Editing Battle of Neresheim (section)

==Background==
On 8 June 1796, the ''[[Army of Rhin-et-Moselle]]'' commanded by [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau]] numbered 71,581 foot soldiers and 6,515 cavalry, not counting artillerists. The army was formed into a Right Wing under [[Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino]], a Center led by [[Louis Desaix]] and a Left Wing directed by [[Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr]]. Ferino's three divisions were led by [[François Antoine Louis Bourcier]], 9,281 infantry and 690 cavalry, [[Henri François Delaborde]], 8,300 infantry and 174 cavalry and [[Augustin Tuncq]], 7,437 infantry and 432 cavalry. Desaix's three divisions were commanded by [[Michel de Beaupuy]], 14,565 infantry and 1,266 cavalry, [[Antoine Guillaume Delmas]], 7,898 infantry and 865 cavalry, and [[Charles Antoine Xaintrailles]], 4,828 infantry and 962 cavalry. Saint-Cyr's two divisions were under [[Guillaume Philibert Duhesme]], 7,438 infantry and 895 cavalry, and [[Alexandre Camille Taponier]], 11,823 infantry and 1,231 cavalry.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 111</ref> With artillerymen, Moreau's host counted a total of 79,592 soldiers.<ref name=Phipps290>{{cite book|author=Phipps, Ramsay Weston|author-link=Ramsay Weston Phipps|year=2011 |title=The Armies of the First French Republic: Volume II The Armées du Moselle, du Rhin, de Sambre-et-Meuse, de Rhin-et-Moselle |publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing |location=USA |isbn=978-1-908692-25-2 |page=290 }}</ref>

[[File:Karl Austria Teschen 1771 1847 color.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|alt=Oval painting of a cleft-chinned young man with wavy brown hair and sideburns. He wears a white military coat with a wide red and white sash over the shoulder.|Archduke Charles]]

Originally, the ''Army of Rhin-et-Moselle'' was opposed by 82,776 Austrians and allies under [[Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser]].<ref>Phipps (2010), p. 274</ref> But 25,330 Austrians were soon transferred to Italy and Wurmser went with this force on 18 June. [[Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour]] was appointed the new commander of the ''Army of the Upper Rhine''. The former leader of the ''Army of the Lower Rhine'', [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]] was replaced by [[Wilhelm von Wartensleben]] so he could take overall command of both Austrian armies.<ref name=Phipps290/>

[[File:Graf Latour.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|alt=Black and white print of a man in a white military uniform with the Maria Theresa Order cross displayed. He wears a late 18th century wig |Count Baillet de Latour]]

On 24 June 1796, the ''Army of Rhin-et-Moselle'' mounted a successful assault crossing of the [[Rhine]] River in the [[Battle of Kehl (1796)|Battle of Kehl]]. The French sustained losses of 150 killed, wounded and missing out of 10,065 engaged. The [[Swabian Circle|Swabian Regional Contingent]] defenders numbered 7,000 soldiers in eight foot battalions, eight horse squadrons and two artillery batteries. The Swabians suffered over 700 casualties and lost 14 guns and 22 munition wagons. Moreau's forces inflicted a second defeat on a force of 9,000 Swabians and their Austrian allies under [[Anton Sztáray]] at [[Renchen]] on 28 June. This time the French reported only 200 casualties while inflicting 550 killed and wounded on their enemies. In addition, the French captured 850 soldiers, seven guns and two munition wagons.<ref name=Smith115>Smith (1998), pp. 115-116</ref> During this period of maneuvering, Moreau switched the positions of two of his wings. Ferino still commanded the Right Wing, but Desaix now commanded the Left Wing while Saint-Cyr led the Center.<ref name=Phipps290/>

