Battle of Abensberg

Battle of Abensberg
Part of the War of the Fifth Coalition
Napoleon addressing Bavarian and Württemberg troops at Abensberg, by Jean-Baptiste Debret (1810)
Date 20 April 1809[1] Location Abensberg, Bavaria, Germany 48°48′N 11°51′E / 48.800°N 11.850°E / 48.800; 11.850 Result French victory[1]
Belligerents
First French Empire Kingdom of Bavaria Württemberg	Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon I Jean Lannes François Lefebvre Karl von Wrede Dominique Vandamme	Archduke Charles Johann von Hiller Archduke Louis Michael Kienmayer
Strength
55,000[2]	42,000[2]
Casualties and losses
1,000[3]	7,200,[3] 12 guns[3]
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe

War of the Fifth Coalition

200km
125miles

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  current battle

  Napoleon in command

  Napoleon not in command

The Battle of Abensberg took place on 20 April 1809 between a Franco-German force under the command of Emperor Napoleon I of France and a reinforced Austrian corps led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Archduke Louis of Austria. As the day wore on, Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann von Hiller arrived with reinforcements to take command of the three corps that formed the Austrian left wing. The action ended in a complete Franco-German victory. The battlefield was southeast of Abensberg and included clashes at Offenstetten, Biburg-Siegenburg, Rohr in Niederbayern, and Rottenburg an der Laaber. On the same day, the French garrison of Regensburg capitulated.

After Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout's hard-fought victory at Battle of Teugen-Hausen the previous day, Napoleon determined to break through the Austrian defenses behind the Abens River. The emperor assembled a provisional corps consisting of part of Davout's corps plus cavalry and gave Marshal Jean Lannes command over it. Napoleon directed his German allies from the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Württemberg to attack across the Abens from the west, while Lannes thrust from the north toward Rohr. While the Austrians initially held the river line, Lannes' strike force crashed through Louis' defenses farther east. On the left, the Austrians managed to conduct a capable rear guard action, but during the day the French smashed their opponents' right flank and captured thousands of soldiers. The day ended with the Austrians barely holding onto a line behind the Große Laber River.

The next day, Hiller withdrew to Landshut, separating the left wing from the main army under Generalissimo Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen near Regensburg (Ratisbon). The French surrender of Regensburg on 20 April allowed Charles' army a retreat route to the north bank of the Danube. The Battle of Landshut was fought on 21 April.