Siege of Mantua ( 1796 – 97 ) During the Siege of Mantua , which lasted from 4 July 1796 to 2 February 1797 with a short break , French forces under the overall command of Napoleon Bonaparte besieged and blockaded a large Austrian garrison for many months until it surrendered . This disaster , together with the heavy losses incurred during four unsuccessful relief attempts , led indirectly to the Austrians suing for peace in 1797 . The siege occurred during the War of the First Coalition , which is part of the French Revolutionary Wars . Mantua , a city in the Lombardy region of Italy , lies on the Mincio River . After driving the Austrian army out of northwest and north - central Italy , the French invested the fortress of Mantua starting in early June 1796 . In late July , a new Austrian commander , Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser led an army to the relief of Josef Franz Canto d ' Irles ' garrison from the north . Mantua was reached and the French were forced to abandon the siege . However , the Austrians were subsequently beaten in the battles of Lonato and Castiglione . Forced to retreat , Wurmser resupplied and reinforced the fortress with food and able - bodied troops . After withdrawing north up the Adige River , Wurmser planned to move his main army through the mountains to Bassano via the Brenta valley . From there he would mount the second relief of Mantua from the northeast . In an exceedingly bold maneuver , Bonaparte smashed Paul Davidovich ' s covering force and followed Wurmser down the Brenta valley . Overcoming the Austrian army at Bassano in early September , Bonaparte tried to destroy Wurmser but failed . Instead he chased the bulk of the Austrian army into Mantua . The garrison now counted 30 , 000 men , but cut off from outside help , disease and starvation began mowing down Wurmser ' s troops . A new commander József Alvinczi led the third relief of Mantua in November . While Alvinczi marched from the northeast , Davidovich ' s column moved down from the north . Alvinczi defeated Bonaparte twice and moved to the gates of Verona while Davidovich drubbed his French opponent in the Adige valley . At his last gasp , Bonaparte crossed the Adige behind Alvinczi ' s left flank at Arcole . The fighting raged for three days but the French finally prevailed , forcing the Austrians to pull back . Free of Alvinczi , Bonaparte attacked Davidovich and forced his corps to retreat also . For the fourth relief of Mantua , Alvinczi advanced his main army from the north while sending two smaller columns to threaten the French from the northeast . The French crushed the Austrian main army at Rivoli . Leaving two divisions to finish off Alvinczi , Bonaparte rapidly moved south and arrived near Mantua in time to destroy one of the other Austrian columns . With no hope of further help , Wurmser surrendered Mantua in early February . Background . Geography . After being defeated by General of Division Bonaparte ' s French army at the Battle of Borghetto , the Austrian army led by Feldzeugmeister Johann Beaulieu abandoned the line of the Mincio River , left a strong garrison in the fortress of Mantua , and retreated north to Trento . On 31 May , the French tried to rush the fortress but the attempt failed . The French invested the place on 3 June . Together with Legnago , Verona , and Peschiera , Mantua forms part of the famous Quadrilateral of fortresses . To this day , the city is bounded on its north and east sides by a large lake formed by the Mincio River . In 1796 , Mantua was nearly surrounded by water and connected by causeways to the fortified suburbs of Cittadella to the north and San Giorgio to the east . In the 18th century , the city was notoriously unhealthy in the warm months . The nearby marshes and lakes were an ideal breeding ground for malaria - carrying mosquitoes , though no one understood this at the time . Mantua lies in the Po River basin . The Po lies 13 km to the south of the city and Peschiera on Lake Garda is 32 km north . Running due east , a major road connected with Padua via Legnago . Another highway went northeast to Verona and Vicenza . Both roads linked with the Austrian frontier . A number of north - to - south running rivers provide defensible positions on the north side of the Po . The most important river is the Adige which rises in the Alps and runs south on the east side of Lake Garda , going past Verona and Legnago . From Trento in the north , Austrian armies had secure communications with Innsbruck across the Brenner Pass . An Austrian army at Trento had three ways to reach the Po valley in 1796 . The first route used the roads running parallel