
Piave River 1809 order of battle
Encyclopedia
The Piave River 1809 Order of Battle shows the units and organization for the Franco-Italian and Austrian Empire
armies that fought in the Battle of Piave River
on 8 May 1809. Eugène de Beauharnais
, the viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy
defeated Archduke John of Austria. Eugène's Advance Guard crossed the river first and was assailed by Austrian cavalry and artillery. The French cavalry routed the opposing cavalry and captured 14 enemy guns. A lull followed as John arranged his infantry in a formidable defensive position. Meanwhile, Eugène struggled to pour reinforcements into the bridgehead as the Piave rose dangerously. In the afternoon, the viceroy sent Paul Grenier
to drive back the Austrian left while Jacques MacDonald mounted an assault on the center. The attack succeeded in breaking the Austrian line and compelling John to order a retreat.
: Eugène de Beauharnais
General of Division Jacques MacDonald (14,580, 24 guns)
(16,800, 18 guns)
General of Division Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
(21,000, 18 guns)
General of Division Emmanuel Grouchy (7,500, 12 guns)
(7,020, 12 guns)
(12,720, 33 guns)
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
armies that fought in the Battle of Piave River
Battle of Piave River (1809)
The Battle of Piave River was fought on 8 May 1809 between the Franco-Italian army under the command of Eugène de Beauharnais and an Austrian army led by Archduke John of Austria. The Austrian commander made a stand behind the Piave River but he suffered a defeat at the hands of his numerically...
on 8 May 1809. Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
, the viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
defeated Archduke John of Austria. Eugène's Advance Guard crossed the river first and was assailed by Austrian cavalry and artillery. The French cavalry routed the opposing cavalry and captured 14 enemy guns. A lull followed as John arranged his infantry in a formidable defensive position. Meanwhile, Eugène struggled to pour reinforcements into the bridgehead as the Piave rose dangerously. In the afternoon, the viceroy sent Paul Grenier
Paul 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...
to drive back the Austrian left while Jacques MacDonald mounted an assault on the center. The attack succeeded in breaking the Austrian line and compelling John to order a retreat.
Franco-Italian Army
Army of ItalyArmy of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
: Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
Advance Guard and Reserve
- Artillery: General of Division Jean-Barthélemot SorbierJean-Barthélemot SorbierJean-Barthélemot Sorbier, count, , was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars.-Revolutionary Wars:An aristocrat of the Ancien Régime, Sorbier joined the Royal Artillery Corps in 1782 and was a part of the La Fère regiment, where he met Napoleon Bonaparte...
- 12-pound foot battery (8 guns)
- Advance Guard: General of Brigade Joseph Marie, Count DessaixJoseph Marie, Count DessaixJoseph Marie, Count Dessaix was a French general.He was born at Thonon in Savoy...
(4,980, 4 guns)- Brigade: Colonel Nagle
- Converged Voltiguers (2,200)
- Brigade: Major Vautre
- Converged Voltiguers (2,100)
- Attached:
- 9th Chasseurs à cheval (540)
- 4-pound horse battery (4 guns)
- Brigade: Colonel Nagle
- Division: General of Division Jean Mathieu Seras (7,500, 10 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
- 4th Battalion/35th Line Infantry Regiment
- 53rd Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 2nd Brigade:
- 79th Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 106th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)
- Attached: 8-pound foot battery, 4-pound foot battery (12 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
- Italian Guard: General of Brigade Teodoro LechiTeodoro LechiTeodoro Lechi was an Italian general, a Jacobin and a military advisor to King Carlo Alberto of Sardinia. He was the brother of Giuseppe Lechi, a brilliant and famous Napoleonic general, and Angelo, also a Napoleonic officer.-Biography:Teodoro Lechi was born in Brescia, the 14th son of 19 of...
(2,580, 6 guns)- Brigade:
- Italian Guard Velites Battalion
- Italian Honor Guard Squadron
- Brigade:
- Italian Guard Chasseurs Battalion
- Italian Guard Grenadiers Battalion
- Italian Guard Dragoon Regiment (2 squadrons)
- Attached: 6-pound horse battery (6 guns)
- Brigade:
MacDonald's Corps

- 1st Division: General of Division Jean-Baptiste BroussierJean-Baptiste BroussierJean-Baptiste Broussier was a French Divisional General of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.-Life:Broussier was born in Ville-sur-Saulx....
- 1st Brigade:
- 9th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)
- 4th Battalion/11th Line Infantry Regiment
- 2nd Brigade:
- 84th Line Infantry Regiment84th Line Infantry RegimentThe 84th Line Infantry Regiment is an infantry unit of the French Army. It was heir of the Quercy Regiment and the 9th Light Regiment, created in 1684. At the Battle of Graz on 25 and 26 June 1809, two battalions defended a church cemetery for many hours against thousands of Austrian soldiers. In...
