How the Austrians buried their army at Ulm
Poppy surrenders to Napoleon at Ulm. French artist Paul-Émile Boutigny.
Ulm operation
Napoleon sent the corps in independent columns and, gradually narrowing the front of the offensive, crossed the Danube between Donauworth and Regensburg, bypassing the right flank of the Austrian army ("I won the battle with marches alone."). A deep envelopment implied the Grand Army's entry into the enemy's operational line, which inevitably led to the defeat of the Austrian army.
On October 1, 1805, Napoleon concluded an alliance with Bavaria, and on October 2 with Württemberg, receiving auxiliary German contingents and securing his lines of operation.
To mislead the enemy, Napoleon ordered the troops of Lannes and Murat to make a demonstration in the direction of the Kinzig River valley towards the Black Forest passes, creating the impression that the main French forces were moving from the Black Forest, from the west.
As a result, the Austrian commander, Mack, believed the French were advancing from the west, as planned, and remained in place. He hadn't organized long-range reconnaissance and was unaware of the French corps' movements. Mack was unaware of the threatening envelopment, and news of the enemy's appearance at Würzburg led him to the conclusion that the French had set up a barrier against Prussia there.
The French corps' advance was concealed from the Austrians. They were protected by a cavalry screen. Only Ney, in the center, openly advanced on Stuttgart, aiming to disorient the Austrians. As they advanced, the overall front of the French corps, which stretched 250 kilometers along the Rhine, gradually narrowed. Therefore, if the Austrians had attempted to attack one of the French corps, they would have been attacked by several corps within a few hours.
Only on October 5, when the French reached the Gmünd-Ellingen line, did the Austrians discover the enemy's enveloping maneuver. However, even then, Mack remained in place, not believing that the main forces of the French army were actually enveloping him. He believed the French were executing an envelopment maneuver to force him to abandon his strong position and expose the flank of the Austrian forces in the Tyrol and Italy.
In reality, Napoleon feared that Mack would retreat and deprive him of the opportunity to engage the enemy on his terms, and that the Austrians would join forces with the Russian army. He even spread rumors that an uprising had broken out in Paris and that French troops were preparing to return to France.
On October 6, French troops reached the banks of the Danube behind the right flank of the Austrian main force. The grand strategic envelopment had been successful. "The little corporal seems to have chosen a new way of waging war," the soldiers joked. "He fights with our feet, not with bayonets."
By the evening of October 7, Murat's cavalry and Vandamme's division from Soult's corps, having crossed at Donauwörth, were already on the right bank of the Danube. They repelled the weak Austrian units stationed there and advanced further. Kienmayer's Austrian corps, without accepting battle, retreated toward Munich. Napoleon's remaining corps and the Bavarians approached the Danube, preparing to cross. Only Ney's corps was to remain on the left bank of the river opposite Ulm, to block a possible Austrian retreat to the northeast.
Austrians miss opportunity for breakthrough
Napoleon's army, with its powerful wedge, had pushed through the Austrian right flank. What next? Napoleon, overestimating Mack's resolve, decided that the Austrians would break through to the east or south, into the Tyrol. Napoleon almost ruled out an Austrian retreat along the left bank of the Danube to the northeast, as that would expose them to the risk of encirclement.
The Austrian forces could have sacrificed their rear, concentrated their forces, and broken through to the east, crushing individual French columns. In this case, the overall superiority of the French army was offset by the Austrians' concentration in specific areas and the vigor of their attack. An Austrian retreat to the south was the safest option, but extremely disadvantageous strategically, as it would have drawn Mack's army away from the main theater of operations, effectively eliminating its ability to participate in the war for a long time.
On October 7, the Austrians received news that the enemy had crossed the Danube at Donauwörth. Mack realized his army was being cut off from Austria, but he didn't attach much importance to it, as he believed the French army was roughly equal in size to the Austrian army (60-100 men) and had no fear of it. He planned to rely on the powerful stronghold of Ulm and remain on the Danube, threatening the enemy's left or right flank. General Auffenberg's 4800-man detachment was sent through Wertingen to Donauwörth to overthrow Napoleon's "vanguard."
Meanwhile, the main forces of Napoleon’s army were crossing over to the right bank of the Danube. Murat moved almost all his divisions to the other side of the river, the Soult corps crossed the water barrier in Donauvert, parts of the Lannes corps were shipped across the Danube at Münster. Davou crossed the river at Neuburg, followed by Marmont and Bernadot. Soult rushed to Augsburg, Murat's cavalry rushed to Zusmarshausen.
