Battle of Lonato The Battle of Lonato was fought on 3 and 4 August 1796 between the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte and a corps - sized Austrian column led by Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Quasdanovich . A week of hard - fought actions that began on 29 July and ended on 4 August resulted in the retreat of Quasdanovich ' s badly mauled force . The elimination of Quasdanovich ' s threat allowed Bonaparte to concentrate against and defeat the main Austrian army at the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August . Lonato del Garda is located near the SP 668 highway and the A4 " Autostrada Brescia - Padova " to the southwest of Lake Garda . On 29 July , the Austrians advanced out of the Alps to capture the towns of Gavardo and Salò on the west side of Lake Garda . The Austrians followed up this success by surprising and seizing the French base at Brescia on 30 July . An Austrian brigade captured Lonato del Garda on the 31st but was ejected from the town by a French counterattack after tough fighting . Also on the 31st , a French division briefly recaptured Salò , rescued a small band of compatriots , and fell back . This series of combats and other battles east of Lake Garda compelled Bonaparte to raise the Siege of Mantua . Leaving only one division to observe the main Austrian army to the east , Bonaparte assembled overwhelming force and recaptured Brescia on 1 August . Quasdanovich regrouped around Gavardo on 2 August , while ordering an attack by several columns for the next day . On 3 August , one of the Austrian columns defeated a French brigade and captured Lonato for the second time . However , the French also attacked that day , capturing Salò and nearly taking Gavardo . With most of the Austrian forces placed on the defensive , Bonaparte massed against the solitary brigade in Lonato and crushed it . This disaster caused Quasdanovich to order a retreat on 4 August . In a final calamity , one withdrawing Austrian column was cut off and captured . Background . At the end of July an Austrian army set out from Trento with the purpose of relieving the besieged fortress of Mantua . While the main army under Field Marshal Dagobert von Wurmser drove south down the upper Adige River valley to the east of Lake Garda , the Right Column under Quasdanovich struck on the west side of Lake Garda . This 18 , 000 - strong corps consisted of four mixed ( cavalry and infantry ) brigades led by General - Majors Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz , Heinrich XV , Prince of Reuss - Plauen , Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko , and Johann Rudolph Sporck . The Right Column also included two advanced guards , led by Oberst s ( colonels ) Franz Joseph , Marquis de Lusignan and Johann von Klenau . Bonaparte did not believe that major Austrian forces were capable of operating in the mountains west of Lake Garda . Consequently , only General of Division Pierre Francois Sauret ' s 4 , 500 - man division defended the area , with garrisons in Salò on the western shore of the lake , Gavardo on the Chiese River west of Salò , and Desenzano del Garda at the southwestern corner of the lake . The French held Brescia with only three companies of infantry . Operation s . " See Castiglione 1796 Campaign Order of Battle for a detailed list of French and Austrian units . " West of Lake Garda . On 29 July , Ott ' s brigade attacked Salò while Ocskay ' s brigade moved against Gavardo . General of Brigade Jean - Baptiste Dominique Rusca was warned by a village curate of the Austrian descent , but chose to disregard the information . Consequently , the Austrians took Sauret ' s division by surprise . The French general withdrew to Desenzano after a stiff fight in which 500 Frenchmen and two cannons were captured . At Salò , General of Brigade Jean Joseph Guieu and 400 men took refuge in the Palazzo Martinengo where they were blockaded by Ocskay ' s soldiers . Receiving a report that Brescia lay open to attack , Klenau advanced in the night with two squadrons of the " Wurmser " Hussar Regiment # 30 , one battalion of " DeVins " Infantry Regiment ( IR ) # 37 , and one company of the " Mahony " Jägers . The next morning , under cover of fog , he seized the city in a coup de main . The Austrians captured 600 – 700 able - bodied soldiers plus 2 , 000 more in the hospital . Among the prisoners were Colonel s Jean Lannes , Joachim Murat and François Étienne de Kellermann . Quasdanovich soon arrived at Brescia with the brigades of Reuss and Sporck . At the same time , Ott ' s brigade advanced south from Salò and Gavardo to reach Ponte San Marco , where the Brescia - Verona highway crosses the Chiese just west of Lonato . Ocskay ' s troops besieged the French soldiers trapped in Salò . That night , Bonaparte determined to give up the Siege of Mantua and concentrate his main strength against Quasdanovich while subsidiary forces held Wurmser at bay . " First " Battle of Lonato . On 31 July Ott ' s brigade at San Marco advanced to the east on Lonato . The Austrian general led two battalions of the " Kheul " Infantry Regiment Nr . 10 , four companies of the " Johann Jellacic " Infantry Regiment Nr . 53 , two companies of the " Liccaner " Grenz Infantry Regiment Nr . 60 , and one squadron of the " Erdödy " Hussar Regiment Nr . 11 . The initial attack flushed part of General of Division Hyacinthe Francois Joseph Despinoy ' s division out of Lonato . As the Hussars chased the fugitives to the east , they were repulsed by two waiting French artillery batteries . General of Division André Masséna with General of Brigade Claude Dallemagne ' s brigade and Despinoy with Generals of Brigade Nicolas Bertin ' s and Jean Cervoni ' s brigades then counterattacked the town . In a tough four - hour fight , the French drove Ott ' s outnumbered soldiers out of Lonato and pushed them back to San Marco . Leaving Oberst - Leutnant Anton Vogel and two battalions to hold Brescia , Quasdanovich advanced with Reuss , Sporck , Klenau , and Lusignan from Brescia to the southeast . He reached Montichiari , south of Lonato , in mid - morning and spent most of the day there . That evening , he returned to San Marco to join Ott , leaving Klenau in Montichiari . Also on 31 July , Sauret marched to Salò and defeated Ocskay in a pitched battle . The Austrians retreated to Gavardo . Having rescued Guieu and his men , Sauret returned to Desenzano , where he rendezvoused with Masséna and Despinoy . 1 and 2 August . On 1 August , Bonaparte assembled 12 , 000 men under Generals of Division Pierre Augereau and Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine and moved northwest from Goito toward Brescia , pushing Klenau ' s weak force before him . Shaken by his setbacks at Lonato and Salò , Quasdanovich ordered all of his troops north to Gavardo . Bonaparte recaptured Brescia without opposition , and was soon joined there by Masséna and Despinoy . Klenau moved northeast toward Gavardo to join Quasdanovich . Vogel retreated to Caino in the mountains . On 2 August , Quasdanovich regrouped at Gavardo and sent Ocskay ' s brigade to reoccupy Salò . With Brescia now secure , Bonaparte ordered Masséna to San Marco , while Augereau and Kilmaine marched back to Montichiari . Despinoy held Rezzato and Brescia where he was joined by a demi - brigade from Milan . Bonaparte directed Guieu , who replaced the injured Sauret , to march from Lonato to retake Salò the next day . Forces under Despinoy from Brescia and Dallemagne from Lonato were sent to attack Gavardo . Battle : 3 August . Lonato . During the night , Ocskay at Salò started south along the lake road . Guieu marched north on an obscure lane , completely missing Ocskay , who reached Lonato ' s outskirts via Desenzano . Keeping Sporck ' s brigade to hold Gavardo , Quasdanovich sent Ott and Reuss south on 3 August . Ocskay ' s brigade attacked Lonato at dawn , defeated BG Jean Pijon ' s brigade , and captured its commander . Masséna , whose division lay between San Marco and Lonato , counterattacked the Austrians from the west at mid - day . Bonaparte directed the battle . Assaulted by the brigades of Pijon ( now led by Colonel Jean - Andoche Junot ) on the north , BG Claude Victor and BG Antoine Rampon in the center , and BG Jean Lorcet on the south , Ocskay ' s outnumbered men were driven from Lonato and pursued toward Desenzano . But Junot ' s men , plus the Guides and the 15th