(4 battalions) - 92nd Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)
- 84th Line Infantry Regiment
- Attached: 8-pound foot battery, 4-pound foot battery (12 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
- 2nd Division: General of Division Jean Maximilien LamarqueJean Maximilien LamarqueJean Maximilien Lamarque was a French commander during the Napoleonic Wars who later became a member of French Parliament. As an opponent of the Ancien Régime, he is known for his active suppression of Royalist and Legitimist activity...
- 1st Brigade:
- 18th Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 13th Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 2nd Brigade:
- 23rd Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 29th Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- Attached: 8-pound foot battery, 4-pound foot battery (12 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
Grenier's Corps
General of Division 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...
(16,800, 18 guns)
- 1st Division: General of Brigade Louis Abbé
- 1st Brigade:
- 8th Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 1st Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 2nd Brigade:
- 52nd Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 102nd Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- Napoleone Dragoon Regiment (1 squadron)
- Attached: 8-pound foot battery, 4-pound foot battery (12 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
- 2nd Division: General of Division Pierre François Joseph DuruttePierre François Joseph DuruttePierre François Joseph Durutte joined the French army at the beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. Rapidly promoted for feats of bravery under fire at Jemappes in 1792 and Hondschoote in 1793, he found himself appointed to serve as a staff officer...
- 1st Brigade:
- 22nd Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 23rd Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 2nd Brigade:
- 60th Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 62nd Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- Attached: 6-pound foot battery (6 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
Baraguey d'Hilliers' Corps

Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
(21,000, 18 guns)
- 1st Division: General of Division Achille FontanelliAchille FontanelliAchille Fontanelli , Italian nationalist, Napoleonic general and Earl.-Biography:Fontanelli was born in Modena on the 8th November 1775 to a minor Italian aristocratic family, son of Marquis Alfonso and Paolina Cervi...
- 1st Brigade:
- 1st Italian Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)
- 2nd Italian Line Infantry Regiment (1 battalion)
- 3rd Italian Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)
- 2nd Brigade:
- 7th Italian Line IR (2 battalions)
- Dalmatian Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 112th Line Infantry Regiment (3 battalions)
- Attached: 6-pound foot battery (6 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
- 2nd Division: General of Division Jean-Baptiste Dominique RuscaJean-Baptiste Dominique RuscaJean-Baptiste Dominique Rusca was born in the County of Nice, part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. By profession a medical doctor, he advocated the cause of the French Revolution and was expelled by the Sardinian authorities. In 1793, he treated the French sick and wounded during the Siege of Toulon...
(not present at Piave)- 1st Brigade:
- 1st Italian Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 2nd Italian Light Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 4th Italian Line Infantry Regiment (2 battalions)
- 2nd Brigade:
- 67th Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 93rd Line Infantry Regiment (4 battalions)
- 7th Dragoon Regiment (1 squadron)
- Attached: Two 6-pound foot batteries (12 guns)
- 1st Brigade:
Grouchy's Cavalry

- Sahuc's Light Cavalry Division: General of Division Louis Michel Antoine SahucLouis Michel Antoine SahucLouis-Michel-Antoine Sahuc, born 7 January 1755 – died 24 October 1813, joined the French Royal Army and spent 20 years there before fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to command a French cavalry regiment and later became a general officer...
- 6th Chasseurs à cheval (4 squadrons)
- 8th Chasseurs à cheval (4 squadrons)
- 25th Chasseurs à cheval (4 squadrons)
- 6th Hussars (4 squadrons)
- Attached: 4-pound horse battery (6 guns)
- Pully's Dragoon Division: General of Division Charles Randon de Pully
- 23rd Dragoon Regiment (4 squadrons)
- 28th Dragoon Regiment (4 squadrons)
- 29th Dragoons (4 squadrons)
- Grouchy's Dragoon Division: General of Brigade François Guérin d'Etoquigny
- 7th Dragoon Regiment (4 squadrons)
- 30th Dragoon Regiment (4 squadrons)
- Reine Dragoon Regiment (4 squadrons)
Austrian Army
Army of Inner Austria: General der Kavallerie Archduke John of AustriaCavalry and Advance Guard
- Artillery: General-Major Anton Reisner
- Two 12-pound position batteries (12 guns)
- Cavalry Division: Feldmarschall-Leutnant Christian Wolfskeel von Reichenberg
- Brigade: General-Major Johann Hager von Altensteig
- Savoy Dragoon Regiment Nr. 5 (6 squadrons)
- Hohenlohe Dragoon Regiment Nr. 2 (6 squadrons)
- One and a half 6-pound cavalry batteries (9 guns)
- Unattached Cavalry:
- Archduke Josef Hussar Regiment Nr. 2 (2 squadrons)
- The following regiments were temporarily attached to Wolfskeel's division.
