Battle of the Bridge of Arcole
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Arcole, or Battle of Arcola (15–17 November 1796) saw a bold manœuvre by Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy
to outflank the Austrian army under József Alvinczi and cut its line of retreat. The French victory proved to be the most significant event during the third Austrian attempt to lift the Siege of Mantua
during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars
. Arcole
is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of Verona
on Route SP39.
Alvinczi planned to execute a two-pronged offensive against Bonaparte's army. The Austrian commander ordered Paul Davidovich
to advance south along the Adige
River valley with one corps while Alvinczi led the main army in an advance from the east. The Austrians hoped to raise the siege of Mantua
where Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
was trapped with a large garrison. If the two Austrian columns linked up and if Wurmser's troops were released, French prospects were grim.
Davidovich scored two early victories against Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
and menaced Verona from the north. Meanwhile, Alvinczi repulsed one attack by Bonaparte and advanced almost to the gates of Verona where he defeated a second French attack. Leaving Vaubois' battered division to contain Davidovich, Bonaparte massed every available man and tried to turn Alvinczi's left flank by crossing the Adige. For two days the French assaulted the stoutly-defended Austrian position at Arcole without success. Their persistent attacks finally forced Alvinczi to withdraw on the third day.
That day Davidovich routed Vaubois, but it was too late. Bonaparte's victory at Arcole permitted him to concentrate against Davidovich and chase him up the Adige valley. Left alone, Alvinczi threatened Verona again. But without his colleague's support, the Austrian commander was too weak to continue the campaign and he withdrew again. Wurmser attempted a breakout, but his effort came too late in the campaign and had no effect on the result.
ended badly for Austria when General Napoleon Bonaparte routed Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
's army at the Battle of Bassano
. In the sequel, Wurmser marched for Mantua, evading French attempts to cut him off. However, he reached there only to have his 12,000 soldiers defeated and driven into the fortress by the French on 15 September. With nearly 30,000 Austrians crowded into the encircled city, disease and hunger began exacting a terrible toll on the garrison.
Emperor Francis II appointed Feldzeugmeister
József Alvinczi to lead a reconstituted field army in the third relief of Mantua
. Alvinczi, Feldmarschallleutnant Paul Davidovich
, General-Major Johann Rudolf Sporck, and Major
Franz von Weyrother
drew up plans for a two-pronged offensive. Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Quasdanovich
directed the 28,000-strong Friaul
Corps, accompanied by Alvinczi, as it moved west on Mantua from the Piave River
. Davidovich led the 19,000-man Tirol
Corps south, starting in the upper Adige River valley.
Bonaparte deployed a 10,500-man division under General of Division Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
to face Davidovich. At Bassano
, General of Division André Masséna
's 9,500 soldiers defended the line of the Brenta River
. The 8,300 troops of General of Division Pierre Augereau lay at Verona
. General of Division Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine with 8,800 soldiers blockaded Wurmser's large garrison in Mantua, with 1,600 troopers of the cavalry reserve and General of Division Francois Macquard
's 2,800 foot soldiers nearby.
On 1 November, the Friaul Corps began crossing the Piave. Bonaparte elected to attack the Austrians on the Brenta and called Augereau and Macquard east to join Masséna. In the Second Battle of Bassano
on 6 November, the Austrians repulsed the French attacks with heavy losses on both sides. Bonaparte quickly pulled back to Verona.
Bonaparte miscalculated the size of Davidovich's corps, leaving Vaubois badly outnumbered. On 2 November, the two sides clashed at Cembra
after which Vaubois abandoned Trento
to the Austrians. Davidovich routed Vaubois at the Battle of Calliano
on 6 and 7 November. Despite Alvinczi urging him to attack, Davidovich became extremely cautious, taking ten days before challenging the French again. Messages took up to two days to pass between Alvinczi and Davidovich, while Wurmser remained completely out of touch in Mantua. Poor communications plagued the Austrian commanders throughout the campaign.
Alvinczi's advance guard under GM Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
pressed toward Verona. Near that city, he bumped into Masséna on 11 November and was forced to pull back. In a sleet storm the next day, Hohenzollern fought off the attacks of Masséna and Augereau in the Battle of Caldiero
. When Austrian reinforcements arrived later in the day, Bonaparte called off the futile attacks and drew his troops back within the walls of Verona.
After three sharp defeats, even Bonaparte "became very despondent about his chances of survival." He deployed Macquard and 3,000 men to hold Verona. A slightly reinforced Vaubois clung to a strong position at Rivoli Veronese
with about 8,000 troops, keeping Davidovich's 14,000 soldiers bottled up in the Adige valley. Kilmaine's slender force of 6,600 men blockaded Wurmser's 23,000-man garrison (of whom only 12,000 were fit for duty) within Mantua. This left Bonaparte a field force consisting of Masséna's 8,000, Augereau's 6,000, a reserve of 2,600, and 1,600 cavalry, for a total of a little over 18,000 soldiers. By this time, Alvinczi's main force numbered about 23,000 men.
