This is a detailed operational river map of the Rhine at Kehl, created to explain the French crossing of the Rhine on 6 Messidor Year IV (late June 1796) and the subsequent siege operations involving both French and Austrian forces.
The map focuses on the Kehl sector opposite Strasbourg, one of the most important strategic crossing points on the Upper Rhine during the 1796 campaign of the War of the First Coalition. It illustrates in detail the geography of the river, including its multiple channels, islands, and banks, which played a decisive role in the planning and execution of the crossing.
A central feature of the map is the depiction of the French passage of the Rhine, showing troop embarkation points, river crossing routes, and the initial establishment of bridgeheads on the eastern bank. It then extends to the siege operations that followed, documenting both French and Austrian engineering works, including trenches, artillery positions, fortifications, and counter-siege efforts.
The work reflects the intense struggle for control of Kehl, which functioned as a key operational gateway for French incursions into southwestern Germany. Control of this crossing allowed the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle under Jean Victor Marie Moreau to project power across the Rhine, while Austrian forces sought to contain and reverse these gains through coordinated counterattacks and siege warfare.
