First Battle of Wissembourg

First Battle of Wissembourg
	Part of the War of the First Coalition
	; Wissembourg in the 17th century
Date	13 October 1793
Location	Wissembourg, Bas-Rhin, France49°02′18″N 7°56′49″E / 49.0383°N 7.9469°E
Result	Austrian-Allied victory
Belligerents
France	French Émigrés
Commanders and leaders
Jean Pascal Carlenc [fr]	Dagobert Wurmser
Strength
51,590	42,234
Casualties and losses
3,000, 31 guns	1,800
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Europe

In the First Battle of Wissembourg (13 October 1793) an Allied army commanded by

Army of the Rhine under Jean Pascal Carlenc. After an ineffectual resistance, the French army abandoned its fortified line behind the Lauter River and retreated toward Strasbourg in confusion. This engagement of the War of the First Coalition occurred on the eastern border of France

about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Strasbourg.

After the

Second Wissembourg

.

Background

During the

Army of the Rhine manned the Lines of Weissenburg, a line of earthworks dating back to the War of the Spanish Succession. The lines began near Wissembourg and stretched about 20 kilometers in an east-southeasterly direction to the Rhine River at Lauterbourg. This traces the modern-day France-Germany

border.

During this period, the Army of the Rhine's command structure remained chaotic. In July 1793,

Charles Pichegru replaced Carlenc on 27 October. At the same time, MG Lazare Hoche assumed overall command of both the Army of the Moselle and Pichegru's Army of the Rhine.^[1]

On 20 August, a column made up of

Jäger. A flurry of actions followed as Wurmser drove in the French outposts and tapped at the main lines. Skirmishes occurred on 21 and 27 August, and on 7, 11, 12, 14, 19, 20, 23, and 30 September.^[2]

On 12 and 20 September, two battalions of the Kaiser Infantry Regiment led by Oberst (Colonel) Gerhard Rosselmini clashed with the French at Bad Bergzabern and Bienwaldmuhle.^[3]

Battle

French Army

Army of the Rhine: General of Division Jean Carlenc (45,312 infantry, 6,278 cavalry)^[4]
- Advance Guard: General of Division Jean-Baptiste Meynier
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Augustin Isambert
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Ferette (?)
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Jean-François Combez
- Right Wing: General of Brigade Paul-Alexis Dubois
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Claude Ignace François Michaud
  - Brigade: General of Brigade
    Claude Legrand
- Center: General of Division Louis Dominique Munnier
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Martial Vachot
- Center: General of Division Jean Nicolas Méquillet
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Bauriolle (?)
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Isambert
- Left Wing: General of Division Claude Ferey
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Louis Desaix
- Reserve: General of Division Dominique Diettmann
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Barthélemy de La Farelle
  - Brigade: General of Brigade Jean-François Ravel de Puycontal

Habsburg-Allied Army

Allied Army: GdK Dagobert von Wurmser (33,599 infantry, 9,635 cavalry)^[5]
- 1st Column: FML Christian, Prince of Waldeck und Pyrmont
  - Brigade: GM Adam Lichtenberg
  - Brigade: GM Karl Funk von Senftenau
- 2nd Column: FML Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
  - Brigade: OB Franjo Jelačić
  - Brigade: GM Alexander Jordis
  - Brigade: GM Karl Aufsess
- 3rd Column: FML Hotze
  - Brigade: OBL Ignác Gyulay
  - Brigade: OB Johann von Klenau
- 4th Column: GM Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló
  - Brigade: OB Sell von Pellegrini
  - Brigade: GM Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló
- 5th Column: GM Karl Brunner von Hirschbrunn
- 6th Column: GM Siegfried Kospoth
- 7th Column:
  Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé
  - Brigade: GM Viomenil
Key
- GdK = Austrian General der Kavallerie commands an army or corps
- FML = Austrian Feldmarschal-Leutnant commands a corps or division
- GM = Austrian General-Major commands a brigade
- OB = Austrian Oberst (colonel) commands a regiment
- OBL = Austrian Oberst-Leutnant (lieutenant colonel) is second in command of a regiment

Action

On 13 October 1793, Wurmser launched his main assault against the fortified French positions. The Allied forces succeeded in breaching the line, forcing a French withdrawal south to

Second Battle of Wissembourg

in December 1793.

References

^ See French Wikipedia, Armee du Rhin.
^ Smith, p. 52.
^ Wrede, p. 122.
^ Smith, pp. 57–58. The author provides the orders of battle for both armies.
^ Smith, p. 58. Smith incorrectly lists Albert Gyulay, who fought in Flanders, rather than his brother Ignaz.
^ Smith, p. 58.
^ Smith, p. 61.

External links

French Wikipedia: Armée du Rhin
French Wikipedia: French generals
napoleon-series.org Austrian generals by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna
Media related to First Battle of Wissembourg (1793) at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by Siege of Toulon (1793)	French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns First Battle of Wissembourg (1793)	Succeeded by Battle of Truillas

[1] See French Wikipedia, Armee du Rhin.

[2] Smith, p. 52.

[3] Wrede, p. 122.

[4] Smith, pp. 57–58. The author provides the orders of battle for both armies.

[5] Smith, p. 58. Smith incorrectly lists Albert Gyulay, who fought in Flanders, rather than his brother Ignaz.

[6] Smith, p. 58.

[7] Smith, p. 61.

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