A breakout by Davidovich or Wurmser, or the loss of Verona to Alvinczi would force Bonaparte to raise the siege of Mantua. If this happened, the able-bodied Austrians in the fortress would be released for field operations, a forbidding prospect. Unknown to the French, Alvinczi planned to throw a pontoon bridge across the Adige below Verona at nightfall on 15 November.
Bonaparte determined on an audacious strategy. He force-marched Masséna and Augereau along the west bank of the Adige to a bridging site at Ronco, behind Alvinczi's left flank. Once he moved his army across the river, he planned to move north and seize the Austrian trains and artillery park.
On the far bank was an area of marshy land that troops could not penetrate, which meant that all movement was limited to the causeways or dikes on the banks of the river Adige, and the causeways on the banks of a small tributary called the Alpone that flowed into it from the north. Bonaparte’s plan was to establish a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Adige, and to protect this from the main Austrian army by sending some troops along the causeway to the west. The narrowness of the dikes meant that the Austrians could not use their superior numbers to advantage against this holding force. Another part of his army would move along the causeway to the east, then turn due north as it bent to follow the course of the Alpone.
About a mile along the north-going dike lay a bridge over the Alpone, on the east side of which was the village of Arcole. From there, the road went north again and intersected the Austrian lines of communication, which Napoleon hoped to cut. However, the causeway was completely exposed to fire from Arcole and from a parallel causeway on the east bank. Austrians in the village or on the east bank of the Alpone could enfilade the French troops as they marched along the west bank causeway towards the bridge. The dikes along the Alpone near Arcole were "26 feet high, and had very steep faces."
(Colonel) Antoine-François Andréossy
's engineers had a pontoon bridge in operation. Augereau's division crossed first and headed east and north toward Arcola. Masséna's soldiers followed and, to cover the left flank, took a causeway leading north and west toward Belfiore di Porcile.
Alvinczi posted Oberst
(Colonel) Wenzel Brigido's four battalions in the area; of these, two battalions and two cannons defended Arcole. These troops repulsed Augereau's leading demi-brigade under General of Brigade Louis André Bon
. Before long, most of the French soldiers were lying in the lee of the causeway to shelter from the searing fire. Brigido pulled every available man into the combat. Augereau threw in demi-brigades led by Generals of Brigade Jean-Antoine Verdier
and Pierre Verne. At mid-day, Austrian reinforcements led by General-Major Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
began arriving to help the defenders. Soon, Bon, Verdier, Verne and General of Brigade Jean Lannes
were all wounded and the attack completely stalled.
On the western flank, Alvinczi sent the brigades of Oberstleutnant
(Lieutenant Colonel) Alois von Gavasini
and General-Major Adolf Brabeck to seize the French pontoon bridge. They collided with Masséna near Bionde, midway between Belfiore and Ronco. Initially successful, the Austrians were soon driven back beyond Belfiore after Brabeck's troops accidentally fired
on Gavasini's men, causing a panic. Once they reached Belfiore, the French watched as the Austrian trains rolled east on the main highway, out of their reach.
Attempting to break the stalemate near Arcole, Bonaparte ordered General of Brigade Jean Joseph Guieu
with two demi-brigades to boat across the Adige below its confluence with the Alpone at Albaredo d'Adige
. He also sent a French battalion across the Alpone by boat near its mouth. The latter unit fought its way north along the east bank dike.
Trying to inspire his men to attack, Bonaparte grabbed a flag and stood in the open on the dike. He remained miraculously untouched, but several members of his staff were hit by the intense fire and his aide-de-camp, Jean-Baptiste Muiron, was killed. An unknown officer dragged Bonaparte out of the line of fire and the commanding general ended up in the muddy ditch.
Adding to the confusion, the Austrians launched a sortie from Arcole and defeated the French battalion on the east bank. In the evening, Guieu crossed at Albaredo and eventually managed to flush the Austrian defenders out of Arcole. At midnight, worried that Davidovich was about to fall upon his rear, Bonaparte withdrew Guieu from Arcole and pulled most of his troops back across the Adige. He left a garrison on the Austrian side of the river to hold his bridgehead.
with six battalions to attack from Belfiore. Alvinczi reinforced Mittrowsky to a total of 14 battalions, including the brigades of General-Major Anton Schübirz von Chobinin
and Oberst Franz Sticker, and instructed him to advance south from Arcole
. The two forces would march at dawn on 16 November and converge on the French bridgehead. Alvinczi sent two battalions to guard Albaredo against a repetition of Guieu's attack.
