Battle of Wetzlar

Battle of Wetzlar

Part of: Revolutionary War

Detail from the map of 1796 from the book Principles of Strategy by Archduke Carl of Austria

date	June 15. bis 16th June 1796
place	near Wetzlar
output	Austrian victory

Parties to the conflict
France	Austria
Commander
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan	Archduke Karl of Austria
Troop strength
approx. 48,000	approx. 62,000
losses
500 soldiers and 7 cannons	11 officers and 352 soldiers

The Battle of Wetzlar (also known as the Battle of Wetzlar ) on June 15 and 16, 1796 was a battle in the First Coalition War .

With the Battle of Wetzlar , Archduke Karl of Austria began his attempt to keep the French away from the eastern bank of the Rhine . In the two-day battle, he maneuvered the French forces and bypassed their flanks . This finally forced General Jourdan , the commander in chief of the French Sambre Maas Army , to retreat, which led parts of the French army into the battle of Kircheib . However, the real plan of the French had worked and the Archduke had to give up his position protecting the southern Rhine.

prehistory

The aim of the French campaign was to lure the Archduke away from his position and thus clear the passage across the Rhine. The Austrian troops were initially distributed on both sides of the Rhine. The main force lay on the left bank of the Rhine between Bad Kreuznach and Baumholder , while a smaller contingent, under the leadership of Ferdinand Friedrich August von Württemberg , was set up on the right bank of the Rhine between Ehrenbreitstein and Altenkirchen . Carnot developed the plan to let the Sambre-Maas-Army under Jourdan cross the Rhine near Düsseldorf and thus to force Archduke Karl across the Rhine. Through the gap that had become free, General Moreau and his Rhine-Moselle army were supposed to cross the Rhine to the south and put Habsburg under pressure.

On May 30, 1796 General Kléber crossed the Rhine with two divisions and marched to Siegburg , where on June 1, after a short battle , he forced the passage over the Sieg . At the battle of Altenkirchen he pushed the forces of Württemberg away and marched in the direction of Wetzlar. At the same time Jourdan pushed the bulk of his army across the Rhine near Neuwied on June 12 , while Archduke Karl did the same via Mainz .

Course of the battle

On June 12, 1796 had the French Sambre-Meuse army on the Lahn following position: The division Bernadotte was the main contingent at Holzappel, with items between Nassau and Lahnstein , the right wing to the Rhine, left the Division Championnet leaning which occupied the Lahnhöhen opposite Diez . Both covered the blockade of Ehrenbreitstein and the fortress located there , which had been assigned to the Bonnaud division . This was even more secure after the 14th, as the Austrians were driven from Nassau and from the right bank of the Lahn on that day .

The Grenier division stood next to the Championnet division , with the left wing at the village of Elz and the right wing at the forest behind Gückingen , in order to secure the road from Wallmerod and Montabaur . Colaud's division was posted on the heights near Limburg opposite, and Lefebvre's division formed a hook behind a ravine near Oberbach and Niedertiefenbach . This was supposed to keep an eye on all the streets of Weilburg and Wetzlar, and displayed their outposts between Münchhausen and Leun . They held Weilburg and the Leun Bridge under occupation and were in contact with the Herborn camp . The cavalry division Bonneau (Bonnaud) served as a reserve behind the two divisions of the left wing. At that time the Austrian forces were still outnumbered, as Archduke Karl rushed up from the south with additional relief from Wurmser .

Jourdan used June 13 and 14 for reconnaissance and waited for ammunition. When he realized that Feldzeugmeister von Wartensleben , who was in command at the time, was still weakly positioned and Archduke Karl was still a long time coming, he decided to attack. The Championnet division, supported by the Bernadotte division, should break out through Diez , and the Colaud division should go over the Lahn at Runkel and Dietkirchen . As soon as they had forced the passage, these divisions were to go on the flanks of the Austrian army and attack them while Grenier would break through Limburg . Jourdan had scheduled this attack on the 17th, giving Lefebvre time to take his position.

The Archduke sent Feldzeugmeister von Wartensleben reinforcements and advanced with the majority of his troops on Wetzlar, intending to attack the left wing of the French army. On June 13th, part of his armed forces arrived in Butzbach . On the 14th, the advance guard arrived at Wetzlar and threw back French guards who had occupied the Leun bridge. The following day this vanguard crossed the Lahn and pushed the outposts from Soult to Greifenstein , while Lefebvre approached Wetzlar. When the latter was informed of the arrival of the enemy, he dispatched a few battalions to retake the Leun bridge and to cover his right flank. With the main part of his division he marched towards the column , which was advancing over the great road from Wetzlar. The Austrians were turned away, Lefebvre reached the plateau at the confluence of the Dill and Lahn rivers and took the Abbey of Altenberg with a violent attack.

