'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

For those interested in reading further on the trials and tribulations of the Austrian Army I highly recommend this book as a good and quite enjoyable history on the subject:

For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918 by Richard Bassett

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - Part of the author's summary and analyst on the battle:

" ... Third, at what we may term the grand tactical level, the Battle of Znaim was a meeting engagement. That is, an unplanned battle where the two sides encounter each other on the march and engage wherever they happen to meet rather than in carefully selected positions. For Napoleon, his subordinates and his army, such engagements were simply part of their combat repertoire; the flexibility of the army's organisations and the independence and initiative expected of leaders at all levels meant the French and their allies easily adapted to this form of warfare. Charles and the Habsburg host, on the other hand, were clearly uncomfortable being forced to conduct such a battle. The repeated, relentless hammer blows the Hauptarmee had suffered in April during the series of meeting engagements in Bavaria had left a deep impression on the archduke. He assessed his army as totally unsuited for offensive operations in congested terrain and far preferred fighting from well ordered defensive positions or, if forced to attack, to do so in open ground where all actions could be orchestrated through a written 'disposition' and visually observed by him as overall commander. These considerations help explain his strong desire to occupy a recognised a defensive 'position' such as Jetzeldorf or Iglau and his unease as being forced to fight at Znaim. In an unplanned engagement, with an army that was extremely awkward in the attack, and convinced that he was both outnumbered and outgeneralled, his only concern was to escape with his army intact. He and his subordinate commanders discovered anxieties in all directions: the fear of the numerous French cavalry, excessive worries about being outflanked, exaggerated estimates of enemy strength. He thus fought a strictly defensive battle at Znaim, forgoing opportunities perhaps to slow or halt the chase by inflicting a stunning and unexpected offensive blow against his brash French pursuers.

Finally, it is worth noting that Znaim presents a further instance in this war of outnumbered French forces overcoming, or nearly overcoming, Austrian troops in strong defensive positions. The storming of the bridge at Ebelsberg is one example and the French evening attack on the Russbach Heights at Wagram on 5 July provides another, even though that poorly organised assault was eventually repelled. Here at Znaim, a combination of energy and audacity undergirded by excellent tactics (such as artillery employment and the threat of cavalry attack) allowed Legrand's outnumbered division to force a passage of the Thaya against a force approximately twice its size and drive the enemy back on the city. The Hauptarmee's defensive orientation was certainly a major factor as well, but successes such as this are worth recalling when considering the strengths and weaknesses of the French army in 1809."

The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War by John H. Gill

Scott, if your interested in further reading on Marshal Murat this book offers a pretty good account:

Marshal Murat King of Naples by Andrew Hilliard Atteridge

Scott wrote: "Austerlitz 1805
I never tire of reading about Murat’s subterfuge in sneaking into Vienna prior to the clash at Austerlitz. Murat was actually order..."

That Murat, a bit of a scallywag by all accounts! :)

Betsy I will be keen to hear what you think of "The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815" as I have an unread copy sitting in my library.

The Battle of Quatre Bras 1815 by Mike Robinson

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - Here is a great story of an incident that occurred during the French pursuit of the retreating Austrian army:

"The urgency of the march did not prevent the men of one lucky unit from exploiting what must have seemed an incredible stroke of good fortune, creating thereby what Cadet de Gassicourt called 'a singular spectacle'.

A Moravian shepherd, leading a herd of more than a hundred sheep, came recklessly into our column. A cry arises: in an instant the herd is dispersed across the fields; four or five hundred soldiers, sabres in hand, chase after the sheep, seize them, strip them, skin them. In ten minutes, the herd had disappeared, and the soldiers had rejoined their ranks, one having a leg, another a rack of mutton on the tip of his bayonet. I have never seen a stupefaction to parallel that of the poor shepherd, who instead of a hundred and some sheep, now had only his two dogs, almost astonished as him as to the loss of their companions.

The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War by John H. Gill

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - Austrian General-Major Johann Graf von Klebelsberg seems to have put up a good fight at Znaim:

" ... He had demonstrated great competence in selecting good positions, withdrawing at the right moments in an orderly fashion, making the best use of all three arms and, above all, holding his command together despite the enemy's evident superiority. All of this was clearly evident to his French pursuers. Indeed, the skill he and Heinrich Hardegg displayed earned the admiration of their foes and friends alike. In his history of the war, for example, Jean-Jacques Pelet, then chef de battaillon on Massena's staff, wrote that Klebelsberg conducted this withdrawal 'in the finest order' and 'thereby gained a great deal of time for the retreat of the army'."

