Battle of Castelfranco Veneto

Overview

In the Battle of Castelfranco Veneto, two divisions of the French Army of Italy confronted an Austrian brigade led by Louis Victor Meriadec de Rohan-Guéméné. The Austrians had made a remarkable march from deep in the Alps to the plains of northern Italy. But, caught between the divisions of Jean Reynier and Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Rohan surrendered his command after failing to fight his way out. The event occurred during the War of the Third Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars. Castelfranco Veneto is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Venice.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

At Castelfranco Veneto, an Austrian brigade that had completed a demanding march from the Alps to the plains of northern Italy was encircled by two French divisions of the Army of Italy and compelled to surrender. The envelopment by the commands of Reynier and Saint-Cyr resulted in the capture of the entire Austrian force under Rohan, some 4,400 men. The loss represented the elimination of an intact Austrian brigade at a moment when the War of the Third Coalition was already turning decisively against Austria following operations elsewhere in the theater. The episode illustrated the French Army of Italy's ability to coordinate converging columns to cut off and reduce an isolated enemy force rather than simply pursuing it.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)