Battles of Bergisel The Battles of Bergisel were four battles fought between the forces of Emperor Napoleon I of France and the Kingdom of Bavaria against Tyrolean militiamen and a contingent of Austrian regular soldiers at the Bergisel hill near Innsbruck . The battles , which occurred on 25 May , 29 May , 13 August , and 1 November 1809 , were part of the Tyrolean Rebellion and the War of the Fifth Coalition . The Tyrolean forces , loyal to Austria , were led by Andreas Hofer , Josef Speckbacher , Peter Mayr , Capuchin Father Joachim Haspinger , and Major Martin Teimer . The Bavarians were led by French Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre , and Bavarian Generals Bernhard Erasmus von Deroy and Karl Philipp von Wrede . After being driven from Innsbruck at the start of the revolt , the Bavarians twice reoccupied the city and were chased out again . After the final battle in November , the rebellion was suppressed . Background . After his humiliating defeat of the Austrian Empire in the War of the Third Coalition , Napoleon transferred the County of Tyrol to Bavaria . When the new rulers imposed conscription and Bavarian legal codes on the territory , they flouted ancient Tyrolean social and religious rights . Before the outbreak of the War of the Fifth Coalition , Austrian agents circulated the Tyrol to take advantage of the existing tensions . When Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen invaded Bavaria on 10 April 1809 , the Tyrol exploded in revolt . On 11 April Hofer and 5 , 000 armed peasants scored a victory at Sterzing in the South Tyrol when they captured 420 Bavarians of the 4th Light Infantry Battalion . Under Teimer and other leaders , the Tyroleans irregulars won a brilliant initial success . Attacked incessantly for 48 hours , Lieutenant General Baron Kinkel surrendered his Innsbruck garrison of 3 , 860 Bavarian soldiers on 13 April . A body of 2 , 050 French conscripts under hard - drinking General of Division Baptiste Pierre Bisson unwittingly marched into the trap . After an ineffectual defense , the French also put up the white flag . The rebels seized five cannon , two mortars , considerable equipment , and many muskets . The captured material would keep the rebellion supplied with weapons for months . Soon reinforced by a regular Austrian division under Feldmarschallleutnant Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles , the Tyrolese posed a threat to the rear areas of Napoleon ' s armies in northern Italy and Bavaria . One column of irregulars stiffened by a few regulars under General - Major Franz Fenner raided the area of Lake Garda in Italy . In consequence , Viceroy of Italy Eugene de Beauharnais was forced to provide substantial Franco - Italian garrisons to guard the area . In early May , Napoleon directed Marshal Francois Joseph Lefebvre and the VII Corps ( made up of Bavarians ) to move against the Tyrol . The Bavarian garrison of Kufstein Fortress was relieved on 11 May . Lefebvre routed Chasteler at the Battle of Wörgl on 13 May . After several more actions , Lefebvre occupied Innsbruck around 19 May . Battles . " The Tyrol 1809 Order of Battle lists the regular units and organizations of both armies . " May 1809 . On 25 May 1809 , Lieutenant General Deroy ' s 3rd Bavarian Division clashed with the Tyrolean rebels at the Bergisel . Deroy committed 4 , 000 troops and 12 artillery pieces to the combat . Hofer commanded the rebel army and his lieutenants were Speckbacher , Teimer , Josef Eisenstecken , and Oberstleutnant Ertel . Hofer ' s army included 9 , 400 armed rebels and 900 Austrian regulars . The regulars included one battalion each of " Lusignan " Infantry Regiment # 16 and " De Vaux " Infantry Regiment # 45 , two companies of Jäger battalion # 9 , a half - squadron of " O ' Reilly " Chevau - léger Regiment # 3 , and five guns . The Bavarians lost 20 to 70 dead and 100 to 150 wounded , while inflicting losses of 50 dead and 30 wounded on the Tyroleans . Though historian Digby Smith labels the action a Bavarian victory , his narrative says the battle was a draw . He notes that the rebels , discouraged that more local people had not joined the revolt , retreated to the south . The rebels returned on 29 May