[Ennath]

April 26, 1809
Dalmatian Campaign

On the outbreak of war in April 1809, the major forces in the Italian theater were the Franco-Italian army of the Viceroy of Italy, Eugene de Beauharnais and the Austrian army of Archduke John. In addition, Gen. Auguste Marmont commanded a French corps in occupation of Dalmatia (coastal Croatia). At the end of the War of the 3rd Coalition in December 1805, the Treaty of Pressburg awarded the Austrian provinces of Istria and Dalmatia to the French puppet Kingdom of Italy. Since that time, Marmont had administered the region. Because Marmont’s troops had trained with the Grande Armée at the Camp de Boulogne (as the old II Corps) and missed the bloody battles of the War of the 4th Coalition, Napoleon considered the unit his “finest corps”. Marmont’s “Army of Dalmatia” consisted of 2 infantry divisions commanded by Joseph Perruquet de Montrichard and Bertrand Clausel, about 14,000 troops. There was an especially powerful artillery contingent of 78 guns led by Gen. Louis Tirlet. Marmont’s chief of staff was Jacques-Antoine-Adrien Delort.

To oppose Marmont, Archduke John detached General-Major Stoichevich’s brigade. By May, Stoichevich commanded about 7740 infantry, 120 infantry, and 240 gunners.

Though outnumbered, the Austrians won the opening round of the campaign. Between April 26 and 30, Stoichevich mounted a series of attacks on the Zrmanja River crossings at Ervenik, Kaštel Žegarski, Obrovac, Vagic, and Kravli Most. Fighting in a rainstorm, the Austrian grenzers drove the French from a mountaintop position on April 30. During the retreat, the civilian population joined in harassing the French. The widely dispersed French forces were driven back to Knin (Kürn) and Zadar (Zara). For a loss of 250 casualties, Stoichevich inflicted losses of 1000 dead and wounded, while capturing 200.

For 2 weeks the front stabilized, with the Austrians unable to capture Knin. Meanwhile, Bosnian and Turkish irregulars began attacking the Austrians. Hearing of the defeat of Archduke John at the Piave River on May 8 and the French eastward advance toward Laibach, Stoichevich prepared to withdraw.

On May 16, Marmont inflicted a sharp defeat on the Austrians at Pribudić, 9 miles northwest of Knin. While a holding force of French skirmishers and artillery probed at a well-defended mountaintop position, he sent the 23rd Line to strike the Austrian flank. The attack succeeded in overrunning the Austrian defenses. Of 13,000 soldiers on the field, the French suffered few casualties. Out of 9000 men, the Austrians suffered losses of 200 dead, 500 wounded, and 300-600 captured, including Stoichevich. The next day, the 2 sides clashed at Gračac, 28 miles northwest of Knin. In this action, Marmont admitted losing 300 dead, without reporting other losses. The Austrians, now commanded by Col. Matthias Rebrovich, reported losing 300 killed and wounded before retreating toward Gospić.

On May 21, Marmont located Rebrovich’s forces deployed behind the Lika River near Gospić. Holding back 1 of his divisions as a reserve, he sent the other into a cross-river attack. To open the action, the French voltiguer (light infantry) companies waded across the river at a ford under fire. Taking possession of the bluffs on the far side, they fought off repeated Austrian assaults. The French fed reinforcements into a bridgehead that was commanded by 12 Austrian guns. To counter the enemy’s local superiority in artillery, the French formed in a single line with 3-pace gaps between men. The skirmish line was backed by groups of ten men, each led by an officer. Mule-carried mountain howitzers were brought up to provide fire support.

Noting that the Austrians fought in 3 disconnected forces, Marmont hurled his main blow at Rebrovich’s center. Although a battalion of the 81st Line suffered heavy losses from the Austrian guns, the French began to prevail. An attack by the 18th Light stormed the enemy battery, capturing 5 cannons. As the Austrian center retreated hastily, Marmont turned against the enemy wings and threw them back also. The French lost 134 dead, 600 wounded, and 270 captured out of the 11,000 men engaged in this tough fight. The Austrians admitted losing 64 dead, 500 wounded, 200 captured, and 2 guns.

Rebrovich’s command joined with Ignaz Gyulai near Zagreb (Agram) at the beginning of June. After taking Gospić, Marmont continued northward and reached Trieste on May 28 and Ljubljana (Laibach) on June 3.

On June 26, Marmont’s corps intervened in the Battle of Graz, joining with Jean-Baptiste Broussier to drive Gyulai to the east. After pursuing the Austrians for 2 days, he received orders on the 29th to proceed to Vienna at once by forced marches. Despite the victory, Napoleon remarked to Eugene, “Marmont has maneuvered badly enough; Broussier still worse.” He believed that Marmont should have been at Graz by June 24. Not only Marmont, but Broussier, Eugene and other outlying elements of the emperor’s armies were called upon to march to Vienna, leading to the climactic Battle of Wagram (see posting).

After Wagram, Napoleon cross-examined Marmont about the Dalmatian campaign. He then criticized the general’s actions for 2 hours. Wrung out by the experience, Marmont returned to his tent. To his surprise, he later found that he had been nominated for promotion to Marshal of France. But Napoleon also sent him a letter noting that, “Between ourselves, you have not yet done enough to justify entirely my choice.” Three men became marshal after Wagram. Of the three, the soldiers composed a ditty, “MacDonald is France’s choice, Oudinot is the army’s choice, Marmont is friendship’s choice.”