with the Adige on the east side of Lake Garda . The second route went west of Lake Garda via Riva and Lake Idro to either Brescia or Lonato del Garda . The third route lay to the east through Levico Terme and Borgo Valsugana , then south along the Brenta River valley to Bassano del Grappa . By holding both Trento and Bassano , an Austrian army could move troops and supplies through the mountains without the French being able to interfere . Siege and blockade . First relief . " The Castiglione 1796 Campaign Order of Battle shows French and Austrian units and organizations during the first relief of Mantua . " By requisitioning cannon from all over northern Italy , Bonaparte assembled a siege train of 179 heavy guns . Siege parallels were opened on 4 July and General of Division Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier put in command of operations . Feldmarschall - Leutnant Josef Franz Canto d ' Irles commanded the 14 , 000 - man Austrian garrison . Meanwhile , the Austrians replaced Beaulieu with Feldmarschall Wurmser as army commander in Italy . Wurmser launched the first relief of Mantua at the end of July as a three - pronged attack by 49 , 000 men . Feldmarschall - Leutnant Peter Vitus von Quosdanovich led a column of 18 , 000 soldiers to the west of Lake Garda . Wurmser commanded 24 , 000 men of the two center columns which moved down the Adige River east of Lake Garda . Feldmarschall - Leutnant Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló and 5 , 000 troops hovered to the east near Vicenza . Bonaparte , who had only 44 , 000 soldiers , posted his divisions in an arc to protect his siege of Mantua . General of Division André Masséna ' s 15 , 000 men held Rivoli Veronese on the upper Adige , General of Division Pierre Augereau with 5 , 000 troops held Legnago , Sérurier ' s 10 , 000 soldiers besieged Mantua , General of Division Pierre François Sauret ' s 4 , 500 men defended the west side of Lake Garda , General of Division Hyacinthe Francois Joseph Despinoy ' s 5 , 500 covered Peschiera , and 4 , 000 others were in reserve or on the march . Wurmser pushed Masséna back and Quosdanovich quickly seized Brescia , forcing Bonaparte to lift the siege on 1 August . The siege cannon being too heavy to move quickly , the French burned the gun carriages and withdrew . The garrison retrieved the abandoned gun tubes and dragged them into the city . Up to this point , the French besiegers suffered 1 , 200 killed and wounded , plus 898 captured . The defenders lost 492 killed or died of disease , 395 wounded , and 87 captured or deserted . There were also 3 , 275 soldiers on the sick list . After a complex series of actions , Quosdanovich ' s column came to grief at the Battle of Lonato on 3 August and retreated . Bonaparte then turned on Wurmser and defeated him at the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August . Before retreating up the Adige valley , Wurmser threw two brigades into the fortress and evacuated some of the sick . Because of the loss of his heavy cannons , Bonaparte could no longer try to reduce Mantua by breaching its walls . Instead , he was forced to blockade the city . Second relief . " The Bassano 1796 Campaign Order of Battle shows French and Austrian units and organizations during the second relief of Mantua . " At the beginning of September , 14 , 000 Austrians under Feldmarschall - Leutnant Paul Davidovich held the upper Adige valley to the north . With the rest of the army , Wurmser marched down the Brenta valley to the vicinity of Bassano . The Austrian plan was for both corps to probe cautiously forward . If an opportunity arose , they were to march to Mantua ' s relief . Wurmser ' s chief - of - staff , Feldmarschall - Leutnant Franz von Lauer believed that the French were incapable of quickly reacting to an Austrian offensive . This proved to be a serious miscalculation . Bonaparte sent General of Division Claude - Henri Belgrand de Vaubois and 10 , 000 men north on the west side of Lake Garda . Masséna with 13 , 000 and Augereau with 10 , 000 men advanced north up the Adige valley . General of Division Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine blockaded Mantua with 8 , 000 in General of Division Jean Sahuguet ' s division and a 2 , 000 - man reserve . Bonaparte ' s concentration of three divisions overwhelmed Davidovich at the Battle of Rovereto on 4 September . Leaving Vaubois in Trento to watch the remnants of Davidovich ' s corps , Bonaparte boldly decided to cut loose from his supply line and follow in Wurmser ' s wake . He directed Masséna and Augereau east through Levico and Borgo , then south down the Brenta valley . Augereau