Battle of Lodi

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Lodi
partof=the French Revolutionary Wars


caption=General Bonaparte gives his orders, in "The Battle of Lodi", by Louis-François, Baron Lejeune.
date=May 10, 1796
place=Lodi, present-day Italy
result=French victory
combatant1=flagicon|France France
combatant2=flagicon|Holy Roman EmpireAustria
commander1=Napoleon Bonaparte
commander2=General Beaulieu
strength1=
strength2=
casualties1=c. 500
casualties2=2,036 killed, wounded and missing
14 guns
assorted horses and baggage

The Battle of Lodi was fought on May 10, 1796 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard at Lodi, Italy. The Austrian rear guard was defeated, but the main body of the Austrian Army had time to retreat.

Prelude

Having defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia at the beginning of the campaign, Bonaparte turned his attention to their allies, the Austrian army. In one of the most brilliant manoeuvres of the campaign, Bonaparte conducted a rapid march along the south bank of the Po River, and threw a bridge across it near Piacenza, in an attempt to cut the Austrian line of retreat to Milan. The Austrians became aware of the danger, and hastily retreated, mostly through Lodi. There never appears to have been any intention on their part to defend Lodi, but this became necessary when the French caught up with the last of the retreating Austrian units just near the town.

Battle

The French advance guard caught up with the Austrian rear-guard at about 9 am on 10 May and after a clash followed them towards Lodi. The town's defences were not strong, and the French were able to get inside and make their way towards the bridge, which was defended from the far bank by several battalions of infantry and about fourteen guns. The Austrian general in command at Lodi, Sebottendorf, also had 4 squadrons of Neapolitan cavalry at his disposal, giving him a total of 6,577 men, who were mostly completely exhausted after a hasty forced march. Sebottendorf decided that it was inadvisable to retire in daylight, and opted to defend the crossing until nightfall.

One eye-witness (a grenadier called Vigo-Rousillon) stated that the Austrians had men attempting to destroy the bridge, but that the French stopped their efforts by bringing up guns to fire along its length. It should have been fairly easy to prevent a French crossing because the bridge was wooden, and could have been burnt. It was about 200 yards long, and was a very simple structure consisting of piles driven into the river bed every few yards, with beams laid to form a roadway.

The French advance guard was not strong enough to try and cross the bridge, so several hours passed while further French forces came up. During the afternoon, a violent cannonade began, as French guns arrived and were positioned to fire across the river. It has been suggested that Bonaparte was personally involved in directing some of the guns, and that his troops began to refer to him as "le petit caporal" (the little corporal) because of this, but there seems to be little, if any, contemporary evidence to back this up.

Eventually, at about 6 pm, the French prepared for an attack, with a detachment of cavalry being sent to ford the river upstream, and a column consisting of the 2nd battalion of carabiniers (elite light infantry) being readied inside the walls of the town. The carabiniers then stormed out of the gates and onto the bridge. Vigo-Roussillon stated that the enemy artillery fired one salvo when the troops were part-way across, causing numerous casualties, at which point the column wavered and stopped, but a number of senior French officers rushed to the head of the column and led it forward again. (Some authorities suggest that the French retreated and attacked again, but an important Austrian source supports the thesis of a single attack.) Some of the French climbed down the piles and waded through the water, firing as they went. The Austrian troops were already exhausted from hours of marching and fighting without food, probably demoralised by the French cannonade, and also seem to have been worried about being cut off by the French cavalry. Their morale collapsed as the carabiniers rushed towards them, and a hasty retreat ensued, the fugitives making the most of the gathering dark to make their escape towards Crema, though some brave units discouraged the French from pursuing too closely.

Austrian losses were 21 officers, 2,015 men, and 235 horses, killed, wounded and missing. In addition, 12 cannons, 2 howitzers and 30 ammunition wagons had been lost. French losses are not known with any precision, but are thought to have numbered about 500.

Aftermath

The Battle of Lodi was not a decisive engagement, since the Austrian army had successfully escaped. But it became a central element in the Napoleonic myth and, according to Napoleon himself, contributed to convincing him that he was superior to other generals, and that his destiny would lead him to achieve great things. The source of the story that the French troops began to call him "le petit caporal" after this engagement needs to be verified. It may itself be more myth than fact.

References

* Agnelli, G. “ _it. La battaglia al ponte di Lodi e l’inizio della settimana napoleonica lodigiana.” _it. Archivio storico lombardo, no. 60 (1933): 1-73
* Boycott-Brown, M. The Road to Rivoli: Napoleon's First Campaign. London, Cassell, 2001
*
* Schels, J. B. “ _de. Die Kriegsereignisse in Italien vom 15 April bis 16 Mai 1796, mit dem Gefechte bei Lodi.” Oesterreichische Militärische Zeitschrift Bd. 2; Bd. 4 (1825): 195-231; 57-97, p. 267-8
*

External links

* [http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/italian_campaign.htm Bonaparte's blitzkrieg in Italy 1796, Dego and Lodi]
* [http://www.historydata.com/places/index.html Photos of sites of the 1796 campaign]
* [http://historydata.com/pictures/battles.html Paintings of battles of the 1796 campaign]