Reluctantly following these instructions, he left behind a column of 29,000 men under Friedrich von Hotze, and Korsakov's command with the Swiss in the Austrian service.

The plan for these two commands was to wait for the arrival of the Russian column of Suvorov penetrating north from Italy over the Alpine passes and trap Masséna in a 3-point encirclement.

Korsakov himself arrived in Zürich the following day, quickly displaying a vain over-confidence in the capabilities of his troops and disregard both for the French and his allies the Austrians: The presumption and arrogance of Korsakoff were carried to such a pitch, that in a conference with the Archduke Charles, shortly before the battle [of Zürich], when that great general was pointing out the positions which should in an especial manner be guarded, and said, pointing to the map, "Here you should place a battalion."

[20] The departure of Archduke Charles gave the French a momentary superiority in numbers, Masséna was determined to exploit this and the redistribution of Austrians and Russians.

Klein was to cover the Alstetten road, while the Division of Soult was to cross the Linth at Bilten and prevent Hotze from assisting the Russians.

Under cover of the night of 23/24 September Artillery General Dedon dismantled the pontoon bridge at Rottenschwil and transported it by convoy across the mountain to Dietikon.

On the evening of 24 September Masséna's troops concentrated at Dietikon amounted to more than 8,000 men of Lorge's infantry division and 26 guns, all laying silently in the vicinity of the river.

On 25 September at 04:45 as boats were rapidly launched across the Limmat the alarm was raised, and initial shots fired by a battalion of Gazan's Advance Guard Brigade signalled the beginning of the attack.

At this point the Limmat sweeps back in a wide arc to the south, allowing Masséna's artillery to fire from both sides of the river bend on the landing and deeper beyond the bridgehead.

His right under Drouet drove the Russians from Wollishofen, but were soon counter-attacked by Gorchakov's six battalions, assisted by William's flotilla of gunboats, and pushed back towards the Uetli.

This gain was however to contribute to the day's disaster, as the French success on the right bank, together with Klein's advance from Alstetten onto the Sihlfeld plane enfiladed the right of the Russian corps, obliging Korsakov to withdraw it at 13:00.

The Russians fought with their accustomed bravery, but they were not well directed, and it was pathetic to see them charging up the slopes of the Albis expecting to see Suvároff at the top and calling on his nameClosely pursued as they retreated, Gorchakov's men suffered considerable loss.

By the time he realised his mistake and marched to rejoin troops on the heights of Oetlikon he found the passage barred by Bontemp's brigade, and had to make a substantial detour to Zürich, where he arrived late at night.

At Vogelsang Ménard succeeded in throwing a small detachment over the Limmat on boats transported overland from the Aare while under fire, this enabled him to re-establish a flying bridge, with which he crossed part of his command the next morning.

In Zürich, Korsakov had felt his position secure to the extent that he had not made a single inspection of the line, nor had he removed his baggage or hospitals to a safe distance; instead, everything was left jumbled up in the city.

Oudinot seized Höngg and the Wipkingen Heights from the weak detachment left by Korsakov, then, joined by part of the Reserve, at shortly before 15:00 he began attacking the Zürichberg, held by several Russian battalions.

By this time Korsakov had finally become aware of his dangerous situation and withdrew troops from the right bank through Zürich to face the advancing Oudinot, however they could only do this by filing through the narrow streets of the town, jammed with wounded and baggage.

By the time they had cleared Zürich it was too late, the French had gained the mountain on that side of town and on the plains took possession of the Beckenhof country house.

The Russian counterattacks against the Zürichberg, though incredibly brave, were inadequate in number and "instead of gaining the heights, the troops kept fighting before the gate, and charging the enemy with the bayonet among the vines and hedges, in a ground which did not admit of such an operation".

The Battle of Linth River began at 02:30 on the 25th when a small group of soldiers, stripped to their underclothes, with pistols and ammunition tied above their heads and swords in their teeth, swam across the channel near Schänis.

News of the death of Hotze spread quickly and the dismayed Austrians now under the hapless command of Franz Petrasch fell back towards Lichtensteig, abandoning their small flotilla of boats at Rapperswil.

On 29 September after more skirmishing, Linken gave the order to retreat to the Rhine valley after receiving a misleading note from a double agent and not getting any other news from Suvorov or Hotze.

Facing the Russians, Oudinot assembled all the troops on the right bank to attack the Zürichberg – Bontemp's brigade was to block the Winterthur road on the left.

Though he made no effort to prevent the withdrawal, Masséna advanced Dedon's light artillery to successive positions to fire on the left flank of the retreating column, which spread complete disorder through their ranks.

[27] Nevertheless, of an original force of more than 25,000 men, Korsakov finally reached the Rhine with 10,000 remnants via Bülach and Eglisau, having lost his baggage train, guns and military chest and records.

On his arrival at the front Korsakov had made no personal reconnaissances, but gave himself over to comfortable existence in Zürich and relied entirely on a misplaced faith in the superiority of his troops to all others.

[29] Equally, the very rigid linear style of fighting the Russians had developed in their wars against the Ottoman Empire stood against them in this terrain against the more fluid French.

Korsakov and Petrasch have also been strongly criticised for their rapid withdrawal over the Rhine despite very little pursuit by the French and in full knowledge that Suvorov was struggling to join them from the south.

The Second Coalition War had greatly weakened the Helvetic Republic, the consequent loss of popular support led ultimately to the 1803 Act of Mediation.