Battle of Piave River (1809)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Piave River was fought on 8 May 1809 between the Franco-Italian army under the command of Eugène de Beauharnais
and an Austrian army led by Archduke John of Austria. The Austrian commander made a stand behind the Piave River but he suffered a defeat at the hands of his numerically superior foes. The combat took place near Nervesa della Battaglia
, Italy
during the War of the Fifth Coalition
, part of the Napoleonic Wars
.
The initial Austrian invasion of Venetia succeeded in driving the Franco-Italian defenders back to Verona
. At the beginning of May, news of Austrian defeats in Bavaria
and inferiority in numbers caused Archduke John to begin retreating to the northeast. When he heard that his enemies were crossing the Piave, the Austrian commander turned back to give battle, intending to slow Eugène's pursuit of his army.
Eugène ordered his vanguard across the river early in the morning. It soon ran into vigorous Austrian resistance, but the arrival of French cavalry stabilized the situation by mid-morning. Rapidly rising waters hampered the buildup of French infantry reinforcements and prevented a significant portion of Eugène's army from crossing at all. In the late afternoon, Eugène launched his main attack which turned John's left flank and finally overran his main line of defense. Damaged but not destroyed, the Austrians continued their withdrawal into Carinthia
(in modern-day Austria
) and Carniola
(in modern-day Slovenia
).
and the First French Empire
, General of Cavalry Archduke John led his Army of Inner Austria in an invasion of northeastern Italy. Emperor Napoleon I
appointed his stepson Eugène to be Viceroy
of Italy and commander of the Army of Italy
. On 16 April, John defeated Eugène at the Battle of Sacile
near the Livenza River. During this time an Austrian force led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles
advanced south from the Tyrol
, capturing Trento
on 23 April and Roveredo
on 26 April. In the face of these two threats, Eugène's Franco-Italian army withdrew 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) from Sacile
to the Adige River.
Once the Franco-Italian army arrived near Verona
it gathered reinforcements. Eugène also reorganized his army, assigning Generals of Division Jacques MacDonald, Paul Grenier
, and Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
to command his infantry corps, and General of Division Emmanuel Grouchy to lead his cavalry. Baraguey d'Hilliers halted Chasteler's drive in the upper Adige valley. Because Archduke John sent a division to blockade Venice
, his army arrived on the Adige with only about 30,000 troops, much fewer than Eugène. Napoleon's victory in the Battle of Eckmühl
and the subsequent retreat of Archduke Charles
, caused Emperor Francis II to order John to fall back and defend Austria. Anticipating an Austrian withdrawal, Eugène created a Light Brigade consisting of three voltiguer battalions, a squadron of light cavalry, and two cannon. The voltiguer units were formed by taking the skirmisher companies from infantry battalions. Eugène placed this pursuit force under General of Brigade Armand Louis Debroc.
Archduke John deployed his right flank behind the small Alpone River between Soave
and Albaredo d'Adige
, near the old Arcole battlefield, while his left flank defended the Adige south to Legnago
. In a series of clashes between 27 and 30 April, John successfully fended off Eugène's efforts to turn his north flank in the Battle of Caldiero
. Austrian losses numbered 700 killed and wounded, plus 872 captured or missing. The French suffered about 1,400 casualties.
On 1 May, Archduke John ordered his army to withdraw to the east. In several clashes on 2 May, the Austrian rear guard
held off the French, inflicting 400 killed and wounded including Debroc wounded. Austrian losses were only 200 killed and wounded, but the French rounded up an additional 850 stragglers and sick. The Austrians paused on the Brenta River until 5 May, then continued retreating to the Piave. Eugène followed while sending the division of General of Division Pierre François Joseph Durutte
along a more southerly route in order to relieve the blockade of Venice. When he reached that city, Durutte was reinforced by 4,000 troops from the garrison and marched to join Eugène on the Piave. The Light Brigade having proved too weak to pursue effectively, Eugène strengthened it into a Light Division by adding three additional voltiguer battalions, attaching an entire cavalry regiment, and boosting its artillery complement to four cannons. Replacing Debroc, the French army commander gave the Light Division to General of Brigade Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix
.
On 7 May, the Austrian army camped at Conegliano
, 8 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of the river, after burning all the bridges. Eugène's cavalry reached the riverbank and scouted the crossing places. The 8th Chasseurs crossed to the east bank and did some reconnoitering. Receiving notice that the French were nearby, John marched his troops back to defend the river line.
lists the units and organization of the Franco-Italian and Austrian armies in detail.
and Jean Maximilien Lamarque
. Grenier's corps included the French infantry divisions of Durutte and General of Brigade Louis Abbé. Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
only had General of Division Achille Fontanelli's Italian infantry division available. His other Franco-Italian division under General of Division Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca
was detached. Grouchy's cavalry reserve included General of Division Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc
's light cavalry division, General of Division Charles Randon de Pully's dragoon division, and Grouchy's own dragoon division which was led by General of Brigade François Guérin d'Etoquigny. In addition to Dessaix's Advance Guard, Eugène held three units in reserve under his personal command. These were General of Division Jean-Barthélemot Sorbier
's reserve artillery, General of Division Jean Mathieu Seras' French infantry division, and General of Brigade Teodoro Lecchi's 2,500-man Italian Guard.
