Battle of Ebelsberg The Battle of Ebelsberg , known in French accounts as the Battle of Ebersberg , was fought on 3 May 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition , part of the Napoleonic Wars . The Austrian left wing under the command of Johann von Hiller took up positions at Ebersberg on the Traun river . The French under André Masséna attacked , crossing a heavily defended 550 - meter - long bridge and subsequently conquering the local castle , thus forcing Hiller to withdraw . is now a southern suburb of Linz , situated on the south bank of the Traun , a short distance above the place where that stream flows into the Danube River . Separated from the main Austrian army by the battles of Abensberg and Landshut , Feldmarschall - Leutnant Hiller retreated east to Linz by 2 May with the three left wing corps . The Austrians hoped to slow the French advance towards Vienna . The leading elements of Marshal Masséna ' s corps overran Hiller ' s rear guard on the west bank of the Traun on the morning of 3 May . In the rout that followed , the first French infantry brigade rushed the bridge and got into the streets of Ebelsberg . At this point , the Austrians began to fight back effectively . To keep from being thrown into the river , the French committed an entire division to the street fight , in which the Ebelsberg castle loomed as the key position . After Masséna threw in a second division , the French finally ejected the Austrians from the castle . Unwilling to recapture the town , Hiller ordered his artillery to set fire to the place . In the blaze that followed , hundreds of wounded soldiers from both armies died . The battle and the heavy casualties were unnecessary because Hiller was already flanked out of position by a second French corps that crossed the Traun upstream . Background . On 10 April 1809 , the Austrian army of Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen invaded the Kingdom of Bavaria , ally of Emperor Napoleon I of France . During the first week of war , Napoleon ' s deputy , Marshal Louis Alexandre Berthier mismanaged the deployment of the Franco - German army . Nevertheless , the archduke was unable to take advantage of his opportunities because of the slow marching speed of his troops . Napoleon soon arrived on the scene and , in the first major clash on 19 April , Marshal Louis Davout won the hard - fought Battle of Teugen - Hausen . Thanks to his victory , Davout was able to link up with the main body of Napoleon ' s army near Abensberg that evening . At the Battle of Abensberg on 20 April 1809 , Hiller arrived from the south to take command of Feldmarschall - Leutnant Archduke Louis of Austria ' s V Armeekorps and Feldmarschall - Leutnant Michael von Kienmayer ' s II Reserve Armeekorps , in addition to his own VI Armeekorps . Before the battle , Hiller ' s strength had been weakened by detaching Feldmarschall - Leutnant Karl Friedrich von Lindenau ' s division from V Armeekorps and General - Major Andreas Schneller ' s cuirassier brigade from II Reserve Armeekorps to the main army , plus Feldmarschall - Leutnant Franz Jellacic ' s division from VI Armeekorps to hold Munich . At Abensberg and at the Battle of Landshut on 21 April , Emperor Napoleon I of France ' s army roughly handled Hiller ' s command and forced the Austrian to withdraw to the southeast , away from Archduke Charles and the main army . Between the 19th and the 21st , Hiller lost 12 , 140 soldiers , 11 guns , and 328 wagons from the V and VI Armeekorps . His wing shrank from 42 , 000 troops to around 27 , 000 to 28 , 000 by the evening of 22 April . On the 22nd , Napoleon marched north with major forces to deal Archduke Charles a defeat at the Battle of Eckmühl . Unaware that the main army retreated north of the Danube River , Hiller turned to face a weak pursuit force . He inflicted a sharp check on Marshal Jean - Baptiste Bessières at the Battle of Neumarkt - Sankt Veit on 24 April . Appraised of the fact that Charles suffered a defeat , the Austrian wing commander quickly pulled back to the southeast . On 24 April Charles sent a message to Hiller ordering him to retreat to Linz , cross to the Danube ' s north bank , and join the main army . Hoping to overtake and destroy Hiller , Napoleon sent two columns after his foe . The emperor directed Marshal Louis Davout ' s III Corps , Masséna ' s IV Corps , and General of Division Dominique Vandamme ' s VIII Corps along a northern route via Passau on the Inn River . The II Corps of Marshal Jean Lannes and Bessières ' force took a more southerly route through Burghausen on the Salzach River . On 26 April , General of Division Claude Juste Alexandre Legrand of Masséna ' s IV Corps clashed with Hiller ' s rear guard led by Feldmarschall - Leutnant Josef von Dedovich at Schärding and seized the bridge over the Inn . That same day , another of Masséna ' s divisions occupied Passau , having captured 400 Austrians . Meanwhile , Hiller was enjoying his independence from Archduke Charles , who was far away in Bohemia . Also , he was in easy communication with Emperor Francis I of Austria who wished to exert his influence on the campaign . Encouraged , Hiller came up with a plan to counterattack Masséna on the 27th and ordered Feldmarschall - Leutnant Emmanuel von Schustekh - Herve to implement it . Nothing came of this scheme and the Austrian retreat continued toward Linz . On 1 May , Legrand and 1 , 400 troops caught up with Schustekh ' s 850 - man rear guard between Riedau and Kallham . The Dragoon Regiment of the Grand Duchy of Baden charged the 3rd battalion of the " Jordis " Infantry Regiment # 59 , which was drawn up in square . Waiting until the foot soldiers fired a volley , the dragoons then charged and broke into the square . After their commander , Oberstleutnant Beck was cut down , 706 officers and men of the " Jordis " battalion laid down their weapons . Two squadrons of the " Kienmayer " Hussar Regiment # 8 suffered 10 killed , 50 wounded , and 23 captured . The Badeners reported losing only three killed and 10 wounded , though a large number of their horses were killed . There was a clash between General of Division Claude Carra Saint - Cyr ' s vanguard and General - Major Frederick Bianchi , Duke of Casalanza on 2 May at Räffelding , three kilometers southeast of Eferding . The Baden Dragoons lost 14 casualties , while Austrian losses were unreported . After abandoning Regensburg , Archduke Charles first retreated to Cham on the border of Bohemia where he reorganized his army . From there he marched for České Budějovice ( Budweis ) . Fearing Napoleon might follow him into Bohemia , Charles wrote to Archduke John of Austria on 3 May that he planned to fight at Budweis . As late as 6 May , the main army remained in the vicinity of that city . However , detachments under Feldmarschall - Leutnant Johann von Klenau and General - Major Karl Wilhelm von Stutterheim operated closer to Linz on the north side of the Danube . On the night of 2 May , Emperor Francis left Linz , crossed the Danube , and hastened to join the army of his brother Charles . He left instructions for Hiller to delay Napoleon ' s advance by taking up positions behind the Traun at Ebelsberg and Lambach . If this failed , Hiller could defend the line of the Enns River farther east . Hiller posted General - Major Armand von Nordmann ' s 3 , 000 - man brigade near Lambach to guard his south flank . Francis appointed his brother - in - law Archduke Maximilian of Austria - Este to command Vienna , but most of the garrison was poorly trained . On 2 May , Marshal François Joseph Lefebvre ' s Bavarian VII Corps reported sparring with Jellacic at Golling an der Salzach south of Salzburg . Bessières with his cavalry and Lannes with General of Division Nicolas Oudinot ' s II Corps infantry division reached Wels on the Traun to find the bridge burned . Generals of Division Louis Vincent Le Blond de Saint - Hilaire ( III Corps ) , Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor ( IV Corps ) , and Joseph Laurent Demont ( III Corps ) were nearby with their divisions and Napoleon arrived at Lambach . Vandamme ' s Württemberg VIII Corps marched in the vicinity of Riedau . Davout ' s III Corps was due to arrive in Passau on 3 May , while Napoleon ordered General of Division Marie François Rouyer to leave Regensburg and march to Passau . The 12 , 000 - man Imperial Guard under General of