The Battle of Hohenlinden:
A Napoleonic Refight

Introduction and Historical Background

by Jim Arnold and Ralph Reinertsen

The previous days had witnessed an uncomfortable combination of rain, sleet, and snow. In spite of a liberal distribution of brandy, the Austrians rose from the bivouacs on December 3, 1800 with little enthusiasm. There was again the smell of snow in the air. Wearily the four Austrian columns began plodding westward through the forest in search of Moreau’s French army. Because they were marching on the region’s only decent road, FML Johann Kollowrat’s soldiers outpaced the adjacent columns.

GM Franz Loepper’s advance guard cautiously deployed along the edge of the pine forest overlooking the Hohenlinden valley. The grenzers shook out into a skirmish line while the Hungarians of the Benjowksy Infantry Regiment formed into line. Loepper gave the order to advance and the grenzers moved into the open. A waft of wind cleared the murk, allowing General Emmanuel Grouchy’s French voltigeurs and the attached divisional artillery to see the brown-clad grenzers. The French opened fire and our two-hundred and first anniversary refight was underway.

A visit from my long-time wargaming friend and opponent, Ralph Reinertsen, coupled with a plea from the editor for a Napoleonic battle report, provided the incentive for our tabletop encounter. Since we share an interest in Napoleonic history we decided to stage a refight of an historical battle. The 1800 period remained fresh in my mind (it’s hard to ignore the boxes with unsold books next to the game table) and since Ralph had taken the battlefield photos used to illustrate my book on Marengo and Hohenlinden, the subject seemed a good fit. Marengo is the better known battle but I had already offered this game at an HMGS convention so we decided to try something new.

Historical Background

In late 1800 Bonaparte remained in Paris working to consolidate his political position as head of the French government. Post-Marengo peace negotiations had faltered so Bonaparte ordered the French armies to renew operations. In Bavaria, General Jean Moreau commanded a superb army. Moreau’s objective was simply to gain ground in order to promote future offensive actions. Bonaparte did not want his rival to earn prestige associated with a major victory.

However, Moreau held loftier ambitions. He issued a proclamation to his army: “The entire Republic has its eyes on the brave Army of the Rhine; she will respond to their attention with new victories!” Winter campaigns were particularly taxing on Napoleonic armies. Nonetheless, Moreau displayed considerable skill and managed to assemble 63,000 well-appointed soldiers in the area around Hohenlinden by the end of November.

The young, inexperienced Erzherzog Johann was in nominal command of the opposing Austrian army with an effective field force of 49,000 infantry and 16,500 cavalry. Colonel Franz Weyrother stepped into the command void and suggested a bold offensive over the Inn River to retrieve the desperate Austrian position. A sparse road net traversed the regions’ wooded hills. The only all-weather road passed through the village of Hohenlinden.

On December 1 the Austrians drove back an advanced French division commanded by General Michel Ney. This limited success encouraged the Austrians to believe that the French were on the run. Accordingly, Weyrother divided the army into four main columns to utilize all the available roads and Johann ordered the pursuit. Poor weather, featuring showers and snow squalls, inhibited the Austrian advance while the difficult terrain prevented close coordination among the Austrian columns.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Habsburgs, Moreau had prepared a trap. Moreau decided to yield the high ground overlooking Hohenlinden in order to lure the Austrians onto his chosen killing ground on the Hohenlinden valley. Simultaneously, he organized a powerful flanking move featuring two divisions. At 7 a.m. the Battle of Hohenlinden began when Kollowrat’s column collided with Grouchy’s outpost line.

More Battle of Hohenlinden A Napoleonic Refight

ED NOTE: Jim Arnold is the author of many books of interest to the wargamer. His latest, ‘Marengo and Hohenlinden’ covers the historical events of this battle recreated here as a wargame.

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