First Battle of Zurich 1799
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 June 1799 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1799 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Switzerland | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Second Coalition | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 47.3667, 8.5500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The First Battle of Zurich, from 4 to 7 June 1799, forced French General André Masséna to yield the city of Zurich to the Austrians, under Archduke Charles, and to retreat beyond the Limmat, where he managed to fortify his positions, which resulted in a stalemate.
The first battle of Zurich saw Austrian attacks on strong French positions, which were captured but then had to be abandoned due to a French counterattack. However, previously in this battle, the Austrians were able to press the French back from one foothold (Schwamendingen) and to repel a French counteroffensive near Zurich, while Austrian assaults on three French staging areas (Rapperswil, Hirslanden and Fällanden–Pfaffhausen) failed. Charles prepared to continue the battle, but Masséna did not decide to do it and retreated, leaving many of his guns behind (178 pieces) at the mercy of the Austrians.
The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. During the summer, Russian troops, under General Alexander Korsakov, replaced the Austrian troops, and at the Second Battle of Zurich, the French regained control of the city, along with the rest of Switzerland.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article First Battle of Zurich (revision 1370619060), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Second Battle of Zurich 1799 · 0 km
- Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl 1443 · 2 km
- Battle of Winterthur 1799 · 21 km
- Battle of Vindonissa 298 · 27 km
- Battle of Morgarten 1315 · 31 km
- Battle of Sempach 1386 · 35 km
Other battles of the War of the Second Coalition
- Battle of Nicopolis (1798) 1798
- Battle of St. George's Caye 1798
- Siege of Corfu (1798–1799) 1798
- Battle of Alkmaar (1799) 1799
- Battle of Cassano (1799) 1799
- Battle of Feldkirch 1799
- Battle of Genola 1799
- Battle of Gotthard Pass 1799
- Battle of Krabbendam 1799
- Battle of Magnano 1799
All 35 battles of the War of the Second Coalition →
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