General-Major Johann Graf von Klebelsberg:
(https://www.napoleon-series.org/resea...)
Promotions
Major: 28.06.1797
Oberstleutnant: 09.01.1804
Oberst: 01.09.1805
Generalmajor: 18.05.18092
Feldmarschalleutnant: 02.09.1813
General der Kavallerie: 30.12.1831

Posts and Offices (Army, Politics, Court)
Commanding General ad interim in Moravia and Silesia: 30.12.1831 – 1832
Commanding General in Moravia and Silesia: 1832 – 06.1834
Fortress Commandant of Theresienstadt: 1834-1836
Fortress Governor of Theresienstadt: 1836 – 01.06.1841

Field Service (1792-1815)
Commander of the Austrian forces at the combat of Saint-Julien (Landecy, Les Lusiettes): 01.03.1814 (+)
Commander of the 2nd Army Detachment: 05.-06.1814

Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Austria)
Military Maria Theresian Order – KC: 24.10.1809
Order of Leopold – CC: 26./29.03.1814
Military Honor Cross 1813/14 (Army Cross 1813/14): ~ 1814
2nd Colonel-Proprietor of the Uhlan Regiment N°4: 1813 – 01.06.1841
I.R. Privy Councillor: 1832
I.R. Chamberlain: 1802

Orders, Awards, Honorary Appointments (Foreign Countries)
Baden:
Order of Fidelity – ?C:
France:
Military Order of St. Louis – GC: 1816
Poland (Russia):
Order of the White Eagle: 1835
Russia:
Order of St. Anne 1st cl.: vor 1820
Sardinia-Piedmont:
Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus – GC: 1814

Biographical Essay (by Digby Smith)
Johann Nepomuk Joseph Graf von Klebelsberg, Freiherr zu Thumburg was born on 30 January 1772 in Szoboszló, Hungary. In November 1785, he joined Chevauxleger Regiment "Modena" N°13 as a cadet. His father, Oberst Prokop Graf von Klebelsberg, commanded the regiment from 1784-1789 (see K40). Young Lieutenant Klebelsberg fought with the regiment in the wars against the Turks, from 1787-92. He was in action at Semlin in 1788 and at the siege of Belgrade in the autumn of 1789.
In 1793, he had risen to captain in the Frei-Corps "Wurmser" and fought in the successful actions around Trier in Prinz von Hohenlohe-Kirchberg's corps against GdD Beurnonville's Armée de la Moselle. In 1794, he served in Flanders, the next year on the upper Rhine, under Wurmser. His regiment was distinguished in the capture of the Hartberg, in the siege of Mainz (20 September – 13 October). He was also in action in the assaults on the redoubts at Mannheim (18 October), in the clashes at Pfrimm, Frankenthal (12 November) and Schwengenheim.
After promotion to Oberst (1 September 1805) Klebelsberg took over command of Uhlan Regiment N°3, in northern Italy. He was distinguished in the victorious battle of Caldiero, on 29-31 October.
In the campaign of 1809, he served with his regiment in Erzherzog Ludwig's V Corps of the main army (later taken over by FZM Fürst Reuss) in the Danube valley. He came into action on 21 April at Landshut, in the Austrian defeat there. During the great battles of Aspern and Wagram, he was with his regiment on the Bisamberg, on flank security duties. Following the defeat of Wagram, his regiment took over rear guard duties of the army. They fought at Znaim on 10-11 July. For his conduct in this battle, he was promoted to Generalmajor and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Maria Theresian Cross.
On 2 September 1813, Kerpen was promoted to Feldmarschalleutnant. He took over command of a cuirassier division and fought at Dresden on 26-27 August and at Leipzig. In 1814 he commanded a mixed division in FML Fürst Alois von Liechtenstein's corps on the upper Rhine. He won a victory at St. Julien (9 km southwest of Geneva) on 1 March, over GdD Count Jean-Gabriel Marchand.
On 30 December 1831, count Kerpen was promoted to General der Kavallerie. He died on 1 June 1841, in Theresienstadt (now Terezin), in Bohemia.

Printed Sources
Bodart, p.475 | Hirtenfeld 2, p.1048ff. | Kneschke 5, p.120 | MD 3, p.60 | MilSchem | ÖMKL 3, p.548f. (wrong: Mjr in 07.1797) | Persa, Albert v.: Das Geschlecht derer von Klebelsberg zu Thumburg (= Schlern Schriften. Veröffentlichungen zur Landeskunde von Südtirol. Ed. by R.v. Klebelsberg, vol.35), Innsbruck 1937, p.42, N°X/104 (at the beginning of the article wrong: d. 10.06.1841 / wrong: "Commandeur des Marien-Theresienordens"), genealogical table D | Pickl, p.305 | Riedl, UR3, p.24 | Wrede 3, p.333 | Wurzbach 12, p.27ff. | WZ, 25.11.1809, 09.09.1813, 14.04.1814, 15.09.1815, 12.09.1816 | Zivkovic, Generalität, p.41 | Zivkovic, Heerführer, pp.53, 132

Internet Sources
Jewison/Steiner
Marek (http://www.napoleon-online.de/AU_Gene...)
Schmidt-Brentano, Generale

Notes
1) MD / Schmidt-Brentano: 10.01.1774 (?)
2) Riedl, UR3, p.334: 17.04.1809 (?)

Here is a decent account of the Battle of Znaim:

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/...

Here is a book review of "The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War":

https://minervawisdom.com/2020/12/11/...

