Battle of Caldiero ( 1805 ) The Battle of Caldiero took place on October 30 , 1805 , pitting the French " Armée d ' Italie " under Marshal André Masséna against an Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen . The French engaged only a part of their forces , around 33 , 000 men , whilst Archduke Charles engaged the bulk of his army , 49 , 000 men , leaving out Paul Davidovich ' s corps to defend the lower Adige and Franz Seraph of Orsini - Rosenberg ' s corps to cover the Austrian right against any flanking maneuvers . The fighting took place at Caldiero , 15 kilometres east of Verona , in the War of the Third Coalition , part of the Napoleonic Wars . Preliminaries . By mid October , Marshal André Masséna , a seasoned French general , who had fought the Austrians in Lombardia before during the campaign of 1796 - 1797 , was waiting for developments on the main theatre of operations in Bavaria . On 18 October , Masséna won a bridgehead on the east bank of the Adige River in the Battle of Verona . At dawn , the French launched their attack from Verona against Josef Philipp Vukassovich ' s division . After heavy fighting , the divisions of Guillaume Philibert Duhesme and Gaspard Amédée Gardanne cleared the town of San Giorgio and part of the heights of Veronetta . The French lost 77 dead and 246 wounded , while the Austrians suffered 246 killed and 906 wounded . Archduke Charles was so unhappy with Vukassovich ' s performance that he replaced him with Franz Seraph of Orsini - Rosenberg . News that Emperor Napoleon I demolished the main Austrian army in the Ulm Campaign finally reached Masséna on 28 October and he issued orders for an immediate offensive against the Austrian army in northern Italy . Crossing the Adige river with the divisions of Duhesme , Gardanne , and Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor and leaving behind Jean Mathieu Seras ' division to cover Verona , Masséna planned to move forward into Austrian - controlled territory . The fighting on 29 October is considered by one historian to be part of the Battle of Caldiero . On that day , the divisions of Duhesme and Gardanne advanced on the left against Rosenberg , while Molitor ' s and Louis Partouneaux ' s divisions moved forward against the town of Veronetta . Seeing a mass of French troops approaching , the Austrians abandoned Veronetta and fell back to San Michele . The French mauled Rosenberg ' s division and forced Johann Maria Philipp Frimont out of San Michele after street fighting . By the end of the day , Masséna ' s troops closed up to the main defense line of Archduke Charles . The French counted losses of 527 killed and wounded , plus 157 captured . Again , Austrian casualties were heavier , numbering 1 , 926 killed and wounded , with 1 , 114 prisoners . Archduke Charles of Austria - Teschen , himself acutely aware of the dire consequences of the fall of Ulm , was planning to move towards Vienna , in order to reinforce the remains of the Austrian army and link up with the Russians . However , in order to avoid having Masséna ' s men on his heels , he decided to suddenly turn and face the French , hoping that by defeating them he would ensure the success of his march towards inner Austria . Battle plans . Archduke Charles had already made preparations for a French attack , occupying the strategic village of Caldiero , through which passed the main Lombardian road ( ' the Verona road ' ) and deploying no less than 58 cannons and 24 mortars . The Austrian forces were divided into three main groups : to the right , Joseph Anton Freiherr von Simbschen occupied the heights of Colognola and the ravine of San Zeno , where his cavalry was massed ; in the centre , General Count Heinrich von Bellegarde covered the Verona road , holding the entrenchments north of the road as well as Monte Rocca and Ponterotta , to the south of the road ; the left was formed by Prince Heinrich XV of Reuss - Plauen ' s forces , which extended the Austrian line to Chiavighette and had the detached division of General Joseph Armand von Nordmann cover the Adige in front of Chiavica del Christo . Upon reconnoitering the Austrian position , Masséna drew up his plan . General Gardanne was to form the apex of the army , deploying his forces on both sides of the Verona road , supported by Partouneaux ' s reserve , Jean Louis Brigitte Espagne ' s cavalry and a part of Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet ' s dragoons . To the left Molitor ' s division would deploy close to Ca dell ' Ara and would set out to take the heights of Colognola . To the right , Duhesme would march on Gombione in order to fall upon Caldiero , but he was ordered to make his move towards midday . Finally Jean - Antoine Verdier would cross the Adige at Perzacco and turn the enemy left , with the support of Charles Joseph de Pully ' s cavalry while the rest of Mermet ' s cavalry would ensure contact with Verdier . Battle . Masséna was planning to wait for Verdier ' s flanking maneuver before committing to a frontal attack , but Archduke Charles took the initiative , attacking on both flanks of the French army . Taking with him the cavalry he had available , Simbschen made the first move against Molitor , descending the slope of the Colognola heights and approaching Ca dell ' Ara . On the other side of the battlefield , Nordmann moved forward too , following the river line of the Adige . Molitor moved forward himself and his forces clashed with Simbschen ' s , forcing the latter back up the slopes of the Colognola Alta . Just as the French were coming up the slope in order to assault that position , the Austrians were reinforced by troops sent by Bellegarde and thus could repulse the French attack , pushing them into the ravine . A second French assault would also fail and the fighting would continue throughout much of the day , with the Austrians remaining masters of the heights . In the centre , general Gardanne belatedly formed his men and painstakingly fought his way up towards Caldiero against a determined Bellegarde . Gardanne ' s first attempt failed and he was forced to fall back on Rotta , where he was immediately reinforced by Partounneaux and d ' Espagne . With his force thus augmented , Gardanne moved forward again and this time the French managed to take the vital position of Caldiero . A furious Austrian counterattack regained the position only to see Gardanne receive further reinforcements , one of Duhesme ' s brigades , which helped retake Caldiero . Bellegarde reformed his men for another counterattack , which he led in cooperation with Reuss - Plauen ' s forces , which had just come up as reinforcements . It took a considerable effort from the combined forces of Bellegarde and Reuss - Plauen to drive the French out of Caldiero , but Gardanne sounded the charge and regained control of the village after fierce hand - to - hand combat . The Austrians finally evacuated the position and the exhausted French drove them out and then fell back to the relative safety of the village . On the French right , general Duhesme moved early against the forces of prince Reuss - Plauen and moved his first brigade under François Goullus against the Austrians at Gombione . However , Duhesme saw the situation on his left rapidly deteriorating and was thus forced to send Mathieu Herbin ' s brigade in support of Gardanne ' s assault of Caldiero . While Herbin ' s brigade would be in the thick of the fighting until nightfall , Goullus ' would spend the day covering the position at Gombione . To the extreme right , Verdier was operating the flanking maneuver as ordered , when he learned that Davidovich had crossed the Adige at Bonavigo and was on the right bank with a part of his troops . Verdier promptly abandoned his initial plan of crossing at Perzacco and instead decided to cross the river right away at Zevio . However , instead of striking at the back of Nordmann ' s force , as he had hoped Verdier found himself facing the bulk of Nordmann ' s troops , which soon forced the French back across the river . As night fell , combat ceased , with the Austrians already disengaged in most sectors of the battlefield . Archduke Charles decided against renewing battle the next day and began pulling out during the night . Casualties . Both sides took heavy casualties , with the French losing only slightly fewer men than the Austrians , around 3 , 700 to 4 , 200 . The French also lost colonel Julliac de Manelle of the 2nd Foot Artillery Regiment , who was mortally wounded during the battle . Some vicious fighting involved the French 5th Line Infantry Regiment , which almost lost two of its eagles . A second source gives Austrian losses as 5 , 700 and notes that Charles claimed to have inflicted 8 , 000 casualties on the French . A third source puts Austrian losses higher than 5 , 500 and says that the French under - reported their casualties as 2 , 000 when they must have been at least 5 , 000 . On the 30th of October , as a result of the defeat at Caldiero , the Austrians also lost a further 5 , 000 men and 70 officers ( among which there were three superior officers ) with their weapons and effects . These men were stationed at Cara Albertini under the command of General Hillinger and were forced to surrender . Although the French had agreed to release the prisoners , the 5 , 000 men would not be released . Two authorities put Hillinger ' s disaster on 2 November and gave Austrian losses as 400 killed and wounded and 1 , 800 captured . Another source gives no casualties or date for the action but wrote that Hillinger was " annihilated " . Strategic aftermath . Archduke Charles began his retreat on the morning of 1 November , leaving a rearguard under Frimont to delay the French . Frimont ' s mixed brigade , consisting of four battalions and 12 squadrons , was only lightly engaged in the battle . Reinforced by infantry and an additional cavalry regiment , the rear guard put up a lively fight when pressed by d ' Espagne ' s cavalry and the 22nd Light Infantry Regiment . Bellegarde , Rosenberg , and Reuss fell back to Vicenza while Davidovich ' s corps withdrew to Padua . Hoping to create trouble in Massena ' s rear , Charles ordered Davidiovich to reinforce the Venice garrison with 12 battalions . Unknown to Charles , Laurent de Gouvion Saint - Cyr ' s 8 , 700 - man Italian division was marching northeast from central Italy . When it arrived near Venice , Saint - Cyr had sufficient strength to blockade the port and prevent the Austrian garrison from harassing Massena ' s communications . Archduke Charles steadily retreated , fighting a rear guard action at San Pietro in Gu near the Brenta River on 4 November in which one battalion of the " Kreutzer " Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr . 