The Battle of Pozzolo also known as the Battle of the Mincio River and
Monzambano (25–26 December 1800) was fought during the
War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
. A
French army under General
Guillaume Brune
Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune, 1st Count Brune (, 13 March 1764 – 2 August 1815) was a French military commander, Marshal of the Empire, and political figure who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Early life
Br ...
crossed the
Mincio
The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.
The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' ...
River and defeated an Austrian force under General
Heinrich von Bellegarde
Count Heinrich von Bellegarde, Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia (german: Heinrich Joseph Johannes, Graf von Bellegarde or sometimes ''Heinrich von Bellegarde''; 29 August 1756 – 22 July 1845), of a noble Savoyard family, was born in Saxony, joined the ...
. The Austrians were subsequently pushed back to
Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...
where the
Armistice of Treviso
The Armistice of Treviso was a ceasefire signed on 16 January 1801, in Treviso, Italy, between French General Guillaume Brune and the Austrians during the War of the Second Coalition. Brune had defeated Austrian General Heinrich von Bellegarde ...
was signed. This truce would lead to the
Treaty of Lunéville
The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...
and the withdrawal of Austria from the war.
Background
Bellegarde had concentrated 50,000 troops at the Mincio river in anticipation of crossing to attack French forces on the other side. However, he postponed his attack following news of the Austrian defeat at the
Battle of Hohenlinden
The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on 3 December 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over an Austrian and Bavarian force led by 18-year-old Archduke John of Austria. ...
in Germany on 3 December 1800. Taking advantage of this delay, General Brune, who commanded 70,000 men, launched his own attack.
He intended to make a decoy assault upon Pozzolo while his main force would cross at Mozambano.
[ Another source credited the French with 66,000 soldiers and 160 guns and the Austrians with 38,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 100 guns.]
Forces
Brune's Army of Italy consisted of Right, Center, and Left Wings, an Advanced Guard, and a Reserve. Antoine Guillaume Delmas led the Advance Guard which numbered 10,510 soldiers, including 1,240 cavalry and 160 gunners with 12 artillery pieces. Pierre Dupont de l'Étang
Pierre-Antoine, comte Dupont de l'Étang (4 July 1765 – 9 March 1840) was a French general of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the Bourbon Restoration.
Life Revolutionary Wars
Born in Chabanais, ...
commanded the Right Wing which counted 9,760 infantry, 810 cavalry, and 380 artillerists with 28 guns. The Right Wing included two divisions under Jean-Charles Monnier and François Watrin. Louis-Gabriel Suchet
Louis-Gabriel Suchet (2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), Duke of Albufera (french: Duc d'Albuféra), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded ...
directed the Center with 12,360 infantry, 1,120 cavalry, and no guns. The Center had two divisions under Louis Henri Loison
Louis Henri Loison (16 May 1771 – 30 December 1816) briefly joined the French Army in 1787 and after the French Revolution became a junior officer. Blessed with military talent and courage, he rapidly rose to general officer rank during the ...
and Honoré Théodore Gazan. Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey led the Left Wing which numbered 13,020 infantry, no cavalry, and 420 gunners with 17 artillery pieces. The Left Wing's two divisions were under Jean Boudet
Jean Boudet (9 February 1769, in Bordeaux – 14 September 1809, in Moravské Budějovice, now in the Czech Republic) was a French général de division of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The campaigns in which he was invo ...
and Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau
Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau (7 April 1755 – 20 October 1813) was a French military commander. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau.
Biography
He served in the American Revolution ...
. Louis-Nicolas Davout
Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and th ...
and Claude Ignace François Michaud commanded the Reserve with 10,910 infantry, 4,380 cavalry, and 1,100 artillerists with 103 guns. Gaspard Amédée Gardanne
Gaspard Amédée Gardanne (24 April 1758- 14 August 1807) was a French general who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
Biography
Born at Solliès-Pont, he joined the French royal army in 1779. After the French Revolution he joined a volunteer unit as ...
led one division and François Étienne de Kellermann
François Étienne de Kellermann, 2nd Duke of Valmy (4 August 1770 – 2 June 1835) was a French cavalry general noted for his daring and skillful exploits during the Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of François Christophe de Kellermann and the fat ...
led the heavy cavalry division.
Battle
Dupont's corps crossed the river near Pozzolo on Christmas Day 1800 under heavy Austrian artillery fire. This force made a feint
Feint is a French term that entered English via the discipline of swordsmanship and fencing. Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead, done by giving the impression that a certain maneuver will take place, while in fact another, or e ...
on Pozzolo whilst a temporary bridge was constructed at nearby Molino della Bolta.[ Dupont moved two divisions and a battery of 25 artillery pieces across the new bridge and constructed defences.][
Following reinforcement from Suchet, the French defeated an Austrian midday counterattack and successfully took the village of Pozzolo.][ A second Austrian attack launched at 1:00 pm and was formed of Hungarian troops led by Konrad Valentin von Kaim. They retook the village and forced the French back to their bridgehead.][ Heavy French artillery fire prevented further progress and a renewed French assault recaptured the village, taking five guns and 700–800 prisoners.][
Suchet then constructed a second bridge which allowed a whole French division to cross the river unopposed. The village of Pozzolo was bitterly fought over, changing hands a further three times before a final French assault secured it just before dusk.][ It was during this fighting that General Kaim was mortally wounded.][ During the night, the Austrians took advantage of a clear moonlit night to attack the French bivouacs.][
From 5:00 am on 26 December French troops constructed another bridge at Monzambano, under the cover of dense fog and supporting fire from 40 guns. They then launched an assault upon the Monte Bianco hills, which were held by around 35,000 Austrians.][ The Austrians were driven back to Salionze and a French force under Delmas captured ]Valeggio sul Mincio
Valeggio sul Mincio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southwest of Verona. It is crossed by the Mincio river.
The economy is mostly based on agriculture ...
. Later in the day an Austrian counterattack briefly retook the village before Delmas finally secured it. The French reinforced their positions during the afternoon and defeated an Austrian counterattack in the hills.[
Austrian losses in the battle were around 7,000 men and 40 guns.][ A second source asserted that the French sustained 4,000 casualties, including ]General of Brigade
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
André Calvin killed. The Austrians suffered losses of 807 killed, 4,067 wounded, 3,984 captured, and 313 missing, or a total of 9,171. General officer losses were Kaim killed and Charles Alain Gabriel de Rohan
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
wounded. The French captured 14 3-pounder, six 6-pounder, and three 12-pounder cannons, and six 7-pounder howitzers.[
]
Aftermath
Bellegarde withdrew his forces overnight on 26–27 December and pulled back beyond the Adige
The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the pro ...
river.[ Brune cautiously followed up the Austrian retreat and paused at the river to await the arrival of his pontoon bridging teams.] Bellegarde withdrew his troops further to attempt to join with some reinforcements which allowed the French to cross the Adige river unopposed.[
After a series of small engagements the French reached ]Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...
where an armistice was signed on 16 January 1801. The cessation of hostilities was made permanent with the Treaty of Lunéville
The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...
on 9 February 1801, which ended the Austrian involvement in the war.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozzolo, Battle of
Conflicts in 1800
Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars
Battles of the War of the Second Coalition
Battles in Lombardy
Battles involving Austria
Battles involving France
1800 in Austria
1800 in France
Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe