1793 Wanzenau

THE COMBAT OF WANZENAU

1793

translated by Geert van Uythoven

A translation from German of a remarkable incident.

“During the combat of Wanzenau in the Alsace in 1793, two hundred Austrians were assigned to undertake a coup de main during the night. After these had surprised and killed one of both guards in front of the entrenchment on the chaussee, they were so lucky that they took a few hundred prisoners and captured eighteen guns in a matter of twenty minutes.

Until now, the combat described above seems extra-ordinary. However, our astonishment will even be bigger when we hear that only four men sufficed to bring destruction into the enemy camp. Those who have minor experience in the art of war will say: “What are these for people! Which bravery!”. However, when taking a closer look at the event much of the extra-ordinary will disappear, although it will still remain unusual.

The small party was divided into three columns. The first one, about sixty men, marched along the chaussee, to the right of the entrenchment. The remainder of the party of two hundred men, evenly divided in two groups, stayed in line with the first column, moving through the fields on its left and right flank. Coming close to the enemy camp, all three columns halted, and the centre column dispatched four men with levelled bayonets. After some moments, all advanced again as quiet as possible.

During its march the men of the centre column remained as far as possible to both sides of the chaussee. Under cover of darkness, and aided by unceasing rain, the small advance guard of four men threw themselves on both guards and killed one before he was able to fire. The second though ran at the first noise of the advancing Austrians, saving himself this way. In addition he was clever enough to fire his musket in the air, giving the alarm this way. The Austrians had advanced with unloaded muskets, and the four men ran after the guard as quick as they could. The guard however had enough lead and was able to escape. They ran straight to the entrenchment, and arrived at it at the same time the guard arrived.

The alarm had been sounded in camp, and a few cannon were fired in the blue. The small Austrian advance guard, fearing to be fired at from behind by their comrades, as well as from the front from behind the entrenchment, threw themselves into the ditch of the camp and started yelling, more for help as in an effort to scare the enemy. If it was luck that favours them, or was it the Republicans who lost their heads when they saw the enemy so close to their camp; in any case, the four men of the advance guard mounted the battery covering the chaussee and found out that the enemy was already in full flight or in great disorder. The two hundred men arrived in pursuit, attacked four or five hundred Republicans and took them prisoner.

In addition, the Austrians captured all artillery that was inside the camp, remaining master of the entrenchment of Wanzenau, and pursued the French with the bayonet at their backs until reaching the bridge further back on the chaussee to Strassbourg, were the fighting continued for minutes long with musket butts to force a crossing.

No man dead, no one wounded. Not a single shot by the enemy, and its entrenchment captured by a force of only a fourth of the strength as the force that had to defend it. And their muskets were not even loaded!”

Source: Baron von Stückenfeldt, “Mémoires sur les derniéres campagnes entre la France et l’Autriche etc.”, as translated in Militair-Wochenblatt, 2. Jahrgang (Berlin 1817), No. 31, pp.31-32.