When the enemy had withdrawn to Wetzlar, a violent cannonade began , which the French troops survived well. Meanwhile the Archduke arrived with his force and ordered a general attack on the troops commanded by Lefebvre. After the French fought a stubborn skirmish against superior forces, they were forced to withdraw. Lefebvre returned to his first position behind the Tiefenbach gorge during the night . His loss was less than 500 men, but he had to leave his cannons behind.

When Jourdan heard of the Archduke's arrival, there was no longer any doubt about his plans and on June 16, 1796, he gave orders to slowly move away from Wetzlar and to march back via Altenkirchen.

Follow-up events

Jourdan had achieved his goal. Archduke Karl had crossed the Rhine and cleared the way for Moreau. This stopped now on Kehl in order to cross the Rhine there. Wurmser , weakened by the relief, had to retreat to Mannheim .

Jourdan withdrew in the same way that he had advanced. He himself, the Grenier, Championnet, Bernadotte and part of the cavalry divisions moved in stages via Montabaur to Neuwied. Bonnaud along the Rhine to Cologne , Kléber with the Lefebvre and Colaud divisions and a brigade of heavy cavalry on the road from Altenkirchen to Sieg. On June 17th, 1796 at 9 o'clock the Klébers corps was already at Freilingen . On the march the Archduke received news that the enemy had withdrawn completely. He therefore changed his direction, made a flank movement to Rennerod and had the Werneck division move to Emmerichenhain . The pursuit of the enemy at the front was entrusted to the troops posted on the Lahn. The French had swiftly left the whole bank of the river that same night. The Austrians followed them in several columns: one via Lahnstein, one via Villmar and Hadamar to Molsberg , one via Weilburg and Merenberg to Neunkirchen , Waiting life via Limburg. There were insignificant skirmishes between the outposts everywhere .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Carnot's letters to Generals Jourdan and Moreau of March 26th and April 10th, 1796.
2. ^ Daniel Schneider: The battle of Altenkirchen 1796 in its historical context. In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreis Altenkirchen. 2012, pp. 184-187.
3. ^ History of the campaign of 1796, author unknown, p. 112.
4. ^ History of the campaign of 1796, author unknown, p. 122.
5. ^ Jean Baptiste Jourdan: Memories of the history of the campaign of 1796. Translated by Johann Bachoven von Echt. Koblenz 1823, p. 19ff.
6. ^ Daniel Schneider: The battle of Altenkirchen 1796 in its historical context. In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreis Altenkirchen. 2012, pp. 183-192.
7. ^ History of the campaign of 1796, author unknown, p. 134.
8. ^ Jean Baptiste Jourdan: Memories of the history of the campaign of 1796. Translated by Johann Bachoven von Echt. Koblenz 1823, p. 25.
9. ^ Johann Bachoven von Echt: Memories of the history of the campaign of 1796 . 1823, p. 26 .
10. ^ History of the campaign of 1796, author unknown, pp. 134ff.
11. ^ Jean Baptiste Jourdan: Memories of the history of the campaign of 1796. Translated by Johann Bachoven von Echt. Koblenz 1823, p. 24ff.
12. ^ History of the campaign of 1796, author unknown, pp. 138ff.
13. ^ Jean Baptiste Jourdan: Memories of the history of the campaign of 1796. Translated by Johann Bachoven von Echt. Koblenz 1823, p. 25ff.

literature

• Military Conversation Lexicon. Volume 8 Adorf, 1841, pp. 737f.
• Jean Baptiste Jourdan: Memories of the history of the campaign of 1796. Translated by Johann Bachoven von Echt. Koblenz 1823, p. 24f.
• Konrad Fuchs: On the military conflict in the Nassau lands in the year 1796. In: Nassauische Annalen. (80), Wiesbaden 1969, pp. 283-288.
• Daniel Schneider: The battle of Altenkirchen 1796 in its historical context. In: Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreis Altenkirchen. 2012, pp. 183-194.
• Archduke Carl of Austria: Principles of Strategy. Volume 2, Section Five. Meeting near Wetzlar on June 15, Jourdan's retreat, Vienna 1814, pp. 71–106.
• A. Schoenwerk: Local history of the city and district of Wetzlar. Pegasus Verlag, Wetzlar 1954, pp. 245f.
• Second special supplement to the Wiener-Zeitung. No. 50, Wednesday June 22nd 1796.
• Third special supplement to the Wiener-Zeitung. No. 51, Monday June 27, 1796.

Web links

• J. Rickard: Battle of Wetzlar, 15-16 June 1796. 2009.