War of the Second Coalition battle
The Battle of Glarus (also uncollectively the Combat of Näfels/Netstal), was a battle fought on October 1, 1799. The battle ended the Austro-Russian invasion of the Helvetic Republic and was the last campaign which involved the Russian undefeated general Alexander Suvorov. Initially, Suvorov's rearguard, led by Andrei Rosenberg, was able to fend off a French attack led by Adolphe Mortier in the Battle of the Muota Valley. Suvorov's vanguard under Pyotr Bagration, managed to overwhelm French forces at Glarus, also capturing Netstal, but came to a stalemate near Näfels and Mollis. Russians completed the main tasks and took Glarus, which deprived the French of hope for decisive success. Suvorov began a retreat via the Panixer Pass. In his report to Emperor Paul I Suvorov did not mention the battle. Instead, the report portrayed his Alpine campaign as a series of his brilliant victories. Turning to the generals, Suvorov did not even want to consider the possibility of retreating through Italy.
Background.
The Helvetic Revolution of 1798 led to a radical change in the Swiss constitution and to the military occupation of the country by France. According to Glarus pastor Markus Freuler, this was because the old constitution "was no longer arbitrary to a large part of Switzerland and was no longer appropriate to the spirit of the people," and because only an external power was able to "carry out this important work." At that time, the state of Glarus, where Anna Göldi was executed as a witch in 1782, renounced its rights to rule in numerous bailiwicks, but stuck to its old constitution. When its Militia troops were defeated at Wollerau, it only escaped military occupation by accepting the new constitution. The Flecken Glarus became the capital of the Greater Canton of Linth, loudly Freuler under the "wise direction" of Government Governor Joachim Heer. But despite the promises made, after the Austrians' advance, Graubünden for the quartering of French troops. In April 1799, the confiscation of Glarus artillery led to an uprising. When the Austrians replaced the French as occupying power in May, the state of Glarus returned to the Ancien Régime for a short time, with even the instigator of the judicial murder of Anna Göldi receiving government honors. In August the French then invaded again.
During the Egyptian Expedition Bonaparte's, Great Britain expanded its struggle against the revolutionary France through alliances with Austria, Russia and others monarchical ruled states led to the Second Coalition War. In 1799, the 68-year-old Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov, as head of the Austro-Russian army in Italy, won a series of battles against troops from France and its subsidiary republics. As the "always willful and irritable old man" but became a burden for the coalition, he should join at the suggestion of the British foreign minister Lord Grenville. Zurich to his compatriot Lieutenant General Alexander Korsakov and the Austrian Field Marshal Lieutenant Friedrich Hotze and invade France with them. Previously, Feldzeugmeister Archduke Charles of Austria had led the French troops in the Helvetic Republic under Obergeneral André Massena to the Linth-Limmat line was thrown back (First Battle of Zurich), but was then replaced by Korsakov.
Contrary to popular thesis, the Austrians had no influence on Suvorov using the route which was blocked at Gotthard chose. As a result, he found himself after the French had offered him strong resistance on the pass, but - contrary to the legend - only weak resistance in the Schöllenen, in Altdorf in a dead end. He tried to reach Schwyz via the Chinzig Chulm, but learned in the Muotatal about Korsakov's defeats against Massena in the Second Battle of Zurich and Hotzes against Divisional general Jean-de-Dieu Soult at Schänis on 25/26. September. Massena's troops prevented him from marching north, and Division General Claude-Jacques Lecourbe prevented him from retreating south. The route over the Pragelpass and the Klöntal into the Linthtal offered a way out. The 29-year-old Gabriel Molitor, who had recently been appointed Brigade General, had driven two Austrian military leaders out of the latter since September 25: Major General Franjo Jelačić towards Sargans and Field Marshal Lieutenant Friedrich Linken direction Surselva. In defending Jelačić, Molitor was supported by the 2nd Helvetic half-brigade. After requesting reinforcements from Massena and Soult, On September 30, Molitor held the Austrian Brigade of Major General Franz Klöntal on.
The existing reports describe the Battle of Näfels from different perspectives. Russian sources heroize the defeat of Suvorov and blame it on the Austrians. In Switzerland, supporters of the Ancien Régime viewed the field marshal as a liberator, while supporters of the Helvetic Republic viewed him as "Attila of our century," as Heinrich Zschokke called him. The latter was probably mainly because of Suvorov's massacre of prisoners and civilians during the Russo-Turkish War.
According to locals.
Under the eyes of the Austro-Russians, the "Glarner-Zeitung" wrote on October 3: «The 1st Wine Month was a terrible day, the Imperial Austrians received help from the Russian peoples, under the command of the famous hero Suwarow Italy across the Gotthard, united, they attacked the Franks at the beginning of Lake Klöntaler, and defeated them not only there, but also in all places, behind and near Riederen, Durschen, Nettstall, etc. The whole day from morning to evening one heard nothing other than cannoning and shooting, the Franks retreated as far as Näfels and Mollis, as well as over the Ennetberg and Frohnalp of the high mountains Schilt.» The newspaper described the field marshal as follows: Suvarov, a Russian senior general, small in stature, old, with ice-gray hair, common ordinary in conversation and dress like a soldier, but big in spirit, big in heroic deeds. This year he is showing the greatness of his military spirit in Italy, and it will soon develop in Switzerland [!]. The K. K. and Russian troops have their positions near Riederen, Nettstall and Glarus; the Franks, on the other hand, with Näfels and Mollis.»
