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.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_D%C3%BCrenstein
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
634:
Arab–Byzantine wars: Rashidun Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid captured Damascus from the Byzantine Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Damascus_(634)
1676:
During Bacon's Rebellion, Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon burned the colonial capital of Jamestown to the ground. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon%27s_Rebellion
1893:
New Zealand became the first country to introduce universal suffrage, following the women's suffrage movement led by Kate Sheppard (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_New_Zealand
1991:
Ötzi, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man from about 3300 BC, was discovered by two German tourists. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96tzi
2006:
The Royal Thai Army overthrew the elected government of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York City for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Thai_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
arr: 1. (Britain, West Country, West Midlands) Yes. 2. Used stereotypically in imitation of pirates. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/arr
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
"Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't you?" said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. "You knew, didn't you? I'm part of you? Close, close, close! I'm the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?" --William Golding https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Golding
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