Battle of Wischau

1805 battle during the War of the Third Coalition

49°16′39″N 16°59′56″E / 49.27750°N 16.99889°E / 49.27750; 16.99889Result Russian victoryBelligerents France French Empire Russia Russian EmpireCommanders and leaders Frédéric Henri Walther Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle Prince Pyotr BagrationStrength 1,400 24,000Casualties and losses unclear, Imperial Eagle and Guidon (11th Dragoons) unclear
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War of the Third Coalition
German campaign
Italian campaign
Invasion of Naples
Trafalgar campaign
Other battles

The Battle of Wischau occurred on 25 November 1805 between the Russian and French armies. The conflict resulted in a minor Russian success. It followed the action at Hollabrun and Schöngrabern, and preceded the Battle of Austerlitz. The relatively easy Russian victory convinced the Third Coalition Allies that the French army would be easy to beat, having reached the end of their supply and communication lines and having suffered several losses in previous weeks of fighting.

Orders of Battle

French forces

  • General of Division Frédéric Henri Walther
    • Division of Reserve Cavalry
  • General of Division Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle
    • Division of Lannes' V Corps
      • 6th and 11th Dragoons (4 squadrons each)
      • 9th and 10th Hussar Regiments (4 squadrons each), and
      • 22nd Chasseurs Chevalier (4 squadrons)
      • 12 guns

Total: 20 squadrons, 12 guns, approximately 1400 men.

11th Dragoons lost an Imperial Eagle and a guidon during the fight.

Russian forces

Advanced Guard

  • Lieutenant General Bagration commanding
    • Major Generals Dolgoruky, Ulanius, and Tschaplitz
      • 6th Jägers (3 battalions)
      • 9 battalions of the Infantry Regiments Alt-Ingermannland, Archangel, and Pskov
      • Leib Kür Regiment (4 squadrons)
      • Dragoon Regiment Twer (5 squadrons)
      • Dragoon Regiment St. Petersburg (5 squadrons)
      • Hussar Regiment Pavlograd (10 Squadrons
      • Hussar Regiment Mariupol (10 squadrons)
      • Cossacks (8 sotnia)
      • 24 guns

Total: 12 battalions, 35 squadrons, and 8 sotnias, 24 guns, approximately 12,000 men.

Sources

  • Digby Smith. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Databook. London, Greenhill Books, 1998, p. 215.

External links

  • Media related to Battle of Wischau at Wikimedia Commons