and subjected Deroy to a second attack , which he resisted with 5 , 240 troops organized in 12 battalions , eight squadrons , and 18 guns . The 13 , 600 Tyrolean irregulars were joined by 1 , 200 Austrian regulars and six pieces of artillery . The rebels included 35 North Tyrol and 61 South Tyrol schützen and landsturm companies . The Bavarians managed to hold their ground after suffering 87 dead , 156 wounded , and 53 missing . The rebels lost 90 dead and 160 wounded . The next day , low on ammunition and food , Deroy evacuated Innsbruck and retreated to Kufstein Fortress in the north . July to November 1809 . After Napoleon ' s war - winning victory at the Battle of Wagram on 5 and 6 July , Lefebvre invaded the Tyrol again and Deroy won a minor action at the Lueg Pass on 24 July . However , the Tyrol responded to Hofer ' s call for another uprising . About 5 , 000 Tyroleans led by Haspinger and Speckbacher smashed French General Marie François Rouyer ' s 3 , 600 Confederation of the Rhine troops at Franzensfeste on 4 and 5 August . The " Ducal Saxon " Infantry Regiment was annihilated with 988 casualties , while the Bavarians lost an additional 100 men and two cannons . Tyrolean losses were trifling . The valley is still known as the " Sachsenklemme " ( Saxon Trap ) . The next day , Lefebvre arrived with the 1st Bavarian Division , but he was also repulsed by the Tyroleans . On 8 and 9 August at Prutz , 920 Tyroleans led by Roman Burger routed Oberst Burscheidt ' s 2 , 000 soldiers of the 10th Bavarian Infantry and 2nd Dragoon Regiments , which belonged to Deroy ' s 3rd Division . The Tyroleans inflicted 200 killed and wounded on their enemies while capturing 1 , 200 men and two cannons . Rebel losses were only seven killed . On 13 August , Hofer and 18 , 000 Tyroleans fought Deroy ' s division in the third battle of Bergisel . Four Bavarian battalions belonging to General Siebein ' s 2nd Brigade lost 200 dead and 250 wounded . The 70 companies of rebels lost 100 dead and 220 wounded . After taking hostages from leading local families , Lefebvre abandoned Innsbruck and the last occupation troops were gone from the Tyrol by 18 August . Speckbacher and 2 , 000 irregulars attacked the Bavarian garrisons in the villages of Lofer , Luftenstein , Unken , and Mellek on 25 September . Of the 700 soldiers belonging to the " Leib " Infantry Regiment # 1 , 50 were killed and wounded , 300 captured , and 100 missing . The troops were dispersed with only two companies in each village . The detachment in Mellek broke out and retreated north to Bad Reichenhall ; the other garrisons were wiped out . On the same day Haspinger with 2 , 400 Tyroleans and four guns evicted General - Major Stengel ' s brigade from the Lueg Pass near Golling an der Salzach . The 3 , 500 Bavarians and three cannons retreated north to Salzburg . Lefebvre , with 2 , 000 of Stengel ' s troops attacked Hallein on 3 October . Haspinger ' s force , which had lingered in the town , was chased back into the mountains , leaving their six cannons behind . At this time , Jean - Baptiste Drouet , Comte d ' Erlon replaced Lefebvre in command of VII Corps and the third invasion of the Tyrol was launched . On 17 October , the 1st Bavarian Division led by General - Major Rechberg caught Speckbacher and his 2 , 000 men by surprise at Bodenbichl . The Tyroleans failed to properly picket their camp and the 3 , 000 Bavarians inflicted a serious defeat on the irregulars . Rebel losses were 300 dead and 400 captured , while the Bavarians admitted only seven casualties . For this action , Rechberg was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph from his grateful sovereign . The fourth battle of Bergisel took place on 1 November 1809 . Lieutenant General Wrede ' s 2nd Bavarian Division defeated Hofer ' s and Haspinger ' s 70 companies of irregulars . The Bavarians committed 6 , 000 troops and 12 guns to the action and lost only one killed and 40 wounded . The 8 , 535 Tyroleans suffered 350 killed , wounded , and captured , and abandoned five cannons . The fourth battle and the disaster at Bodenbichl broke the back of the rebellion . Hofer was betrayed to the French on 20 January 1810 and was shot on 20 February 1810 at Mantua in Italy .