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Battle of Messkirch (1800) | |||||||
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Part of War of the Second Coalition | |||||||
![]() Battle of Meßkirch | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jean Victor Moreau | Paul Kray | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
52,000[1] | 48,000[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3,000 killed or wounded[1] |
2,400 killed or wounded 1,600 captured[1] | ||||||
Location within Germany |
The Battle of Messkirch (5 May 1800) saw a Republican French army led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau attack a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Paul Kray. At the start of the 1800 campaign in Germany, Moreau's 108,000-strong field army faced Kray's 120,000-man army on opposite sides of the Rhine River. By a series of maneuvers, Moreau crossed the Rhine and concentrated superior forces to defeat Kray at the Battles of Stockach and Engen on 3 May. After Kray retreated a short distance to the north, the two adversaries met again at Meßkirch. After a well-contested fight, Kray withdrew again, conceding victory to the French.