Battle of Glarus (1799)

The Battle of Glarus (also uncollectively the Combat of Näfels/Netstal), fought on October 1, 1799, was the bloodiest battle of the War of the Second Coalition. The battle ended the Austro-Russian invasion of the Helvetic Republic and was the last campaign which involved the Russian undefeated general Alexander Suvorov. Initially, Suvorov's rearguard, led by Andrei Rosenberg and André Masséna, was able to fend off a French attack led by Adolphe Mortier in the Battle of the Muota Valley. Suvorov's vanguard under Pyotr Bagration managed to overwhelm French forces at Glarus, also capturing Netstal, but came to a stalemate near Näfels and Mollis. Despite the main goal of capturing Glarus accomplised, Suvorov began a retreat via the Panixer Pass. In his report to Emperor Paul I Suvorov did not mention the battle, instead the report portrayed his Alpine campaign as a series of brilliant victories, even though he considered a retreat to Italy, which would have been an admission of complete failure.