Battle of Ostrach The Battle of Ostrach , also called the Battle by Ostrach , occurred on 20 – 21 March 1799 . It was the first battle of the War of the Second Coalition . The battle resulted in the victory of the Austrian forces , under the command of Archduke Charles , over the French forces , commanded by Jean Baptiste Jourdan . The battle occurred during Holy Week , 1799 , amid rain and dense fog . Initially , the French were able to take , and hold , Ostrach and the nearby hamlet of Hoßkirch plus several strategic points on the Ostrach marsh . As the engagement began , Habsburg numerical superiority overwhelmed French defenses . By evening , the French left wing was flanked and Jourdan ' s men retreated from Ostrach to the Pfullendorf heights . On the next morning , as Jourdan considered a counter - attack , the weather broke , and he could look down on the Austrian battle array . The numbers and dispositions of the Austrians convinced him that any attack would be useless , and that he could not hope to maintain his position in the heights . As he withdrew , a portion of his right flank was cut off from the main force . Although casualties appeared even on both sides , the Austrians had a significantly larger fighting force , both on the field at Ostrach , and stretched along a line between Lake Constance and Ulm . French casualties amounted to eight percent of the force and Austrian , approximately four percent . The French withdrew to Engen and Stockach , where a few days later the armies engaged again , this time with greater losses on both sides , and a decisive Austrian victory . Background . Initially , the rulers of Europe , such as Joseph II , Holy Roman Emperor , viewed the revolution in France as an event between the French king and his subjects , and not something in which they should interfere . As the rhetoric grew more strident , however , the other monarchies started to view events with alarm . In 1790 , Leopold succeeded his brother Joseph as emperor and by 1791 , he considered the situation surrounding his sister , Marie Antoinette , and her children , with greater and greater alarm . In August 1791 , in consultation with French émigré nobles and Frederick William II of Prussia , he issued the Declaration of Pilnitz , in which they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family . They threatened ambiguous , but quite serious , consequences if anything should happen to the royal family . The French Republican position became increasingly difficult . Compounding problems in international relations , French émigrés continued to agitate for support of a counter - revolution abroad . Chief among them were the Prince Condé , his son , the Duke de Bourbon , and his grandson , the Duke d ' Enghien . From their base in Koblenz , immediately over the French border , they sought direct support for military intervention from the royal houses of Europe , and raised an army . On 20 April 1792 , the French National Convention declared war on Austria . In this War of the First Coalition ( 1792 – 1798 ) , France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her , plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire . Although the Coalition forces achieved several victories at Verdun , Kaiserslautern , Neerwinden , Mainz , Amberg and Würzburg , 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 ) . The treaty called for meetings between the involved parties to work out the exact territorial and remunerative details , to be convened at Rastatt . The French demand for more territory than originally agreed upon stalled negotiations . Despite their agreement at Campo Formio and the ongoing meetings at Rastatt , the two primary combatants of the First Coalition , France and Austria , were highly suspicious of the other ' s motives . Several diplomatic incidents undermined the agreement . The Austrians were reluctant to cede the designated territories and the Rastatt delegates could not , or would not , orchestrate the transfer of agreed upon territories to compensate the German princes for their losses . Ferdinand of Naples refused to pay tribute to France , followed by the Neapolitan rebellion , invasion by France , and the subsequent establishment of the Parthenopaean Republic . Republican uprising in the Swiss cantons , encouraged by the French Republic with military support , led to the establishment of the Helvetic Republic . Other factors contributed to the rising tensions as well . On his way to Egypt in 1798 , Napoleon had stopped on the Island of Malta and forcibly removed the Hospitallers from their possessions . This angered Paul , Tsar of Russia , who was the honorary head of the Order . The French Directory , furthermore , was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war . Indeed , the weaker the French Republic seemed , the more seriously the Austrians , the Neopolitans , the Russians and the English actually discussed this possibility . Prelude . Archduke Charles of Austria had taken command of the army in late January . Although he was unhappy with the strategy set forward by his brother , the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II , he had acquiesced to the less ambitious plan to which Francis and the Aulic council had agreed : Austria would fight a defensive war and would maintain a continuous defensive line from the Danube to northern Italy . The archduke had stationed himself at Friedberg for the winter , east - south - east of Augsburg . The army was already settled into cantonments in the environs of Augsburg , extending south along the Lech river . As winter broke in 1799 , on 1 March , General Jean Baptiste Jourdan and his army of 25 , 000 , the so - called Army of the Danube , crossed the Rhine at Kehl . Instructed to block the Austrians from access to the Swiss alpine passes , the Army of the Danube would ostensibly isolate the armies of the Coalition in Germany from allies in northern Italy , and prevent them from assisting one another ; furthermore , if the French held the interior passes in Switzerland , they could use the routes to move their own forces between the two theaters . The Army of the Danube , meeting little resistance , advanced through the Black Forest in three columns , through the Höllental ( Hölle valley ) , via Oberkirch , and Freudenstadt , and a fourth column advanced along the north shore of the Rhine . Although Jourdan might have been better advised to establish a position on the eastern slope of the mountains , he did not . Instead , he pushed across the Danube plain and took up position between Rottweil and Tuttlingen , and eventually pushing toward the imperial city of Pfullendorf in Upper Swabia . News of the French advance across the Rhine took three days to reach Charles at Augsburg . The Austrian " Vorhut " ( advance guard ) , 17 , 000 men under the command of Field marshal Friedrich Joseph , Count of Nauendorf , crossed the Lech in three columns , the first at Babenhausen , marching in the direction of Biberach , the second , and strongest , at Memmingen , marching in the direction of Waldsee , and the third at Leutkirch , heading in the direction of Ravensburg . The main force of 53 , 000 men , under the command of the Archduke , crossed the Lech by Augsburg , Landsberg and Schongau , and six battalions of 6 , 600 men crossed the Danube at Ulm . An additional force of 13 , 000 troops under the command of Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray marched toward Neumarkt in the direction of Rednitz . Eventually , 10 , 000 men under the command of General Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze marched north from Feldkirch in Switzerland , but they did not arrive in time to participate at either the battle at Ostrach , or for the subsequent battle at Stockach . Locale . Ostrach was a small village , with a population of 300 . The village belonged to the Cistercian Imperial Abbey of Salem , an influential and wealthy ecclesiastical territory on Lake Constance . The village was largely dedicated to farming , although the a stretch of the imperial post road connected it and Pfullendorf . A wide , flat plain , marshy in places , stretched between the base of the Pfullendorf heights and the village ; low lying hills ringed the valley , which was creased by a small stream from which the village takes its name . Ostrach itself lies almost at the northern end of this plain , but slightly south of the Danube itself . The two armies faced each other across this small and , at that time of that year , very soggy valley . Dispositions . By 7 March , the first Austrian soldiers arrived in Ostrach . The French advance guard arrived by the 9th , under command of General François Joseph Lefebvre ; in the forward line , the 25th Demi - brigade and Light Infantry positioned themselves between Ostrach and Hoßkirch ; Lefebvre also had three battalions each of the 53rd and 67th Demi - Brigades of light infantry , twenty squadrons of hussars , chasseurs , and dragoons , and field artillery pieces . By 12 March , the village and the surrounding farms were filled with Lancers ( " Ulanen " ) and Hussars ( " Hussaren " ) and by the 17th , the Austrian advance guard had established forward posts at Buchau , Altshausen and Waldsee . The remainder of Charles ' army , at this point nearly 110 , 000 strong , had established itself along a line from Ulm to Lake Constance . By 18 March , Jourdan had