An Austrian cavalry charge routed a larger French force at Handschuhsheim, helping reverse French gains on the Rhine in 1795.
Key Facts
- Austrian force size
- 8,000 men
- French force size
- 12,000 men
- Date
- 24 September 1795
- Outcome
- Austrian victory; French routed with disproportionate losses
- Theater
- War of the First Coalition, Rhine front
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In September 1795, the French government ordered the armies of Pichegru and Jourdan to attack Austrian forces along the Rhine. After early French successes, including crossing the river and capturing key cities, Pichegru dispatched two divisions to seize the important Austrian supply base at Heidelberg, setting the stage for the engagement at Handschuhsheim.
An 8,000-strong Habsburg Austrian force under Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich confronted 12,000 French Republican troops led by Georges Joseph Dufour near Handschuhsheim on 24 September 1795. Despite being outnumbered, the Austrians executed a devastating cavalry charge that broke the French formations and inflicted disproportionately heavy losses, routing the larger French force.
Following the French defeat at Handschuhsheim, Austrian commander Count Clerfayt turned against Jourdan's army and drove it back across the Rhine. The Austrians subsequently won at Mainz, Pfeddersheim, and Mannheim, ultimately forcing both French armies onto the west bank of the Rhine and reversing the gains they had made earlier in the campaign.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich.
Side B
1 belligerent
Georges Joseph Dufour.