He commanded one of the two corps of the Piedmonese-Sardinian army under Charles Albert when the latter attacked Austria in Lombardy in the First Italian War of Independence; however, after the successful Five Days of Milan, the Piedmontese army did not attack the retreating Austrian forces at their most vulnerable point and only followed them up to the Mincio river. Despite this, he won the first success of the war at Pastrengo, and later suggested a plan to draw the enemy to battle; however, the plan was adopted with heavy modifications, which led to the defeat at Santa Lucia. Despite the war going relatively well, however, relationships between Bava and the rest of the leading commanders (the king himself, his Minister of War Antonio Franzini, and the other corps commander, Ettore Gerbaix De Sonnaz) were strained, as Charles Albert did not provide his commanders with a firm hand, and the animosity between his counselours made an effective command action very difficult; Bava's own short temper did not help in this regard.