Feldmarschall-Leutnant Albert Gyulai
's VIII Armeekorps was made up of the infantry brigades of Generals-Major Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld
and Anton Gajoli. Albert's brother Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz Gyulai
commanded the larger IX Armeekorps. This formation included the infantry brigades of Generals-Major Johann Kalnássy, Franz Marziani, Alois von Gavasini
, Johann Peter Kleinmayer, and Ignaz Sebottendorf. Frimont's Advance Guard counted only the brigade of General-Major Ignaz Splényi. John massed most of his horsemen into an ad hoc cavalry division and placed it under the command of Feldmarschall-Leutnant Christian Wolfskeel von Reichenberg with General-Major Johann Hager von Altensteig as his second in command. Anton Reisner's reserve artillery numbered 12 pieces in two 12-pound position batteries.
Eugène's cavalry found three places to ford the Piave, at Nervesa on the north flank, at Priula in the center, and at San Nichiol, near Cimadolmo on the south flank. The area between Conegliano and the Piave is flat, but just to the north of Nervesa and Conegliano the terrain becomes hilly.This observation can be confirmed by referring to Google Earth.
Most of the villages in Gunther E. Rothenberg
's maps of the battle can be located on modern maps. However, since 1809 a few places either changed names, moved to a new location, vanished due to the river's action, or were destroyed in the Battle of the Piave River
in 1918. The changes are listed as follows. Susignano is now called Susegana
. Santa Maria is near the Rothenberg map location of Campana. Ponte della Priula appears to have moved from its map position to a place 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northwest, closer to Nervesa. San Nichiol has disappeared. In 1809 a stream or canal known as the Piavisella began near Barco and ran west to east through Mandre, Santa Maria (Campana), and Tezze di Piave before turning northeast. A dike ran east and west about 800 meters south of the Piavisella. Both the dike and stream played important parts in the battle. Neither the dike nor stream can be accurately located on modern satellite images. Two nearby canals known as the Piavesella and Piavesella di Maserada lie on the south bank of the Piave, while the Piavisella of the 1809 battle is located on the north bank.
, while Ignaz Gyulai had the IX Armeekorps in line between Santa Lucia and Bocca di Strada just to the east. Eugène greatly outnumbered John, who had between 24,120 and 28,000 troops at the Piave.
Understanding that his defeat at Sacile was caused by poor preparation, Eugène made sure that he had most of his army assembled. He planned to feint at the Nervesa ford with Seras' Reserve division while Dessaix's Light Division (Advance Guard) led the main attack at the Priula ford. He ordered Grouchy to cross with three divisions of cavalry at the San Nichiol crossing and swing left to help Dessaix's effort. To provide the Light Division sufficient fire support, Eugène massed several batteries on the south bank and placed them under the command of his artillery chief Sorbier. If Dessaix successfully carved out a bridgehead, Eugène planned to send the corps of MacDonald and Baraguey d'Hilliers across the Piave. Grenier's corps waited at San Nichiol to follow Grouchy's cavalry.
At 7:00 AM, Dessaix crossed the river with nearly 5,000 troops. By this time, Archduke John's army was moving up behind the Piavisella stream, much closer than Eugène realized. The archduke posted the VIII Armeekorps on the west flank with Frimont's infantry, while the IX Armeekorps defended the east flank. By 8:00 AM the Light Division was 400 meters south of the dike. Having massed virtually all his cavalry under Wolfskeel, he sent them charging at Dessaix's men. The French general reformed his soldiers into two large squares and repelled wave after wave of enemy horsemen. As Wolfskeel's disorganized troopers withdrew, a massed battery of 24 Austrian guns opened fire on the French.
Deployed 800 yards from the French, these cannons were commanded by Reisner, Archduke John's chief of artillery. The artillery barrage soon caused serious casualties in the vulnerable French squares. As some French troops began to shrink from the heavy fire, couriers raced off to get help. Quickly, Eugène ordered twenty guns belonging to Broussier and Lamarque across the river. When the cannons arrived, the French formed their own 24-gun battery in front of the infantry and replied to Reisner's bombardment. Wolfskeel asked for some infantry to be sent forward from the Piavisella line, but for some reason no help arrived.
While Dessaix and Wolfskeel battled, Grouchy sent the divisions of Pully and Sahuc across the Piave at San Nichiol. The troopers encountered Kalnássy's IX Armeekorps brigade in the open and hustled the Austrians back to Cimadolmo and San Michele, where they took up a strong defensive position. Guérin d'Etoquigny's division crossed around 9:00 AM, allowing the other two divisions to move to the left in support of Dessaix. By this time, the French artillery fire began to slacken. In their haste to help Dessaix, the French gunners had left their reserve ammunition behind.
