Omens on a Bad Wind: a Napoleonic TL.

[severak]

Part 9: Occupation Duty.


August and September, 1798. Egypt.


Nominally, Egypt was under French control. Ibrahim Bey’s surrender handed Cairo over without leaving it a pile of rubble. However, he had command of only a fraction of the total forces of the Mamluks. Almost the moment that Bey had surrendered, a sizable underground movement popped up. Anywhere far enough away from the concentrations of French troops at Cairo and Alexandria, in the desert especially, were alive with partisan fighters. The victory of the British at Aboukir Bay only strengthened their resolve, even as Cairo fell. Bey denied any connection to the rebels, and publicly denounced them, but privately wrote of “the French sword in his back.” Even when paying lip service to Bonaparte, his stocks of weapons, ammunition and other supplies were always ‘disappearing.’

For his part, Bonaparte was trying, and mostly failing, to paint himself as the Great Liberator of the Egyptian people from Mamluk and Ottoman oppression. His attempts to win over the Muslim population went much the same way. The memory of Cairo was burned into the Egyptian consciousness, and the taxes levied against the populace to support the French army didn’t help. Assassinations of French troops were common. The French also had a severe manpower problem, and drafting replacement troops from Egyptian slaves was a proposition that produced below-average troops at best. Military executions did nothing to quell the unrest. The situation rested on a bed of nails. Back in Europe, things were calmer, but there, too, was a powderkeg waiting to explode.

 

[Cornelis]

Nelson was insanely lucky here. Without the Spartiate and the Aquilon blowing up, a quite uncommon event in such a short fight, he could never have breached the line.

 

[severak]

Nelson was insanely lucky here. Without the Spartiate and the Aquilon blowing up, a quite uncommon event in such a short fight, he could never have breached the line.

Umm...(furiously begins handwaving)

Improper storage of munitions! One's explosion set off the other! Entire fleet firing at two ships! Plan wasn't predicated on breaking the line! Nelson just exploited the oppertunity!

(Hopes no one notices flaw in story)


Yeah, that's a bit of a flaw. Hope it isn't storybreaking.

 

[Mrstrategy]

Umm...(furiously begins handwaving)

Improper storage of munitions! One's explosion set off the other! Entire fleet firing at two ships! Plan wasn't predicated on breaking the line! Nelson just exploited the oppertunity!

(Hopes no one notices flaw in story)


Yeah, that's a bit of a flaw. Hope it isn't storybreaking.

why is napoleon having to ne so against the egyptian people?

 

[severak]

Part 10: There’s no place like Home (because nowhere is quite as messed up).


August, 1798. France.


The French Directory continued to avoid total catastrophe. The economy was finally starting to stabilize, the useless assignat gradually being replaced by hard gold and silver, largely loot from the conquests of the War of the First Coalition. The food supply was not at famine levels. The royalists had been forced back into the shadows, replaced in the Councils by a large number of increasingly hardline Jacobins. Execution by military tribunal became a common weapon against perceived enemies of the Revolution. The moderates that controlled the Directory itself was increasingly opposed to the radicals of the councils. Bandits and highwaymen prowled the countryside. The not-quite-war with the United States was beginning to heat up.

The total lack of effective support for the Irish uprisings that August was another strike against the French. The support rendered to the Irish amounted to one expedition of 1000 men that landed two months after the main rebellion had already been put down (another force of 3000, including rebel leader Wolfe Tone, turned back to France without even seeing the island).

When news of the French defeat at Aboukir Bay reached the continent, it was welcome news indeed. The Austrians had been waiting for their moment for two years. Britain was welcoming of any allies in the fight against the Republic. The Tsar of Russia had been enraged by the overthrow of the Knights of St. John, of whom he was honorary head. Naples looked at the pile of French puppets states that dominated the rest of the Italian peninsula with fear and loathing.

The French positions along the Rhine were badly undermanned, undersupplied and under-trained; most of the best troops had been sent to either Egypt or Northern Italy. The recently passed conscription laws would add 200,000 much needed troops, but they were extremely unpopular in the countryside, especially in the recently annexed southern Netherlands, and protests against the measure were common.

With France appearing weak, its best general trapped in a faraway place, wracked by internal problems and with an increasingly dysfunctional government, it looked like a perfect time to strike. Outnumbering the French 2:1, plans were drawn up for attacks against the Republic, with assaults planned from Holland to Italy. The War of the Second Coalition was about to begin.

