Battle of Raab
| date | June 14, 1809 |
|---|---|
| place | Raab / Győr |
| output | French victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 29,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalrymen and 56 guns | 28,000 infantry, 9,000 cavalrymen and five gun batteries [a considerable part were Hungarian militias] |
| losses | |
|
3000-4000 |
7500-10,000 |
Sacile - Teugn-Hausen - Vistula campaign - Raszyn - Abensberg - Landshut - Eggmühl - Regensburg - Neumarkt - Ebelsberg - Piave - Aspern - Sankt Michael - Stralsund - Bergisel - Raab / Győr - Graz - Wagram - Korneuburg - Stockerau - Gefrees - Hollabrunn - Schöngrabern - Znojmo - Walcheren
The Battle of Raab ( Hungarian Győri csata , French Bataille de Raab ) on June 14, 1809 between Austrian troops under Archduke Johann of Austria and Italian - French troops under Eugène de Beauharnais took place during the fifth coalition war and ended with an Austrian defeat. As a result, Johann did not succeed in uniting his troops with the main Austrian army in time for the decisive battle of Wagram . In contrast, Eugène was able to join the main army under Napoleon in time . In this respect, the battle of Raab was of importance for France's victorious outcome of the war.
prehistory
Archduke Johann invaded Italy during the war. He won on April 16, 1809 at Sacile . After Napoleon's successes on the Danube, Johann was instructed to withdraw to the northeast. This in turn enabled Eugène to go on the offensive. He defeated the Austrians in the Battle of the Piave on May 8, 1809. The Archduke's troops were weakened by the separation of various units for the defense of Salzburg , Tyrol , Carniola and the Isonzo line and the return of land defense units on the orders of the Emperor. as shown in various lost battles.
Eugène dispatched Jacques MacDonald . This was to advance through the Carniola, push the Austrians away from the Adriatic and establish contact with Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont . Eugène with the main power followed the Archduke's troops. The French could not stop its defensive positions, including on the Predil Pass .
The Archduke wanted to gather his troops at Pettau (Ptuj), but Macdonald's advance prevented this. Johann marched to Graz via Klagenfurt . He had hoped to stop there for the time being. But at the end of May he was in a difficult position. After the victory in the battle at Sankt Michael , Eugène stood near Bruck an der Mur so only a little more than 20 miles north of Graz. After his victory at Laibach ( Ljubljana ), Macdonald marched north and found himself at Maribor south of Graz. On May 29th, his cavalry had reached the outskirts of Graz and the main power of Macdonald was only a few miles away. The Archduke was then forced to move to Hungary .
There was a dispute between Johann and his brother Karl von Österreich-Teschen, who were in command of the Austrian troops. While Johann wanted to operate independently in southeastern Europe to tie up French troops there, Karl demanded that Johann’s troops support the main Austrian army on the Upper Danube .
In Körmend he arranged and supplemented his troops. His opponent Eugène had marched via Villach , Klagenfurt, Judenburg to Wiener Neustadt . He was in touch with Napoleon's main army near Vienna . Napoleon instructed Eugène to advance to Körmend. The aim was to prevent the Archduke from uniting with the main Austrian army, to take Raab and to protect the flank and back of the main French army.
The advance began on June 5th. Archduke Johann marched from Körmend on the night of June 8th and united with Archduke Joseph Anton Johann of Austria near Raab on the 13th . Its army consisted primarily of Hungarian militias (so-called insurgents ). However, Johann had to send 8,000 men to Pressburg to replace the troops withdrawn from there to the main army.
The city and fortress of Raab lay at the confluence of the Raab and the Little Danube . The Rabnitz also flowed into the Danube nearby. The city of Raab was on the eastern side of the river Raab. There was a fortified camp on the left bank. However, the Archduke only placed three battalions and 6 squadrons and some artillery in this position.
The main power was on the right bank of the Raab behind a stream that flowed into the river above the city. Two mountain ranges were later of importance for the fighting. These were the Szabadhegy Heights to the southeast of Raab and the Csanak Heights about five miles south of the city. Archduke Johann and Archduke Joseph agreed to share command.
course
Eugène crossed the Raab on June 9th and followed the Archduke. On June 13th his troops reached the rearguard of the enemy and a fierce battle broke out with troops sent by the Archduke. This included much of the cavalry and three gun batteries. The Austrians eventually had to withdraw. The French camped on the heights of Czanak for the night.
