Battle of Rivoli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Rivoli |
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| Part of the Italian campaigns in the War of the First Coalition | |||||||
 Napoleon at the Battle of Rivoli, by Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 French Republic |
 Habsburg monarchy |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Napoleon Bonaparte André Masséna Barthélemy Joubert |
József Alvinczi Peter von Quosdanovich Josef Philipp Vukassovich |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 19,000-22,000 | 28,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3,200 killed, wounded or captured | 14,000–14,300 casualties
11,000 captured the next day by Joubert |
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The Battle of Rivoli was a very important battle fought on January 14–15, 1797. It was a major victory for the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, against the Austrian army. This battle took place in Rivoli Veronese, which was part of the Republic of Venice at the time.
Napoleon's French forces, numbering about 23,000 soldiers, defeated a larger Austrian army of 28,000. The Austrians were commanded by General Jozsef Alvinczi. This battle was Austria's last attempt to rescue their troops stuck in the city of Mantua. The French victory at Rivoli showed how skilled Napoleon was as a military leader. It also helped France take control of northern Italy.
Contents
Who Fought at Rivoli?
To learn more about the different groups and armies involved, you can check out the Rivoli 1797 Campaign Order of Battle page. This page lists the specific units and commanders from both sides.
Before the Battle Started
General Alvinczi, the Austrian commander, planned to surprise and defeat the French forces led by General Joubert. Joubert's troops were in the mountains east of Lake Garda. Alvinczi wanted to bring together 28,000 of his soldiers in five separate groups. His goal was to reach the open land north of Mantua. There, he believed his larger army could easily beat Napoleon's smaller French army.
On January 12, Alvinczi attacked Joubert's 10,000 men. But Joubert's soldiers fought bravely and held their ground. Soon, Louis-Alexandre Berthier joined them. Then, in the early morning of January 14, Napoleon himself arrived. He brought more soldiers from André Masséna's division. They helped Joubert set up a strong defense on high ground just north of Rivoli. The battle would be a race: could Alvinczi bring all his scattered groups together, or would French reinforcements arrive first?
The Battle Unfolds
The morning of Saturday, January 14, began with Alvinczi's forces attacking Joubert's division. The Austrians had three groups attacking between Caprino and the San Marco chapel. Another Austrian group, led by Franz Josef de Lusignan, was moving north of Monte Baldo. Meanwhile, troops under Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich and Josef Philipp Vukassovich were marching down roads on both sides of the Adige river. Before sunrise, as the French moved towards Incanale, Joubert attacked. He pushed the Austrians away from the San Marco chapel.
Around 9 a.m., Austrian groups led by Samuel Koblos and Anton Lipthay fought back. They attacked the French on the Trambasore Heights. Another Austrian group, led by Prince Heinrich of Reuss-Plauen, tried to get around the French right side through the Rivoli gorge. At the same time, on the French right, Vukassovich had moved down the east bank of the Adige. He set up cannons across from Osteria. The fire from his cannons and the pressure from Quosdanovich forced the French out of Osteria village and onto the Rivoli plateau.
By about 11 a.m., Napoleon's situation looked very bad. An Austrian group under Lusignan was cutting off his escape route south of Rivoli. To clear his path, Napoleon sent Massena's 18th Demi-brigade (known as "the Brave"), which had just arrived from Lake Garda. Meanwhile, Alvinczi was on the Trambasore Heights, pushing his winning groups forward. However, their lines were messy from fighting and the rough land.
After sending the 18th to stop Lusignan, Napoleon focused all his attention on Quosdanovich. He knew defeating this Austrian group was key to winning the battle. Unfortunately, the French had very few extra soldiers. They mostly had to use the troops they already had. Napoleon cleverly used his central position and his strong artillery. He made Joubert's lines thinner where they faced the Austrians at Trambasore Heights. Then, he gathered these soldiers in front of the gorge.
A group of 15 French cannons fired canister shot (like a giant shotgun blast) at very close range into the Austrian group coming out of the gorge. This powerful attack hit the Austrian dragoons (horse soldiers) first. They panicked and ran through their own infantry, causing huge confusion. At this moment, the group led by Charles Leclerc attacked the Austrian group from the front. Joubert also fired heavily from San Marco. Here, Antoine Charles de Lasalle, with only 26 horsemen, bravely charged into the chaos. Lasalle's men captured an entire Austrian battalion and took 5 enemy flags.
In the middle of the battle, the fight was still going on. Joseph Ocskay attacked again from San Marco, pushing back the French group led by Honoré Vial. But around midday, French cavalry (horse soldiers) under Joachim Murat charged the sides of Ocskay's troops. They were forced back to where they had started that morning.
Quosdanovich realized he could not get through the narrow pass. He ordered his troops to move back out of range of the French cannons. Meanwhile, Lusignan was being attacked from the front by Guillaume Brune's group. More French soldiers from Gabriel Rey's division, coming from Castelnuovo, and Claude Victor's reserve group began to arrive. They crushed Lusignan's Austrian group, who fled west with less than 2,000 men left.
The French army lost about 3,200 soldiers killed or wounded, and 1,000 were captured. The Austrians lost about 4,000 killed or wounded. An additional 8,000 men and 40 cannons were captured. Some records say the French lost 5,000 soldiers in total, while the Austrians lost 14,000.
What Happened Next?
The day after the battle, Joubert and Rey chased Alvinczi's remaining forces. They almost completely destroyed his groups. The few Austrian soldiers left fled north into the Adige Valley in total confusion. The Battle of Rivoli was Napoleon's biggest victory up to that point.
After this, Napoleon turned his attention to Giovanni di Provera. On January 13, Provera's group (9,000 men) had crossed north of Legnano. They were heading straight to rescue Mantua, which was surrounded by French forces under Jean Sérurier. On the night of January 15, Provera sent a message to Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser to try a combined attack. On January 16, Wurmser attacked but was pushed back into Mantua by Sérurier.
The Austrian soldiers were attacked from the front by Masséna's troops (who had marched quickly from Rivoli). They were also attacked from behind by Pierre Augereau's division. Because of this, the entire Austrian force had to surrender. The Austrian army in North Italy was completely defeated. On February 2, Mantua surrendered. Its 16,000 soldiers, all that was left of an army of 30,000, marched out. They were allowed to leave with "honors of war" (meaning they could keep their flags and weapons for a short time before giving them up). Wurmser and his officers were allowed to go free. The rest of the soldiers were sent back to Austria after promising not to fight against the French for a year. The French found 1,500 cannons in the fortress.
On February 18, Napoleon took 8,000 men to Rome. He wanted to make a deal with the Papal States. The Papal States had secretly been against France while the war in Italy was uncertain. But with Mantua falling, the Austrians were finally driven out of Italy. So, Pope Pius VI agreed to a truce, or armistice, that Napoleon set in Tolentino. Snow had closed the mountain passes in the Alps, but Austria still refused Napoleon's peace terms. So, Napoleon prepared for one last campaign. He planned to march east, into the heart of Austria, all the way to the gates of Vienna itself.
Legacy
The Rue de Rivoli, a famous street in central Paris, is named after this important battle.
Images for kids
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A depiction of the Battle of Rivoli.
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Another view of the Battle of Rivoli.