There are two accounts about what happened next. Having reorganized his horsemen, Wolfskeel returned to the attack around 10:00 AM. The Austrian cavalry trotted toward Dessaix's men in three lines. This time Sahuc's light horse and Pully's dragoons were waiting for them. The two French divisions countercharged, and the cavalry of both armies became embroiled in a terrific melee.
A second account states that the French cavalry attacked first. Eugène sent Pully and Sahuc charging at the Austrian guns in a pincer attack. Under cover of the smoke from the two artilleries blasting away at each other, the French divisions struck Reisner's gun line from both flanks. While some horsemen began cutting down the gunners, the others galloped among the Austrian cavalry which was formed up behind the guns.
The results of the cavalry action are not disputed. A French dragoon killed Wolfskeel in personal combat, while his second-in-command Hager became a prisoner. Leaderless and outnumbered, the Austrian horsemen broke and fled. The Austrians managed to bring away ten cannons but 14 cannons were captured by their enemies. During the struggle Reisner was wounded and captured.
The French cavalry pursued the routed Austrian troopers as far as Mandra and Santa Maria (Campana), where they came upon the brigades of Colloredo and Gajoli. Pully's troopers tried to break the Austrian infantry squares but they were unsuccessful. Unable to dent the Austrian line without support, the French horsemen fell back to the dike where they were joined by Dessaix's troops. Though the Piave began an alarming rise at this time, Eugène hewed to his plan of reinforcing the bridgehead. Around noon, MacDonald pushed three-quarters of Broussier's division and half of Lamarque's division across the river. While MacDonald began probing the Piavisella line, Grenier managed to get part of Abbé's division across the river at San Nichiol.
With Eugène trying to get more troops across the Piave before it drowned the fords and Archduke John organizing his defenses, the fighting died down after 1:00 PM. By 3:00 PM Eugène had to suspend all troop crossings because of dangerous high water conditions. By this time, all his cavalry and only half his infantry reached the north bank, with Baraguey d'Hilliers, Seras' division, the Italian Guard, and part of Durutte's division remaining on the south bank. If the battle turned against the French, they would be trapped with an unfordable river at their backs. But with the bulk of his badly shaken and outnumbered horsemen still rallying in the rear, Archduke John elected not to expose his foot soldiers to cavalry attack by ordering them forward.
By this time, there were approximately 27,000 to 30,000 Franco-Italian troops in the bridgehead. Assembling the available troops, Eugène planned to hurl MacDonald's corps, elements of Durutte's division, and Sahuc's division at the Piavisella line. Off to the right, the viceroy ordered Grenier to pin the left wing of IX Armeekorps at San Michele and Cimadolmo with Pully's and Guérin's cavalry and Abbé's infantry. The French attack got rolling in the late afternoon. Abbé's advance was counterattacked by squadrons of the Archduke Josef Hussar Regiment, the last unbroken Austrian horsemen on the field. Pully and Guérin quickly repulsed the gallant Austrian riposte and Kalnássy evacuated San Michele and Cimadolmo before Grenier's pressure. Kalnássy fell back to Tezze where he sturdily held his ground until evening, suffering 1,200 casualties during the battle.
MacDonald's attack was preceded by a bombardment from 24 guns. His attack breached the IX Armeekorps line and John was forced to commit his last reserve, Kleinmayer's grenadier brigade. These elite troops attacked, but were unable to halt MacDonald's offensive. On the left flank, Dessaix and Sahuc seized Barco while Macdonald took Santa Maria (Campana) and drove toward Bocca di Strada. On the right, Grenier finally dislodged Kalnássy from Tezze and let loose his two dragoon divisions. John's army finally broke and streamed north into Conegliano. As darkness fell, Eugène suspended the pursuit on a line from Vazzola to Susegana.
. He managed the retrograde movement well. Eugène halted his advance at Bocca di Strada, deciding to wait until he could reunite his army. The French admitted only 700 casualties, but 2,000 is a more likely figure. The Austrians suffered 3,896 casualties, including 398 killed, 697 wounded, 1,681 captured, and 1,120 missing. The French captured 15 artillery pieces. The dead included Wolfskeel. On the extreme south flank, Kalnássy's brigade became separated from John's army and Grouchy's cavalry prevented him from rejoining John. Kalnássy rendezvoused with Feldmarschall-Leutnant Anton von Zach
near Palmanova
and the two retreated independently toward Ljubljana (Laibach)
.