Provera's effort came to grief when he ran into Masséna. Brabeck was killed during the encounter and the Austrians were chased back to Belfiore with the loss of five cannons. During the morning, Mittrowsky and Augereau engaged in a see-saw battle that ended when the Austrians fell back to Arcole.
Mittrowsky positioned Sticker's four battalions on the western dike, lined the eastern dike with four battalions under Brigido, and packed the rest of his troops into Arcole. These intelligent dispositions blocked Bonaparte's repeated attempts to seize the village during the day. French attempts to cross the Adige at Albaredo and the Alpone near its mouth both failed. At nightfall, Bonaparte withdrew Masséna and Augereau toward the bridgehead, but sizable forces stayed on the Austrian side of the Adige.
, closer to his main body. Again, Provera held Belfiore while Mittrowsky defended Arcole. During the night, Bonaparte's engineers floated some pontoons into the Alpone where they built a bridge near its mouth. Augereau's division crossed the bridge and began fighting its way along the eastern dike. A French battalion and some cavalry also set out from Legnago
and joined Augereau later in the day. Meanwhile, two of Masséna's demi-brigades led by General of Brigade Jean Gilles André Robert attacked along the western dike.
By early afternoon, Masséna drubbed Provera near Belfiore again. Alvinczi recalled both Provera and Hohenzollern toward the east and began feeding some of the latter's troops into the combat at Arcole. There, the battle went back and forth all day. At 3 pm, a large column of Austrian reinforcements surged out of Arcole and drove back the troops under Robert. Augereau's men on the east bank saw this development and also fell back. By 4 pm, Augereau's rattled division pulled back across the pontoon bridge to the west bank.
Just when the day seemed lost, Masséna appeared with reinforcements from the western flank. With these, he ambushed the Austrians on the western dike and sent them reeling back toward Arcole. Heartened, Augereau's men recrossed to the east bank of the Alpone and renewed the fight. Masséna and Augereau finally battled their way into Arcole around 5 pm. A lieutenant and 25 Guides aided the final attack by riding into the Austrian rear area and blowing several bugles to create the impression of a large force. The French followed up their success by advancing north and threatening to block the main east-west highway. Alvinczi threw in Schübirz's brigade to hold off the French, and this allowed Provera's division to escape.
died in Vicenza
on 19 November. The Austrians managed to move the bulk of their army to safety, but Bonaparte could still count himself successful in that he had forced the Austrians to temporarily abandon their plan of advancing to Mantua.
On 17 November, Davidovich finally attacked Vaubois at Rivoli. General-Major Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko
's brigade from Monte Baldo
met General-Major Josef Philipp Vukassovich
's brigade from the Adige gorge, and together they drove the French soldiers steadily back. After resisting all morning the French troops stampeded in the afternoon. The French lost 800 killed and wounded, plus 1,000 captured including Generals of Brigade Pascal Fiorella and Antoine Valette. Austrian casualties were 600. Vaubois pulled back toward Peschiera del Garda
while Davidovich pursued as far as Castelnuovo del Garda
. Bonaparte sent his cavalry to watch Alvinczi's retreat, while turning the bulk of his forces toward Davidovich.
On 19 November, Davidovich heard of the Austrian defeat at Arcole and detected signs that Bonaparte was about to fall upon him in full force. The Austrian pulled back to Rivoli on the 20th and began to fall back farther the next morning. At this moment, he received an encouraging note from Alvinczi and halted his retreat. But the French caught up with him at Rivoli. In the ensuing clash, the French suffered 200 casualties while inflicting losses of 250 killed and wounded. An additional 600 Austrians, three guns and a bridging train fell into French hands. Davidovich hastily fell back north. Altogether, Davidovich's retreat from Rivoli cost him as many as 1,500 men and nine guns.
After Arcole, Alvinczi pulled back to Olmo where he held a council of war on the morning of 18 November. At this meeting, the Austrian generals gamely decided to return to the field with their 16,000 remaining troops. By 21 November, Alvinczi occupied Caldiero again but could go no farther. While there, he heard of Davidovich's defeat on 23 November. That evening the Austrian field army began its retreat to the Brenta.
During the three days that the battle of Arcole raged, cannon fire could be heard in Mantua. Observers in the fortress even noticed that some of the French camps seemed to be empty, yet Wurmser unaccountably failed to act. On 23 November, Wurmser assaulted the siege lines, capturing 200 Frenchmen and demolishing some earthworks. The Austrians suffered almost 800 casualties. When he learned that Davidovich was in full retreat, Wurmser withdrew into the city.
named after him.
