Battle of Tarvis ( 1797 ) In the Battle of Tarvis ( 21 – 23 March 1797 ) three divisions of a First French Republic army commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte attacked several columns of the retreating Habsburg Austrian army led by Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen . In three days of confused fighting , French divisions directed by André Masséna , Jean Joseph Guieu , and Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier succeeded in blocking the Tarvis Pass and capturing 3 , 500 Austrians under Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza . The engagement occurred during the War of the First Coalition , part of the French Revolutionary Wars . Tarvisio is located in far northeast Italy , southwest of Villach , Austria . After his capture of the fortress of Mantua in early February 1797 , Bonaparte cleared his south flank by crushing the army of the Papal States . Reinforced from the Rhine front , he determined to drive the Austrian army from northeast Italy . His offensive began in March and consisted of a secondary drive through the County of Tyrol by Barthélemy Catherine Joubert ' s left wing and an eastward thrust by Bonaparte ' s main army . The main French army soon drove the archduke ' s forces into headlong retreat while Joubert battled Wilhelm Lothar Maria von Kerpen in the Tyrol . Charles tried to hold the Tarvis Pass against the French by sending three columns of reinforcements . They found the pass held by Masséna and many troops fought their way out . However , the last column was trapped between three converging French divisions and compelled to surrender . A subsequent advance brought the French within of the Austrian capital of Vienna . In mid - April , Bonaparte proposed and the Austrians agreed to the Preliminaries of Leoben . Most of the terms were ratified by the Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797 , ending the long war . Background . Fall of Mantua . On 2 February 1797 , the Siege of Mantua ended when Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrendered the fortress of Mantua . In recognition of his doughty defense , Wurmser , his staff , and an escort of 700 soldiers were allowed free passage to Austrian lines . An additional 20 , 000 Austrians were paroled on the promise that they would not fight against France until exchanged . The siege cost the garrison 16 , 333 killed , wounded , or died of disease . The French captured 325 artillery pieces in Mantua and recovered 179 of their own guns that were lost earlier in the siege . General of Division Napoleon Bonaparte was not present for the capitulation , having left a few days earlier to press the war against the Papal States . Following instructions from Bonaparte , General of Division Jean - Mathieu - Philibert Sérurier refused to amend the initial French surrender proposals . At length , Wurmser caved in and accepted Bonaparte ' s terms . Columns of disarmed Austrians marched out of Mantua on 4 , 5 , and 6 February . French offensive . But important events were already taking place elsewhere . On 3 February , a 9 , 000 - man French column under General of Division Claude Perrin Victor crushed a 7 , 000 - strong Papal force led by Feldmarschall - Leutnant Michelangelo Alessandro Colli - Marchi in the Battle of Faenza ( Battle of Castel Bolognese ) . For the loss of only 100 men , the French inflicted 800 killed and wounded on their enemies and captured 1 , 200 soldiers , 14 guns , 8 colors , and 8 caissons . On 9 February , the 1 , 200 - man Papal garrison of Ancona surrendered to Victor . Bonaparte soon forced the Pope to agree to the Treaty of Tolentino . By this instrument the Papal States were compelled to disgorge 30 million francs . In 1796 , the campaign in Germany received the lion ' s share of French reinforcements . After a significant lack of success in that theater , the French government belatedly decided to send troops to Italy . Generals of Division Jean - Baptiste Bernadotte and Antoine Guillaume Delmas were transferred to Italy with their divisions . The new Austrian commander in Italy , Feldmarschall Archduke Charles , Duke of Teschen had 50 , 000 troops but they were distributed over a wide front . Bonaparte determined to attack Charles before the Austrians were ready . Having 60 , 000 men available , Bonaparte planned to attack through Friuli with two - thirds of these troops . The French commander posted General of Division Barthélemy Catherine Joubert and about 20 , 000 troops to protect the Tyrol against a possible Austrian attack in that quarter . If no threat developed , Joubert was ordered to rendezvous with Bonaparte in the Drava River valley . With General of Division Pierre Augereau on leave , General of Division Jean Joseph Guieu assumed command of his division . Generals of Division André Masséna , Bernadotte , and Sérurier also marched with Bonaparte ' s main body . At the end of February , the advance began with he crossing of the Brenta River . The weather enforced a suspension of operations , but on 10 March , the French drove forward again in two columns . Bonaparte took 32 , 000 troops through Sacile , aiming for Valvasone . Guarding the left flank were Masséna and 11 , 000 more men . Charles deployed his main force between Spilimbergo and San Vito al Tagliamento . On the 14th , Masséna clashed with a small force of Austrians under General - major Franz Joseph , Marquis de Lusignan . On 16 February 1797 , the divisions of Guieu and Bernadotte attacked across the Tagliamento River under cover of artillery fire . In the Battle of Valvasone , the French inflicted 700 casualties on their foes and captured six guns . The next day , Bernadotte scored a coup at Gradisca d ' Isonzo when he cut off and forced a 2 , 500 - man enemy column to surrender . Three battalions of the " Hoch und Deutschmeister " Infantry Regiment Nr . 