At Sacile, Archduke John made a serious blunder. He split his army into two parts, sending Ignaz Gyulai with most of the IX Armeekorps east to Ljubljana in Carniola
and the VIII Armeekorps northeast to Villach
in Carinthia
. This dispersal of available Austrian troops facilitated Eugène's advance from Italy into the Austrian Empire. One authority wrote, "From the Piave to Hungary John's handling of the campaign was a failure." Frimont, who led John's rearguard made a stand at San Daniele del Friuli
on 11 May with 4,000 soldiers. Eugène and Dessaix carried out a double envelopment and inflicted about 2,000 casualties on their opponents. Franco-Italian losses were 200 to 800. Despite this defeat, Frimont kept his rear guard intact and maintained its effectiveness.
The next major action was the Battle of Tarvis
from 15 to 18 May. The engagement included two actions where small garrisons of Grenz infantry
heroically defended two blockhouses against overwhelming Franco-Italian forces. This was followed by an Austrian disaster at the Battle of Sankt Michael
on 25 May. Eugène pursued John into Hungary where he defeated him at the Battle of Raab
on 14 June before joining Napoleon at the Battle of Wagram
on 5 and 6 July. The last action of note in the theater was the Battle of Graz
from 24 to 26 June.
The following items are excellent sources for the full names of Austrian and French generals.
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
and an Austrian army led by Archduke John of Austria. The Austrian commander made a stand behind the Piave River but he suffered a defeat at the hands of his numerically superior foes. The combat took place near Nervesa della Battaglia
Nervesa della Battaglia
Nervesa della Battaglia is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km north of Venice and about 20 km north of Treviso....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the War of the Fifth Coalition
War of the Fifth Coalition
The War of the Fifth Coalition, fought in the year 1809, pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria. Major engagements between France and Austria, the main participants, unfolded over much of Central Europe from April to July, with...
, part of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
The initial Austrian invasion of Venetia succeeded in driving the Franco-Italian defenders back to Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. At the beginning of May, news of Austrian defeats in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and inferiority in numbers caused Archduke John to begin retreating to the northeast. When he heard that his enemies were crossing the Piave, the Austrian commander turned back to give battle, intending to slow Eugène's pursuit of his army.
Eugène ordered his vanguard across the river early in the morning. It soon ran into vigorous Austrian resistance, but the arrival of French cavalry stabilized the situation by mid-morning. Rapidly rising waters hampered the buildup of French infantry reinforcements and prevented a significant portion of Eugène's army from crossing at all. In the late afternoon, Eugène launched his main attack which turned John's left flank and finally overran his main line of defense. Damaged but not destroyed, the Austrians continued their withdrawal into Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
(in modern-day Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) and Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
(in modern-day Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
).
Background
At the beginning of the 1809 conflict between the Austrian EmpireAustrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
, General of Cavalry Archduke John led his Army of Inner Austria in an invasion of northeastern Italy. Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
appointed his stepson Eugène to be Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of Italy and commander of the Army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
. On 16 April, John defeated Eugène at the Battle of Sacile
Battle of Sacile
The Battle of Sacile on 16 April 1809 and its companion Clash at Pordenone on 15 April saw an Austrian army commanded by Archduke John of Austria defeat a Franco-Italian army led by Eugène de Beauharnais and force it to retreat. Sacile proved to be the most notable victory of John's career...
near the Livenza River. During this time an Austrian force led by Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles
Johann Gabriel Chasteler de Courcelles
Johann Gabriel, Marquis du Chasteler de Courcelles was a Walloon, entered the military service of Habsburg Austria at an early age and trained as an engineer. He won a coveted award in action against the Ottoman Turks. He fought against the First French Republic and was promoted to general officer...
advanced south from the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, capturing Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
on 23 April and Roveredo
Roveredo
Roveredo is a municipality in the district of Moësa in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland.-Geography:Roveredo has an area, , of . Of this area, 8.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 75% is forested...
on 26 April. In the face of these two threats, Eugène's Franco-Italian army withdrew 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) from Sacile
Sacile
Sacile is a town and comune in the province of Pordenone, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-east Italy. It is known as the "Garden of the Serenissima" after the many palaces that were constructed along the river Livenza for the nobility of the Most Serene Republic of...
to the Adige River.
Once the Franco-Italian army arrived near Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
it gathered reinforcements. Eugène also reorganized his army, assigning Generals of Division Jacques MacDonald, Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier
Paul Grenier joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 campaign in the Electorate of Bavaria he was a wing commander...
, and Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
to command his infantry corps, and General of Division Emmanuel Grouchy to lead his cavalry. Baraguey d'Hilliers halted Chasteler's drive in the upper Adige valley. Because Archduke John sent a division to blockade Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, his army arrived on the Adige with only about 30,000 troops, much fewer than Eugène. Napoleon's victory in the Battle of Eckmühl
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition...
and the subsequent retreat of Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of emperor Leopold II and his wife Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain...
, caused Emperor Francis II to order John to fall back and defend Austria. Anticipating an Austrian withdrawal, Eugène created a Light Brigade consisting of three voltiguer battalions, a squadron of light cavalry, and two cannon. The voltiguer units were formed by taking the skirmisher companies from infantry battalions. Eugène placed this pursuit force under General of Brigade Armand Louis Debroc.
