ORDER OF BATTLE // January 1, 1797
Battle of Diersheim
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 72,500–86,000 estimated
French First Republic
48,500–52,000
Medium-confidence figure
Habsburg monarchy
24,000–34,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Diersheim produced a French tactical victory—roughly 2,000 Austrian prisoners and 13 artillery pieces captured—but the engagement carried no strategic consequence. Napoleon Bonaparte had signed the Preliminaries of Leoben with Austria only days before the fighting, rendering the battle militarily superfluous within the War of the First Coalition. Austrian General Wilhelm von Immens was killed and commander Anton Sztáray was badly wounded, yet neither outcome altered the armistice terms already agreed. The chief legacy of Diersheim was reputational: Moreau's ability to press and defeat a Habsburg force, even under conditions that made the battle pointless, reinforced his standing among French republican commanders at the close of the First Coalition.
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