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...
to outflank the Austrian army under József Alvinczi and cut its line of retreat. The French victory proved to be the most significant event during the third Austrian attempt to lift the Siege of Mantua
Siege of Mantua (1796-1797)
In 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 for many months until it surrendered...
during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Arcole
Arcole
Arcole , historicaslly also known as Arcola, is a comune with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole.-History:...
is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of 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...
on Route SP39.
Alvinczi planned to execute a two-pronged offensive against Bonaparte's army. The Austrian commander ordered Paul Davidovich
Paul Davidovich
Baron Paul Davidovich or Pavle Davidović became a general of the Austrian Empire and a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He played a major role in the 1796 Italian campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars, leading corps-sized commands in the fighting against the French army led...
to advance south along the Adige
Adige
The Adige is a river with its source in the Alpine province of South Tyrol near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland. At in length, it is the second longest river in Italy, after the River Po with ....
River valley with one corps while Alvinczi led the main army in an advance from the east. The Austrians hoped to raise the siege of Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
where Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
was trapped with a large garrison. If the two Austrian columns linked up and if Wurmser's troops were released, French prospects were grim.
Davidovich scored two early victories against Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. On 20 August 1808 he was created Comte de Belgrand de Vaubois...
and menaced Verona from the north. Meanwhile, Alvinczi repulsed one attack by Bonaparte and advanced almost to the gates of Verona where he defeated a second French attack. Leaving Vaubois' battered division to contain Davidovich, Bonaparte massed every available man and tried to turn Alvinczi's left flank by crossing the Adige. For two days the French assaulted the stoutly-defended Austrian position at Arcole without success. Their persistent attacks finally forced Alvinczi to withdraw on the third day.
That day Davidovich routed Vaubois, but it was too late. Bonaparte's victory at Arcole permitted him to concentrate against Davidovich and chase him up the Adige valley. Left alone, Alvinczi threatened Verona again. But without his colleague's support, the Austrian commander was too weak to continue the campaign and he withdrew again. Wurmser attempted a breakout, but his effort came too late in the campaign and had no effect on the result.
Background
- See Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of BattleArcola 1796 Campaign Order of BattleArcola 1796 Campaign Order of BattleIn the Battle of Arcola 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...
for a detailed list of French and Austrian units.
Operations
The second relief of the Siege of MantuaSiege of Mantua (1796-1797)
In 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 for many months until it surrendered...
ended badly for Austria when General Napoleon Bonaparte routed Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser was an Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mounted several successful campaigns in the Rhineland in the initial years of the French Revolutionary Wars, he...
's army at the Battle of Bassano
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 battle ended in a French victory...
. In the sequel, Wurmser marched for Mantua, evading French attempts to cut him off. However, he reached there only to have his 12,000 soldiers defeated and driven into the fortress by the French on 15 September. With nearly 30,000 Austrians crowded into the encircled city, disease and hunger began exacting a terrible toll on the garrison.
Emperor Francis II appointed Feldzeugmeister
Feldzeugmeister
Feldzeugmeister was a military rank in various European armies , especially in the artillery. It was commonly used in the 16th or 17th century, but could even be found in the beginning of the 20th century in some European countries...
József Alvinczi to lead a reconstituted field army in the third relief of Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
. Alvinczi, Feldmarschallleutnant Paul Davidovich
Paul Davidovich
Baron Paul Davidovich or Pavle Davidović became a general of the Austrian Empire and a Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He played a major role in the 1796 Italian campaign during the French Revolutionary Wars, leading corps-sized commands in the fighting against the French army led...
, General-Major Johann Rudolf Sporck, and Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Franz von Weyrother
Franz von Weyrother
Franz von Weyrother was an Austrian staff officer and general who fought during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
drew up plans for a two-pronged offensive. Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Quasdanovich
Peter Quasdanovich
Peter Vitus Freiherr von Quosdanovich was a general of the Austrian Empire. Feldmarschall-Lieutenant and Commander of the Order of Maria Theresa...
directed the 28,000-strong Friaul
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
Corps, accompanied by Alvinczi, as it moved west on Mantua from the Piave River
Piave River
Piave is a river in north Italy. It begins in the Alps and flows southeast for into the Adriatic Sea near the city of Venice....
. Davidovich led the 19,000-man Tirol
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...
Corps south, starting in the upper Adige River valley.
Bonaparte deployed a 10,500-man division under General of Division Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. On 20 August 1808 he was created Comte de Belgrand de Vaubois...
to face Davidovich. At Bassano
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...
, General of Division André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
's 9,500 soldiers defended the line of the Brenta River
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.During Roman era, it was called Medoacus and near Padua it divided in two branches, Medoacus Maior and Medoacus Minor ; the river changed its course in early Middle...
. The 8,300 troops of General of Division Pierre Augereau lay at 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...
