Battle of Caldiero (1805) - Preliminaries

Preliminaries

By mid October, Marshal Masséna, a seasoned French general, who had fought the Austrians in Lombardia before during the campaign of 1796-1797, was waiting for developments on the main theatre of operations in Bavaria. On 18 October, Masséna won a bridgehead on the east bank of the Adige River in the Battle of Verona. At dawn, the French launched their attack from Verona against Vukassovich's division. After heavy fighting, the divisions of Duhesme and Gardanne cleared the town of San Giorgio and part of the heights of Veronetta. The French lost 77 dead and 246 wounded, while the Austrians suffered 246 killed and 906 wounded. Archduke Charles was so unhappy with Vukassovich's performance that he replaced him with Rosenberg.

News that Napoleon I succeeded in defeating the main Austrian army at Battle of Ulm finally reached Masséna on 28 October and he issued orders for an immediate offensive against the Austrian army in northern Italy. Crossing the Adige river with three of his divisions (Duhesme, Gardanne, Molitor) and leaving behind Seras' division to cover Verona, Masséna planned to move forward into Austrian-controlled territory.

The fighting on 29 October is considered by one historian to be part of the Battle of Caldiero. On that day, the divisions of Duhesme and Gardanne advanced on the left against Rosenberg, while Molitor's and Partouneaux's divisions moved forward against the town of Veronetta. Seeing a mass of French troops approaching, the Austrians abandoned Veronetta and fell back to San Michele. The French mauled Rosenberg's division and forced Frimont out of San Michele after street fighting. By the end of the day, Masséna's troops closed up to the main defense line of Archduke Charles. The French counted losses of 527 killed and wounded, plus 157 captured. Again, Austrian casualties were heavier, numbering 1,926 killed and wounded, with 1,114 prisoners.

Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen, himself acutely aware of the dire consequences of the fall of Ulm, was planning to move towards Vienna, in order to reinforce the remains of the Austrian army and link up with the Russians. However, in order to avoid having Masséna's men on his heels, he decided to suddenly turn and face the French, hoping that by defeating them he would ensure the success of his march towards inner Austria.