- Ott Hussar Regiment Nr. 5 (VIII Armeekorps)
- Frimont Hussar Regiment Nr. 9 (Advance Guard)
- Brigade: General-Major Johann Hager von Altensteig
- Advance Guard: Feldmarschall-Leutnant Johann Maria Philipp FrimontJohann Maria Philipp FrimontJohann Maria Philipp Frimont, Count of Palota, Prince of Antrodoco was an Austrian general.Frimont was born at Fénétrange, in what is now French Lorraine...
(4,380, 16 guns)- Brigade: General-Major Ignaz Splényi
- Archduke Franz KarlArchduke Franz Karl of AustriaArchduke Franz Karl Joseph of Austria from the House of Habsburg was father of two emperors as well as the grandfather of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination sparked the hostilities that led to the outbreak of World War I, and the greatgrandfather of the last Habsburg...
Infantry Regiment Nr. 52 (3 battalions) - Oguliner Grenz InfantryGrenz infantryGrenz infantry or Grenzers were light infantry troops who came from the Croatian and Transylvanian Military Frontier in Habsburg Monarchy . This borderland formed a buffer zone between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, and the troops were originally raised to defend Austria against the...
Regiment Nr. 3 (2 battalions) - Archduke Josef Hussar Regiment Nr. 2 (6 squadrons)
- FrimontJohann Maria Philipp FrimontJohann Maria Philipp Frimont, Count of Palota, Prince of Antrodoco was an Austrian general.Frimont was born at Fénétrange, in what is now French Lorraine...
Hussar Regiment Nr. 9 (7 squadrons) - One-half Grenz 3-pound brigade battery (4 guns)
- Two 6-pound cavalry batteries (12 guns)
- Archduke Franz Karl
- Brigade: General-Major Ignaz Splényi
VIII Armeekorps
Feldmarschall-Leutnant Albert GyulaiAlbert Gyulai
Albert Gyulai von Máros-Németh und Nádaska or Albert Gyulay, born 12 September 1766 – died 27 April 1835, a Hungarian, joined the army of Habsburg Austria and fought against Ottoman Turkey. He served against the First French Republic in the Flanders Campaign and on the Rhine...
(7,020, 12 guns)
- Colloredo's Brigade: General-Major Hieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-MansfeldHieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-MansfeldHieronymus Karl Graf von Colloredo-Mansfeld was an Austrian corps commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-References and notes:...
- Strassoldo Infantry Regiment Nr. 27 (3 battalions)
- Saint Julien Infantry Regiment Nr. 61 (3 battalions)
- 3-pound brigade battery (8 guns)
- Gajoli's Brigade: General-Major Anton Gajoli
- Franz JellacicFranz JellacicBaron Franjo Jelačić Bužimski , born 14 April 1746 – died 4 February 1810, was a Croatian nobleman, a member of the House of Jelačić...
Infantry Regiment Nr. 62 (3 battalions) - 1st Banal Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 10 (2 battalions)
- One-half Grenz 3-pound brigade battery (4 guns)
- Franz Jellacic
- Detached Cavalry:
- OttPeter Karl Ott von BátorkézPeter 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...
Hussar Regiment Nr. 5 (8 squadrons)
- Ott
IX Armeekorps
Feldmarschall-Leutnant Ignaz GyulaiIgnaz Gyulai
Ignaz Gyulai von Máros-Nemeth und Nádaska, Ignácz Gyulay, Ignác Gyulay, or Ignjat Đulaj born 11 September 1763 – died 11 November 1831, joined the army of Habsburg Austria, fought against Ottoman Turkey, and became a general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars. From 1806 he held the...
(12,720, 33 guns)
- Kalnássy's Brigade: General-Major Johann Kalnássy
- Reisky Infantry Regiment Nr. 13 (3 battalions)
- Simbschen Infantry Regiment Nr. 43 (3 battalions)
- 3-pound brigade battery (8 guns)
- Marziani's Brigade: General-Major Franz Marziani
- Alvinczi Infantry Regiment Nr. 19 (3 battalions)
- 3-pound brigade battery (8 guns)
- Gavasini's Brigade: General-Major Alois von GavasiniAlois von GavasiniAlois Graf von Gavasini led a combat brigade in the armies of Habsburg Austria and the Austrian Empire during a remarkable number of battles in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. A native of Bonn, he offered his services to Austria and won an award for bravery in 1790...
- Ottocaner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 2 (2 battalions)
- Kleinmayer's Brigade: General-Major Johann Peter Kleinmayer
- Szluiner Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr. 4 (2 battalions)
- 3-pound brigade battery (8 guns)
- Salamon Grenadier Battalion
- Janusch Grenadier Battalion
- Mühlen Grenadier Battalion
- Chimani Grenadier Battalion
- Sebottendorf's Brigade: General-Major Ignaz Sebottendorf
- GrazGrazThe more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
LandwehrLandwehrLandwehr, or Landeswehr, is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large scale, low strength fortifications...
(3 battalions) - Dumontet FreikorpsFreikorpsFreikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
Battalion
- Graz