The French Invasion of Liechtenstein Part Two
The village of Ruggell on the Rhine of the Schellenberg was spared most of the devastation of the French occupation but had much food and livestock taken by French troops as well as Austrian and Russian troops later.
On March 11 and 12, the Austrian, pulled some troops out of Feldkirch to stiff their forces on their left flank on the Bodensse. Four battalions were rushed from southern Germany to take their place at Feldkirch.
The front stayed quiet until Good Friday, March 22 when the French started to advance early in the morning towards Feldkirch in the country between Nendeln and Tisis on the Liechtenstein border. A unit of riflemen from Bludenz was sent to hold the village of Mauren while 50 men from the Rankweil Rifle Company and four Altenstadt militiamen rushed to the Schellenberg. Austrian riflemen from Bludenz and regular Austrian troops in Murren held off the French until 2 p.m. until they forced to retreat to St Antonius on the edge of Feldkirch to prevent being cut off.
The Austrian militiamen defending the Schellenberg hold off a force ten times their size. When the French brought up two cannon, the little unit of 55 men withdrew slowly fighting the French step by step, tree by tree. This courageous unit suffered only three militiamen wounded while inflicting greater casualties on the French. The battle continued between Tisis and Nendeln until evening without either side giving further ground. A temporary truce was arranged to give both armies time to lick their wounds.
The decisive battle began on Holy Saturday, March 23. Early in the morning General Nassena sent his 18,000 French troops forward towards Feldkirch. The Austrians on Blasenberg hill warned the commanders in the city of the French advance up the Schellenberg. Austrian troops who had been attending church rush to their defenses. At the height of the battle all looked lost as the Austrians began to run out of powder. The French had advanced to the barricades just outside Feldkirch. Then a crowd of women rushed up to the walls and barricades and joined the men in defending their homes. They rained a hail of stones, chunks of wood on the French, breaking the attack and forcing the enemy to retreat.
More French troops then moved up and forced the Austrians back to St. Antonius, part of present day Feldkirch suburb of Tisis. A company of the Peterwardeiner border battalion halted this advance.
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