The Battle of Wiesloch (German: Schlacht bei Wiesloch) occurred on 3 December 1799, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Count Sztray de Nagy-Mihaly commanded the far right wing protecting the main Austrian army in Swabia, under the command of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. With the victory at Wiesloch (on 3 December), Sztray's force drove the French from the right bank of the Rhine and relieved the fortress at Philippsburg.
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples and various German monarchies, though Prussia did not join this coalition, and Spain supported France.
The overall goal of Britain and Russia was to contain the expansion of the French Republic and to restore the monarchy in France, whereas Austria, which was still weakened and in deep financial debt from the War of the First Coalition, primarily sought to recover its position and come out of the war stronger than it entered. Due in important part to this difference in strategy amongst the three major allied powers, the Second Coalition failed to overthrow the revolutionary regime, and French territorial gains since 1793 were confirmed. In the Franco–Austrian Treaty of Lunéville in February 1801, France held all of its previous gains and obtained new lands in Tuscany, Italy, while Austria was granted Venetia and the Dalmatian coast. Most other allies would also sign separate peace treaties with the French Republic in 1801. Britain and France signed the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, followed by the Ottomans in June 1802, bringing an interval of peace in Europe that lasted several months until Britain declared war on France again in May 1803. The renewed hostilities would culminate in the War of the Third Coalition.
1799Dec, 3
War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch: Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray defeats the French at Wiesloch.
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Events on 1799
- 9Jan
William Pitt the Younger
British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the Napoleonic Wars. - 4May
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