 

[Deckhand]

Part 10: There’s no place like Home (because nowhere is quite as messed up).


August, 1798. France.


The French Directory continued to avoid total catastrophe. The economy was finally starting to stabilize, the useless assignat gradually being replaced by hard gold and silver, largely loot from the conquests of the War of the First Coalition. The food supply was not at famine levels. The royalists had been forced back into the shadows, replaced in the Councils by a large number of increasingly hardline Jacobins. Execution by military tribunal became a common weapon against perceived enemies of the Revolution. The moderates that controlled the Directory itself was increasingly opposed to the radicals of the councils. Bandits and highwaymen prowled the countryside. The not-quite-war with the United States was beginning to heat up.

The total lack of effective support for the Irish uprisings that August was another strike against the French. The support rendered to the Irish amounted to one expedition of 1000 men that landed two months after the main rebellion had already been put down (another force of 3000, including rebel leader Wolfe Tone, turned back to France without even seeing the island).

When news of the French defeat at Aboukir Bay reached the continent, it was welcome news indeed. The Austrians had been waiting for their moment for two years. Britain was welcoming of any allies in the fight against the Republic. The Tsar of Russia had been enraged by the overthrow of the Knights of St. John, of whom he was honorary head. Naples looked at the pile of French puppets states that dominated the rest of the Italian peninsula with fear and loathing.

The French positions along the Rhine were badly undermanned, undersupplied and under-trained; most of the best troops had been sent to either Egypt or Northern Italy. The recently passed conscription laws would add 200,000 much needed troops, but they were extremely unpopular in the countryside, especially in the recently annexed southern Netherlands, and protests against the measure were common.

With France appearing weak, its best general trapped in a faraway place, wracked by internal problems and with an increasingly dysfunctional government, it looked like a perfect time to strike. Outnumbering the French 2:1, plans were drawn up for attacks against the Republic, with assaults planned from Holland to Italy. The War of the Second Coalition was about to begin.

Maybe Suvarov will hold the command long enough to finish France this time. Can Tsar Paul choke on a chicken bone maybe?

 

[Mrstrategy]

the problem at the moment is that most leaders dont want the military leaders to become too good at fighting ,they are worried of revolts by the military

 

[severak]

Part 11: Setting the Board.


Fall and Winter, 1798.


Karl Mack von Leiberich of Austria was sent to command the Neapolitan Army at the personal request of Emperor Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire. His opponents, under Jean Championnet and Jacques MacDonald had 32,000 troops in the French ‘Sister Republic’ that had once been the Papal States, of which only 8,000 were effective, giving Leiberich a nearly 10:1 advantage in numbers.

The opposing armies were equally horribly equipped, with the Neapolitans having an army of 70,000 hastily summoned and assembled men and the French having only 15 shots per man. Handicapping the Neapolitans further was one King Ferdinand I of Naples (who was also Ferdinand III of Sicily). He didn’t have an utmost amount of confidence in fighting the French, and despite the desires of his wife, Maria Carolina of Austria (who for all intents and purposes was the one who actually ran the country), he was yet unwilling to break the peace. The arrival of the damaged ships of the Royal Navy, carrying hundreds of wounded sailors and French prisoners, did little to inspire confidence in him. He refused to go forwards, excusing the lack of action by saying he was coordinating with the rest of the Coalition.

On the Rhine, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan was to invade rapidly into Germany and secure several important crossroads with an army of around 50,000 men while Andre Massena was to do the same in Switzerland with another 30,000. Jean Moreau was to command the defenses in Northern Italy with a force of 40,000. The new wave of conscripted troops was being hurriedly trained and armed. The question was if they would arrive in time.

On the Coalition’s side, a multi-pronged strike was being drawn up to bring the French Republic and their puppets to their knees. 30,000 Russian and British troops would land in Holland to destroy the Batavian Republic. Field Marshal Suvorov would launch an assault through Northern Italy and Switzerland with another 60,000 troops. The bulk of the Austrian army would cross the Rhine and attack Jourdan’s Army of Observation. The offenses were planned for Spring 1799. The Armies on both sides planned to spend until then preparing.

 

[longsword14]

Seems similar to OTL, does Massena do it again?

 

[severak]

Seems similar to OTL, does Massena do it again?

Not going to spoil anything, but lets say that the butterflies have started to flap.

 

[Mrstrategy]

earlier Louis XVIII?