formed his headquarters at Pfullendorf , on the heights above Ostrach . In front of him stood the largest part of his cavalry and half of his infantry . The center , including the 4th Regiment of Hussars , the 1st of Chasseurs à Cheval , and two squadrons of the 17th Dragoons , lay behind Ostrach , under command of General Klein . Jourdan distributed them in three columns , the strongest on the post road by Saulgau , another on the road in the direction of Altshausen , and a third at the hamlet of Friedberg . The flank of Lefebvre ' s division , with 7 , 000 men , commanded by Laurent Saint - Cyr extended to the Danube ; by the time skirmishing began , Vandamme was still in the environs of Stuttgart , with 3 , 000 men , looking in vain for Austrian forces that might be stationed there , and he played no part in the battle . The far right , under command of Ferino , angled south from Pfullendorf to Lake Constance , or the Bodensee . The cavalry reserve of 3 , 000 under General Jean - Joseph Ange d ' Hautpoul included a battalion of the 53rd Demi - Brigade , and waited in close column in the environs of Pfullendorf . Battle . Jourdan considered his position superior to the Austrian ' s , protected as he was by the marshy plain between his positions and the Austrian front , and he thought he had another three days to consolidate his positions . His forces occupied Hoßkirch , and a couple of other points he considered strategic : the causeway ( post road ) that passed Saulgau ( today Bad Saulgau ) , the village of Altshausen east , and the hamlet of Friedberg , to the north - north - east of Ostrach . These positions created a perimeter around Ostrach . He was unaware that the Archduke had arrived by forced marches from Augsburg to the vicinity of Ostrach ; Jourdan thought the main force of Charles ' army was still at least three days ' march away . By the middle of Holy Week in 1799 , more than a third of Charles ' army , 48 , 000 mixed troops , was positioned in a formation parallel to Jourdan ' s , and his 72 , 000 remaining troops were arrayed with the left wing at Kempten , the center near Memmingen , and the right flank extended to Ulm . Skirmishing . As the armies assembled in their positions , the flanks and forward outposts encountered one another in several skirmishes ; indeed , they had been skirmishing for seven days , until 19 March , when the outposts of both armies nearly overlapped . On the right wing , General Ferino ' s men encountered an Austrian column of volunteer infantry and some light cavalry from one of the border Hussar regiments , and took 70 and 80 prisoners , respectively , including several officers . All of this happened without the Austrians knowing that there was an official declaration of war . On the 20 March , a French emissary arrived at camp of Prince Schwarzenberg , a major general commanding a brigade of the advanced guard . The emissary asked if he possessed a declaration of war from Vienna , and upon being informed that Schwarzenberg had received no such declaration , informed him that the armistice established at Campo Formio was ended , and there existed between France and Austria a state of war . General Jourdan reportedly began a general attack when the emissary left , although other sources do not bear out the scale of the attack . Initially , the strength of the French advance guard pushed the most forward of the Austrian right to Saulgau and Ratzenreute , east of Ostrach , backing the Austrian main army against the Schussen river . Jean Victor Tharreau ' s mixed brigade of infantry , light infantry and cavalry encountered the Austrians at Barendorf , and forced them to give up the ground ; immediately , Charles sent reinforcements , and the Austrians regained what they had lost . At the center of the French line , at Hoßkirch , east - south - east of Ostrach , General Lefebvre ' s column attacked the Austrians in an action that lasted most of the day . The Austrian line included several seasoned Grenzer ( border ) regiments , the " Vecsy " Hussars , and some lancers ; although Lefebvre ' s initial assault caused confusion in the Austrian ranks , the Lancers counter - attacked with ferocity and , joined by the Grenzers and the Hussars , pursued the French along the Ostrach river valley , and cut up four squadrons of the 8th Regiment of " Chasseurs à Cheval " . Lefebvre ' s column was forced out of the hamlet by the Austrians , who had four battalions , 1200 horse , and six cannons . After bringing up additional reinforcements — several light artillery , " Chasseurs à Cheval " , Hussars , and the 17th Regiment of Dragoons , Lefebvre was able to take the village again . By 0500 of 21 March , however , he sent word to