Archduke John deployed his right flank behind the small Alpone River between Soave
Soave
Soave is a small comune of the Veneto region in the Province of Verona, Italy with a population of roughly 6,800 people.-Geography:Soave is located approximately 23 kilometers east of Verona and is reachable by use of the A4 motorway exit Soave-San Bonifacio.-History:Soave was a Roman center on the...
and Albaredo d'Adige
Albaredo d'Adige
Albaredo d'Adige is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km west of Venice and about 25 km south of Verona...
, near the old Arcole battlefield, while his left flank defended the Adige south to Legnago
Legnago
Legnago is a town and comune in the Province of Verona, Veneto, northern Italy. It is located on the Adige river, c. 43 km from Verona.Its fertile land produces crops of rice, other cereals, sugar, and tobacco.-History:...
. In a series of clashes between 27 and 30 April, John successfully fended off Eugène's efforts to turn his north flank in the Battle of Caldiero
Battle of Caldiero (1809)
In the Battle of Caldiero or Battle of Soave or Battle of Castelcerino from 27 to 30 April 1809, an Austrian army led by Archduke John of Austria defended against a Franco-Italian army headed by Eugène de Beauharnais, the Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy...
. Austrian losses numbered 700 killed and wounded, plus 872 captured or missing. The French suffered about 1,400 casualties.
On 1 May, Archduke John ordered his army to withdraw to the east. In several clashes on 2 May, the Austrian rear guard
Rear guard
A rear guard or rearguard is that part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal...
held off the French, inflicting 400 killed and wounded including Debroc wounded. Austrian losses were only 200 killed and wounded, but the French rounded up an additional 850 stragglers and sick. The Austrians paused on the Brenta River until 5 May, then continued retreating to the Piave. Eugène followed while sending the division of General of Division Pierre François Joseph Durutte
Pierre François Joseph Durutte
Pierre François Joseph Durutte joined the French army at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. Rapidly promoted for feats of bravery under fire at Jemappes in 1792 and Hondschoote in 1793, he found himself appointed to serve as a staff officer...
along a more southerly route in order to relieve the blockade of Venice. When he reached that city, Durutte was reinforced by 4,000 troops from the garrison and marched to join Eugène on the Piave. The Light Brigade having proved too weak to pursue effectively, Eugène strengthened it into a Light Division by adding three additional voltiguer battalions, attaching an entire cavalry regiment, and boosting its artillery complement to four cannons. Replacing Debroc, the French army commander gave the Light Division to General of Brigade Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix
Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix
Joseph Marie, Count Dessaix was a French general.He was born at Thonon in Savoy...
.
On 7 May, the Austrian army camped at Conegliano
Conegliano
Conegliano is a town and comune of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of around 36,000 people. The remains of a castle that was built in the 10th century remain on a nearby hill...
, 8 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of the river, after burning all the bridges. Eugène's cavalry reached the riverbank and scouted the crossing places. The 8th Chasseurs crossed to the east bank and did some reconnoitering. Receiving notice that the French were nearby, John marched his troops back to defend the river line.
Prelude
The Piave River 1809 Order of BattlePiave River 1809 order of battle
The Piave River 1809 Order of Battle shows the units and organization for the Franco-Italian and Austrian Empire armies that fought in the Battle of Piave River on 8 May 1809. Eugène de Beauharnais, the viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy defeated Archduke John of Austria. Eugène's Advance Guard...
lists the units and organization of the Franco-Italian and Austrian armies in detail.
Forces
MacDonald's corps consisted of two French infantry divisions, those of Generals of Division Jean-Baptiste BroussierJean-Baptiste Broussier
Jean-Baptiste Broussier was a French Divisional General of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.-Life:Broussier was born in Ville-sur-Saulx....
and Jean Maximilien Lamarque
Jean Maximilien Lamarque
Jean Maximilien Lamarque was a French commander during the Napoleonic Wars who later became a member of French Parliament. As an opponent of the Ancien Régime, he is known for his active suppression of Royalist and Legitimist activity...
. Grenier's corps included the French infantry divisions of Durutte and General of Brigade Louis Abbé. Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
only had General of Division Achille Fontanelli's Italian infantry division available. His other Franco-Italian division under General of Division Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca
Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca
Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca was born in the County of Nice, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. By profession a medical doctor, he advocated the cause of the French Revolution and was expelled by the Sardinian authorities. In 1793, he treated the French sick and wounded during the Siege of Toulon...
was detached. Grouchy's cavalry reserve included General of Division Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc
Louis Michel Antoine Sahuc
Louis-Michel-Antoine Sahuc, born 7 January 1755 – died 24 October 1813, joined the French Royal Army and spent 20 years there before fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to command a French cavalry regiment and later became a general officer...
