events moved too fast and Bernadotte made a fighting retreat northwest to Forchheim. Bonnaud never joined Bernadotte and was beset by superior forces as his troopers fell back toward Jourdan's main army. In order to allow Bonnaud to escape, Jourdan stood to fight and was beaten in the Battle of Amberg on 24 August. In his retreat, Jourdan headed for Würzburg with Bonnaud's cavalry in the lead, but the Austrians got there first. On 2 September, two French divisions and the cavalry were in front of Würzburg though a third division did not appear until the evening. Charles defeated the French in the Battle of Würzburg on 3 September. The Austrians sustained 1,500 casualties while the French lost twice as many plus seven guns. The action began at 7:00 am when the left flank French division under Paul Grenier moved forward only to be attacked by a mass of Austrian cavalry. Wartensleben hurled 24 squadrons of cuirassiers at Grenier, but Bonnaud and the divisional French cavalry fought them off. When 12 additional squadrons of Austrian cuirassiers charged, Bonnaud was defeated and forced to shelter behind the French infantry. Jourdan ordered a withdrawal after being hard-pressed by Austrian reinforcements. By 10 September the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse was spread out in defensive positions behind the Lahn River. Grenier's division held the far left flank at Giessen, François Joseph Lefebvre the left at Wetzlar. Continuing downstream, the French divisions were Jean Étienne Championnet, Bernadotte, François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers and Jean Castelbert de Castelverd. Meaning to make his main thrust near Limburg an der Lahn to the west, Charles convinced Jourdan to shift his weight to the east. The Battle of Limburg began on 16 September and was a French defeat. That morning Paul Kray attacked Grenier's left flank at Giessen, and though the Austrians were repulsed, Jourdan sent Bonnaud's cavalry, some infantry and artillery to help. Later, Kray attacked again, forcing back Grenier's right wing brigade. Using a ravine for cover, Bonnaud led two cavalry squadrons to a position from which he charged the Austrian flank. Grenier's infantry rallied and drove back Kray's troops, but during his successful charge Bonnaud's thigh was broken by a shot. He never recovered from his wound, dying at Bonn on 30 March 1797. Historian Ramsay Weston Phipps believed that Bonneau was Jourdan's "most satisfactory" cavalry commander. His surname is inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe. Notes References French