Battle of Castiglione

Second Battle of Castiglione
Part of the Italian campaigns in the War of the First Coalition
5 August 1796, approximately 10 hours. Battle of Castiglione. Under the command of Napoleon, Marmont brings artillery onto Mount Medolano while Augereau's division begins the attack in the central plain.
Date 5 August 1796 Location Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy 45°23′N 10°29′E / 45.383°N 10.483°E / 45.383; 10.483 Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Habsburg monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Napoleon Bonaparte Pierre Augereau Hyacinthe François Joseph Despinoy Auguste de Marmont André Masséna Pascal Antoine Fiorella Charles Edward Jennings	Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud Paul Davidovich Karl Philipp Sebottendorf Anton Schübirz von Chobinin
Strength
Battle: 30,000	Battle: 25,000
Casualties and losses
Battle: 1,300	Battle: 3,000, 20 guns
class=notpageimage| Location within Northern Italy Show map of Northern Italy Battle of Castiglione (Europe) Show map of Europe

War of the First Coalition:
Italian Campaign

100km
62miles

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The Battle of Castiglione saw the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on 5 August 1796. The outnumbered Austrians were defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at Borghetto, where they retired beyond the Mincio River. The town of Castiglione delle Stiviere is located 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Lake Garda in northern Italy. This battle was one of four famous victories won by Bonaparte during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The others were Bassano, Arcole, and Rivoli.

Castiglione was the first attempt by the Austrian army to break the French Siege of Mantua, which was the primary Austrian fortress in northern Italy. To achieve this goal, Wurmser planned to lead four converging columns against the French. It succeeded insofar as Bonaparte lifted the siege in order to have the manpower sufficient to meet the threat. But his skill and the speed of his troops' march allowed the French army commander to keep the Austrian columns separated and defeat each in detail over a period of about one week. Although the final flank attack was prematurely delivered, it nevertheless resulted in a victory. Nevertheless, the battle marked the end of four months of rapid French advances across Northern Italy, and the front lines would remain anchored around Mantua until its fall in February of 1797.