| Battle of Linz-Urfahr | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar of the Fifth Coalition | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 First French Empire K. of Württemberg Kingdom of Saxony |  Austrian Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jean BernadotteD. Vandamme | Johann Kollowrat | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000–18,000 | 15,000–20,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 391 | 883, 4 guns–891, 6 guns | ||||||
TheBattle of Linz-Urfahr[1] on 17 May 1809 saw soldiers from theAustrian Empire fighting against troops from two ofEmperor Napoleon's allies, theKingdom of Württemberg and theKingdom of Saxony. An Austrian corps led byFeldzeugmeisterJohann Kollowrat attackedGeneral of DivisionDominique Vandamme's Württembergers who held a fortified bridgehead on the north bank of theDanube opposite the city ofLinz. As the combat got underway, Saxons led byMarshalJean-Baptiste Bernadotte began reinforcing the defenders. This prompted Kollowrat to order a retreat, which was followed up by Napoleon's German allies.
The Austrian commander-in-chief,GeneralissimoArchduke Charles, Duke of Teschen detached Kollowrat's III Armeekorps from the main army to guardBohemia. Later, Charles directed his subordinate to threaten Napoleon's long and vulnerable supply line which followed the Danube valley. Accordingly, Kollowrat descended upon the Linz bridgehead, but the presence of a strong defending force thwarted his plans. The action was fought during theWar of the Fifth Coalition, part of theNapoleonic Wars. Urfahr is part of the modern city of Linz, on the north bank of the Danube.
After his defeat at theBattle of Eckmühl on 21 and 22 April 1809, Archduke Charles withdrew to the north bank of the Danube with 92,000 troops. Of these, the I Armeekorps numbered 28,000, the II counted 20,000, the III had 13,000, the IV included 15,000, the I Reserve mustered 12,000, andGeneral-major Josef Mayer's V Armeekorps brigade had 4,000.[2] Charles regrouped his army atCham, which is just west of the Bohemian frontier. Convinced that his army was demoralized by its defeat, Charles gave up any thought of counterattacking Napoleon. Instead, he intended to retreat from Cham toVienna viaČeské Budějovice (Budweis). For his part, Napoleon made up his mind to plunge forward on the south bank toward Austria's capital, Vienna. Consequently, the French emperor called off the brief pursuit by MarshalLouis-Nicolas Davout's III Corps and allowed Charles an untroubled retreat.[3]
At the outbreak of the war, Napoleon ordered Bernadotte to march the Saxon army, known as the IX Corps, to the Danube atRegensburg (Ratisbon). Because this left the Kingdom of Saxony unprotected, Bernadotte evacuated the Saxon royal family and the military stores from Saxony's capitalDresden. By 20 April the Saxon troops were atGera on the way south.[4]Jérôme Bonaparte was ordered to march hisKingdom of Westphalia army, named the X Corps, to hold Saxony.[5]
With the Saxon army at large, Archduke Charles worried that Bohemia might be overrun and decided to leave onearmy corps to defend the province. For this task, he chose the III Armeekorps with its 23 battalions and 15 squadrons. To this were added 23 badly-organized battalions of Bohemianlandwehr. Kollowrat was appointed to lead the III Armeekorps, whilePrince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern-Hechingen exchanged his old corps for Kollowrat's former II Armeekorps.[6]
On the south bank of the Danube, Napoleon's forces relentlessly pressed back the outnumbered Austrian left wing ofFeldmarschall-LeutnantJohann von Hiller, which consisted of the V, VI, and II Reserve Armeekorps.[7] After brutal fighting at theBattle of Ebelsberg on 3 May,[8] the Franco-Allied army appeared before Vienna. After a perfunctory resistance,Archduke Maximilian of Austria–Este abandoned the Austrian capital which was handed over to the French early on 13 May.[9]
