BATTLE // June 15, 1796

Battle of Wetzlar

Name: Battle of Wetzlar
Start: 1796-06-15
End: 1796-06-15
Location: Battle of Wetzlar

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Significance

At Wetzlar, Archduke Charles led a Habsburg Austrian force of 64,000 against Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's 48,000-strong Republican French army positioned along the Lahn River, securing an Austrian victory that forced the bulk of the French force to retreat westward to the Rhine. The outcome denied Jourdan's army its foothold on the eastern bank and reversed French momentum in the German theater of the War of the First Coalition. The retreat did not end the action: four days later, Austrian forces pursued the French left wing, bringing on the combat of Uckerath on June 19. French casualties stood at 3,000, and the strategic initiative in this sector passed to Habsburg hands.

Tactics

Archduke Charles launched an attack against the French army while it held defensive positions along the Lahn River. The French were unable to hold these defenses and withdrew, with most of the army retreating to the west bank of the Rhine. The pursuit of the withdrawing French left wing continued beyond the main engagement, culminating in the combat of Uckerath on June 19.