Background
The Battle of Ettlingen or Battle of Malsch (9 July 1796) was fought during the French Revolutionary Wars between the armies of the First French Republic and Habsburg Austria near the town of Malsch, 9 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Ettlingen. The Austrians under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen tried to halt the northward advance of Jean Victor Marie Moreau’s French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle along the east bank of the Rhine River. After a tough fight, the Austrian commander found that his left flank was turned. He conceded victory to the French and retreated east toward Stuttgart. Ettlingen is located 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Karlsruhe.
The Rhine Campaign of 1796 saw Moreau’s army facing the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine under Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour in the south. Meanwhile, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan’s French Army of Sambre-et-Meuse opposed the Army of the Lower Rhine under Archduke Charles in the north. Jourdan drubbed Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg at Altenkirchen on 4 June, compelling Archduke Charles to rush to the rescue with reinforcements. Charles defeated Jourdan at Wetzlar on the 15th, forcing him to pull back to the west bank of the Rhine. At this time there was a shake up in the high command and the archduke was put in control of both Austrian armies. In Charles’ absence, Moreau successfully crossed the Rhine at Kehl on the night of 23–24 June and beat Latour at Rastatt on 5 July. Leaving Wilhelm von Wartensleben in charge in the north, Charles rushed south to confront Moreau along the Alb River near Ettlingen. After an all-day combat, the Austrians held the advantage on their right wing near Malsch, but the French had defeated their left wing in the Black Forest.
After conferring with Desaix and Saint-Cyr at Renchen, Moreau mounted his assault on 9 July 1796. This decision preempted Archduke Charles, who had planned to attack the French on the 10th. The French commander planned to pin the Austrians in the Rhine plain while turning their left flank among the mountains of the Black Forest. For his part, Charles hoped to outflank the French left near the river and recapture Gernsbach. Latour held the Austrian right near the Rhine, Sztáray was posted in the center near Malsch, Kaim defended the left-center in the hills along the Alb River and Lindt’s Saxons held the far left near Neuenbürg.
Moreau accompanied Desaix’s Left Wing with the divisions of Delmas and Sainte-Suzanne (vice Beaupuy), Bourcier’s Reserve and Saint-Cyr’s cavalry and horse artillery which were ineffective in the mountains. Malsch was captured twice by the French and recaptured each time by the Austrians. Latour tried to force his way around the French left with cavalry but was checked by the mounted troops of the Reserve. Finding his horsemen outnumbered near Ötigheim, Latour used his artillery to keep the French cavalry at bay. In the Rhine plain the combat raged until 10 PM. In the evening the Austrians were pushing Desaix back when bad news from the left flank caused Charles to call a halt.
Kaim had six battalions of infantry, four squadrons of cavalry and plenty of artillery deployed at Rothenzholl. He posted three more battalions at Frauenalb to the north and an advance guard in Loffenau. Saint-Cyr left Duhesme’s division behind to guard Freudenstadt and the Kneibis Mountain. He started from Gernsbach with 12 battalions plus six more borrowed from the Reserve. Finding that the Saxons were marching south along the Enz River to turn his right flank, he sent Taponier with six battalions and 150 hussars east to Wildbad. Taponier surprised the Saxons and sent them scurrying back north. With Lambert and Lecourbe’s brigades, Saint-Cyr advanced through Loffenau to Rothenzholl northwest of Dobel where he confronted Kaim. Finding the Austrians in powerful defenses, Saint-Cyr tried to draw Kaim’s troops out of position.
Employing elements of the 84th and 106th Line, the French wing commander ordered the troops not to press home their assault, but to retreat every time they came against strong resistance. Each attack was pushed farther up the ridge before receding into the valley. When the fifth assault in regimental strength gave way, the defenders finally reacted, sweeping down the slope to cut off the French. Saint-Cyr now sprung his trap. Lecourbe led the massed grenadier companies to attack one Austrian flank, other reserves bored in on the other flank and the center counterattacked. The French troops that struck the Austrian right were hidden in the nearby town of Herrenalb. As the Austrians gave way, the French followed them up the ridge right into their positions. Nevertheless, Kaim’s men laid down such a heavy fire that Lecourbe’s grenadiers were thrown into disorder and their leader nearly captured. At length, Saint-Cyr’s troops emerged triumphant, inflicting 1,000 casualties on their opponents and capturing two cannons. Kaim was compelled to withdraw east across the hills to Neuenbürg. From there, Kaim and Lindt’s soldiers fell back toward Pforzheim.
French losses numbered 2,000 killed and wounded plus 400 captured. The Austrians suffered 1,300 killed and wounded with 1,300 captured. On 10 July, Charles evacuated Malsch and ordered a forced march east to Pforzheim via Karlsruhe. Also on the 10th, the French occupied Ettlingen and Neuenbürg. Anxious to protect his magazines at Heilbronn, Charles halted at Pforzheim for a few days. For his part, Moreau would not believe that Charles had given up, so he waited around Ettlingen for several days. Meanwhile, the Austrians packed their supplies into wagons and headed east on 14 July. The next day, Moreau moved on Pforzheim but found the archduke gone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ettlingen
The Game
As the forces were pretty evenly matched, the game turned into a slog-fest, with each side trying to obtain local advantage. In the end, the Austrians ground down first, with both flanks giving way to the victorious French and Saxons.
– Manteuffel