Battle of Ebelsberg - Result

Result

The Austrians admitted 566 killed, 1,713 wounded, and 2,216 captured, for a total of 4,495 casualties. James R. Arnold pointed out that the French rarely gave accurate casualty figures, but numbered their losses in excess of 4,000, including 700 captured. David Hollins counted Austrian losses as 8,340 and French casualties as 12,000 soldiers. Francis Loraine Petre stated Austrian losses as 2,000 killed and wounded, plus 2,200 captured. He noted that Masséna reported 2,800 total losses, including 1,800 killed, giving an unlikely killed-to-wounded ratio. Of these, Legrand reported losing 701 soldiers, including only 23 from his Baden brigade. Petre wrote that Masséna claimed 7,000–8,000 prisoners, while Napoleon privately wrote Lannes that 4,000 Austrians were captured. Digby Smith asserted that French casualties were 3,605 while Austrian losses were over 7,200, including 4,200 captured. Another source gave Austrian losses as 6,000 and French losses as 3,000.

Petre listed total French strength as 22,100 and 20 guns, including Claparède's 8,400, Legrand's 10,000, Marulaz's 2,500, and Piré's 1,200. He gave the Austrians 22,000 troops and 70 guns, not counting Kienmayer's 4,500 infantry and 800 cavalry which Hiller allowed to leave the vicinity. Smith estimated French numbers as 22,000 men and 48 guns.

At 7:00 AM that morning, Lannes' engineers rebuilt the bridge at Wels. Unaware of what was happening at Ebelsberg, Napoleon ordered Bessières' cavalry followed by Oudinot's infantry to cross the new bridge and march for Steyr on the Enns. Meanwhile, Molitor's division was on the road from Lambach to Kremsmünster, halfway to Steyr. When his troops reached there, they were diverted to Ebelsberg. Because of a strong wind, other French forces in the area did not hear the noise of the battle. When Napoleon finally arrived in Ebelsberg at dusk, he was greeted by the sight of many wounded who had burned to death. Though he was accustomed to the sight of dead and dying soldiers, the emperor was aghast at the thickly strewn blackened corpses.

Napoleon was aware that the slaughter had been completely unnecessary, since Lannes' upstream crossing of the Traun would have forced Hiller to retire without a battle. The emperor chose not to publicly criticize Masséna and deliberately under-reported his losses. He understood that the aggressiveness and bravery displayed by his generals and troops would be needed in future actions, so he distributed awards. For his heroism, Lieutenant Guyot was named a Baron of the Empire and received a generous sum of money. At a review of the 26th Light the following day, the commander of the Imperial Guard Chasseurs à Pied paid Colonel Pouget a highly public complement.

Hiller slipped away from the French and burned the bridges at every major stream during his retreat. On 7 May, the Austrians crossed to the north bank of the Danube at Mautern an der Donau which is near Krems an der Donau. Hiller left 10,000 troops under Dedovich to retreat on the south bank. Archduke Maximilian held Vienna with 35,000 troops, including 14 Landwehr battalions and 6,000 Vienna militia under Feldmarschall-Leutnant Andreas O'Reilly von Ballinlough. There were also eight regular, six Landwehr, and six Vienna Volunteers battalions led by Dedovich; the II Reserve Armeekorps grenadier brigade commanded by Kienmayer and General-Major Konstantin Ghilian Karl d'Aspré; and four battalions and five squadrons jointly led by Nordmann and General-Major Joseph, Baron von Mesko de Felsö-Kubiny. On the evening of 11 May, a French bombardment of Vienna completely unnerved Maximilian. The archduke abandoned the city on the 12th and withdrew with the greater part of the garrison to the north bank of the Danube, burning all the bridges. O'Reilly was left behind to carry out the surrender which included 13 generals, 180 officers, and 2,000 troops. The French found a military chest containing $4.5 million Gulden and large quantities of food, ammunition, and 100 cannon that Maximilian failed to carry off or destroy. The next major action was the Battle of Aspern-Essling on 21 and 22 May.