 

[severak]

Part 12: The City of Death


October 3, 1798. Cairo, Egypt.


Cairo was a warzone once again. Bonaparte’s overtures to the locals, such as setting up European-style public services (like libraries and hospitals) were treated with apathy at best. His attempt to have the Quran translated from Arabic to French backfired spectacularly, inspiring further hostility. The final straw had been the celebration of the French Republic’s anniversary on September 22nd.

Bonaparte had organized a massive festival in celebration, filling Cairo’s largest square with a circus that glorified the Revolution. Altars inscribed with the names of dead French heroes, flags of the Republic and a massive inscribed obelisk were the centerpieces of the attraction. The fatal miscalculation of the French was the Triumphal Arch through which the circus was entered, depicting the Battles of Kafr El-Zayat and Cairo, with the French standing in victory, rubbing the Mamluks’ defeat in their face.

This went over as well as could be expected. The simmering fires of resentment were fueled into full-blown rage. Thousands of formerly apathetic Egyptians flocked to the colors of the partisan fighters. With Cairo filled to the brim with French soldiers for the celebration, though, they were forced to initially stay underground. Soon, their moment would come.

A week after the Celebration, Bonaparte left the city with the French scientist contingent to see the Great Pyramids of Giza, leaving Cairo in the able hands of Dumas. It was the day that the Egyptians had waited for. Ibrahim Bey, acting as the French liaison to the locals, told Dumas and the rest of the garrison that the locals weren’t planning anything, lying to their faces even as he was spending nights among sheiks and imams, readying for a full scale rising. With Bonaparte out of the city, he thought the moment had come.

The French started to realize that something was up the evening of the October 2nd, when Egyptians began taking to the streets in large numbers, congregating together in massive crowds near various strategic points in the city. When Dumas went to find Bey to ask what was going on, Bey was nowhere to be found. When reports started trickling in of weapons among the crowds, Dumas realized what he was facing. He ordered a message ran to Bonaparte, telling him of the situation, then prepared for the coming storm. All troops that remained outside the city were immediately recalled. Dumas also had enough foresight to send multiple runners carrying the same message out. This proved fruitful, as although several of the messengers were caught and killed by partisans, both messages got through.

At dusk, the French were ordered to disperse the crowds by any means necessary. No one is sure who fired the first shot, but by nightfall there were skirmishes all over the city. The memory of the previous battle still burned into their minds, the Egyptians slaughtered any Frenchman they could find. The French fought back just as brutally, firing blindly into the gathered mobs, holing up in various strongpoints throughout the city.

The fighting raged all night. Tribesmen from the desert harried French Forces outside of Cairo in the dark. Mobs of Egyptians in the city stormed into French strongpoints, and were beaten back with anything available. Hand to hand fighting was commonplace in the streets, and several small fires were ignited, by accident or design, and started to rage out of control.

By dawn, the Egyptians were in control of the gates in and out of the city, as well as the Great Mosque. The French garrison inside the city was forced into a situation similar to that of Bey two months earlier, hunkering down in various strongpoints. Unlike Bey, they didn’t have to worry about artillery flattening their positions. Their forces were not a demoralized mob, but battle-hardened veterans. They also had far more land under their control than Bey had enjoyed.

By midday, the French forces that had been encamped outside the city had beaten off all attacks from the desert and forced open a number of gates into the city. With the entire city alive with rebels, the French resorted to the tried and true suppression tactic of indiscriminately killing anything that wasn’t French. Bayonets, musket balls and cannon fire were all fair game. The Egyptians responded in kind, making the French pay for every street, every building.

When Bonaparte arrived back from Giza that afternoon, the Egyptians had been driven back to the Grand Mosque. The small fires started the previous night were starting to be put under control, but not until after burning down several portions of the city. Bonaparte ordered the French artillery into position around the Mosque. Unlike last time, he had no desire to be merciful, and ordered the building flattened. Breeches were blasted into the walls and gates, and the French, lead by Dumas, stormed into the Mosque. To describe what followed as a massacre is selling it short. Every last Egyptian in the building, man, woman and child, some thousands, were slaughtered.

French losses were another irreplaceable 1500 killed or wounded. Egyptian losses are harder to place, but common estimates run above 10,000 dead, not including hundreds more, including Ibrahim Bey, executed in the following days. The Revolt ended all French pretense of being friends or liberators. The following crackdown effectively destroyed any resistance within Cairo. The desert fighting died down as well.