The two armies were equally strong. Eugène had about 29,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalrymen and 56 artillery pieces. These were French, royal Italian and Baden units. The Austrians had about 28,000 infantrymen and 9,000 cavalrymen. Among them were about 16,000 Hungarian militia troops (insurrection troops). They were poorly armed and hardly trained. Not all of the Austrian soldiers took part in the actual battle. The French side was therefore significantly stronger than the Austrians in terms of the actual number of troops and the combat strength of the units.
The Austrian army was deployed along the Szabadhegy Heights. The right wing, leaning against the Raab on one side, was secured by 23 squadrons of cavalry under General von Frimont . On the other hand, under Field Marshal Lieutenant Franz Jelačić von Bužim, the Legisfeld, Sebottendorf and Eckstädt brigades with 9 battalions joined. In the middle FML Hieronymus von Colloredo-Mansfeld followed with 12 battalions and on the left wing were FML von Mécsery with 40 squadrons with almost 6000 hussars. A large part of the Hungarian militia cavalry was among them. A total of five batteries with 30 guns protected the front. On the heights behind, another 14 battalions were in reserve under Feldzeugmeister Davidovich . On the Austrian side it was believed that on June 14th there would be no attack by the opposing side.
The cavalry under Louis-Pierre Montbrun and Emmanuel de Grouchy stood on the right wing of the French. The left wing with the XII. Corps under General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers joined the Raab. These included Filippo Severoli's division , the Baden Brigade and, as a reserve, French cavalry under Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc . In the middle was the VI. Corps under General Paul Grenier with the Seras and Joseph François Durutte divisions . Behind them, Viceroy Eugene de Beauharnais posted the Pacthod division and the Italian guard under General Lechi as reserve . From the troops of the XI. Macdonald's corps had only arrived a division of cavalry.
The French and their allies attacked around 11:30 a.m. on June 14th. After some preliminary skirmish, the general skirmish began at two o'clock. The French advanced when the Austrians resisted violently. The Austrian reserve advanced and was able to recapture a village. This changed hands three times in the course of the fighting. They also fought bitterly for a court. At this critical point in time, the Patchod division appeared in battle, took the village again and cut off the Archduke of the Raab. The French were also successful in the other competitive area.
Of great importance was that the French cavalry managed to cross a river and attack the Austrians in the flank. Austrian countermeasures to turn to unexpected opponents led to confusion in their own ranks. The wing commanded by Mecsèry began to collapse. This was supported by French artillery fire. Archduke Johann finally had to order a general retreat.
The contested court finally fell into the hands of the French at 5 p.m. Because they had not received the order to withdraw, some Austrian units continued to defend the court. Assault attacks cost the attackers over 700 dead and wounded. Eventually the French were able to penetrate the courtyard. Most of the defenders were killed.
Because the likewise exhausted French refrained from pursuing their opponents directly, most of the Austrians were able to escape.
Losses and consequences
Without irregular Hungarian troops, the Austrians lost a total of 2,500 dead and wounded, plus a further 3,700 prisoners and missing persons. Other reports speak of 10,000 casualties. Of these, 3,500 were dead or wounded and 6,500 were captured or missing. Here, too, the Hungarian militia members are not included. The French losses are not clear, but they must also have been considerable. There are reports of about 3,000 to 4,000 men.
The Austrian troops in the fortified camp of Raab succeeded in freeing a large part of the prisoners. The French began the siege of Raab on June 15th. The city capitulated on June 21st.
The defeat at Raab was largely responsible for the fact that Archduke Johann was unable to strengthen the main Austrian army in time for the Battle of Wagram. In contrast, Eugène succeeded in uniting a large part of his troops with Napoleon's troops before the decisive battle.
Individual evidence
- ↑ here was related: Gaston Bodart: Military-historical War Lexicon, (1618-1905). Vienna 1908, p. 407
literature
- A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Santa Barbara, 2010, p. 1067
- James R. Arnold: Napoleon Conquers Austria. Westport, 1995
- Francis Smith: The Wars from Antiquity to the Present. Berlin u. a. 1911, p. 562
- Hans Eggert Willibald von der Lühe: Militair-Conversations-Lexikon. Vol. 7, Adorf 1839, pp. 1-4