Battle of Sankt Michael In the Battle of Sankt Michael ( or Sankt Michael - Leoben ) on 25 May 1809 , Paul Grenier ' s French corps crushed Franz Jellacic ' s Austrian division at Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark , Austria . The action occurred after the initial French victories during the War of the Fifth Coalition , part of the Napoleonic Wars . Sankt Michael is located approximately 140 kilometers southwest of Vienna . Originally part of the Danube army of Archduke Charles , Jellacic ' s division was detached to the south before the Battle of Eckmühl and later ordered to join the army of Archduke John at Graz . As it retreated southeast toward Graz , Jellacic ' s division passed across the front of Eugène de Beauharnais ' Army of Italy , which was advancing northeast in pursuit of Archduke John . When he learned of Jellacic ' s presence , Eugène sent Grenier with two divisions to intercept the Austrian column . Grenier ' s lead division duly intercepted Jellacic ' s force and attacked . Though the Austrians were able to hold off the French at first , they were unable to get away . The second French division ' s arrival secured a clear numerical superiority over Jellacic , who was critically short of cavalry and artillery . Grenier ' s subsequent French assault broke the Austrian lines and captured thousands of prisoners . When Jellacic joined John it was with only a fraction of his original force . Background . In the opening encounters of the 1809 war between France and Austria , Emperor Napoleon beat Feldmarschall - Leutnant Johann von Hiller at the battles of Abensberg and Landshut on 20 and 21 April . The following day , Napoleon defeated Generalissimo Archduke Charles at the Battle of Eckmühl , forcing him to retreat through Regensberg ( Ratisbon ) to the Danube ' s north bank with the main army . On the south bank , Hiller fell back to the east with his own VI Armeekorps , Feldmarschall - Leutnant Archduke Louis ' V Armeekorps , and Feldmarschall - Leutnant Michael von Kienmayer ' s II Reserve Armeekorps , pursued by Marshal André Masséna . At the beginning of the 1809 war , Feldmarschall - Leutnant Jellacic ' s division formed part of VI Armeekorps and consisted of two brigades of line infantry under Generals - Major Konstantin Ettingshausen and Josef Hoffmeister von Hoffeneck . However , when Bavaria was invaded , Archduke Charles detached Jellacic to advance from Salzburg and occupy Munich on the extreme south flank . To better perform this mission , Hoffmeister ' s brigade was exchanged for General - Major Karl Dollmayer von Provenchères ' cavalry - infantry brigade from the corps light division . After the Austrian retreat began , Jellacic was ordered to fall back on Salzburg . Accordingly , elements of his command began assembling in Salzburg beginning on 29 April . Believing cavalry was of little use in the mountains , Jellacic sent Provenchères toward Vienna on 1 May with the " O ' Reilly " Chevauxlegers # 3 . Hiller fought the Battle of Ebersberg on 3 May , then crossed to the north bank of the Danube on 11 May . On 4 and 5 May , Jellacic fought a successful rearguard action at Lueg Pass , 40 km south of Salzburg . In the clash , a few hundred Hungarian regulars and Grenz infantry repulsed a brigade of pursuing Bavarians under the overall command of Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre . In Italy , General of Cavalry Archduke John defeated Viceroy Eugène at the Battle of Sacile on 16 April . Eugène fell back to Verona where he gathered reinforcements until he was superior in numbers to his Austrian opponent . After hearing news that Archduke Charles was in retreat , John withdrew from his Adige River defenses on 1 May . On 8 May , Eugène and John fought the Battle of Piave River and the Austrian retreat continued . John split his army , sending Feldmarschall - Leutnant Ignaz Gyulai along a southerly route to Ljubljana ( Laybach ) , while taking his attenuated main body northeast to Villach . Sending General of Division Jacques MacDonald and 20 , 000 soldiers after Gyulai , Eugène followed John with 25 , 000 troops . As John ' s columns slipped away toward Klagenfurt and Graz , Eugene entered Villach on 20 May . On 15 May , Jellacic held Salzburg with 10 , 200 troops and 16 artillery pieces of the Northern Division . His force included 2 , 880 poorly trained Landwehr and only 60 cavalrymen . After receiving orders from Archduke John to join him at Graz , Jellacic evacuated Salzburg on 19 May . By this time his isolation had become dangerous . Eugène at Villach was only 130 km from Graz , while Jellacic at Salzburg was 200 km distant from Graz . Battle . Action . On the evening of 23 May , Jellacic ' s column marched into Mautern in Steiermark , 16 km northwest of Sankt Michael on the Mur River and 60 km northwest of Archduke John at Graz . At the same time , Eugène ' s main body reached Judenburg on the Mur , 33 km southwest of Sankt Michael , with elements only 20 km away . For his part , Archduke John warned Jellacic that Eugene was heading for Bruck an der Mur , 40 km north of Graz . The axes of advance for both Eugene and Jellacic intersected at Sankt Michael . At about this time , Eugene became aware of Jellacic ' s presence and ordered General of Division Grenier to force - march the two nearest divisions , those of Generals of Division Jean Mathieu Seras and Pierre François Joseph Durutte , to the northeast and intercept the Austrians . At some point , Jellacic sent away the bulk of the " Salzburger " Landwehr and most of his artillery , retaining only four cannons . Jellacic ' s advance guard arrived at Sankt Michael on the morning of 25 May , and by 9 : 00 am the bulk of his division had reached a location just to the north . However , Grenier ' s advance elements soon appeared to the southwest . Jellacic sent his 60 horsemen and General - Major Ignaz Legisfeld ' s light brigade to hold off the French on a ridge just west of the town . At 10 : 00 am , Seras attacked Legisfeld ' s line but his troops were driven back . Seras kept up the pressure and soon the Austrian division commander brought Ettingshausen ' s brigade of approximately 5 , 000 soldiers into action . Jellacic anchored his left flank on the Mur and planted his right flank in the hills to the north . Durutte ' s division arrived in the afternoon , giving Grenier a superiority of about 15 , 000 to 8 , 000 . Another authority gives the French numerical advantage as 12 , 000 to 9 , 000 troops . Grenier prepared a two - division assault . He placed General of Brigade Louis Gareau ' s brigade of Seras in the first line . General of Brigade François Valentin of Durutte ' s division stood in the second line . Seras ' second brigade under General of Brigade Roussel was sent through the hills to envelop Jellacic ' s right flank and cut the road leading back to Mautern . Durutte ' s remaining brigade , led by General of Brigade Joseph Marie , Count Dessaix , was held in reserve by Grenier . The French commander also sent two battalions of the 62nd Line Infantry Regiment along the south bank of the Mur to turn the Austrian left flank . With only one landwehr and one Grenzer battalion to face Roussel ' s envelopment , Jellacic withdrew one battalion of the " Esterhazy " Infantry Regiment # 32 from the center to shore up his right flank . Other troops had to be sent to face the threat from the 62nd Line . At 4 : 00 pm , Grenier ' s assault smashed the weakened Austrian center . Roussel also broke through on the flank to cut the road to the north . The Austrian fled in rout to the northeast along the Mur valley , closely pursued by the French . Grenier harried his beaten foes through Leoben , 7 km northeast , and Bruck an der Mur , 20 km northeast . At Bruck , Jellacic ' s survivors turned south , following the Mur valley to Graz . Only 2 , 000 of Jellacic ' s troops reached Graz the next day . Result . Grenier wrecked the Northern Division . Instead of providing a substantial reinforcement to Archduke John , Jellacic brought in less than one - third of his command . The Austrians suffered 423 dead , 1 , 137 wounded , 4 , 963 captured , and 50 missing . French losses numbered 200 killed , 400 wounded , and 70 captured . Historian Digby Smith blames the disaster on Jellacic remaining in Salzburg too long and his error in sending away most of his cavalry and artillery . Austrian army historian Gunther E . Rothenberg calls Jellacic , " a remarkably unlucky and inept general . " Archduke John retreated first to Körmend then to Győr , pursued by Eugène . The main French and Austrian armies fought the Battle of Raab on 14 June .