's light cavalry division, General of Division Charles Randon de Pully's dragoon division, and Grouchy's own dragoon division which was led by General of Brigade François Guérin d'Etoquigny. In addition to Dessaix's Advance Guard, Eugène held three units in reserve under his personal command. These were General of Division Jean-Barthélemot Sorbier
Jean-Barthélemot Sorbier
Jean-Barthélemot Sorbier, count, , was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars.-Revolutionary Wars:An aristocrat of the Ancien Régime, Sorbier joined the Royal Artillery Corps in 1782 and was a part of the La Fère regiment, where he met Napoleon Bonaparte...
's reserve artillery, General of Division Jean Mathieu Seras' French infantry division, and General of Brigade Teodoro Lecchi's 2,500-man Italian Guard.
Feldmarschall-Leutnant Albert Gyulai
Albert Gyulai
Albert Gyulai von Máros-Németh und Nádaska or Albert Gyulay, born 12 September 1766 – died 27 April 1835, a Hungarian, joined the army of Habsburg Austria and fought against Ottoman Turkey. He served against the First French Republic in the Flanders Campaign and on the Rhine...
's VIII Armeekorps was made up of the infantry brigades of Generals-Major Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld
Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld
Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld was an Austrian corps commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-References and notes:...
and Anton Gajoli. Albert's brother Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai von Máros-Nemeth und Nádaska, Ignácz Gyulay, Ignác Gyulay, or Ignjat Đulaj born 11 September 1763 – died 11 November 1831, joined the army of Habsburg Austria, fought against Ottoman Turkey, and became a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. From 1806 he held the...
commanded the larger IX Armeekorps. This formation included the infantry brigades of Generals-Major Johann Kalnássy, Franz Marziani, Alois von Gavasini
Alois von Gavasini
Alois Graf von Gavasini led a combat brigade in the armies of Habsburg Austria and the Austrian Empire during a remarkable number of battles in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. A native of Bonn, he offered his services to Austria and won an award for bravery in 1790...
, Johann Peter Kleinmayer, and Ignaz Sebottendorf. Frimont's Advance Guard counted only the brigade of General-Major Ignaz Splényi. John massed most of his horsemen into an ad hoc cavalry division and placed it under the command of Feldmarschall-Leutnant Christian Wolfskeel von Reichenberg with General-Major Johann Hager von Altensteig as his second in command. Anton Reisner's reserve artillery numbered 12 pieces in two 12-pound position batteries.
Geography
Most of the villages in Gunther E. Rothenberg
Gunther E. Rothenberg
Gunther E. Rothenberg was an internationally known military historian. Although widely known for his books and journal articles on the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, Rothenberg also had a fifteen-year military career, serving in the British Army, the Haganah, and the United...
's maps of the battle can be located on modern maps. However, since 1809 a few places either changed names, moved to a new location, vanished due to the river's action, or were destroyed in the Battle of the Piave River
Battle of the Piave River
The Battle of the Piave River , known in Italy as Battaglia del Solstizio , Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno , or Seconda Battaglia del Piave , was a decisive victory for the Italian Army during World War...
in 1918. The changes are listed as follows. Susignano is now called Susegana
Susegana
Susegana is a comune in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about north of Treviso.-History:...
. Santa Maria is near the Rothenberg map location of Campana. Ponte della Priula appears to have moved from its map position to a place 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northwest, closer to Nervesa. San Nichiol has disappeared. In 1809 a stream or canal known as the Piavisella began near Barco and ran west to east through Mandre, Santa Maria (Campana), and Tezze di Piave before turning northeast. A dike ran east and west about 800 meters south of the Piavisella. Both the dike and stream played important parts in the battle. Neither the dike nor stream can be accurately located on modern satellite images. Two nearby canals known as the Piavesella and Piavesella di Maserada lie on the south bank of the Piave, while the Piavisella of the 1809 battle is located on the north bank.
Battle
Believing that the bulk of Archduke John's army lay at Conegliano, Eugène planned an ambitious assault crossing of the Piave. He did not realize that the Army of Inner Austria was deployed only 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the river. In fact, Albert Gyulai's VIII Armeekorps was ranged between Susegana and Santa Lucia di PiaveSanta Lucia di Piave
Santa Lucia di Piave is a comune with 7.226 inhabitants in the province of Treviso....
, while Ignaz Gyulai had the IX Armeekorps in line between Santa Lucia and Bocca di Strada just to the east. Eugène greatly outnumbered John, who had between 24,120 and 28,000 troops at the Piave.
Understanding that his defeat at Sacile was caused by poor preparation, Eugène made sure that he had most of his army assembled. He planned to feint at the Nervesa ford with Seras' Reserve division while Dessaix's Light Division (Advance Guard) led the main attack at the Priula ford. He ordered Grouchy to cross with three divisions of cavalry at the San Nichiol crossing and swing left to help Dessaix's effort. To provide the Light Division sufficient fire support, Eugène massed several batteries on the south bank and placed them under the command of his artillery chief Sorbier. If Dessaix successfully carved out a bridgehead, Eugène planned to send the corps of MacDonald and Baraguey d'Hilliers across the Piave. Grenier's corps waited at San Nichiol to follow Grouchy's cavalry.
