The Battle of Valvasone (16 March 1797), also named Battle of Tagliamento, saw a First French Republic army led by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

attack a Habsburg Austrian army led by

Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

. The Austrian army fought a

rear guard A rearguard is a part of a military force that protects it from attack from the rear, either during an advance or withdrawal. The term can also be used to describe forces protecting lines, such as communication lines, behind an army. Even more ...

action against the French vanguard led by Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte at the crossing of the Tagliamento River but was defeated and withdrew to the northeast. The French troops crossed the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

Valvasone Valvasone Arzene () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about east of Pordenone. It was formed on 1 January 2015 after the merger of th ...

and the battle developed on the opposite bank, mainly between the little villages of Gradisca (now in the municipality of

Sedegliano Sedegliano ( fur, Sedean) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine. A Sedegliano borders the following municipalities: ...

) and Goricizza (now in the municipality of

Codroipo Codroipo ( fur, Codroip) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine. Codroipo borders the following municipalities: Basiliano, Bertiolo, Camino a ...

). The next days, a French division cut off and captured an Austrian column at

Gradisca d'Isonzo Gradisca d'Isonzo ( fur, Gardiscja or ''Gardiscje'', sl, Gradišče ob Soči, archaic german: Gradis am Sontig) is a town and ''comune'' of the Province of Gorizia in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy. The lawyer, linguist, philologist ...

(Capitulation of Gradisca). The actions occurred during the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...

, part of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

is located on the west bank of the Tagliamento southwest of

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

, Italy.

lies on the Isonzo River southwest of

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

, Italy. Bonaparte saw the Siege of Mantua to a successful conclusion when Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrendered on 2 February 1797. The French commander cleared his south flank by Claude Perrin Victor's victory over the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

at the Battle of Faenza the following day. Meanwhile, Emperor Francis II of Austria recalled Archduke Charles from Germany to hold northeast Italy. In March Bonaparte launched an offensive designed to break through the Austrian army's defenses. At Valvasone, the French encountered part of their opponents' army and drove it back. For the loss of 500 men, the French inflicted 700 casualties on the Austrians and captured six guns. The following day, Bernadotte's French division isolated an enemy column and forced its surrender at

. A total of 2,500 Austrian soldiers, 10 artillery pieces, and eight colors were captured. When several retreating Austrian columns made for the Tarvis Pass to the northeast, the French raced to cut them off. The Battle of Tarvis occurred over three days beginning on 21 March as the Austrians struggled to escape. Bonaparte's forward thrust carried his army within of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where the Preliminaries of Leoben were concluded in mid-April 1797.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valvasone 1797, Battle of Battles involving France Battles involving Austria Battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Battles of the War of the First Coalition Conflicts in 1797 1797 in Italy Battles inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe