page_title: Battle of Ampfing (1800)
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Ampfing (1800) / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Church of St. Peter- und Paul in Meßkirch-Rohrdorf Votivimage about the Battle of Messkirch Deutsch: St. Peter- und Paulkirche in Meßkirch-Rohrdorf Votivbild der Schlacht bei Meßkirch Text: Vorstellung der großen Schlacht, welche den 5.te May 1800 zwischen der kayserl. Armee unter Comando des General Feldzeugmaisters Baron v. Kray und die Franzosen unter dem Ober General Moreau zum Nachtheil der Kayserl. In hiesiger gegend. Während dieser Schlacht mussten die hießigen Inwohner ihre Habschaften meistens dem Raube der Soldaten überlassen und ihre Rettung mit dem Vieh in Waldungen suchen. Auch ihre Häuser waren in einem so erschröcklichen Feur und Kugelregen. Durch mehrerer Stunden ausgesetz dass solche nur durch unmittelbare Hülfe Gottes vor dem Brande gerettet würden, so man mit David im 126 t. Psalm bekenen muß: Bewacht der Herr die Wohnungen nicht, so ist aller Wachen vergeblich. Zum ewigen Denkmal der schuldigen Dankbarkeit der erhaltenen Rettung seind allen disen Vorstellung und Kugeln hier aubewehrt
context_page_description: At the Battle of Ampfing on 1 December 1800, Paul Grenier's two divisions of the First French Republic opposed the Austrian army southwest of the town of Ampfing during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Austrians, under the leadership of Archduke John of Austria, forced their enemies to retreat, though they sustained greater losses than the French. Ampfing is located 63 kilometers east of Munich and 8 km west of Mühldorf am Inn.
  In Spring 1800, while Moreau wrecked Austrian defenses in Germany, Generals Massena and Desaix ran into stiff Austrian offensives in Northern Italy. In June, Napoleon brought in the reserve corps and defeated the Austrians at Marengo. On the Danube, the decisive Battle of Höchstädt, followed by success at Battle of Neuburg a few days later, allowed the French to take Munich and to control the Danube and its tributaries as far as Ingolstadt. With the French pressing on Austria from the north and through Italy, a truce ended hostilities for the rest of the summer. Despite these significant losses—both of them decisive—the Austrians were reluctant to accept disadvantageous peace terms.
context_section_description: Although the First Coalition forces achieved several initial victories, the efforts of Napoleon Bonaparte in northern Italy pushed Austrian forces back and resulted in the negotiation of the Peace of Leoben (17 April 1797) and the subsequent Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797).  This treaty proved difficult to administer. Austria was slow to give up some of the Venetian territories. A Congress convened at Rastatt for the purposes of deciding which southwestern German states would be mediatized to compensate the dynastic houses for territorial losses, but was unable to make any progress. Supported by French republican forces, Swiss insurgents staged several uprisings, ultimately causing the overthrow of the Swiss Confederation after 18 months of civil war. By early 1799, the French Directory had become impatient with stalling tactics employed by Austria. The uprising in Naples raised further alarms, and recent gains in Switzerland suggested the timing was fortuitous to venture on another campaign in northern Italy and southwestern Germany.
  At the beginning of 1800, the armies of France and Austria faced each other across the Rhine. Pál Kray led approximately 120,000 troops. In addition to his Austrian regulars, his force included 12,000 men from the Electorate of Bavaria, 6,000 troops from the Duchy of Württemberg, 5,000 soldiers of low quality from the Archbishopric of Mainz, and 7,000 militiamen from the County of Tyrol. Of these, 25,000 men were deployed east of Lake Constance (Bodensee) to protect the Vorarlberg. Kray posted his main body of 95,000 soldiers in the L-shaped angle where the Rhine changes direction from a westward flow along the northern border of Switzerland to a northward flow along the eastern border of France. Unwisely, Kray set up his main magazine at Stockach, near the northwestern end of Lake Constance, only a day's march from French-held Switzerland.
  Jean Victor Marie Moreau commanded a modestly-equipped army of 137,000 French troops. Of these, 108,000 troops were available for field operations while the other 29,000 watched the Swiss border and held the Rhine fortresses. First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte offered a plan of operations based on outflanking the Austrians by a push from Switzerland, but Moreau declined to follow it. Rather, Moreau planned to cross the Rhine near Basel where the river swung to the north. A French column would distract Kray from Moreau's true intentions by crossing the Rhine from the west. Bonaparte wanted Claude Lecourbe's corps to be sent to Italy after the initial battles on the Danube plain, but Moreau had other plans.   Through a series of complicated maneuvers in which he flanked, double flanked, and reflanked Kray's army, Moreau's army lay on the eastern slope of the Black Forest, while portions of Kray's army still guarded the passes on the other side. Battles at Engen and Stockach were fought on 3 May 1800 between the army of the First French Republic under Jean Victor Marie Moreau and the army of Habsburg Austria led by Pál Kray. The fighting near Engen resulted in a stalemate with heavy losses on both sides. However, while the two main armies were engaged at Engen, Claude Lecourbe captured Stockach from its Austrian defenders under the Joseph, Prince of Lorraine-Vaudemont. The loss of this main supply base at Stockach compelled Kray to retreat to Messkirch, where they enjoyed a more favorable defensive position. It also meant, however, that any retreat by Kray into Austria via Switzerland and the Voralberg was cut off.
  On 4 and 5 May, the French launched repeated and fruitless assaults on the Messkirch. At nearby Krumbach, where the Austrians also had the superiority of position and force, the 1st Demi-brigade took the village and the heights around it, which gave them a commanding aspect over Messkirch.  Subsequently, Kray withdrew his forces to Sigmaringen, followed closely by the French. Fighting at nearby Biberach ensued on 9 May; action principally consisted of the 25,000 man-strong French center's (commanded by Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr), assault on
caption: The Battle of Messkirch was won from the high ground.
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