Battle of Biberach (1800)

Battle of Biberach (1800)
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Painting by Johann Baptist Pflug shows an Austrian commander leading his soldiers against the French.
Date 9 May 1800 Location Biberach an der Riss, present-day Germany 48°06″N 9°48″E / 48.00167°N 9.01333°E / 48.00167; 9.01333 Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Austria
Commanders and leaders
Laurent Saint-Cyr	Pál Kray
Strength
25,000	20,000
Casualties and losses
2,000	4,000

War of the Second Coalition:
Austria

200km
125miles

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The color black indicates the current battle.

The Battle of Biberach on 9 May 1800 saw a French First Republic corps under Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr engage part of a Habsburg Austrian army led by Pál Kray. After an engagement in which the Austrians suffered twice as many casualties as the French, Kray withdrew to the east. The combat occurred during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Biberach an der Riss is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Ulm.

In late April 1800, a French army under the command of Jean Victor Marie Moreau crossed the Rhine river near Basel. At Stockach and Engen on 3 May, Moreau captured Kray's base of supplies and forced him into retreat. Two days later, Kray confronted his pursuers at Battle of Messkirch but was beaten again. On the 9th, the corps of Gouvion Saint-Cyr caught up with a part of Kray's army and the two sides battled again.