The Battle of Dürenstein order of battle included a Coalition force of Russian and Austrian troops, under the overall command of
Mikhail Kutuzov, and a single division of the Corps Mortier commanded by
Édouard Mortier.
In pursuing the Austrian retreat from Bavaria, Mortier had over-extended the three divisions of his newly formed VIII. Corps, spreading them along the north bank of the Danube. Kutuzov enticed Mortier to send
Théodore Maxime Gazan's 2nd Division into a trap; French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns, and were only rescued by the timely arrival of the 1st Division, under command of
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The battle extended well into the night.
Both sides claimed a victory. The French lost more than a third of the Corps, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but arguably the most significant was the death in action of
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff.
Early in the morning on 11 November, three coalition columns departed from the vicinity of
Krems an der Donau and
Melk, circled around the promontory on which
Dürnstein is located, to prepare to attack the French column that had encamped overnight at the village. In the morning, responding to rumors of a Russian rear guard, attacked the Russian encampment at nearby Stein; the two forces engaged head-on until afternoon when one of the Russian columns finally made its way through the mountain defiles and attacked the French rear. The French were trapped in the Danube canyon, attacked from the front and the rear by the Russians. A second French division, under command of Dupont, arrived and attacked the Russian column. Following this attack, another Coalition column arrived and attacked the French. The battle extended well into the night before both sides stopped.[1]
The French lost more than a third of the VIII. Corps, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. Mortier had failed to protect his northern flank, despite specific instructions from Napoleon. The Corps Mortier was disbanded and distributed to other Corps, but Gazan received the Officers Cross of the
Legion of Honor. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but arguably the most significant was the death in action of
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff.[1]
French Order of Battle
The French division was part of the newly created VIII. Corps, the Corps Mortier, under command of
Édouard Mortier. The role of this Corps was to pursue and defeat the retreating remnants of the Austrian army on the north bank of the Danube river, and to prevent the Russian army, under command of Mikhail Kutuzov, from crossing the river and uniting his force with either the Austrians or with an approaching Russian army.[2]
On 6 November Édouard Adolphe Mortier commanded the following forces:[3]
First Division
Commanded by
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. This was formerly this 1st Division of VI. Corps, and included six battalions, and three squadrons, most of which were involved in the fighting after mid-afternoon.
4th Hussar Regiment Hessen-Homburg, six squadrons.[3]
Total: 58 battalions, 62 squadrons, 14 artillery batteries, approximately 24,000 men and 168 artillery pieces.[3]
Sources
Notes and citations
^
ab(in German) Rainer. Egger. Das Gefecht bei Dürnstein-Loiben 1805. Wien: Bundesverlag, 1986; and Robert Goetz. 1805: Austerlitz, the Destruction of the Third Coalition. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2005,
ISBN1-85367-644-6, pp. 70–76.
^(in German) Egger. Das Gefecht; Goetz. pp. 70–76.
^The 1st Hussars had been raised in 1804 in Hannover by Mortier himself, and included three battalions plus a regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval. Digby Smith, Napoleon's Regiments. PA: Stackpole, 2001.
ISBN1-85367-413-3, pp. 282–283.
^Smith contradicts himself. He lists 12 battalions that were present in Gazan's division, but summarizes the count at nine; he excludes the three battalions of the 4th Regiment of the Line. Smith. Databook. p. 213.
^Bodart lists Campana among the fallen at the Battle of Ostrolenka in 1807. Bodart, Gaston. Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Wien: Stern, 1908, p. 883.