Andreas Hofer - Armed Rebellion Begins

Armed Rebellion Begins

The Tyrolean rebellion began on April 9, 1809. The previous night organizers dumped sacks of sawdust into the River Inn as a sign to start the rebellion. When the sawdust floated through Innsbruck and to the Inntal, it alerted the rebels. Village bells summoned men to fight with muskets and farmyard implements. They soon overran smaller Bavarian garrisons and surprised a column of French infantry that was passing through the area.

On April 11 Tyrolean militia defeated a Bavarian force in Sterzing which led to the occupation of Innsbruck before noon. When the French and Bavarians counterattacked the next night, the Tyroleans fought them in the city until the Tyroleans won on the morning of the 13th. Hofer and his allies advanced south, taking Bozen and Trent.

Hopes of a successful rebellion waned when Napoleon defeated the Austrian forces of Archduke Charles of Austria. Austrian troops withdrew from Tyrol and Hofer pulled back to the mountains. The Bavarians reoccupied Innsbruck on May 19, but when Napoleon's troops left, the rebellion flared again.

Read more about this topic:  Andreas Hofer

Famous quotes containing the words armed, rebellion and/or begins:

    Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.
    Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)

    O make me a mask and a wall to shut from your spies
    Of the sharp, enamelled eyes and the spectacled claws
    Rape and rebellion in the nurseries of my face....
    Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)

    It is all right for the lion and the lamb to lie down together if they are both asleep, but if one of them begins to get active it is dangerous.
    Crystal Eastman (1881–1928)