Battle of Gefrees

Part of War of the Fifth Coalition

Date	8 July 1809
Location	Gefrees, Germany
Result	Austrian victory

Belligerents

Austria

Black Brunswickers

First French Empire

Kingdom of Westphalia

Kingdom of Saxony

Commanders and leaders

Michael von Kienmayer

Strength

Entire Campaign:
13,000 Austrians
2,000 Brunswickers

At Gefrees:
6,000 Austrians

Entire Campaign:
15,000 French
15,000 Westphalians
5,000 Saxons
At Gefrees:
7,500 French

Casualties and losses

At Gefrees:
400 killed or wounded

At Gefrees:
2,000 killed or wounded

The Battle of Gefrees was fought on 8 July 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition between a joint force of Austrians and Brunswickers under the command of General Kienmayer and a French force under the command of General Junot, Duke of Abrantès. The battle ended in victory for the Austrians who avoided being trapped by Junot and a force of Saxons and Westphalians led by Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. After Jérôme's troops were defeated at the Battle of Hof, the Austrians effectively had control over all of Saxony. However the victory was in vain, due to the major Austrian defeat at Wagram and the Armistice of Znaim.

When Austria declared war on France and her allies, including Saxony, on 9 April 1809, a small force of Austrians together with a force of Brunswickers under the command of Frederick William, The Black Duke were based in Theresienstadt, Bohemia (now Terezín, Czech Republic) and acted as a defensive force whilst the bulk of the Austrian army was engaged in southern Bavaria and Italy. There was little action in the region until 25 May, when a Saxon force under Colonel von Thielmann invaded Bohemia. In response Duke Frederick William invaded Saxony and took the city of Zittau, forcing von Thielmann to retreat back to Dresden.

After the battle of Battle of Aspern-Essling, Archduke Charles reinforced the Austrian troops in Bohemia to a total strength of over 12,000 men and ordered a diversionary attack into Saxony. These Austrian reinforcements entered Saxony on 10 June and by the third day, an Austrian force of over 6,000 men under Major Am Ende captured the capital, Dresden. Von Thielmann and his Saxons were forced back to Gorbitz, whilst the Saxon Royal Family hurriedly fled west. Meanwhile, another force of 6,000 men under Paul von Radivojevich wheeled south into Bavaria, another French ally, capturing Bayreuth on 14 June. From here, Radivojevich could threaten an invasion of the Kingdom of Württemberg or an attempt to reinforce the Tyrolean uprising.

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Wikipedia