Second Battle of Bassano

Second Battle of Bassano
	Part of French Revolutionary Wars
Date	6 November 1796
Location	Bassano del Grappa, in present-day Italy45°46′N 11°44′E / 45.767°N 11.733°E
Result	Austrian victory
Belligerents
French Republic	Habsburg monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte	József Alvinczi
Strength
19,500 infantry	28,000 infantry
Casualties and losses
3,000 dead and wounded	2,800–5,600 dead and wounded; 2 guns
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Europe

War of the First Coalition:
Italian Campaign

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62miles

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Lodi

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current battle

Napoleon as subordinate

Napoleon in command

The Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November 1796, saw a

siege of Mantua during the War of the First Coalition

.

Background

See the

Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of Battle

for a list of the major units of both armies.

The second relief of the siege of

Dagobert Sigismund von Würmser's field army at the Battle of Bassano

on 8 September. After the battle Würmser elected to dash for Mantua. He reached the place safely only to have his 12,000 remaining soldiers driven into the fortress by the French on 15 September. Within six weeks 4,000 Austrians died of disease or wounds in the overcrowded city.

Emperor

Adige River

valley.

To face these threats, Bonaparte deployed a 10,500-man division under

Francois Macquard

's reserve of 2,800 foot soldiers.

Davidovich's column began moving at the end of October. On 2 November, his corps clashed with Vaubois' outnumbered division near Cembra in the north. By 5 November Davidovich pushed the French out of Trento. Vaubois fell back to Calliano.

On 1 November, the Friaul Corps began crossing the Piave. In the face of Alvinczi's westward advance, Massena pulled out of Bassano early on 4 November. General-Major

Friedrich of Hohenzollern-Hechingen's advance guard soon occupied the town. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Giovanni Provera with two brigades reached the Brenta farther south near Fontaniva to form Alvinczi's left flank.^[3]

Bonaparte determined to attack the Austrians and called for Augereau and Macquard to join Masséna in resisting Alvinczi on the Brenta.

Battle

Fontaniva

Bonaparte accompanied Augereau's division as it advanced north-east from

General-major Anton Lipthay pulled his troops back to the east side of the river. This set the stage for the battle, which began on 6 November.^[4]

At 7 a.m. Masséna attacked Lipthay's brigade at Fontaniva. From morning until 6 p.m., the French mounted as many as ten assaults on the Habsburg general's four battalions, with heavy losses on both sides. The 2nd and 3rd battalions of Splényi Infantry Regiment Nr. 51 gallantly defended the river crossing, losing 9 officers and 657 men out of 2,000 soldiers during the fighting before they were replaced in line by the

Deutschmeister Infantry Regiment Nr. 4. Injured when his wounded horse fell on him, Lipthay resolutely remained at his post. In the afternoon, Provera reinforced him with troops from the brigades of Generals-major Anton Schübirz von Chobinin and Adolf Brabeck as the Austrians successfully held their ground against the French attacks.^[5]

Bassano

Early in the morning Hohenzollern crossed the Brenta, followed by Quasdanovich's right wing. This wing included General-Major Anton Ferdinand Mittrowsky's brigade, which recently joined the army by descending the Brenta valley. The Austrians anchored their right flank in the Alpine foothills while their left flank curved back to touch the Brenta. Augereau's division began to arrive in the area in mid-morning and attacked Bassano in the early afternoon before all the Austrians crossed the river. After severe fighting, in which the village of Nove changed hands several times, the action ended at 10 p.m. One battalion of the Samuel Gyulai Infantry Regiment Nr. 32 suffered 390, or nearly 50 percent casualties.^[6] Though he issued a report claiming a victory, Bonaparte ordered a retreat that evening.

Results

French casualties totalled 3,000, including 508 men and 1 howitzer captured. Austrian losses numbered 2,823 and two cannons captured. Provera's left wing lost 208 killed, 873 wounded, and 109 captured. Quosdanovich's right wing suffered 326 killed, 858 wounded, and 449 captured.^[7] Though Alvinczi ordered a pursuit, the fast-marching French successfully broke contact and retreated to Verona. On 7 November, Davidovich routed Vaubois at the Battle of Calliano. The two setbacks placed Bonaparte in a dangerous situation, as the two arms of the Austrian offensive threatened to close around him. Meanwhile, Würmser's large garrison remained in his rear.^[8]

Alvinczi continued to press ahead, sending Hohenzollern's advance guard to the outskirts of Verona by 11 November. The following day, Bonaparte unsuccessfully attacked the Austrians at the Battle of Caldiero. The French army commander's troubles were far from over. The deciding action of the campaign was the Battle of Arcole on 15–17 November.

Notes

^ Bodart 1908, p. 315.
^ Boycott-Brown, p. 440.
^ Boycott-Brown, p. 449.
^ Boycott-Brown, p. 450.
^ Boycott-Brown, p. 451.
^ Boycott-Brown, p. 452.
^ Smith, p. 126.
^ Chandler, p. 105.

References

Boycott-Brown, Martin (2001). The Road to Rivoli: Napoleon's First Campaign. London: Cassell & Co.
ISBN 0-304-35305-1
.

Chandler, David G. (1966). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York, NY: Macmillan.
Fiebeger, G.J. (1911). The Campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte of 1796–1797. West Point, New York: US Military Academy Printing Office.
ISBN 1-85367-276-9
.

Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905). Retrieved 3 February 2023.

External links

Media related to Second Battle of Bassano at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by Battle of Schliengen	French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns Second Battle of Bassano	Succeeded by Battle of Calliano

[FOOTNOTEBodart1908315-1] Bodart 1908, p. 315.

[2] Boycott-Brown, p. 440.

[3] Boycott-Brown, p. 449.

[4] Boycott-Brown, p. 450.

[5] Boycott-Brown, p. 451.

[6] Boycott-Brown, p. 452.

[7] Smith, p. 126.

[8] Chandler, p. 105.

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