Eggmühl—Day 2 French Right

While the Württembergers were fighting for Eggmühl, Napoleon had been building up his cavalry just south of the Grosse Laaber. Once Eggmuhl was secure, he ordered his squadrons forward. Austrian General Rosenberg could see the developing threat, and had appealed …

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While the Württembergers were fighting for Eggmühl, Napoleon had been building up his cavalry just south of the Grosse Laaber. Once Eggmuhl was secure, he ordered his squadrons forward. Austrian General Rosenberg could see the developing threat, and had appealed to Charles earlier in the day for the Austrian Cuirassier Division, but his request was met with no response. Left with few options, when the first of Napoleon’s cavalry crossed the river, Rosenberg ordered what little cavalry he had on hand to move forward to obstruct the crossing. Predictably, the outnumbered Austrian horsemen were repulsed. Meanwhile, on the extreme French right, Gudin’s division attacked Bieber’s brigade and the Austrians were forced to fall back to the woods, where they managed to hold their ground and prevent the French from advancing any further. With reverses along the whole front, Charles decided to withdraw and sent Rosenberg an order to pull back as best he could. About the same time, the French cavalry was now all across Grosse Laaber, making a withdrawal difficult. Although they were heavily outnumbered, Rosenberg ordered his decimated cavalry to charge yet again and buy time for the infantry to withdraw.

Eggmühl, Germany

The Battle of Eckmühl, fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition. Napoleon I had been unprepared for the start of hostilities on 10 April 1809, by the Austrians under the Archduke Charles of Austria and for the first time since assuming the French Imperial Crown had been forced to cede the strategic initiative to an opponent. Thanks to the dogged defense waged by the III Corps, commanded by Marshal Davout, and the Bavarian VII Corps, commanded by Marshal Lefebvre, Napoleon was able to defeat the principal Austrian army and wrest the strategic initiative for the remainder of the war.

Wikipedia: Battle of Eckmühl

French

Austrians

Fifth Coalition