. General of Division Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine with 8,800 soldiers blockaded Wurmser's large garrison in Mantua, with 1,600 troopers of the cavalry reserve and General of Division Francois Macquard
Francois Macquard
François Macquard or François Macquart joined the French royal army as an infantryman, fought in the Seven Years War, and rose slowly from the ranks to become an officer in the 1780s. While serving in Italy during the French Revolutionary Wars, he became a general officer...
's 2,800 foot soldiers nearby.
On 1 November, the Friaul Corps began crossing the Piave. Bonaparte elected to attack the Austrians on the Brenta and called Augereau and Macquard east to join Masséna. In the Second Battle of Bassano
Second Battle of Bassano
In the Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, an Austrian army commanded by Jozsef Alvinczi repelled the attacks of Napoleon Bonaparte's French army. The engagement, which happened two months after the more famous Battle of Bassano, marked the first tactical defeat of Bonaparte's career and...
on 6 November, the Austrians repulsed the French attacks with heavy losses on both sides. Bonaparte quickly pulled back to Verona.
Bonaparte miscalculated the size of Davidovich's corps, leaving Vaubois badly outnumbered. On 2 November, the two sides clashed at Cembra
Cembra
Cembra is a comune in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 15 km northeast of Trento. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,776 and an area of 17.0 km²....
after which Vaubois abandoned Trento
Trento
Trento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
to the Austrians. Davidovich routed Vaubois at the Battle of Calliano
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 siege of Mantua during the French Revolutionary Wars...
on 6 and 7 November. Despite Alvinczi urging him to attack, Davidovich became extremely cautious, taking ten days before challenging the French again. Messages took up to two days to pass between Alvinczi and Davidovich, while Wurmser remained completely out of touch in Mantua. Poor communications plagued the Austrian commanders throughout the campaign.
Alvinczi's advance guard under GM Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Friedrich Franz Xaver Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Friedrich Franz Xaver Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was an Austrian general. He joined the Austrian military and fought against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, and the First French Republic. He was promoted to the rank of general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars...
pressed toward Verona. Near that city, he bumped into Masséna on 11 November and was forced to pull back. In a sleet storm the next day, Hohenzollern fought off the attacks of Masséna and Augereau in the Battle of Caldiero
Battle of Caldiero (1796)
In the Battle of Caldiero on 12 November 1796, a Habsburg Austrian army led by Jozsef Alvinczi fought a First French Republic army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte. The French assaulted the Austrian positions, which were initially held by the army advance guard under Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of...
. When Austrian reinforcements arrived later in the day, Bonaparte called off the futile attacks and drew his troops back within the walls of Verona.
Maneuver
Rivoli Veronese
Rivoli Veronese is a comune in Veneto, Italy, in the Province of Verona, on a hill on the right bank of the Adige, 20 km miles NW of Verona.-History:...
with about 8,000 troops, keeping Davidovich's 14,000 soldiers bottled up in the Adige valley. Kilmaine's slender force of 6,600 men blockaded Wurmser's 23,000-man garrison (of whom only 12,000 were fit for duty) within Mantua. This left Bonaparte a field force consisting of Masséna's 8,000, Augereau's 6,000, a reserve of 2,600, and 1,600 cavalry, for a total of a little over 18,000 soldiers. By this time, Alvinczi's main force numbered about 23,000 men.
Like a juggler keeping three balls in the air at once, Bonaparte had to balance the dangers of the three sectors against each other, keeping them in clear relative perspective. Although he had singled out Alvinczi as his main target, it was only too clear that an aggressive move on the part of Davidovich or even by Wurmser might compel the French to abandon their operations against the main Austrian army and move every available man to reinforce the threatened area. Defeat on any sector could well spell catastrophe and the destruction of the Army of Italy.
A breakout by Davidovich or Wurmser, or the loss of Verona to Alvinczi would force Bonaparte to raise the siege of Mantua. If this happened, the able-bodied Austrians in the fortress would be released for field operations, a forbidding prospect. Unknown to the French, Alvinczi planned to throw a pontoon bridge across the Adige below Verona at nightfall on 15 November.
Bonaparte determined on an audacious strategy. He force-marched Masséna and Augereau along the west bank of the Adige to a bridging site at Ronco, behind Alvinczi's left flank. Once he moved his army across the river, he planned to move north and seize the Austrian trains and artillery park.
On the far bank was an area of marshy land that troops could not penetrate, which meant that all movement was limited to the causeways or dikes on the banks of the river Adige, and the causeways on the banks of a small tributary called the Alpone that flowed into it from the north. Bonaparte’s plan was to establish a bridgehead on the northern bank of the Adige, and to protect this from the main Austrian army by sending some troops along the causeway to the west. The narrowness of the dikes meant that the Austrians could not use their superior numbers to advantage against this holding force. Another part of his army would move along the causeway to the east, then turn due north as it bent to follow the course of the Alpone.
