Dürenstein, Battle of

The Battle of Dürenstein (German: Schlacht bei Dürnstein; also known as Dürrenstein, Dürnstein and Diernstein), on November 11, 1805, is an engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War of the Third Coalition.

Dürenstein (modern Dürnstein) is located in the Wachau valley, on the river Danube, seventy-three kilometers (forty-five miles) upstream from Vienna, Austria.

The river makes a crescent-shaped curve between Dürnstein and nearby Krems an der Donau, and the battle is fought in the flood plain between the river and the mountains.

At Dürenstein a combined force of Russian and Austrian troops traps a French division commanded by Théodore Maxime Gazan.

The French division is part of the newly created VIII Corps, the so-called Corps Mortier, under command of Édouard Mortier.

In pursuing the Austrian retreat from Bavaria, Mortier has over-extended his three divisions along the north bank of the Danube.

Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, entices Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap and French troops are caught in a valley between two Russian columns.

They are rescued by the timely arrival of a second division, under command of Pierre Dupont de l'Étang.

The battle extends well into the night, after which both sides claim victory.

The French lose more than a third of their participants, and Gazan's division experiences over forty percent losses.

The Austrians and Russians also have heavy losses—close to sixteen percent—but perhaps the most significant is the death in action of Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff.

The battle is fought three weeks after the Austrian capitulation at Ulm and three weeks before the Russo-Austrian defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz.

After Austerlitz, Austria withdraws from the war.

The French demand a high indemnity, and Francis II abdicates as Holy Roman Emperor, releasing the German states from their allegiance to the Holy Roman Empire.

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