The Rhine War of 1855 – The Battle of Sigmaringen Part 2

Following on from the previous post…

Without the customary Austrian dithering, General von Blomberg went straight into the attack, ordering his lead battalions to form up for an immediate assault on the French position.

Formed up for the attack, with cavalry support on the flank

With only a shallow stream to cross, the cavalry peeled off to the left to find a way to outflank the French.

Confident his initial attack would clear the way, the Austrian General was happy to allow a bit of a traffic jam to build up.
The French Colonel’s call for help elicited a surprisingly quick response from the rest of the Brigade, which came at the double along the waterway

As their attack on the inn was about to start, the Austrians were alarmed to see a French regiment approaching at speed along the other side of the stream. Fortunately the reserve battalions were still in column and were able to be quickly diverted onto the high ground overlooking the waterway, and the newly arrived enemy.

Austrian units are sent to the right to counter the new French arrivals
The Austrians storm the inn and the bridge, but the outnumbered French refuse to budge
The French reinforcements deploy and exchange fire with the Austrians on the other side of the stream, causing early casualties
General view, with the Austrian cavalry over over to the right having crossed downstream

The Austrian attackers stubbornly ground forward, and after half an hour of fierce fighting they ejected the French from their original position.

The French are thrown out of the inn in disarray

The 2nd French regiment pulled back to maintain contact with the retreating units and, believing this was their moment, the Austrians pursued off the hill and across the stream. It was a rash move, and brought them under intense fire from two sides. Having suffered heavy losses, they were ordered to withdraw and were a sorry looking lot when they finally made it back to the high ground.

Riddled by musketry and artillery fire, the Austrian right flank is about to withdraw

Elsewhere the French had received further reinforcements in the form of another brigade of infantry, and one of cavalry. The infantry shored up the line and counter-attacked at the inn, only to be eventually repulsed. The cavalry were charged by their Austrian counterparts and honours were largely even in this melee – until the French brigadier was killed, causing disruption and a command vacuum on this flank.

The French counter-attack with fresh troops, but make little headway
Losses mount as the cavalry come to blows. The French commander is about to be cut down

From his vantage point, Von Blomberg took stock of the situation. Although victory appeared close, with the sudden the loss of one of his brigadiers, heavy casualties to his infantry, and his cavalry out of position, he realised that he could not risk prolonging the battle. The bridgehead across the stream was isolated, so he reluctantly he gave the order to withdraw. The relieved French gladly let them go. Both sides would need time to recover and their commanders were soon to be writing hasty dispatches to headquarters asking for orders and reinforcements.

The Austrian invasion in the south was halted, for now.

Final view, with the Austrians about to give up their hard-won ground

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