The French were left with only 25,000 effectives throughout all of Egypt, and could only expect to add another 5000 if they called up the able wounded. The question being asked by almost the entire army was this: what could they possibly do now? Without their fleet, evacuation was impossible. They had taken too many losses to advance. There was nothing left they could accomplish. Was there?

 

[severak]

Part 13: Christmas in Rome.


December, 1798. Naples, Italy.


Maria Carolina, over much protest from her husband, had finally managed to convince Leiberich to move. The months sent languishing in the peninsula had not gone to waste. Leiberich instilled in the men at least a semblance of a sense of discipline, and the force of 70,000 hastily summoned men had turned into something that, at least from the outside, looked like an army. He began to march north towards Rome.

The forces of the Roman Republic, under Championnet, were quickly mustered in response. He managed to scrape together a force of 15,000 men, with a marginally better supply situation than they had had a few months before. He hoped to hit the unwieldy Neapolitan Army while it was still on the move. If he could destroy a few elements of Leiberich force, he believed he could compel the rest to scatter. The critical flaw in this plan was that, in his haste to increase his number, almost half of his troops were what could be considered invalids, and in fact had been denounced as such by Championnet himself mere weeks earlier.

The two armies collided on December 22nd at Frosinone, a relatively narrow chokepoint in the endless hills and valleys of the Italian Peninsula 45 miles southeast of Rome. Championnet had established a solid defensive line, his right anchored at the ridges to the west and his left in the hills to the east. When Leiberich heard of this, he stopped his front elements to let his rear catch up, desiring to form up his whole army and then overrun Championnet’s position.

Red: Neapolitans
Dark Blue: Championnet
Light Blue: Line of French Retreat

With Leiberich’s forces stopped, Championnet seized the initiative. He ordered an attack against the Neapolitans, planning to smash through the front of the Coalition’s forces, which he predicted would cause the morale of the entire army to collapse and cause them to rout. Around midday, the French left their positions and began to bear down on the Neapolitans.

This didn’t go as well as he planned. The core of his army held up very well against the enemy, to be sure, but the parts of his force that were composed of former invalids did not. Despite the shock of the French attack, which caused the Neapolitan lines to waver in many places, the sight of hundreds of French troops, the half of Championnet’s army that had been considered unable to effectively fight just a month prior, breaking and running not long after entering combat caused morale among Leiberich’s forces, and thus their lines, to hold.

After two hours of fighting, the rest of the Neapolitan Army began to arrive in the field. Championnet realized that the gig was up. The enemy hadn’t broken and ran, and now their full force was moving in on his lines. Realizing that standing his ground was a foolhardy option, he began to pull his troops back. The invalids ran for the hills the moment they heard the order. This had an amazing effect on the morale of the Neapolitans, who now stormed forwards to break their wavering enemy.

At this moment, Championnet was among his frontline troops, trying rally them and keep the retreat organized. This cost him his life. A stray bullet ripped through his neck, severing his spinal cord and killing him instantly. That ended any hope the French had left. The entire army very rapidly turned into a panicked mob that turned around and started running back down the road to Rome. The rout was on.

The Neapolitans pursued until dinnertime, cutting down the few that fought back and rounding up the rest. The French army had been totally destroyed, with less than one in ten making it back to Rome, the rest either captured or dead. The Neapolitans had taken less than 5000 casualties. By Christmas Eve, Rome had been liberated, with no French forces nearby that could threaten to take it back.

 

[Mrstrategy]

would Spain keep Louisiana or sell it if napoleon is not leader of France?

 

[severak]

would Spain keep Louisiana or sell it if napoleon is not leader of France?

Spoilers.

 

[Mrstrategy]

Spoilers.

 

[severak]

Part 14: The Spring Rains (of Blood and Steel).


March, 1799. Egypt/Europe.


With the spring thaw of 1799 came the movement of the armies of Europe and the Near East. Throughout the winter, hundreds of thousands of troops had been training and preparing for war. Now the time for battle had come, from Stuttgart to the Sinai.

In Egypt, Napoleon Bonaparte prepared a preemptive strike against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, hoping to disrupt the Turk’s plans for reclaiming Egypt. Forcing battle within Ottoman territory would make them scrap their plans for a two pronged attack by land and sea, especially if he could threaten Anatolia. Said plans involved landing 50,000 men commanded by Mustafa Pasha at the mouth of the Nile with support from the Royal Navy and an overland march with 30,000 under Jezzar Pasha. With any Egyptian resistance to French rule shattered after the Cairo Revolt and ensuing crackdown, Bonaparte drew up plans that pulled thousands of men off of garrison duty for an all-or-nothing assault into the Levant. 20,000 men, the far majority of his remaining effectives, were to march off to either glory or destruction.

