Battle of Cassano (1799)
The Battle of Cassano (French: Bataille de Cassano, German: Schlacht bei Cassano) was fought in 1799 from 27 to 28 April (O.S.: 16 to 17 April) near Cassano d'Adda, which about 28 km (17 mi) ENE of Milan. The clash is part of the battle of the Adda River (Russian: Сражение на реке Адда, German: Schlacht an der Adda) or the so-called forcing of the Adda, which on the first day of 26 April (O.S.: 15 April) resulted in a minor victory for the Russians under the Count Suvorov over Barthélemy Schérer's French forces at Lecco. Then, on the second day, Suvorov's Austrians and Cossacks prevailed over Jean Moreau's army, who replaced Schérer as supreme commander, and trapped his isolated division on the third. The action took place during the War of the Second Coalition, as part of the larger conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars.
| Battle of the Adda River (1799) | |||||||||
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| Part of the Italian campaigns in the War of the Second Coalition | |||||||||
Feldmarshal Suvorov at the battle of the Adda River on April 27, 1799 (engraving by Luigi Schiavonetti) | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Russian Empire Habsburg monarchy |
French Republic
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Alexander Suvorov Pyotr Bagration (WIA) Adrian Denisov Andrey Rosenberg Mikhail Miloradovich Yakov Povalo-Shveikovsky Michael von Melas Johann Chasteler Michael von Fröhlich Konrad von Kaim Peter Ott Philipp Vukassovich Friedrich Hohenzollern-Hechingen Friedrich von Seckendorff Johann Zopf Franz Reisky |
Jean Moreau Barthélemy Schérer Paul Grenier Claude Victor-Perrin Jean Sérurier (POW) François Quesnel Nicolas Beker Louis Soyez Georges Kister François Argod † Jean Roussel | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
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| Strength | |||||||||
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48,000–49,000 Numbers engaged: |
27,000–28,000 Numbers engaged: | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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2,000–2,500 killed and wounded Other estimates:4,886–6,200 |
6,900–7,500 killed, wounded and captured Other estimates:10,500–11,000 27 guns and 3 standards | ||||||||
Location within Europe | |||||||||
Italy
The battle of the Adda River was four separate combats. Lecco was a victorious combat for Suvorov's Russians, but it contributed little to resolve the entire battle along the Adda. The key engagement on 27 April was the combat at Vaprio d'Adda (at the end there were about 11,000 Austrians and Cossacks and 7,000 French), which is north of Cassano; and on the same day, at Cassano itself, the Austrian Reisky regiment (1,911 men) successfully stormed the bridge-head fortifications—Moreau was thrown back everywhere. The French detachment cut off by the combat of Vaprio was afterwards surrounded at Verderio by Josef Philipp Vukassovich, who overcame the weakest French defenses in Brivio.