In the Rhine Campaign of 1796, two French armies successfully breached the Rhine River to invade Germany, Moreau's army in the south and Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's Army of Sambre-et-Meuse in the north. The French armies operated independently while Charles commanded both Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour's Army of the Upper Rhine in the south and Wilhelm von Wartensleben's Army of the Lower Rhine in the north. Charles hoped to concentrate superior strength against one of the two French armies. To keep his enemies separated, the archduke wished to lure Moreau south of the Danube River by crossing to the south bank. To allow his columns to cross the river safely, Charles attacked the French, hoping to push them back. Though he failed to defeat the French, the battle gave the archduke enough space to get his troops over the Danube without interference. Though he had a chance to join his army to Jourdan's in the north, Moreau soon crossed to the south bank in pursuit.
On 24 June 1796, the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle mounted a successful assault crossing of the Rhine River in the Battle of Kehl. The French sustained losses of 150 killed, wounded and missing out of 10,065 engaged. The Swabian Regional Contingent defenders numbered 7,000 soldiers in eight foot battalions, eight horse squadrons and two artillery batteries. The Swabians suffered over 700 casualties and lost 14 guns and 22 munition wagons. Moreau's forces inflicted a second defeat on a force of 9,000 Swabians and their Austrian allies under Anton Sztáray at Renchen on 28 June. This time the French reported only 200 casualties while inflicting 550 killed and wounded on their enemies. In addition, the French captured 850 soldiers, seven guns and two munition wagons.[4] During this period of maneuvering, Moreau switched the positions of two of his wings. Ferino still commanded the Right Wing, but Desaix now commanded the Left Wing while Saint-Cyr led the Center.[2]
On 30 June, Latour's Army of the Upper Rhine was divided into a Left Wing under Michael von Fröhlich, a Center led by Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg and a Right Wing that Latour personally controlled. Fröhlich's wing was made up of eight battalions and 12 squadrons of Austrians organized in two brigades. Fürstenberg's command consisted of 17 battalions, five companies and 10 squadrons, including Swabians and Bavarians, organized into five brigades. Latour's wing had 25 battalions and 58 squadrons organized into five divisions under Prince von Fürstemberg, Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló, Johann Sigismund Riesch, Karl von Riese, and Sztáray. There were an additional six battalions and six squadrons holding Mannheim and one battalion garrisoning Philippsburg. Archduke Charles was approaching with an Austrian division under Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze and a Saxon division under General von Lindt. Hotze directed 16 battalions and 20 squadrons in three brigades while Lindt commanded nine battalions and 19 squadrons in five brigades.[5]
Jean Victor Moreau
With Desaix on the left and Saint-Cyr on the right, Moreau pressed north up the east bank of the Rhine to the Murg River. The French thrust severed Austrians under Fröhlich and French Royalists under Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé from the remainder of Latour's army.[6] Ferino's wing pursued Fröhlich and Condé to the southeast and seized the region around Freiburg im Breisgau. On the Murg, Desaix won a minor victory over Latour in the Battle of Rastatt. By this time, Archduke Charles arrived from the north with 20,000 reinforcements. The archduke planned to attack on 10 July, but Moreau preempted him by one day. In the Battle of Ettlingen on the 9th, both commanders tried to hold with their left wings and attack with their right. On Moreau's right, Saint-Cyr was successful in driving back Konrad Valentin von Kaim's Austrians near Frauenalb while Taponier's division pushed back Lindt's Saxons near Neuenbürg. On the French left, Desaix captured Malsch twice but was ultimately driven out. Despite having won the battle on his right flank, Charles feared Saint-Cyr's advance might cut him off from his supply base at Heilbronn so the archduke ordered a retreat to the east.[7]