Jourdan that he was being attacked on all posts by the Austrians , and they must soon expect a general engagement . General engagement . Charles had divided his force into columns , and at close to 1000 , the Austrians attacked in force , with simultaneous assaults upon multiple positions . With Nauendorf ' s advance force moved with 11 battalions and 20 squadrons on Saint Cyr ' s position . Following behind with the main force of the right column , Fürstenberg had little difficulty pushing the French out of Davidsweiler and advanced on Ruppersweiler an Einhard to the northwest . His force pressured elements of Saint Cyr ' s thinly - manned line , and the entire line fell back slowly , to maintain contact with its flanks . Maximilian , Count of Merveldt ' s force , attacking on Saint Cyr ' s far left flank , continued to pressure the line , which started to crumble . Further south , Olivier , Count of Wallis took a column of 18 battalions and 42 squadrons and attacked the Adjutant General François - Xavier Octavie Fontaine ' s French line at Riedhausen , between Ostrach and Ferino ' s column at Salem . In the maneuvering , the cross - fire trapped French forces ; at Riedhausen ; unable to take cover , they were cut down from both sides . Charles himself took a main column along the high road , a causeway that passed by Saulgau , to attack Lefebvre on points between Hoßkirch and Ostrach . In this deployment of his force , Charles sought to dislodge the center of the French line from its position in Ostrach , separating the wings from the main body of force and overcoming both separately . The convergence of the two columns on the French at Ostrach demonstrated the advantage of the superiority of Austrian numbers . From every angle , the Austrians threatened to overwhelm the French . Jourdan wrote that his men disappeared under a cloud of red coats . Battalion after battalion of Austrians threw themselves against the French defenses . By late morning , Charles ' troops pushed the French out of Hoßkirch , and into Ostrach , which the French nearly lost until Jourdan sent reinforcements . The fighting remained fierce until about 1600 , when the French pulled back toward Pfullendorf , encouraged by Austrian cavalry . Once out of Ostrach , and established on the road at and around Pfullendorf , the French formed a new perimeter , reinforced by reserves of Soulham , and enjoyed the benefit of altitude from which they could fire down upon the attacking Austrians . Despite the punishing musket fire , Charles ' strategy worked . The far right wing ( Ferino ' s force ) , which had not been attacked yet , fell back to Salem Abbey , to maintain communication with the French center . At the Pfullendorf heights , the fight began anew . Charles sent two strong columns of eight battalions each across the Ostrach stream . The French poured fire on the Austrians , who took heavy losses , but did not give up the ground . In the night , Fürstenberg broke through the French line to Einhard , flanking Jourdan ' s main force and cutting off Saint Cyr . Further south , Wallis threatened to do the same to Fontaine and Ferino . As darkness fell , so ended the first day of fighting . Withdrawal . As Jourdan was deciding whether or not to attempt another foray , the fog lifted and revealed the scene below him . He wrote later , He was wrong ; the Austrians engaged with the French advance guard numbered closer to 50 , 000 , and constituted the main body of Charles ' army , not its advance guard . In the night , Charles also had moved additional troops to renew the attack on the Pfullendorf heights at daybreak . On 22 March , at 2200 , Jourdan ordered the wounded to be transported to Schaffhausen in Switzerland , via Stockach . The main army then began its own retreat in the early morning of 22 March . The reserve division of d ' Hautpoul left first , and pulled back via Stockach to Emmingen ob Egg . According to Jourdan , the retreat occurred in perfect order , and was supported in particular by a company of sappers , who blew up the bridges in the face of enemy fire , and then fought like grenadiers . The Austrians outflanked Saint Cyr ' s forces on the right flank and General Ferino , at the southern - most point , retreated to Salem , to maintain the line with the remainder of the French force . When the first division pulled back to Bodman , on the northern tip of the Überlingen - finger of Lake Constance , a portion of the force was encircled and cut off by the 2nd Lancers of Karl Philipp , Prince Schwarzenberg ' s brigade , and more than 500 were taken prisoner . Other sources are less sanguine in their assessment of Jourdan ' s retreat : Jourdan ' s forces , especially his left