Battle of Lodi The Battle of Lodi was fought on May 10 , 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi , Lombardy . The rear guard was defeated , but the main body of Johann Peter Beaulieu ' s Austrian Army had time to retreat . Order of battle . French Army . French Army : General Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 , 500 infantry , 2 , 000 cavalry ) Austrian Army . Austrian - Neapolitan Army : Beaulieu ( not present ) Battle . The French advance guard caught up with Josef Vukassovich ' s Austrian rear - guard at about 9 am on 10 May and after a clash followed them towards Lodi . Vukassovich was soon relieved by Gerhard Rosselmini ' s covering force near the town . The town ' s defences were not strong , the defenders were few , and the French were able to get inside and make their way towards the bridge . The span was defended from the far bank by nine battalions of infantry arrayed in two lines and fourteen guns . The Austrian general in command at Lodi , Sebottendorf , also had four squadrons of Neapolitan cavalry at his disposal , giving him a total of 6 , 577 men , who were mostly completely exhausted after a hasty forced march . Sebottendorf decided that it was inadvisable to retire in daylight , and opted to defend the crossing until nightfall . One eye - witness ( a grenadier called Vigo - Roussillon ) stated that the Austrians had men attempting to destroy the bridge , but that the French stopped their efforts by bringing up guns to fire along its length . It should have been fairly easy to prevent a French crossing because the bridge was wooden , and could have been burnt . It was about 200 yards long , and was a very simple structure consisting of piles driven into the river bed every few yards , with beams laid to form a roadway . The French advance guard was not strong enough to try to cross the bridge , so several hours passed while further French forces came up . During the afternoon , a violent cannonade began , as French guns arrived and were positioned to fire across the river . It has been suggested that Bonaparte was personally involved in directing some of the guns , and that his troops began to refer to him as " le petit caporal " ( the little corporal ) because of this , but there seems to be little , if any , contemporary evidence to back this up . Eventually , at about 6 pm , the French prepared for an attack , with Marc Antoine de Beaumont ' s cavalry being sent to ford the river upstream , and a column consisting of the 2nd battalion of carabiniers ( elite light infantry ) being readied inside the walls of the town . The carabiniers then stormed out of the gates and onto the bridge . Vigo - Roussillon stated that the enemy artillery fired one salvo when the troops were part - way across , causing numerous casualties , at which point the column wavered and stopped , but a number of senior French officers rushed to the head of the column and led it forward again . These officers included André Masséna , Louis Berthier , Jean Lannes , Jean - Baptiste Cervoni , and Claude Dallemagne . ( Some authorities suggest that the French retreated and attacked again , but an important Austrian source supports the thesis of a single attack . ) Some of the French climbed down the piles and waded through the water , firing as they went . The Austrian troops were already exhausted from hours of marching and fighting without food , probably demoralised by the French cannonade , and also seem to have been worried about being cut off by the French cavalry . Their morale collapsed as the carabiniers rushed towards them , and a hasty retreat ensued , the fugitives making the most of the gathering dark to make their escape towards Crema , though some brave units discouraged the French from pursuing too closely . Oberst Count Attems of " Terzi " Infantry Regiment # 16 was killed covering the successful , though costly withdrawal . Austrian losses were 21 officers , 2 , 015 men , and 235 horses , killed , wounded and missing . In addition , 12 cannons , 2 howitzers and 30 ammunition wagons had been lost . French losses are not known with any precision , but are thought to have numbered about 500 . However , Smith gives French casualties as 900 ; Chandler lists a figure of 2 , 000 . Aftermath . The Battle of Lodi was not a decisive engagement , since the Austrian army had successfully escaped . But it became a central element in the Napoleonic myth and , according to Napoleon himself , contributed to convincing him that he was superior to other generals , and that his destiny would lead him to achieve great things .