dispersed the Austrian rearguard at Primolano on 7 September . The two French divisions fell upon Wurmser and beat him badly at the Battle of Bassano on 8 September . Instead of retreating to the east , Wurmser joined the division of Mészáros and headed west for Mantua with Bonaparte in hot pursuit . Hoping to annihilate his adversary before he reached Mantua , the French commander sent Augereau to Padua to prevent Wurmser from escaping to the east and Masséna through Vicenza and Arcole . Masséna intercepted General - major Peter Karl Ott von Batorkez ' s vanguard at Cerea on 11 September , but the Austrian gamely held on until Wurmser ' s main force came up to deal the French a bloody repulse . Aided by a local guide , Wurmser slipped past Sahuguet ' s blocking force to reach the fortress the next day . The 1 , 600 - man Austrian rearguard surrendered to Augereau at Legnago on 13 September . Wurmser arrived at the fortress with 10 , 367 infantry and 2 , 856 cavalry . On 15 September , the Austrian field marshal stood to fight a pitched battle on the east side of the Mincio , with his left flank at La Favorita Palace and his right in front of the San Giorgio suburb . Bonaparte sent Sahuguet to attack La Favorita and Augereau ' s division ( temporarily led by General of Brigade Louis André Bon ) to assault Wurmser ' s right . Masséna advanced in the center . Ott fought off Sahuguet all day , but the Austrian right and center crumbled . The Austrians withdrew into Cittadella and the French captured San Giorgio . Austrian losses numbered 2 , 452 men and 11 guns , while the French lost 1 , 500 and nine guns . At this time , there were nearly 30 , 000 Austrians crowded into Mantua . Within six weeks , 4 , 000 died from wounds or sickness . During the next two weeks Wurmser organized foraging expeditions to the south of the city which gathered some supplies for the beleaguered garrison . On 23 September , a sortie by Ott and General - major Ferdinand Minckwitz suffered a stinging defeat at Governolo with 1 , 000 casualties . By 29 September , Kilmaine closely reinvested the fortress . Third relief . " The Arcola 1796 Campaign Order of Battle shows French and Austrian units and organizations during the third relief of Mantua . " Feldzeugmeister József Alvinczi began the third relief attempt in early November . Alvinczi and Quosdanovich led the 28 , 000 troops of the Friaul Corps from the Piave River toward the west . Meanwhile , Davidovich ' s Tyrol Corps was reinforced to 19 , 000 men . Bonaparte planned to hold the Austrians by deploying Vaubois with 10 , 500 men near Trento and Masséna with 9 , 500 at Bassano . Augereau lay at Verona with 8 , 500 , Kilmaine blockaded Mantua with about 10 , 000 men , and there were 5 , 000 more in reserve units . After a clash at Cembra on 2 November , Davidovich pressed the outnumbered Vaubois back and captured Trento . At the Battle of Calliano the Tyrol Corps routed Vaubois on 7 November . Meanwhile , Bonaparte brought forward Augereau and Francois Macquard to attack Alvinczi at the Second Battle of Bassano on 6 November with 19 , 500 troops . In a bitter fight , the French were defeated . Bonaparte pulled the divisions of Augereau and Masséna back to Verona . He then sent Masséna to stabilize the situation in the Adige valley . Believing incorrectly that Masséna ' s division was present , Davidovich slowed his advance to a crawl . Issuing out of Verona , Bonaparte attacked the Austrians at the Battle of Caldiero on 12 November and was repulsed again . At this point , the French commander almost decided to retreat to the Adda River . But Bonaparte soon realized that the Austrian generals were being slow to take advantage of their opportunities . He determined to attack the Austrians again , leaving Macquard and 3 , 000 men to hold Verona in Alvinczi ' s front . Taking every spare soldier from Vaubois and Kilmaine , Bonaparte sent Masséna and Augereau to cross the Adige south of the Austrian positions and turn the enemy left flank . In the Battle of Arcole which lasted from 15 to 17 November , Bonaparte defeated Alvinczi and caused him to withdraw to the east . Also on the 17th , Davidovich smashed Vaubois at Rivoli . Having temporarily disposed of Alvinczi , Bonaparte turned on the Tyrol Corps and sent it fleeing northward . While this was going on , Alvinczi reoccupied his former position at Caldiero and Arcole . But when he heard that Davidovich was no longer in the field , he withdrew the Friaul Corps to Bassano . With a horrible sense of timing , Wurmser tried to break out of Mantua on 23 August . The Austrians lost 789 men and captured 200 Frenchmen . When his prisoners