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Second Battle of Zurich
The Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 September 1799) was a key victory by the Republican French army in Switzerland led by André Masséna over a Russian force commanded by Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov near Zürich, as it broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition. Masséna took full advantage of the incompetence of the Russian commander who had accidentally scattered his forces, and launched a bold assault. Most of the fighting took place on both banks of the river Limmat up to the gates of Zürich, and within the city itself. It was arguably the most significant French victory of 1799.
The same days saw a battle between Hotze's Austrians and Soult's French at the River Linth.
After the First Battle of Zurich Masséna had consolidated to a defensive line behind the lower reaches of the Aare River. At this time his entire army in Switzerland consisted of around 77,000 combatants, positioned as:
Following the overall strategic plan, the Austrian army under the Archduke Charles was to be augmented by the 25,000 man Russian command of Korsakov, newly arrived at Schaffhausen after a 90-day march.
Masséna meanwhile was preparing an offensive on his right flank against the Austrian positions in the Alps. On 15 and 16 August General Claude Lecourbe with 12,000 men drove the forces of Gottfried von Strauch and Joseph Anton von Simbschen from the St. Gotthard, Furka and Oberalp Passes in a series of violent assaults. As a distraction, on 14 August French forces under Soult made demonstrations across the Sihl below Zürich.
On the night of 16/17th Archduke Charles supported by Korsakov's troops launched a surprise attack over the river Aare at Gross-Döttingen using boats and pontoon bridges, but his engineers misjudged the strength of the current and depth of the river, the pontoon bridge was unable to be secured and eventually after serious fighting the attack was called off. Archduke Charles and Korsakov planned no further joint action however, as following the strategic plans of the Austrian Hofkriegsrat under Baron Thugut, Charles had been ordered to move his main command north into southern Germany. Reluctantly following these instructions, he left behind a column of 29,000 men under Friedrich von Hotze, and Korsakov's command with the Swiss in the Austrian service. The plan for these two commands was to wait for the arrival of the Russian column of Suvorov penetrating north from Italy over the Alpine passes and trap Masséna in a 3-point encirclement.
The French troops which took part in the battle included:
On 22 August Korsakov and Hotze agreed that the Russians with 22,000 men would line the lower reaches of the River Limmat (Aare), and Hotze with 20,000 men would occupy the Obersee region below Lake Zürich from the Linth to Glarus.
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Second Battle of Zurich AI simulator
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Second Battle of Zurich
The Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 September 1799) was a key victory by the Republican French army in Switzerland led by André Masséna over a Russian force commanded by Alexander Rimsky-Korsakov near Zürich, as it broke the stalemate that had resulted from the First Battle of Zurich three months earlier and led to the withdrawal of Russia from the Second Coalition. Masséna took full advantage of the incompetence of the Russian commander who had accidentally scattered his forces, and launched a bold assault. Most of the fighting took place on both banks of the river Limmat up to the gates of Zürich, and within the city itself. It was arguably the most significant French victory of 1799.
The same days saw a battle between Hotze's Austrians and Soult's French at the River Linth.
After the First Battle of Zurich Masséna had consolidated to a defensive line behind the lower reaches of the Aare River. At this time his entire army in Switzerland consisted of around 77,000 combatants, positioned as:
Following the overall strategic plan, the Austrian army under the Archduke Charles was to be augmented by the 25,000 man Russian command of Korsakov, newly arrived at Schaffhausen after a 90-day march.
Masséna meanwhile was preparing an offensive on his right flank against the Austrian positions in the Alps. On 15 and 16 August General Claude Lecourbe with 12,000 men drove the forces of Gottfried von Strauch and Joseph Anton von Simbschen from the St. Gotthard, Furka and Oberalp Passes in a series of violent assaults. As a distraction, on 14 August French forces under Soult made demonstrations across the Sihl below Zürich.
On the night of 16/17th Archduke Charles supported by Korsakov's troops launched a surprise attack over the river Aare at Gross-Döttingen using boats and pontoon bridges, but his engineers misjudged the strength of the current and depth of the river, the pontoon bridge was unable to be secured and eventually after serious fighting the attack was called off. Archduke Charles and Korsakov planned no further joint action however, as following the strategic plans of the Austrian Hofkriegsrat under Baron Thugut, Charles had been ordered to move his main command north into southern Germany. Reluctantly following these instructions, he left behind a column of 29,000 men under Friedrich von Hotze, and Korsakov's command with the Swiss in the Austrian service. The plan for these two commands was to wait for the arrival of the Russian column of Suvorov penetrating north from Italy over the Alpine passes and trap Masséna in a 3-point encirclement.
The French troops which took part in the battle included:
On 22 August Korsakov and Hotze agreed that the Russians with 22,000 men would line the lower reaches of the River Limmat (Aare), and Hotze with 20,000 men would occupy the Obersee region below Lake Zürich from the Linth to Glarus.