Archduke Charles stopped long enough at Pforzheim to transfer his military stores to the army's wagon train. Moreau was surprised by his foe's decision to disengage and took several days to digest this information. The French commander planned to attack Pforzheim on 15 July, but by that date Charles was retreating farther to the east.[8] On 21 July, there was a skirmish at Cannstatt near Stuttgart. There were 8,000 Austrians in nine battalions and eight squadrons involved in the clash.[9] From Cannstatt, Charles retreated toward Schwäbisch Gmünd with Moreau following his enemies at a leisurely pace. Meanwhile, the isolated Austrian left wing withdrew through Villingen[7] with Ferino in pursuit. The Swabians and Bavarian began negotiations with the French to quit the war while the Saxons marched away to the north to join Wartensleben's army. When Charles left the banks of the Rhine he left behind 30,000 troops in garrisons at Mannheim, Philippsburg, Mainz, Königstein im Taunus and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.[10] On 29 July at Biberach an der Riss, the Swabian Regional Contingent was disarmed by Fröhlich on the instructions of Charles.[4] These subtractions left Charles with only three-quarters of the strength of Moreau. On 2 August, Moreau's troops bumped into the Austrians at Geislingen an der Steige and for a week afterward there was constant skirmishing with Charles' rear guard.[10] Saint-Cyr occupied the city of Ulm on 8 August 1796. Two days later, Charles was joined by his left wing.[11] At this time Ferino was at Memmingen to the south of the Danube.[10]
Battle
Laurent Saint-Cyr
On 13 July in Desaix's Left Wing, the division of Delmas consisted of the 50th and 97th Line and 16th Light Infantry Demi-Brigades and four squadrons each of the 7th Hussar and 10th and 17th Dragoon Regiments. Delmas' brigade commanders were Jean Marie Rodolph Eickemayer, who had been recruited from Mainz, and Maurice Frimont. The division of Beaupuy was made up of the 10th, 62nd and 103rd Line and the 10th Light Demi-Brigades, 4th and 8th Chasseurs à Cheval and the 6th Dragoons. Beaupuy's brigadiers were Gilles Joseph Martin Brunteau Saint-Suzanne and Dominique Joba. Bourcier's Reserve division comprised the 93rd and 109th Line, the 1st and 2nd Carabiniers and the 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 14th and 15th Cavalry Regiments. All demi-brigades had three battalions, all Cavalry regiments had three squadrons, while the Carabiniers, Chasseurs, Dragoons and Hussars had four squadrons.[12]
Louis Desaix in 1792
A report from 7 August 1796 showed that Saint-Cyr shuffled the brigades in the Center so that Duhesme's division had only one while Taponier had the other three. In Duhesme's division, Dominique Vandamme's brigade was made up of the 17th and 100th Line Infantry Demi-brigades, two squadrons of the 20th Chasseurs à Cheval and a detachment of the 11th Hussars, a total of 5,272 infantry and 292 cavalry. Taponier's division included the brigades of Antoine Laroche Dubouscat, Claude Lecourbe and Henri François Lambert. Laroche directed 5,124 soldiers of the 21st Light and 31st Line Infantry, Lecourbe commanded 5,878 men of the 84th and 106th Line and Lambert controlled 5,888 troops of the 93rd and 109th Line. Two squadrons of 240 sabers from the 2nd Chasseurs à Cheval were attached to Lecourbe's brigade. Altogether, there were 22,162 foot soldiers, 532 horsemen and 433 gunners in Saint-Cyr's command.[13] In addition to the other units, the 9th Hussars were normally attached to Taponier's division.[12]
Archduke Charles wished to prevent the army of Moreau from joining with his colleague Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. The Austrian commander hoped to withdraw to the south bank of the Danube but the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle was following too closely. By attacking Moreau, the archduke hoped to push the French back in order to prevent their two armies from merging and to give his own troops enough room to cross the Danube safely. Also, he wanted to lure Moreau into crossing the Danube and separating himself from Jourdan. Moreau's army was extended across a front 25 miles (40km) wide. Charles drew up plans to attack on 11 August. He sent one column to cross to the north bank of the Danube at Günzburg to get behind the French right flank. His troops were ready to move at midnight, but heavy rains slowed several of his assault columns.[10] On the 10th Saint-Cyr with Taponier's division, drove the Austrians in his front out of the village of Eglingen. Urged on by Moreau, Saint-Cyr balked because he believed that the enemy were in strength nearby. Before anything more could be done, the heavy rain began and made it impossible to fire the cannons on both sides. Moreau refused to let his subordinate withdraw to a more defensible position or to order Duhesme's division to move closer. The only concession Moreau would make was to send up one regiment of Carabiniers to patrol in front of Taponier. To be on the safe side, Saint-Cyr stationed Lecourbe and one demi brigade at Dischingen where there was a bridge over the Egau River. Meanwhile, Duhesme stayed well to the south at Medlingen in the Danube valley.[14]
