3eme Regiment d'infanterie de Ligne in 1809

           In 1809, the 3e Regiment d'infanterie de Ligne had a strength of 70 officers and  2,496 men in 3 battalions and two elite companies (grenadiers & voltigeurs) from the 4th battalion. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Laurent Schobert, who had been in command since 1 February 1805. The regiment had fought in many famous battles such as Austerlitz (1805), Heilsberg (1807), and Friedland (1807). In the campaign of 1807, the regiment suffered at Battle of Heilsberg 7 officers and 44 men killed and 726 wounded including Colonel Schobert who was wounded and captured! Less than one week later the regiment under the command of Chef de Bataillon Laffithe will suffer again at the Battle of Friedland 85 NCOs and soldiers killed; 21 officers and 635 soldiers wounded.  In 1808, the regimental situation report shows the regiment was able to replenish her strength with 3 battalions of 88 officers, 2,179 men in cantonments in Prenzlow.
         At the Battle of Teugen-Hausen (Battle of Thann), the 3rd Ligne will be the first regiment of the III Corps to come in major contact with the Austrian light infantry. In haste, the entire 3rd Ligne will be sent by Marshal Davout in skirmish order to attack the Austrians on the Buchberg. Rushed and disorganized, the regiment was repulsed by the Austrian light troops and sent to reform behind the advancing 57th Ligne. Two battalions of the 3rd Ligne who reformed, advance to support the 57th Ligne who was bravely sustaining itself against as many as six Austrian regiments and one squadron of hussars.  After advancing to the right of the 57th Ligne, the 3rd Ligne has a sustained firefight with the overwhelming Austrian forces located on the Hausner Berg. The regiment's battalion kept in reserve is sent with the 10th Legere near Roith to outflank the Austrian left. After successfully forcing the Austrian Grenzer and artillery to retreat the 10th Legere, 3rd Ligne, 57th Ligne, and 72nd Ligne will force back multiple attempts by the Austrians to retake the Hausner Berg and forest located on both sides of the key position.
        According to the Austrian sources in Der Krieg Napoleons gegen Oesterreich 1809 by Binder, the 3rd Ligne only lost 18 officers and 157 men killed and wounded. However, in Martinien's work Tableaux, par corps et par batailles, des officiers tués et blessés pendant les guerres de l'Empire (1805-1815), the regiment suffered 3 killed and 25 wounded! Sadly, I am unaware of any French sources that give the actual killed and wounded soldiers for this battle. The short regiment history Historiques des régiments de l'Armée française, the Combat de Thann is only mentioned with one passage saying that "Chef de Bataillon Laffithe attacks the enemy first with his battalion and removes the enemy position".  In retrospect, this combat is very small compared to many famous battles the regiment fights before and after this combat. However, the regiment will suffer only a few officer casualties less than the ferocious Battle of Aspern-Essling on May 21-22. 
       Even though it is considered a combat according to the french, this battle was just as much as a test for the regiment than any of the previous battles in 1807. The confusing fighting in the woods near Teugen and being only 2 days before the massive Battle of Eckmuhl may have caused this battle to be forgotten for how considerable it was.

 Sources:
HISTORIQUE DU 3ème REGIMENT D'INFANTERIE DE LIGNE EX PIEMONT, 1569-1891, by Marius Bourgue
Thunder on the Danube: Napoleon's Defeat of The Habsburgs by John H. Gill Vol. 1
EGGMÜHL 1809 STORM OVER BAVARIA, Campaign 56, Osprey, Oxford,1998. by Ian Castle
CAMPAGNE DE 1809 EN ALLEMAGNE ET EN AUTRICHE TOME I ET II, Berger-Levrault, Paris, 1899 – 1900. by Charles Saski
Tableaux par Corps et par Batailles des Officiers Tues et Blesse pendant les Guerres de l'Empire 1805-1815 A. Martinien

Historiques des régiments de l'Armée française: 3e Regiment d'infanterie de Ligne
Der Krieg Napoleons gegen Oesterreich 1809 by Freiherr Karl Binder von Krieglstein
Base de données Léonore http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/leonore_fr?ACTION=NOUVEAU&USRNAME=nobody&USRPWD=4%24%2534P

État général de la Légion d'honneur by le comte De Lacépède