Capitulation of Dornbirn

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Capitulation of Dornbirn
Part of the War of the Third Coalition
Dornbirner Ache.svg
Map of the Dornbirn area
Date13 November 1805
Location 47°24′50″N09°44′40″E / 47.41389°N 9.74444°E / 47.41389; 9.74444
Result French victory
Belligerents
Flag of France.svg France Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg  Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Flag of France.svg Pierre Augereau Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400).svg Franz Jellacic
Units involved
VII Corps Jellacic's Corps
Strength
14,000 4,058
Casualties and losses
None 4,058
7 colours captured

The Capitulation of Dornbirn (13 November 1805) saw the French VII Corps under Marshal Pierre Augereau face an Austrian force led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant (FML) Franz Jellacic. Isolated near Lake Constance (Bodensee) by superior numbers of French troops, Jellacic surrendered his command. The event occurred during the War of the Third Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.

Contents

Dornbirn is located in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg, about 12 kilometres (7 mi) south of Bregenz at the eastern end of Lake Constance. [1]

Background

On 9 September 1805, an Austrian army under the nominal command of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este crossed the frontier into the Electorate of Bavaria without a declaration of war. The Austrian army, which was actually under the control of FML Karl Mack von Leiberich, hoped to force the Bavarian army to join the Third Coalition against France. In fact, the Bavarian elector had signed a secret treaty with France and marched his army north to Würzburg to meet with his French allies. [2] By 18 September, Mack's army was arrayed near Ulm where it watched the Black Forest to the west. Mack expected that it would take the French two months to react, however by 24 September Emperor Napoleon's Grand Army was already on the Rhine River. [3]

Altogether, the Austrian army in Bavaria numbered 66,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. Mack hoped that the French army would attack from the west. [4] Against the Austrians, Napoleon's Grand Army had an effective strength of 210,500 soldiers, including seven French army corps, the French Cavalry Reserve, and the Bavarians and other German allies. [5] On 2 October, the Grand Army began a gigantic right wheel. [6] On 7 October, 180,000 French and allied soldiers reached the Danube River between Ingolstadt and Dillingen an der Donau. FML Michael von Kienmayer's weak Austrian force defending the area was compelled to retreat toward Augsburg. At this time, Mack finally woke up to his danger and began to concentrate his army, including Jellacic's troops, around Ulm. After crossing the Danube, Napoleon's troops marched south to cut off Mack's army from Vienna. Most of the Grand Army moved west to deal with Mack's army while three corps moved east to block any intervention by Austria's Russian allies. [7]

In the Ulm Campaign, Mack's forces attempted to break out of the trap. FML Franz von Werneck's corps fought its way out to the northeast, but it was hunted down and captured on 18 October. Only Archduke Ferdinand and some cavalry managed to escape to Bohemia. [8] Jellacic marched first to Biberach [9] before slipping away south to the Vorarlberg with one division. On 19 October, Mack surrendered with 23,000 Austrians at Ulm. The rapid destruction of Mack's army was a major victory for Napoleon, but it did not end the war. A 50,000-strong Russian army arrived at Braunau am Inn to combine with Kienmayer's survivors while the Kingdom of Prussia threatened to join the Coalition. [8] After the drawn Battle of Caldiero against Marshal André Masséna at the end of October, the Austrian army of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen began to withdraw from Italy. [10]

Operations

Marshal Augereau Charles Pierre Francois Augereau.jpg
Marshal Augereau

At the beginning of the war, Augereau's VII Corps was stationed at Bayonne on the Atlantic Ocean. Since it would reach the theater of action later than the rest of the Grand Army, the VII Corps was designated the reserve. [11] On 24 September, when the rest of the Grand Army was on the banks of the Rhine, Augereau's troops were still in transit across France. [3] Around 25 October, VII Corps crossed the Rhine [12] at Huningue and advanced to Stockach. [13] Augereau then seized Lindau and Bregenz. [14]

After the surrender of Ulm, Napoleon ordered Marshal Michel Ney's VI Corps to march south to Innsbruck. This would keep an Austrian corps under Archduke John of Austria from interfering with his supply line through Swabia. General of Division (GD) Auguste de Marmont's II Corps moved from Salzburg toward Leoben to keep the army under Archduke Charles away from Vienna. Marmont's corps reached at Leoben on 7 November. [15] Ney's corps attempted to force the mountain passes at Scharnitz and Leutasch on 4 November. At Scharnitz, 6,000 French infantry were repulsed by 804 Austrian infantry, 894 militia, and 12 guns. The French suffered 800 casualties while the Austrian only lost 100. At Leutasch, 1,500 soldiers of the 69th Line Infantry overwhelmed the Austrian defenders, capturing 600 regular infantry and 4 guns while reporting only 26 casualties. By overrunning the Leutasch valley, the French outflanked the Austrians and forced them to abandon Scharnitz. The French occupied Innsbruck on 5 November. [16]

