Battle of Rivoli

The Battle of Rivoli was fought on January 14–January 15 1797 at Rivoli Veronese (near Verona) in Italy and resulted in a victory for the French under General Bonaparte against the Austrians under General Alvinczy. It was Austria's fourth and final attempt to relieve their besieged fortress of Mantua. Alvinczy's plan was to overwhelm Joubert in the mountains east of Lake Garda with the concentration of five seperate columns, and thereby gain access to the open country north of Mantua where Austrian superior numbers would be able to defeat Bonaparte's smaller Army of Italy. However, Joubert held, and Bonaparte was able to bring up elements of Massena's division to support Joubert's efforts to form a defensive line on favorable ground just north of Rivoli on the Tromballora Heights. The battle would be a contest between Alvtincz's efforts to concentrate his disperssed columns versus the arrival of French reinforcements. The morning of the 14th saw fiece fighting along the Tromballora Heights, as another Austrian column attempted to turn the French right via the Rivoli Gorge. By 1100 things looked very bad for Bonaparte: Austrian dragoons had forced their way through the gorge, word arrived that another Austrian column was cutting off his retreat south of Rivoli, and Alvinczy himself was on the Tromballora Heights urging his victorious battalions forward, though they were unformed due to combat and rough terrain. Meanwhile a seriesof events managed to take advantage of this crucial mistake. Bonaparte, Joubert,and Berthier put together a well co-ordinated combined arms attack. A battery of 15 guns blasted the dragoons, while two columns of infantry, one for the gorge and one for the Tramballora Heights were led forward supported by cavalry under Leclerc and LaSalle. It was too much for the packed massses in the gorge when suddely their own dragoons were running them over in panic. And likewise the disperssed infantry on the Heights were unable to hold once French cavalry got in their midst. Lastly, Rey's division arrived just in time to force the southern Austrian column to retreat. The next day Joubert lead a successfull pursuit of Alvinczy, all but destroying his columns, the remnants of which fled over the Alps in confusion.

Related Topics:
January 14 - January 15 - 1797 - Italy - Bonaparte - Austria - Alvinczy - Mantua

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It was Bonaparte's greatest victory at the time, losing a mere 5,000 men to Alvinczy's 14,000.

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The Rue de Rivoli, a street in central Paris, is named after the battle.

Related Topics:
Rue de Rivoli - Paris

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The main source for this article was Boycott-Brown's, The Road to Rivoli

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