The Battle of Casaglia was a battle in the

Neapolitan War The Neapolitan War, also known as the Austro-Neapolitan War, was a conflict between the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples and the Austrian Empire. It started on 15 March 1815 when King Joachim Murat declared war on Austria and ended on 20 May 1815 ...

. An Austrian force under the command of

Johann Friedrich von Mohr Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

engaged a Neapolitan force under their commander,

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also , ; it, Gioacchino Murati; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French military commander and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the ...

. The battle took place around the village of Casaglia, seven miles northwest of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, and resulted in the Austrians recapturing the village from Murat.

Battle

After Murat was defeated at the Battle of Occhiobello, the Neapolitans stopped their advance and made a defensive line on the

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

. However, even from his new position, Murat was still able to threaten the key Austrian held city of

, which had been under attack since 7 April. The commander of the main Austrian force on the north bank of the Po, Johann Frimont, decided to break out from his bridgehead at

Occhiobello Occhiobello ( Ferrarese: ''Ug’bèl'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about southwest of Venice and about southwest of Rovigo. Twin towns * Mennecy Mennecy () is a commune in t ...

and drive Murat from his position, forcing him to lift the Siege of Ferrara. Murat had entrenched General Ambrosio's division on his right flank northwest of Ferrara, around the villages of Ravale and Casaglia. The Neapolitan garrison of Ravale was quickly routed on the morning of 12 April. On the same day, an Austrian column under the command of General Mohr, attacked a larger Neapolitan force entrenched in Casaglia. Following severe fighting in the village, the Austrians eventually broke the morale of the defenders and drove the Neapolitans from their positions by the evening. The Neapolitans suffered severe casualties as they retreated. The remainder of the force fell back on the road to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

with a large number deserting Murat's cause altogether.

Mirandola Mirandola ( Mirandolese: ) is a city and ''comune'' of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, northeast of the provincial capital by railway. History Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress. For four centuries it was ...

fell the following day to the Austrians without major fighting and Murat was forced to retire from his defensive position, finally pulling his troops back from Ferrara.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casaglia Conflicts in 1815 Battles of the Neapolitan War Battles involving Austria Battles involving the Kingdom of Naples 1815 in Italy 1815 in the Austrian Empire April 1815 events Battles in Emilia-Romagna Joachim Murat

Battle

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