A French victory over Austria rendered moot by Napoleon's armistice signed the same day, making the battle's casualties strategically pointless.
Key Facts
- Date
- 18 April 1797
- Austrian prisoners taken
- at least 3,000 men
- Austrian artillery captured
- 24 pieces
- Austrian killed and wounded
- 1,000 men
- French total casualties
- 2,000 men
- Austrian vehicles captured
- 60 vehicles
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the War of the First Coalition, French and Austrian forces were engaged along the Rhine. French General Lazare Hoche, commanding part of the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse, sought to press the offensive against Franz von Werneck's Austrian army near Neuwied, continuing the broader French Revolutionary Wars campaign.
On 18 April 1797, Hoche's French forces launched a surprise attack that broke through Austrian lines. Austria suffered around 1,000 killed and wounded, at least 3,000 taken prisoner, 24 artillery pieces, 60 vehicles, and five regimental colors captured. French losses amounted to 2,000 men killed, wounded, and captured.
Despite the French tactical success, Napoleon Bonaparte signed the Preliminaries of Leoben with Austria on the same day, establishing an armistice that halted all fighting and opened peace negotiations. This rendered the battle's considerable losses on both sides strategically pointless, as the military outcome had no bearing on the subsequent diplomatic settlement.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Lazare Hoche.
Side B
1 belligerent
Franz von Werneck.