Battle
Apparently because his troops were surprised, Auffenberg seems to have only brought nine battalions and one squadron, about 5,500 men, into action. There are conflicting accounts. One historian talks about individual battalions being broken by cavalry or surrounded and forced to surrender. Another writer says that Austrian grenadiers formed in a massive square which resisted cavalry charges until the French brought up Oudinot's grenadiers.
French losses are stated as 174 killed and wounded. The Austrian suffered 400 killed and wounded, plus 2,900 men and 6 cannons captured. One historian says 2,000 Austrian were captured. Cut off from Vienna, the Austrians retreated westward toward their base at Ulm.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Wertingen
Famous quotes containing the word battle:
“Fold up the banners! Smelt the guns!
Love rules, Her gentler purpose runs.
A mighty mother turns in tears
The pages of her battle years,
Lamenting all her fallen sons!”
—Will Henry Thompson (1848–1918)
“No battle is worth fighting except the last one.”
—J. Enoch Powell (b. 1912)
“Above the bayonets, mixed and crossed,
Men saw a gray, gigantic ghost
Receding through the battle cloud,
And heard across the tempest loud
The death cry of a nation lost!”
—Will Henry Thompson (1848–1918)