

march

With winter approaching, Napoleon pressed for a quick decision. He assumed that the united Austro-Russian troops would stand against him again before Vienna and that with this decisive battle he could bring about the fall of the young Austrian Empire . At the same time he had to fear that the opposing troops might unite with other troops led by Tsar Alexander . The main force of the French army under Marshals Murat , Lannes and Soult therefore advanced from Steyr via Melk to St. Pölten, while Lieutenant General Friant was supposed to cover the right flank via Lunz and Mariazell and Marshal Mortier in Krems the left flank. Marshal Bernadotte marched via Waidhofen and Scheibbs towards St. Pölten. However, the Russian Marshal Kutuzov did not accept the challenge and retreated north across the Danube, where he met Napoleon's left flank in the Battle of Dürnstein . The French were able to take St. Pölten without a fight on November 8, 1805 and plundered the city.

Effects

The decision was only made on December 2, 1805 in the Battle of Austerlitz . The capture of Vienna was bloodless on November 13th.

literature

  • Franz Schneidawind : The war in the year 1805 on the mainland of Europe. Schmid'sche Buchhandlung, Augsburg 1848
  • Wilhelm Rustow : The war of 1805 in Germany and Italy: edited as a guide to war history studies , Verlag-Comptior A. Reimmann, Frauenfeld 1853
  • Alois Moriggl: The campaign of 1805 and its consequences for Austria in general and for Tyrol in particular. Wagner'sche Buchhandlung, Innsbruck 1861