Division Frédéric Henri Walther reached the vicinity of Braunau am Inn at the beginning of May . Battle . Rear guard action . Early on 3 May , General of Brigade Jacob François Marulaz set out from near Eferding with Masséna ' s IV Corps cavalry division . Following the mounted troopers , in order , were the infantry divisions of Generals of Division Michel Marie Claparède ( on loan from II Corps ) , Claude Legrand , Carra Saint - Cyr , and Jean Boudet . The French cavalry ran into a small infantry ambush at Wilhering , which is on the Danube about halfway from Alkoven and Linz . At 9 : 00 AM , the column marched into Linz and took the road south toward Ebelsberg . At 3 : 00 AM , Hiller put his soldiers on the road . He directed Kienmayer ' s small II Reserve Armeekorps to lead the march , while the main bodies of the V and VI Armeekorps followed . That morning , the Austrian wing commander deployed four of his eight brigades as rear guards under Bianchi , Schustekh , General - Major Josef Radetzky , and Feldmarschall - Leutnant Karl von Vincent . As the Austrian wagon train filed across the bridge at Ebelsberg , Hiller ' s staff lost control of the situation , the drivers panicked , and the roadway became jammed with retreating vehicles and troops . Eventually , the mob of troops and wagons squeezed across the span and even Bianchi was across the Traun by 9 : 00 AM with the " Duka " Infantry Regiment # 39 and " Ignaz Gyulai " Infantry Regiment # 60 . However , Schustekh was still somewhere to the southwest so Vincent and Radetzky drew up their forces on the west bank and waited for their colleague to make his appearance . Vincent had the " Benjowsky " Infantry Regiment # 31 and " Splenyi " Infantry Regiment # 51 of General - Major Josef Hoffmeister ' s brigade under his orders . He placed one battalion in the village of Klein München and the other five between there and Scharlinz . He screened the infantry with the " Rosenberg " Chevau - léger Regiment # 6 . Radetzky , with two battalions and six squadrons , deployed on Vincent ' s left , watching for Schustekh . Radetzky ' s brigade included the " Gradiskaner " Grenz Infantry Regiment # 8 , " Merveldt " Uhlan Regiment # 1 , and " Archduke Charles " Uhlan Regiment # 3 . Schustekh finally appeared with the " Kienmayer " Hussar Regiment # 8 and General - Major Otto Hohenfeld ' s brigade , the " Klebeck " Infantry Regiment # 14 and " Jordis " Infantry Regiment # 59 and began crossing the bridge . At about 10 AM , Marulaz ' s troopers came under fire from the woods north of Scharlinz . While waiting for infantry support , he drew up the French 3rd , 14th , 19th , and 23rd Chasseurs à cheval in the first line , the Baden Light Dragoons , Grand Duchy of Hesse " Garde " Chevau - léger , and Württemberg Chevau - léger Regiments in the second line . Soon , General of Brigade Louis - Jacques Coëhorn ' s troops appeared and , at Masséna ' s personal command , attacked Klein München with the bayonet . Coëhorn ' s brigade included the 4th battalions of the 17th , 21st , 26th , and 28th Light Infantry Regiments , the " Tirailleurs du Po " , and the " Tirailleurs Corses " . By this time the " Rosenberg " Chevau - légers had withdrawn across the bridge at Vincent ' s orders . The Austrian defenders of the village put up a poor fight and Coëhorn ' s men drove them from their positions . From the direction of Wels , Bessières showed up with General of Brigade Hippolyte Piré ' s brigade , a hussar and a chasseurs à cheval regiment , and attacked Radetzky who covered Schustekh ' s retreat . Radetzky put up a gallant resistance , for which he later earned the Commander ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . Meanwhile , Hoffmeister made a stand behind the millstream on the west bank . His efforts were futile as French infantry and cavalry charged forward . Seeing that the situation was critical , Vincent ordered a retreat and soon the Austrians were stampeding across the bridge in panic . At about 11 : 00 AM , French troops reached the 550 - meter long bridge . The men of the two brown - coated " Tirailleur " battalions burst through the gate at the west end and raced across the span . The Austrian artillery took