informed him that Davidovich ' s corps was routed , Wurmser pulled back into the fortress . One source noted that the Arcole campaign cost the Austrians 17 , 832 casualties while estimating French losses at 19 , 500 . Fourth relief . " The Rivoli 1797 Campaign Order of Battle shows French and Austrian units and organizations during the fourth relief of Mantua . " Alvinczi massed his main body of 28 , 000 men in the north for the fourth attempt to relieve Mantua . The Austrian commander sent Feldmarschall - Leutnant Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza with 6 , 200 men to move southeast from Bassano and demonstrate in front of Verona . Alvinczi ordered Feldmarschall - Leutnant Giovanni Marchese di Provera with 9 , 000 soldiers and a bridging train to advance from Padua , cross the Adige near Legnago , and relieve Mantua . To defend against these forces , Bonaparte deployed Brevet General of Division Barthélemy Catherine Joubert ' s 10 , 300 - man division near Rivoli in the upper Adige valley , Masséna ' s 9 , 000 men at Verona , Augereau ' s 9 , 000 troops behind the Adige near Legnago , General of Division Gabriel Venance Rey ' s 4 , 000 soldiers west of Lake Garda , and Sérurier ' s 10 , 000 blockading Mantua . A 2 , 000 - man infantry brigade under General of Brigade Claude Perrin Victor and three small cavalry brigades remained in reserve . On 7 January , Provera began to move and Bajalics started his advance the next day . By 10 January , Provera and Bajalics were menacing Legnago and Verona , while Alvinczi ' s army started its march from the north . On the afternoon of 13 January , Bonaparte realized the main Austrian attack was coming from the north . Accordingly , he ordered Masséna , Rey , and Victor to march to Joubert ' s aid . That night , Provera crossed the Adige above Legnago at Angiari and marched for Mantua , leaving 2 , 000 men as a bridge guard . On 14 January , Bonaparte inflicted a severe drubbing on Alvinczi ' s army at the Battle of Rivoli . Leaving Joubert , Rey , and Victor to finish off Alvinczi ' s crippled army , the French commander ordered Masséna south the next day . Meanwhile , Augereau captured Provera ' s bridge guard and moved west . Provera ' s advance guard failed to break through Sérurier ' s blockade and a breakout attempt by Wurmser was repelled at dawn on 16 January . That day , surrounded by Masséna , Augereau , and Sérurier , and unable to get through to Mantua , Provera surrendered at La Favorita with 6 , 000 men . By this time , Alvinczi ' s main body lost 4 , 000 killed and wounded , plus a staggering 8 , 000 soldiers captured . The French suffered 3 , 200 casualties at Rivoli . Capitulation . After the Rivoli disaster , Wurmser held out two more weeks before capitulating on 2 February . During the siege and blockade , the Austrians reported 16 , 333 killed and wounded in action or died of disease . In recognition of his stout defense , the old field marshal was freed with his staff and an escort of 700 soldiers and 6 cannon . The rest of the garrison marched out with the honors of war and were paroled on the condition not to fight against France until exchanged . Only 16 , 000 Austrians were fit enough to march out under their own power . Historian David G . Chandler reports that as many as 18 , 000 Austrians and 7 , 000 French died during the siege . His health ruined , Canto d ' Irles died shortly afterward . The fortress , with 325 cannon , passed into French control . Bonaparte also recovered the 179 guns lost in August 1796 . While the Austrians desperately scraped together another army , Bonaparte consolidated his position in northern Italy by crushing the army of the Papal States at the Battle of Faenza . In March he launched a final offensive against Vienna . Commentary . It did not help their cause that the Austrian generals faced a military genius in Bonaparte . But they also pursued a flawed strategy . Chandler wrote , " Throughout the whole year , the lure of Mantua continued to exert a fatal attraction over the Austrian field forces and led them to one costly failure after another . " Chandler added , " In each of the four attempts to relieve Mantua , the Austrian high command divided their forces into unconnected parts routed along divergent lines of advance , which made coordinated effort impossible , hoping thereby to divert Bonaparte ' s attention and cause the fragmentation of his forces . In the event , however , they only laid their own forces open to defeat in detail , throwing away the chance of commanding a decisive numerical superiority on the critical battlefield , thus violating the principle of true economy of force . "