Second Battle of Bassano

• 1. Siege Context And Strategic Background

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  Emperor Francis II of Austria appointed Feldzeugmeister József Alvinczi to assemble a new field army in late 1796. This decision followed the disastrous second relief of Mantua, which ended dismally for the Austrians after General Bonaparte defeated Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigismund von Würmser's field army at the Battle of Bassano on the 8th of September. Würmser reached the fortress safely only to have his 12,000 remaining soldiers driven into the stronghold by French forces on the 15th of September. Within six weeks, 4,000 Austrians died of disease or wounds in the overcrowded city. The failure created an urgent need for a third offensive to break the siege before winter set in completely.

• 2. Commanders And Force Deployments

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  Alvinczi accompanied the 28,000-strong Friaul Corps as it advanced from the Piave River toward the west. Feldmarschall-Leutnant Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich led this massive column while Feldmarschall-Leutnant Paul Davidovich commanded the 19,000-man Tyrol Corps in the upper Adige River valley. To face these threats, Bonaparte deployed a 10,500-man division under General of Division Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois in the north. He placed 9,500 soldiers led by General of Division André Masséna at Bassano on the Brenta River. The 8,300 troops of General of Division Pierre Augereau held Verona with Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine blockading Würmser's garrison using 8,800 soldiers and reserve cavalry.

• 3. The Fontaniva River Clash

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  Masséna took a more southerly road and clashed with the Austrian left wing at Fontaniva late on the 5th of November. General-major Anton Lipthay pulled his troops back to the east side of the river after the initial contact. From morning until afternoon, the French mounted as many as ten assaults on the Habsburg general's four battalions. Heavy losses occurred on both sides during these repeated attacks. The 2nd and 3rd battalions of Splényi Infantry Regiment Nr. 51 gallantly defended the river crossing while losing 9 officers and 657 men out of 2,000 soldiers before they were replaced in line by the Deutschmeister Infantry Regiment Nr. 4.

• 4. Tactical Struggles At Bassano

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  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. 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, the village of Nove changed hands several times throughout the day. One battalion of the Samuel Gyulai Infantry Regiment Nr. 32 suffered 390 casualties or nearly 50 percent of its strength during the engagement.

• 5. Casualties And Immediate Aftermath

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  French casualties totalled 3,000 including 508 men and 1 howitzer captured during the fighting. Austrian losses numbered 2,823 with two cannons taken by French forces. Provera's left wing lost 208 killed, 873 wounded, and 109 captured while Quosdanovich's right wing suffered 326 killed, 858 wounded, and 449 captured. Though Alvinczi ordered a pursuit, the fast-marching French successfully broke contact and retreated to Verona on that same evening. On the 7th of November Davidovich routed Vaubois at the Battle of Calliano creating a dangerous situation for Bonaparte as both arms of the Austrian offensive threatened to close around him.

• 6. Napoleon's First Tactical Defeat

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  The Second Battle of Bassano marked the first tactical defeat of Bonaparte's career in his military history. The engagement happened two months after the more famous Battle of Bassano on the 8th of September 1796. Despite issuing a report claiming victory, Bonaparte ordered a retreat that evening after severe fighting. This loss occurred near Bassano del Grappa in Northern Italy during the French Revolutionary Wars when the action was part of the third relief of Mantua. The battle demonstrated that even Napoleon could be repulsed by persistent attacks from a determined Habsburg army under Alvinczi.