Eglingen Castle
The Austrian archduke commanded 43,000 men while Moreau led 44,737 troops. Charles massed his main strength against Saint-Cyr, who commanded 30,426 soldiers if the nearby Reserve was included.[14] On the right flank, Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein led the Advance Guard while Sztáray led the Reserve. They would operate against Bopfingen and seize the Neresheim-Nördlingen road. Charles personally led 5,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry on Dunstelkingen in the center. To Charles' immediate right, Hotze directed 7,500 foot and 1,800 horse toward Kösingen and Schweindorf. To Charles' immediate left, Latour's 5,500 troops would clear Eglingen and Dischingen. On the left flank, Fröhlich was in charge of the force that would cross the Danube behind the French right flank. He would cooperate with Riese's troops.[15] The outnumbered Duhesme was to be assailed by 7,000 infantry and 2,400 cavalry.[16] Once they crushed the French right flank, 3,000 men under Karl Mercandin were to attack Dischingen while the rest were supposed to circle behind Moreau's army and keep it from escaping.[15]
The sudden Austrian advance at dawn caused the 150-strong regiment of Carabiniers to retreat at the gallop. Saint-Cyr's light cavalry, led by Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty,[14] lost heart at seeing the heavy cavalry fleeing and fell back, leaving the French infantry at Eglingen without support. The Austrian horse fell on the flank of Lambert's brigade, routing its six battalions. This left Taponier's division with 12 battalions to face Charles' assault. At this moment Moreau arrived at Saint-Cyr's headquarters. Before riding off to consult with Desaix, the French army commander placed Bourcier's division in support nearby and agreed to have the Left Wing attack the Austrian right flank. Saint-Cyr deployed nine battalions at Dunstelkingen while keeping Lecourbe's three battalions to protect his right rear at Dischingen. At 9:00 AM the Austrians attacked this position but were beaten back. Their artillery set Dunstelkingen on fire but this actually helped prevent the Austrians from advancing. Moreau then returned from his meeting with Desaix to inform Saint-Cyr that the Left Wing's attack would be delayed until Delmas' division could be recalled from the extreme left.[17]
Friedrich von Hotze
Hotze seized Kösingen but found himself facing a new French line on high ground between him and Neresheim. He attacked this position but was repulsed by Desaix. On Hotze's right, Honoré Théodore Maxime Gazan drove the Austrians back to Schweindorf. The Austrians took Bopfingen but found that the French were moving south to assist the center.[15] The clash at Bopfingen was fought by the Duke Albert Carabinier Regiment Nr. 5 and the Siebenburger Hussar Regiment Nr. 47.[18] Desaix had little trouble fending off these advances. But a message came from the far right that said Duhesme's division was in trouble.[19] Riese attacked Duhesme at Medlingen, forcing him to retreat. A large force of Austrian cavalry reached Giengen to block the French retreat, but Duhesme escaped to the northwest. Mercandin ended the day 3 miles (5km) short of Dischingen and Riese moved west to Heidenheim an der Brenz rather than making a sweep into the French rear. Fröhlich's column only got as far as Albeck, north of Ulm.[15] Duhesme's division lost some cannons and was not able to rejoin Saint-Cyr for three days. The Center's artillery park at Heidenheim hurriedly displaced north to Aalen. This left Saint-Cyr's troops with no reserve artillery ammunition and dependent on supply from Bourcier's small artillery park. Moreau appeared a third time at Saint-Cyr's headquarters promising that Desaix would soon attack the Austrian right flank. Though Saint-Cyr was in a tight spot, in fact, Charles became anxious about Moreau's commitment of the French Reserve.[19]
