 The loss of <unk> was a significant blow to the Austrian military organization . Called out of retirement for this specific task , he was one of their most experienced general staff officers , other than the <unk> Charles . From the summer of 1796 until his retirement in 1800 he had been Chief of the <unk> General Staff of the Army , the Lower Rhine , the Rhine and the Army of Germany . Furthermore , he was a trusted member of <unk> Charles ' staff . He had helped to design several of Charles ' more important victories at <unk> , <unk> , the <unk> at <unk> and <unk> , the battles at <unk> and <unk> , and the northern Swiss Campaign of <unk> that included battles at <unk> and <unk> . An experienced officer and excellent <unk> , he might well have made a more effective Chief of the <unk> General Staff of the Coalition Army at the Battle of <unk> than his eventual replacement , Franz von <unk> . In <unk> 's absence <unk> , the architect of the Austrian catastrophe at <unk> in 1800 , was chosen to develop the general battle plan of Coalition action at <unk> . <unk> , undoubtedly a far better <unk> than <unk> , and possessed of superior training and mapping skills , would have developed a more realistic Coalition plan for <unk> . <unk> 's presence would probably not have been enough to turn that defeat into a victory , but it would have <unk> the magnitude of the Coalition 's losses ; <unk> was considered one of Napoleon 's finest <unk> . 
