Battle of Lonato

• 1. Strategic Context And Setup

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  On the 29th of July, the Austrian army set out from Trento with a clear purpose. They aimed to relieve the besieged fortress of Mantua. Field Marshal Dagobert von Wurmser drove his main force south down the upper Adige River valley. This path lay east of Lake Garda. A separate Right Column under Lieutenant General Peter Quasdanovich struck on the west side of the lake. This corps numbered 18,000 men. It consisted of four mixed brigades led by General-Majors Peter Karl Ott, Heinrich XV Prince of Reuss-Plauen, Joseph Ocskay, and Johann Rudolf von Sporck. Two advanced guards also joined this column. Obersts Franz Joseph Marquis de Lusignan and Johann von Klenau commanded these units. Napoleon Bonaparte did not believe major Austrian forces could operate in the mountains west of Lake Garda. Consequently, only General of Division Pierre Francois Sauret's 4,500-man division defended the area. Garrisons held Salò on the western shore, Gavardo on the Chiese River, and Desenzano del Garda at the southwestern corner. The French held Brescia with just three companies of infantry.

• 2. The First Battle Of Lonato

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  On the 31st of July, Ott's brigade advanced from San Marco toward Lonato. The Austrian general led two battalions of the Kheul Infantry Regiment. Four companies of the Johann Jellacic Infantry Regiment followed. Two companies of the Liccaner Grenz Infantry Regiment joined them. One squadron of the Erdödy Hussar Regiment completed the force. The initial attack flushed part of Hyacinthe Francois Joseph Despinoy's division out of Lonato. Hussars chased fugitives eastward but were repulsed by waiting French artillery batteries. André Masséna counterattacked with Claude Dallemagne's brigade. Despinoy brought Nicolas Bertin's and Jean Cervoni's brigades to the fight. In a tough four-hour battle, the French drove Ott's outnumbered soldiers out of Lonato. They pushed them back to San Marco. Quasdanovich regrouped around Gavardo on the 2nd of August. He ordered an attack by several columns for the next day. On the 31st of July, Sauret marched to Salò and defeated Ocskay in a pitched battle. The Austrians retreated to Gavardo. Sauret returned to Desenzano where he met Masséna and Despinoy.

• 3. Tactical Maneuvers On August Third

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  During the night, Ocskay moved south along the lake road from Salò. Guieu marched north on an obscure lane and completely missed Ocskay. Ocskay reached Lonato's outskirts via Desenzano. Quasdanovich kept Sporck's brigade to hold Gavardo. He sent Ott and Reuss south on the 3rd of August. Ocskay's brigade attacked Lonato at dawn. It defeated Jean Pijon's brigade and captured its commander. Masséna counterattacked the Austrians from the west at mid-day. Bonaparte directed the entire battle. Assaults came from the brigades of Pijon, now led by Colonel Jean-Andoche Junot. Claude Victor and Antoine Rampon struck in the center. Jean Lorcet attacked on the south. Ocskay's outnumbered men were driven from Lonato and pursued toward Desenzano. Junot's men plus the Guides and the 15th Dragoons captured Desenzano first. They freed 150 French prisoners from Pijon's morning fight. Hemmed in by enemies, Ocskay surrendered with the rump of his brigade. The rest scattered across the countryside. During fighting in Desenzano, Junot suffered severe saber cuts on his head from Austrian cavalrymen.

• 4. The Deception At Desenzano

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  On the 4th of August, Quasdanovich issued orders to retreat north toward Lake Idro at 2:00am. In the confusion, one Austrian column found itself cut off from the rest of the corps. This group made a desperate march southeast to reach Wurmser. The Austrians marched into Lonato early that morning. They nearly captured Napoleon himself. Napoleon was at Lonato with only 1,200 French against 3,000 Austrians. He informed the Austrian officer that his whole army was present. He stated if in eight minutes the division had not laid down its arms, he would not spare a man. Bonaparte supported this ruse by issuing orders to his aide-de-camp Berthier about grenadier and artillery units. Berthier knew these units were entirely bogus. Oberst Knorr surrendered one battalion each of De Vins Infantry Regiment 37 and Erbach Infantry Regiment 42. This totalled 2,000 men and 3 cannons. The Austrians discovered once they had surrendered and been disarmed that there were no French forces nearby. They could have captured Napoleon with ease. Bonaparte sent Guieu to observe the Austrian withdrawal.

• 5. Casualties And Strategic Consequences

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  In the battles on 3 and the 4th of August, the Austrians lost 23 cannons. They suffered at least 5,000 killed, wounded and captured. French losses reached at least 2,000. These figures do not include fighting at Castiglione. More importantly, Quasdanovich's defeat allowed Bonaparte to mass over 30,000 men against Wurmser's 25,000. This resulted in a French victory in the Battle of Castiglione on the 5th of August. This defeat forced Wurmser to withdraw to Trento and abandon the campaign. On the 29th of July, Ott's brigade attacked Salò while Ocskay moved against Gavardo. General of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca was warned by a village curate but chose to disregard the information. Consequently, the Austrians took Sauret's division by surprise. The French general withdrew to Desenzano after a stiff fight. Five hundred Frenchmen and two cannons were captured. At Salò, Jean Joseph Guieu and 400 men took refuge in the Palazzo Martinengo. They were blockaded by Ocskay's soldiers.