At 7:00 AM, Dessaix crossed the river with nearly 5,000 troops. By this time, Archduke John's army was moving up behind the Piavisella stream, much closer than Eugène realized. The archduke posted the VIII Armeekorps on the west flank with Frimont's infantry, while the IX Armeekorps defended the east flank. By 8:00 AM the Light Division was 400 meters south of the dike. Having massed virtually all his cavalry under Wolfskeel, he sent them charging at Dessaix's men. The French general reformed his soldiers into two large squares and repelled wave after wave of enemy horsemen. As Wolfskeel's disorganized troopers withdrew, a massed battery of 24 Austrian guns opened fire on the French.
While Dessaix and Wolfskeel battled, Grouchy sent the divisions of Pully and Sahuc across the Piave at San Nichiol. The troopers encountered Kalnássy's IX Armeekorps brigade in the open and hustled the Austrians back to Cimadolmo and San Michele, where they took up a strong defensive position. Guérin d'Etoquigny's division crossed around 9:00 AM, allowing the other two divisions to move to the left in support of Dessaix. By this time, the French artillery fire began to slacken. In their haste to help Dessaix, the French gunners had left their reserve ammunition behind.
There are two accounts about what happened next. Having reorganized his horsemen, Wolfskeel returned to the attack around 10:00 AM. The Austrian cavalry trotted toward Dessaix's men in three lines. This time Sahuc's light horse and Pully's dragoons were waiting for them. The two French divisions countercharged, and the cavalry of both armies became embroiled in a terrific melee.
A second account states that the French cavalry attacked first. Eugène sent Pully and Sahuc charging at the Austrian guns in a pincer attack. Under cover of the smoke from the two artilleries blasting away at each other, the French divisions struck Reisner's gun line from both flanks. While some horsemen began cutting down the gunners, the others galloped among the Austrian cavalry which was formed up behind the guns.
The results of the cavalry action are not disputed. A French dragoon killed Wolfskeel in personal combat, while his second-in-command Hager became a prisoner. Leaderless and outnumbered, the Austrian horsemen broke and fled. The Austrians managed to bring away ten cannons but 14 cannons were captured by their enemies. During the struggle Reisner was wounded and captured.
The French cavalry pursued the routed Austrian troopers as far as Mandra and Santa Maria (Campana), where they came upon the brigades of Colloredo and Gajoli. Pully's troopers tried to break the Austrian infantry squares but they were unsuccessful. Unable to dent the Austrian line without support, the French horsemen fell back to the dike where they were joined by Dessaix's troops. Though the Piave began an alarming rise at this time, Eugène hewed to his plan of reinforcing the bridgehead. Around noon, MacDonald pushed three-quarters of Broussier's division and half of Lamarque's division across the river. While MacDonald began probing the Piavisella line, Grenier managed to get part of Abbé's division across the river at San Nichiol.
With Eugène trying to get more troops across the Piave before it drowned the fords and Archduke John organizing his defenses, the fighting died down after 1:00 PM. By 3:00 PM Eugène had to suspend all troop crossings because of dangerous high water conditions. By this time, all his cavalry and only half his infantry reached the north bank, with Baraguey d'Hilliers, Seras' division, the Italian Guard, and part of Durutte's division remaining on the south bank. If the battle turned against the French, they would be trapped with an unfordable river at their backs. But with the bulk of his badly shaken and outnumbered horsemen still rallying in the rear, Archduke John elected not to expose his foot soldiers to cavalry attack by ordering them forward.
By this time, there were approximately 27,000 to 30,000 Franco-Italian troops in the bridgehead. Assembling the available troops, Eugène planned to hurl MacDonald's corps, elements of Durutte's division, and Sahuc's division at the Piavisella line. Off to the right, the viceroy ordered Grenier to pin the left wing of IX Armeekorps at San Michele and Cimadolmo with Pully's and Guérin's cavalry and Abbé's infantry. The French attack got rolling in the late afternoon. Abbé's advance was counterattacked by squadrons of the Archduke Josef Hussar Regiment, the last unbroken Austrian horsemen on the field. Pully and Guérin quickly repulsed the gallant Austrian riposte and Kalnássy evacuated San Michele and Cimadolmo before Grenier's pressure. Kalnássy fell back to Tezze where he sturdily held his ground until evening, suffering 1,200 casualties during the battle.
MacDonald's attack was preceded by a bombardment from 24 guns. His attack breached the IX Armeekorps line and John was forced to commit his last reserve, Kleinmayer's grenadier brigade. These elite troops attacked, but were unable to halt MacDonald's offensive. On the left flank, Dessaix and Sahuc seized Barco while Macdonald took Santa Maria (Campana) and drove toward Bocca di Strada. On the right, Grenier finally dislodged Kalnássy from Tezze and let loose his two dragoon divisions. John's army finally broke and streamed north into Conegliano. As darkness fell, Eugène suspended the pursuit on a line from Vazzola to Susegana.