5 was destroyed by Molitor ' s division . Another clash occurred at Valvasone , east of the Tagliamento River on 11 November , where Charles fended off the French pursuit . During the withdrawal , d ' Espagne trailed the Austrians with his own light cavalry division , Antoine Digonet ' s brigade of Verdier ' s division , Seras ' infantry division , and Pully ' s cuirassiers . D ' Espagne managed the pursuit effectively , making Charles believe that he was being closely followed . In fact , Masséna ' s main body was a three day march behind the Austrians . Charles crossed the Isonzo River on 13 November . Karl von Vincent held off Molitor ' s attempt to cross the Isonzo River at Gradisca d ' Isonzo on 16 November . At the beginning of the war , Archduke John of Austria was assigned to command the army in the Tyrol and the Voralberg . He was directed to detach forces under Franz Jellacic and Franz Xavier von Auffenberg to the Danube army . Auffenberg ' s division was mauled at the Battle of Wertingen and later surrendered at the Battle of Ulm . Jellacic was required to guard the south flank of the Danube army near Lake Constance . Marshal Pierre Augereau ' s VII Corps ran him to earth in the Voralberg . Jellacic surrendered with his infantry on 14 November in the Capitulation of Dornbirn , his cavalry having gotten away . Another brigade of the Tyrol army under Prince Louis Victor Rohan - Guéméné became separated in the retreat and slipped away to the south where it made a dash for Venice . On 24 November Rohan ' s 4 , 400 troops were caught between the divisions of Jean Reynier and Saint - Cyr at the Battle of Castelfranco Veneto and forced to surrender . John managed to escape to the east with about 20 , 000 soldiers and fought a successful rear guard action against Nicolas Bernard Guiot de Lacour ' s dragoons near the upper Isonzo at Bovec on 19 November 1805 . Charles hoped to march northeast to Villach for an early junction with his brother , Archduke John . However , he heard that some of Napoleon ' s troops were moving in his direction from the Danube valley . Marshal Michel Ney ' s VI Corps was repulsed at Scharnitz on 4 November with 800 casualties . However , that day , another brigade broke through a pass farther west at Leutasch , capturing about 600 Austrian line infantry . At Weyer on 7 November , Auguste Marmont ' s II Corps overtook and captured two battalions belonging to Maximilian , Count of Merveldt ' s corps . Farther east on the following day , Louis Davout ' s III Corps advance guard crushed Merveldt ' s column at the Battle of Mariazell . Ney occupied Innsbruck on 7 November and Marmont was heading for Leoben in Styria . Armed with this new information , Charles instead directed his troops ' march on a more easterly path toward Ljubljana ( Laibach ) . Massena suspended his pursuit of Charles on 16 November . Archdukes Charles and John joined forces near Maribor ( Marburg an der Drau ) on 26 November . Though he now had an army numbering 85 , 000 , Charles elected not to make a thrust at Vienna by attacking Marmont . Instead , he " moved rather slowly " according to historian Gunther E . Rothenberg . Charles pitched camp on the Mur River until 2 December when he withdrew into Hungary . By the time he reached Körmend on 6 December , the Battle of Austerlitz had been fought , ending in a decisive French victory . Even after his great victory , Emperor Napoleon considered Archduke Charles ' large army a threat . Accordingly , he directed Massena to reorganize his army as the VIII Corps , sweep east , and send Mermet ' s and Pully ' s heavy cavalry to Graz . Marmont massed at Graz with the II Corps while Ney reached Klagenfurt with his VI Corps . Napoleon stationed Marshal Davout ' s III Corps at Bratislava ( Pressburg ) and Marshal Nicolas Soult ' s IV Corps south of Vienna . Charles ' army was completely boxed in . On 26 December , the Treaty of Pressburg was signed , ending the conflict . Commentary . The battle of Caldiero was thus a significant strategical victory for the French because it allowed them to closely follow the Austrian army , continually harassing it in a number of skirmishes , as it was falling back towards inner Austria . Masséna would thus delay Charles , preventing him from joining the army of the Danube , which would greatly influence the outcome of the war . Historians disagree on whether Caldiero was a French tactical victory , an Austrian tactical victory , or a draw . Alain Pigeard , whose work is a major source for this article , rates the engagement as a French victory . Digby Smith calls the battle a " drawn match " while Frederick C . Schneid says it was " indecisive " . Gunther E . Rothenberg writes that Caldiero was , " Austria ' s solitary military success in this war " , although he was aware that the French historian Adolphe Thiers considered the battle to be a French victory .