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Battle of Cassano (1799)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cassano d'Adda was fought on 27 April 1799 near Cassano d'Adda
, about 28 km ENE of Milan
. It resulted in a victory for the Austrians
and Russians
under Alexander Suvorov
over Jean Moreau's
French
army. The action took place during the War of the Second Coalition
during the larger conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars
.
, the Second Coalition launched an invasion of French-occupied Italy. General of Division (MG) Barthélemy Schérer
fought inconclusive actions the Austrians at Pastrengo
, Verona
, and Legnago
on 26 March 1799. Feldmarschal-Leutnant
(FML) Pál Kray and his Austrians then defeated Schérer at the Battle of Magnano
on 4 April. This defeat forced the French army into a long retreat. Attempts by Schérer to hold the lines of the Mincio
and Oglio
rivers failed when an Austrian force led by FML Josef Vukassovich
turned his northern flank. Schérer, completely out of his depth, handed over army command to the more capable MG Moreau. Austria's Russian allies, led by Suvorov, soon began appearing at the front.
When Field Marshal
Suvorov joined the allied army, he took over the top command from Kray, though the latter had just been promoted to Feldzeugmeister
. The arrival of General of Cavalry Michael von Melas
displaced Kray the top Austrian field command. Therefore, Kray was assigned to capture the fortress of Mantua
, while Melas and Suvorov pursued the French. The Siege of Mantua
lasted from April until the garrison surrendered on 28 July.
, Claude Victor, Jean Sérurier
, and Pierre de Laboissière to defend the line of the Adda River
. The Austrians still made up the bulk of the allied army, since only three formations of Cossacks were present. The Austrian division commanders were FML Peter Ott
, FML Johann Zoph, General-Major
Franz de Lusignan
(acting commander for FML Michael Fröhlich), and FML Konrad Valentin von Kaim
. Even before the battle, a Russian force under Petr Bagration outflanked the French position by seizing a bridge over the Adda at Lecco
on 26 April. This put Sérurier's division in an awkward position. On 27 April, General of Cavalry Michael von Melas
with the divisions of Fröhlich and Kaim stormed the French positions at Cassano, while Ott and Zoph attacked 6 km farther north at Vaprio d'Adda
. Suvarov's assault forced Moreau to retreat.
and the French lost another 300 killed and wounded, plus 2,700 captured. Grenier's division withdrew to Novara
while Victor and Laboissière pulled back to Valenza
. Another authority gives allied losses as 6,000 and French prisoners as 7,000, without listing French killed and wounded. Kaim pressed on to capture Turin
on 20 June. Milan's citadel capitulated on 24 May. The next major action was the Battle of Trebbia (1799) on 17-20 June.
Cassano d'Adda
Cassano d'Adda is a town and comune in the province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the province of Milan and the province of Bergamo.-History:...
, about 28 km ENE of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. It resulted in a victory for the Austrians
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
and Russians
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
under Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
over Jean Moreau's
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
French
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
army. The action took place during the War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
during the larger conflict known as 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...
.
Background
While General Napoleon Bonaparte campaigned in EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, the Second Coalition launched an invasion of French-occupied Italy. General of Division (MG) Barthélemy Schérer
Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer
Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer , born in Delle, near Belfort, became a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and on three occasions led armies in combat.-Early career:...
fought inconclusive actions the Austrians at Pastrengo
Pastrengo
Pastrengo is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km west of Venice and about 15 km northwest of Verona...
, 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...
, and 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:...
on 26 March 1799. Feldmarschal-Leutnant
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
(FML) Pál Kray and his Austrians then defeated Schérer at the Battle of Magnano
Battle of Magnano
In the Battle of Magnano on 5 April 1799, an Austrian army commanded by Pál Kray defeated a French army led by Barthélemy Schérer. In subsequent battles, the Austrians and their Russian allies drove the French out of nearly all of Italy...
on 4 April. This defeat forced the French army into a long retreat. Attempts by Schérer to hold the lines of the Mincio
Mincio
Mincio is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy.Called the Sarca River before entering Lake Garda, it flows from there about 65 km past Mantua into the Po River....
and Oglio
Oglio
The Oglio is a left-side tributary of the Po River in Lombardy, Italy. It is 280 km long....
rivers failed when an Austrian force led by FML Josef 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...
turned his northern flank. Schérer, completely out of his depth, handed over army command to the more capable MG Moreau. Austria's Russian allies, led by Suvorov, soon began appearing at the front.
When Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Suvorov joined the allied army, he took over the top command from Kray, though the latter had just been promoted to 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...
. The arrival of General of Cavalry Michael von Melas
Michael von Melas
Michael Friedrich Benedikt Baron von Melas was a Transylvanian-born field marshal of Greek descent for the Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars....
displaced Kray the top Austrian field command. Therefore, Kray was assigned to capture the fortress 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...
, while Melas and Suvorov pursued the French. The Siege of Mantua
Siege of Mantua (1799)
The Siege of Mantua was a four-month effort by the Austrian army to regain a presence in northern Italy after being excluded from that region by Napoleon Bonaparte through the successful French Siege of Mantua in 1797...
lasted from April until the garrison surrendered on 28 July.
Battle
Moreau deployed the divisions of MGs Paul GrenierPaul Grenier
Paul Grenier joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 campaign in the Electorate of Bavaria he was a wing commander...
, Claude Victor, Jean Sérurier
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier, 1st Comte Sérurier , was a French soldier and political figure who rose to the rank of Marshal of France.-Early life:...
, and Pierre de Laboissière to defend the line of the Adda River
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
. The Austrians still made up the bulk of the allied army, since only three formations of Cossacks were present. The Austrian division commanders were FML Peter Ott
Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz
Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz joined the Austrian army and fought in the wars against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, and the First French Republic in the last half of the 18th century. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he rose in rank to general officer and twice campaigned against the...
, FML Johann Zoph, General-Major
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Franz de Lusignan
Franz Joseph, Marquis de Lusignan
Franz Joseph, Marquis de Lusignan , a Spaniard, joined the Austrian army and fought against Prussian soldiers and Belgian rebels. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he played a significant role at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797 and became a general officer. He led brigade- and division-sized...
(acting commander for FML Michael Fröhlich), and FML Konrad Valentin von Kaim
Konrad Valentin von Kaim
Johann Konrad Valentin Ritter von Kaim was a French soldier and Austrian infantry commander during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was born in Gengenbach and died in Udine.-Footnotes:...
. Even before the battle, a Russian force under Petr Bagration outflanked the French position by seizing a bridge over the Adda at Lecco
Lecco
Lecco is a town of c. 47,760 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como...
on 26 April. This put Sérurier's division in an awkward position. On 27 April, General of Cavalry Michael von Melas
Michael von Melas
Michael Friedrich Benedikt Baron von Melas was a Transylvanian-born field marshal of Greek descent for the Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars....
with the divisions of Fröhlich and Kaim stormed the French positions at Cassano, while Ott and Zoph attacked 6 km farther north at Vaprio d'Adda
Vaprio d'Adda
Vaprio d'Adda is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northeast of Milan....
. Suvarov's assault forced Moreau to retreat.
Results
The French suffered 2,500 killed and wounded, plus 5,000 soldiers, 27 cannon, and 3 colors captured. The Austro-Russians lost 2,000 killed and wounded. Moreau retreated, leaving a 2,400-man garrison in Milan's citadel. On 28 April, Vukassovich trapped Serurier's division at VerderioVerderio Superiore
Verderio Superiore is a comune in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km northeast of Milan and about 20 km south of Lecco...
and the French lost another 300 killed and wounded, plus 2,700 captured. Grenier's division withdrew to Novara
Novara
Novara is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With c. 105,000 inhabitants, it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is an important crossroads for commercial traffic along the routes from Milan to Turin...
while Victor and Laboissière pulled back to Valenza
Valenza
Valenza is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 80 km east of Turin and about 11 km north of Alessandria.-History:...
. Another authority gives allied losses as 6,000 and French prisoners as 7,000, without listing French killed and wounded. Kaim pressed on to capture Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
on 20 June. Milan's citadel capitulated on 24 May. The next major action was the Battle of Trebbia (1799) on 17-20 June.
Books
- Eggenberger, David. An Encyclopedia of Battles. New York: Dover Publications, 1985. ISBN 0-486-24913-1
- Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9