Editing Battle of Amberg (section)

== Background ==

=== Plans ===
The French planned an invasion of southern Germany in 1796. [[General of Division]] (MG) Jourdan with the [[Army of Sambre-et-Meuse]] would advance from the middle [[Rhine]] while MG [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau|Jean Moreau]] would cross the river farther south with the [[Army of Rhin-et-Moselle]]. Jourdan held a bridgehead over the Rhine at [[Neuwied]] while MG [[Jean-Baptiste Kléber]] commanded his left wing based on an entrenched camp at [[Düsseldorf]]. Moreau's army comprised 71,581 infantry and 6,515 cavalry. He organized these into a Right Wing under MG [[Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino|Pierre Ferino]], a Center led by MG [[Louis Desaix]], and a Left Wing commanded by MG [[Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr]].<ref>Smith, p 111</ref>

[[Field Marshal]] Archduke Charles commanded the Army of the Lower Rhine. Charles and his deputy, [[Feldzeugmeister]] (FZM) [[Wilhelm von Wartensleben]] faced Jourdan along the [[Lahn River]]. This stream flows in a southwesterly direction into the Rhine near [[Koblenz]]. To the south, FZM [[Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour|Maximilien, Count Baillet de Latour]] positioned his Army of the Upper Rhine to defend against Moreau.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}

=== June operations ===
On 4 June 1796, 11,000 soldiers of the Army of the Sambre-et-Meuse, under [[François Joseph Lefebvre|François Lefebvre]] pushed back a 6,500-man Austrian force at [[Altenkirchen]], north of the Lahn. On 6 June, the French placed [[Ehrenbreitstein Fortress]] under siege. At [[Wetzlar]] on the Lahn, Lefebvre ran into Charles' concentration of 36,000 Austrians on 15 June. Casualties were light on both sides, but Jourdan pulled back to Niewied while Kléber recoiled toward Düsseldorf. [[Lieutenant General|Feldmarschal-Leutnant]] (FML) [[Pál Kray]]'s 30,000 soldiers bested Kléber's 24,000 at Uckerath east of [[Bonn]] on 19 June, prompting the Frenchman to continue his withdrawal to the north.<ref>Smith, p 114-115</ref>

Meanwhile, operations of the Army of the Rhin-et-Moselle progressed more successfully for the French. On the 15th, Desaix and 30,000 French troops defeated FML Franz Petrasch's 11,000 Austrians at Maudach near [[Speyer]]. The French suffered 600 casualties while Austrian losses were three times as heavy.<ref>Smith, p 114</ref> Part of Moreau's army under MG Jean-Charles Abbatucci mounted an assault crossing over the Rhine at [[Kehl]] opposite [[Strasbourg]] on 24 June. The defenders were French [[émigré]]s and the forces of minor German states belonging to the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. They fought gamely, but were beaten with the loss of 700 men while the French lost 150. On 28 June, Desaix defeated FML Anton Sztaray's Imperial troops again at [[Renchen]], inflicting 1,400 casualties for only 200 French killed and wounded. In the following weeks the Austrians determined some of their Imperial German allies to be unreliable and disarmed them.<ref>Smith, p 115-116</ref>

In reaction to the defeats in the south, Archduke Charles left Wartensleben in command of 35,000 men along the Lahn, put 30,000 troops into the fortress of [[Mainz]] and rushed south with 20,000 soldiers to reinforce Latour.<ref>Smith, p 115</ref>

=== July operations ===
After a minor clash at [[Rastatt]] on 5 July, Archduke Charles and Latour took up a position at [[Malsch]] with 32,000 troops. On 9 July, Moreau defeated the Army of the Upper Rhine at the [[Battle of Ettlingen]]. The archduke retreated {{convert|60|km|mi}} to [[Stuttgart]], where he skirmished with the French on 21 July before continuing to withdraw east.<ref>Smith, p 117</ref> When Jourdan heard of French successes against the Army of the Upper Rhine, he went over to the offensive. After a series of minor victories at Neuwied, [[Giessen]], and [[Friedberg, Hesse|Friedberg in der Wetterau]] in early July, the French pressed Wartensleben back to [[Frankfurt am Main]].<ref>Smith, p 116-117</ref>

=== August operations ===
Charles ordered Wartensleben to unite with him in order to crush Moreau. However, his colleague proved unwilling to cooperate. On 11 August, Moreau overpowered the outnumbered archduke at the [[Battle of Neresheim]]. The Austrian southern wing retreated to the south bank of the [[Danube]] at [[Donauwörth]]. To the north, Jourdan pushed Wartensleben back through [[Würzburg]] and [[Nuremberg]]. Kléber clashed with Kray on 17 August at [[Sulzbach-Rosenberg]], {{convert|14|km|mi}} west of [[Amberg]].<ref>Smith, p 119-120</ref> Charles' strategy of falling back before the two superior French armies while seeking an opportunity to combine against one of them had so far failed.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}