Battle of Castelfranco Veneto facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Castelfranco Veneto
Part of the War of the Third Coalition
Castelfranco as it appeared in 1697
Date 24 November 1805 Location Castelfranco Veneto, Italy Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Austrian Empire
Commanders and leaders
L. Gouvion Saint-Cyr Jean Reynier	Prince de Rohan
Units involved
Army of Italy (France)	Rohan's Brigade
Strength
over 8,000	4,400, 5 guns
Casualties and losses
light	4,400, 5 guns, 4 colors

The Battle of Castelfranco Veneto happened on November 24, 1805. It was a fight between two groups of French soldiers and an Austrian group led by Prince Louis Victor de Rohan-Guéméné. The Austrians had traveled a very long way from the Alps mountains to northern Italy. But they got caught between the French armies of General Jean Reynier and General Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Prince Rohan had to surrender his soldiers after he couldn't fight his way out.

This battle was part of the War of the Third Coalition, which was a bigger conflict during the Napoleonic Wars. The town of Castelfranco Veneto is about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Venice in Italy.

In October 1805, a major event called the Ulm Campaign took place. It was a huge defeat for Austria. Napoleon's main army, called the Grande Armée, surrounded and captured most of the Austrian soldiers. After this, only a small Austrian group and a new Russian army stood between Napoleon and the Austrian capital city of Vienna. When the Austrians heard about the defeat at Ulm, their main army in Italy started to retreat. Another smaller Austrian army also left the County of Tyrol.

During all this confusion, Prince Rohan's group of soldiers got separated from their main army. First, Rohan tried to join another Austrian army. When that didn't work, he decided to lead his men south. He hoped to meet up with the Austrian soldiers guarding the city of Venice. After a very long and difficult journey, Rohan's group was finally trapped just before they could reach Venice. The main outcome of the war was decided later at the Battle of Austerlitz in early December.

Rohan's Amazing Journey

General-major Prince Louis Victor de Rohan-Guéméné led one Austrian group of soldiers. They became separated from Archduke John of Austria's army. Rohan wanted to join another Austrian army in Italy, so he looked south. He started his march from Landeck in the County of Tyrol on November 10.

He missed both Austrian armies he was trying to find. So, he decided to try and reach Venice instead. On November 18, his soldiers captured Bolzano. Then, they marched south to Trento. From there, they turned east into a valley called Val Sugana. After that, they moved south into the Brenta River valley.

Where the Brenta River leaves the mountains, the Austrians surprised the French soldiers guarding Bassano. They forced the French out on November 22. Rohan's soldiers marched very hard and reached Castelfranco Veneto the next evening. On November 24, Prince Rohan's long and difficult journey ended. His troops were caught between the French armies of General Jean Reynier and General Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. After a short fight, the Austrian soldiers had to surrender.

The Surrender

General Reynier's French army had about 8,000 soldiers. They had 11 groups of infantry (foot soldiers) and 12 cannons. His army included soldiers from Switzerland and French infantry regiments. The exact number of soldiers in General Gouvion Saint-Cyr's French army was not recorded.

Prince Rohan's Austrian group had cavalry (soldiers on horseback) and infantry. His cavalry included eight groups of Archduke Ferdinand Cuirassiers (heavy cavalry) and some other horsemen. His infantry had four groups from the Duka Infantry Regiment and two groups from the Beaulieu Infantry Regiment, plus another mixed group.

In total, 4,400 Austrian soldiers surrendered to the French. They also gave up five cannons and four flags. We don't know how many Austrian soldiers were killed or wounded, but Prince Rohan himself was wounded. The French army reported that 16 of their officers were hurt during the battle.