The Battle of the Pont d'Arcole took place from 15 to 17 November 1796 (25 to 27 Brumaire Year V) during the first Italian campaign. It opposed the 19,000 Frenchmen of the Army of Italy, under the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte, to the 24,000 men of the Austrian army, commanded by General Josef Alvinczy.
Context
A new Austrian army, under the orders of Josef Alvinczy, enters Italy to repel Bonaparte. Divided into two columns, it confronted the French on several occasions. Bonaparte succeeded in beating Alvinczy at Brenta, but General Vaubois was beaten at Rivoli and then at La Corona. Bonaparte, weakened by the defeats at Vaubois, had to withdraw to Verona.
Trying unsuccessfully to take Caldiero's position, General Bonaparte leaves the guard of Verona to General Kilmaine, and descends along the Adige to meet the Austrians.
Procedure
Prelude
The French army crosses the Adige at Ronco, and heads towards one of its tributaries, the Alpone. During two days of battle, the French tried to pass, but the pincer maneuver carried out by Generals Pierre Augereau and André Masséna failed.
Crossing the Arcole bridge
French forces attempt to take the village of Arcole by crossing the Alpone by a bridge under fire from Austrian forces. Augereau crosses the Adige but is pushed back by violent fire in front of the Arcole bridge, while Masséna gets bogged down in the marshes. In the first assaults, General Lannes was at the head of two battalions of the 58th demi-brigade and tried to cross; his troops had to retreat before the violence of the enemy fire, and their leader was wounded twice. Augereau supported him with three battalions. Lannes needs to be transported to Ronco's ambulance for a dressing.
Augereau then tries to lead his troops to the dyke:taking a flag, he rushes first, but the soldiers do not follow him. Then commander of the Army of Italy, Bonaparte also seized a flag, rushed to the bridge and planted it there.
Joseph Sulkowski, witness to the Italian campaign and Bonaparte's favorite aide-de-camp, of Polish origin, describes the scene:
"In the meantime, the general-in-chief, informed of the state of affairs, had already advanced himself halfway:he was informed of the irreparable losses that had just been made, the obstinacy of the enemy, the discouragement of our soldiers. The combat was engaged, it was necessary to win or perish, and he takes a part worthy of his glory. We see him suddenly appear on the dyke, surrounded by his staff and followed by his guides, he dismounts, draws his sword, takes a flag and rushes on the bridge in the middle of a rain of fire. . The soldiers see him and none of them imitate him. »
Another witness described the aftermath:“His column had half crossed it when flanking fire caused it to fall back. The grenadiers kidnapped Bonaparte and dragged him away, he was thrown into a swamp where he sank up to his waist. Lannes who was wounded had rushed from Milan, he covered the general with his body. Muiron aide-de-camp did the same and he was killed along with General Jean Gilles André Robert”.
The intervention of Lannes, on horseback while his grenadiers were on foot, allowed Bonaparte to free himself from the opposing troops, while the general-in-chief found himself surrounded on all sides. Bonaparte then tries to send reinforcements to Masséna but falls into a swamp. It is General Belliard who rallies his men and saves Bonaparte again.
This one orders his drums to go discreetly on the rear of the Austrians and to make as much noise as possible in order to make believe that reinforcements have arrived, drums among which André Estienne was decorated with the Legion of Honor. Alvinczy, thinking that the French were attacking his rear, disunited his solid defense and continued the drums with his army, which allowed Masséna to cross the Adige. Bonaparte then ordered Masséna and Augereau to take the enemy army in a pincer movement by a ford discovered by Masséna, which allowed him to be annihilated.
Consequences
The French army is victorious and remains firmly anchored in the north of the Italian peninsula. The siege of Mantua continued, and the campaign culminated in 1797 in the eviction of the Austrians from the Italian peninsula.
Four days after the event, Bonaparte describes the battle to the Directory:
"It was in vain that the generals, feeling the importance of the weather, threw themselves at the head to force our columns to cross the small bridge of Arcole:too much courage harmed:they were almost all wounded:Generals Verdier, Well, Verne, Lannes were put out of action […] General Lannes, already wounded by two shots, returned and received a third more dangerous wound. »
The flag
The flag that Bonaparte had carried on the dyke of Arcole was sent to the Directory. Later in February 1798, the Legislative Body paid homage with this flag to the former general-in-chief of the army of Italy. Bonaparte gave it to Lannes for his heroic action on the bridge. Long kept in the family of the Duke of Montebello, this flag disappeared without it being possible to know exactly at what time. Detail which seems singular at first sight:the flag was almost white. It was the flag of one of the battalions of the 5th demi-brigade. However, according to a decree of 1794, if all the flags had to bear the three national colors, only one, called "first flag", presented the current regulatory provisions, the three colors arranged in vertical zones, blue, white and red. For the other flags, the imagination of each commanding officer was given free rein. The flags of the 5th demi-brigade were white with small blue and red diamonds figured in the four corners. Such was indeed the flag carried by Bonaparte on the dyke of Arcole.
General information
Date November 15 -17, 1796
Location Arcole
Issue French victory
Belligerents French Republic Holy Empire
Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte Josef Alvinczy
Forces present 19,000 men 24,000 men
Loss 3,500 dead or wounded
1,300 prisoners 535 dead
1,535 wounded
4,141 prisoners
11 guns lost