Battle of Schliengen 1796
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 24 October 1796 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1796 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the First Coalition | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 47.7556, 7.5772 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Schliengen took place on 24 October 1796 between the French Army of the Rhine and Moselle and the Austrian army near the village of Schliengen during the War of the First Coalition. The French army was under the command of Jean-Victor Moreau and the Austrian army was under the command of Archduke Charles of Austria. The village lies in the present-day Kreis Lörrach close to the border of present-day Baden-Württemberg (Germany), the Haut-Rhin (France), and the Canton of Basel-Stadt (Switzerland). During the French Revolutionary Wars, Schliengen was a strategically important location for the armies of both Republican France and Habsburg Austria. Control of the area gave either combatant access to southwestern German states and important Rhine crossings.
On 20 October Moreau retreated from Freiburg im Breisgau and established his army along a ridge of hills. The severe condition of the roads prevented Archduke Charles from flanking the French right wing. The French left wing lay too close to the Rhine to outflank, and the French center, positioned in a 7-mile (11 km) semi-circle on heights that commanded the terrain below, was unassailable. Instead, he attacked the French flanks directly, and in force, which increased casualties for both sides.
Although the French and the Austrians claimed victory at the time, military historians generally agree that the Austrians achieved a strategic advantage.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Schliengen (revision 1380805779), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Stockach (1799) 1799 · 0 km
- Battle on the Scheideck 1848 · 11 km
- Battle of Friedlingen 1702 · 18 km
- Battle of Mulhouse 1914 · 18 km
- Battle of Mulhouse (1674) 1674 · 18 km
- Battle of Vosges (58 BC) 58 BC · 18 km
Other battles of the War of the First Coalition
- Battle of Höchst (1795) 1795
- Battle of Loano 1795
- Battle of Pfeddersheim (1795) 1795
- Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder 1795
- Invasion of France (1795) 1795
- Battle of Altenkirchen 1796
- Battle of Amberg 1796
- Battle of Bassano 1796
- Battle of Ettlingen 1796
- Battle of Kehl (1796) 1796
All 84 battles of the War of the First Coalition →
Browse more: battles in Germany · Europe · Early modern battles