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Napoleon swung his forces southward in a wheeling movement that put the French at the Austrian rear while launching cavalry attacks through the Black Forest, which kept the Austrians at bay. [53] The Ulm Maneuver was well-executed, and on 20 October, 23,000 Austrian troops surrendered at Ulm, bringing the number of Austrian prisoners of the ...
The French, initially taken by surprise, were able to defeat the Austrians at Eckmühl Abensberg and Ratisbon. The Archduke, fearing that his army might be destroyed, retreated towards Bohemia. After these victories the way to Vienna for Napoleon was eventually open. By 13 May Napoleon had entered the City. [4]
This allowed the Austrians to continue the war. Towards the end of May, Napoleon resumed the offensive, suffering a surprise defeat at the Battle of Aspern-Essling. It took Napoleon six weeks to prepare his next offensive, for which he amassed a 172,000-man French, German and Italian army in the vicinity of Vienna.
The Austrians fell into the same trap Napoleon had set at the Battle of Marengo, but unlike Marengo, the trap worked with success. Everything was made to confuse the enemy. In his proclamation in the Bulletin de la Grande Armée of 21 October 1805 Napoleon said, "Soldiers of the Grande Armée, I announced you a great battle. But thanks to the ...
Napoleon knew there was fighting in Davout's sector and devised a new strategy to defeat the Austrians: while the Austrians attacked to the north, André Masséna's corps, augmented by Oudinot's forces, would strike southeast towards Freising and Landshut in hopes of threatening the Austrian flank and relieving the pressure on Davout. [66]
Napoleon gradually became more convinced that the Austrians were massed at Ulm and ordered sizeable portions of the French army to concentrate around Donauwörth; on 6 October three French infantry and cavalry corps headed to Donauwörth to seal off Mack's escape route. [39] Realizing the danger of his position, Mack decided to go on the offensive.
Aided by Frimont, Ott defeated Monnier and forced two-thirds of his command to retreat to the northeast. About the same time, Marengo had fallen to the Austrians, forcing Napoleon's men into a general retreat. [23] As Austrian troops crossed the Fontanone, their guns bombarded the French infantry in the vines.
But when the Austrians dawdled rather than taking advantage of their opportunities, the French commander determined to attack his opponent again. Stripping Vaubois and Kilmaine of every available man, Bonaparte fell upon Alvinczi at the Battle of Arcola on 15–17 November and defeated the Austrians.