Battle of Gefrees facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Gefrees |
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| Part of War of the Fifth Coalition | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Austria Black Brunswickers |
 First French Empire Kingdom of Westphalia Kingdom of Saxony |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Michael von Kienmayer Frederick William |
Jean-Andoche Junot Jérôme Bonaparte Johann von Thielmann |
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| Strength | |||||||
| Entire Campaign: 13,000 Austrians 2,000 Brunswickers At Gefrees: 6,000 Austrians |
Entire Campaign: 15,000 French 15,000 Westphalians 5,000 Saxons At Gefrees: 7,500 French |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| At Gefrees: 100 killed or wounded |
At Gefrees: 185 killed or wounded |
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The Battle of Gefrees happened on 8 July 1809. It was part of the War of the Fifth Coalition. In this battle, soldiers from Austria and the Black Brunswickers fought against French forces. General Michael von Kienmayer led the Austrians and Brunswickers. General Jean-Andoche Junot led the French. The Austrians won this battle. This victory helped them avoid being trapped by Junot and other forces led by Jérôme Bonaparte, who was the King of Westphalia. Even though the Austrians won, their success didn't last long. This was because of a big Austrian defeat at the Battle of Wagram and a peace agreement called the Armistice of Znaim.
How the War Started
In 1809, Austria declared war on France and its allies, like Saxony. A small group of Austrian soldiers and the Black Brunswickers were in Theresienstadt (now Terezín, Czech Republic). They were there to defend the area. The main Austrian army was fighting in other places like Bavaria and Italy.
Not much happened in this region until 25 May. On that day, Saxon forces led by Colonel von Thielmann entered Bohemia. In response, Duke Frederick William, also known as "The Black Duke," led his Brunswickers into Saxony. They captured the city of Zittau, forcing von Thielmann to retreat to Dresden.
After a major battle called Battle of Aspern-Essling, the Austrian army sent more soldiers to Bohemia. This brought their total strength to over 12,000 men. They were ordered to make a surprise attack into Saxony to distract the French. On 10 June, these Austrian soldiers entered Saxony. Within three days, about 6,000 Austrians captured Dresden, the capital. Colonel von Thielmann and his Saxons had to fall back. The Saxon Royal Family quickly fled west.
Meanwhile, another group of 6,000 Austrians went south into Bavaria, which was also allied with France. They captured Bayreuth on 14 June. From Bayreuth, these Austrian forces could threaten to invade another French ally, the Kingdom of Württemberg. They could also try to help the Tyrolean uprising.
On 22 June, the situation in Saxony and northern Bavaria was getting worse for France. Napoleon's brother, Jérôme, who was also King of Westphalia, left Kassel. He had 15,000 soldiers, including his Royal Guard. On the same day, Austrian forces had taken Leipzig. But they quickly had to retreat when Jérôme's troops arrived. By 26 June, Jérôme had taken Leipzig back. Two days later, his Westphalian soldiers fought the Austrians and Brunswickers for the first time.
At the same time, General Junot arrived in Frankfurt. He took command of an army called the Corps of Observation of the Elbe. This army was quickly put together to protect the Confederation of the Rhine. Junot decided to attack instead of just defending. He marched east to confront the Austrian forces led by Radivojevich. Since he was outnumbered, Radivojevich decided to retreat north to join other Austrian troops. Meanwhile, Jérôme's forces had taken Dresden back, forcing the Austrians to set up a new defense line further south.
To get their advantage back, the Austrian and Brunswicker troops were reorganized. They became the new XI. Corps and were put under the command of General Michael von Kienmayer. He had arrived with more soldiers. However, on the same day Kienmayer took command, Jérôme left Dresden and headed south. He was chasing the Austrian forces. Kienmayer and his 15,000 soldiers found themselves in a dangerous spot. They were caught between two French-allied armies, like being squeezed in a pincer movement.
The Battle at Gefrees
What happened next was a series of successful battles for the Austrians. Jérôme was slow in chasing them. This allowed Kienmayer to move south and face Junot. The Austrians first stopped Junot's advance guard (the soldiers at the front). Then, on 8 July 1809, they fought Junot's main army at Gefrees. This was the biggest battle in the northern part of the war. It ended with a clear victory for the Austrians.
At Gefrees, General Kienmayer's Austrians had about 5,300 regular soldiers called Grenzer troops. They also had several hundred irregular Landwehr militia. The Black Brunswickers stayed north to guard against Jérôme's army. They did not fight at Gefrees.
The French army under Junot had about 6,000 regular infantry soldiers. They also had about 1,000 Bavarian soldiers and 500 dragoon cavalry. However, many of Junot's soldiers were new recruits. They were not as well trained as the Austrian Grenzers. Junot's cavalry could not charge effectively. This meant they couldn't take advantage of the Austrians having fewer cavalry. So, the Austrians could stay in their battle lines. They fired many shots at the French. By the end of the day, most of the French infantry had run away. The Austrians had very few casualties, but they dealt a big blow to the French. Junot's advance was stopped, and he had to retreat to Amberg.
With the southern French force defeated, Kienmayer turned his attention to Jérôme. Jérôme was still slowly moving south. Kienmayer rejoined his other forces, including the Black Brunswickers. They finally fought Jérôme's army on 11 July at Hof. Jérôme had expected to fight an Austrian army that Junot was chasing. Instead, Jérôme found himself outnumbered. He was facing an army that was feeling confident after a recent victory.
Jérôme realized he would lose. He ordered a full retreat to Schleiz. The battle was mostly a rear guard action, meaning his soldiers fought to protect the main army as it pulled back. Duke Frederick William and his Black Brunswickers chased Jérôme's forces all the way back to Erfurt. This was near the western border of Saxony. The Austrians took Dresden back, and all of Saxony was cleared of French-allied forces.
However, by the time Jérôme and his army reached Erfurt safely, news arrived. The French had won a major victory at the Battle of Wagram. This led to a peace agreement called the Armistice of Znaim. The Austrians had to give up all the land they had gained. Jérôme and his Westphalian soldiers went safely back to Kassel.
What Happened Next
Duke Frederick William was very upset about the Armistice of Znaim. He had hoped to start a rebellion against Napoleon in northern Germany with the help of Kienmayer and the Austrians. He refused to agree to the peace between Austria and France. The Black Duke decided to continue fighting on his own. He planned to march his 2,000 soldiers to the North Sea. He still hoped to start a rebellion.
In the following weeks, the Black Duke caused big problems for Jérôme. He defeated Jérôme's Westphalian troops twice. These victories happened at the battles of Halberstadt and Ölper. He also made his army stronger by adding Westphalian soldiers who left Jérôme's army after these battles. The Black Brunswickers even managed to temporarily take back the city of Brunswick. Jérôme ordered three generals to find and destroy Duke Frederick William's forces.
Despite this, the Black Brunswickers still managed to reach the coast. In August 1809, they were taken by ships to the Isle of Wight. These were the same ships that had been used to land troops for the Walcheren Campaign.
