Castiglione, Battle of

The Battle of Castiglione sees the French Army of Italy under General Napoleon Bonaparte attack an army of Habsburg Austria led by Feldmarschall Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser on August 5, 1796.

The outnumbered Austrians are defeated and driven back along a line of hills to the river crossing at Borghetto, where they retire beyond the Mincio River.

The town of Castiglione delle Stiviere is located ten kilometers (six miles) south of Lake Garda in northern Italy.

This battle is one of four famous victories won by Bonaparte during the War of the First Coalition, part of the Wars of the French Revolution. The others are Bassano, Arcole, and Rivoli.

Castiglione is the first attempt by the Austrian army to break the French Siege of Mantua, which is the primary Austrian fortress in northern Italy.

To achieve this goal, Wurmser plans to lead four converging columns against the French.

It succeeds insofar as Bonaparte lifts the siege in order to have the manpower sufficient to meet the threat, but his skill and the speed of his troops' march allow the French army commander to keep the Austrian columns separated and defeat each in detail over a period of about one week.

Although the final flank attack is prematurely delivered, it nevertheless results in a victory.