Italian campaign of 1796–1797
At the head of the Army of Italy, the young General Bonaparte defeated Sardinian, Austrian and Papal forces and compelled Austria to make peace. The campaign brought him resounding fame and made France the master of northern Italy.
- Date
- 10 April 1796 – 17 October 1797exact date · duration: ≈ 2 years
- Place
- Mantuatoday: Mantua, Italy · Western and Central Europe
- Route
- Nice → Montenotte → Lodi → Milan → Mantua → Arcole → Rivoli → Klagenfurt → Leoben → Campo Formio
- Participants
- French First Republic, Habsburg monarchy, Papal States, Napoleon I
- Threads
- French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
The campaign opened in April 1796 with the victories around Montenotte, which knocked the Kingdom of Sardinia out of the war; May brought the Battle of Lodi and the entry into Milan. At its heart was the siege of Mantua: Bonaparte beat off four Austrian attempts to relieve the fortress (including at Arcole and Rivoli), and on 2 February 1797 it capitulated.
The French then advanced across the Alps towards Vienna. After the preliminary peace of Leoben (18 April 1797), Bonaparte personally signed the Treaty of Campo Formio (17 October 1797), which confirmed French dominance in northern Italy; Austria received the lands of the abolished Republic of Venice.
Connections
Related events
- French invasion of Egypt and Syria19 May 1798 – 2 September 1801 · Middle East and EgyptThe Directory sent the general who had made his name in Italy on an expedition overseas
Same participants
- Sack of Rome (1527)6 May 1527 · Western and Central Europevia Papal States
- Siege of Toulon29 August – 19 December 1793 · Western and Central Europevia French First Republic
- Third Partition of Poland13 (24) October 1795 · Eastern Europevia Habsburg monarchy
- Haitian Revolutionbetween 21 August and 22 August 1791 – 1 January 1804 · Latin Americavia French First Republic
- Battle of the Pyramids21 July 1798 · Middle East and Egyptvia Napoleon I
- Suvorov’s Italian campaign3 (14) April 1799 – 31 August (11 September) 1799 · Western and Central Europevia Habsburg monarchy
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within a year of this event
Eastern Europe
- Death of Catherine the Great6 (17) November 1796
- Third Partition of Poland13 (24) October 1795
Middle East and Egypt
- Battle of the Pyramids21 July 1798
- Battle of the Nile1–3 August 1798
- French invasion of Egypt and Syria19 May 1798 – 2 September 1801
Africa
- Mungo Park’s first expedition to the Niger2 December 1795 – 10 June 1797
Central and Northern Asia
- Syrym Datuly’s uprising1783–1797
East Asia
- Abdication of the Qianlong Emperor9 February 1796
- White Lotus Rebellionbetween 1794 and 1796 – 1804
Latin America
- Haitian Revolutionbetween 21 August and 22 August 1791 – 1 January 1804
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Italian campaign of 1796–1797
- Wikipedia (Russian): Первая Итальянская кампания
- Chandler D. G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. — New York: Macmillan, 1966.
- Wikidata: Q699511