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - I found the author's article on the Battle of Znaim if anyone is interested:

https://militaryhistorynow.com/2020/0...

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - The Battle of Hollabrunn was an Austrian rearguard action that was fought on 9th July 1809:

"The fact that the corps could mount such a determined defence at Hollabrunn thus speaks well for the junior leaders, the common soldiers, and select generals. Klenau, to his credit, was so pleased with Mariassy and Senitzer that he ignored his own weariness and rode to Charles after dark to request the cross of the Maria Theresa Order for both officers. Charles, under his authority as Generalissimus, happily acceded and Klenau was able to reward both men amongst the ashes of Hollabunn that night. Thanks to the efforts of these officers and the men under their command, the Austrians had delayed Massena's pursuit for a day."

The Battle of Hollabrunn, 1809:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_....

I came across this web site while looking for some additional information on the Battle of Hollabrunn in 1809:

South Moravian Museum in Znojmo, on the occasion of the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Znaim:
https://www.austerlitz.org/en/znaim-z...

Betsy wrote: "Good description, MR9. I have to admit the one description of facial damage reminded me of Hannibal Lechter. Perhaps she was getting a bit of revenge for all the horses lost?"

Sounds fair to me Betsy!

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - Aftermath of the Battle of Wagram - the night of 6-7 July:

"On the French side of the field, the army had pushed the retreating Austrians to the western fringe of the Marchfeld and cleared the Russbach Heights as far as the Hochleithen ridgeline. In some cases, the action resembled 'following' the enemy more than 'pursuing', but there were numerous sharp combats as well, especially as the French cavalry endeavoured to interrupt the Austrian withdrawal. The legendary GD Antoine Charles Lasalle was killed in one of these engagements leading Massena's light cavalry in the late afternoon. Shortly thereafter, his replacement, GD Jacob François Marulaz, received his nineteenth wound, the one that would end his career as an active field soldier; his brother-in-law, Chef d'Escadron Etienne Marechal, and Colonel Jean-Baptiste Deban de Laborde, colonel of his old regiment, the 8th Hussars, were killed during the same charge."

General Antoine-Charles-Louis Lasalle:
https://www.frenchempire.net/biograph...

General Jacob-François Marola Marulaz:
https://www.frenchempire.net/biograph...

Battle of Wagram:
http://www.napolun.com/mirror/napoleo...

The Battle of Wagram by Ian Castle:
https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-o...

Good question Betsy, all I can say is that a saying in regards to the entry requirements for the infantry when I joined the army was; "I'm not real smart but I can lift heavy objects."

😂😂😂

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - From Regensburg to Wagram - the start of Napoleon's counter-offensive against the Austrian advance:

"The April campaign around Regensburg thus concluded with a clear French victory, but the fact that the Austrians had escaped meant that 'Napoleon's hopes were far from being entirely realised.' He would still have to destroy the Hauptarmee to bring the war to a close. Nonetheless, the Austrians had been severely handled, losing 44,700 men, and 73 guns as well as their entire pontoon train and hundreds of other vehicles. In contrast, French losses totalled approximately 16,300 soldiers. Moreover, Napoleon had entirely overturned the strategic situation: a mere two weeks after the opening of hostilities and one week after his arrival in Bavaria, the Austrian army was in full retreat and his Army of Germany was poised to invade the Habsburg heartland. This was a remarkable achievement and to the end of his days, Napoleon regarded the Regensburg campaign as his greatest manoeuvre."

Battle of Abensberg, 20 April 1809:
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/...

Battle of Ratisbon or Regensburg, 23 April 1809:
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/...

"The Battle of Znaim: Napoleon, The Habsburgs and the End of the 1809 War" - A bit more from the chapter covering the make up of the French and Austrian armies that clashed in the 1809 campaign. This in regards to the French:

"These men, French and German, veteran and conscript alike, found themselves serving under excellent leaders. The division commanders were all competent, experienced veterans. GD Claude Juste Alexander Legrand, aged forty-seven, a former sergeant of the old royal army who had led the 1st Division since 1805, stood out from the rest as one of the few officers in whom Napoleon descried the 'sacred fire' (feu sacre) that distinguished officers of especial dedication, determination and inspirational ability. Pierre Pelleport, colonel of the 18th Ligne in Legrand's division, regarded his commander as skilful on the battlefield and 'one of the most serious generals in our army.' 'It is with veneration that I go to visit his tomb whenever I am in Paris,' Pelleport wrote later, "No soldier ever received a more deserved honour'."

General Claude-Juste-Alexandre Legrand:
https://www.frenchempire.net/biograph...

Betsy wrote: "My book is Napoleon's Polish Gamble: Eylau & Friedland 1807 by Christopher Summerville."

I hope you enjoy it Betsy!

Great post Scott, I quite enjoyed this quote; "Whereas the French troops has acquired a marked cunning and ruthlessness at this kind of thing over the years, the Austrians merely wandered in an amiable and helpless fashion over the countryside."

A new addition to my library today, found a nice new copy of this book a local second-hand book shop:

Wellington's Wars: The Making of a Military Genius by Huw Davies