The "Neue Helvetische Tagblatt" summarized this report and added: "This morning October 1 the Franks finally had to give way, the Russians and the Imperials moved in here in Glarus at 9 o'clock in the morning; But the Franks gave them every foothold, and since the Russians had no more ammunition, but only had to operate with the bayonet and did not carry any cannons with them, the Franks did 8, so they lost a lot of people.»
After freedom of the press was restored, Freuler published a chronicle of the small war that old-minded locals had waged against the French. Ninety named Glarus residents were killed and 56 wounded, most of them near Wollerau in 1798. The priest also mentioned a single incident involving women and children, in which a stray cannonball killed and wounded two people in Ennetbühls. Freuler only reported briefly on the much more important battle of Näfels, although he first made the vanquished the victors: "The Russians, with 1,800 men. Troops attacked the Franks lying on the lake, and chased them to Riederen, where the Franks resisted and wanted to stop the enemy's further advance, but the Russians attacked them one after the other with their bayonets and had to leave. When they gave way, they stormed across the Durschen to Nettstall, across the Untere Bruck, which the Franks set on fire to cover their retreat; But regardless of this, the Russians crossed the Linth River and pursued the enemy all day long on both sides of the river to Näfels and Mollis with alternating success. Four times they had to give way to Nettstall due to the fierce resistance of the Franks, but each time they stormed them, forcing them to retreat to Näfels, Oberurnen and Mollis, so that the Russians maintained the battlefield. Their advance also threatened to cut off about a thousand French people in the Sernftal and upper Linth Valley, who then fled over Glarus, the Ennetbühlser Brücke and the Ennetberge, throwing their ammunition wagons into the water.
An unknown person wrote to his nephew in JuraOn September 30 we learned that Suvorov was with a strong column of The Russian Italian Army came through the Klöntal mountain gorge. We believed that the French would defend these narrow and almost inaccessible gorges well, but we were wrong. On the morning of October 1st, we heard shooting and soon we saw them retreating behind Riedern towards Netstal. The French burned the bridge at Riedern, which protected the city of Glarus a little. The fight took place on the other side of the Löntsch. I went to Galgenbühl Sun Hill with my brother. All the other fights were just child's play compared to this one. The Russians ran into the fire without knowing the danger. This time the French had guns and the Russians had almost none. They pursued the French to below Näfels. This village was conquered and recaptured twice. To cover their retreat, the French also burned down the beautiful covered bridge at Netstal, but they were able to hold on in Näfels. The Russians, however, had over 2,500 wounded
The Helvetic Directorate was informed about the Battle of Näfels from the neighboring district capital Schänis. Johannes Theiler from Zurich, government commissioner for the canton of Linth, reported on October 2 that the previous day "after a stubborn encounter near Lake Klönthal, in which the enemy lost 2,000 men, the French were nevertheless repelled as far as Ober-Urnen, with losses of c. 800 men injured and dead". Late in the evening, however, after the French had received a half-brigade of reinforcements, the enemy was repulsed again "beyond Netstall." The French are "not only in possession of the Kerenzerberg to Walenstadt," but have also "gained a firm foothold throughout the entire Sarganserland up on this side of the Rhine." Now the troops are "inactive because of the bad weather." Also from Schänis, cantonal judge Xaver Gmür reported on October 4 to Rapperswiler Christoph Fuchs, who had previously been the acting government governor of the canton of Linth, Without the brave stance of the 2nd Swiss half-brigade, the French would have had to retreat and probably also Weesen lost. According to Gmür, the ratio of Russian losses to French losses was eight to one.
Master cobbler Levi Feldtmann from Schwanden wrote a poem in Knittelversen with the title "The Entry of the Russian Army Into Our Country." The manufacturer Johann Heinrich Blumer, who fled to Zurich, owned the "Haus in der Wiese" (Wiesli 5) in Glarus, where Suworow spent the last night before his retreat and Molitor also took up residence several times. Blumer learned from his manager Paulus Wichser that the Russian attack was a matter of winning or dying "because of great hunger," but that the French had advantageous positions. According to the family chronicle of master carpenter Balthasar Joseph Tschudi from Ennenda, who visited the Russian camp in Netstal, there were wounded people lying there "almost in all the cellars and lairs."
Overall, the reports gave the impression that the locals who remained in the valley watched the battle as powerless spectators. The weather was obviously wet enough that not many houses burned down, but not wet enough to prevent the French from firing.
After Archduke Karl.
Archduke Karl wrote in his "History of the 1799 campaign in Germany and Switzerland:" "Side columns climbed the mountains during the night and appeared in the rear of the French on October 1st. Molitor had to give way: but, attacked with disorder by the Austrians and Russians, he did not lose his composure; stood up again and turned away the boldest of those pursuing him. Then he crossed the Linth at Nets-Thal; set the bridge on fire; defended it until it collapsed, and finally took positions near Näffels and Mollis. The allies wanted to take possession of the latter place and with it the road. They laboriously built a footbridge over the Linth; put 1 battalion over it, and drove the French out of Mollis: but could not hold on there, as division general Honoré Gazan brought the rest of his troops from the lower Linth to support Molitor.»
According to Jomini.
Under the title "Beautiful Defense of Molitor in the Klöntal and in Näfels" one reads from the Vaudois military theorist Antoine-Henri Jomini, who served the Helvetic Republic, France and most recently as General-in-Chief in Russia: "The First Division Suvorov's, which had joined the Auffenberg brigade, finished the clearing of the Klöntal