Altenkirchen (Verbandsgemeinde)

The Battle of Altenkirchen (4 June 1796) saw two Republican French divisions commanded by Jean Baptiste Kléber attack a wing of the Habsburg Austrian army led by Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg. A frontal attack combined with a flanking maneuver forced the Austrians to retreat. Three future Marshals of France played significant roles in the engagement: François Joseph Lefebvre as a division commander, Jean-de-Dieu Soult as a brigadier and Michel Ney as leader of a flanking column. The battle occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of a larger conflict called the Wars of the French Revolution. Altenkirchen is located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany about 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Bonn. The French opened the Rhine Campaign of 1796 by ordering Kléber to attack south out of his bridgehead at Düsseldorf. After Kléber won sufficient maneuver room on the east bank of the Rhine River, Jean Baptiste Jourdan was supposed to join him with the remainder of the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. But this was only a distraction. When the Austrians under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen moved north to oppose Jourdan, Jean Victor Marie Moreau would cross the Rhine far to the south with the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle. Kléber carried out his part of the scheme to perfection, allowing Jourdan to cross the Rhine at Neuwied on 10 June. The next action was the Battle of Wetzlar on 15–16 June.

Altenkirchen (German: [ˈaltn̩kɪʁçn̩] ) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, capital of the district of Altenkirchen. It is located approximately 40 km east of Bonn and 50 km north of Koblenz. Altenkirchen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Altenkirchen-Flammersfeld.

Altenkirchen-Flammersfeld is a Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") in the district of Altenkirchen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Altenkirchen. It was formed on 1 January 2020 by the merger of the former Verbandsgemeinden Altenkirchen and Flammersfeld. The Verbandsgemeinde Altenkirchen-Flammersfeld consists of the following Ortsgemeinden ("local municipalities"):

Altenkirchen (Westerw) station is the station of the district town of Altenkirchen in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is at track-kilometre 65.1 on the Limburg–Altenkirchen railway (also known as the Oberwesterwaldbahn—Upper Westerwald Railway) and at track-km 61.1 on the Engers–Au railway, also known as the Holzbachtalbahn (Holzbach Valley Railway).

Michelbach (German: [ˈmɪçl̩ˌbax] ) is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Almersbach is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Mammelzen is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.

Bachenberg is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Kettenhausen is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.

Helmenzen is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.

Busenhausen is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Obererbach is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.