Battle of Calliano, 5 September 1796

The battle of Calliano (5 September 1796) was the second of a series of clashes between Napoleon's army advancing along the Adige valley towards Germany and an Austrian covering force under Field Marshal Davidovich that was defending the area around Trento.

Over the previous two days the Austrians had been forced out of their advanced positions (battle of Roverto, 4 September 1796), and their last strong point before Trento was at Calliano, where 4,800 men of Vukassovich's and Spork's brigades were manning a series of entrenchments between the Adige and the edge of the mountains.

On the morning of 5 September the Austrian position was attacked by three demi-brigades from Masséna's division, with heavy artillery support. The Austrians were soon forced to abandon their positon, and retreated back up the valley to Trento. As the French continued their advance, the Austrians abandoned Trento, and moved even further north.

At Trento Napoleon discovered that the main Austrian army under Field Marshal Würmser was heading east along the Brenta valley to make a second attempt to lift the siege of Mantua. Leaving General Vaubois to continue the pursuit of Davidovich (engagement of Lavis, 6 September 1796), Napoleon turned east to follow Würmser, defeating him at Primolano (7 September) and Bassano (8 September) and ending the second relief attempt.

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (30 January 2009), Battle of Calliano, 5 September 1796 , http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_calliano.html

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