Editing Battle of Höchstädt (1800) (section)

==Dispositions==
Kray assumed that Moreau would follow him to the fortress at Ulm, on the Danube, where he arrayed most of the Austrian regulars and Württemberg contingent and supplies. This position gave him ready access to both shores of the river and effectively, he assumed, blocked Moreau's path into Bavaria.  At several points east on the Danube, he posted modest forces to protect the river crossings there, and to dismantle, if necessary, the stone bridges across the river. Several bridges crossed the river between Ulm and [[Donauwörth]], which lay downstream to the east, and each presented a strategic point at which to rupture Kray's potential line of march into Bavaria: [[Leipheim]], [[Günzburg]], [[Gundelfingen an der Donau|Gundelfingen]], [[Lauingen]], [[Dillingen an der Donau|Dillingen]], [[Höchstädt an der Donau|Höchstädt]], Gremheim, and [[Elchingen]].<ref name="ReferenceA">''Extract of a letter from Gen. Moreau...''</ref>

According to Moreau's narrative, he intended to force Kray to either come to battle outside Ulm, or to abandon the city. Ulm obstructed unfettered French access into Bavaria, and blocked the main force of the Army of the Rhine.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>  To keep his forces secure, accepted military wisdom required that Moreau secure at least half of the crossings of the river, and that his troops follow a line of march perpendicular to the river.  This would prevent them from having to fight a battle (or a skirmish) with their backs to the river. The more bridges his force could take, the more secure the approach on Ulm.<ref>Jomini, p. 173.</ref>