One Final Victory:
Rivoli

Napoleon Bonaparte
Finally Conquers Mantua

Opening Moves Confuse Bonaparte

by John Giessmann


The first indication that the Austrians were on the move came on 8 January, when Augereau's outposts were driven in by an Austrian attack. Bonaparte was at Milan that day. He was preparing to ride to Bologna to deal with the Pope. Therefore, it was not until 10 January, when he arrived in Bologna, that the hard-riding messengers caught up with him and he learned of Alvintzy's opening moves.

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The three main Austrian battle groups had been put into motion. Provera and Bayalitsch were moving on Verona and Legnano. In accordance with their overall plan, they did not press their attacks too forcefully. Their purpose was to draw Bonaparte's attention. Bayalitsch moved to Villanova, a small village only a short distance from Verona and hesitated in the vicinity.

Provera provided Bonaparte with a more convincing distraction. He moved his force up to Badia, a small village on the Adige a few miles south of Legnano. He appeared to be attempting a passage. These moves prompted Bonaparte to ride north from Bologna followed by Lannes's column. Lannes was to reinforce Augereau in case Provera tried to force his way over the Adige and relieve Mantua.

While Bonaparte's attention was fixed on the lower Adige, Alvintzy got his six columns moving on 11 January. Lusignan, Liptay, and Koblos all began moving up the trails onto Monte Baldo. Snow was falling and the Austrian columns had to work their way up the steep slopes over the icy ground. A screen of Croats led the way and immediately began trading fire with Joubert's light troops. In the valley of the Adige, the other three columns of Alvintzy's army started to get under way.

The Main Austrian Effort Becomes Clear

Bonaparte hesitated throughout the 11th and 12th of January in an attempt to discern the general direction of Alvintzy's offensive. Reports had come in from all along the line from Monte Baldo to Legnano that the Austrians were approaching. The tentative manner of Bayalitsch's and Provera's columns only served to confuse Bonaparte as to the real objective of the attack.

He had moved up to Verona on the afternoon of the 12th in order to be nearer the action, but it was only late in the evening on that day that he learned that an Austrian column had attacked La Corona.

This column was commanded by General Koblos. He had moved up over Monte Baldo with Liptay in close support. Below on the valley floor, Ocksay awaited his chance to move up onto the mountain. The fighting had raged across the top of the mountain and down into the rocky ravines that dropped off so precipitously into the Adige valley. However, the French were able to turn back the assault.

Joubert found himself still in control of La Corona late on the cold night of 12-13 January. The Austrian campfires were burning in the darkness on the mountain before him, and his men were attempting to catch some well-earned rest. Then, sometime around 3:00 in the morning, Joubert learned that Lusignan's column was advancing along the shore of Lake Garda. It was turning his left and would soon occupy the plain in front of Rivoli and cut him off from escape. By 4:00,

Joubert ordered the evacuation of La Corona. Bonaparte was very concerned about the Austrian attack on La Corona. He had sent a message to Joubert in the early morning hours of the 13th asking him to estimate the number of Austrians facing him. Joubert replied that he was being outflanked and was falling back. This answer reached Bonaparte around 9:30 on the morning of the 13th. Joubert's reply convinced Bonaparte that Alvintzy's main thrust was coming down the Adige valley.

Bonaparte's Quick and Decisive Response

Bonaparte moved quickly to counter the multiple Austrian columns. First, he ordered Rey (at Salo) to move with his division to Castelnuovo, a village about 13 miles south of Rivoli, to await further orders. Victor was ordered north to Villafranca with the 57th Demi-brigade. Massena, at Verona, was ordered to bring up the 18th, 32nd, and 75th Demi-brigades to reinforce Joubert at Rivoli.

Massena was to leave two battalions of the 18th Light and three battalions of the 25th Demi-brigade at Verona to watch Bayalitsch. A battalion of the 18th Demi-brigade (not the 18th Light Demi-brigade) with a single cannon, was ordered to watch the bridge over the Adige at Bussolengo. The 12th Demi-brigade, commanded by Murat, was to move from Salo to Benaco (a village on Lake Garda) by boat to fall on the Austrians' rear. A reserve of cavalry was gathered about Castelnuovo under Generals Beaumont and Leclerc. It consisted of a variety of troops including elements of the 24th and 25th Regiments of chasseurs, the 15th Dragoon Regiment, and the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Serurier, watching Mantua, was cautioned to prepare for any move by Wurmser to escape.

Alvintzy's army of 28,013 men would be met by approximately 20,530 French. Serurier and Augereau had both sent artillery north so that Bonaparte could concentrate about 35 guns for the coming battle. Although the Austrians probably had more cannon available, they were unable to bring any with them over Monte Baldo. All of their field artillery was with Wukassuvich's column, following the main highway in the Adige valley. As a result, Alvintzy's five Austrian infantry columns would initially have no artillery or cavalry support in the coming battle, except for a few light mountain guns.

During the day on the 13th, Joubert pulled his men back from the heights of Monte Baldo. He moved back to a low ridge which looked out over a narrow valley. Coming down from the mountain, the Austrians could be seen picking their way down the steep slopes over the snow.

A Battlefield Familiar to the French

Joubert had drawn up his men facing north, a little over a mile to the northwest of Rivoli. His left and center, composed of the 1st Battalion of the 14th Demi-brigade, the 33rd Demi-brigade, the 17th Light Demi-brigade, and the 4th Light Demi-brigade, occupied a row of low hills known as the Trombolare heights. These hills had been reinforced with a series of redoubts.

Directly in front of these hills was the plain of Rivoli, a wide expanse of level ground about three miles in width. Several villages were situated in the plain including Caprino and San Giovanni. Caprino was slightly off to the left of Joubert's left flank. It was occupied by Liptay's column. San Giovanni was directly opposite to Joubert's center. It was occupied by Koblos's column. Beyond the plain of Rivoli, Monte Baldo rose up into the lowering clouds. A mere four or five hundred yards in front of the French center was the little chapel of San Marco. The chapel was occupied by a detachment from Koblos's column. They had turned the churchyard into a veritable fortress. Joubert had already earmarked several battalions to clear this obstacle.

Joubert's right wing was made up of the 22nd Demi-brigade, the 85th Demi-brigade, the 29th Light Demi-brigade, plus the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the 14th Demi-brigade. These men extended the line from the termination of the Trombolare heights across a narrow band of level ground and then up onto ridge of San Marco, more commonly referred to as Monte Magnone. Directly in front of this wing was the little village of Lubiara. This village and the rest of Monte Magnone was occupied by Ocksay's command.

Joubert's extreme right wing was held by the 39th Demi-brigade. This unit occupied a set of trenches that lined the top of the Osteria gorge. This narrow opening formed a natural highway from the Adige valley up onto the plain of Rivoli. It sat between the southern end of Monte Magnone and the hill of Rivoli. The 39th held a position of the utmost importance: it blocked Quasdanovitch and Wukassuvich from moving up the Osteria gorge to fall on Joubert's right flank. The position was remarkably strong and well-known to the French. Several times over the last few months they had faced the Austrians on this ground. Rivoli was the last strong position before falling back into the Po plain. Still, it had several weaknesses that an aggressive and determined foe could exploit and force the French to fall back. Could Alvintzy's flanking columns capture key positions before reinforcements arrived to support Joubert?

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