On 4 May, Vandamme and his VIII Corps reached Linz. He foundGeneral-major Joseph von Richter and an Austrian landwehr brigade opposite Linz on the Danube's north bank. Earlier in the campaign, this unit had assisted in the blockade of the Bavarian garrison ofPassau. After Passau was relieved, Richter fell back on the north bank to Linz. Aggressively, Vandamme lined up his artillery on the south bank and began to bombard Richter's men. Under cover of the cannonading, the Württembergers crossed over in boats and attacked. Richter's poorly trained landwehr were overrun and most were captured.[10]
On the 6th, Bernadotte's Saxons reachedRötz near Cham in their march around the west side of Bohemia. Napoleon wanted the IX Corps to be at Passau on the 9th, with the possibility of being ordered from there to Linz.[10] On 7 May, Archduke Charles left Budweis with his main army. He ordered Kollowrat to move fromPlzeň (Pilsen) and guard his southern flank.[11] On the 8th, the Austrian army commander ordered Kollowrat to menace the French supply line near Linz.[12] Charles reunited with Hiller's wing on the north bank of the Danube on 16 May.[13]
Carrying out his orders of 8 May, Kollowrat concentrated the III Armeekorps at Budweis on 13 May. To guard the city ofCheb (Eger) in western Bohemia, Kollowrat detached two line (regular) and 12landwehr battalions. Moving south, the Austrians reachedNeumarkt im Mühlkreis on the 16th. Kollowrat divided the III Armeekorps into three columns for the assault on the Linz bridgehead. He ordered two columns underFeldmarschall-Leutnants Hannibal Sommariva andJosef Philipp Vukassovich to attack the bridgehead from either side. He sent Feldmarschall-LeutnantFranz Xaver Saint-Julien with the third column towardMauthausen in afeint attack to divert attention from the main blow. Kollowrat held back a powerful reserve force.[12]
Marshal Bernadotte was in overall command of the forces of Napoleon's German allies. The 12,000-strong VIII Corps was composed of Württemberg troops and commanded by Vandamme. The corps was made up of one infantry division underGeneral-Leutnant von Neubronn and one cavalry division led by General-Leutnant von Wöllworth.[1][14]
General-majorFrederic von Franquemont's 1st Infantry Brigade included two battalions each of theCrown Prince andDuke Wilhelm Line Infantry Regiments and the 1st Battalion of theNeubronnFusilier Regiment. The 2nd Infantry Brigade of General-major von Scharffenstein had two battalions each of thePhull andCammerer Line Infantry Regiments and the 2nd Battalion of theNeubronn Fusiliers. General-major von Hügel's 3rd Brigade comprised the 1stKönigJäger Battalion, 2ndNeuffer Jäger Battalion, 1stWolff Light Battalion, and 2ndBrüselle Light Battalion.[1][14]
The 1st Cavalry Brigade of General-major von Röder included four squadrons each of theLeib andDuke HeinrichChevau-léger Regiments. General-major von Stettner's 2nd Cavalry Brigade was made up four squadrons each of theKönig andDuke Louis Jäger zu Pferde Regiments.[1]Oberst (Colonel) von Schnadow's corps artillery had 22 guns in three companies. The 1st Foot Company consisted of eight 6-pound cannons and two 7-inch howitzers. The 1st and 2nd Horse Companies each had four 6-pound cannons and two 7-inch howitzers.[14]
Of the Saxon IX Corps, only the 1st Division of General-Leutnant von Zeschwitz was engaged in the battle. General-major von Hartitsch's 1st Brigade included theLeibGrenadier Guard Battalion,Bose Grenadier Battalion, two battalions of theKönig Line Infantry Regiment, the 1st Battalion of theDyherrn Line Infantry Regiment, and theMetzsch Light Infantry Battalion. The 2nd Brigade of General-major von Boxberg was made up of two battalions each of thePrince Maximilien,Prince Frederick August, andPrince Anton Line Infantry Regiments. General-major von Gutschmid's Cavalry Brigade consisted of one squadron of thePrince Albert Chevau-léger Regiment, three squadrons of the Hussar Regiment, four squadrons of thePrince Clement Chevau-léger Regiment, and two squadrons each of theGarde du Corps and Carabinier Regiments.[15] Of these units, theMetzsch,Prince Anton,Prince Clement,Garde du Corps, and Carabiniers were not engaged. Also arriving too late[1] was the 2nd Division of General-Leutnant von Polenz.[16]