The Austrians declined to launch any more serious assaults on Taponier's division and by 1:00 PM the contest degenerated into an artillery duel. Part of Lambert's brigade was rallied and reoccupied Heidenheim. The Austrians threatening the French right flank began withdrawing to Dillingen an der Donau. For the fourth time that day Moreau came to see Saint-Cyr, this time accompanied by Desaix. They informed their colleague that Delmas' division was not available yet and it was too late to attack the Austrian right that day. Everything would be ready the next day.[16] Charles hoped that Moreau might concede defeat, but the morning of 12 August found the French army still in position. Charles then gave the order to fall back. Worried about the artillery ammunition shortage, Moreau did not attack Charles' right, but neither did he panic and retreat. Instead he held his position all day on the 12th waiting for confirmation that the Austrians were withdrawing across the Danube.[20]
Besides the two cavalry regiments that fought at Bopfingen, the Austrian units that came into action were four battalions of Infantry Regiments Reisky Nr. 13 and SlavonierGrenz, three battalions each of Infantry Regiments Manfredini Nr. 12, Nádasdy Nr. 39 and Kinsky Nr. 47, two battalions of Infantry Regiment Schröder Nr. 7, one battalion each of Infantry regiments Archduke Charles Nr. 3, Alton Nr. 15 and Ligne Nr. 30, the Apfaltrern, Candiani, Pietsch and Retz Grenadier Battalions, elements of Archduke Ferdinand Hussar Regiment Nr. 32 and four squadrons of the Archduke FranzCuirassier Regiment Nr. 29.[18]
Results
Guillaume Duhesme
According to one source that called the battle a French victory, the Austrians lost 1,100 killed and wounded plus 500 captured while the French suffered 1,200 killed and wounded plus 1,200 captured.[18] Another authority characterized the action as a "drawn battle" and stated that casualties numbered 3,000 on each side. The Austrian retreat was not molested by the French, which was one of the reasons why Charles fought the battle. The Austrian army crossed the Danube at Dillingen and Donauwörth, destroying all the bridges behind them.[21] Furious with Duhesme for retreating, Moreau removed him from command of his division. Saint-Cyr persuaded him to rescind the order a few days later.[20]
Moreau deserved criticism for spreading his forces too widely but he can be credited for keeping his composure despite the defeat of Duhesme.[16] But Moreau now fell into a fatal strategic error. Charles entertained a desire to combine forces with Wartensleben at the earliest opportunity in order to defeat Jourdan's army. When Charles withdrew to the south bank of the Danube, he left Moreau free to stay on the north bank and join with Jourdan. Charles hoped to lure his opponent onto the south bank which would take Moreau farther away from Jourdan. In fact, Moreau did not begin to advance until 14 August and then he headed for the Danube crossings. Meanwhile, Charles retreated rapidly, increasing the distance between his army and Moreau, but also giving himself more room to maneuver. On 18 and 19 August Moreau's army finally crossed to the south bank of the Danube. But on the 17th the archduke made a crucial strategic move. Leaving Latour with 30,288 troops plus Condé's 5,000-6,000 men, Charles and 28,000 troops recrossed to the north bank, heading for a rendezvous with Wartensleben. Ignoring this move, Moreau moved steadily to the east on the south bank of the Danube.[22]Napoleon later wrote of Moreau, "One would have said that he was ignorant that a French army existed on his left".[23] The next actions were the Battle of Amberg[18] and the Battle of Friedberg, both on 24 August 1796.[24]
1 2 3 Phipps, Ramsay Weston (2011). The Armies of the First French Republic: Volume II The Armées du Moselle, du Rhin, de Sambre-et-Meuse, de Rhin-et-Moselle. USA: Pickle Partners Publishing. p.290. ISBN978-1-908692-25-2.
1 2 Nafziger, George. "French Army of the Rhine-and-Moselle, 13 July 1796"(PDF). US Army Combined Arms Center. Archived from the original(PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2014. This source placed the 93rd and 109th Line in the Reserve rather than in the Center.
↑ Dodge, Theodore Ayrault (2011). Warfare in the Age of Napoleon: The Revolutionary Wars Against the First Coalition in Northern Europe and the Italian Campaign, 1789-1797. USA: Leonaur Ltd. p.293. ISBN978-0-85706-598-8.
The Battle of Amberg, fought on 24 August 1796, resulted in an Habsburg victory by Archduke Charles over a French army led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. This engagement marked a turning point in the Rhine campaign, which had previously seen French successes.
The Battle of Rastatt saw part of a Republican French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau clash with elements of the Habsburg army under Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour which were defending the line of the Murg River. Leading a wing of Moreau's army, Louis Desaix attacked the Austrians and drove them back to the Alb River in the War of the First Coalition action. Rastatt is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, located 89 kilometers (55 mi) south of Mannheim and 94 kilometres (58 mi) west of Stuttgart.
The Battle of Trippstadt was a relatively minor French military action in 1794 during the War of the First Coalition. The clash between the French Republican forces and the armies of Prussia and Habsburg Austria was fought over several days in the lower Vosges Mountains in the German states west of the Rhine River. Fighting occurred across a wide front and included action in Kaiserslautern, Trippstadt, Schänzel and Neustadt and along the banks of the Speyerbach River.
The Army of the Rhine and Moselle was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle.
The siege of Kehl lasted from 26 October 1796 to 9 January 1797. Habsburg and Württemberg regulars numbering 40,000, under the command of Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour, besieged and captured the French-controlled fortifications at the village of Kehl in the German state of Baden-Durlach. The fortifications at Kehl represented an important bridgehead crossing the Rhine to Strasbourg, an Alsatian city, a French Revolutionary stronghold. This battle was part of the Rhine Campaign of 1796, in the French Revolutionary War of the First Coalition.
At the Battle of Schliengen, the French Army of the Rhine and Moselle under the command of Jean-Victor Moreau and the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles of Austria both claimed victories. The village of Schliengen lies in the present-day Kreis Lörrach close to the border of present-day Baden-Württemberg (Germany), the Haut-Rhin (France), and the Canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland).
The Battle of Ettlingen or Battle of Malsch was fought during the French Revolutionary Wars between the armies of the First French Republic and Habsburg Austria near the town of Malsch, 9 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Ettlingen. The Austrians under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen tried to halt the northward advance of Jean Victor Marie Moreau's French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle along the east bank of the Rhine River. After a tough fight, the Austrian commander found that his left flank was turned. He conceded victory to the French and retreated east toward Stuttgart. Ettlingen is located 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Karlsruhe.
At the Battle of Emmendingen, on 19 October 1796, the French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle under Jean Victor Marie Moreau fought the First Coalition Army of the Upper Rhine commanded by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Emmendingen is located on the Elz River in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, 9 miles (14 km) north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition, the first phase of the larger French Revolutionary Wars.
The Battle of Biberach was fought on 2 October 1796 between a French Republican army led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau and a Habsburg Austrian army led by Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour. The French army paused in its retreat toward the Rhine River to maul the pursuing Austrians. The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
The Battle of Friedberg was fought on 24 August 1796 between a First French Republic army led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau and a Habsburg Austrian army led by Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour. The French army, which was advancing eastward on the south side of the Danube, managed to catch an isolated Austrian infantry regiment. In the ensuing combat, the Austrians were cut to pieces. Friedberg is a Bavarian town located on the Lech River near Augsburg. The action was fought during the War of the First Coalition.
The Battle of Kaiserslautern saw an army from the Kingdom of Prussia and Electoral Saxony led by Wichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf fall upon a single French Republican division under Jean-Jacques Ambert from the Army of the Moselle. The Prussians tried to surround their outnumbered adversaries but most of the French evaded capture. Nevertheless, Möllendorf's troops inflicted casualties on the French in the ratio of nine-to-one and occupied Kaiserslautern. While the Prussians won this triumph on an unimportant front, the French armies soon began winning decisive victories in Belgium and the Netherlands. The battle occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1794 Kaiserslautern was part of the Electoral Palatinate but today the city is located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany about 67 kilometres (42 mi) west of Mannheim.