Napoleon, seeing the enemy's passivity, assumed that Mack would break through to the east through Augsburg. Therefore, he decided to concentrate troops around the city and block the enemy's route to the east. This task was to be accomplished by Soult's IV Corps, Lannes's V Corps, and Murat's Guard and Reserve Cavalry. Marmont's II Corps was to assist these troops. Davout's and Bernadotte's corps were to form a screen to the east, preventing the possible appearance of the Russian army. Ney's corps, accompanied by Baraguay d'Hilliers's dragoon division, was decided to be deployed against the flank and rear of the retreating enemy army. Ney was to cross the Danube at Günzburg.
On October 8, Auffenberg's Austrian detachment slowly advanced toward Wertingen, unaware that the main forces of the French army lay ahead. Murat's cavalry attacked the Austrians at once. Beaumont's 3rd Division stormed into Wertingen. Klein's 1st Dragoon Division and a hussar regiment attacked the Austrian cuirassiers.
It should be noted that the Austrian cavalry was considered one of the best in Europe. The cuirassier regiments were particularly renowned for both the coherence of their actions and the quality of their horses. Consequently, a stubborn battle ensued, with varying success. However, more and more units continued to approach the French, and soon the Austrian cuirassiers were surrounded from all sides and routed with heavy losses.
The Austrian infantry, threatened by attacks on the flank and rear, began to retreat. Then Oudinot's infantry, leading Lannes's corps, approached. The Austrians wavered and fled into the forest, attempting to escape the broadswords of the advancing French dragoons and the sabres of Lannes's mounted chasseurs. Auffenberg's detachment was completely routed, losing about half its strength in killed, wounded, and captured. General Auffenberg himself was captured. Thus, the Austrian soldiers paid for the error of their command.
By the evening of October 8, French troops blocked the route to the east. At this point, Mack was unable to decide what to do. Initially, he considered retreating to Augsburg. But upon learning of Auffenberg's defeat and the appearance of large French forces on the right bank, he abandoned this idea and decided to cross to the left bank of the Danube. He believed this would be a counteroffensive aimed at defeating the French army. On October 9, the Austrian commander-in-chief ordered the dispersed troops to concentrate at Günzburg and restore the previously destroyed bridges.
Marshal Ney, who was supposed to advance through Günzburg, was unaware that the enemy's main forces were located there. Therefore, he sent only General Mahler's 3rd Division there. On the approach to the city, Mahler divided his troops into three columns, each tasked with capturing one of the bridges. One column got lost and turned back. The second column reached the central bridge near the city in the afternoon, attacked the Austrians guarding it, but, encountering strong fire, retreated.
Brigadier General Labosse's third column got lost but eventually reached the river. French grenadiers launched a surprise attack, seized the bridge, and took up a position on the right bank, where they repelled enemy counterattacks until nightfall. As a result, one French regiment recaptured the crossing under the very nose of the entire Austrian army. The next day, a distraught Mack withdrew a significant portion of his forces to Ulm, including Jelačić's left-flank corps.
As a result of all these incompetent maneuvers by the Austrian army, Napoleon was unable to understand the enemy. He calculated the enemy's best options for them. As a brave and decisive commander, he himself would have preferred a breakthrough to the east. Therefore, he devoted the greatest attention to this option, directing the main forces of the French army to block the escape routes in the direction of Vienna.
No events on October 10th and 11th. News There was no word of an Austrian breakthrough. Ney did not engage the Austrians and occupied the designated crossings, meaning the Austrians had no intention of crossing to the left bank of the Danube. It appeared that Mack's army would advance south. This route needed to be closed immediately.
As a result, Napoleon divided his troops into three groups: 1) Bernadotte's corps and the Bavarians were to advance on Munich; 2) Lannes' and Ney's corps and cavalry units under the general command of Murat were to pursue the "retreating" Mack; 3) Soult's, Davout's, Marmont's corps, two divisions of foot cavalry and the Guard were to occupy the central position until the situation was clarified further.
Catastrophe
It never occurred to Napoleon that the Austrians weren't taking any emergency measures to save their army in this catastrophic situation. Instead of setting up screens and forcing his troops to retreat south or attempting to break through to the east, Mack was dawdling, completely demoralizing the army.
On October 10, Mack concentrated his troops in Ulm, and on October 11, he again decided to withdraw along the left bank. The vanguard, led by General Klenau, set out from Ulm, followed by the rest of the troops, except for Jelačić.
That same day, the French General Dupont received orders from Marshal Ney to advance his division (6400 men and 14 guns) toward Ulm and occupy the city, while the rest of Ney's corps was preparing to cross to the right bank. Unaware that his division was heading straight for the entire Austrian army, Dupont approached the village of Haslau, 6 kilometers north of Ulm, by midday, and there encountered the Austrians. Dupont's troops engaged the enemy's superior forces. The French lost 2 men and retreated to Ahlbeck.
