The Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, saw a
Habsburg army commanded by
József Alvinczi
Freiherr Joseph Alvinczi von Borberek a.k.a. Baron József Alvinczi de Borberek (german: Joseph Alvinczy, Freiherr von Berberek; 1 February 1735 – 25 September 1810) was a soldier in the Habsburg Army and a field marshal of the Austrian Em ...
fight
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 ...
's
French Army of Italy. The Austrians repulsed persistent French attacks in a struggle in which both sides suffered heavy losses. The engagement, which happened two months after the more famous
Battle of Bassano
The Battle of Bassano was fought on 8 September 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, in the territory of the Republic of Venice, between a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces led by Count Dagobert von Wurmser. The ...
, marked the first tactical defeat of Bonaparte's career and occurred near
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa ( vec, Basan or ''Bassan'', ) is a city and ''comune'', in the Vicenza province, in the region of Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo ...
in
Northern Italy during 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 ...
. The action was part of the third relief of the
siege of Mantua 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 ...
.
Background
''See the
Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of Battle
In the Battle of Arcole on 15 to 17 November 1796, the French Army of Italy commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte won a victory over the army of Austria led by Jozsef Alvinczi. The battle was part the third relief of the Siege of Mantua in which Alvin ...
for a list of the major units of both armies.''
The second relief of the siege of
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...
ended dismally for the Austrians after General Bonaparte defeated
Feldmarschall
''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several L ...
Dagobert Sigismund von Würmser's field army at the
Battle of Bassano
The Battle of Bassano was fought on 8 September 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, in the territory of the Republic of Venice, between a French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces led by Count Dagobert von Wurmser. The ...
on 8 September. After the battle Würmser elected to dash for Mantua. He reached the place safely only to have his 12,000 remaining soldiers driven into the fortress by the French on 15 September. Within six weeks 4,000 Austrians died of disease or wounds in the overcrowded city.
Emperor
Francis II of Austria
Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...
appointed ''
Feldzeugmeister
''Feldzeugmeister'' was a historical military rank in some German and the Austro-Hungarian armies, especially in use for the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found at the beginning of the 20th century i ...
'' Alvinczi to assemble a new field army and mount the third relief of Mantua. Alvinczi, ''
Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...
''
Paul Davidovich,
General-Major
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Johann Rudolph Sporck, and
Major Franz von Weyrother planned the new operation, which called for a two-pronged offensive. Alvinczi accompanied the 28,000-strong
Friaul Corps, led by
Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Lieutenant field marshal, also frequently historically field marshal lieutenant (german: Feldmarschall-Leutnant, formerly , historically also and, in official Imperial and Royal Austrian army documents from 1867 always , abbreviated ''FML''), was ...
Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich
Peter Vitus Freiherr von Quosdanovich ( Croatian: Petar Vid Gvozdanović; 12 June 1738 – 13 August 1802) was a nobleman and general of the Habsburg monarchy of Croatian descent. He achieved the rank of Feldmarschall-Lieutenant and was awarded t ...
, as it advanced from the
Piave River
The Piave ( la, Plavis, German: ''Ploden'') is a river in northern Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice. One of its tributaries is the Boite.
In 1809 it was the scene of a battle du ...
toward the west. Feldmarschall-Leutnant
Paul Davidovich led the 19,000-man
Tyrol
Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...
Corps, which was in the upper
Adige River valley.
To face these threats, Bonaparte deployed a 10,500-man division under
General of Division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army co ...
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois (1 October 1748 in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, Aube – 5 November 1839) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known for the surrender of Malta to the British in 1 ...
in the upper Adige valley, 9,500 soldiers led by General of Division
André Masséna
André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...
at Bassano on the
Brenta River
The Brenta is an Italian river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea just south of the Venetian lagoon in the Veneto region, in the north-east of Italy.
During the Roman era, it was called Medoacus (Ancient Greek: ''Mediochos'', ''ΜηδΠ...
, and the 8,300 troops of General of Division
Pierre Augereau
Charles Pierre François Augereau, 1st Duke of Castiglione (21 October 1757 – 12 June 1816) was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. After serving in ...
at
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
. General of Division
Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine with 8,800 soldiers blockaded Würmser's large garrison in Mantua, with a reserve of 1,600 cavalry troopers and General of Division
Francois Macquard's reserve of 2,800 foot soldiers.
Davidovich's column began moving at the end of October. On 2 November, his corps clashed with Vaubois' outnumbered division near
Cembra
Cembra was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento. On 1 January 2016 it was merged with Lisignago to form a new municipality, Cembra Lisignago
C ...
in the north. By 5 November Davidovich pushed the French out of
Trento
Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ce ...
