Battle of Znojmo
| date | 10/11 July 1809 |
|---|---|
| place | Znojmo |
| output | draw |
| consequences | Armistice of Znojmo |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 10,000 + 20,000 reinforcements | 47,000 |
| losses | |
|
3,100 dead and wounded |
5300 dead and wounded |
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 Znojmo took place on July 10th and 11th, 1809 near Znojmo , which is now Czech . Opponents were Austrian forces under Archduke Karl and French troops under Général de division Marmont . The battle ended in a draw, as it was decided by mutual agreement to cease fire.
backgrounds
After the defeat in the Battle of Wagram (July 5-6, 1809), Archduke Karl's army withdrew to Moravia on July 7th .
General Marmont received the order from Napoleon on the evening of July 7th to take the XI. Corps to block the way to Znojmo an der Thaya .
The battle
Around 11:00 on July 10th, Marmont, moving with his troops at the head of the Dalmatian army, reached the area around Znojmo.
Although the Austrian armed forces outnumbered him by far, he ordered an attack to stop the Austrians' evasive movement. However, with his defeated troops he did not succeed.
When the situation for Marmont began to become critical the next day, the Maréchal Masséna appeared on the battlefield with the IV Corps and 30 cannons. The artillery drove away the defenders at the bridge over the Thaya, over which the Austrian columns withdrew.
At 10:00 a.m. Napoleon appeared on the battlefield and ordered Marmont to attack with three columns in order to facilitate the development of the battle order on the left bank of the river. At 2 p.m., however, it was clear that the attack by the columns had been unsuccessful. After Masséna had pushed back part of the Austrian army, he reached Dobšice and Suchohrdly , the suburbs of Znojmo, for which there was also fierce fighting.
After 10 hours, Morant was able to establish a connection with Masséna. The French center, however, had not made any further progress by then.
Général de division Guyot wrote in his diary:
“Znojmo is a small town in Moravia in an area of hills and vineyards. The Austrians are in the city and sit on the surrounding hills, just like they are in Brno. 80,000 men are still on the battlefield. Yesterday, Général Marmont attacked their strong positions with 15,000 men. This evening our entire army is in a good starting position in line. Tomorrow there will probably be a battle. "
Before that came about, however, Archduke Karl asked for an armistice. Napoleon accepted, believing that his army was too weak to fight an open field battle.
The armistice came into effect on July 12, 1809. An essential point was the definition of a demarcation line from Bohemia to Fiume. This delimited the sphere of influence of France and Austria. In addition, the Austrians had to evacuate Tyrol and cede the fortresses Graz and Brno to France.
The day after the battle, General Marmont was promoted to Maréchal de France.
Effects
This ended the campaign of 1809, but not the Fifth Coalition . The armistice only interrupted hostilities until the conclusion of peace. This took place on October 14, 1809 in Vienna through the Treaty of Schönbrunn . The treaty had a very negative effect on Austria, since the Duchy of Carniola , Carinthia , the Croatian coast with Rijeka and Istria with Trieste came under French control; Salzburg came to Bavaria. Other areas went to the Duchy of Warsaw . Lower Austria remained under French occupation.
Although Emperor Franz I had promised the Tyroleans in the Wolkersdorf proclamation at the end of May that they would not make peace with Austria without Tyrol , point IV of the armistice concerned the evacuation of Tyrol and Vorarlberg by Austrian troops. However, the Viennese court failed to send clear information to Tyrol, so the fighting continued there.
Archduke Karl was subsequently suspended as generalissimo by Franz I.
literature
- Frédéric Koch (ed.): Mémoires de Masséna. Éditions Lechevalier, Paris 1848/50 (7 vol.).
- Jacques Marquet de Norvins: Histoire de Napoléon. Édition Wahlen, Brussels 1829/34 (4 vol.).
- German: Napoleon I. Verlag Bartels, Berlin 1908 (3 vols .; illustrated by Auguste Raffet).
- Jean-Jacques Pelet: Combat de Znaïm, 11 juillet 1809. Dépôt Général de Guerre, Paris 1844/69.
- Julius Wisnar: The Battle of Znaim in 1809. A memorial sheet dedicated to the men of the brave fighters from July 10th and 11th, 1809. Lenk publishing house, Znaim 1910.
Footnotes
- ^ Moravia from Napoleon. Regional Development Agency of South Moravia, 2012, accessed on July 5, 2015 (the first day of the Battle of Znojmo).
- ↑ From: Carnets de campagne du général comte Guyot (1999), libr. historique Teissèdre, ISBN 2-912259-17-7 .