Battle of Mariazell
Part of the Napoleonic Wars

Mariazell as it appeared around 1900
Date8 November 1805
Location
Mariazell, Austria
47°46′23″N 15°18′59″E / 47.7731°N 15.3164°E / 47.7731; 15.3164
Result French victory
Belligerents
France France  Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
France Étienne Heudelet Holy Roman EmpireCount of Merveldt
Units involved
III Corps (Grande Armée) Merveldt's Corps
Strength
3,800 4,000
Casualties and losses
light 4,000[1]
16 guns
War of the Third Coalition:
Austria
🌍
  current battle
  Napoleon in command
  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Mariazell or Battle of Grossraming (8 November 1805) saw the advance guard of the French III Corps attack a retreating Austrian force led by Maximilian, Count of Merveldt. The action occurred during the War of the Third Coalition, which is part of the Napoleonic Wars. Mariazell is located in the Austrian province of Styria, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of St. Pölten.

Battle

The advance guard, led by Étienne Heudelet de Bierre, overwhelmed their demoralized enemies, capturing about half of them. Marshal Louis Davout commanded the III Corps.

The 1805 war began with the Ulm Campaign, which was disastrous for Austria, with only the corps of Michael von Kienmayer and Franz Jellacic escaping envelopment by the Grande Armée of Napoleon. As Kienmayer's columns fled to the east, they joined with elements of the Russian Empire's army in a rear guard action at the Battle of Amstetten on 5 November. Davout's III Corps caught up with Merveldt's division at Mariazell a few days later. The Austrian soldiers, their morale shaken by continuous retreating, were routed after a brief struggle.

Aftermath

On 12 November, Austria's capital Vienna fell to the French without a fight. The Battle of Austerlitz would decide the war's outcome in early December.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Bodart 1908, p. 368.

Cited and general sources

  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Stern.
  • Chandler, David G. (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, NY: Macmillan.
  • Horne, Alistair (1979). Napoleon Master of Europe 1805-1807. New York, NY: William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-03500-0.
  • Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
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