About a mile along the north-going dike lay a bridge over the Alpone, on the east side of which was the village of Arcole. From there, the road went north again and intersected the Austrian lines of communication, which Napoleon hoped to cut. However, the causeway was completely exposed to fire from Arcole and from a parallel causeway on the east bank. Austrians in the village or on the east bank of the Alpone could enfilade the French troops as they marched along the west bank causeway towards the bridge. The dikes along the Alpone near Arcole were "26 feet high, and had very steep faces."
First day
By dawn on 15 November, Bonaparte's troops reached the intended crossing, and soon afterward Chef de brigadeChef de brigade
Chef de brigade was a military rank, equivalent to colonel, in the French Revolutionary army, in command of a demi-brigade. Both that unit and that rank were created at the same time, in 1793. The two designations disappeared just before the institution of the French Empire, in 1803, with the...
(Colonel) Antoine-François Andréossy
Antoine-François Andréossy
Antoine-François, comte Andréossy was a French general and diplomat of noble origin and Italian descent.-Biography:...
's engineers had a pontoon bridge in operation. Augereau's division crossed first and headed east and north toward Arcola. Masséna's soldiers followed and, to cover the left flank, took a causeway leading north and west toward Belfiore di Porcile.
Alvinczi posted Oberst
Oberst
Oberst is a military rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Norway. The Swedish rank överste is a direct translation, as are the Finnish rank eversti...
(Colonel) Wenzel Brigido's four battalions in the area; of these, two battalions and two cannons defended Arcole. These troops repulsed Augereau's leading demi-brigade under General of Brigade Louis André Bon
Louis André Bon
Louis André Bon was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars, best known for his participation in the 1798 French invasion of Egypt-Life:...
. Before long, most of the French soldiers were lying in the lee of the causeway to shelter from the searing fire. Brigido pulled every available man into the combat. Augereau threw in demi-brigades led by Generals of Brigade Jean-Antoine Verdier
Jean-Antoine Verdier
Jean-Antoine Verdier was a French General during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.Born in Toulouse, he enlisted into the Régiment de la Fère on 18 February 1785...
and Pierre Verne. At mid-day, Austrian reinforcements led by General-Major Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky
Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky von Mittrowitz und Nemyšl, or Anton Mittrovsky, served in the Austrian army for many years. He was promoted to general officer in the spring of 1796, just in time to lead a brigade against Napoleon Bonaparte during the 1796-1797 Italian Campaign of the French...
began arriving to help the defenders. Soon, Bon, Verdier, Verne and General of Brigade Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, was a Marshal of France. He was one of Napoleon's most daring and talented generals. Napoleon once commented on Lannes: "I found him a pygmy and left him a giant"...
were all wounded and the attack completely stalled.
On the western flank, Alvinczi sent the brigades of Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
(Lieutenant Colonel) 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...
and General-Major Adolf Brabeck to seize the French pontoon bridge. They collided with Masséna near Bionde, midway between Belfiore and Ronco. Initially successful, the Austrians were soon driven back beyond Belfiore after Brabeck's troops accidentally fired
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
on Gavasini's men, causing a panic. Once they reached Belfiore, the French watched as the Austrian trains rolled east on the main highway, out of their reach.
Attempting to break the stalemate near Arcole, Bonaparte ordered General of Brigade Jean Joseph Guieu
Jean Joseph Guieu
Jean Joseph Guieu, also Jean Guyeux, joined the French royal army and quickly rose in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in the War of the Pyrenees against Spain and became a general officer. After transferring to Italy, he held important commands under Napoleon Bonaparte in the...
with two demi-brigades to boat across the Adige below its confluence with the Alpone at 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...
. He also sent a French battalion across the Alpone by boat near its mouth. The latter unit fought its way north along the east bank dike.
Trying to inspire his men to attack, Bonaparte grabbed a flag and stood in the open on the dike. He remained miraculously untouched, but several members of his staff were hit by the intense fire and his aide-de-camp, Jean-Baptiste Muiron, was killed. An unknown officer dragged Bonaparte out of the line of fire and the commanding general ended up in the muddy ditch.
Adding to the confusion, the Austrians launched a sortie from Arcole and defeated the French battalion on the east bank. In the evening, Guieu crossed at Albaredo and eventually managed to flush the Austrian defenders out of Arcole. At midnight, worried that Davidovich was about to fall upon his rear, Bonaparte withdrew Guieu from Arcole and pulled most of his troops back across the Adige. He left a garrison on the Austrian side of the river to hold his bridgehead.
