Battle of Stockach
25 March 1799
Part 1
March 22nd and March 23rd
by Roland Kessinger, Germany
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March 22nd - French Retreat from Ostrach After his defeat at Ostrach on the 21st, Jourdan issued the order around 10 p.m. for the evacuation of the wounded and baggage from Pfullendorf to Schaffhausen. The rest of the French army started its retreat during the early morning of March 22nd. The Reserve retreated first, marching from Pfullendorf through Stockach to Emmingen ob Eck. Ferino’s 1st Division (with Ruby’s brigade) moved from the Rotach to Bodman, followed by GM Piacek brigade. Near the western tip of Lake Constance at Bondorf, Ferino’s rearguard only escaped being cut off by 2nd Uhlans under GM Schwarzenberg, by just 35 minutes. Nevertheless, 1st Division lost more than 500 prisoners during their retreat. Souham’s 2nd Division fell back unmolested from Pfullendorf to a position between Nenzingen and Stockach, while St. Cyr’s 3rd Division pulled back from Krauchenwies (near the southern bank of the Danube) through Messkirch to Neuhausen ob Eck. The Flanquers de Gauche under Vandamme remained on the southern bank in Wurttemberg territory and the Advance Guard retreated from the camp near Pfullendorf to Stockach, where they arrived at noon, before falling back further to Neuhaus, an isolated house on the Stockach-Tuttlingen road near Liptingen. The French headquarters were established at Aach.
GM Schwarzenberg and GM Piacek pushed forward along the northern bank of Lake Constance. In the centre FML Nauendorf was moving westwards with the brigades of GM Gyulai and GM Kienmayer along the Pfullendorf-Stockach road, while GM Merveldt with his small brigade followed Gouvion St. Cyr’s Division along the Messkirch-Tuttlingen road. The main Austrian army only crossed the Andel stream east of Pfullendorf on March 22nd and moved into the former French camp, allowing Jourdan some breathing space. Formally, Massena was under Jourdan’s overall direction, so from his Aach HQ, Jourdan ordered the Army of Helvetia to attack Austrian positions around Feldkirch for a second time to put pressure on Charles’ left wing, (this was probably a confirmation of earlier orders as Massena began his assault on March 22nd.) However, Jourdan realised that he could not halt Charles along a line in the Lake Constance-Danube gap, as he had failed to do so on the better Ostrach position. So, the orders for 23rd March directed a continued retreat westwards, so as to form a line running from Radolfzell at Lake Constance (1st division) through Engen (2nd division, Advance Guard, Reserve) as far as Tuttlingen on the Danube (3rd division, Flanquers de Gauche). March 23rd The French retreat recommenced at 3a.m. The 1st division had its centre near the Wurttemberg fortress of Hohentwiel, close to Singen (location of the right flank brigade under Tharreau) while the brigade of Ruby was further east near Lake Constance around Radolfzell. The left flank of Ferino’s division (Jacopin’s brigade) was at Muhlhausen. Souham’s 2nd division marched from Nenzingen to the hills around Engen. The right brigade (Decaen) took position between Welschingen and Anselfingen, while the left brigade (Goullus) was north of Anselfingen. St. Cyr didn’t follow his orders to retreat to Tuttlingen, but remained in position between Neuhausen ob Eck and Liptingen, justifying his actions as being better to stop the Austrian advance and to retain ground on the right bank of the Danube. The "Flanquers de Gauche" under Vandamme returned from Württemberg and the Neckar River, reaching the Danube on St. Cyr’s left near Fridingen. The Reserve Division, which now consisted only of cavalry was north of Engen near Biesendorf, while the Advance Guard Division (Soult) covered the area between Engen and Liptingen. The French main headquarter were established at Engen, with the rear services located at Geisingen.
Late in the afternoon, Souham and Decaen realised this hole had appeared in the French position and the left brigade of the 2nd Division was moved forward in front of Engen around 3:30 p.m. Goullus tried to get back to Aach with his brigade, but the Austrian advance-guard under FML Nauendorf (brigades of GM Gyulai and GM Kienmayer) was already there, forcing Goullus to adopt a defensive position between Engen and Aach. On the Austrian left, the advance-guard brigades of GM Schwarzenberg and GM Piacek pushed their troops forward along the Stockach-Singen and the Stockach-Radolfzell roads with their outposts running along the Stockach stream between Wahlwies and Espasingen, but there was no significant action in this area. The overall effect of the French moves was to withdraw their right wing and centre, while the left wing stayed in position. Jourdan’s plan is not clear, as it must have been clear to him that his troops would be attacked the following day by the Austrian advance guard if he left them in their positions, which is what happened. More Battle of Stockach: Part 1 25 March 1799
March 22nd and March 23rd March 24th -- First Clashes March 24th -- Evening Situation Charles' and Jourdan's Plans March 25th First Clashes First Austrian Counterattack Battle of Stockach: Part 2 25 March 1799
Destruction of 8e Demi-Brigade and the Austrian Pursuit Comments on the Battle Orders of Battle Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #67 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |
A few days earlier, Jourdan had required four to five days to march over the same ground. His advance had certainly leisurely, but after his defeat at Ostrach, he was in a rather more difficult position. Archduke Charles’ priority was not to destroy the Army of the Danube, but to force it to withdraw over the Rhine, so that he could then fall into Massena’s rear in Switzerland. So, the Archduke had only sent his advance guard in pursuit of the defeated French.
The Austrian army was able to enjoy a rest day on the 23rd in its Pfullendorf camp. Only its advance-guard pushed forward: GM Merveldt’s brigade reached Schwandorf near the Messkirch-Tuttlingen road, a few kilometres east of Neuhausen ob Eck. St. Cyr informed his chief that the Austrians might attack his outposts the following day, so Soult was ordered by Jourdan to cover St. Cyr’s right. Soult’s current position ran along the Engen-Stockach road to Hattingen, so he now reinforced his left near Hattingen, but in the process left the positions near Engen exposed in the direction of Stockach.