Battle of Calliano The Battle of Calliano on 6 and 7 November 1796 saw an Austrian corps commanded by Paul Davidovich rout a French division directed by Claude Belgrand de Vaubois . The engagement was part of the third Austrian attempt to relieve the French siege of Mantua during the French Revolutionary Wars . The battle was preceded by a clash at Cembra on 2 November and followed by actions at Rivoli Veronese on 17 and 21 November . Campaign . By November 1796 , Napoleon Bonaparte ' s French Army of Italy had reduced " Feldmarschall " Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser ' s Austrian garrison of Mantua to near - starvation . Emperor Francis I of Austria appointed " Feldzeugmeister " Jozsef Alvinczi to lead a new army in smashing though the French blockade . Alvinczi planned to advance on Mantua from the east with the 28 , 000 - man Friaul Corps , while " Feldmarschal - Leutnant " Davidovich led 19 , 000 soldiers of the Tirol Corps down the Adige valley from the north . Forces . See Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a list of the major units of both armies , including the strengths and commanders of the Tyrol Corps ' six columns . Cembra : 2 November . Bonaparte badly underestimated Davidovich ' s strength . To oppose the northern thrust , he deployed a division of 10 , 500 soldiers under General of Division Vaubois . The start of Davidovich ' s offensive led to a series of clashes beginning on 27 October . On 2 November the French attacked the Austrians at Cembra . Although Vaubois inflicted 1 , 100 casualties on his enemies at the cost of only 650 Frenchmen , he decided to pull back to Calliano when Davidovich resumed his forward movement the next day . The French 85th Line Infantry Demi - Brigade was roughly handled . The Austrians occupied Trento on 5 November . Battle . On 6 November , Vaubois repulsed Davidovich ' s attacks on his position at Calliano , inflicting losses of 753 men . That night the French general detached several units to cover key positions in the area , weakening his main line . At dawn , the Austrians launched a new attack that was resisted all day , Calliano changing hands several times . Some Grenz infantry worked their way into the rear of the French line and this caused a panic - stricken flight from the field beginning at 4 pm . The second day of fighting at Calliano cost Davidovich another 1 , 523 men for a total of 3 , 567 for the campaign . These heavy losses kept the Austrians from vigorously following up the fleeing Frenchmen . Vaubois suffered 4 , 400 casualties at Cembra and Calliano . Aftermath . During the day of 8 November , the French soldiers retreated to Rivoli Veronese where they finally rallied . Furious over the misbehavior of his troops , Bonaparte issued an announcement to the army in which he harshly criticised the 39th and 85th Demi - Brigades . Meanwhile , in the Po River valley , Alvinczi defeated Bonaparte ' s attack at the Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November , forcing the French main army to fall back to Verona . Poor communications continued to plague the Austrian effort . It took two days for dispatches to pass between Davidovich and Alvinczi . Davidovich refrained from attacking the Rivoli position because he believed that André Masséna was present with his division . While Masséna was briefly in command , he did not bring any troops with him . By this time Davidovich probably had 14 , 000 men , but this includes " General - Major " ( GM ) Johann Loudon who was guarding his line of communications with the Tyrol . Rivoli : 17 November . Davidovich finally attacked on 17 November , with GM Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko moving from Monte Baldo and GM Josef Philipp Vukassovich advancing from the Adige River gorge . The Austrians gained the Rivoli plateau and steadily forced the outnumbered French back . Again , the brittle morale of the 85th Line snapped and the result was another rout of Vaubois ' division . On this occasion , the French lost 800 killed and wounded , plus 1 , 000 captured including Generals of Brigade Pascal Antoine Fiorella and Antoine La Valette and 7 cannons . The Austrians lost only 600 men . This field would be fought over again during the Battle of Rivoli in January 1797 . Rivoli : 21 November . The Tyrol Corps ' victory came too late . Bonaparte fought and won the Battle of Arcola on 15 – 17 November . When Davidovich realized that the Army of Italy was moving his way in great strength , he pulled back to Rivoli on 20 November . The next morning , he ordered a retreat to the north . A short time later , he received a note saying that Alvinczi ' s army was back in the field . Davidovich told his troops to reoccupy their positions at Rivoli , but by this time the French were upon them . In the ensuing action , French losses were about 200 . The Austrians lost 251 killed and wounded . In addition , the French captured 608 soldiers , 3 cannons , and a bridging train . One authority gives Austrian losses as 1 , 500 men and 9 guns . When Alvinczi heard that his colleague was in full retreat up the Adige valley , he withdrew to the Brenta River , ending the campaign .