Second day
Alvinczi left Hohenzollern's troops near Verona to guard against an attack from that city. The Austrian leader ordered Feldmarschall-Leutnant Giovanni di ProveraGiovanni Marchese di Provera
Giovanni Marchese di Provera, or Johann Provera, born c. 1736 – died 5 July 1804, served in the Austrian army in Italy during the French Revolutionary Wars. Provera played a significant role in three campaigns against General Napoleon Bonaparte during the Italian Campaign of 1796.-Military...
with six battalions to attack from Belfiore. Alvinczi reinforced Mittrowsky to a total of 14 battalions, including the brigades of General-Major Anton Schübirz von Chobinin
Anton Schübirz von Chobinin
Anton Schübirz or Anton Schubirz von Chobinin fought for Habsburg Austria against Ottoman Turkey and the First French Republic. He participated in several noteworthy actions during the French Revolutionary Wars...
and Oberst Franz Sticker, and instructed him to advance south from Arcole
Arcole
Arcole , historicaslly also known as Arcola, is a comune with 5,274 inhabitants in the province of Verona. It is known as the site of the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole.-History:...
. The two forces would march at dawn on 16 November and converge on the French bridgehead. Alvinczi sent two battalions to guard Albaredo against a repetition of Guieu's attack.
Provera's effort came to grief when he ran into Masséna. Brabeck was killed during the encounter and the Austrians were chased back to Belfiore with the loss of five cannons. During the morning, Mittrowsky and Augereau engaged in a see-saw battle that ended when the Austrians fell back to Arcole.
Mittrowsky positioned Sticker's four battalions on the western dike, lined the eastern dike with four battalions under Brigido, and packed the rest of his troops into Arcole. These intelligent dispositions blocked Bonaparte's repeated attempts to seize the village during the day. French attempts to cross the Adige at Albaredo and the Alpone near its mouth both failed. At nightfall, Bonaparte withdrew Masséna and Augereau toward the bridgehead, but sizable forces stayed on the Austrian side of the Adige.
Third day
On 17 November, Alvinczi withdrew Hohenzollern to CaldieroCaldiero
Caldiero is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 90 km west of Venice and about 15 km east of Verona....
, closer to his main body. Again, Provera held Belfiore while Mittrowsky defended Arcole. During the night, Bonaparte's engineers floated some pontoons into the Alpone where they built a bridge near its mouth. Augereau's division crossed the bridge and began fighting its way along the eastern dike. A French battalion and some cavalry also set out from 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:...
and joined Augereau later in the day. Meanwhile, two of Masséna's demi-brigades led by General of Brigade Jean Gilles André Robert attacked along the western dike.
By early afternoon, Masséna drubbed Provera near Belfiore again. Alvinczi recalled both Provera and Hohenzollern toward the east and began feeding some of the latter's troops into the combat at Arcole. There, the battle went back and forth all day. At 3 pm, a large column of Austrian reinforcements surged out of Arcole and drove back the troops under Robert. Augereau's men on the east bank saw this development and also fell back. By 4 pm, Augereau's rattled division pulled back across the pontoon bridge to the west bank.
Just when the day seemed lost, Masséna appeared with reinforcements from the western flank. With these, he ambushed the Austrians on the western dike and sent them reeling back toward Arcole. Heartened, Augereau's men recrossed to the east bank of the Alpone and renewed the fight. Masséna and Augereau finally battled their way into Arcole around 5 pm. A lieutenant and 25 Guides aided the final attack by riding into the Austrian rear area and blowing several bugles to create the impression of a large force. The French followed up their success by advancing north and threatening to block the main east-west highway. Alvinczi threw in Schübirz's brigade to hold off the French, and this allowed Provera's division to escape.
Aftermath: Davidovich, Alvinczi, and Wurmser
French losses at Arcole numbered 3,500 dead and wounded, plus 1,300 captured or missing. The Austrians suffered only 2,200 dead and wounded, but lost 4,000 men and 11 guns to capture. On the French side, General Robert was killed, while Austrian General-Major Gerhard RosselminiGerhard Rosselmini
Gerhard Ritter von Rosselmini or Gerhard Rosselmini or Gerhard Roselmini became a general officer in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars and fought in several actions against Napoleon Bonaparte's French army during the 1796 Italian campaign.-Career:Oberst Rosselmini commanded...
died in Vicenza
Vicenza
Vicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
on 19 November. The Austrians managed to move the bulk of their army to safety, but Bonaparte could still count himself successful in that he had forced the Austrians to temporarily abandon their plan of advancing to Mantua.
On 17 November, Davidovich finally attacked Vaubois at Rivoli. General-Major Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko
Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko
Joseph Ocskay von Ocskó joined the army of the Habsburg Empire and rose to the rank of general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. He fought in numerous actions in the 1796-1797 Italian campaign against the French army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte...