Disoriented by the enemy's stubborn resistance, Mack assumed that this was the vanguard of the main French army and decided to return to Ulm and begin a retreat to Bohemia (Czech Republic) the following day. Mack decided to cover this maneuver with a demonstration by Schwarzenberg's detachment along the right bank, and by Jelačić's troops along the left bank of the Iller River.
When Jelačić was already on the move from Ulm on October 13, Mack, under the influence of “confirmed” false rumors about the landing of an English force on the shores of France and the retreat of the French army to the Rhine that had begun in connection with the “uprising” in Paris, ordered his troops to concentrate again in the Ulm fortress.
The Austrian commander was confused by Napoleon's skilled spies, led by the most famous of them, Schulmeister, who assured Mack that he should hold out, that the French would soon retreat because an uprising had broken out in Paris. When Mack began to doubt, the spy reported to the French camp, where a special issue of a Parisian newspaper was printed using a mobile printing press, reporting on the supposed revolution in Paris. This issue was passed on to Mack, who read it and was reassured.
On October 14, the French began to calmly encircle the Ulm fortified region. The Austrians were routed in a few skirmishes, and Mack's army lost several thousand men. By October 16, the encirclement was complete. Mack's position became hopeless.
The shocked Austrian general asked for a truce. Napoleon sent a messenger to him demanding his surrender, warning that if he took Ulm by storm, no one would be spared. The decisive battle, in fact, never took place. After the outbreak artillery After the shelling of Ulm, Mack personally went to the French Emperor on October 17 and announced his decision to capitulate.
By October 20, 1805, Mack's surviving army, along with all its military supplies, artillery, banners, and the fortress of Ulm, were surrendered to the victor. 23 men were captured, and 59 guns became French trophies.
However, part of the Austrian army still attempted to escape. General Werneck's 8-strong detachment, pursued by Murat and surrounded by him near Trachtelfelgen, was also forced to capitulate.
Jelačić, with a force of 5, managed to break through to the south. Marshal Augereau's 12-strong corps was sent in pursuit. Augereau caught up with Jelačić at Dornbirn, south of Lake Constance. There, the main forces of Jelačić's corps, led by himself, signed the capitulation.
Archduke Ferdinand and General Schwarzenberg, with 2 horsemen, managed to escape from Ulm at night, heading north and into Bohemia. Some of the soldiers simply fled.
These examples show that, with a more decisive leader, a significant portion of the Austrian army would have had a good chance of breaking through. For example, the army could have been withdrawn south to Tyrol. The army was eliminated from the fight on the main (Vienna) front, but it remained intact.
The Capitulation of the Austrians at Ulm. French artist René Théodore Berton.
The strategic collapse of the Austrian Empire
Napoleon's victory was achieved not in a decisive battle, but in a series of successful maneuvers and skirmishes with individual Austrian corps. As Bonaparte himself noted, "I won the battle by marching alone."
Mack's 70-strong Austrian army ceased to exist. About 12 were killed or wounded, 30 were captured, and some managed to escape or fled. Napoleon released Mack himself and sent the surrendered army to France for various labor assignments.
The French army lost approximately 6 men. Napoleon won the battle largely through skillful maneuvering. On October 21, Napoleon addressed his troops: "Soldiers of the Grande Armée, I promised you a great battle. However, thanks to the enemy's poor performance, I was able to achieve similar successes without any risk... In fifteen days, we completed the campaign."
The Emperor was right, this battle led to the collapse of the Third Coalition's strategy and its defeat.
Napoleon seized the strategic initiative, began to attack the enemy piecemeal, and opened the road to Vienna. The Austrians lost their main army in the central sector, were stunned by the collapse of their offensive, and were demoralized.
The French advanced rapidly toward the Austrian capital and captured many more prisoners. Their number reached 60. Austria was unable to recover from this blow and lost the war. On November 13, Bonaparte entered Vienna, and the Austrian capital surrendered without a fight.
Having fled the capital, the Austrian Emperor Franz sent Napoleon an offer of an armistice, but the French emperor refused. He wanted more.
The Austrians' poor planning exposed the Russian army under Kutuzov to attack. After a difficult forced march on October 11, it reached Branau and found itself alone against the French Emperor's main forces. The Russians were forced to undertake another difficult march, but this time to avoid being overwhelmed by superior enemy forces.
Now all the hopes of the Third Coalition were pinned on Russian soldiers and the Russian Tsar. Alexander I, meanwhile, pinned all his hopes on Prussia's involvement in the coalition. But these hopes, too, were soon dashed.
Napoleon pays tribute to the unfortunate courage after the Battle of Ulm. French artist Jean-Baptiste Debret.
Information