The Battle of Dürenstein (11 November 1805) was an engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War of the Third Coalition, fought in the Wachau Valley of the Danube, 73 kilometers (45 mi) upstream from Vienna, Austria. A combined force of Russian and Austrian troops trapped a French division commanded by Théodore Maxime Gazan, part of the VIII Corps under Édouard Mortier. Pursuing the Austrian retreat from Bavaria, Mortier had overextended his three divisions. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, enticed Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap, and the French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns. They were rescued by the timely arrival of a second division, under Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The battle extended well into the night. Both sides had losses of around 4,000 wounded or dead, and both claimed victory. Austria lost Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of its most capable chiefs of staff. After the Russo-Austrian defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz three weeks later, Austria withdrew from the war. (Full article...)