Napoleons First Italian campaign

Battle of Rovereto
Bataille de Rovereto livrée le 4 septembre 1796 entre les armées française et autrichienne. Gravure de l'époque. ©Image Attribution forthcoming. Image belongs to the respective owner(s).
1796 Sep 4

Battle of Rovereto

Rovereto, Italy

In September, Bonaparte marched north against Trento in Tyrol, but Wurmser had already marched toward Mantua by the Brenta River valley, leaving Paul Davidovich's force to hold off the French. The action was fought during the second relief of the siege of Mantua. The Austrians left Davidovich's corps in the upper Adige valley while transferring two divisions to Bassano del Grappa by marching east, then south down the Brenta River valley. The Austrian army commander Dagobert von Würmser planned to march south-west from Bassano to Mantua, completing the clockwise manoeuvre. Meanwhile, Davidovich would threaten a descent from the north to distract the French. Bonaparte's next move did not conform to the Austrians' expectations. The French commander advanced north with three divisions, a force that greatly outnumbered Davidovich. The French steadily pressed back the Austrian defenders all day and routed them in the afternoon. Davidovich retreated well to the north. This success allowed Bonaparte to follow Würmser down the Brenta valley to Bassano and, ultimately, trap him inside the walls of Mantua.

Last Updated: Fri Jun 10 2022

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