The Battle of Faenza, also known as the Battle of Castel Bolognese on February 3, 1797 saw a 7,000 troops from the Papal Army commanded by

Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi, or Michele Angelo Alessandro Colli-Marchei or Michael Colli, (Vigevano 1738 – Florence 22 December 1808) joined the Austrian army, became a general officer, and led the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Pied ...

facing 9,000 troops from the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

under the command of

Claude Victor-Perrin Claude-Victor Perrin, 1st Duke of Belluno (7 December 1764 – 1 March 1841) was a French soldier and military commander who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire in ...

. The veteran French troops quickly overran the Papal army, inflicting disproportionate casualties. The town of

Castel Bolognese Castel Bolognese ( rgn, Castël Bulgnés) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southwest of Ravenna. As of 2006, it has a population of about ...

was located on the banks of the

Senio The Senio is a river of Romagna in Italy, the final right-sided tributary of the river Reno. The source of the river is in the province of Florence in the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano mountains. The river flows northeast into the province of Ravenna ...

River southeast of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

, and the city of Faenza was also nearby. The action took place during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

, as part of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

Background

The Siege of Mantua came to an end on February 2, 1797, when

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

Field Marshal Dagobert Sigismund von Würmser capitulated to the army of

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. Only 16,000 members of the garrison were capable of marching out as prisoners of war. Leaving

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier, 1st Count Sérurier (, 8 December 1742 – 21 December 1819) led a division in the War of the First Coalition and became a Marshal of the Empire under Emperor Napoleon. He was born into the minor nobility and in ...

to oversee the surrender, Bonaparte invaded Romagna, which formed part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

.Chandler (1966), 121 The Papal army was led by Austrian Field Marshall-Lieutenant

,Smith (1998), 133 a veteran of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. Colli had served in the army of the

Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

from 1793 to 1796 and had faced Bonaparte before in the disastrous Montenotte Campaign. He was an intelligent and capable officer, but sometimes had to be carried on a stretcher due to old wounds. The

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipme ...

was highly skilled, and fresh off recent successes in Italy. The Papal army, on the other hand, consisted of several regular “permanent regiments” reinforced by organized town or regionally trained

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

battalions or cavalry squadrons called out in times of need. This was typical of many minor Italian state armies of this period including the Sardinian-Piedmontese army defeated by Bonaparte in 1796. The Papal army included several fortress garrison battalions, tasked with defending the state fortresses dotting the seacoast, ports and major towns. Through the 18th century the small Pontifical force had recruited its officer corps by commissioning individuals who were able to varying numbers of recruits - ranging from 100 men for a lieutenancy to 1,600 for a colonelcy. Training reflected an obsolete military culture with an emphasis on parade ground drill and spiritual exercises. The result in 1797 was a poorly resouced and unprofessionally led force, adequate for constabulary functions within the Papal States but not for facing the highly motivated and experienced French.

Battle

On February 3, Victor sighted Colli's troops on the

near Faenza. The Papal artillery began firing upon the advancing French forces, inflicting casualties. The French army then launched an assault over the Senio, dispersing the Papal infantry and cavalry and capturing 14 artillery guns. The French army made short work of their adversaries- for a loss of 100 casualties, Victor's soldiers inflicted 800 casualties on the Papal troops. In addition, the French captured 1,200 men, 14 artillery pieces, eight caissons, and eight

colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

. Victor's corps included a grenadier reserve commanded by

Jean Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...

Aftermath

The port of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

surrendered to Victor on 9 February with its Papal garrison of 1,200 men and 120 artillery guns. There were no French casualties. By the

Treaty of Tolentino {{unreferenced, date=June 2018 The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on 19 February 1797 and imposing terms of surrender on the Papal side. The signatories for France were the French Di ...

on 19 February, Pope Pius VI was forced to deliver works of art, treasures, territory, and 30 million francs to France.

In popular culture

The defeat was recorded not only by revolutionaries such as Francesco Saverio Salfi (who wrote a satirical pantomime about it), but also with sarcasm by the reactionary count

Monaldo Leopardi Count Monaldo Leopardi (Recanati, 16 August 1776 – Recanati, 30 April 1847) was an Italian philosopher, nobleman, politician and writer, notable as one of the main Italian intellectuals of the counter-revolution. His son Giacomo Leopardi was a ...

and much later by his son, the poet

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...

.Leopardi, G. ''Paralipomeni alla Batracomiomachia''

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faenza, Battle of Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Battles of the War of the First Coalition

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...