Aftermath
Archduke John retreated to Conegliano that night and soon had his troops on the road for SacileSacile
Sacile is a town and comune in the province of Pordenone, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of north-east Italy. It is known as the "Garden of the Serenissima" after the many palaces that were constructed along the river Livenza for the nobility of the Most Serene Republic of...
. He managed the retrograde movement well. Eugène halted his advance at Bocca di Strada, deciding to wait until he could reunite his army. The French admitted only 700 casualties, but 2,000 is a more likely figure. The Austrians suffered 3,896 casualties, including 398 killed, 697 wounded, 1,681 captured, and 1,120 missing. The French captured 15 artillery pieces. The dead included Wolfskeel. On the extreme south flank, Kalnássy's brigade became separated from John's army and Grouchy's cavalry prevented him from rejoining John. Kalnássy rendezvoused with Feldmarschall-Leutnant Anton von Zach
Anton von Zach
Anton Freiherr von Zach enlisted in the army of Habsburg Austria and fought against the First French Republic. In the French Revolutionary Wars, he gained prominence as a staff officer. Still on active service during the Napoleonic Wars, he fought in the 1805 and 1809 wars...
near Palmanova
Palmanova
Palmanova is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, close to the border with Slovenia. It is located 20 km from Udine, 28 km from Gorizia and 55 km from Trieste near the junction of the Autostrada Alpe-Adria and the Autostrada Venezia-Trieste .Palmanova is famous for its fortress...
and the two retreated independently toward Ljubljana (Laibach)
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
.
At Sacile, Archduke John made a serious blunder. He split his army into two parts, sending Ignaz Gyulai with most of the IX Armeekorps east to Ljubljana in Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
and the VIII Armeekorps northeast to Villach
Villach
Villach is the second largest city in the Carinthia state in the southern Austria, at the Drava River and represents an important traffic junction for Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 58,480.-History:...
in Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
. This dispersal of available Austrian troops facilitated Eugène's advance from Italy into the Austrian Empire. One authority wrote, "From the Piave to Hungary John's handling of the campaign was a failure." Frimont, who led John's rearguard made a stand at San Daniele del Friuli
San Daniele del Friuli
San Daniele del Friuli is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 80 km northwest of Trieste and about 20 km northwest of Udine....
on 11 May with 4,000 soldiers. Eugène and Dessaix carried out a double envelopment and inflicted about 2,000 casualties on their opponents. Franco-Italian losses were 200 to 800. Despite this defeat, Frimont kept his rear guard intact and maintained its effectiveness.
The next major action was the Battle of Tarvis
Battle of Tarvis (1809)
The Battle of Tarvis from 16 to 17 May 1809, the Storming of the Malborghetto Blockhouse from 15 to 17 May 1809, and the Storming of the Predil Blockhouse from 15 to 18 May saw the Franco-Italian army of Eugène de Beauharnais attacking Austrian Empire forces under Albert Gyulai...
from 15 to 18 May. The engagement included two actions where small garrisons of Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry
Grenz infantry or Grenzers were light infantry troops who came from the Croatian and Transylvanian Military Frontier in Habsburg Monarchy . This borderland formed a buffer zone between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, and the troops were originally raised to defend Austria against the...
heroically defended two blockhouses against overwhelming Franco-Italian forces. This was followed by an Austrian disaster at the Battle of Sankt Michael
Battle of Sankt Michael
In the Battle of Sankt Michael on 25 May 1809, Paul Grenier's French corps crushed Franz Jellacic's Austrian division at Sankt Michael in Obersteiermark, Austria. The action occurred after the initial French victories during the War of the Fifth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars...
on 25 May. Eugène pursued John into Hungary where he defeated him at the Battle of Raab
Battle of Raab
The Battle of Raab was fought on 14 June 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars, between Franco-Italian forces and Austrian-Hungarian forces. The battle was fought near Győr in Hungary and ended in a Franco-Italian victory...
on 14 June before joining Napoleon at the Battle of Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
on 5 and 6 July. The last action of note in the theater was the Battle of Graz
Battle of Graz
The Battle of Graz took place on 24–26 June 1809 between an Austrian corps commanded by Ignaz Gyulai and a French division led by Jean-Baptiste Broussier. The French were soon reinforced by a corps under Auguste Marmont...
from 24 to 26 June.
External links
- German wikipedia, Wolfskeel
- Hallaron, Mike napoleon-series.org MacDonald and Prince Eugene: The Battle of the Piave (not used as a source)
The following items are excellent sources for the full names of Austrian and French generals.
- Broughton, Tony. napoleon-series.org Generals Who Served in the French Army 1792-1815
- Smith, Digby, Kudrna, Leopold (compiler). napoleon-series.org Austrian Generals 1792-1815
- French wikipedia, Liste des généreaux de la Révolution et du Premier Empire