The French capture of Scharnitz and Innsbruck left Jellacic completely isolated. [13] Jellacic sent away his cavalry before surrendering on 13 November 1805 at Dornbirn. [1] The capitulation was concluded with GD Maurice Mathieu on 15 November. [13] The capitulation included three generals, 160 officers, 3,895 rank and file, and seven colors. The soldiers were allowed to march to Bohemia after giving up their weapons and promising not to fight against France for one year. [1] Jellacic's cavalry under Generalmajor Christian Wolfskehl von Reichenberg managed to escape within Austrian lines. [17]

Forces

French order of battle

Augereau's VII Corps numbered 14,000 men and consisted of two infantry divisions. In the 1805 campaign, there was no corps cavalry brigade. [5] The artillery was armed with fifteen 8-pounders, five 4-pounders, and eight 6-inch howitzers. All of the units under the Corps Artillery, except the 8th Principal Train/6th Company and 7th Miner/4th Company, were listed as detached on 6 November 1805. [18]

Marshal Augereau's French VII Corps on 6 November 1805 [18]
DivisionBrigadeUnitOfficersMen
1st Division
GD Jacques Desjardin
Brigade
General of Brigade (GB) Pierre Belon Lapisse
16th Light Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)932,289
7th Horse Chasseurs Regiment7130
Brigade
GB Jean Maximilien Lamarque
44th Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)591,296
105th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)591,519
4th Sapper Battalion, 2nd Company146
Artillery
Major Dubois
3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, 4th Company263
8th Principal Train Battalion,
1st and 2nd Companies
6156
2nd Division
GD Maurice Mathieu
Brigade
GB Jean Sarrazin
7th Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)932,001
63rd Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)601,277
Brigade
GB Jacques Thomas Sarrut
24th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)901,876
4th Sapper Battalion, 4th Company373
Cavalry7th (?) Horse Chasseurs Regiment9176
Artillery
Major Dardemer
5th Foot Artillery Regiment, 3rd Company366
1st Principal Train Battalion,
1st and 2nd Companies
2195
Corps ArtilleryNot brigaded3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, 2nd Company394
3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, 3rd Company394
6th Horse Artillery Regiment, 5th Company--
6th Artillery Artisan Company170
8th Principal Train Battalion,
5th and 6th Companies
2177
7th Miner Battalion, 4th Company481

Austrian order of battle

Franz Jellacic Franjo Jelacic.jpg
Franz Jellacic
Austrian force at Dornbirn under Franz Jellacic [1]
UnitNo. Battalions
2nd Jäger Battalion1
Stain Infantry Regiment Nr. 503
Franz Jellacic Infantry Regiment Nr. 623
Beaulieu Infantry Regiment Nr. 58, Grenadier battalion1
Combined battalions

Aftermath

After eliminating Jellacic's force, Augereau's VII Corps was ordered to Ulm where it defended south Germany. [19] The army of Archduke Charles retreated from Italy, fighting rearguard actions against Masséna at the Brenta, Piave, Tagliamento, and Isonzo Rivers. [20] Charles reached Ljubljana (Laybach) while the smaller army of Archduke John reached Klagenfurt am Wörthersee on 20 November. The two Austrian armies finally united at Maribor (Marburg) on the Drava River. [21] After a further retreat, Archduke Charles' 80,000-man army reached Körmend in Hungary on 2 December 1805. This was the same day that the decisive Battle of Austerlitz was fought. On 6 December, an armistice was signed that took Austria out of the Third Coalition. [22]

An Austrian division led by Generalmajor Prince Louis Victor de Rohan was also isolated at Landeck in the County of Tyrol. On 10 November, Rohan marched to the south through Nauders and Bolzano but failed to make contact with Archduke John or Archduke Charles. Rohan's force surprised the French garrison of Bassano on 22 November. Marching hard, the Austrians reached Castelfranco Veneto the following evening. On 24 November, Rohan's remarkable trek came to an end in the Battle of Castelfranco Veneto when his troops were trapped between the divisions of GD Jean Reynier and GD Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. [23] After a struggle, Rohan surrendered 4,400 Austrian soldiers, 5 guns, and 4 colors. [24]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Smith 1998, p. 214.
  2. Schneid 2005, p. 102.
  3. 1 2 Schneid 2005, p. 103.
  4. Schneid 2005, p. 112.
  5. 1 2 Chandler 1966, p. 1103.
  6. Chandler 1966, p. 392.
  7. Schneid 2005, p. 113.
  8. 1 2 Schneid 2005, p. 115.
  9. Cust 1862, p. 230.
  10. Schneid 2005, p. 124.
  11. Schneid 2005, p. 94.
  12. Schneid 2005, p. 125.
  13. 1 2 3 Cust 1862, p. 272.
  14. New Annual Register 1807, p. 165.
  15. Schneid 2005, p. 129.
  16. Smith 1998, p. 211.
  17. Smith & Kudrna 2008a.
  18. 1 2 Nafziger 1990.
  19. Schneid 2005, p. 136.
  20. Chandler 1966, p. 405.
  21. Cust 1862, p. 273.
  22. Schneid 2005, p. 139.
  23. Smith & Kudrna 2008b.
  24. Smith 1998, p. 215.

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References