's brigade from Monte Baldo
Monte Baldo
Monte Baldo is a mountain in the Italian Alps, located in the provinces of Trentino and Verona. Its ridge spans mainly northeast-southwest, and is bounded from south by the highland ending at Caprino Veronese, from west by Lake Garda, from north by the valley joining Rovereto to Nago-Torbole and,...
met General-Major Josef Philipp Vukassovich
Josef Philipp Vukassovich
Josef Philipp von Vukassovich , also Josef Wukassovitch, was a Croatian soldier who joined the army of Habsburg Monarchy and fought against both Ottoman Empire and the First French Republic. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he commanded a brigade in the 1796–1797 Italian campaign against...
's brigade from the Adige gorge, and together they drove the French soldiers steadily back. After resisting all morning the French troops stampeded in the afternoon. The French lost 800 killed and wounded, plus 1,000 captured including Generals of Brigade Pascal Fiorella and Antoine Valette. Austrian casualties were 600. Vaubois pulled back toward Peschiera del Garda
Peschiera del Garda
Peschiera del Garda , is a town and comune in the province of Verona, in Veneto, Italy. When Lombardy-Venetia was under Austrian rule, Peschiera was the northwest anchor of the four fortified towns constituting the so-called Quadrilatero...
while Davidovich pursued as far as Castelnuovo del Garda
Castelnuovo del Garda
Castelnuovo del Garda is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km west of Venice and about 15 km west of Verona....
. Bonaparte sent his cavalry to watch Alvinczi's retreat, while turning the bulk of his forces toward Davidovich.
On 19 November, Davidovich heard of the Austrian defeat at Arcole and detected signs that Bonaparte was about to fall upon him in full force. The Austrian pulled back to Rivoli on the 20th and began to fall back farther the next morning. At this moment, he received an encouraging note from Alvinczi and halted his retreat. But the French caught up with him at Rivoli. In the ensuing clash, the French suffered 200 casualties while inflicting losses of 250 killed and wounded. An additional 600 Austrians, three guns and a bridging train fell into French hands. Davidovich hastily fell back north. Altogether, Davidovich's retreat from Rivoli cost him as many as 1,500 men and nine guns.
After Arcole, Alvinczi pulled back to Olmo where he held a council of war on the morning of 18 November. At this meeting, the Austrian generals gamely decided to return to the field with their 16,000 remaining troops. By 21 November, Alvinczi occupied Caldiero again but could go no farther. While there, he heard of Davidovich's defeat on 23 November. That evening the Austrian field army began its retreat to the Brenta.
During the three days that the battle of Arcole raged, cannon fire could be heard in Mantua. Observers in the fortress even noticed that some of the French camps seemed to be empty, yet Wurmser unaccountably failed to act. On 23 November, Wurmser assaulted the siege lines, capturing 200 Frenchmen and demolishing some earthworks. The Austrians suffered almost 800 casualties. When he learned that Davidovich was in full retreat, Wurmser withdrew into the city.
Popular lore
This action of the 1796 Italian campaign concerned much more than the crossing of a bridge, though the bridge tends to figure largely in paintings of the battle, usually for dramatic reasons. It seems likely that the paintings that show Bonaparte actually crossing the bridge owe more to artistic interpretation than fact. Not that being on the bridge itself would have been any more heroic: several of the men standing around Napoleon at the time were killed and wounded, and he was extremely lucky to escape unharmed, though according to one source he was toppled from his horse and ended in the mud at the edge of the marsh. Bonaparte's aide-de-camp, who was killed on the first day of the battle, later had the French frigate MuironFrench frigate Muiron
The Muiron was a frigate of the French Navy, famous for ferrying Bonaparte on the 22 August 1799 under the flagship of Admiral Ganteaume from Egypt to France after the Battle of the Nile....
named after him.
Books
- Boycott-Brown, Martin. The Road to Rivoli. London: Cassell & Co., 2001. ISBN 0-304-35305-1
- Chandler, DavidDavid G. ChandlerDavid G. Chandler was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Oxford University awarded him the D. Litt. in 1991...
. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966. - Kryn, J. Le petit tambour d’Arcole. Cadenet, 1987.
- Napoleon. Paris, 1858-69
- Reinhard, M. Avec Bonaparte en Italie; d’après les lettres inédites de son aide de camp Joseph Sulkowski. Paris, 1946.
- Rothenberg, Gunther E. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-253-31076-8
- Schels, J. B. "Die Schlacht bei Arcole, am 15, 16 und 17 November 1796." Oesterreichische Militärische Zeitschrift, no. Bd. 2 (1829): 35-103
- Schom, AlanAlan SchomAlan M. Schom is an American-born writer and biographer, born in Sterling, Illinois, in 1937. He attended Beverly Hills High School and received an A.B. in European History from University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D at Durham University , School of Oriental Studies...
. Napoleon Bonaparte. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. ISBN 0-06-017214-2 - Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9