Battle of Rivoli
The Battle of Rivoli, fought in January 1797, was a significant military engagement during the Italian campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. Commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, the French forces faced off against the Austrian army, led by General Josef Alvintzi. The battle commenced after Napoleon adapted his strategy upon realizing the main Austrian assault would come from the north rather than the east. With reinforcements from General André Masséna and other troops, the French positioned themselves advantageously on the heights overlooking the Rivoli Plateau.
The combat began at dawn, leading to a series of successful flanking maneuvers by French divisions, which ultimately penetrated the Austrian center. By the end of the day on January 14, the Austrians faced a decisive defeat, with significant losses of approximately 14,000 troops compared to the French casualties of around 5,000. The outcome of the Battle of Rivoli solidified French control in northern Italy and crippled the Austrian military presence in the region, paving the way for further victories that brought Napoleon closer to Vienna. The battle is recognized as one of the last and most critical conflicts in Napoleon's 1796-1797 campaign, culminating in an armistice with Austria on April 18, 1797.
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Subject Terms
Battle of Rivoli
Type of action: Ground battle in the War of the First Coalition
Date: January 14, 1797
Location: Rivoli, Venetian Republic
Combatants: 32,000 French vs. 42,000 Austrians
Principal commanders:French, General Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821); Austrian, General Josef Alvintzi (1735–1810)
Result: French defeat of Austrians
At Rivoli, Napoleon Bonaparte’s army inflicted a serious defeat on the Austrians, thus thwarting the Austrian effort to relieve their besieged garrison at Mantua. Initially, Napoleon believed General Josef Alvintzi’s main attack would come from the east. However, on January 13, 1797, he learned that the Austrians had driven Barthélémy Joubert from La Corona, five miles north of Rivoli. Napoleon thus concluded that the main attack would come from the north. Accordingly, he summoned André Masséna and 7,000 men from Verona, plus other troops from Lake Garda. By early morning of January 14, Napoleon had Joubert’s forces ensconced on the heights controlling access to the Rivoli Plateau from the north and northeast.
Action began about dawn, just as Masséna’s troops began to arrive. Austrian flanking efforts were defeated on both right and left, and Napoleon’s own divisions drove into the enemy center. By late afternoon, the Austrian defeat was clear, although some fighting continued into January 16. At Rivoli, Alvintzi lost about 14,000, and the French suffered some 5,000 casualties.
Significance
Rivoli eliminated the Austrian threat from Mantua and crippled the Austrian army in northern Italy. Thus Napoleon was able to defeat the remaining Austrian forces and drive to within seventy-five miles of Vienna. On April 18, Austria signed an armistice at Leoben. Rivoli was the last and perhaps most decisive battle of Napoleon’s 1796–1797 Italian campaign.
Bibliography
Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966.
Connelly, Owen. Blundering to Glory: Napoleon’s Military Campaigns. Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1990.
Ferrero, Guglielmo. The Gamble: Bonaparte in Italy, 1796–1797. London: Walker, 1961.
The Napoleonic Wars. Documentary. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 2000.
Rothenberg, Gunther E. Napoleon’s Great Adversaries: The Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army, 1792–1814. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982.