| Dalmatian campaign of 1809 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Fifth Coalition | |||||||
 An equestrian portrait ofAuguste Marmont | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 First French Empire |  Austrian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Auguste Marmont | Andreas Stoichevich Matthias Rebrovich | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 14,000 | 8,100–9,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Zrmanja River: 1,200 Pribudić: light Gračac: 300 Gospić: 1,004 | Zrmanja River: 250 Pribudić: 1,000 Gračac: 300 Gospić: 764, 2–5 guns | ||||||
TheDalmatian campaign of 1809 saw several battles fought between 30 April and 21 May 1809 byAuguste Marmont'sFirst French Empire soldiers and Andreas von Stoichevich'sAustrian Empire troops. The Austrians drove the French from their positions on theZrmanja River at the end of April. But in mid-May, the French counterattack forced back the Austrians. The defenders offered stout resistance, but ultimately Marmont broke out ofDalmatia and joinedEmperor Napoleon's army nearVienna with over 10,000 men. The campaign was fought during theWar of the Fifth Coalition, part of theNapoleonic Wars. Dalmatia is part of the modern-day nation ofCroatia.
At the beginning of the conflict, the Austrians thrust across the Zrmanja and forced the French back to the fortified cities. After the Austrian defeat and subsequent retreat from Italy of the army ofArchduke John of Austria, Marmont launched his own offensive. The French beat the Austrians atPribudić, capturing Stoichevich, and moved north. Two more actions were fought atGračac on 17 May andGospić on 21 May before Marmont reachedLjubljana (Laibach) inCarniola. Continuing north, the French general fought in theBattle of Graz on 25 and 26 June and in the decisiveBattle of Wagram on 5 and 6 July.
On the outbreak of war in April 1809, the major forces in the Italian theater were the Franco-Italian army of theViceroy of Italy,Eugène de Beauharnais and the Austrian army ofGeneral der KavallerieArchduke John of Austria. In addition,General of Division Marmont commanded a French corps in occupation of Dalmatia.[1] At the end of theWar of the Third Coalition on 26 December 1805, theTreaty of Pressburg awarded the former Austrian provinces ofIstria and Dalmatia to the French puppetKingdom of Italy.[2] Since that time, Marmont had administered the region. Because Marmont's troops had trained with theGrande Armée at theCamp de Boulogne (as the oldII Corps) and missed the bloody battles of theWar of the Fourth Coalition, Napoleon considered the unit his "finest corps".[3]
Marmont's so-called Army of Dalmatia consisted of two infantry divisions commanded by Generals of DivisionJoseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard andBertrand Clausel. Montrichand's 1st Division consisted of the brigades ofColonel Jean Louis Soye andGeneral of Brigade Jean Marie Auguste Aulnay de Launay, plus the 9th company of the 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment, with six 6-pound cannons. Soye's brigade included the 18th Light and 5th Line Infantry Regiments. De Launay's brigade was made up of the 79th and 81st Line Infantry Regiments. Clausel's 2nd Division comprised the brigades of Generals of BrigadeAlexis Joseph Delzons andGilbert Bachelu. The divisional artillery included the 3rd and 9th companies of the 8th Foot Artillery Regiment, with six 6-pound cannons and two 5-inch howitzers in each company for a total of 16 guns. Delzons led the 8th Light and 23rd Line Infantry Regiments and Bachelu directed the 11th Line Infantry Regiment. The 11th Line had three battalions, while the other regiments only had two battalions each. Average battalion strength was approximately 700.[4]
The Army of Dalmatia was provided with an especially powerful artillery contingent of 78 guns[5] led by General of BrigadeLouis Tirlet. The name is misspelled "Tiblet" both times.[6] The large corps artillery reserve included the 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, and 15th companies of the 1st Italian Artillery Regiment, six 6-pound cannons each. The 10th company of the 7th Foot Artillery Regiment had six 12-pound cannons and the 2nd company of the 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment had six 12-pound cannons and two 5-inch howitzers. The 14th and 15th companies of the 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment each consisted of six 6-pound cannons. The 3rd squadron of the 24thChasseurs à Cheval Regiment completed the corps. Marmont's chief of staff was General of BrigadeJacques-Antoine-Adrien Delort.[7]
To oppose Marmont, Archduke John detachedGeneral-MajorStoichevich's brigade from its original place inFeldmarschallleutnantVinzenz Knežević von Szent-Helena's 3rd Division ofFeldmarschallleutnantIgnaz Gyulai's IX Armeekorps.[8] On 15 May, Stoichevich commanded about 8,100 troops, including roughly 7,740 infantry, 120 infantry, and 240 artillerists.[9] The Austrian regular infantry consisted of two battalions each of theLiccanerGrenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 1, two battalions of theWarasdiner Szent-George Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 6, one battalion of the 1stDeutsch Banat Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 12, and the 4th Garrison Battalion. Other troops included one squadron of theHohenzollernChevau-léger Regiment, four battalions of theKarlstadtLandwehr, a 3-pound Grenz brigade battery of eight cannons, and a 6-pound position battery of six guns.[10]
An alternate order of battle for the Austrians lists three battalions of theLiccanerGrenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 1, one battalion of theOttocaner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 2, one battalion of theOguliner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 3, one battalion of theSzluiner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 4, two battalions of the1st Banal Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 10, one squadron of theHohenzollern Chevau-léger Regiment, one squadron of theSerezaner cavalry, one position battery of six guns, and one brigade battery of 12 3-pound cannons.[11]