the bridge under furious fire , killing friend and foe alike , but its fire was unable to stop the French advance . The bridge had been prepared for burning by Captain Simbschen of Hiller ' s staff , but the officer was not on the scene to give the orders to set it on fire . Hiller , who had been unconcernedly lunching on the Ebelsberg Castle terrace , finally woke up to the danger and began issuing orders . Cut off by the swift French advance , a squadron of Uhlans swam their horses across the river . An Austrian staff officer grabbed a French shako , crossed with the enemy infantry , and escaped into the town . Generalmajor Ferdinand , Graf Bubna von Littitz became a prisoner , while at least 500 of Hoffmeister ' s men and large numbers of other soldiers surrendered . The 2nd battalion of the " Klebeck " Regiment of Schustekh ' s force was captured in a body with its colors . Other soldiers drowned trying vainly to swim across the snow - melt swollen river . Fight for Ebelsberg . When Kienmayer ' s soldiers reached Ebelsberg that morning , Hiller sent them marching on to Asten , Austria . He halted the V and VI Armeekorps troops on the heights east of the town where they began to cook breakfast . Hiller belatedly sent three battalions of Vienna Volunteers to occupy the town , three companies of the " Lindenau " Infantry Regiment # 29 ( detached from III Armeekorps ) to garrison the castle , and an artillery battery to take position near the castle . He failed to order any positions to be fortified before going to the castle for his noontime repast . Yet , Ebelsberg was an excellent defensive position , with the dominating hill - top castle on the north side and two - tiered heights rising behind the town . Coëhorn immediately led a column up the street to the left toward the castle , but the defenders mowed down the front ranks and killed the general ' s horse . His other troops in the town found themselves under a deadly fire from windows and rooftops , while the numerous Austrian guns on the heights sent projectiles crashing through the streets . One enterprising artillerist , Karl Lenk , inflicted serious losses on the French with his single cannon before retiring to join the other guns on the heights . Claparède added his two other brigades under Generals of Brigade Joseph Lesuire and Florentin Ficatier , to the battle . Lesuire ' s command included the 4th battalions of the 27th , 39th , 59th , 69th , and 76th Line Infantry Regiments , while Ficatier led the 4th battalions of the 40th , 64th , 88th , 100th , and 103rd Line . These troops were joined by the elite company of the 19th Chasseurs a Cheval and a section of artillery . Masséna organized a 20 gun artillery battery on the west bank to counter the devastating Austrian artillery fire . An Austrian counterattack from the north threatened the French in the town , but by 1 : 00 PM , Lesuire ’ s brigade had taken the marketplace and was trying to outflank the enemy near the castle . As Lesuire ’ s brigade faltered , Ficatier assaulted the castle in three columns but was repelled . Two battalions of Vienna Volunteers defending a large cemetery drove back a French charge with musketry , then launched a bayonet charge that drove their enemies back . Meanwhile , a third battalion of volunteers took the French in flank and rear from the side streets . The three battalions of Vienna Volunteers charged into the town and , reinforced by four infantry battalions , drove the French toward the marketplace . The 4th and 5th Vienna Volunteers and the " Lindenau " Regiment were involved in these attacks . As they pressed forward , they captured many prisoners including the commander of the " Tirailleurs du Po " . Aided by two guns firing point - blank canister rounds , the French desperately held onto the marketplace in house - to - house fighting . Oberst Maximilian Baumgarten was wounded while two French colonels were killed . Austrian pioneers and howitzer shells began setting some houses on fire , adding to the hellish atmosphere . As Masséna raged helplessly on the far bank , some Austrian pioneers set the end of the bridge on fire , but the strong wind blew out the flames . At this critical moment Colonel