Battle of Linth River
The Battle of (the) Linth River (25–26 September 1799) saw a French division under General of Division Jean-de-Dieu Soult face a force of Austrian, Imperial Russian, and Swiss rebel soldiers led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze in Switzerland. Soult carefully planned and his troops carried out a successful assault crossing of the Linth River between Lake Zurich and the Walensee. Hotze's death early in the action disorganized the Allied defenders who were defeated and forced to retreat, abandoning supplies accumulated for Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov's approaching army. On the same day, General of Division André Masséna's French Army of Helvetia defeated Lieutenant General Alexander Korsakov's Russian army in the Second Battle of Zurich and a French brigade turned back another Austrian force near Mollis. Both Korsakov's Russians and Hotze's survivors, led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Franz Petrasch withdrew north of the Rhine River.
| Battle of Linth River | |||||||
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| Part of the Italian and Swiss expedition during the War of the Second Coalition | |||||||
The Linth River curves around the base of the Buchberg at left center before flowing into Lake Zurich. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| France |
Austria Russian Empire Swiss rebels | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Jean-de-Dieu Soult Gabriel Molitor |
Friedrich Hotze † Franz Petrasch Franz von Auffenberg Friedrich von Linkin Franz Jellacic Vasily Titov Ferdinand Rovéréa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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Total: 14,500
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Total: 19,000
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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Total: 1,100
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Total: 6,500, 32 guns, 4 flags
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These defeats were the result of a mismanaged Allied strategy that planned to unite the forces of Korsakov and Hotze with Suvorov's Russian army coming north from Italy. In accordance with the strategy, Feldzeugmeister Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen's powerful Austrian army had marched from Zürich to southern Germany a few weeks before. Masséna and Soult won their victories in the narrow time window between Charles' departure and Suvorov's arrival. On 24 September, Suvorov's Russians captured the Gotthard Pass and marched into Switzerland. However, with Korsakov and Petrasch driven out of the country, Masséna turned his full attention upon Suvorov's army, setting the stage for an epic alpine campaign.