Though outnumbered by their adversaries, the Austrians won the opening round of the campaign. Between 26 and 30 April,General Stoichevich mounted a series of attacks on theZrmanja River crossings ofErvenik,Kaštel Žegarski,Obrovac, Vagic, and Kravli Most.[12] Fighting in a rainstorm, the Austrian grenzers drove the French from a mountaintop position on 30 April. During the retreat, the civilian population joined in harassing the French.[13] The widely dispersed French forces were driven back toKnin (Kürn)[14] andZadar (Zara). Petre stated that Marmont retreated to Zara, while Stoichevich took a position at Kürn. Geography suggests that Bowden and Tarbox were correct in that Marmont held Kürn.[15] For a loss of 250 casualties, Stoichevich inflicted losses of 1,000 dead and wounded on the French, while capturing 200 enemy soldiers.[16]
For two weeks the front line stabilized, with the Austrians unable to capture Knin.[14] Meanwhile, Bosnian andOttoman Turk irregulars began attacking the Austrians. Hearing of the defeat of Archduke John at theBattle of Piave River on 8 May and the French eastward advance toward Laibach, Stoichevich prepared to withdraw.[17]
On 15 May,Hauptmann (captain) Hrabovszky led 150 men from theSzluiner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 4 and theDalmatianFreikorps in a highly successful night raid against Delzons' brigade. For negligible losses, the Austrians claimed to have killed 100 Frenchmen in an attack on the village of Stara Straza, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northwest of Knin. In addition, they captured 200 enemy soldiers, 700 sheep, and 34 oxen.[18]
On 16 May, Marmont inflicted a sharp defeat on the Austrians at Pribudić,[19] which is 14 kilometres (9 mi) northwest of Knin.[a] While a holding force of French skirmishers and artillery probed at a well-defended mountaintop position, Marmont sent the 23rd Line to strike the Austrian flank. The attack succeeded in overrunning the Austrian defenses.[13] Of 13,000 soldiers on the field, the French suffered few casualties. Out of 9,000 men, the Austrians suffered losses of 200 dead, 500 wounded, and between 300[20] and 600 captured, including Stoichevich.[13] Two sources located the battle at Pribudić,[5][19] while a third associated the battle with both Mount Kita, south of Gračac, andGolubić, north of Knin.[20]
The next day, the two sides clashed at Gračac. In this action, Marmont admitted losing 300 dead, without reporting other losses. The Austrians, now commanded byOberst (colonel) Matthias Rebrovich, reported losing 300 killed and wounded before retreating toward Gospić.[21] Gračac is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) northwest of Knin.[b]
On 21 May, Marmont located Rebrovich's forces deployed behind theLika River near Gospić. Holding back one of his divisions as a reserve, he sent the other into a trans-riverine attack. To open the action, the Frenchvoltiguer (light infantry) companies waded across the river at a ford under fire. Taking possession of the bluffs on the far side, they fought off repeated Austrian assaults. The French fed reinforcements into a bridgehead that was commanded by 12 Austrian guns. To counter the enemy's local superiority in artillery, the French formed in a single line with three-pace gaps between men. The skirmish line was backed by groups of ten men, each led by an officer. Mule-carried mountain howitzers were brought up to provide fire support.[13]
Noting that the Austrians fought in three disconnected forces, Marmont hurled his main blow at Rebrovich's center. Although one battalion of the 81st Line suffered heavy losses from the Austrian bombardment, the French began to prevail. An attack by the 18th Light stormed the enemy battery, capturing five cannons. As the Austrian center retreated hastily, Marmont turned against the enemy wings and threw them back also.[13]
The French lost 134 dead, 600 wounded, and 270 captured out of the 11,000 men engaged in this tough fight. Both Soye and de Launay were wounded. The Austrians admitted losing 64 dead, 500 wounded, 200 captured, and two guns. HistorianDigby Smith called the action an Austrian victory,[22] though this appears to contradict the narrative of James R. Arnold, which strongly implied a French triumph.[13]
HistorianFrancis Loraine Petre suggested that only "remnants" ofMatthias Rebrovich's command joined withIgnaz Gyulai nearZagreb (Agram) at the beginning of June 1809.[19] Robert M. Epstein stated thatAndreas von Stoichevich's command was badly mauled in the campaign. After takingGospić, Marmont continued northward and reachedTrieste on 28 May andLjubljana (Laibach) on 3 June.[23]
On 26 June, Marmont's corps intervened in theBattle of Graz, joining with General of DivisionJean-Baptiste Broussier to drive Gyulai's men to the east. After pursuing the Austrians for two days, he received orders on the 29th to proceed to Vienna at once by forced marches.[24] Despite the victory, Napoleon remarked to Eugene, "Marmont has manoeuvred badly enough; Broussier still worse." He believed that Marmont should have been at Graz by 23 or 24 June. Not only Marmont, but Broussier, Eugene and other outlying elements of the French emperor's armies were called upon to march to Vienna.[25] The climacticBattle of Wagram was fought on 5 and 6 July 1809.[26] By the time of Wagram, Marmont's Army of Dalmatia was renamed theXI Corps.[27]
After Wagram, Napoleon cross-examined Marmont about the Dalmatian campaign. He then criticized the general's actions for two hours. Wrung out by the experience, Marmont returned to his tent. To his surprise, he later found that he had been nominated for promotion toMarshal of France. But Napoleon also sent him a letter noting that, "Between ourselves, you have not yet done enough to justify entirely my choice." Three men became marshal after Wagram. Of the three, the soldiers composed aditty,[28]
MacDonald is France's choice
Oudinot is the army's choice
Marmont is friendship's choice.[28]
Media related toDalmatian Campaign (1809) at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Battle of Neumarkt-Sankt Veit | Napoleonic Wars Dalmatian Campaign (1809) | Succeeded by Battle of Ebelsberg |
