page_title: Rhine campaign of 1796
section_title: Habsburg counteroffensive
hierarchical_section_title: Rhine campaign of 1796 / Operations / Habsburg counteroffensive
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Erzherzog Karl von Österreich, 1771–1847, der Sieger der Schlacht bei Aspern 1809 English: Archduke Charles of Austria, 1771–1847, victor of the Battle of Aspern-Essling Español: Archiduque Carlos de Austria, 1771–1847, victor de la Batalla de Aspern-Essling Magyar: hu:Habsburg-Tescheni Károly főherceg, 1771–1847, az 1809-es asperni csata győztese
context_page_description: In the Rhine campaign of 1796, two First Coalition armies under the overall command of Archduke Charles outmaneuvered and defeated two French Republican armies. This was the last campaign of the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
  The French military strategy against Austria called for a three-pronged invasion to surround Vienna, ideally capturing the city and forcing the Holy Roman Emperor to surrender and accept French Revolutionary territorial integrity. The French assembled the Army of Sambre and Meuse commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan against the Austrian Army of the Lower Rhine in the north. The Army of the Rhine and Moselle, led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau, opposed the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine in the south. A third army, the Army of Italy, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, approached Vienna through northern Italy.
  The early success of the Army of Italy initially forced the Coalition commander, Archduke Charles, to transfer 25,000 men commanded by Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser to northern Italy. This weakened the Coalition force along the 340-kilometer front stretching along the Rhine from Basel to the North Sea.
context_section_description: The Battle of Neresheim on 11 August marked the turning point; it was a series of clashes fought on a broad front during which the Austrians drove back Moreau's right (southern) flank and nearly captured his artillery park. When Moreau got ready to fight the following day, he discovered that the Austrians had slipped away and were crossing the Danube. Both armies lost about 3,000 men.
  Similarly, Jourdan experienced a setback in the north, during a clash at Sulzbach on 17 August, when Paul Kray's Austrians inflicted losses of 1,000 killed and wounded and 700 captured on the French while suffering losses of 900 killed and wounded and 200 captured. Despite their losses, the French continued their advance. Wartensleben's army retreated behind the river Naab on 18 August and, as Jourdan closed up to the Naab, he posted Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's division at Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz to observe Charles, hoping that would keep the Austrians from hitting him by surprise. Unbeknownst to them, Charles was receiving reinforcements south of the Danube that brought his strength up to 60,000 troops. He left 35,000 soldiers under the command of Latour to contain the Army of the Rhine and Moselle along the Danube.
caption: Archduke Charles, one of the Habsburg's best military minds, had overall command of the Austrian and Reichsarmee forces.
exif: {}