On 30 June, Latour's ''Army of the Upper Rhine'' was divided into a Left Wing under [[Michael von Fröhlich]], a Center led by [[Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg]] and a Right Wing that Latour personally controlled. Fröhlich's wing was made up of eight battalions and 12 squadrons of Austrians organized in two brigades. Fürstenberg's command consisted of 17 battalions, five companies and 10 squadrons, including Swabians and [[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavarians]], organized into five brigades. Latour's wing had 25 battalions and 58 squadrons organized into five divisions under Prince von Fürstemberg, [[Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló]], [[Johann Sigismund Riesch]], Karl von Riese, and Sztáray. There were an additional six battalions and six squadrons holding [[Mannheim]] and one battalion garrisoning [[Philippsburg]]. Archduke Charles was approaching with an Austrian division under [[Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze]] and a [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxon]] division under General von Lindt. Hotze directed 16 battalions and 20 squadrons in three brigades while Lindt commanded nine battalions and 19 squadrons in five brigades.<ref>{{cite web |author=Nafziger, George |title=Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine, 30 June 1796 |url=http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/796FAB.PDF |publisher=US Army Combined Arms Center |access-date=1 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006103130/http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/796FAB.PDF |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Jean-Victor Moreau.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|alt=Sepia-toned print of a man with long sideburns looking directly at the artist. He wears a dark-colored military coat of the 1790s trimmed with gold braid.|Jean Victor Moreau]]

With Desaix on the left and Saint-Cyr on the right, Moreau pressed north up the east bank of the Rhine to the [[Murg (Northern Black Forest)|Murg River]]. The French thrust severed Austrians under Fröhlich and French Royalists under [[Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé]] from the remainder of Latour's army.<ref>Dodge (2011), p. 288</ref> Ferino's wing pursued Fröhlich and Condé to the southeast and seized the region around [[Freiburg im Breisgau]]. On the Murg, Desaix won a minor victory over Latour in the [[Battle of Rastatt (1796)|Battle of Rastatt]]. By this time, Archduke Charles arrived from the north with 20,000 reinforcements. The archduke planned to attack on 10 July, but Moreau preempted him by one day. In the [[Battle of Ettlingen]] on the 9th, both commanders tried to hold with their left wings and attack with their right. On Moreau's right, Saint-Cyr was successful in driving back [[Konrad Valentin von Kaim]]'s Austrians near [[Frauenalb]] while Taponier's division pushed back Lindt's Saxons near [[Neuenbürg]]. On the French left, Desaix captured [[Malsch]] twice but was ultimately driven out. Despite having won the battle on his right flank, Charles feared Saint-Cyr's advance might cut him off from his supply base at [[Heilbronn]] so the archduke ordered a retreat to the east.<ref name=Dodge290>Dodge (2011), p. 290</ref>

Archduke Charles stopped long enough at [[Pforzheim]] to transfer his military stores to the army's wagon train. Moreau was surprised by his foe's decision to disengage and took several days to digest this information. The French commander planned to attack Pforzheim on 15 July, but by that date Charles was retreating farther to the east.<ref>Phipps (2011), p. 294</ref> On 21 July, there was a skirmish at Cannstatt near [[Stuttgart]]. There were 8,000 Austrians in nine battalions and eight squadrons involved in the clash.<ref>Smith (1998), p. 117</ref> From Cannstatt, Charles retreated toward [[Schwäbisch Gmünd]] with Moreau following his enemies at a leisurely pace. Meanwhile, the isolated Austrian left wing withdrew through [[Villingen-Schwenningen|Villingen]]<ref name=Dodge290/> with Ferino in pursuit. The Swabians and Bavarian began negotiations with the French to quit the war while the Saxons marched away to the north to join Wartensleben's army. When Charles left the banks of the Rhine he left behind 30,000 troops in garrisons at Mannheim, Philippsburg, [[Mainz]], [[Königstein im Taunus]] and [[Ehrenbreitstein Fortress]].<ref name=Dodge292>Dodge (2011), p. 292</ref> On 29 July at [[Biberach an der Riss]], the Swabian Regional Contingent was disarmed by Fröhlich on the instructions of Charles.<ref name=Smith115/> These subtractions left Charles with only three-quarters of the strength of Moreau. On 2 August, Moreau's troops bumped into the Austrians at [[Geislingen an der Steige]] and for a week afterward there was constant skirmishing with Charles' [[rear guard]].<ref name=Dodge292/> Saint-Cyr occupied the city of [[Ulm]] on 8 August 1796. Two days later, Charles was joined by his left wing.<ref>Phipps (2011), p. 317</ref> At this time Ferino was at [[Memmingen]] to the south of the [[Danube]].<ref name=Dodge292/>