>>3103382By mid-May 1799, the Austrians had wrested control of parts ofSwitzerlandfrom the French as forces under the command of Hotze andCount Heinrich von Bellegardepushed them out of theGrisons. After defeatingJean-Baptiste Jourdan's 25,000-manArmy of the Danubeat the battles ofOstrachandStockach, the main Austrian army, under command ofArchduke Charles, crossed theRhineat the Swiss town ofSchaffhausenand prepared to unite with the armies of Hotze andFriedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf, on the plains surrounding Zürich.
The FrenchArmy of Switzerlandand the Army of the Danube, now both under the command ofAndré Masséna, sought to prevent this merger. Masséna sentMichel Neyand a small mixed cavalry and infantry force from Zürich to stop Hotze's force at Winterthur. Despite a sharp contest, the Austrians succeeded in pushing the French out of the Winterthur highlands, although both sides took high casualties. Once the union of the Habsburg armies took place in early June, Archduke Charles attacked French positions at Zürich and forced the French to withdraw beyond theLimmat.
