After the victories at Lützen (May 2, 1813) and Bautzen (May 20, 1813), Napoleon occupied all of Saxony from the end of May 1813. Prussian irregulars operated in the Thuringian and Saxon hinterland. These Freikorps were formed at the beginning of 1813 from the Prussian infantry and cavalry regiments. Such a hunter division was led by the captain of the 3rd Hussars Regiment Peter von Colomb. Since the end of April 1813 he and his unit had been in the rear of the enemy.
On May 28, 1813, a French artillery train rested in Zwickau, which was on its way from Bayreuth to Dresden with supplies of guns and ammunition. The train included 18 cannons, 8 howitzers, ammunition and forage wagons and 407 men to cover. Captain von Colomb received news of this transport on May 26th and went with his 90 hussars from Neustadt an der Orla to Reichenbach in Vogtland. There he made further inquiries and went with his people near Zwickau. On the bridge mountain at the Chausseehaus he set up an ambush into which the artillery train fell on the morning of May 29th after the commander had ordered them to continue marching despite warnings.
Thanks to the element of surprise, Colomb managed to wipe out the French and capture most of them. The military equipment was rendered unusable. There were wounded on both sides. Colomb's people had to mourn one death, the senior hunter Zietelmann, who was buried in the Reinsdorf cemetery.