Jean Pierre Pouget ' s 26th Light Infantry Regiment appeared at the head of Legrand ' s division . Amazingly , Pouget managed to get his troops across the bridge with minimal loss . Coëhorn appeared and gave the order , " You are going to follow this street to a chateau occupied by the enemy . You will attack it . " Pouget obeyed and , after a climb , led his men within 40 paces of the castle . The castle , now garrisoned by men of the " Jordis " Infantry Regiment , suddenly erupted in flame and the blast of musketry cut down many French soldiers . Unhit , Pouget noticed that the deadliest fire came from a barred and loopholed window above the castle gate . He directed his men to silence the Austrian fire , but within ten minutes , three officers and 53 carabiniers were down . As the Austrians shot down the leading carabinier company , the rest of his light infantrymen waited in a column , unable to fire . Losses mounted alarmingly , and Pouget finally sent for a Lieutenant Guyot who was known as a crack shot . Guyot managed to get within five meters of the deadly window and began firing shots as fast as loaded muskets could be handed to him . Seeing his example , others began doing the same and the fire from the window began to slacken . Sappers rushed forward and began swinging their axes at the gate while other men entered the castle through the cellar ventilators and fought their way inside . Soon after the sappers smashed in the gate , the garrison was quickly rounded up and captured . Led by General of Brigade François Roch Ledru des Essarts , the fresh 18th Line Infantry Regiment entered Ebelsberg . One battalion flushed the Austrians out of the buildings while the other two battalions swung to the right to flank their enemies out of position . Within half an hour , Legrand had secured the bridge and town gate . However , the bitter fight continued as the French issued out of the east sides of the town and castle . The Austrians stubbornly held their positions on the heights and pushed the French back into the town with cavalry charges . By this time Legrand ' s Baden brigade had arrived , led by General of Brigade Georges Kister and General - Major Harrant and consisting of 5 , 500 men in seven battalions . Hiller ordered his howitzers and pioneers to set fire to those parts of the town not already burnt down . Sometime after 4 : 00 PM , the infantry of Legrand and Claparède were cut off from all reinforcement by the conflagration , which destroyed three - quarters of the houses . As Ebelsberg burned , Hiller issued orders for a retreat . Since Marulaz ' s cavalry was unable to get through the streets , the French could not mount an effective pursuit . Ironically , one of the few surviving structures was the bridge . Result . The Austrians admitted 566 killed , 1 , 713 wounded , and 2 , 216 captured , for a total of 4 , 495 casualties . James R . Arnold pointed out that the French rarely gave accurate casualty figures , but numbered their losses in excess of 4 , 000 , including 700 captured . David Hollins counted Austrian losses as 8 , 340 and French casualties as 12 , 000 soldiers . Francis Loraine Petre stated Austrian losses as 2 , 000 killed and wounded , plus 2 , 200 captured . He noted that Masséna reported 2 , 800 total losses , including 1 , 800 killed , giving an unlikely killed - to - wounded ratio . Of these , Legrand reported losing 701 soldiers , including only 23 from his Baden brigade . Petre wrote that Masséna claimed 7 , 000 – 8 , 000 prisoners , while Napoleon privately wrote Lannes that 4 , 000 Austrians were captured . Digby Smith asserted that French casualties were 3 , 605 while Austrian losses were over 7 , 200 , including 4 , 200 captured . Another source gave Austrian losses as 6 , 000 and French losses as 3 , 000 . Petre listed total French strength as 22 , 100 and 20 guns , including Claparède ' s 8 , 400 , Legrand ' s 10 , 000 , Marulaz ' s 2 , 500 , and Piré ' s 1 , 200 . He gave the Austrians 22 , 000 troops and 70 guns , not counting Kienmayer ' s 4 , 500 infantry and 800 cavalry which Hiller allowed to leave the vicinity . Smith estimated French numbers as 22 , 000 men and 48 guns . At 7 : 00 AM that morning , Lannes ' engineers rebuilt the bridge at Wels . Unaware of what was happening at Ebelsberg , Napoleon ordered Bessières ' cavalry followed by Oudinot ' s infantry to cross the new bridge and march for Steyr on the Enns . Meanwhile , Molitor ' s division was on the road from Lambach to Kremsmünster , halfway to Steyr . When his troops reached there , they were diverted to Ebelsberg . Because of a strong wind , other French forces in the area did not hear the noise of the battle . When Napoleon finally arrived in Ebelsberg at dusk , he was greeted by the sight of many wounded who had burned to death . Though he was accustomed to the sight of dead and dying soldiers , the emperor was aghast at the thickly strewn blackened corpses . Napoleon was aware that the slaughter had been completely unnecessary , since Lannes ' upstream crossing of the Traun would have forced Hiller to retire without a battle . The emperor chose not to publicly criticize Masséna and deliberately under - reported his losses . He understood that the aggressiveness and bravery displayed by his generals and troops would be needed in future actions , so he distributed awards . For his heroism , Lieutenant Guyot was named a Baron of the Empire and received a generous sum of money . At a review of the 26th Light the following day , the commander of the Imperial Guard " Chasseurs à Pied " paid Colonel Pouget a highly public complement . Hiller slipped away from the French and burned the bridges at every major stream during his retreat . On 7 May , the Austrians crossed to the north bank of the Danube at Mautern an der Donau which is near Krems an der Donau . Hiller left 10 , 000 troops under Dedovich to retreat on the south bank . Archduke Maximilian held Vienna with 35 , 000 troops , including 14 Landwehr battalions and 6 , 000 Vienna militia under Feldmarschall - Leutnant Andreas O ' Reilly von Ballinlough . There were also eight regular , six Landwehr , and six Vienna Volunteers battalions led by Dedovich ; the II Reserve Armeekorps grenadier brigade commanded by Kienmayer and General - Major Konstantin Ghilian Karl d ' Aspré ; and four battalions and five squadrons jointly led by Nordmann and General - Major Joseph , Baron von Mesko de Felsö - Kubiny . On the evening of 11 May , a French bombardment of Vienna completely unnerved Maximilian . The archduke abandoned the city on the 12th and withdrew with the greater part of the garrison to the north bank of the Danube , burning all the bridges . O ' Reilly was left behind to carry out the surrender which included 13 generals , 180 officers , and 2 , 000 troops . The French found a military chest containing $ 4 . 5 million Gulden and large quantities of food , ammunition , and 100 cannon that Maximilian failed to carry off or destroy . The next major action was the Battle of Aspern - Essling on 21 and 22 May . Commentary . Petre called Hiller ' s generalship , " as feeble as it could possibly be " and that his troops were " miserably handled " , noting that he should have crushed Claparède ' s division or ejected it from the town when the French were at a two - to - one disadvantage . Petre believed that during the rear guard action , the Austrians actually outnumbered Coëhorn , Marulaz , and Piré . Robert M . Epstein called Hiller ' s counterattacks , " piecemeal and badly coordinated " . He noted the large number of Austrian guns available ( 70 ) and their effective use to inflict losses on the French and to set fire to the town . Epstein wrote that the French ignored the lesson and carelessly went into the battle at Aspern - Essling against an opponent who was capable of handling large numbers of cannons to good effect . Napoleon indirectly criticized Masséna when he privately wrote to Lannes the next day , " As soon as I knew that they had had the stupidity to attack by force this famous position , and the only redoubtable one on the Traun which it was necessary to take , I feared some misfortune . " Arnold believed that Masséna ' s order to assault the town was " far worse than ill advised " . He asserted that this blunder , which sent hundreds of soldiers to a pointless death , showed how far the marshal ' s abilities had declined from their peak .