Dragoons , captured Desenzano first , freeing 150 French prisoners from Pijon ' s morning fight . Hemmed in by his enemies , Ocskay surrendered with the rump of his brigade . The rest scattered across the countryside . During the fighting in Desenzano , Junot suffered severe saber cuts on his head from Austrian cavalrymen . Paitone . Moving from Rezzato , Despinoy attacked Ott piecemeal and was repulsed . After some fighting , the French general withdrew toward Brescia . Doggedly , Dallemagne moved around Ott ' s east flank and even reached Gavardo twice , but each time the Austrians drove him back . Dallemagne retreated to Brescia , where he reported sick . Casualties and other details of these fights are unknown . Because of the French attacks , Ott did not advance farther south than Paitone , south of Gavardo . At some time during the day , Klenau reinforced Ott . Reuss was sent cross - country to establish contact with Ocskay . Desenzano . With his brigade of 1 , 800 men , Reuss soon appeared at Desenzano , recaptured the town , and rescued a number of prisoners from Ocskay ' s command . After learning the fate of Ocskay ' s brigade and finding that Massena ' s victorious division was closing in on him , Reuss beat a hasty retreat back to Gavardo , harassed by the French . He lost a number of prisoners on his retreat . Others were rescued by Major Gustave Maelcamp ' s small Austrian flotilla on the lake . Salò . Meanwhile , Guieu reached Salò , found it unoccupied , and turned west to menace Gavardo . The French soon came upon and captured Quasdanovich ' s artillery park . But Sporck counterattacked and recaptured the guns . The day ended with Sporck holding the heights west of Salò while the French controlled the town . That evening , Quasdanovich ordered Ott to join him on the heights . Reuss turned up with his brigade during the night with the tidings of Ocskay ' s disaster . A council of war determined to retreat . Having heard nothing from Wurmser , Quasdanovich hoped to rejoin his colleague by marching around the north end of Lake Garda . Castiglione . On the morning of 3 August , Wurmser ' s 4 , 000 - man advance guard under GM Anton Lipthay lay eight kilometers to the south of Lonato near Castiglione delle Stiviere . The Austrian commander planned to move to Quasdanovich ' s help , but the French pre - empted him . Augereau launched an enveloping attack on Lipthay with 11 , 000 soldiers . Despite being greatly outnumbered , Lipthay put up a terrific fight , giving ground only grudgingly . He was , however , forced to abandon Castiglione and fall back southeast toward Solferino . Lipthay ' s stubborn defense allowed Wurmser time to concentrate his forces . GM Anton Schübirz marched to the sound of the guns and counterattacked Augereau ' s left flank near Solferino . FML Paul Davidovich formed his division in support . By the end of the day , Wurmser had the bulk of his 20 , 000 soldiers on hand . French losses are not known , but BG Martial Beyrand was killed , BG Jean Robert was wounded , and " great losses had been suffered by both sides . " The Austrians lost about 1 , 000 casualties , including GM Franz Nicoletti wounded . Battle : 4 August . Quasdanovich issued orders to retreat north toward Lake Idro at 2 : 00 am . In the confusion , one Austrian column found itself cut off from the rest of the corps and made a desperate march to the southeast to reach Wurmser . The Austrians marched into Lonato early in the morning , nearly capturing Bonaparte . The French army commander , with only 1 , 200 soldiers on hand , bluffed his enemies into giving up . Oberst Knorr surrendered one battalion each of " De Vins " IR # 37 and " Erbach " IR # 42 , a total of 2 , 000 men and 3 cannons . Bonaparte sent Guieu to observe the Austrian withdrawal . Results . In the battles on 3 and 4 August , the Austrians lost 23 cannons and at least 5 , 000 killed , wounded and captured . French losses were at least 2 , 000 . More importantly , Quasdanovich ' s defeat allowed Bonaparte to mass over 30 , 000 men against Wurmser ' s 25 , 000 , resulting in a French victory in the Battle of Castiglione on 5 August . This defeat forced Wurmser to withdraw to Trento and abandon the campaign .