CASUALTY RECORD // February 4, 1797
Battle of Faenza
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
1 sides catalogued · combined 1,200 estimated
Papal States
1,200
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Faenza, fought in early February 1797, was part of the French Republican campaign to neutralize the Papal States during the closing phase of the War of the First Coalition. A French force of 9,000 veterans under Claude Victor-Perrin engaged roughly 7,000 Papal troops commanded by Michelangelo Colli near the Senio River, in territory between Bologna and Faenza. The French quickly overran the Papal army, inflicting disproportionate casualties of around 1,200 on the defender. The engagement was consistent with the broader French pressure that would compel the Papal States toward armistice, stripping the coalition of a central Italian belligerent and extending French control deeper into the peninsula.
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