In the Rhine campaign of 1796, two First Coalition armies under the overall command of Archduke Charles outmaneuvered and defeated two French Republican armies. This was the last campaign of the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
Sometimes called the Battle of Limburg or Second Battle of Altenkirchen or Battle of the Lahn, this was actually a single-day battle followed by a lengthy rear-guard action. The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of a wider conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars. Limburg an der Lahn is located in the state of Hesse in Germany about 31 miles (50 km) east of Koblenz. On 16 September, the Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen attacked a Republican French army led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan in its positions behind the Lahn River. The unexpected collapse and withdrawal of their right flank on the evening of the 16th compelled the French to make a fighting withdrawal that began in the evening of the 16th and continued until late on 19 September.
The Battle of Haguenau saw a Republican French army commanded by Jean-Charles Pichegru mount a persistent offensive against a Coalition army under Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser during the War of the First Coalition. In late November, Wurmser pulled back from his defenses behind the Zorn River and assumed a new position along the Moder River at Haguenau. After continuous fighting, Wurmser finally withdrew to the Lauter River after his western flank was turned in the Battle of Froeschwiller on 22 December. Haguenau is a city in Bas-Rhin department of France, located 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of Strasbourg.
During the Battle of Kehl, a Republican French force under the direction of Jean Charles Abbatucci mounted an amphibious crossing of the Rhine River against a defending force of soldiers from the Swabian Circle. In this action of the War of the First Coalition, the French drove the Swabians from their positions in Kehl and subsequently controlled the bridgehead on both sides of the Rhine.
In the siege of Hüningen, the Austrians captured the city from the French. Hüningen is in the present-day Department of Haut-Rhin, France. Its fortress lay approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of the Swiss city of Basel and .5 miles (0.80 km) north of the spot where the present-day borders of Germany, France and Switzerland meet. During the time of this siege, the village was part of the Canton of Basel City and the fortress lay in area contested between the German states and the First French Republic.
The Second Battle of Kehl occurred on 18 September 1796, when General Franz Petrasch's Austrian and Imperial troops stormed the French-held bridgehead over the Rhine river. The village of Kehl, which is now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, was then part of Baden-Durlach. Across the river, Strasbourg, an Alsatian city, was a French Revolutionary stronghold. This battle was part of the Rhine Campaign of 1796, in the French Revolutionary War of the First Coalition.
The Battle of Maudach occurred on 15 June 1796 between the French Revolutionary Army and the Army of the First Coalition. This was the opening action of the Rhine Campaign of 1796 on the Upper Rhine, slightly north of the town of Kehl. The Coalition, commanded by Franz Petrasch, lost 10 percent of its manpower missing, killed or wounded. It was fought at the village of Maudach, southwest of Ludwigshafen on the Rhine river opposite Mannheim. Maudach lies 10 km (6 mi) northwest of Speyer and today is a southwest suburb of Ludwigshafen; a principal town on the Rhine river in 1796.
In the Rhine Campaign of 1796, two First Coalition armies under the overall command of Archduke Charles outmaneuvered and defeated two Republican French armies. This was the last campaign of the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
Ludwig Wilhelm Anton, Count Baillet de Latour-Merlemont served as an Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars. From a noble family, he joined the Austrian army as a volunteer in 1767 and fought in the War of the Bavarian Succession as a commissioned officer. He was promoted to command an infantry regiment in 1788 and fought in the Austro-Turkish War. He became a Generalmajor in 1794 during the War of the First Coalition against France. He fought in the Rhine campaign of 1795 and led a division in numerous battles during the Rhine campaign of 1796. He was known as Count Baillet or Count Baillet-Merlemont to distinguish him from his higher-ranking older brother Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour. He was promoted Feldmarschall-Leutnant in 1797.
References
Dodge, Theodore Ayrault (2011). Warfare in the Age of Napoleon: The Revolutionary Wars Against the First Coalition in Northern Europe and the Italian Campaign, 1789-1797. USA: Leonaur Ltd. ISBN978-0-85706-598-8.
Phipps, Ramsay Weston (2011). The Armies of the First French Republic: Volume II The Armées du Moselle, du Rhin, de Sambre-et-Meuse, de Rhin-et-Moselle. USA: Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN978-1-908692-25-2.
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