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Capitulation of Dornbirn

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Capitulation of Dornbirn
Part of the War of the Third Coalition

Map of the Dornbirn area
Date13 November 1805
Location
Dornbirn, Austria
47°24′50″N 09°44′40″E / 47.41389°N 9.74444°E / 47.41389; 9.74444
Result French victory
Belligerents
France France  Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
France Pierre Augereau Holy Roman Empire 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.

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

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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

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Marshal Augereau in French uniform with many decorations
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

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French order of battle

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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]
Division Brigade Unit Officers Men
1st Division
GD Jacques Desjardin 		Brigade
General of Brigade (GB) Pierre Belon Lapisse 		16th Light Infantry Regiment (3 battalions) 93 2,289
7th Horse Chasseurs Regiment 7 130
Brigade
GB Jean Maximilien Lamarque 		44th Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) 59 1,296
105th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions) 59 1,519
4th Sapper Battalion, 2nd Company 1 46
Artillery
Major Dubois 		3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, 4th Company 2 63
8th Principal Train Battalion,
1st and 2nd Companies		 6 156
2nd Division
GD Maurice Mathieu 		Brigade
GB Jean Sarrazin 		7th Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) 93 2,001
63rd Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions) 60 1,277
Brigade
GB Jacques Thomas Sarrut 		24th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions) 90 1,876
4th Sapper Battalion, 4th Company 3 73
Cavalry 7th (?) Horse Chasseurs Regiment 9 176
Artillery
Major Dardemer 		5th Foot Artillery Regiment, 3rd Company 3 66
1st Principal Train Battalion,
1st and 2nd Companies		 2 195
Corps Artillery Not brigaded 3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, 2nd Company 3 94
3rd Foot Artillery Regiment, 3rd Company 3 94
6th Horse Artillery Regiment, 5th Company - -
6th Artillery Artisan Company 1 70
8th Principal Train Battalion,
5th and 6th Companies		 2 177
7th Miner Battalion, 4th Company 4 81

Austrian order of battle

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Black and white print shows a clean-shaven man with white hair. He wears a white military uniform pinned with the Military Order of Maria Theresa.
Franz Jellacic
Austrian force at Dornbirn under Franz Jellacic[1]
Unit No. Battalions
2nd Jäger Battalion 1
Stain Infantry Regiment Nr. 50 3
Franz Jellacic Infantry Regiment Nr. 62 3
Beaulieu Infantry Regiment Nr. 58, Grenadier battalion 1
Combined battalions 1½

Aftermath

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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

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  1. ^ a b c d Smith 1998, p. 214.
  2. ^ Schneid 2005, p. 102.
  3. ^ a b Schneid 2005, p. 103.
  4. ^ Schneid 2005, p. 112.
  5. ^ a b Chandler 1966, p. 1103.
  6. ^ Chandler 1966, p. 392.
  7. ^ Schneid 2005, p. 113.
  8. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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.

References

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  • Chandler, David G. (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, NY: Macmillan.
  • Cust, Edward (1862). "Annals of the Wars of the Nineteenth Century: 1800–1806, Volume 1". London: John Murray. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  • Nafziger, George (1990). "French V and VII Corps, 5 November 1805" (PDF). The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  • New Annual Register (1807). "The New Annual Register or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature for the Year 1805". London: J. Wright New Annual Register. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  • Schneid, Frederick C. (2005). Napoleon's Conquest of Europe: The War of the Third Coalition. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-98096-0.
  • Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
  • Smith, Digby; Kudrna, Leopold (2008a). "A Biographical Dictionary of all Austrian Generals during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars 1792-1815: Wolfskehl zu Reichenberg, Christian Freiherr von". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  • Smith, Digby; Kudrna, Leopold (2008b). "A Biographical Dictionary of all Austrian Generals during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars 1792-1815: Rohan-Guéméné, Ludwig Victor Fürst von". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
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