In Italy, Field Marshal Suvorov’s 60,000 man Russian Army, supported by Leiberich’s Neapolitans (60,000 of them) marched west towards the Adda River. The French army there was slightly less than half the size of the combined strength of the Coalition armies, the original army bolstered by 10,000 men rushed in from as far away as Holland after the disaster of Frosinone. Moreau, the French commander, could expect no support. There were no other French armies in Italy, and the other forces of the Republic had much more pressing matters to attend to.

To the north, Jourdan had crossed the Rhine with the Army of Observation, 50,000 strong, planning on reaching the Danube and the Rhine. From there, they would be able to control any movement of men between Italy and Germany via the passes in Switzerland as well as establish defensive lines along the broad and swift rivers. Marching up to meet him was Archduke Charles of Austria, brother of the Holy Roman Emperor, and 60,000 of his countrymen.

In Switzerland, Andre Massena’s 30,000 troops were moving forwards as well, hoping to cut off any attempt by Suvorov to link up with the Austrians. Paul Kray and 50,000 men moved to oppose him. Both Massena’s Army of Helvetia and Jourdan’s recently renamed Army of the Danube were ill-equipped and undermanned, but the Directory saw no choice but to attack. Various strategic positions, all of them beyond French borders, had to be taken and held if the Republic was to survive.

 

[severak]

Part 15: To Palestine and Beyond.


Spring/Summer 1799, The Levant.


Bonaparte’s campaign into Syria began with the taking of Arish, desert fort at the border of Egypt, on February 2nd. Refusing to repeat the slow march Kleber had made on Cairo, Bonaparte pushed his troops as quickly as humanly possible. With no naval support whatsoever, all their supplies and heavy weapons had to be taken by foot. They had reached Gaza by the 7th, and after a day of rest, began to march on the fortress at Jaffa.

The ensuing march is remembered for its hellish conditions. The 50 mile distance to Jaffa was covered in 3 days, and in that half week the French payed a monstrous price. Despite being winter, exhaustion and dehydration were common problems. Compounding this were outbreaks of disease that crippled entire regiments at a time. Cholera, malaria, the plague and half a dozen other ailments cut down hundreds. By the time the army reached Jaffa, most of the troops were either exhausted, sick or both.

A siege, which would leave the French army with nothing to do but sit in its own plague-infested camp, was not a real option, at least not to Bonaparte. Expediency was key to the expedition, and that meant Jaffa had to fall, and quickly. An envoy was sent to the head of the Ottoman garrison, hoping that the city could be claimed without a fight. Said envoy was summarily executed, and the Ottomans began firing cannons into the French camp.

The resulting artillery duel went in the favor of the French. The walls were breached, and Dumas lead the charge in. Desperate resistance bled the French badly, but not enough. Jaffa fell by nightfall of the 14th. Three days and nights of slaughter followed, nominally in retribution for the dead envoy. Bonaparte did not specifically order this, but certainly did little to stop it.

Of much more pressing concern to the French was the condition of the army. The Horseman of Pestilence had been rather busy, and thousands of Bonaparte’s troops had been diagnosed with a wide medley of diseases. If there was one thing that could trump Bonaparte’s love for the battlefield, it was the newfound respect for Rider of the White Horse, especially after his bout with malaria. He took serious precautions against the spread of any disease, up to and including quarantining an entire division. A hospital was set up to treat the ill and sanitation measures were taken in the camp to contain any outbreaks. Jaffa was turned from a city into a massive medical camp.

The plague scare cost the French a solid three weeks, but the medical measures did prevent the army from being completely crippled by disease. Those that were already ill or otherwise wounded were left at Jaffa. The remaining 18,000 began the march towards the fortress city of Acre, gateway to Damascus and Anatolia.

The Ottoman situation didn’t look fantastic. The Royal Navy, mauled at Aboukir Bay, had pulled back to Naples for repairs, and the blockades of Egypt and France took precedence for any new ships that entered the Mediterranean, leaving the Turks to fight by themselves. The forces that had been planned for the assault on Egypt were diverted to Syria instead, scheduled to arrive by early May. The ground campaign would decide the war in the desert.