flank , were severely pressed ; the French line collapsed upon itself at both ends as the soldiers fell back . A dispatch to Paris , later reported in the " Times " , claimed that the French intent had been betrayed to the Austrians by a deserter , but there is some evidence that this was Jourdan ' s mendacious attempt to explain the apparent surprise with which the Austrians attacked . A British report claimed that the French commander had two horses shot from under him , but Jourdan himself reported that only one horse was shot , and he was thrown , stunned , to the ground , Lefebvre received a musket ball in the wrist ; and had to be carried from the field ; command of his division was given to rising star Jean - de - Dieu Soult . Furthermore , a sizable portion — sources are not clear on how many — of the French right wing ( Ferino ' s force ) had been cut off from its main force , and made prisoner . Finally , General Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze was quickly making his way north with 10 , 000 men from Feldkirch and prepared to attack Jourdan ' s army from the south . Aftermath . Eventually , Jourdan withdrew first to Messkirch ( sometimes spelled Mößkirch or Meßkirch ) , and when that city was no longer defensible , fell back to Stockach , and then again Engen , but he wrote that the armies had been well - matched ; French valor , he wrote , overcame servitude . His men had taken many Austrian prisoners , and he knew also that many Austrians lay dead or wounded on the field of battle . His army itself had losses , but their valor in death matched the ambitious tyranny of the Austrians : Charles had driven his army hard , he wrote , and the Austrians would not pursue the gallant , liberty - loving French ; Charles ' failure to pursue the French affirmed Jourdan ' s perception that his had not been a defeat followed by retreat , but rather a strategic withdrawal . Jourdan probably did not know that Charles had been ordered to maintain a continuous and orderly defensive line with troops to the south . Jourdan ' s own assessment did not match that of his superiors in Paris , who recognized that the loss of twelve percent of the fighting force , versus less than four percent for the adversary , did not amount to a draw . Furthermore , this first attempt to cut the Austrians off from access to the upper Rhine and Lake Constance had not succeeded . There were other considerations , primarily that Jourdan simply did not have enough men to fight not only this battle but the subsequent ones as well . For his own part , the Archduke did not push his troops to pursue and capture the enemy , or even harass their retreat . Charles ' slow pursuit might have been due to his own disgruntlement with Vienna ' s overarching defensive strategy and the undoubted difficulty of the battle itself , conducted with troops wearied by a forced march of , fighting in rain , fog , and on normally boggy terrain made more soggy by the heavy spring rains and snow melt . Regardless , he more than made up for these shortcomings within the week . Five days after Jourdan ' s departure from Ostrach and Pfullendorf , the French and Austrian armies continued the fight at Stockach . This time , the decision could not be argued : The Army of the Danube could not hold the territory and withdrew into the Black Forest . The battle at Ostrach had been difficult , as Jourdan pointed out , due largely to the dense fog and terrible weather that hampered his observation of his enemy ' s movements , yet the same fog that blinded him to the Austrian movements did not seem to hamper Charles . The fog and rainy weather did play a role , however . On a local level , in the damp night of the 20th , which was " Gründonnerstag , " ( German : Green Thursday , or Maundy Thursday ) , the Danube overflowed , backing up into the Ostrach , and causing it to burst its own banks . The flood trapped 300 civilians between the two armies intent on destruction ; suspecting what was to come , Ostrachers huddled in their cellars , and hoped for the best and gasping for breath as the battle thundered overhead . Amazingly , none were killed , although they spent Easter Sunday caring for the wounded , and helping to bury the 4 , 000 or so soldiers who died in the battle . Battle monument . Prior to 1903 , a simple wooden cross commemorated the battle site , located on the so - called Buchbuhl , a hill overlooking the village , and the plains to the southeast , where much of the fighting occurred . In 1903 , a monument was erected to honor the battle . In 1945 , when French troops arrived in the region , they closed the monument ; the local pastor encouraged them to reopen it , calling it a chapel .