Battle of Dürenstein order of battle

Coordinates: 48°23′14″N 15°31′13″E / 48.38722°N 15.52028°E / 48.38722; 15.52028

Battle of Dürenstein (or Dürnstein)
Part of the War of the Third Coalition
A vast river curves through a flat landscape. At the end of the flood plain, steep mountains rise above red-roofed houses.
Battle site, on the curve of the Danube, meant that the combatants at one end could not see what happened at the other.
Date11 November 1805
LocationDürenstein, Wachau region, Austria
Result inconclusive
Belligerents
France First French Empire  Austrian Empire
Russia Russian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Édouard Mortier
Théodore Maxime Gazan
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang		 Mikhail Kutuzov
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt  †
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
Dmitry Dokhturov
Strength
initially about 6,000–8,000, expanded to 8,000-10,000 by the end of the battle about 24,000
Casualties and losses
~4,000, plus 47 officers and 895 men captured
Two Eagles, a guidon, and five guns.		 ~4,000 dead and wounded.
Two colors of Muskova Regiment Viatka.

The Battle of Dürenstein order of battle included a Coalition force of Russian and Austrian troops, under the overall command of Mikhail Kutuzov, and a single division of the Corps Mortier commanded by Édouard Mortier.

In pursuing the Austrian retreat from Bavaria, Mortier had over-extended the three divisions of his newly formed VIII. Corps, spreading them along the north bank of the Danube. Kutuzov enticed Mortier to send Théodore Maxime Gazan's 2nd Division into a trap; French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns, and were only rescued by the timely arrival of the 1st Division, under command of Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The battle extended well into the night.

Both sides claimed a victory. The French lost more than a third of the Corps, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but arguably the most significant was the death in action of Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff.

Battle

Main article: Battle of Dürenstein
A black and white lithograph of a battle scene in which several men stand on a cliff, looking at a piece of paper. In the intermediate ground, several small boats carry soldiers. In the distance, steep mountains surround a small village on three sides, and a moon shines through the clouds.
Much of the battle was fought after dark.

Early in the morning on 11 November, three coalition columns departed from the vicinity of Krems an der Donau and Melk, circled around the promontory on which Dürnstein is located, to prepare to attack the French column that had encamped overnight at the village. In the morning, responding to rumors of a Russian rear guard, attacked the Russian encampment at nearby Stein; the two forces engaged head-on until afternoon when one of the Russian columns finally made its way through the mountain defiles and attacked the French rear. The French were trapped in the Danube canyon, attacked from the front and the rear by the Russians. A second French division, under command of Dupont, arrived and attacked the Russian column. Following this attack, another Coalition column arrived and attacked the French. The battle extended well into the night before both sides stopped.[1]

The French lost more than a third of the VIII. Corps, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. Mortier had failed to protect his northern flank, despite specific instructions from Napoleon. The Corps Mortier was disbanded and distributed to other Corps, but Gazan received the Officers Cross of the Legion of Honor. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but arguably the most significant was the death in action of Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff.[1]

French Order of Battle

The French division was part of the newly created VIII. Corps, the Corps Mortier, under command of Édouard Mortier. The role of this Corps was to pursue and defeat the retreating remnants of the Austrian army on the north bank of the Danube river, and to prevent the Russian army, under command of Mikhail Kutuzov, from crossing the river and uniting his force with either the Austrians or with an approaching Russian army.[2]

On 6 November Édouard Adolphe Mortier commanded the following forces:[3]

First Division

Second Division

Third Division

Dragoon Division

Except for the three squadrons attached to Gazan's column, these were not involved in the fighting.[7]

Flotilla

Total: 15 battalions, six squadrons, six guns, approximately 12,000 men, not all of which were involved in the fighting.[3]

Allied Order of Battle

The Russian General Mikhail Kutuzov commanded the Allied Army of approximately 24,000.[3]

First Column

Second Column

Third Column

Fourth Column

Fifth Column

Sixth Column

The Sixth Column did not take part in the fighting.[3]

Austrian Column

Austrian Cavalry

Total: 58 battalions, 62 squadrons, 14 artillery batteries, approximately 24,000 men and 168 artillery pieces.[3]

Sources

Notes and citations

  1. 1 2 (German) Rainer. Egger. Das Gefecht bei Dürnstein-Loiben 1805. Wien: Bundesverlag, 1986; and Robert Goetz. 1805: Austerlitz, the Destruction of the Third Coalition. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2005, ISBN 1-85367-644-6, pp. 70–76.
  2. ↑ (German) Egger. Das Gefecht; Goetz. pp. 70–76.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Digby Smith. Napoleonic Wars Databook: 1805, London: Greenhill Publishing Co., 1998, ISBN 1-85367-276-9. p. 213.
  4. ↑ The 1st Hussars had been raised in 1804 in Hannover by Mortier himself, and included three battalions plus a regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval. Digby Smith, Napoleon's Regiments. PA: Stackpole, 2001. ISBN 1-85367-413-3, pp. 282–283.
  5. ↑ Smith contradicts himself. He lists 12 battalions that were present in Gazan's division, but summarizes the count at nine; he excludes the three battalions of the 4th Regiment of the Line. Smith. Databook. p. 213.
  6. ↑ Bodart lists Campana among the fallen at the Battle of Ostrolenka in 1807. Bodart, Gaston. Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Wien: Stern, 1908, p. 883.
  7. ↑ Smith. Napoleon's Regiments, pp. 240–248.
  8. ↑ (German) Autorenkollektiv. "Rosen." Meyers Konversationslexikon. Leipzig und Wien: Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, Vierte Auflage, 1885–1892. S. 967.

Bibliography

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