Army of the Danube

Army of the Danube
Fusilier of a French Revolutionary Army
Active	2 March – 11 December 1799
Country	First Republic
Engagements	Battle of Ostrach Battle of Winterthur (1799) First Battle of Zurich Second Battle of Zurich
Disbanded	24 November 1799 and units merged into Army of the Rhine
Commanders
Notable commanders	Jean-Baptiste Jourdan André Masséna Louis Marie Turreau

Battle of Ostrach
Date 20–23 March 1799 Location Ostrach, Salem Abbey (Germany) Result French retreat
Belligerents
First Republic	Habsburg Monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan	Archduke Charles
Strength
18,000	52,000
Casualties and losses
2,257 (12.5%)	2,113 (4%)

Battle of Stockach (1799)
Date 25 March 1799 Location , present-day Germany Result Austrian victory and French withdrawal from region.
Belligerents
First Republic	Habsburg Austria
Commanders and leaders
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan	Archduke Charles
Strength
40,000 soldiers	80,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
400 killed, 1600 wounded, 2,000 captured, 1 gun lost.	500 killed, 2400 wounded, 2,900 captured, 2 guns lost.

Battle of Winterthur, near Zürich Switzerland
Date 27 May 1799 Location Winterthur, Switzerland Result decisive Austrian victory
Belligerents
First Republic	Habsburg Monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Michel Ney, Commanding elements of the Army of the Danube	Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Strength
7,000	8,000
Casualties and losses
800 men killed, wounded or missing, four guns.	1,000 killed, wounded or missing.

First Battle of Zürich
Date 4–7 June 1799 Location Zürich, Switzerland Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
First Republic	Habsburg Monarchy
Commanders and leaders
André Masséna	Archduke Charles of Austria
Strength
30,000	40,000
Casualties and losses
1,700	3,500

Second Battle of Zürich
Date 25–26 September 1799 Location Zürich, Switzerland Result decisive French victory
Belligerents
First Republic	Habsburg Monarchy Russia
Commanders and leaders
André Masséna	Alexander Korsakov Friedrich von Hotze  †
Strength
75,000	24,000 Russians 22,000 Austrians
Casualties and losses
Unknown	22,000

The Army of the Danube (French: Armée du Danube) was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been observing Austrian movements on the border between French First Republic and the Holy Roman Empire. It was commanded by General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan (1762–1833).

The formation of the army was part of the French Directory's long term strategy to undermine Habsburg influence in the Holy Roman Empire, and, conversely, to strengthen French hegemony in central Europe after the wars of the First Coalition and the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Despite the Treaty, Austria and France remained suspicious of each other's motives, and the purpose of the Army of the Observation was to watch for Austrian border transgressions. Understanding that the negotiations at the Congress of Rastatt were going no-where, the Army of Observation was instructed to cross the Rhine. Once across the Rhine, the Army of the Danube, was to secure strategic positions in southwestern Germany (present day Baden-Württemberg) and engage Archduke Charles' Austrian army. In the meantime, the Army of Helvetia, under command of André Masséna, would secure such strategic locations as St. Gotthard Pass, the Swiss Plateau, and upper Rhine basin.

The army participated in four battles. In the battles of Ostrach and , the Army of the Danube withdrew after suffering heavy losses. After reorganization, in which elements of the army were combined with Massena's Army of Switzerland, it withdrew after an engagement with Charles' superior force at Zürich in early June 1799; only in the Second Battle of Zurich did the Army of the Danube secure an uncontested victory. In December 1799, the Army of the Danube merged with the Army of the Rhine.