. Vaubois fell back to
Calliano.
On 1 November, the Friaul Corps began crossing the Piave. In the face of Alvinczi's westward advance, Massena pulled out of Bassano early on 4 November. General-Major
Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Hechingen's advance guard soon occupied the town. ''Feldmarschall-Leutnant''
Giovanni Provera with two brigades reached the Brenta farther south near
Fontaniva to form Alvinczi's left flank. Bonaparte determined to attack the Austrians and called for Augereau and Macquard to join Masséna in resisting Alvinczi on the Brenta.
Battle
Fontaniva
Bonaparte accompanied Augereau's division as it advanced north-east from
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a thr ...
to Bassano. Masséna took a more southerly road and clashed with the Austrian left wing at Fontaniva late on 5 November.
General-major
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Anton Lipthay pulled his troops back to the east side of the river. This set the stage for the battle, which began on 6 November.
At Masséna attacked Lipthay's brigade at Fontaniva. From morning until , the French mounted as many as ten assaults on the Habsburg general's four battalions, with heavy losses on both sides. The 2nd and 3rd battalions of ''Splényi'' Infantry Regiment Nr. 51 gallantly defended the river crossing, losing 9 officers and 657 men out of 2,000 soldiers during the fighting before they were replaced in line by the ''
Deutschmeister'' Infantry Regiment Nr. 4. Injured when his wounded horse fell on him, Lipthay resolutely remained at his post. In the afternoon, Provera reinforced him with troops from the brigades of Generals-major
Anton Schübirz von Chobinin and Adolf Brabeck as the Austrians successfully held their ground against the French attacks.
Bassano
Early in the morning Hohenzollern crossed the Brenta, followed by Quasdanovich's right wing. This wing included General-Major
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky's brigade, which recently joined the army by descending the Brenta valley. The Austrians anchored their right flank in the Alpine foothills while their left flank curved back to touch the Brenta. Augereau's division began to arrive in the area in mid-morning and attacked Bassano in the early afternoon before all the Austrians crossed the river. After severe fighting, in which the village of
Nove
Nove is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza in the region of Veneto, north-eastern Italy, with just over 5,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Brenta river, near Marostica and Bassano del Grappa.
The town is home of a local networ ...
changed hands several times, the action ended at One battalion of the ''Samuel Gyulai'' Infantry Regiment Nr. 32 suffered 390, or nearly 50 percent casualties. Though he issued a report claiming a victory, Bonaparte ordered a retreat that evening.
Results
French casualties totalled 3,000, including 508 men and 1 howitzer captured. Austrian losses numbered 2,823 and two cannons captured. Provera's left wing lost 208 killed, 873 wounded, and 109 captured. Quosdanovich's right wing suffered 326 killed, 858 wounded, and 449 captured. Though Alvinczi ordered a pursuit, the fast-marching French successfully broke contact and retreated to Verona. On 7 November, Davidovich routed Vaubois at the
Battle of Calliano
The Battle of Calliano on 6 and 7 November 1796 saw an Austrian corps commanded by Paul Davidovich rout a French division directed by Claude Belgrand de Vaubois. The engagement was part of the third Austrian attempt to relieve the French sie ...
. The two setbacks placed Bonaparte in a dangerous situation, as the two arms of the Austrian offensive threatened to close around him. Meanwhile, Würmser's large garrison remained in his rear.
[Chandler, p. 105.]
Alvinczi continued to press ahead, sending Hohenzollern's advance guard to the outskirts of Verona by 11 November. The following day, Bonaparte unsuccessfully attacked the Austrians at the
Battle of Caldiero. The French army commander's troubles were far from over. The deciding action of the campaign was the
Battle of Arcole on 15–17 November.
See also
*
Siege of Mantua (1796–1797)
During the siege of Mantua, which lasted from 4 July 1796 to 2 February 1797 with a short break, French forces under the overall command of Napoleon Bonaparte besieged and blockaded a large Austrian garrison at Mantua for many months until it su ...
*
Battle of Calliano
The Battle of Calliano on 6 and 7 November 1796 saw an Austrian corps commanded by Paul Davidovich rout a French division directed by Claude Belgrand de Vaubois. The engagement was part of the third Austrian attempt to relieve the French sie ...
, 7 November 1796
*
Battle of Caldiero, 12 November 1796
*
Battle of Arcole, 15–17 November 1796
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassano, Second Battle of
Conflicts in 1796
1796 in Austria
1796 in France
Battles of the War of the First Coalition
Battles in Veneto