Battle of Magnano In the Battle of Magnano on 5 April 1799 , an Austrian army commanded by Pál Kray defeated a French army led by Barthélemy Schérer . In subsequent battles , the Austrians and their Russian allies drove the French out of nearly all of Italy . This action was fought during the War of the Second Coalition , part of the French Revolutionary Wars . Background . After the Treaty of Campo Formio , only Great Britain remained at war with the First French Republic . However , a heavy - handed and acquisitive French foreign policy soon provoked Austria and Russia , and led to the formation of the Second Coalition . In Switzerland , hostilities between France and Austria began in early March 1799 . In Germany , the Austrians won the Battle of Stockach on 25 March . The next day , fighting occurred along the Adige River between the opposing forces of General of Division Schérer and Feldmarschall - Leutnant Kray . In the Battle of Verona , the French scored a success at Pastrengo and fought a drawn battle near Austrian - held Verona , but the Austrians managed to get across the Adige at Legnago . To defend Verona , Kray concentrated his army in its vicinity . Schérer ' s army faced north toward Verona , with the French - held fortress of Mantua to his southwest . The French general considered crossing the Adige below Verona to flank Kray out of Verona , but heavy rains thwarted his plan . By 5 April , the two armies confronted each other on a rain - sodden field near the hamlet of Magnano , south of Verona . Battle . Schérer deployed 41 , 000 soldiers in the divisions of Generals of Division Joseph Hélie Désiré Perruquet de Montrichard , Claude Perrin Victor , Jacques Maurice Hatry , Antoine Guillaume Delmas de la Coste , Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier , and Paul Grenier . The French total included 6 , 800 cavalry attached to the divisions . Kray ' s 46 , 000 - man army included his own division and the divisions of Feldmarschall - Leutnants Karl Mercandin , Michael Fröhlich , Konrad Valentin von Kaim , and Johann Zoph . Schérer sent the divisions of Victor and Grenier to attack on the right flank . Jean Victor Marie Moreau led the divisions of Hatry and Montrichard to attack in the center . Serurier ' s division on the left flank struck northwest to Villafranca to protect Moreau ' s flank . Delmas , with the reserve , marched forward to fill the gap that opened between the French right flank and Moreau as the latter moved north . Because Kray advanced at the same time as the French , Magnano is a meeting engagement . The Austrian commander appointed Mercandin to lead the left column , Kaim to direct the center column , and Zoph to command his right column . General - major Prince Friedrich Franz Xaver of Hohenzollern - Hechingen led a reserve division on the right , while Kray held back a second reserve division under General - major Franz Joseph , Marquis de Lusignan . On the east flank , Victor and Grenier defeated the outnumbered Mercandin , who was killed . They pressed north toward Verona . Kray committed Hohenzollern ' s reserve to assist Zoph ' s right flank division . Serurier engaged in a back - and - forth struggle all day but he finally seized his objective . Moreau pushed back the Austrians in his front , but did not score a notable success . Delmas was late , but he engaged Kaim and drove him back . One historian writes , " Schérer went into this battle without forming a reserve and was thus unable to react to crisis and opportunities effectively . " By this point in the action , Schérer ' s divergent attacks had spread his troops across a wide front . Kray launched Lusignan ' s reserve at the so - far victorious French right wing . This attack sent Victor and Grenier reeling back to the south and opened a large gap in the French battle line . Kray sent troops against the exposed right flank of Delmas and drove him back also . During the disorderly retreat , the Austrians managed to cut off and capture one of Victor ' s demi - brigades . Result . The French lost 3 , 500 killed and wounded , including General of Brigade Jean Joseph Magdeleine Pijon , who was mortally wounded . In addition , the Austrians captured 4 , 500 soldiers , 18 guns , 40 vehicles , and seven colors . The Austrians suffered 4 , 000 killed and wounded , plus 2 , 000 captured . Mercandin and General - major Johann Kovacsevich were killed . After the French defeat , Schérer retreated to the Adda River , abandoning several defensible river lines . The city of Brescia fell on 21 April . In late April , the discredited Schérer relinquished army command to Moreau . The victor , Kray , was quickly promoted to Feldzeugmeister . The next major action was the Battle of Cassano on 27 April .