page_title: Battle of Verona (1805)
section_title: Action
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Verona (1805) / Battle / Action
caption_attribution_description: English: Battle of Verona Map, 18 October 1805
context_page_description: The Battle of Verona was fought on 18 October 1805 between the French Army of Italy under the command of André Masséna and an Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. By the end of the day, Massena seized a bridgehead on the east bank of the Adige River, driving back the defending troops under Josef Philipp Vukassovich. The action took place near the city of Verona in northern Italy during the War of the Third Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars.
  In the fall of 1805, Emperor Napoleon I of France planned for his powerful Grande Armée to fall upon and crush the Austrian Empire army in southern Germany. The French emperor hoped to win the war in the Danube valley. To help accomplish this purpose, Napoleon wanted Masséna to hold Archduke Charles' large army in Italy for as long as possible.
  In order for Masséna to grapple with his enemies, it was necessary to establish a bridgehead on the east bank of the Adige. During the battle, the French attacked across the river, cleared two suburbs, and seized some high ground on the opposite bank. The Austrians suffered considerably more casualties than the French in the encounter.
context_section_description: Directly east of Verona was the suburb of Veronetta, which the Austrians had heavily fortified. In addition, the bridges between Verona and Veronetta were well-covered by Austrian artillery. Therefore, Masséna turned his eyes to the west side of Verona, to the suburb of San Giorgio, which was accessible by a stone bridge known as the Castelvecchio Bridge (Ponte di Castelvecchio). Vukassovich was responsible for defending the area. The Austrian division commander had a wall built across the center of the bridge and fortified San Giorgio. However, Vukassovich only allocated two battalions to its defense. He deployed six battalions in the hills northeast of Verona, while the remainder of his division lay farther north, maintaining contact with Hiller's corps.
  Masséna decided to personally command the bridge assault. Stripping the 24 voltiguer (light infantry) companies from the battalions in Gardanne and General of Division Guillaume Philibert Duhesme's divisions, the French army commander formed them into a storming column. The voltiguers were supported by a sapper battalion and a light artillery company, and backed by Gardanne's division.
  In the early hours of 18 October, Masséna led his storming column silently onto the Castelvecchio Bridge. The sappers set charges which destroyed the wall, and the French column surged forward. After quickly overrunning the Austrian outposts, the voltiguers attacked San Giorgio. General of Brigade Louis Fursy Henri Compère advanced to support the attack, while Vukassovich reinforced the defenders with two battalions. Sometime after 10:00 am San Giorgio fell to the French. Soon afterward, Vukassovich had the Archduke Ferdinand Hussar Regiment # 3 and General-Major Hannibal Sommariva's Grenz infantry on hand. The Austrian division commander hurled his hussars at Compère's brigade. The French formed square, and with the help of artillery firing across the river, drove off the Austrian cavalry.
  Around noon, Verdier mounted a diversionary attack. Easily penetrating General-Major Joseph Radetzky von Radetz's screen, he crossed the Adige at Albaredo d'Adige with two battalions of the 23rd Light Infantry Regiment. Believing that the action at Verona was the diversion and the crossing at Albaredo was the real attack, Archduke Charles marched against Verdier with three columns. By the time he arrived at Albaredo, the 23rd Light had withdrawn safely to the French side of the Adige.
  Masséna also ordered Seras to mount a diversion in the north. Leaving part of his division at Rivoli, Seras demonstrated in front of Pescantina, 11 kilometers west of Verona. This action froze half of Vukassovich's division, which remained watching Seras and never got into action.
  In the afternoon, some of Duhesme's troops and the 23rd Chasseurs à cheval were in action on the French side. By 5:00 pm, San Leonardo fell to the French after severe fighting, allowing Masséna's troops to occupy the heights and press to the east. At this time, Bellegarde appeared with Feldmarschall-Leutnants Andreas O'Reilly and Joseph Simbschen's divisions at the hamlet of San Felice in the Val Pantena, northeast of Verona. Bellegarde pushed back the French a short distance until darkness and fatigue ended the fighting.
caption: Battle of Verona map, showing Massena's assault crossing to the east bank of the Adige. Seras and Verdier carried out successful diversions on the left and right flanks.
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