Battle of the Cold Oak
| date | 4th July 1796 |
|---|---|
| place | on the cold oak between Wilnsdorf, Wilgersdorf and Würgendorf |
| output | French victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 60,000 | 37,000 |
| losses | |
|
Unknown, high |
739 dead, 2,000 wounded, 1,500 of whom later died of their wounds |
First Coalition War (1792–1797)
Verdun - Thionville - Valmy - Lille - Mainz (1792) - Jemappes - Namur - Neerektiven - Mainz (1793) - Famars - Valenciennes (1793) - Arlon (1793) - Hondschoote - Meribel - Avesnes-le-Sec - Pirmasens - Toulon - Fontenay-le-Comte - Cholet - Lucon - Trouillas - Menin - Wattignies - Biesingen - Kaiserslautern (1793) - First Battle of Weissenburg (1793) - Second Battle of Weissenburg (1793) - Boulou - Tourcoing - Tournay - 13th Prairial - Fleurus - Vosges - Aldenhoven - San-Lorenzo de la Muga - Genoa - Hyeres - Handschuhsheim - Mainz (1795) - Loano - Montenotte - Millesimo - Dego - Mondovi - Lodi - Borghetto - Castiglione - Mantua - Siegburg - Altenkirchen - Wetzlar - Kircheib - Kehl - Kalteiche - Malsch - Neresheim - Deining - Amberg - Würzburg - Rovereto - Bassano - Limburg - Biberach I - Emmendingen - Schliengen - Arcole - Fall von Kehl - Rivoli (1797) - St. Vincent - Diersheim - Santa Cruz - Neuwied - Camperduin
The Battle of the Kalteiche was a military conflict between the French and Austrian armies in the course of the First Revolutionary War . On July 4, 1796, the generals François-Joseph Lefebvre (France) and Paul Kray von Krajowa (Austria) faced each other on the Kalteiche mountain . The battle itself took place in front of the Kalteiche near Wilnsdorf , Wilgersdorf and Würgendorf .
prehistory
In June 1796 the French crossed the Rhine again. On June 27th, Jean-Baptiste Kléber advanced from Düsseldorf and on July 2nd, the French forced the crossing over the Rhine . At the same time, François-Joseph Lefebvre and his division marched to the Sieg to drive the Austrians out of the Kalteiche. For this purpose, he had already marched into Siegen with 12,000 soldiers and occupied the Giersberg . The Austrians had already started to secure the cold ponds and their surroundings with entrenchments , earth walls , entrenchments and batteries . To the west of the Heerstrasse to Wilnsdorf, trenches had been dug for the infantry and further batteries were positioned behind them. Fences had been erected on the slope towards Wilgersdorf and they had also dug into the Kalteiche itself.
The course of the battle
In the following battle, about the course of which little is known, around 60,000 French and 37,000 Austrians faced each other. On July 4th the French attacked the Austrian positions from the morning mist. At first Lefebvre, who must have had a good knowledge of the enemy's positions, only allowed the strong entrenchments to be attacked lightly and tried to bypass them. However, he did not succeed and the Austrians were able to repel three attacks. Only when Lefebvre sent several battalions over Würgendorf was he able to bypass the Austrians and stab them in the back. Forced by this second front, the Austrians had to withdraw.
consequences
Although this battle was victorious for the French, they suffered heavy losses. The Austrians reported 739 dead and 2,000 wounded in this battle, of which around 1,500 died of insufficient care in the further course. After the battle the Austrians withdrew and on the night of July 4th to 5th the French plundered the surrounding villages. In the further course of the campaign, the Austrians had to withdraw further and further. It was not until the Battle of Würzburg that Archduke Karl of Austria succeeded in defeating the French decisively and throwing them back behind the Rhine. Only at the end of 1796, a peace treaty ended the fighting for the time being.
Archaeological research
In the meantime, extensive research into settlement has been carried out on the cold oak. During this research, the remains of the battle were found in a municipal wall. These included cannon balls , hollow balls and musket balls, as well as the cover of a muzzle loader.
literature
- Almost 200 years ago. The battle on the Kalteiche 1796. In: Zeppenfelder Heimatblatt. History and stories from Zeppenfeld and the open ground. No. 20, November 1992, pp. 1-8. ( PDF; 400 KB ).
- Frank Verse: Archeology on forest heights. Iron Age, Middle Ages and Modern Times on the "Cold Oak" near Haiger, Lahn-Dill-Kreis (= Münstersche Contributions to Pre- and Early Historical Archeology , Vol. 4), Marie Leidorf GmbH, Rhaden / Westf. 2008, ISBN 978-3-89646-282-4 , p. 9.