Battle of Pfaffenhofen

The Battle of Pfaffenhofen was fought on April 15, 1745 between France and Austria. The Austrians under Karl Josef Batthyány defeated the outnumbered French under General Ségur, ending the war in Bavaria.

Prelude

In October 1744, the Franco-Bavarian army had succeeded, in coordination with Prussia, to expel the Austrians from Bavaria, and to reinstate Charles VII, Prince-elector of Bavaria and Holy Roman Emperor, in his capital Munich. Here he died 3 months later.<br>His 18-year-old son and heir Maximilian III Joseph wavered between the Peace-party, led by his mother Maria Amalia of Austria and Army Commander Friedrich Heinrich von Seckendorff and the War-party, led by Foreign Minister General Ignaz von Törring and the French envoy Chavigny.

This hampered the ongoing peace negotiations, so Maria Theresia ordered the Austrian Army to start a new offensive to put pressure on the Bavarian negotiators. Amberg and Vilshofen were taken and the Bavarian army under Törring and its French, Hessian and Palatinate allies were pushed on the defensive.

Törring decided to pull back his Bavarian and Hessian troops behind the Lech River.The French Army commander Henri François de Ségur was not informed of this manoeuver and waited unaware and unprotected near Pfaffenhofen on Palatinate reinforcements under General Zastrow, which arrived on April 14. The next day Segur decided to also pull back behind the Lech.<br>The Austrians, aware of the isolated French position, had...
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