MARSHAL LOUIS N. DAVOUT AND THE ART OF COMMAND A ...

Rosenberg's loss forced Charles to order a retreat northward. Napoleon followed with a general pursuit by the cavalry along the main highway, Lannes following on the east and Davout on the west. Though defeated Charles conducted an excellent rear guard fight which extracted most of the remainder of his army from the battlefield. General Vincent and the Austrian cavalry again performed admirably. The French infantry pursuit stalled around Koeffering as nightfall approached. They had marched twenty miles and then fought a battle over another five miles of hotly contested terrain. They were too fatigued to continue the attack. Napoleon's only recourse was to pursue with the cavalry. The French had taken fifteen flags, 5,000 prisoners and, twelve guns. The Austrians had suffered over 6,000 killed or wounded. The last action of the day took place at: ~ l t Eglofsheim. General Schneller deployed his cuirassiers to block the French pursuit. General Stutterheim's light cavalry and eighteen guns supported Schneller's cuirassiers. This force amounted to about 3,500 sabers. Nansouty led forward 6,000 horseman. lo He had a regiment of carabiniers flanked by two of cuirassiers. Behind his line was St Sulpice with more cuirassiers and the German light cavalry on the right flank. The French horse had covered close to thirty miles during the day so they allowed the Austrians to initiate the attack.