The morning of 3 August marked the start of the very complex Battle of Lonato between the French and Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich's corps. Pijon was captured and his brigade was driven out of Lonato del Garda when Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko's Austrian column suddenly assaulted the town in the early hours. The defeated Quosdanovich decided to retreat into the mountains that night. In the confusion, one of his columns was cut off and elected to escape to the west. These troops arrived at Lonato at 5:00 AM on 4 August and were bluffed into surrendering by Bonaparte, who had only 1,200 troops on hand. Approximately 2,000 Austrians from Infantry Regiments "De Vins" Nr. 37 and "Erbach" Nr. 42 were made prisoners. This event released Pijon from captivity.