Order of battle at the Battle of Stockach (1799) explained

On 25 March 1799, French and Habsburg armies fought for control of the geographically strategic Hegau in present-day Baden-Württemberg. The battle has been called by various names: First Battle of Stockach, the Battle by Stockach, and, in French chronicles, the Battle of Liptingen (or Leibtengen).[1] In the broader military context, this battle comprises a keystone in the first campaign in southwestern Germany during the Wars of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. For an explanation of the types of forces, please see Types of military forces in the Napoleonic Wars.

Background

Stockach lies at the junction of east–west and north–south roads on the eastern side of the Black Forest. Strategically, control of the location offered access between the Swiss and Italian theaters and those in southern, central and northern Germany. French control would protect access to the Black forest and the Rhine, of strategic importance in the Directory's plans to force the Habsburg army back to Vienna.[2]

The day-long battle at Stockach and Engen pitted the two armies against each other for the second time in seven days. The Austrians still had the numerical superiority, but this time it was closer to two-to-one, instead of almost three-to-one. Jourdan had consolidated his force over a shorter line, and had the full Army of the Danube under his direct command. Charles, likewise, had shortened his line; although Hotze had not yet caught up with the archduke, he and his 10,000 men were approaching from the Austrians' left rear.[3]

Army of the Danube

General of Division Jean-Baptiste Jourdan commanding.[4]

Chief of Staff: General of Division Jean Augustin Ernouf

Engineering: General of Division Armand Samuel de Marescot

Artillery: General of Division Jean Fabre de la Martillière

Advanced Guard

General of Division François Joseph Lefebvre
  • Adj. General Jean-Baptiste Drouet[5]
  • Adj. General François-Xavier Octavie Fontaine

    First Division

    General of Division Pierre Marie Barthélemy FerinoPierre Garnier de Laboissière

    Second Division

    General of Division Joseph Souham

    Third Division

    General of Division Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr

    Cavalry Reserves

    General of Division Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul

    Detached Flank Corps

    General of Division Dominique Vandamme

    Habsburg Army

    Field Marshal Archduke Charles Commander in Chief[7]

    Advanced Guard

    Major General Maximilian, Count of Merveldt

    Right Wing

    Feldzeugmeister Olivier, Count of Wallis

    Center

    Reinforced Forward Line

    Lt. Field Marshal Nauendorf

    Reserve

    Left Wing

    Lt. Field Marshal Joseph Staader

    Advanced Guard

    Main Force (Left)

    Detached (flanking) force

    Lt. Colonel Wiedersberg

    Sources

    BibliographySource for Orders of Battle:

    . Digby Smith . The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792–1815 . . . 1998 . 1-85367-276-9.

    Other information:

    . Jean-Baptiste Jourdan . A Memoir of the operations of the army of the Danube under the command of General Jourdan, taken from the manuscripts of that officer . London . . 1799.

    . Gunther E. Rothenberg . Napoleon's great adversaries: Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army 1792–1914 . . . 2007 . 978-1-86227-383-2.

    Notes and References

    1. See Blanning, p. 232; Deans, p. 645; Gallagher, p. 124; Phipps, p. 50; Rothenberg, p. 79; and Young, p. 230; Digby Smith, in his Napoleonic Wars Data Book, notes it as a French victory, p. 148.
    2. Blanning, p. 232; Phipps, pp. 49–50.
    3. Gallagher, p. 76; Phipps, pp. 49–50.
    4. Digby Smith, The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792–1815, Greenhill, PA, Stackpole, 1998, p. 148.
    5. Smith names Richier Drouet, but he died at Jemappes in 1792.
    6. Each demi-brigade included, in theory, two battalions of "blues" (revolutionary recruits) and one of "whites" (battalions from the old royal army). Robert R. Bruce, Fighting techniques of the Napoleonic Age, 1792–1815, London, Thomas Dunne (St. Martin's Press), 2008, 978-0312375874, p. 17.
    7. Digby Smith, The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792–1815, Greenhill, PA, Stackpole, 1998, p. 148.

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