Sommariva's Right Column consisted of three battalions of theWenzel Colloredo Infantry Regiment Nr. 56, one battalion of thePeterwardeinerGrenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 9, the 5th Jäger Battalion, three battalions of thePilsenLandwehr, two squadrons of theMerveldtUhlan Regiment Nr. 1, and 12 guns in two foot artillery batteries.[1]
Vukassovich commanded the Center Column. This body included three battalions each of theManfreddini Infantry Regiment Nr. 12 and theSchröder Infantry Regiment Nr. 7, two battalions of theWurzburg Infantry Regiment Nr. 23, one battalion of thePeterwardeiner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 9, the 6th Jäger Battalion, four squadrons each of theMerveldtUhlan Regiment Nr. 1 and theHessen-Homburg Hussar Regiment Nr. 4, and 24 guns in four foot artillery batteries. Saint-Julien directed the Left Column. Of this force, only two squadrons of theHessen-Homburg Hussar Regiment Nr. 4 were engaged.[1]
At 2:00 PM on 17 May, Kollowrat's attacks began. At that time, intelligence was received that Bernadotte's Saxons had arrived in Linz, having marched fromPassau. Kollowrat immediately suspended the assault and determined to retreat. In fact, Bernadotte reached Linz at 7:00 AM that morning with his leading infantry and cavalry brigades. He crossed into the bridgehead in the afternoon and attacked the Austrian column on the east side, pushing it back with loss. Having disposed of Vukassovich, he turned on Sommariva on the west side and defeated his force as well.[17]
One notable feature of the fighting was a successful allied cavalry charge against an Austrian artillery battery on the Pfennigberg hill. The WürttembergDuke Louis Jäger zu Pferde Regiment and the Saxon Hussars overran the battery, capturing six guns. The Jägers were allowed to claim four of the captured pieces as prizes while the Hussars got the other two.[18] One authority wrote that Bernadotte had no more than 10,000 troops available, while Kollowrat commanded over 20,000.[17] HistorianDigby Smith stated that 15,000 Austrians and 36 guns were engaged against 6,000 Saxons and 12,000 Württembergers with 22 guns.[1]
The Württembergers lost 35 killed, 228 wounded, and 40 missing, for a total of 303. Saxon casualties numbered 88, with seven killed, 74 wounded, and seven captured. The Austrians counted 49 killed, 263 wounded, 455 captured, and 124 missing, for a total of 891. They also lost six guns and two ammunition wagons.[1] Another authority lists Austrian losses as 883 and four guns. After his defeat, Kollowrat fell back first toGallneukirchen to the northeast of Linz. Later his corps marched north toFreistadt.[17] Archduke Charles failed to call the III Armeekorps to return to the main army north of Vienna[19] and it missed theBattle of Aspern-Essling on 21 and 22 May.[20]
Around 26 May, Archduke Charles recalled the III Armeekorps to join the main army oppositeVienna. Following his instructions, Kollowrat left Sommariva's division at Freistadt to observe Linz while bringing his other two divisions to link up with Charles. To insure the safety of his communications, Napoleon ordered the fortifications at the Linz bridgehead to be improved. Leaving Vandamme's Württembergers behind, Bernadotte hurried to join Napoleon with his Saxons.[21] In addition to Sommariva's force, Feldmarschall-LeutnantEmmanuel von Schustekh-Herve with 9,000 men and 13 guns had been hovering nearKrems an der Donau since 10 May.[22]
AtVillach on 17 May, Archduke John received orders to move against Napoleon's communications from the south.[23] These instructions proved impossible to execute because MarshalFrançois Joseph Lefebvre defeated Feldmarschall-LeutnantJohann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles[24] on 13 May at theBattle of Wörgl.[25] Instead, John recalled Chasteler and Feldmarschall-LeutnantFranz Jellacic from theTyrol in the hope of adding their forces to his weakened army. As it happened, Jellacic's division was crushed at theBattle of Sankt Michael on 25 May and only remnants joined John.[24] Chasteler escaped but never caught up with John's army in its operations againstEugène de Beauharnais'French Army of Italy.[26]
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