4 , one battalion of the " Splényi " Infantry Regiment Nr . 51 , 10 guns , and 8 colors fell into French hands . Meanwhile , far to the north , Joubert and 18 , 000 men clashed with Feldmarschall - Leutnant Wilhelm Lothar Maria von Kerpen ' s 12 , 000 troops on 20 March . At Salorno , Joubert routed his opponent with losses of 300 killed and wounded plus 3 , 500 captured while suffering only 200 killed and wounded . Kerpen ' s host included five battalions in two regular infantry regiments plus elements of a third , three squadrons of dragoons , and 5 , 000 Tyrolese militia . Battle . As Masséna pushed toward Tarvisio ( Tarvis ) , driving Lusignan before him , the Archduke sent three divisions to hold the pass . However , as they arrived in the vicinity the Austrians found themselves caught between Masséna and Bonaparte ' s other divisions which operated against their rear . In the first clash on 21 March , Masséna ' s advance guard pushed General - major Joseph Ocskay von Ocsko ' s Austrians out of Tarvis , blocking the escape route . Later that day , General - major Charles Philippe Vinchant de Gontroeul appeared with another column and drove the French from Tarvis . Masséna launched a heavy assault on the 22nd , dispossessing Gontroeul of the town and forcing him to withdraw toward Villach . This left Feldmarschall - Leutnant Adam Bajalics von Bajahaza ' s Austrian column on the wrong side of the pass . Bajalics and General - major Samuel Köblös de Nagy - Varád battled on 22 March against the divisions of Masséna , Guieu , and Sérurier . The next day they surrendered 4 , 000 Austrian soldiers , 25 artillery pieces , and 500 wagons . According to another source , the French captured 3 , 500 Austrians , 25 guns , and 400 vehicles . In the different clashes , the French suffered 1 , 200 casualties while inflicting a loss of 1 , 000 killed and wounded on their opponents . The 3rd Battalion of the " Klebek " Infantry Regiment Nr . 14 , 4th Battalion of the " Archduke Anton " Infantry Regiment Nr . 52 , and " Khevenhüller " Grenadier Battalion were captured . Other Austrian units involved in the fighting were two battalions of the " Fürstenburg " Infantry Regiment Nr . 36 , three battalions of the " Nadásdy " Infantry Regiment Nr . 39 , " Rüdt " Grenadier Battalion , four squadrons of the " Erdödy " Hussar Regiment Nr . 11 , and one squadron of the " Toscana " Dragoon Regiment Nr . 26 . Aftermath . While Bernadotte pursued the part of Charles ' army that retreated toward Ljubljana ( Laybach ) , General of Division Charles Dugua occupied the port of Trieste with a cavalry column . With his supply line lengthening , Bonaparte created a new center of operations at Palmanova . To prevent his strategic left flank from being molested , Bonaparte ordered Joubert to secure Brixen . At this time General of Division Louis François Jean Chabot took over the division of Sérurier , who was ill . On 29 March , divisions of Masséna , Guieu , and Chabot captured Klagenfurt . With too few troops available for an offensive , Bonaparte changed his center of operations to Klagenfurt and ordered the independent columns of Joubert , Bernadotte , and Victor ( from the Papal States ) to join him there . General of Brigade Louis Friant was assigned to hold Trieste with 1 , 500 soldiers . On 31 March Bonaparte sent a letter to Archduke Charles asking for an armistice . He hoped that this would gain time for General of Division Jean Victor Marie Moreau ' s offensive in Germany to get started . To bluff Charles into thinking the French were in great strength , Bonaparte drove his men forward . On 7 April they seized Leoben , only from Vienna . On that day the Austrians agreed to a five - day suspension of hostilities . After securing an additional five - day truce on the 13th , Bonaparte proposed the start of negotiations on 16 April , even though he had no authority to do so . Aware that the French were on the brink of launching an offensive on the Rhine , the Austrians signed the Preliminaries of Leoben on the 18th . Most of the terms of this agreement were confirmed by the Treaty of Campo Formio on 17 October 1797 . The armistice was followed by pointless fighting on the Rhine . On the 18th , a French army under General of Division Lazare Hoche defeated Feldmarschall - Leutnant Franz von Werneck ' s forces at the Battle of Neuwied . Moreau ' s army finally lurched into action on 20 and 21 April when it drove back the troops of Feldmarschall - Leutnant Anton Count Sztáray de Nagy - Mihaly in the Battle of Diersheim . During the fighting at Tarvis , Joubert ' s column continued to advance . The French general repulsed an attack by General - major Johann Ludwig Alexius von Loudon at Neumarkt on 21 March . Dropping off Delmas ' 5 , 000 - man division to guard his supply line , Joubert pressed forward to Klausen where he again defeated Kerpen on the 22nd . The Austrian retreated northeast to Mittenwald where he was beaten again on 28 March and pushed out of Sterzing . With the Tyrolese militia turning out in droves to fight the French invaders , Joubert was compelled to fall back to Brixen . On 31 March , Kerpen attacked the French at Brixen but was unable to dislodge them . After being reinforced to 12 , 000 men by the arrival of Laudon ' s brigade , Kerpen again assaulted Brixen on 2 April without success . Nevertheless , under continuing pressure , Delmas withdrew from Bolzano ( Botzen ) on 4 April . The next day , Joubert set out for Villach and the appointed junction with Bonaparte . After continuous skirmishing with the Tyrolese , his column reached there on 8 May , well after the Leoben agreement . During Joubert ' s campaign French losses may have reached as high as 8 , 000 men .