Battle of Limburg

Battle context

The Battle of Limburg, also referred to as the Second Battle of Altenkirchen or Battle of the Lahn, was fought on 16 September 1796 during the War of the First Coalition. Despite a significant disparity in forces—45,000 French troops under Jourdan against 20,000 Austrians under Archduke Charles—the Habsburg attack succeeded in collapsing the French right flank and forcing a general withdrawal. The resulting fighting retreat, which began on the evening of 16 September and continued through 19 September, demonstrated Archduke Charles's ability to convert a localized tactical success into a sustained operational pressure against a numerically superior opponent. The engagement contributed to the broader deterioration of French fortunes on the Rhine front during this phase of the First Coalition.