Editing Battle of Höchstädt (1800) (section)

==Background==
{{main|French Revolutionary Wars}}

Although the [[First Coalition]] forces achieved several initial victories at [[Battle of Verdun (1792)|Verdun]], [[Battle of Kaiserslautern|Kaiserslautern]], [[Battle of Neerwinden (1793)|Neerwinden]], [[Battle of Mainz|Mainz]], [[Battle of Amberg|Amberg]] and [[Battle of Würzburg|Würzburg]], the efforts of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in northern [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|Italy]] pushed Austrian forces back and resulted in the negotiation of the [[Peace of Leoben]] (17&nbsp;April 1797) and the subsequent [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] (October 1797).<ref>Timothy Blanning, ''The French Revolutionary Wars'', New York, Oxford University Press, pp. 41–59.</ref>  This treaty proved difficult to administer. Austria was slow to give up some of the Venetian territories. A Congress convened at [[Rastatt]] for the purposes of deciding which southwestern German states would be [[German mediatization|mediatised]] to compensate the dynastic houses for territorial losses, but was unable to make any progress. Supported by French republican forces, Swiss [[Insurgency|insurgents]] staged several uprisings, ultimately causing the overthrow of the [[Old Swiss Confederation|Swiss Confederation]] after 18&nbsp;months of civil war.<ref>Blanning, pp. 200–280.</ref> By early 1799, the [[French Directory]] had become impatient with stalling tactics employed by Austria. An uprising in [[Naples]] raised further alarms, and recent gains in Switzerland suggested the timing was fortuitous for the French to venture on another campaign in northern Italy and southwestern Germany.<ref>Blanning, p. 200.</ref>
[[File:Hohentwiel-luftbild.jpg|thumbnail|The Battles of Stockach and Engen in May 1800, followed by a larger battle at [[Meßkirch]], followed the Hohentwiel capitulation to the French]]
At the beginning of 1800, the armies of France and Austria faced each other across the [[Rhine]].  Feldzeugmeister Pál Kray led approximately 120,000 troops. In addition to his Austrian regulars, his force included 12,000 men from the [[Electorate of Bavaria]], 6,000 troops from the [[Duchy of Württemberg]], 5,000 soldiers of low quality from the [[Archbishopric of Mainz]], and 7,000 militiamen from the [[County of Tyrol]]. Of these, 25,000 men were deployed east of [[Lake Constance|Lake Constance (Bodensee)]] to protect the [[Vorarlberg]]. Kray posted his main body of 95,000 soldiers in the L-shaped angle where the Rhine changes direction from a westward flow along the northern border of Switzerland to a northward flow along the eastern border of France. Unwisely, Kray set up his main magazine at [[Stockach]], near the northwestern end of [[Lake Constance]], only a day's march from French-held Switzerland.<ref>James R. Arnold, ''Marengo and Hohenlinden: Napoleon's Rise to Power'', Pen & Sword Military, 2005, pp.  197–199.</ref>

General of Division [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau]] commanded a modestly-equipped army of 137,000 French troops. Of these, 108,000 troops were available for field operations while the other 29,000 watched the Swiss border and held the Rhine fortresses. [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] offered a plan of operations based on outflanking the Austrians by a push from Switzerland, but Moreau declined to follow it. Rather, Moreau planned to cross the Rhine near [[Basel]] where the river swung to the north. A French column would distract Kray from Moreau's true intentions by crossing the Rhine from the west. Bonaparte wanted [[Claude Lecourbe]]'s corps to be detached to Italy after the initial battles, but Moreau had other plans.<ref name=Arnold199>Arnold, 199–201</ref>  Through a series of complicated maneuvers in which he flanked, double flanked, and reflanked Kray's army, Moreau's forces lay on the eastern slope of the [[Black Forest]], while portions of Kray's army was still guarding the passes on the other side.<ref>W.M. Sloane, ''Life of Napoleon.'' France, 1896, p. 109.</ref>  [[Battle of Stockach (1800)|Battles at Engen and Stockach]] were fought on 3 May 1800 between Moreau's and Kray's armies.  The fighting near [[Engen, Germany|Engen]] resulted in a stalemate with heavy losses on both sides. However, while the two main armies were engaged at Engen, Lecourbe captured Stockach from its Austrian defenders under [[Joseph Louis, Prince of Lorraine-Vaudémont]]. The loss of this main supply base at Stockach compelled Kray to retreat north to [[Meßkirch]], where his army enjoyed a more favorable defensive position. It also meant, however, that any retreat by Kray into Austria via Switzerland and the [[Vorarlberg]] was cut off.<ref>Sloane, 109</ref>

On 4 and 5 May, the French launched repeated and fruitless assaults on the [[Meßkirch]]. At nearby [[Sauldorf|Krumbach]], where the Austrians also had the superiority of position and force, the 1st [[Demi-brigade|Demi-Brigade]] took the village and the heights around it, which gave them a commanding aspect over Meßkirch.  Subsequently, Kray withdrew his forces to [[Sigmaringen]], followed closely by the French. Fighting at nearby [[Battle of Biberach (1800)|Biberach an der Ris]] ensued on 9 May; action principally consisted of the 25,000 man-strong French "Center", commanded by [[Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr]] against a Habsburg force of similar size.<ref>Sloane, pp. 109–110.</ref>  Again, on 10 May, the Austrians withdrew with heavy losses, this time to Ulm.<ref>Digby Smith, ''Napoleonic Wars Databook.'' London: Greenhill Press, 1998, p. 178.</ref>