Bonaparte arrived at Acre on March 10th, after capturing a few minor outposts in Palestine. Facing him was a sizable Ottoman force, including Sultan Selim III’s pet project, the European-style Nizam-i Jedid. Formed after the crushing losses of Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, they were the first real attempt by the Ottomans to modernize their army. Acre would be their baptism by fire.

The siege would be a ground-out, bloody affair. The Ottoman navy could resupply the city by sea, but not render effective aid beyond that. 30,000 Turks stood on the walls, knowing that defeat could very well mean a Jaffa-style massacre. The French bombarded the city non-stop for weeks on end, having dragged siege guns by land all the way from Egypt. Small forays by both sides proved ineffective. The Rider of the White Horse rode through the city and the French camp, adding plague and disease to the melee.

In April, the situation began to change. An Ottoman relief army began to march south from Damascus, hoping to break the siege. Bonaparte detached Dumas and 5000 men to stop them while he continued the siege. Dumas set up his position at the village of Shehzore, a chokepoint in Palestine’s rolling hills 13 miles west-northwest of Capernaum on Lake Galilee. He planned an ambush for when the Ottomans entered the valley.

On April 8th, the Ottomans, taking the shortest route possible to Acre from Damascus, marched into the valley where Dumas lay in wait. 35,000 troops, mostly Mamluk cavalry, were stretched out along the road. Aiding the French was the time of their arrival: evening, with the sun in the eyes of the Ottomans, helping to hide Dumas’ forces. When he realized that the Ottomans were setting up camp in the valley, believing that all French were still at Acre, he reworked his existing plan into a nighttime ambush.

That night, all hell broke lose. The French crept as close as they could to the Ottoman camp, then burst out in a sudden attack. Dumas’ men, screaming like demons, charged down from the hills, shocking the unprepared sentries. By the time the Ottomans realized what was happening, the French were in the heart of their camp. Having been totally surprised, those that could run did, and those that couldn’t threw up their arms in terrified surrender. Large parts of the camp were on fire, horses had been cut loose and were running wild, screams and smoke filled the air. The chaos of the scene was described by French writers with words like ‘indescribable’ and ‘absolute.’

By daybreak, the camp had been totally destroyed and the Ottomans scattered to the four winds. Dumas had suffered only minor losses. Upon his return to Acre, he was hailed as a hero, and tales of his victory lifted the flagging morale of the French army. On the Ottoman side, morale took a nosedive. Bonaparte redoubled his efforts to break into the city, and despite the ferocious resistance of Jezzar Pasha, succeeded.

The French prepared for what they believed would be the final assault on Acre, setting the date for April 20th. In Europe, the forces of the Republic were having far less success.

 

[aegis03florin]

Oh my... I have a feeling that both Bonny and Dumas are ridding on white horses... but not on the same kind!
Dumas will might capitalize on his success and become the Republic's great man.

 

[severak]

Part 16: Between the Danube and the Rhine


March, 1799. Southwestern Germany.


Jourdan crossed the Rhine on March 1st, marching towards Lake Constance. They hurried eastwards, hoping to establish defensive positions before the full might of the Austrians arrived. They established a line centered at Pfullendorf, on the Ostrach Plateau. The chosen location was not good ground. Crisscrossed by streams and brooks, the plains were little more than marshland. It was prone to fogginess, and the ground was too soft for effective artillery fire from solid shot or cavalry maneuvers.

Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army arrived on the 7th. Jourdan had set up his headquarters on the heights just south of the plain, and was busy occupying strategic positions, thinking that the Austrians were still several days away. Skirmishes broke out between the armies on the 12th, and by the end of the week these engagement had become a full scale battle. In pouring rain, the Austrians began to collapse the French positions. Jourdan was driven back towards the heights at Pfullendorf. By the 21st, the French were in retreat.

The Austrian pursuit was slowed by the French destruction of bridges, the swampiness of the ground and the blinding fog of the plain. Still, they followed the retreating French relentlessly, catching the French three days later at Stockach. The brunt of the Austrian Army, 80,000 men, slammed into the French. Jourdan had considerably shortened his line, but still was far too extended. Outnumbered 2:1, the French on the defensive. The Austrians attacked non-stop, and Jourdan was soon forced to retreat again.

Despite orders to hold his ground until the French were driven out of Switzerland, Charles opted instead to pursue the French and drive them back over the Rhine. By April, Jourdan’s army faced annihilation. To their south, it was a similar story.