Battle of Fombio The Battle of Fombio was fought between the French Army of Italy led by Napoleon Bonaparte and the Austrian army under " Feldzeugmeister " Johann Peter Beaulieu between 7 and 9 May 1796 . It was the decisive strategic point of the campaign , as Bonaparte crossed the Po River at Piacenza in Beaulieu ' s rear , threatening both Milan and the Austrian line of communications . This threat forced the Austrian army to withdraw to the east . Campaign . After forcing the Kingdom of Sardinia - Piedmont to sue for peace at the end of the Montenotte Campaign , Bonaparte turned on the Austrians , who retreated to the north bank of the Po . The French army commander ordered General of Division Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier to launch a pinning attack on Beaulieu ' s positions near Valenza . Forming an advance guard of 3 , 500 grenadiers and 1 , 500 cavalry , Bonaparte placed it under General of Brigade Claude Dallemagne . Then he sent Dallemagne on a rapid march to the east along the south bank of the Po . The advance guard was followed by General of Division Amédée Emmanuel François Laharpe ' s division . Bonaparte intended to turn the Austrian left flank by crossing the Po near Piacenza . Battle . Early on 7 May , the advance guard seized a ferry near Piacenza and quickly crossed the river , Colonel Jean Lannes being the first Frenchman on the north bank . Soon both Dallemagne and Laharpe ' s commands formed a bridgehead on the north bank . " General - major " Anton Lipthay de Kisfalud ' s forces , which numbered 4 , 000 infantry and 1 , 000 cavalry , soon detected the French and several clashes occurred during the day . When Beaulieu heard about the incursion , he ordered " General - major " Josef Philipp Vukassovich to march from Valeggio to Lipthay ' s support and ordered his army to pull back in the direction of the Adda River . Meanwhile , General of Division Pierre Augereau got his 7 , 000 soldiers across the Po farther west by using a captured barge . On the morning of 8 May , Dallemagne ' s advance guard , supported by Laharpe ' s 6 , 500 - strong division , assaulted the village of Fombio . Colonels Lannes and François Lanusse led the advance guard ' s left and center columns while Dallemagne personally commanded the right column . At first Lipthay resisted stoutly , using his hussars to counterattack , but he decided to withdraw to avoid being trapped by the flanking columns . His Austrian and Neapolitan cavalry covered the retreat to Codogno . The French attacked Lipthay again in Codogno and the Austrians had to fight their way back to Pizzighettone , where there was a bridge over the Adda River . Lipthay ' s losses numbered 568 men on 7 – 8 May . According to one report , the French suffered 150 killed and 300 wounded in the first volley . That evening , as Laharpe ' s 51st Line Infantry Demi - Brigade marched through Codogno , " General - Major " Anton Schübirz von Chobinin , with 1 , 000 foot soldiers and 580 uhlans attacked the town from the west . In one confused clash in the dark streets , Laharpe was killed , possibly by friendly fire . Bonaparte ' s chief of staff , General of Brigade Louis Berthier took charge and rushed two more demi - brigades into the fight before Schübirz withdrew about dawn on the 9th . Cut off from the bridge over the Adda at Pizzighettone , Beaulieu directed his retreating units to make for the bridge at Lodi , farther north . The Battle of Lodi followed on 10 May as Beaulieu tried to get his army safely behind the Adda and Bonaparte attempted to head him off .